Beside the seaside, beside the sea... at Wells-next-the-Sea

"harbour looking towards Well's lifeboat house"

Well it's no shock to our regular readers that I'm in love with Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk.

After spending many happy childhood holidays there, on the Caravan Park next to the pine forests and beach (as previously chronicled).

I thought it was worth posting a link to the Wells' Harbour website (click here), which amongst the webcams and local information, also carries some very good posts regarding progress at the Sheringham Shoal offshore wind farm development.

Situated off the coast of Sheringham, and clearly visible from that town and it's beaches, the support craft for the servicing and construction of, moor at Wells'.

More recently, John Craven was there recording an interview / piece on the Wind farm for the BBC's Countryfile - the episode to be aired this Sunday (16th October 2011).

The excitement of Mr Craven's visit is well documented with pictures on the Wells' harbour website here.

photo credit: elliott brown

Climate sceptics find little to cheer about

You may have missed this report on the BBC's website in their science and environment section about a climate sceptics rally in America which ended up with the guest speakers giving little to cheer about to the audience.

Click here to read the full report - it's an interesting read.

photo credit: millermz>

Oil Spill Disasters - another tick in favour of renewable energy?

I'm not going to debate the case for renewable energy over fossil fuels, using the ongoing drama unfolding on the Louisiana and Florida coastlines, following the BP leased oil drilling rig sinking 50 miles offshore last week.

Basically, as the rig sank, a pipe broke causing an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day to gush out into the sea. That's over 200,000 gallons a day entering the sea approximately a mile below the surface.

The disaster is just that - local wildlife both onshore and offshore is threatened or being destroyed and the cost and effort of the clean up operation is going to be very high indeed. Not to mention the implications for businesses along the affected coast line.

I remember holidaying in France in the nineties - a month before we were due to go, there was an oil spill that came ashore right near where we would be camping.

By the time we got there, it had all been cleared up but children on the beach digging into the sand were sporting some very oily tar like stains on their beach clothes - oil from the spill lurking beneath the surface. As one mum pointed out, crude oil is a carcinogenic and promptly swept her children off the beach and back to the safety of the pool area.

I'm sure supporters of fossil fuels would step in and remind us that the production of solar panels and wind turbines uses fossil fuels and oil derivatives like most modern production processes. I don't know myself.

But wouldn't it be nice to think that one day - perhaps - drilling for oil and transporting it through some of the worlds richest areas of marine and land habitats became something confined to history lessons?

The NY Times carried an excellent interactive timeline of major oil spills starting with the Santa Barbara oil well leak of 1969. You may find some of the images distressing but the whole timeline feature is a stark reminder of the havoc and suffering oil spills cause. Click here to view their feature now.

photo credit: kevincole

India senior negotiator calls emission targets pathetic

In case you missed it last week, here's a link to a BBC News story regarding the comments made by a one of India's senior negotiators at the recent Copenhagen Summit.

Chandrashekhar Dasgupta is quoted as saying the "Industrialised nations had failed to set the truly ambitious targets needed" and called for them to adopt a 40% reduction target over the 30 year period as opposed to the current 25% to 30% targets which the EU ad envisaged.

One unhappy chap!

You can read more of the story on the BBC website by clicking here. The report is also available via a downloadable podcast or via the BBC iPlayer. First broadcast on Radio 4, Thursday 11th February at 20:00 GMT.

photo credit: sergis blog

Climate Sceptic? Then vote with your wallet.

Yesterdays post addressed the recent disclosures of the scientific community that some of their date conclusions were in-accurate. However, the post did address the inescapable fact that whether you believe in climate change or not, then investing in solar and other renewable energies for your home was an economic choice rather than a purely environmental one.

A BBC environment analyst wrote a very interesting report (click here to read the full article) which looked at the wider picture of the recent allegations against the science - how political setbacks in the US could see hopes of a climate bill dashed after a Supreme Court ruling that corporations should be afforded the same rights as individuals - basically companies "should be able to spend as much as they want on advertising to attack politicians' plans. The fossil fuel industry is poised with banknotes at the ready".

The piece looks at the effect the allegations will have on the political front - our own government included.

It's still worth pointing out though that, even if the sceptics are right, energy bills are getting more expensive and if that cost can be offset by generating your own energy, AND, you can take advantage of schemes, grants and tariffs to lower the overall installation cost and pay back period, then surely, it's still worth doing?

What do you think?

photo credit: pheezy

Confused by the recent Emissions Deadlines stories?

The Chaos of the Copenhagen Summit in December 2009 continues with news a couple of weeks ago that the Deadline for emission targets was likely to be delayed as countries within the EU battled it out.

One of the main problems is the 'EU's agreed amount of 30% emissions cut which in the case of the UK, means a cut of 42%.

Countries are unwilling to agree to targets that could see industrial competitors in other countries grow stronger if they're not affected by the same higher energy costs.

The BBC had an excellent round up, so go and get your licence fee's worth by clicking here to read the BBC report.

photo credit: [JP] Corrêa Carvalho

First sight of expected Feed-in Tariff rates?

Spotted amongst a report on the BBC website headlined "Solar's Dividend for Homeowners" in which figures from the renewable energy installation industry and solar energy research world discussed the increasing visibility of solar panels over the last decade and how with the introduction of the Feed-in Tariff's in April 2010, we can expect to see a lot more micro-generation happening, I saw this figure:

Ian Draisey - MD of Machynlleth-based Dulas Engineering, a firm specialising in installing various forms of renewable energy sources is quoted as saying "If you put solar panels on your roof the government will pay you 36p - or 36.5p is the number out for consultation and what we expect it to be," he said.
"They will pay that level for each kilowatt you generate whether you use it or not. And that is a substantial return given you pay 12-13p in the market at the moment.

The pay-back time on your investment could still be nearer to 10 years."

So we have a figure - not set in stone but an indication of what the renewable energy industry is looking for from the Government.

We'll have to wait till January 2010 (latest timeframe estimate) to see what's actually announced won't we?

photo credit: kevin collins

Science Museum unveils trillionth tonne of coal

Just in case you missed it on the BBC's website this week...

"On Thursday, 22nd October 2009, a single tonne of anthracite coal was unveiled in the Science Museum in London as part of a new exhibition on climate change."

The article goes onto explain how the trillionth tonne matters because of the carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere it represents, since the dawn of the industrial age in the 18th Century.

This blog is obviously dedicated to not just solar power but all forms of renewable energy. If ever a stark reminder of why renewable energy is so critical to us, were needed - you'll want to read the rest of this very fine piece on the BBC's Science and Environment web page.

All this just ahead of the Copenhagen summit in December.

photo credit: NIOSH

62 million tonnes a year goes to landfill

It's just a truly shocking figure - 62 million tonnes of waste every year is being buried in holes in the ground in the UK.

One site in Bury receives 600,000 tonnes alone, which is bulldozed into an old sand quarry.

The BBC Science & Environment pages report on Environment Secretary Hilary Benn as she calls for a radical rethink on waste management and household waste recycling.

The "50 year bubble in which we though we could throw away things without regard to the consequences" is bursting.

Read the full, and very interesting piece, on the BBC website by clicking here.

photo credit: dnorman