Media bias on climate coverage
Often the media, especially dear old Auntie Beeb, will go overboard trying to put both sides of an argument forward. But what about when the argument is between on one side, the collective and peer-reviewed opinion of the worlds foremost climate science researchers and on the other, the personal and un-tested opinion of climate skeptics such as Lord Lawson?
Should equal weight be given to these opposing views?
To do so may encourage less informed readers to reason there is genuine debate over the strength of claims regarding man-made climate change, when in fact to all but a few, the scientific argument was won years ago and has now moved onto to finding the best methods for mitigation.
A perfect example appeared in a recent Radio Times where Sir David Attenborough was interviewed in connection with the BBC series Frozen Planet which could not avoid touching upon the rapid climate changes occurring in the Arctic Circle. The magazine presumably felt obliged to include comment from Nigel Lawson to provide "balance". Unsurprisingly, Lord Lawson took the opportunity to spread some more F.U.D (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt).
Another classic example was the amount of press coverage David Bellamy received when he claimed the polar regions were actually expanding.. only to be revealed as a fraud by George Monbiot who investigated Bellamy's source material and found errors and mis-interpretations galore.
The media should collectively work much harder to test the opinions of contributors and make a distinction between:
- Fact. Categorically proved correct.
- Established Theory. Scientifically tested, rigorously peer reviewed and adopted by consensus
- Belief. Unproven and with little, if any, evidence
Perhaps then we can move on from the constant distractions and focus on tackling the real issue.
HM Gov in a mess over solar FITS
The Government has been dealt a major blow today after a High Court ruling that the 50% cuts in the solar PV feed in tariff were "legally flawed".
High Court judge Mr Justice Mitting said that Government attempts to push through cuts on projects registered before the end of the consultation period on the proposals amounted to a breach of consultation rules.
Denying the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) the immediate right to appeal, the judge said the court was also amenable to a judicial review of the consultation, which could force the government to start the consultation process again, delaying the cuts and throwing the programme into further chaos.
Perhaps the Government should consider increasing the FITS budget rather than pay the bonuses of greedy bankers?
Rogershill gains full planning approval
Our proposals for a mid-size wind turbine at Rogershill Farm in Bere Regis won unanimous support from the Planning Committee at Purbeck District Council in Dorset today.
After a full and frank discussion about all aspects of the scheme councilors decided to uphold the recommendation by planning officers to grant planning permission subject to a number of standard conditions.
Naturally we are delighted at this outcome and hope that construction can begin early in the New Year.
DG001 Rotor assembly and lift
Another milestone event today – the rotor assembly of our first turbine in Hampshire was lifted into place today.
The turbine is now all bolted together and ready for internal cabling to connected and powered up!
DG001 Tower and nacelle installed
Another milestone event today – the top tower section and nacelle of our first turbine in Hampshire were lifted into place today.
Thankfully the weather remained calm and everything went to plan.. even the sheep seemed impressed! Tomorrow should see the rotor being installed and internal cabling being connected before commissioning can start.
IPCC warns on more frequent and violent weather events
The risk from extreme weather events is likely to increase if the world continues to warm, say scientists.
A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said it was "very likely" that emissions had led to an increase in daily maximum temperatures.
It added that emissions had also led some regions experiencing longer and more intense droughts.
The details were outlined during a media briefing by the co-chairmen overseeing the compilation of two of the three segments of next IPCC assessment report.
The report also said that small island - as well as mountainous and coastal - settlements were likely to be particularly vulnerable as a result of sea-level rise and higher temperatures, in both developed and developing nations.
Scientists have warned of these effects for years, but Friday's report – the "special report on extreme weather" compiled over two years by 220 scientists – is the first comprehensive examination of scientific knowledge on the subject, in an attempt to produce a definitive judgment. The report contained stark warnings for developing countries in particular, which are likely to be worst afflicted in part because of their geography but also because they are less well prepared for extreme weather in their infrastructure and have less economic resilience than developed nations. But the developed world will not escape unscathed – heavier bursts of rainfall, heatwaves and droughts are all likely to take their toll.
Dieter Helm spouts more nonsense on BBC Panorama (UPDATED)
UPDATE: Action For Renewables have uploaded their "de-bunking" of Panorama here
In BBC1's Panorama last week (What's Fuelling Your Energy Bill?) enviro-skeptic Tom Heap painted the picture that the move to renewable energy sources is to blame for spiraling home energy fuel bills.
There is some truth here, even OFGEM figures support that renewable energy is adding to fuel bills. However the conventional wisdom (now accepted by all the worlds leading scientists) is that not only are fossil fuels damaging the environment, but that increasingly they are imported from political "hot zones" and may even be running out. Therefore, in the medium to long term, energy from conventional sources is set to rise at a much faster pace - eventually making renewable energy prices competitive and perhaps even cheap.
Only this year the International Energy Agency admitted, after years of denial, that peak oil has probably already occurred and therefore it is hard to understand how, as predicted by Mr Helm that oil and gas prices are set to fall. Indeed Mr Helm provided no evidence for this brave assertion nor was he cross examined by the presenter.
Worse still is that in a recent article for the Guardian Mr Helm claimed:
There is enough oil and gas (and coal too) to fry the planet several times over. The problem is there may be too much fossil fuel, not too little, and that fossil fuel prices might be too low, not too high.
The truth is, that with record high prices anyone with large gas and oil reserves will be pumping as fast as they possibly can. Aside from environmentally disastrous shale oil there have been no "mega fields" discovered since the 1950's and 60's. Even if this wasn't the case - just look at where the oil and gas is being exported from. Should the UK be beholden to the likes of Russia and Suadi Arabia?
So the rather biased message in Panorama was this - renewable energy is pushing up your fuel bills while we should be "dashing for gas" because some (un-named) miracle is about to return gas prices to much lower levels.
DG001 Foundation concrete poured
Another milestone event today – foundation concrete pour for our first turbine in Hampshire! After the base section was lifted into place the previous week, a steel rebar frame was constructed to reinforce the concrete. Approximately 20 loads were required to complete the 100 cubic metre foundation.
George Osbourne
This week in The Independent there are reports of a major split opening up in the Coalition Government between the Chancellor, George Osbourne and the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Chris Huhne.
The Chancellor has said that he does not want the UK to "lead the way" in its efforts to reduce carbon emissions stating that, to do so would somehow put the UK at a disadvantage within the EU. A growing faction within the Tory party seem to think that green policies will damage the "economic recovery".
In a recent speech Chris Huhne has indirectly attacked the Chancellor saying:
"We are not going to save our economy by turning our back on renewable energy."
So, is this a return to the good old Thatcherite days of tax cuts for the ultra rich while the rest of the country burns? Possibly, yes. At this stage it looks like it is down to the Lib Dems to keep things on track. Chris Huhne may not be able to save the planet, but hopefully he can prevent the Tories from destroying the UK.
Europe is floundering amid economic and political turmoil and now is the opportunity for the UK to plant the seeds of the next major economic boom - The Climate Revolution.
Just as the Industrial and more recently the Information Technology revolution did, this new era will see massive opportunities for those nations that set the right environment for businesses to evolve and thrive. Lets get this straight... paying lip service by tweaking a tax here and there will not cut it. We need green policies that go well beyond those we have now to create the environment in which large scale renewable energy rollout can happen, such as automatic permitted development rights for all small to medium scale renewable generation and a much simpler planning process for mid to large scale.
Climate Change is one of most important issues facing humanity in the next 50 years and according to the United Nations, the sooner we address it the cheaper it will be. Not only will reducing carbon emissions sooner save money in mitigating climate change, but those who do will lead the way in developing and owning the new technologies that result.
The answer is amazingly clear - rather than dump billions of pounds of tax payers money into quantitative easing (which has not and is not really working) spend it investing in green technology and fund the schemes that result in inward and foreign investment into the UK. In sorting out our own house.... we'll have developed the tools to sell others.
By way of a concrete example, Denmark was one of the first European countries to roll out government grants for wind energy. Is it any surprise that the worlds biggest wind turbine manufacturer, Vestas is Danish? In 2010 Vestas turnover was nearly €7bn.
The UK will either be on the train or run over by it. George Osbourne's paymasters will not care one way or the other, but you might.
"Clean Coal" plant cancelled
Plans for the UKs first "Clean Coal" plant have been cancelled amid spiraling cost projections from the consortium of Scottish Power, Shell and National Grid who now think £1.5bn of public funding is required.
Even using the roughest estimate of £3m per turbine that would would pay for around 500 offshore turbines.
The Government are continuing to back this horse despite it losing yet another leg.
No new coal file plants should be built UNTIL carbon capture has been tested and deployed at full scale.