A basic survival plan - by Richard... Tuesday, May 18, 2010

A basic survival plan - by Richard... Tuesday, May 18, 2010

This was the scene (above) recorded at Heathrow yesterday by Reuters' photographer Adnan Hajj, shortly after it was announced that ash tolerances were to be relaxed once again.

Well, the bit about the ash tolerances is real – and I can't help but think that this is the wrong way to go. The better way surely has to be better to define the affected areas, using real observational data rather than relying on the Met Office model. There is just a whiff here of convenience here.

Neither is this an academic issue, as things could be about to get a whole lot worse. The Icelandic Met office has indicated that a small earthquake has occurred at the Katla location and, although a single earthquake is not a precursor of an eminent eruption, it could be the first "sigh" of the awakening powerful giant.

Historically – as most readers will now know - Katla invariably erupts after the eruption of its close neighbour on the Eyjafjallajokull, which first erupted on 14 April 2010 and is ongoing. Magma channels beneath the two volcanoes are thought to be interconnected. 

A Katla eruption would likely be about ten times as powerful as the Eyjafjallajokull eruption and could cause worldwide disruption while expelling huge volumes of volcanic ash into the stratosphere. This could circle the globe potentially for years, depending upon the magnitude of the eruption, causing climatic upset and serious economic loss.

We could even be looking at another year without a summer (certainly within the next two years), which could make our current economic problems relatively insignificant by comparison.

The only consolation – and it will be a poor one at that – is that such an event would drive into oblivion the ranks of the warmists who, even to this day are still pursuing their creed, tedious and entirely unconvincing though it is. The downside is that, having been looking for so long in the wrong direction, many politicians and even whole nations will be ill-equipped for a period of significant cooling.

Given the possibility also of a collapse in the euro – which at one time was thought fanciful and is now thought increasingly likely by serious commentators – one need not be alarmist to reflect the sentiment of this blog and ask whether have you started your food storage plan.

Basic survival preparedness is a personal responsibility that was simply a way of life for our ancestors, it says. Let's not forget how.

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Spelling it out - by Richard... Monday, May 17, 2010

Uwe Parpart, chief Asia strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald, warned that on its present trajectory the euro will "lurch toward parity with the US dollar and through it before year-end, then disintegrate." He adds: "EU politicos are unwilling and unable to face the urgent need for across-the-board fiscal consolidation. The market sees that and reacts."

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If anyone wants to know ... - by Richard...

... why an increasing number of white folk in this district are voting for the BNP, all they need to do is look at today's headline in the local paper. White, English speaking parents are being forced to send their kids to schools where they are the minority, and English is a second language.

It is not racist to want to send your kids to school, where they can be taught the same language as their parents, where they can learn the same values and the same religion. It is not racist to want some of the kids to be the same colour as your own kids, to have something in common with them and to have the same background.

But in many parts of multicultural Bradford – as elsewhere – Mr & Mrs Whitey are strangers in their own land, their children second-class citizens, and their language a foreign tongue. Yet, when Mr Council Official wants to cut down his rate of Council Tax arrears, he does not come a calling in the areas where English is never heard. He comes calling on Mr & Mrs Whitey.

And when Mr & Mrs Whitey want something from the Council, well ... forget it. Mr Nice Council Official doesn't do service in white areas. But, before very much longer, Mr & Mrs Whitey aren't going to be so nice and patient. We have had enough.

I just thought you would like to know that.

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Trouble in the wind - by Richard...

Away from the likes of Chris Huhne and his mad vision of a land covered with wind turbines, the real world is beginning to intrude. 

According to the independent business intelligence service Wind Energy Update, wind turbine operation and maintenance (O&M) costs are increasing sharply, rising to two or three times more than first projected and causing a 21 percent decrease in returns on investments.

O&M costs were found to be especially high in the United States, now the world's largest wind power market, but the even the average world costs are coming out at 27 US cents per kilowatt hour, compared with the 20 cents earned in the US through production credits. 

The report says that while close to 80 percent of the world's wind turbines are still under warranty, "this is about to change." R&D is focusing especially on gearbox reliability. Many gearboxes, designed for a 20-year life, are failing after six to eight years of operation, the report finds.

The bizarre thing is that, while Huhne is so insistent that nuclear should not be given any subsidy, even with the massive subsidy it already gets, wind cannot be made to pay. And yet, in the economics of the madhouse which characterises British energy policy, it is wind which is set to inherit the earth.

There must be a special kind of madness that inflicts politicians – clearly, their brains are not wired the same as in normal human beings.

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