2014 was UK's hottest year on record, says Met Office

Provisional figures show 2014 was hottest since 1910, and fourth wettest on record

The figures for 2014 mean that eight of the UK’s top 10 warmest years have occurred since 2002, the weather and climate experts said.

All regulations have their negative and positive consequences. I like to observe that our civilization didn't conserve it's way to prosperity--we produced our way to wealth and achievements.

The emphases should be on rational (read affordable, abundant) alternatives to situations that are TRULY deleterious to the society as a whole. Chicken Little, Al Gore, Ralph Nader, Paul Erlich, IPCC etc need not apply.

TRULY deleterious to the society as a whole. Chicken Little, Al Gore, Ralph Nader, Paul Erlich, IPCC etc need not apply.

Just a short aside here:
I am not denying climate change!
I know that nothing we do will alter
the course that the oligarchy is pursuing
in this matter. I am just saying that
warming will occur, and all we really can
do as members of the Hoi polloi is adapt!
We must learn to cope with this catastrophe
because it is happening now! Our rulers will
not give up profit to make the lives of
common citizens any better. Get a grip you
people, you are the one who will have to
live with this problem up in the future.

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2014 was UK's hottest year on record, says Met Office

Provisional figures show 2014 was hottest since 1910, and fourth wettest on record

The figures for 2014 mean that eight of the UK’s top 10 warmest years have occurred since 2002, the weather and climate experts said.

Thanks for that.

With that chart, note how the extremes (record breakers) are increasing more rapidly in extremity...

For more normal natural variability, you would expect the new record breakers to become ever more marginal and ever less frequent as all the extremes should already have been seen... Hence the chart should 'flatten out' to a horizontal level as the years progress.

And yet that chart is following its own form of "hockey stick"...


All on our only one planet,
Martin

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And for one developing solution that the old-school industries still deride:


Tesla S P85+: Smiling all the way to the next charging point

... The Tesla S is astonishing. I’d driven one around the London Docklands at a launch, but a week with one has me converted to merits of auto electricity.

I have to admit I was sceptical. Electric car owners as a tribe can be quite hard work. They are always convinced that their cars are wonderful, even the ones with G-Wizzes...

I picked up my loan car from the Tesla showroom at the Westfield shopping centre.

Not far from the Tesla charging station is the valet parking area, and sitting there was a beautiful Ferrari 512BBi. A truly great supercar, 4.9l flat 12 engine, essentially a car built for speed before the days of emission and pedestrian safety.

And yet, the Tesla which is a big saloon, capable of carrying five adults and two children is faster, significantly faster. That Ferrari when it was new could do 0-60 in 5.2 seconds. The Tesla P85+ does it in 4.2...

... But this was as nothing to their joint surprise that the car could (silently, yes in silence) accelerate like a Lazlar LyriKon custom job. The lack of noise is spooky. There isn’t even a motor whine.

Low position batteries means good handling, even on roundabouts

I’ve heard of people who buy Teslas not because they are green or clever but merely because the customer is so crazy about music they don’t want the difficult piccolo piece distorted by the inevitable thrum of an internal combustion engine...

... The Tesla has a realistic range well of over 200 miles. The stats on the test car were 260 miles but Tesla claims that one as the press review car is well down on a typical owner’s experience. So with a range in which you could go from London to Birmingham and back without having to charge it becomes way more practical...

... It takes on the Porsche Panamera, but that's ugly and feels its size, and the Tesla S beats it on all counts - except perhaps badge snobbery.

The annals of car history are littered with many more failures than successes. For every Koenigsegg or Pagani there are a dozen Spykers or Marussias.

Building a successful car company is impressive, and to do so with a an electric car even more so...



Impressive stuff for the top end of the car market. Hopefully that will quickly filter down to the less affluent parts of the market...

And we are already seeing a rapid turn-around in London (UK) where a little encouragement for the "London congestion zone" (low emissions zone) shows off a very healthy parade of electric vehicles.


All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
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2014 was UK's hottest year on record, says Met Office

Yes. In Scandinavia too since 1860 when they started to measure temperatures.
But not if you look at the global temperatures.
1998 and 2010 where warmer.
It's a bit confusing
https://translate.google.se/translate?sl=sv&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=sv&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.klimatupplysningen.se%2F2015%2F01%2F08%2Fannu-en-satellitmatning-visar-att-2014-inte-var-varmast%2F&edit-text=
However the globe is getting warmer...

Yes. In Scandinavia too since 1860 when they started to measure temperatures.
But not if you look at the global temperatures.
1998 and 2010 where warmer.
It's a bit confusing

Jan it's not so confusing , the headline is what throws people into a panic , "oh there's no global warming this proves it "

all it's telling is 2014 is 3rd or 6Th ,

UAH place in 2014 in third place, after a record year in 1998 and 2010, while RSS place in 2014 in only sixth. The difference between the two databases is described by Roy Spencer

1 off years say nothing , it's the trend over many years and that is still going up as the link says.

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As noted in the "Denial" thread, it's been rather windy over here and the wind power generation for the UK has been pretty much pegged at the maximum 6 Giga Watts for most of the last two weeks. So very roughly about 15% of the UK supply.

There is room for further clean capacity yet...


Wind power 'adds resilience to UK energy market'

Installing more wind turbines will make the UK's energy market more resilient to global fossil fuel price shocks...

... wind power saved the UK £579 million in fossil fuel costs in 2013. The UK is recognised for having the best wind resource in Europe.

"One of the main messages from this report is that in a scenario with a higher content of wind energy, you are less reliant on fossil fuels," ...



All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
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This one is quite a boost and likely extremely worrying for the old Fossils Fuels hegemony:


Obama backs India's solar goals, seeks support for climate talks

U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday offered to help finance India's ambitious solar energy target and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's support at global climate talks in Paris later this year.

India is the world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitter and often acts as the voice of the world's developing countries in United Nations talks on everything from climate change to economic cooperation. It is reluctant to commit to emission targets ... Instead, Modi has made it a priority to expand India's renewable energy capacity and lessen the need for polluting fossil fuels.

... India is seeking investments of $100 billion over seven years to boost the country's solar energy capacity by 33 times to 100,000 megawatts...



Note that is for 100 Giga Watts of electrical generation... And a number of times that in less Fossil Fuels CO2 pollution...


All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
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Small positive moves against ever greater Fossil Fuels pollution:


MPs: Ban fracking to meet carbon targets

An influential committee of MPs has called for a moratorium on fracking on the grounds that it could derail efforts to tackle climate change...

... "There are also huge uncertainties around the impact that fracking could have on water supplies, air quality and public health."...


Block on fracking in Scotland announced by minister

The Scottish government has announced a block on planned fracking operations, pending further inquiries.

Ministers will carry out new work on the environmental and health implications of the controversial gas drilling technique...

... In the meantime, consent for unconventional oil and gas developments will be refused on planning grounds...



All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Is the politics and finances of cheap oil a danger or a blessing for our survival on our only one planet?...


Will the falling oil price undermine green energy?

Common sense would surely tell you that if you slash the cost of one source of energy, then alternatives look less appealing. You might think, therefore, that the crash in the price of oil must be dealing a potentially fatal blow to renewable power.

An illustration from recent history seems to back that up.

When the oil price spiked in the 1970s, the then US president Jimmy Carter had solar panels fixed to the White House roof, only to see his successor Ronald Reagan rip them off when the oil price tumbled.

... However, things are not so straightforward. The world of energy has changed...



That article gives a very good readable summary of the pressures on all sides...

Dirty old volatile oil or the clean and new?... Who wins?


All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

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Some useful clean additions even if further expansion is being argued over and delayed... All in the name of saving our environment or saving big business profits? Or both??


Scottish wind farm projects secure contracts

A major offshore wind farm planned for the Firth of Forth is one of 11 Scottish renewable projects which have been awarded UK government contracts to supply electricity.

The 448 megawatt Neart na Gaoithe could generate power for 319,000 properties.

However, a massive offshore project proposed for the Outer Moray Firth missed out...

... Dr Richard Dixon, director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "These results are very disappointing. Granting a contract to only one Scottish offshore windfarm, and only one other in the rest of the UK, shows how little interest the current UK government has in cleaning up our energy supply."

In a separate project planned for the Outer Moray Firth, Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited plans to install a further 110 turbines in the Outer Moray Firth. The Scottish government gave the Morl and Beatrice projects the go-ahead in March last year. At the time, it said the combined development off the Caithness coast would make it the world's third biggest offshore wind farm.



(At this moment, wind power is powering about 13% (5 Giga-Watts) of the UK electrical power needs. And the main loser to wind power power generation looks to be all the gas powered power stations...)


All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

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Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
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There are many who doesn't want wind farms.
Not only big business profiteers.
Here many complain it will destroy our nature. They are making noice and spoils the view.
How are this peoples? Yes, peoples who have properties nearby and dont want the property value go down.

As i've said before, cleaning up our energy supply will take time, but it's happening.

If i lived out in the countryside i'd happily put up a small wind turbine on my property. As it happens i live in the suburbs of a city so not windy enough to make it worthwhile.

13% and rising isn't a bad figure, last i heard Nuclear supplied about 15% so mightn't be long before that gets overtaken.

---

Life on earth is the global equivalent of not storing things in the fridge.

As i've said before, cleaning up our energy supply will take time, but it's happening.

If i lived out in the countryside i'd happily put up a small wind turbine on my property. As it happens i live in the suburbs of a city so not windy enough to make it worthwhile.

13% and rising isn't a bad figure, last i heard Nuclear supplied about 15% so mightn't be long before that gets overtaken.

We could do with a lot less Fossil Fuels corruption and more clean and cleaning up happening sooner. Unfortunately, the old dirties have very long lifespans and there is the financial gain to overcome from procrastinating so that they can profitably pollute for as long as possible. Meanwhile, others and our planet be damned.


Nuclear may enjoy a resurgence but both the costs and dangers are high:


Nuclear power: Energy for the future or relic of the past?

... factoring in the costs of construction, nuclear is far from the cheapest energy source available. In fact, in Europe it is more expensive than coal and gas, even when factoring in a price for carbon. It is also more expensive than onshore wind and, in many countries, solar, and the cost of these renewable energies is coming down fast...

... Environmentalists argue that given the risks and financial costs involved, investing in renewables is the more sensible option. They may just have a point.


All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
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The high-level waste generated over the 60-year lifespan of a typical plant can fit into an Olympic-sized swimming pool

And what do we do with that waste?

Here's my suggestion: Make this work.

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Life on earth is the global equivalent of not storing things in the fridge.

The high-level waste generated over the 60-year lifespan of a typical plant can fit into an Olympic-sized swimming pool

And what do we do with that waste?

Here's my suggestion: Make this work.

Thanks. Interesting idea to have the radiation bombard a target that then generates free electrons directly. Good for making an "atomic battery" (Terminator style?! ;-) ). However, I wonder how long the target can be made to last... And what is the conversion efficiency versus utilizing the heat... Or utilize both?...

In comparison, NASA has gone a long way with their highly efficient RTG-Stirling-Engine power sources:

Stirling radioisotope generator

Advanced Stirling radioisotope generator

Stirling in Deep Space


There are many ways yet, including fusion in various ways...

All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

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The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

From over on the Denial thread:

How to save our planet from costly waste...

... 3D Metal Printing. Rather Amazing.
The Golden Age of 3D Metal Printing: 75.8 % Growth.
http://3dprinting.com/materials/metal/

EOS has proven in the past that 3D printing of structural steel can reduce material consumption by 75% and CO2 emissions by 40%. 3D printing has, according to the firm, the potential to outperform any other traditional method of manufacturing structural steel in terms of sustainability, energy consumption, CO2 emissions, raw material efficiency, recycling, transportation of raw materials and manufactured goods, and many other dimensions.

That one is more for the SOLUTIONS thread... Will add comment, thanks.

Hopefully, the 3D-printing can pretty much eliminate the waste from machining and from underutilized/unneeded material. As an added bonus, you can get precision parts with aircraft-like strength-to-weight and all for low cost...


Good way to go!

A very interesting idea that should win out all round...

All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
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Tidal lagoon power to surge ahead...


World's first lagoon power plants unveiled in UK

Plans to generate electricity from the world's first series of tidal lagoons have been unveiled in the UK.

The six lagoons - four in Wales and one each in Somerset and Cumbria - will capture incoming and outgoing tides behind giant sea walls, and use the weight of the water to power turbines...

... The cost of generating power from the Swansea project will be very high, but the firm behind the plan says subsequent lagoons will be able to produce electricity much more cheaply. It says the series of six lagoons could generate 8% of the UK's electricity for an investment of £30bn...

... Tidal Lagoon Power is in negotiations with the government over how much it can charge for its power. It wants £168 per MWh for electricity in Swansea, reducing to £90-£95 per MWh from a second, more efficient lagoon in Cardiff.

The £90 figure compares favourably with the £92.50 price for power from the planned Hinkley nuclear station, especially as the lagoon is designed to last 120 years - at a much lower risk than nuclear...

... Turbines capture energy from two incoming and two outgoing tides a day, and are expected to be active for an average of 14 hours a day.

Mark Shorrock, CEO of Tidal Lagoon Power, told BBC News: "We have a wonderful opportunity to create energy from the dance between the moon and the earth.

"It is admittedly rather expensive to begin with but as time goes on and the capital costs are paid off it becomes incredibly cheap."...



All on our only one planet,
Martin

---

See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

Recycling is boring and tedious. But when it comes to metals it's important.
One example. Recycling of one beverage aluminum can which weighs about 18 grams can save enough energy to run a computer for 2 hours or a TV for 3 hours.