Not As Environmentally Friendly As Promised

Floyd1 said:
Buck house has/is having a lot spent on it I believe.
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Yeah but IIRC that is to address years of lack of improvements and modernising.
Her Maj pretty much only used a handful of rooms when she stayed there.
Mostly it's simple stuff like wiring, plumbing and glazing that they're sorting out.
After all, Buck Pal was originally built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham, with the 3 wings added in the 1800s and early 1900s at the front, and the whole building has 775 rooms, including 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices, 78 bathrooms, 52 principal bedrooms and 19 state rooms. It also has a post office, cinema, swimming pool, doctor's surgery, and jeweller's workshop. (The Royal family occupy a small suite of private rooms in the north wing).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckingham_Palace
 
Victory said:
I wanted to post this in the "Petrolhead" thread but I couldn't find it.

In modern parlance, "Wavy" is a term of endearment or appreciation.

But these wavy kerbs just off Islington High Street (London) are insane.

Supposedly to slow cars, they play right into the hands of accidents.

Because so many pedestrians walk along looking at their phones, and are bound to fall off these kerbs or walk into the path of oncoming traffic - cars and bikes alike.

View attachment 64846

https://metro.co.uk/2023/03/27/wavy...ad-to-slow-cars-and-promote-cycling-18508232/
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I went to have a look at this yesterday. The curvy section is about 40’ long & must be going to be one-way - it’s too narrow for 2 cars to pass. It’s in a swishy part of Islington - Camden Passage - with Georgian houses just down the road. Boris Johnson lived round the corner for a while. I think the pavement will be widened, taking some space from the previous road.

Councils can’t win with this sort of thing. Do nothing & it continues to be used as a cut-through. Perhaps drivers were going too fast down it previously, I don’t know. Do something about it & drivers & the daily mail won’t like it. Whatever is done/not done is going to be unpopular with someone.. They seem to have gone with the majority decision, slim though it was.

I suppose a cheaper option would’ve been just to put some vicious speed bumps on it.

My own area had a consultation a few years back about a traffic scheme including nearby roads which would’ve made it much more difficult to get in my road - entry from one road only instead of the existing several. I voted against it as did the majority, again a slim one - some were in favour - & the scheme was abandoned. One Sunday a month during summer the road at my end is closed to traffic & becomes a playspace for local children. Again there was a postal consultation for residents to vote for/against. You’d have to be a bit of a grouch to oppose it.
 
hunck said:
must be going to be one-way
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Yes it is. But cyclists will have a two-way section with cycling against the flow of flow of traffic through the area of the road.
Seems like an accident waiting to happen.

Still, won't be much of an issue after August when the ULEZ is expanded to cover most of London and the majority of the general public won't be able to afford to drive.
It won't be long until the roads in London will be like those in Russia during the 'cold war' - huge sections that you could only drive on if you were politicians or military. I think they still have 'rezervniye polosy' (aka 'Zil lanes')in Moscow for politicians.
Such as in this picture.
(The white lined lane down the middle of the road - image by By Lite - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3571793)
1680442427921.png
 
In the local co-op and listening to their spiel about `environmentally friendly palm oil`

Is there such a thing?

Do we even need palm oil?
 
Kondoru said:
In the local co-op and listening to their spiel about `environmentally friendly palm oil`

Is there such a thing?

Do we even need palm oil?
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No and no.
 
hunck said:
I went to have a look at this yesterday. The curvy section is about 40’ long & must be going to be one-way - it’s too narrow for 2 cars to pass. It’s in a swishy part of Islington - Camden Passage - with Georgian houses just down the road. Boris Johnson lived round the corner for a while. I think the pavement will be widened, taking some space from the previous road.

Councils can’t win with this sort of thing. Do nothing & it continues to be used as a cut-through. Perhaps drivers were going too fast down it previously, I don’t know. Do something about it & drivers & the daily mail won’t like it. Whatever is done/not done is going to be unpopular with someone.. They seem to have gone with the majority decision, slim though it was.

I suppose a cheaper option would’ve been just to put some vicious speed bumps on it.

My own area had a consultation a few years back about a traffic scheme including nearby roads which would’ve made it much more difficult to get in my road - entry from one road only instead of the existing several. I voted against it as did the majority, again a slim one - some were in favour - & the scheme was abandoned. One Sunday a month during summer the road at my end is closed to traffic & becomes a playspace for local children. Again there was a postal consultation for residents to vote for/against. You’d have to be a bit of a grouch to oppose it.
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I know Camden Passage (and Islington) fairly well.

Having worked there, not so long ago, it was not busy with cars.

In fact the council seem to have done a massive job of blocking off many road to the East of Islington High Street and to the North of City Road.
As has also been done to the cut throughs from Barnsbury through Haggerston to Hoxton and Dalston.

This just looks like a mindless war on cars.

My opinion is different. The play scheme on a Sunday might be nice in the occasional cul de sac, but otherwise it is an annoyance to drivers when a safer option is to build more parks or even just small enclosed play areas.
 
Victory said:
I know Camden Passage (and Islington) fairly well.

Having worked there, not so long ago, it was not busy with cars.
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I know Camden Passage pretty well too, as I always went there when visiting the Business Design Centre.
I have never seen lots of cars going through there as it is very narrow and there are people walking about everywhere. There has never been any fast-moving traffic.

I think there has been a bit of confusion, though - the road that is the subject of discussion is in fact NOT Camden Passage, it's a road adjacent to it called Charlton Place. What may have led to this confusion is that there is a sign that says 'Camden Passage Antiques Market'.
Very misleading. You can see it in this Streetview:
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.535...4!1sfJKHW6GqqrPc9m0AttgC3g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
 
Mythopoeika said:
I know Camden Passage pretty well too, as I always went there when visiting the Business Design Centre.
I have never seen lots of cars going through there as it is very narrow and there are people walking about everywhere. There has never been any fast-moving traffic.

I think there has been a bit of confusion, though - the road that is the subject of discussion is in fact NOT Camden Passage, it's a road adjacent to it called Charlton Place. What may have led to this confusion is that there is a sign that says 'Camden Passage Antiques Market'.
Very misleading. You can see it in this Streetview:
https://www.google.com/maps/@51.535...4!1sfJKHW6GqqrPc9m0AttgC3g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
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I know Charlton Place isn’t Camden Passage - it bisects it. Only a tiny part of Camden Passage itself is open to vehicles. The great majority of it is pedestrian only & has been for donkey’s years - maybe forever - so it’s not surprising you never saw lots of cars going through there.
 
hunck said:
I know Charlton Place isn’t Camden Passage - it bisects it. Only a tiny part of Camden Passage itself is open to vehicles. The great majority of it is pedestrian only & has been for donkey’s years - maybe forever - so it’s not surprising you never saw lots of cars going through there.
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Charlton Place, Duncan Terrace, Colebrooke Row.

Very nice quiet Victorian residential roads, with a relaxing garden where I used to sit on my lunch break, and access to the canal.

Hardly exhaust filled rat runs.

It's just part of the war on cars. Simple as.
 
This is possibly one of the most 'missing the point' articles I've ever read.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/busines...ars-to-trigger-price-war-among-manufacturers/

Key point - 83% will not buy an electric car. Sales of ICE cars are falling. I applied this comment:

"Why would anyone buy a new car with all the uncertainties of Net Zero regulations? I'll keep driving my 2002 Saab 93 which has a high safety rating, is high spec, and is clean enough for ULEZ zero charge - if you can find a low mileage one buy it now. Mines not. it's currently on nearly 150,000 miles. I have a spare one in reserve if needed.

Cared for they are good for 200,000 miles plus.

And they last 4 times as long as the average battery car, so saving on all the planet destruction of constantly building new things and having to recycle them, often at a higher level of environmental damage than the entire lifetime usage of the vehicle."

There is some sort of insanity overtaking our ruling classes where there is no true understanding of actual environmental costs. The obsession with CO2 - an essential gas vital to the life of the planet and currently at record lows in geological timescales and who's shortfall may be the cause of the ever-expanding deserts - has utterly blinded them to all other sorts of environmental damage. Maybe they are all on drugs.

I know I'm not the only sane one left - I know many people who are just left scratching there head in puzzlement at what is going on. People who themselves are graduates, have doctorates, run highly successful businesses but are unable to make their voices heard above the omniculture.
 
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Slightly at a tangent (as ever) but isn't the breathing response triggered by CO2 levels? In other words if the CO2 level is too low the automatic process of taking a breath doesn't happen and you either have to consciously breathe in and out or fall over.
 
Cochise said:
There is some sort of insanity overtaking our ruling classes where there is no true understanding of actual environmental costs. The obsession with CO2 - an essential gas vital to the life of the planet and currently at record lows in geological timescales and who's shortfall may be the cause of the ever-expanding deserts - has utterly blinded them to all other sorts of environmental damage. Maybe they are all on drugs.

I know I'm not the only sane one left - I know many people who are just left scratching there head in puzzlement at what is going on. People who themselves are graduates, have doctorates, run highly successful businesses but are unable to make their voices heard above the omniculture.
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I think the key problem here is that our 'ruling classes' aren't mentally equipped to interpret the science and make the right decisions.
In short, very few of them have a scientific or practical background.
What this country really needs is for the establishment of a general investigation to audit these flawed ideas. Rope in the finest minds in the land (i.e., NOT climate scientists) to lead the investigation. It needs to have a fast turnaround and not take years to produce a decision.
 
The 'eco homes' plan so absurd locals thought it was an APRIL FOOL joke! Developers want to tear down 70 trees to create an 'urban oasis' in historic woodland in famous Cadbury's village
Ria, who has lived in the area for 20 years, said: 'The area is already a perfect eco environment.
'We see foxes sunbathing on our garden and squirrels visit everyday – we've even seen harrier hawks visit our garden. How can anyone think that destroying all this natural beauty is eco-friendly?'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-yard-Plan-cut-70-trees-Bournville-woods.html
 
54% price rise means GeniePoint's electric chargers are now twice as expensive than petrol and diesel

The cost of charging an electric car at a charge point owned by GeniePoint rose by up to 54% as of 11:00am today (14 April).

GeniePoint is the fourth-largest provider of rapid charge points in the UK, with 8.5% of all rapid chargers.

The new rates make it up to seven times more expensive than charging at home, or over twice as expensive per mile compared to the same sized petrol or diesel car (fuel costs only).

https://www.which.co.uk/news/articl...ectric-car-charging-prices-by-54-alA475m2YA3e

maximus otter
 
Once we reach the point that everyone has EVs (doubt it'll ever happen TBH but that's their plan) there wont be the competition between suppliers that we currently have with fossil fuels (not that that seems to have much effect other than price cartels, but hey-ho).
So everyone will get their EVs charged at whatever rate is deemed chargeable by the centralised supplier (generating company) and all the talk of 'solar' and 'wind' power being cheap and 'green' will be little more than words. You pay to charge , or don't drive anywhere.
They'll all be obsolete anyway as soon as we all get our flying cars.
 
Trevp666 said:
Once we reach the point that everyone has EVs (doubt it'll ever happen TBH but that's their plan) there wont be the competition between suppliers that we currently have with fossil fuels (not that that seems to have much effect other than price cartels, but hey-ho).
So everyone will get their EVs charged at whatever rate is deemed chargeable by the centralised supplier (generating company) and all the talk of 'solar' and 'wind' power being cheap and 'green' will be little more than words. You pay to charge , or don't drive anywhere.
They'll all be obsolete anyway as soon as we all get our flying cars.
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I agree that it is their plan to have us all purchase EVs, and doubt that this will happen in the near future.
I believe it is more than a year ago that our local huge mall installed electrical 'charging stations' for people's vehicles.
And I have yet to see anyone using them, which is not to say that they aren't being used at other times, they may very well be.
But it would seem that we are being led in that direction, definitely.
 
A farmer jailed for one year for dredging a river to prevent flooding.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/environ...d-dredging-stretch-river-stop-homes-flooding/

I'm sure there are subtleties to this story around the effect of nature on the site, but the Environment agency could/should surely have been able to do something that had less harmful impact than the action Mr Price. Judging by the pollution in some rivers he was probably taking quite a risk going near the river, but those dumping all that muck don't get sent to prison.
 
Tunn11 said:
A farmer jailed for one year for dredging a river to prevent flooding.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/environ...d-dredging-stretch-river-stop-homes-flooding/

I'm sure there are subtleties to this story around the effect of nature on the site, but the Environment agency could/should surely have been able to do something that had less harmful impact than the action Mr Price. Judging by the pollution in some rivers he was probably taking quite a risk going near the river, but those dumping all that muck don't get sent to prison.
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It's all the fault of whichever agency is supposed to dredge the waterways.
For some years now, they've simply given up doing this.
The farmer was being a local hero.
 
Mythopoeika said:
Hmmm, yeah - that does look a bit denuded. Maybe he should have left the trees.
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But maybe if the proper agency had done it they could have dredged the river without so much harm to the surroundings? If the houses were old then I'd guess the river didn't use to flood and if they are new, what idiot built them there?
 

Net zero fuel failure triggers train chaos across South West​


Trains forced to run reduced timetable as algae produced by green fuels blocks engines

South Western Railway has been forced to run a reduced timetable after biofuels used to cut carbon emissions clogged up train engines’ fuel filters.

Many diesel-powered trains have been run on biofuels as part of a push towards net zero in recent years.

Biodiesel is a renewable, biodegradable fuel manufactured domestically from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant grease.

But it is understood that engines were blocked by algae, which forms “organic growths” in train fuel tanks. The algae forms if biofuel sits unused for a period of time and is not treated with chemical additives.

Paywalled here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/busines...uel-failure-triggers-chaos-across-south-west/

- but quoted here: https://www.timworstall.com/2023/04/efuels-it-is-then-bugger-the-biofuels/

maximus otter
 
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