HOME


Reality Checkpoint 2020
News from previous year




GREEN MATTERS: PLEASE IGNORE PUBLIC OPINION
Interesting video by Ben Pile on the way the public is denied a say on green matters. Green policies of the major parties in the UK are exactly the same; they all support "Net Zero" in spite of the impact this will have on our lives: spiralling energy costs, pricing private cars off the road, controlling when and where we travel, etc, etc. It makes no difference who you vote for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZI26h1xuk0

If the Government were trying to damage the economy they couldn’t be doing it better.

8 Dec 20


EU CLIMATE TARGETS CHALLENGED
The EU Commission's proposal on the 2030 target, 55% reductions in " greenhouse gas" emissions by 2030, is being rightly questioned by several EU countries. It is described by the Commission as a new growth strategy - which is clearly untrue. The EU Parliament actually wanted a 60% reduction.

At a time when many companies are struggling to survive, it is absurd to contemplate increasing the price of energy in this way.

Michal Kurtyka, Poland’s Minister of Climate and Environment said in a video address on 17 Nov that the consequences of the target are not known, in the light of the China virus pandemic and its effect on economies.

The European Council brought together the EU’s 27 heads of state and governments for a first discussion in October. Several countries refused the terms, wanting further consultations and details.

Now, a month later, little progress has been made. Michal Kurtyka said that Poland did not want to enforce radical changes without a full view of the consequences. He said that an analysis of costs and benefits must take place. A novel approach, perhaps, for the EU.

25 Nov 20


DIESEL CHARGERS FOR ELECTRIC CARS
The picture shows a charging point for an electric car, running off a diesel engine. It was devised by a bright spark in Australia for use in the outback because of the lack of EV infrastructure. The url is here for the full article: https://thedriven.io/2018/12/14/diesel-charge-evs-remote-locations-greener-than-you-think/



The charger was tested on a range of ten electric cars of different brands.

108.6 litres of diesel transferred 368.4 kWh to the cars, as recorded by the car power management systems.

This means that each litre of diesel delivered an average of 368.4/108.6 (= 3.39) kWh of charge to the batteries.

Converting this to figures I can understand:

My own diesel car, a Ford Fiesta 1500cc, does about 58 miles to the gallon.

A litre of diesel fuel contains 10 kWh of energy.

Therefore the electric cars are giving about 58 x 3.39/10 mpg

          = 19.66 mpg

24 Nov 20



BBC BIAS AND THE LICENCE FEE
On this week's NCFNewspeak, former BBC journalist Robin Aitken returns to the New Culture Forum to argue that BBC bias now colours all of its news output, placing the once-impartial institution firmly on the political spectrum.

Explaining how we arrived at this situation, Robin argues it is time to cut the BBC down to size and tackle its institutional bias, withdrawing the licence fee if need be.

    "The ideal of the BBC is a noble and inspiring one. In a democracy like ours, information which is rigorously impartial, available to all, free from bias, and comprehensive, is a noble one. The provision of impartial information is a pre-requisite of free and fair elections. Free debate, which includes opinion from across the political spectrum, is the lifeblood of democracy.

    The BBC's defenders will say that it is just that; the BBC is all that you describe. But I disagree ..... the BBC's news services can now be placed accurately on the political spectrum. They inhabit a specific point on that spectrum, and this has led to a deep-set bias which has coloured all of its output."

My personal view - The corporation does many things extremely well. Its drama output is superb, for example, and some of its discussion and science programmes. However, it is publicly funded and supposed to be impartial. Its stance on many important issues is not impartial and this leads to the public being misinformed, increasing the likelihood of government policy being steered in unwise directions.

If the BBC does not address some of these issues, and make strenuous efforts to regain its impartiality, its funding is unlikely to remain secure.

19 Nov 20


HEADLINE-GRABBING: BORIS & WIND
Boris Johnson is to say that every home in Britain will be powered by wind farms within a decade. His speech, due today, 6 Oct, will promise to make this country the world leader in low-cost clean power by harnessing wind. Part of a green industrial revolution creating millions of jobs.

Unfortunately those who work in the energy sector know that wind energy is inherently unreliable, sporadic, and extremely expensive. Furthermore the number of jobs created for local people is miniscule or zero.

It may be helpful to remind people what happens when a 'renewables' installation is purchased. My friend in Hawkchurch, Devon, reports on the construction of a 'solar farm' outside the village. The proposal to build it was rejected by the villagers but the views of locals were ignored and it was erected anyway.

The components were made in Germany, and were delivered by German lorries, which were accompanied by workers from eastern Europe who carried out the erection and installation.

Not one local job was created.

The solar farm is now earning subsidies, paid for by the taxpayer. It will produce less energy in its lifetime than it took to extract the silicon to make the solar panels in the first place.

6 Oct 20


ELECTRIC POLICE CARS
Police have spent millions of pounds on electric cars they say are of little use for chasing suspects or for rapid callouts to help victims.

Police reports have conceded that electric cars and vans cannot meet the demands of urgent response or pursuit driving. Almost all of them are being used in non-emergency situations or by senior officers to get to work.

The reports say that their Freedom of Information request revealed evidence of 448 electric vehicles being purchased by police forces around the country in order to meet green energy targets.

A report by Staffordshire Police states: 'Vehicles that are less damaging to the environment are struggling to cope with the arduous needs of emergency service; autonomous driving and safety systems are not conducive to pursuit or response driving.'

Kent Police, which has two Nissan Leafs and a BMW i3, say in an annual survey: 'Plug-in electric cars do not have adequate range and they take too long to charge up.

(Summarised from a report by Martin Beckford in the Daily Mail)

20 Mar 20


CONSTRAINT PAYMENTS 2019
In December an analysis by the Renewable Energy Foundation, a charity monitoring energy use, showed that the operators of 86 wind farms in Britain were received approximately £136 million in constraint payments last year; the highest annual figure so far. This is money paid to the wind farm owners at times when the Grid cannot receive the energy being generated.

There are around 25 million households in the country so this is about £5 per household.

6 Mar 20


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
If you want to know who controls you, look at who you are not allowed to criticize.

Voltaire

5 Mar 20


A NOTE FROM AUSTRALIA: RELATIVE COSTS OF DIFFERENT FUELS
On the CSIRO's own figures, the cost of 100MJ of energy in various forms is as follows:

$9.17 Hydrogen from solar electricity .
$5.42 Hydrogen from coal fired electricity .
$2.11 Petrol.
$2.36 Diesel.
$0.34 Coal.

"Climate change is coming at us!" is the contribution from Minister MacTiernan who has already spent $10m of taxpayer's funds on hydrogen. Note that the price is thirty times that of coal. Hydrogen is also exceedingly difficult to store and to handle. This is another clear indication that more scientists are needed in positions of political responsibiliity.

4 Mar 20


TROUBLE IN AUSTRALIA
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday threatened to outlaw climate protests, accusing them of disrupting the country’s mining industry. Mr. Morrison has described the 'climate justice' movement as a new breed of radical activism. He said “we are working to identify serious mechanisms that can successfully outlaw these indulgent and selfish practices that threaten the livelihoods of fellow Australians”. His proposal comes the day after protesters attempted to disrupt a mining conference in Melbourne.

3 Mar 20


RENEWABLES PRICES
Thought for the day - If wind and solar are so cheap, why is electricity in Germany more expensive than anywhere else?

14 Feb 2020


BREXIT
What a surprise. Brexit has happened, on 31 Jan. Who would have believed it?

1 Feb 2020


WHICH DIRECTION FOR AMERICAN ENERGY POLICY?
To embrace the possibilities of tomorrow we must reject the perennial prophets of doom and their predictions of the Apocalypse. They are the heirs of yesterday's foolish fortune tellers, and they want to see us do badly but we won't let that happen. They predicted an overpopulation crisis in the 1960s, mass starvation in the 70s, and an end of oil in the 1990s.

These alarmists always demand the same thing: absolute power to dominate, transform and control every aspect of our lives.

President Trump, World Economic Forum

21 Jan 20


DATA FROM AN ELECTRIC CAR USER
I own a VW eGolf 2016. The automobile came pre-owned from California and in summer here it did 180-190 kilometres (my best was 194 km) on a full charge. Now in winter I average 120-140 kilometres and more recently 100-110 kilometres in colder weather. I barely use the heater, to preserve mileage. I rarely use the air conditioner in summer, either. (BT, living in Amman, Jordan)

18 Jan 20


OPEN FOR BUSINESS?
Brexit Britain must decide: is it open for global business, or does it prefers to pull up the drawbridge in pursuit of carbon neutrality, which inhibits enterprise and loses jobs? The right balance must be struck between (a) protecting the environment and (b) working hard to create a prosperous society for all by supporting industry. Constant predictions of climate catastrophe undermine what should be a serious debate.

15 Jan 2020


BBC ENVIRONMENTAL PROPAGANDA CONTINUES
BBC and Channel 4 have just broadcast two programmes: 9pm 'Meat The Family' and 10pm 'Apocalypse Cow:How Meat Killed The Planet'. It is time that the BBC was called to account regarding its misleading and inaccurate coverage of farming-related issues. Its Charter requires it to be objective.

11 Jan 2020


PUBLIC AWARENESS
Even the most ignorant members of the public are becoming aware of rising electrical power costs and the accelerating climate hysteria, especially by the BBC. They are becoming more sceptical of the unrealistic claims of the climate activists. It will not be long before Greta Thunberg's words are forgotten.

An objective measure of scientific competence is the ability to predict, and the activists have a rather poor track record – each of their climate catastrophe predictions has failed to materialize.

6 Jan 2020


ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTEOUSNESS
There is currently a strange climate of environmental righteousness. For example, the Guardian feels able to ask Britain's political parties questions like this:

Will your government implement a policy to reduce red meat consumption in the UK?

Instead of getting a brusque one-word response, the answer from the Conservatives was:

"The meat that British farmers produce is already significantly less carbon-intensive than meat produced elsewhere in the world. We will back our farmers to match their own net-zero by 2040 ambition with funding to develop new agri-tech to reduce emissions and farm in an even more environmentally friendly way."

Why do political parties pander to environmental activists in this way? It ought to be obvious that it is not the business of government to interfere with people’s diets.

4 Jan 2020


BATTERIES FOR ELECTRIC CARS
According to a report from the MIT Energy Initiative, the price of electric vehicle batteries will not be sufficiently reduced for mainstream adoption in the coming years. It is becoming clear that electric cars will not be able to compete in the same price range as fuel-driven vehicles while they rely on lithium-ion batteries.

2 Jan 2020



Back to top


Energy Policy
Sustainability
Nuclear Power
Coal
Gas
Solar
Wind -
big turbines
Wind -
small turbines
Low Energy Bulbs
Links
Diversity Website