Central to the UK government’s 10-point version of a green new deal is the ambitious promise of: “Phasing out sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030 to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles and investing in grants to help buy cars and charge point infrastructure.” The …

The UK government’s version of a green new deal is very likely to go the same way as its strategy for responding to a pandemic… and mostly for the same reason.  Rather like the pandemic plan, it looks good on paper, so long as nobody gets into the fine detail …

Age is the most important factor in the current pandemic.  Put simply, once you pass 50, each additional year adds to the risk of your developing and succumbing to Covid-19.  But age may play a less obvious role in determining your relative risk – one that speaks volumes about the …

In the 1970s, the developed states were shaken by oil shortages.  Although largely artificial – the result of OPEC flexing its muscles, and later the Iran-Iraq war – the oil shocks briefly caused people to take seriously the prospect of running out of oil.  The shock was all the more …

In my last post I underestimated the speed with which the UK government would U-turn and plunge England into a second lockdown.  After all, just a fortnight ago Chancellor Rishi Sunak told MPs that even a two-week “circuit-breaker” would be enormously damaging to the UK economy.  Only after modelling (from …

The British Government is about to commit economic Seppuku.  It doesn’t know it yet; and its spokespeople are determined to put off the day of reckoning.  Nevertheless, with SARS-CoV-2 infections spiralling out of control despite official attempts to curb the spread through local lockdowns, it cannot be long before the …

The one thing that green campaigners share with economists is (with a few notable exceptions) complete blindness to energy.  This may seem an odd claim, given that most green campaigners spend their waking hours arguing for a shift from one source of energy – fossil fuels – to another – …

Fifty four years ago today the sleepy South Wales village of Aberfan entered the history books for all the wrong reasons.  Early that morning – Friday 21 October 1966 – following weeks of heavy rain, workmen on number seven tip on the mountain above the village reported subsidence.  Nothing was …

Congratulations!!  You just failed the Marshmallow Test… and your failure was entirely predictable. The Marshmallow Test is a psychological experiment devised in the 1970s by psychologist Walter Mischel, a professor at Stanford University, to measure deferred gratification in children.  The test was simple enough.  A child would be sat at …

Critics of the UK government were quick to point out that the promised £160m to kick start Britain’s transition to 100% renewable electricity was woefully inadequate.  For example: “Jonathan Bartley, co-leader of the Green Party, said: ‘For decades, Greens have been arguing that the UK is ideally placed to become …