Tag Archives: energy

While politicians and “Westminster Village” journalists trumpet the latest headline employment figures, the UK economy continues its post-2008 slump.  We know this because within the Office for National Statistics (ONS) employment report is this incongruous fact: “For August 2017 in real terms (constant 2015 prices) average regular pay (excluding bonuses) …

The UK government looks set to embrace a new fleet of nuclear power plants as the solution to Britain’s growing energy predicament according to Alan Tovey at the Telegraph: “Ministers are ready to approve the swift development of a fleet of ‘mini’ reactors to help guard against electricity shortages, as …

Figures released under a Freedom of Information request indicate that climate change has been a victim of the UK government’s austerity cuts.  The request to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) – which plays a lead role in assisting people in some of the most at-risk countries on earth on …

Taken alongside the Paris climate targets, the UK government decision to ban new internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) from 2040 implies that almost all of the cars on Britain’s roads will be electric by 2050. Insofar as anyone has focused on the impossibility of achieving this aim, they have tended …

  Nicole Foss famously compared the oil industry to a late night drinking binge.  The early oil found in pressurised deposits just 70 feet beneath the ground was the best booze.  The North Sea was the cheap stuff.  Hydraulically fractured shale oil and tar sands, though, are the last-ditch equivalent …

The UK is the latest in a growing list of countries to announce bans on petroleum vehicles.  This has led to understandable concerns about the ability of national electricity grids to cope with the massive demand for additional electricity that such a ban implies.  The thinking appears to be that …

The temptation is to jump on the bandwagon and attack British Gas owner Centrica for profiteering and for participating in a cartel in the wake of its 12.5% hike in electricity prices.  It is certainly difficult to feel any sympathy for a multinational corporation that raked in profits of £816 …

Make way for yet another tedious round of green virtue signalling as people who should know better celebrate the UK government’s ban on new petrol and diesel cars.  At first glance, it sounds like a great idea.  The billions of cars and vans around the world that pump out noxious …

The name of this website may seem a little odd to anyone who was not around two years ago when it was launched.  The Consciousness of Sheep was the title of the book about the current economic, ecological and energetic collapse that humanity is hurtling toward.  Drawing on psychology, sociology, …