Thanks to Hugo Rojas and The Pulse Online for the headline
Oh joy, I can feel the tiny threads of fibre glass impregnating my soul and causing eternal pain. The good news is that they are now making Wind Turbine Blades out of more recyclable materials , so that should stop them having to put the out of life Wind Turbine Blades in landfill or for them to be a component in recycled cement. How much more cement do we need?
In the meantime cutting them up into three pieces on site and nesting the smaller girth pieces inside the larger girth pieces and putting them in landfill is the only way to dispose of them. Each blade takes the space of about three cement mixer trucks.
The science of landfill is that everything on a tip works by crushing, compacting or shredding whatever arrives, however a cured composite cannot be unmade . So landfill it is.
An alternative use for the redundant turbine blades are to crush them into it’s components which are 75% silica and can be used to make cement and the rest of the material can be burnt for heat.
Another option is to make small sturdy pedestrian bridges out of the turbines. (Frankly I’m feeling very dusty and gritty now)
So there you have it the afterlife of a wind turbine. And if anyone has cared to cost those options and add it to the energy generated by wind-power and the cost of maintenance and disposal then I think this must be considered when looking at the benefits of wind power.
Perhaps I’m being morbid, but I think the prompt is really being polite, what it really wants to ask is what message would you write on your grave stone? I probably won’t be able to afford one never mind get it engraved.
If I was unlucky enough to be in one of those graveyards where Council’s are laying grave stones flat as they are loose or unsteady and therefore a health and safety risk then this is the message I would hope to say.
“Please Leave No Stone Unturned.”
Whether I was dead or alive it would seem appropriate.
Thanks to Al Jazeera Staff and Al Jazeera Online for the Headline
There are recurring outbreaks of diseases like Cholera and Diptheria in Yemen. Over 50% of the medical centres that were set up, are now non- functioning due to years of conflict, lack of funding and the collapse of the Yemen Health Care System.
The only option for people who cannot afford treatment abroad is to turn to alternative traditional medicine. Frankly , this will not work, it didn’t work in medieval times and it won’t work now. Alternative medicine is an aid not a treatment.
Why have we invested money both from the Public, Private and Charitable Sectors and we still can’t fund access to Health Care all over the World? Why will a child catch diptheria because he/she is not innoculated, how can a woman who is pregnant not be diagnosed with anemia. We have the knowledge but not the will.
The situation is complicated by the fact that these alternative medicines come from practitioners who link their services to belief mechanisms and the historical dissemination of training and information in herbalism. The reality now is that it also comes down to accessibility and cost for the population.
Thanks to Mark Rowe and the Geographical for the Headline.
I can approach this story as the men of Ness have not been given the License to sail to Sula Sgeir and do what their forefathers have done for centuries and kill the guga chicks to eat.
Nowadays they don’t eat them they send them to far off places in jars as a delicacy, for those who miss their homeland. The likelihood of these absent connoisseurs being able to sail a boat in those dangerous waters and spend two weeks “processing” the guga chicks is unlikely, they will eat the contents of the jar even though it is an acquired taste. In their far off lands, with fork in hand they reminisce about the “tradition”.
However, with the onset of bird flu Gannet breeding has not been doing so well , neither have other species who live on the Island who are affected by the commotion associated with the hunt. So Nature Scotland has declined to give them the license this year.
So the bludgeoning and burning, well documented in two films made about the “Hunt” which is by no means a “Hunt”.
The hunters themselves are upset as been classed as “baby killers”. Are they all men? Do women go on this fortnightly expedition? Is it just an opportunity to live wild and show off their prowess at sailing. Surely , the reason is not to kill a young bird that can hardly waddle.
I couldn’t have written about this story if it hadn’t been banned this year.Why can’t the men of Ness go around Britain sailing and take up the very dangerous Oxfordshire Sport of Aunt Sally. I hope this slaughter of baby birds is stopped permanently.
Keep the films and the photographs as memories of a past best forgotten.
Thanks to Awogbemila Temitope and Business Insider Africa Online for the Headline
In 2009, Muammar Gaddafi denounced the UN Security Council as a “Terror Council” mainly for reasons that are well documented in history and have to do with the Veto use of the five Permanent Members China , France , Russia , The United States and The United Kingdom. He tore up their charter in front of them.
Now backed by Japan , Libya is looking to become one of the ten non-permanent members of the UN Security Council. Surely this is a very positive step, although I think it has been proven by time that the Permanent Members should have their Veto removed. It makes no sense now, it can only be used to protect their self interest, which was probably Gaddafi’s point.
Japan and Libya are working jointly on Economic and Diplomatic ventures , with the possibility of the reopening of the “consular section” of the Japanese Embassy in Tripoli, which would give Libyan’s access to visas to visit Japan.
Small steps but important ones to rebuild Libya and also to enhance International Relations.
A pilot scheme is being introduced in Wiltshire to identify with CCTV number plates of cars that should not be parking directly outside school premises at dropping off and pick up times.
I think this is a very good idea, as I’ve seen irresponsible parents leaving their diesel engines running, while they run into the school premises and collect Johnny or Jackie. I’ve seen parents line up in their cars waiting for their children and causing traffic chaos , all because they don’t want their children to have to walk to the free car park ten minutes away.
Monitoring their behaviour is the only way it will improve. Parents and Grandparents with cars think they have a Responsibility Driven Right to speed, park incorrectly and basically give the middle finger to every other road user who gets in the way of picking up their progeny in a very tight window of convenience( for them). Never mind the poor School Buses who have to negotiate their erratic driving.
Only cars with a real need, Blue Badge Holders etc will be able to park directly outside the school at dropping off and up times. I wish them well with the Pilot Scheme and am pretty sure they will introduce it across Wiltshire and Nationally , it’s probably the only way to rein in the errant “picker uppers”.
Thanks to Allister Heath Editor of The Sunday Telegraph for the Headline ( thanks to the Telegraph for letting me read the whole article for free)
In truth I haven’t heard of Rupert Lowe and haven’t paid much attention to the “soundbite” parties of Reform and Restore. I’m grateful to Allister Heath for standing up against them and pointing out their ridiculous theories of Britishness or is it Englishness?
History shows that a bit like Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest , that increasing the gene pool both of genetic material and ideas is beneficial to Society, all Societies. Ignorance and isolation tends to be catastrophic.
I’m grateful for Allister highlighting the danger of extremist ideas entering mainstream politics. Having had an accusatory experience with one of these “nutters” in of all places Tintagel in Cornwall while helping him with the Car Parking Machine. I really know there is nothing you can say to them, I mean because I helped him and asked him was he enjoying his holiday. I was being polite and terribly British ( which is funny as I have an Irish Passport). He was staying in a hotel of like minded believers somewhere in the County. ( I didn’t ask) I went to head off and he started a tirade of trying to convert me to his way of thinking.
I said sorry mate” I’m on holiday and I don’t talk politics. Enjoy yourself.” And then he started,”
“You people you don’t want to listen!”. He followed me for a short way down the road.
I don’t know whether he was Reform or Restore but I think it’s more accurate to say that they don’t want to listen and they are extremely foolish and ignorant people, who just want to go on and on. Most people see through them. They make more noise than sense.