Wednesday, April 22, 2009

How time flies

It only seems like yesterday that the bosses were getting ready to go to Pembrokeshire, in South Wales. I get lots of walks and by the end of the few days we were there I was walking the whole field with ease and no stiffness in my front leg.

The weather has been fine and sunny, for the most part. On my walks with D we have spotted a fox. The robin and blackbird are still busy collecting for the offspring. The robin will take from peoples hands and is very quick. The garden is a mass of colour as Spring gets under way. The daffodils have not lasted as long as they have in the past, but have provided a blase of colour.

Despite the problems with the world economy there is a slow move to cautious spending by some sections of the population. Japan a nation more of savers than spenders will be better positioned than most to benefit in the coming years. In the UK and not doubt in the USA house prices are showing a marginal stabilisation, although considering the inflated prices 2 years ago they are now more likely to be reflective of their value.

The UK government is still pushing ahead with measures to encourage people to dispose of their old( 10 years) cars and buy new "electric" cars. I am amazed that the government is again encouraging people to get into debt and for what? The production of cars 10 years old has already had it's mark on the carbon footprint. Now we dispose of those cars and get new which will still have added to the problems of carbon emissions in production. The bosses 10 years old car still returns over 40 miles to the gallon and as it's 10 years old still needs parts which have already been produced, thus saving on new production and using up spares that would other wise need to be recycled; using both energy and increasing carbon outputs. There is also the problem of disposing of the spent energy cells from these cars in the future.

Another idea back on the front burner is to use coal fired power plants for electricity generation. The carbon emission would be captured and piped to offshore oil fields where the gas would be pumped into the void left by the oil extraction. Neat idea but what will happen to the gas in say 100 years time. Nuclear power stations are also on the agenda and many old stations are likely to be recommissioned in the future; part of the Blair legacy.

Now is the time for the people of the word to exert their feelings on those in power to bring about a change in the way we exploit our world. Their is a great deal at stake. On the one hand all those with vested interests in the trapping of the good life will encourage a return to material acquisitions whilst exploiting people from other nations in keeping production costs low and profit margins high. The exploitation of raw materials and the deforestation of the rain forests will cause problems for everyone, so why get on the wagon? Technology has and can be used, to both the natural world and humans advantage, but not if greed and monetary gain are the impetus.

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