Dear readers, this is ok, in fact it's better than ok it is a good way to play the system...
I can't help but agree that this is a really clever bit of banter from a good friend who used to work in City Hall:
... the PINK paper votes for the Mayor. Now whatever your leanings in the Ken vs. Boris debate, listen up. You have a 1st and 2nd choice. If your 1st choice doesn't get at least 50% of the votes, or isn't in the top two, your 2nd choice counts AS A FULL VOTE. What this means is, if so inclined, you can have your Ken vs. Boris battle purely in the 2nd column (as it will, obviously, come down to a head-to-head between the two of them in the end). This frees up your 1st column to help get some more lovely Greens onto the Assembly (determined by a very complex set of mathematical rules - don't ask, I've looked them up) as well as give a moral boost (as there's not a snowball's chance in the Gulf she's getting anywhere near the top two) to the Green lass - Sian Berry.
I'll try and put this into a digestible prose, I mean who would really want to sit back and consider the infrastructure of energy for fun, but take it too seriously and the terminology simply alienates most of the population either by inducing instant insomnia cures or by getting overtly techie on our flash-topic appetites... so what's the point of discussing infrastructure unless there is a personal, business or community benefit which people can relate to, topics like this sail to the pages of industry magazines which sit on office coffee tables and boost a few peoples recycling volume... the point is technology, in the words or Dubwya, is actually starting to provide some of the most promising opportunities for new energy we have ever seen - and I'm not talking about new ways to generate energy either - Energy Storage is becoming more and more feasible every year.
Energy storage can mean so many things, so I'm going to focus in on one particular technology, flow-batteries. Flow-batteries are like rechargeable batteries but the chemical systems are different. As such the ones using a particular type of chemical solution called vanadium do not degrade in the manner a rechargeable battery you are used to would, so they can last for decades.
So what's with the headline? Well we use energy storage already in a number of ways, for example we pump water to the top of reservoirs to store water with potential energy to be released when it is needed most, but we have yet to develop a technology which is suitable for the end user to embrace, control and ultimately determine competition - we now have one, this means you can store energy at home, at the office or as part of any community infrastructure.
The fundamental change, the new energy infrastructure era stuff is that: We now have the ability to store energy efficiently rather than having to store fuel.
This concept is the concept you should take away with you, the rest of it is side-dressing.
So what are the implications? If you can store energy then you can choose your energy source. This means you can choose renewables, local generation, off-peak electricity, whatever is most suitable to yourself, your business or your community, and then you can store this energy to be used as and when you want it - same as a battery allows you to use portable devices. Hence the increased competition, your choice, they compete.
The more you consider this, the more you should realise that this allows us to re-balance the energy market by making those who generate energy become truly competitive, you don't have to use any particular supplier because you can choose to store what you want, when you want, from whom you want.
What else? Well suppose you are considering the possibility of installing your own form of generation, be it at a home, business or community scale, using renewables or otherwise, you are going to be interested in not just providing enough for your use, but also how you can make some money on your investment from the excess by exporting to the grid. Difficulty is that it's not technical safe to have hundreds or thousands of individuals providing intermittent energy input into the national grid, and to become a generator you need to understand the legal and technical issues which arise. These resources can be pooled, storage systems can be used to balance any input, and release it as required to users directly or to the national grid. The management of the intermittent and small scale generation can be undertaken by the storage operator who can also provide the complimentary services and resources required.
The extent to which storage can be integrated into our infrastructure is quite remarkable. Storage can be used at many scales to address many issues. Peak-levelling is where large generators store during low demand periods to supply during peak demand periods, reducing the generating management and fluctuations. Large, intermittent renewables, such as wind farms can become stable sources of energy through a storage system. Local generators can benefit from not only these issues, but they can become reliable contributors who do not complicate balancing and settlement arrangements. Individuals can store energy at home, using cheaper energy supplied by any source they choose, and they can use it to re-fuel electric vehicles, for example (see re-fuel link below). But perhaps most important by taking an active interest in energy use, businesses and private users will start to manage their consumption.
This probably sounds a little to idealistic, but if we take a stock check of the existing systems at use today we can see the following already exist around the globe:
• Large wind-farm storage
• Main generator peak-levelling
• UPS systems which reduce peak demand costs by not only providing back up by but contributing during daily use
• Electric 'recharge' stations (instead of petrol pumps)
• Remote battery systems for military operations
The only point to make now is, that the market is immature, in terms of appreciation and understanding, supply of the technology, understanding the risks and the difficulties, and for the time being the future is a matter of economies of scale and the interest users have in becoming storers.
Here are two links, one to a manufacturer, the other a systems installer. Look out for market opportunities, there are plenty....!
I have copied here none of the data, but simply descriptions of what it is they are trying to keep an eye on; hopefully a quick read will give you food for thought rather than stuff more numbers, stats and targets in your face (except the PV stuff which I thought might offer an insight into the ways and means the worlds first green billionaire pocketed his fortune http://blogs.physicstoday.org/ar_power_b.html )!
Eco-Economy Indicators:
1. POPULATION - When assessing the adequacy of basic resources such as land or water over time, population is the universal denominator: as population expands, per capita availability shrinks.
2. ECONOMIC GROWTH - Given the way the world now does business, economic growth is a measure of the mounting pressure on the environment.
3. FISH CATCH & AQUACULTURE - The world fish catch is a measure of the productivity and health of the oceanic ecosystem that covers 70 percent of the earth's surface. The extent to which world demand for seafood is outrunning the sustainable yield of fisheries can be seen in shrinking fish stocks, declining catches, and collapsing fisheries.
4. FOREST COVER - A healthy planet needs healthy forests. Thriving forests regulate the water cycle and stabilize soils. Forests also help moderate climate by soaking up and storing carbon dioxide. In addition to these ecosystem services, forests provide habitat for diverse flora and fauna, offer cultural, spiritual, and recreational opportunities, and provide a variety of food, medicines, and wood. Forest cover is one of the best single indicators of changing land use.
5. CARBON EMISSIONS - They track carbon emissions because as the concentration of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere rises, so too does the earth's temperature.
6. FOOD & AGRICULTURE (GRAIN) - Grain production is the best indicator of the adequacy of the food supply. On average, in western diets, half the calories we consume come directly from grain and a large part of the remainder come from the indirect consumption of grain in the form of meat, milk, eggs, and farmed fish.
7. WATER RESOURCES - Water resources are an indicator because water scarcity may be the most underrated resource issue the world is facing today.
8. TEMPERATURE & CLIMATE - Taking the earth's temperature tells us about the relative health of the planet.
9. ICE MELT - Ice melting is one of the most visible indicators of climate change.
10. WIND ENERGY - Wind electric generating capacity is an indicator because wind is poised to become the foundation of the new energy economy.
11. BICYCLES & TRANSPORTATION - Bicycle production is included because it measures our ability to provide affordable transportation, reduce traffic congestion, lower air pollution, increase mobility, and provide exercise to the world’s growing population.
(Listeners to BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme were invited to vote in an online poll in 2005, looking at the most significant innovations since 1800. It was an easy victory for the bicycle which won more than half of the vote. The transistor came second with 8% of the vote, and the electro-magnetic induction ring - the means to harness electricity - came third.*)
12. SOLAR ENERGY - Production of photovoltaics (PV) jumped to 3,800 megawatts worldwide in 2007, up an estimated 50 percent over 2006. At the end of the year, according to preliminary data, cumulative global production stood at 12,400 megawatts. Growing by an impressive average of 48 percent each year since 2002, PV production has been doubling every two years, making it the world’s fastest-growing energy source.
Alongside the positive health, pollution and resource use issues that a bicycle can stake a claim for, the nominee of the winning technology including the comments below, which I would say go hand in hand, as transport limitations have been opened out for all types of persons, all over the world, in an affordable manner since the bicycle became popular:
"Perhaps the bicycle's most important legacy is its effect upon some women's emancipation. In the 1890s, women some women found they could cast off their impractical and uncomfortable clothing in favour of pantaloons. Outraged men claimed that the bicycle would allow women to travel beyond their usual geographical limits and away from the surveillance of their men folk.
Today, over one billion people in the world use bicycles and the bicycle is the principal means of transportation in many parts of the world." http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/yoinz_wolff.shtml
ps. Why this was such a source of conversational excitement I can only wonder, but a young female friend of mine has been exhorting bicycle use to all her friends, well not exactly for her friends to partake in, but more for their partners and the associated side effects... something to do with improved core strength, fitness, stamina, vitality, enthusiasm, her list went on until she faded off with a slightly glazed look in her eyes... and I always just thought it was a great way to unwind rather than stress out on a tube/train home, this for some reason was a less interesting point to consider, apparently... ;) AD
JUNK MAIL ANYONE? A bag of prewrapped, laminated, visual diarrhoea through your letter box each morning? Anyway, you never know one day there may be something useful, and then you'll be pleased you can not only increase your recycling rates each week but scan for the ever promising piece of useful info...
Most of us know if we don't want junk mail that we can opt-out... which seems a little contradictory to the Data Protection Act, but processes are processes if someone can make some money out of it, so it appears that we now get to opt out rather than request... anywho, how does the Mailing Preference Service come into it? Individuals who don’t want to receive unsolicited mail can register with the Mailing Preference Service (MPS), which operates a suppression file.
Ok, what does this mean...so if you're on a list and the list gets sold what can you do about it, that's what we're getting to right?
Well, being on a list is normally from some form of consent, being a previous customer for example, but if they have the audacity to trade your private details to the highest bidder then there is something you can do about. My understanding is that if company A sells a list of personal information, to company B, then company B should screen that list against the MPS, and if you're on it then no Junk Mail for you! There’s no legal requirement to screen any mailing lists against the MPS. However, codes of practice issued by both the DMA and ASA require mailers to screen against the MPS when mailing to non-customer lists (i.e. lists bought from a third party), and codes of practice are good to check against if you're reviewing the principles of an Act...
What are the Data Protection Principles?
The Act contains eight principles that anyone processing personal data, including for direct marketing, must comply with. In a nutshell the principles say that personal data must be:
• processed fairly and lawfully. (This is where the consent requirement comes in, although the concepts of fairness and lawfulness do not stop at consent)
• processed for limited purposes
• adequate, relevant and not excessive
• accurate
• not kept longer than necessary
• processed in accordance with the data subject's rights
• secure
• not transferred to certain countries without adequate protection
To register/opt-out, contact the MPS: Online at www.mpsonline.org.uk
By phone on 0845 703 4599
In writing to: Mailing Preference Service (MPS), DMA House, 70 Margaret Street, London, W1W 8SS.
You can also reduce the amount of 'unaddressed mail' you receive by registering with the Royal Mail's Door to Door opt-out service. However, this will not stop mail addressed to 'the occupier'.
To register with the Royal Mail's Door to Door Opt Out Service, write to: Freepost RRBT-2BXB-TTTS, Royal Mail Door to Door Opt Outs, Kingsmead House, Oxpens Road, Oxford, OX1 1RX or
Email at optout@royalmail.com .
If anything atleast you have peace of mind that the combined registration for these two opt-outs will mean you can screen against 95% of all junk mail... sweet... and don't forget to let your neighbours know!
January - a time to shake your head a bit, relish the fresh chill in the mornings, and try to clear the festive hangover; whilst you're at it what happened last year apart from the media frenzy?
Well, we saw politicians paint their faces green and bellow their war chants, then very quickly reassure businesses that life was to carry on as usual; we saw tears; we were presented with numbers - targets which would require a maths degree to understand. We have carbon reduction targets, staggered over timescales, with unspecific responsibilities; we missed targets, we moved goal posts and overall we consumed more energy, more resources and bought new appliances.
Britain claims now to be at the forefront of the eco movement - which hasn't apparently reached the ears of our friends at BAA, to name but one group. And - simply because I have free reign to say to those who tell me the free market always triumphs and will solve our eco issues - we individually were taxed a lot to bail out a bank (although I was delighted to see the quote from one customer who said "...to tell you the truth I rather like queuing...", bully for him and Britain).
However one target stands out, in my mind at least - ZERO CARBON housing by 2016. This is an easy target to remember. I understand I (we) need to aspire towards ZERO, a difficult number to confuse with any other number, and by a specific date. It is clear in principle. Whilst the technical argument is as yet unresolved we know what to aim for, and strive we will - the British can be remarkably dogged in their aspirations, but are unlikely to relish indecisiveness, with this target we can get on with doing our best.
So what will 2008 hold in store for us? Well I work in the property industry so I'm afraid my interests are slightly skewed towards our built environment, and to date the political rhetoric has been towards new buildings (it makes sense not to make new sub-standard buildings we will need to improve at a later date), but this year we will turn our attention towards the existing stock (according to a friend of a friends friend).
This is not ground breaking thinking or news, ask any self-respecting eco-warrior what has a greater impact on say energy use, and the 1% increase in building stock with all it's associated construction requirements, pales into the shadow of the existing properties and their energy use and wastage. But this is a difficult bullet to bite, if every existing building needs to be improved, do we all need to take action?
The question can be applied in a number of ways:
Do we all need to take action .... to address the problem of poor energy use, for example?
YES, no question, anyone with responsibility for or use of a building needs to take responsibility, it is the only way we can address this problem.
Do we all need to take action .... to fall in line with new standards and government initiatives?
To be determined, I think, and perhaps this year we will see what the battered consensus will emerge as. Expect a lot of tired arguments and case studies of poor outcomes to hit the headlines over and over again, followed by a watered-down overly criticised policy of some description.
So whilst we watch the scrapping from a distance, how do we keep a step ahead of the game? There are pros and cons to almost any line of action - will demand out balance the economies of scale in the long run and result in cheaper solutions, undoubtedly in some cases, but how long will it take? Will the industry be able to meet the requirements, are there enough trained professionals to offer the services, do they sing from the same song sheet? Will an answer to one problem be an exacerbation of another? It's almost as bad as being a teenager again. But the point is we are not, and if we cannot take responsibility ourselves what hope is there!
As you no doubt have guessed I'm here to advocate getting on with the job. Any particularly persuasive carrots for you? Well I'm not so sure that joe blogs will triumph when it comes to grants and incentives in the future, that's not to say we won't get them, but the cost could be astronomical, so if we do they'll no doubt be a long way off, and possibly not as much as is on offer to individual projects now. So whilst there are grants for energy saving, for home improvements, and whilst there is free advice available - go and get it. It's almost Easter, so you'd be as well to start planning your DIY now right?!
The LONDON Light Amnesty is upon us... roll up, roll up, this weekend only!
If you would like, or intend, or feel obliged, to procure Energy Saving Light bulbs, why not now, it's FREE afterall.
At B&Q stores around London, this wknd Jan 11-13th, you can swap your old bulbs for new energy saving bulbs. http://www.london.gov.uk/lightbulbs
The debate is still out on these for many, but in my experience they are not as bad as hyped up to be. Although I do not know a great deal about the waste disposal process I must admit. However as far as use in the home goes, I find the light is not too harsh or too dim (interesting that both criticisms are often applied to these bulbs) I have not had any flickering of bulbs, and since April have not had to change a single energy efficient bulb, and have had half a dozen regular bulbs blow (all new in April).
Simple, small, cumulative action can make a huge difference, now is better than later but perhaps more importantly it is very difficult to address the obstacle of many apathetic attitudes.
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