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depressing…. we’re heading straight back to ‘we’ve all had enough of experts’ territory.
One of the comments in the above link claims this is another "fake emergency" by the nanny state to "tell us what to do".
Whilst it is clearly an idiotic comment it is also a very prevalent one, for that I hold governments and politicians hugely responsible.
All these comments and attitudes have their roots in the campaigns over decades by the fossil fuel companies.
Politicians have comprehensively failed (apart from a few lefty politicians who are dismissed by the media) to point out to the wider public that maximum profits was/is the driving motive to the fossil fuel companies disinformation campaigns.
We live in a society where maximizing profits (with little concern of the human costs that this might entail) is celebrated, so it is much harder for a counterattack from that angle.
But really what would have stopped the fossil fuel companies disinformation campaigns in their tracks would have been nationalisation. Ultimately responsible to the people they would not have had the motivation to mount campaigns against the common good of society.
Society's energy needs in private hands makes no sense imo, the idea that such a vital industry can operate both in the interests of the producers and the consumers is illogical, there is always going to be conflict of interest.
ernie, I suggest you read about the Global Climate Coalition and E Bruce Harrison - unless you already know about their activities.
3 years ago I was at an Australia Infrastructure briefing and they said then that they'd changed their profile for design from 1 in 100 years to 1 in 7 years. So from a 1% chance of a stated event to a 14% chance - it's a significant hike in the risk profile and one that I suspect will begin to be adopted in other countries.
I'm currently doing a lot of work in Singapore and their design requirements for things like crest levels and water run off especially things like gutters being banned due to the massive rise in Dengue Fever are quite eye opening for a Brit.
and those responsible should be tracked down and fined heavily to try to pay for the damage they’ve caused, and the effort that emergency teams have had to put in unnecessarily to try to control the fires.
Guy here (Sweden) got caught 3 or 4 years ago.
Fined about £175-200000 IIRC.
They also dish out fines for starting fires when there is a ban in place. Starts at about £1800-2000.
Grim indeed.
Time for a USA style system of fire bans in some areas drought conditions?
Standard practice in Australia. And the ban periods seem to be increasing (unsurprisingly).
We also have fire condition indicators on the side of roads. They've added a level 'catastrophic' since the big fires in 2019/20 (i think that's when they did it)
I have an app that alerts me to fires within set radii of my home and workplace so I can keep an eye on things when the conditions are of concern. There are regular hazard reduction burns and a certain amount of ecological 'patchwork' burning goes on to maintain the environment. But sometimes things go tits up and they get out of control.
I'm lying in bed in the middle of incest Country Suffolk sweating my mammaries off.
Locals saying that they can't remember the last time it rained. Well, we had a few drops today but not enough to wet the ground.
They said that some of the fires are started by tractors/combines hitting a piece of flint.
When was the last time it rained?
Crazy.
There was some rain over the last few days round South Wales but nowhere near enough to do anything more than create a few small puddles. It all evaporated within minutes of stopping and everything is still bone dry so no change on fire risk or ground water levels. This weekend is meant to be a roaster too so I very much doubt the plants are going to stop turning yellow any time soon, even the trees are dropping their leaves like it's autumn!
But everyone will be pouring on to the beaches and burning themselves so it's all good, just a brilliant summer.
It's the opposite to last summer round here. Last year it rained so much that some local woods were in muddier in August than a very wet winter. Loving this summer so far for riding.
We're in North Wales, it's cold and has rained a fair bit. This happened during the last big heatwave too, we managed to seek out one of the few places in the UK that was cold and wet.
they’d changed their profile for design from 1 in 100 years to 1 in 7 years. So from a 1% chance of a stated event to a 14% chance – it’s a significant hike in the risk profile
That doesn't sound right. Infrastructure design is based on the statistical return period of the design events; a 1 in 7 year event is less severe than a 1 in 100 event. What would be more likely is that the 1 in 100 year event the existing infrastructure was designed for is now happening 1 in 7 years. If they are changing the design event the should be going for longer return period, like 1 in 1000 years, but statistical prediction isn't really valid when the pattern is changing. It's better to stick with the 1 in 100 but add a margin, so if the 1 in 100 year temperature is 50ºC, add 5ºC and design for 55ºC.
even the trees are dropping their leaves like it’s autumn
Yeah was weird
Went for a ride last night at Woburn and lots of fallen leaves !
Piddled it down on Tuesday then it's raining again now, in Manchester.
Yep, seeing a lot of fallen leaves here in central England too.
Went for a ride a couple of days ago and nearly ended up taking an unplanned sit down in them - dry leaves on dusty trails do not make for grippy conditions!
depressing…. we’re heading straight back to ‘we’ve all had enough of experts’ territory.
Been a feature of political debate for a while now
Populism is telling people there are no hard choices, only cakeism
The number of seemingly intelligent people on the pro brexit/ COVID denying/antivax climate change denying axis seems to be growing
Truss has been using it in her leadership pitch to the membership - promising to block new solar farms & rip up the 'orthodoxy'
Holding the opposite view to the MSM & The experts is a badge of honour
correlation is not necessarily causation, but
https://news.sky.com/story/did-nearly-900-people-die-due-to-the-july-heatwave-12679711
Trees will drop their leaves as a stress response to drought conditions. It reduces transpiration.
Cardiff seems pretty cool to where I am in SE. Was at my folks yesterday on the bay and quite pleasant compared to home! Guess it’s a good time to be living by the sea.
Yeah, until that sea swamps you and your house and you have to find somewhere else to live and good luck with your climate-denying platitudes then.