Guest Post by Willis Eschenbach
I guess having electricity when you need it is sooooo last century … UK families will have to get used to “only using power when it was available”. That constant electricity at home was dangerous anyhow, the unending hum of the wires can drive a man so insane that the only way to cure him is to make him head of the National Grid …
UK persons … comments?
w.
[Update, for those who believe the above is a faked article, I had Green Sand send me a photo and another scan of the actual newspaper. ~ ctm]
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It can’t be too much longer before the British are all wearing helicopter beanies with national pride. BTW how do you fly the Union Jack upside down to indicate distress?
Suggest that all contributors to this blog should access and read Richard Duncan’s “Peak Of Production of Conventional Oil and The Return To The Olduvai Gorge” as found at:
http://www.jayhanson.us/page224.pdf#search=%22richard%20duncan%20olduvai%20gorge%22
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Maintain The Rage!
Add your voice to reason’s call.
Join the Tax Refusal.
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http://www.TaxRefusal.com
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And the related effort to wake the world:
STOP YOUR ENGINES !
http://www.StopYourEngines.com
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Time and again when it comes to Britain I keep thinking of the scene in the sci-fi vampire movie Life Force when the (badly cast, phony-accented) American astronaut and his friend find that Britain’s central command has already been infected and they barely escape at the last second. Well, it’s fun to talk about broad-daylight vampirocracy, but the gone-but-not-forgotten Diplomad blog’s vision of UN and internationalist vulturocracy seems less way-out – but it doesn’t account for what sapped the prey of its life force in the first place. So maybe the word “vampirocracy” gets it right after all.
The Uk will not run out of power (unless gas supplies cease) The talk is about better use of power (more efficient use of power that could reduce the need for additional generators). Current growth of use is minimal.
It will run out of capacity if no replacement stations are built – do you REALLY think that this will be allowed to happen?!
To save the world we must all…. become Iraqis??
Why doesn’t England just invade itself and bomb the power plants? Will the higher ups still have year-round
powerelectricity?hro001,
When it shows up on their website I will believe it. Notice the critical part of the article is not a quote from him and none of the quotes from him say what it implied. If it is a real article then I would be too embarrassed to but something like that up on my webpage too since they do not have a real quote of him actually saying what they claim and BTW they conveniently don’t mention who wrote the “article”. I already found the interview and listened to it. He states nothing about electricity not being permanently available.
Oh and the JPG + PDF files are on someone’s personal webpage.
kbray in california ….
Nice work finding the link, amazing interview. “have to change our own behavior and consume it when it’s available and available cheaply.” So what does that mean? When the wind blows everyone can work, take a nap when it stops. This is just another of a long line of insults to every working man and woman in GB, as if they aren’t being sqeezed enough as it is. Heartless bastards, how can they look into that future and keep on with their plans? I guess it’s coming here to California and when it does, I’m leaving along with everyone else. At least I won’t have to turn the lights off when I go.
I feel for you Brits, I really do. What a great nation of amazing people. Cut your CO2 is that the idea? Well wait till you start buring everything in sight to stay warm. Maybe Dicken’s England is making a comeback; Frozen Thames, snow and soot.
UK is used for decline. After all, it was superpower some time ago and I can see abundant sign of decline around. I think this is going to happen to US as well. Maybe its time to leave Britain for some more developed country.
Re: The Daily Telegraph – Era of constant electricity at home is ending, say’s power chief
Here is the BBC interview:
BBC Today’s radio 4’s program: Listen to the National Grid chief, Steve Holliday interview it’s only 2min 45 second’s long.
Reading between the lines this might lead to depopulating the UK, in pursuit of this unworkable and insane green plan, the ultimate energy (poverty) deprivation plan. It might be the end game plan for the UK anyway, who really knows? Who could afford to live or work in such a big brother environment, what industry, manufacturing or a service base will be affordable or sustainable under such a system?
There is nothing in print, audio only, it is short and sweet and verbatim to the article. It sound innocent enough but the under current is bordering on scary for any country that pursues so called renewable’s or wind power, judging from Spain’s experience or Canada’s East coast wind farm that has quite due to icing on the blades, it will fail miserably.
God help the UK, there is literally dark days ahead, at least till some brilliant/affordable energy system is developed, or common sense percolates to the surface of the ruling classes pea sized brains or the voters really wake up, but that will take a long time and a lot of misery for the people!
2011 ‘crucial year for UK energy’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9410000/9410485.stm
I believe lunatics can be forced to stand down their Parliamentary seat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunacy_%28Vacating_of_Seats%29_Act_1886
Poptech says:
March 4, 2011 at 8:19 pm
“THIS ARTICLE IS FAKE.
It does not exist online. Doesn’t anyone check before posting these things?
I guess you do not try hard enough Poptech. I personally comment under the article to say the UK was about to get in line with Nigeria with regard to crap power supplies.
1/10 for the simple effort of click the link!
I wrote a peer reviewed article on wave energy for E and E last year.
It seems to have escaped our leaders attention that Britain is an island constantly washed by the sea. Sea equals tides and waves equals unlimited energy. We were using the tides to power our mills a thousand years ago. No part of Britain is more than 70 miles from the sea.
We have the means but not the desire to become self sufficient in water renewables. My fuel bill has gone up 45% in three years, part of it a subsidy for wind turbines that don’t work when they are most needed.
Our petrol (gasoline) is approaching £7 per gallon (yes, you Americans read that right).
You may ask how a developed nation can remain competitive with such high fuel prices and how its population can afford to buy things to keep the economy growing when they have to spend so much on their energy?
The answer is of course that neither the state nor population is solvent when the ludicrous high price energy policies of the last 13 years of the labour government are pursued by people in a new govt who seem every bit as insane.
Tonyb
E.M.Smith says:
March 4, 2011 at 5:39 pm
Of course you liked it before the regime took control. The CEC is using non-market forces to make things move in the direction they desire. They got control of power supposedly to save us from the power companies. Who will protect us from government?
It is the real Amercian tradition NOT to trust government. Our freedom lies in independence. We choose to cooperate when it benefits us. It is a choice of free will, enlightened self-interest.
We do owe a debt to those who fought and died for our freedom, and some of us are called to repay these debts. Our flag does not symbolize our government. It actually represents us, the people, and the brave citizen-soldiers who made our way of life possible. No matter what government says, or what previous generations have given away, we have certain unalienable rights. We must defend them. The British people have them too. All people around the world are born with the same rights, not given to us by any government.
We protect ourselves from government. Neighbor helps neighbor. If you want a better life, get to know the people next door. Talk to each other about what’s wrong and what you can do to make things better. Some of you need to run for office, and always remember you represent your fellow citizens. I did, and I like to believe I’ve helped at least a little.
Oh, and it was on the free online edition!
You Brits need another Glorious Revolution. Or perhaps another Cromwell to lop the heads off of these wacko enviro kings who are ruining your power grid.
And we already had our experiment in Texas with forced outages during the February winter storm; I don’t think anybody here liked it. That’s an understatement!
Here’s what I think of UK politicians and the government of the day – [self snip] [self snip] [self snip] [self snip] [self snip] [self snip] [self snip]!
Further to the above, the minister responsible for the UK’s uber-green policies reportedly misled parliament by inflating the UK’s present renewable energy generation by a factor of 10: http://autonomousmind.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/guest-post-by-martin-brumby/
Now that you know about the problems facing the UK power grid lets have a look at the solution in the pipeline:
‘The world’s largest energy megaproject has begun. Desertec will spend the better part of a trillion dollars on solar energy plants in North Africa, the electricity from which will be transmitted via undersea cables to Europe. The notion that this project is an eco-fantasy is quickly felled by investigating the heavyweight European businesses involved in the Desertec Industrial Initiative. Broadening the investigation into other media and activist groups involved yields useful insights into environmentalism.
Investors are reluctant to place their capital into fixed structures on other people’s property for fear the property owner may impair or appropriate the investment. This applies to small investors and to nationally prominent consortia. Many regimes have expropriated foreign investments. The Suez Canal, dug with French money, was seized by the Egyptian government in 1956. Libya nationalized British-owned oil assets in 1972. Desertec proposes sinking $500 billion into fixed assets onto North African sand. What assurances do these investors have that governments will not seize these assets or that outlaws will not damage them?
Europe’s green electricity plan involves replacing electricity derived from coal and uranium with renewables and natural gas. Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya have substantial gas reserves. This gas is already being shipped in immense volumes to Europe. Just as Desertec looks to North African solar power to meet Europe’s future electricity needs, a parallel collection of planned megaprojects looks to North African gas to meet Europe’s future gas needs.
Desertec does not involve merely sending electricity to Europe. Desertec is to supply the North African electricity market with solar power. Through Desertec, North Africa will become a captive market for Europe’s renewable energy companies.
The integration of the European and North African economies, required by Desertec and the natural gas hook-up, will collaterally make North Africans a captive market for European manufactured and agricultural goods. North Africa’s population is 175 million and growing. ‘
http://www.ecofascism.com/article22.html
James Sexton says:
March 4, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Well, the difficulty isn’t confined to the U.K. In the Great State of Texas, where there is an abundance of fuels to provide stable and constant electricity, the residents were subjected to rolling black outs during one of the coldest blasts in recent history. Lives of many were risked in this effort to save humanity.
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True. I have relatives in Texas. I heard that they even closed schools because there was not any heat in them to keep the children warm. Texas!
Such insanity! Oh, and the so-called “rolling blackouts” that were supposed to last for less than an hour – they lasted for the full day.
Did I miss the part where he said that the Government needed to operate without electricity when they wanted it?
“Families” would have to get used to not having power. Government – not so much.
It is good to be King. Let them eat blackouts. May they live in darkness.
From Timesonline:
December 22, 2008
National Grid chief Steve Holliday: blackouts will be common in 7 years
Britain could face regular blackouts within seven years if the Government does not intervene in the energy market to ensure that more power stations are built, the head of National Grid says today.
….
Mr Holliday said that National Grid’s own analysis indicated that, under a business-as-usual scenario, Britain would fail to attract enough investment in new plants and would lack sufficient generating capacity to meet peak demand around 2015.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/utilities/article5380590.ece
Google is a friend for those with a curious mind. So he has been saying this for a couple of years…his responsibility seems to be shaking people awake from their slumber.
I first ran across the phrase “failure of nerve” in Bronoski’s Ascent of Man. He was worried you see. As were previous thinkers.
From:
http://reasonsociety.blogspot.com/2007_05_01_archive.html
In 1943 Sidney Hook applied classicist Gilbert Murray’s notion linking a failure of nerve to the decline of Hellenic civilization to a perceived ****irresponsible retreat to superstition at his own historical moment when the fate of democracy hung in the balance****. Isaac Asimov’s celebrated 1941 science fiction story “Nightfall” also expresses this fear. Paul Kurtz evinced a similar concern in the 1960s and ’70s, alarmed at a rising tide of *****irrationalism, including occultism, pseudoscience, and New Age thought*****. He was followed by the popularizers Jacob Bronowski and Carl Sagan.
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I don’t know where the tipping point is, but somewhere bad things must happen to advanced cultures that fail to understand progress.
Desertec will make a moderate number of people very rich. As for electricity, not so much.
Frac gas is a far better bet. It’s even usable 24/7!
So Huhne said 7% will become 80%. But the real figures are 0.7% to 8%? Such a comedown!
Walt man;
Yes, the idiots have the bit in their teeth, and aren’t going to be deflected. It can indeed happen.
Brian H
Desertec will make a moderate number of people even richer. The rest of us are the source of their increased wealth.