Ed Miliband: 'Britain is sleepwalking to a climate crisis'

[BlasterBates]

If the UK spends billions of pounds it might be able to reduce CO2 emissions by a small amount. However all that means is that the price of fossil fuel will drop and developing countries will consume even more faster.

All the coal, gas and oil that gets dug out the ground gets consumed and this is what determines the global CO2 emissions. If price of gas goes down, people turn the heaters up. So all these green policies to date have had no impact on global CO2 emissions.

However green policies are a useful tool to raise taxes, which is basically what Ed Millibrand wants to do. What he won't do is "change the climate".

[suityou01]

If the UK spends billions of pounds it might be able to reduce CO2 emissions by a small amount. However all that means is that the price of fossil fuel will drop and developing countries will consume even more faster.

All the coal, gas and oil that gets dug out the ground gets consumed and this is what determines the global CO2 emissions. If price of gas goes down, people turn the heaters up. So all these green policies to date have had no impact on global CO2 emissions.

However green policies are a useful tool to raise taxes, which is basically what Ed Millibrand wants to do. What he won't do is "change the climate".

This. And where do you think those green taxes go?

Check this out for anyone still believing government data on AGW.

C(Lie)mate - The S0s

[EternalOptimist]

You need to wake up. It's happening right in front of your eyes if you know where to look.
I do - I was out there helping pack sand-bags for the flood hit towns in the Thames valley.
All this extra water was supposed to be snow but isn't.

Well done for helping the sandbags, but the IPCC and the met office predicted warmer , drier winters.
They both agree that the planets has not warmed for 17 years

so we need to look elsewhere to see why we have had the flooding.

BTW, the data is becoming available on the rainfall over the winter in the UK. It was very heavy, but is now said to be a once every ten year event.

Again, well done for helping out. thats good that is

[petergriffin]

Well done for helping the sandbags,

+1, but I'm afraid the sandbags won't do much. The ground is saturated. The only solutions for the future are:

1) Stop building within a mile of the major river banks
2) Dutch-style pumping system

Solution 1 would cost nothing and would reshape our cities and towns into a more sustainable environment, solution 2 would cost a fortune and would probably be badly implemented.

[EternalOptimist]

+1, but I'm afraid the sandbags won't do much. The ground is saturated. The only solutions for the future are:

1) Stop building within a mile of the major river banks
2) Dutch-style pumping system

Solution 1 would cost nothing and would reshape our cities and towns into a more sustainable environment, solution 2 would cost a fortune and would probably be badly implemented.

what about the news that the ROF pumps at Huntspill (3 billion litres a year) were switched off when the factory closed in 2008, handed over to the Environmental Agency and never switched back on ?

[xoggoth]

As BB says, the consumption of coal in China, India and other developing countries is rising fast. Understandably, they are not going to sacrifice the future prosperity of their citizens in pursuit of a green agenda.

This mean that anything we do is going to have little impact on CO2 and some of our own green policies may actually be increasing it by making our own industry less competitive. How does it help if more manufacturing is carried out in less efficient factories in developing nations and more fuel is then needed for transport?

I only say some green policies because there are some very sound reasons for trying to reduce our fossil fuel needs and become more self sufficient that are nothing to do with global warming, most obviously the increasing scarcity and rising cost of such fuels.

[suityou01]

what about the news that the ROF pumps at Huntspill (3 billion litres a year) were switched off when the factory closed in 2008, handed over to the Environmental Agency and never switched back on ?

Oh that's grotesque incompetency.

[EternalOptimist]

As BB says, the consumption of coal in China, India and other developing countries is rising fast. Understandably, they are not going to sacrifice the future prosperity of their citizens in pursuit of a green agenda.

This mean that anything we do is going to have little impact on CO2 and some of our own green policies may actually be increasing it by making our own industry less competitive. How does it help if more manufacturing is carried out in less efficient factories in developing nations and more fuel is then needed for transport?

I only say some green policies because there are some very sound reasons for trying to reduce our fossil fuel needs and become more self sufficient that are nothing to do with global warming, most obviously the increasing scarcity and rising cost of such fuels.

but you are wrong about the costs. Oil and gas prices are plumetting in the USA as frakking takes off and the tars sands oil come on stream. There is no reason why it shouldnt happen here

[suityou01]

but you are wrong about the costs. Oil and gas prices are plumetting in the USA as frakking takes off and the tars sands oil come on stream. There is no reason why it shouldnt happen here

I was suspicious frakking was responsible for the recent uptick in sink holes.

[EternalOptimist]

I was suspicious frakking was responsible for the recent uptick in sink holes.

That sink hole was actualy a dene hole. An old well dug into the chalk, possibly by the vikings