Re: Greta Thunberg

I've just spent the last hour observing some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world Puddle Duck, the P&O ship Ventura is visiting the Canaries and Britannia is touring the Fjords. The Azura is returning from the Netherlands and it will be taking me to the Fjords in just four weeks time....

The speed and position of every ship is remarkable, but one thing stands out; It is so difficult to find cruise ships when fishing, cargo and tankers outnumber them about fifty to one. Even if if you took out all of the cruise ships I doubt it would make a scrap of difference to the climate, and as you have pointed out, the distance between them is huge. I repeat what I wrote earlier, the 'Eco Warriors' have no comprehension about the size of the planet....

Re: Greta Thunberg

Absolutely Longdogs, we are at the mercy of the people who make the financial world go round, and any threat to that will be cunningly diverted in the same way that Brexit has been...

Re: Greta Thunberg

In terms of the scale of the problem it must be vast if the Ocean PH has changed so significantly. Because I've not yet seen anyone give reasons why that might happen (other than excessive carbon emissions).

Re: Greta Thunberg

As I pointed out earlier Annie, cruise ships only represent about one percent of the total shipping found in the busy shipping lanes of this planet.

As for designing more efficient machines, you just have to compare vehicles of the twentieth century with vehicles of today. Engine management systems have reduced fuel consumption and catalytic converters have cleaned up polluting diesel engines. In fact, petrol engines reduce pollution in short town and city centre journeys, but it's the diesel engine that comes out cleaner and more efficient on long distance travel.

When you consider the work that has been achieved over the years by successive governments it's really quite impressive compared to other countries. As well as burning coal for transport and industry, every house in the country had a coal fire causing the pea soupers that large cities suffered from regularly. There are now just a few diminishing number of power stations that still burn coal and I can't remember experiencing a 'Pea Souper' for over forty years.

Skylines are now filled with the whirring blades of Wind Turbines, and the number of house roofs sporting spreads of solar panels is increasing by the day. I've even noticed some farmers have designated whole fields to rows of solar panels. The 'Eco Warriors' don't realise how the UK is changing in favour of a cleaner less polluting society. The UK is not the place to be protesting.

Councils provide a selection of waste bins to recycle most items and prevent landfill and more efficient boilers provide hot water and heating at a fraction of the cost of old inefficient units. LED lightbulbs use a fraction of the power of incandescent bulbs. So don't anyone tell me we're not striving for a healthier society. We have come a long way in fifty years and it's time that the snowflakes and tree huggers recognised just what has been achieved and go and find something useful to do...

Re: Greta Thunberg

In order to produce changes on such a massive scale Annie it has to be from some natural phenomenon. The green brigade can't wait to blame every negative thing that happens on the planet to something that man has caused and if you resist you are classed as irresponsible.

Re: Greta Thunberg

OGF I realise all this but we should be continuing to innovate to make things increasingly efficient. If you compare the primitive IT systems that used to take up rooms or whole buildings compared with what we have now, then energy efficiency hasn't really come very far in comparison and that's because it's not so profitable.


The pea soupers weren't stopped because of the planet but because people were dying from the effects of pollution.

The fact is that climate change aside we will run out of fossil fuels. They should be building nuclear reactors.

Re: Greta Thunberg

But isn't this the whole point of trying to make the environment cleaner?
As well as saving the planet it will also reduce respiratory diseases. The planet will survive whatever we do, but we won't.....

Re: Greta Thunberg

Indeed, but we have to stop wasting fossil fuels because whatever happens to the environment they are finite. Rationing is a nonsense when we have so many brains on this planet. They just need to cooperate plus we need to get over the fear of nuclear.

The result of all these protests is that the government will find some ineffective but punitive measures, with likely tax hikes to punish the population with.

We know there is a problem, nobody has any palatable solutions.

In terms of pea soupers though it shows just how little pollution it takes to change the environment of an entire nation. In terms of the solutions we put in place it shows how effective some changes can be.

We may not be the problem but we do create demand for products that are causing the problems.

Am I the only one who wonders about internet shopping and all these parcels being dropped off when we previously just walked to the high street?

Re: Greta Thunberg

Bring back the age of the full-rigged Clipper I say.

Re: Greta Thunberg

Fascinating. Who knew how many ships and boats were in the oceans at one time. Talk about congested.

No `refugee` dinghies on there I notice.