Wind developers: When NO means NO!

image from www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk

A little lesson for the gold-diggers in the wind industry. This is quite simple and it is something any 2 year old should understand.

No means NO.

When the good people of Burton - upon- Stather in Lincolnshire objected to yet another industrial wind turbine complex being built near their village, the developers, greedy for their gold, tried to bull-doze it though - and failed. They got all bitter and twisted when told "NO" for the first time.
A bit like a spoilt 2 year old.
It ended up with a public enquiry.

Much to the chagrin of the Klondike cowboys, they lost the appeal.

Because the primary reason they lost was the  damaging health affects their useless monstrosity would have on two young boys suffering from autism, they had a bright idea.

As you can imagine, morality does not appear to figure too highly with these gold diggers.

They decided to "come to an arrangement" with the family of the autistic children. You and I can only guess at the pressure the parents of these kids would be under, simply from the day to day living. When "an arrangement" turns up it can probably be too difficult to resist.

So after making their "arrangement" these bastards are back with another appeal to build the bloody turbines again.

Even after a public enquiry!

But the local North Lincolnshire Council, threw it out. Again. (And good for them)

A quote from the ThisIsScunthorpe news report (Full Version HERE)

[quote]
Burton and Winterton ward councillor Bernard Regan told the meeting: "I am astonished we are even looking at this again, as we have proven twice that this is not a good thing for the community or for North Lincolnshire.

"It calls into question the whole issue of democracy where planning is concerned.
"The developer can come back time and time again and chip away at the objections, but there is no such redress on the part of the objectors."
[end quote]


Bloody right Bernard. I totally agree

These shysters have been told NO by the council and NO at a public enquiry and then NO again.

Why the hell are they even allowed to consider having another go?

What the hell happened to the democratic rights of the people objecting?

What happened to the concept that when something is voted down, appealed against and voted down again IT IS VOTED DOWN.

How long are we going to put up with these bastards riding rough shod over our democracy simply so they can make a fast buck?

At least the people of Burton-upon-Stather are setting a good example to us all.

Don't let the bastards grind you down.
Just say NO!

A Warning from Billothewisp

OK you grubby little Englanders. I have a severe warning for you.

Even if you are a not mass murderer, or an oppressive dictator. Or even  a megalomaniac, nazi inspired, bigot.

You could well end up looking like this

Or even like this

Simply by embibing a mere five pints of Old Rosie (the Cider of Champions)  or half a bottle of industrial grade Metaxa - fresh from the chemical waste dump outside Athens.

No mass murder is required.

So be warned.

h/t to Anorak News and Wikipedia

Kiva: A Hand Up Not A Hand Out

OK you grubby little Englanders.  Today I want to explain how as individuals, we can give a hand up to the decent hard-working poor in the Third World. Not a hand out to the idle gangsters who rule them.

I expect you may have noticed that Billothewisp has a very low opinion of the way UK foreign aid is allocated and spent.

To me it looks more like a never-ending pleasure excursion to fame and riches than a method of alleviating suffering. The fame and riches are, of course, shared out among the Fats Cats at home and the Fat Cats ruling the Third World poor.

Meanwhile the poor sods at the bottom of the pile  get the table scrapings.

Overhanging the whole enormous DFID budget is the ugly stench of graft and greed. Fat cat salaries and cynical exploitation of both the giver and receiver. Read this article in The Telegraph for a quick whiff.

Via our government and it's incredible addiction to Globalisation, we are soon going to be  each "giving" another £500 a year each whether we want to or not.

How charitable.

But people in the third world deserve a hand up not a hand out. Charity should be only for the truly incapacitated, not for the decent people of the Third world. They deserve better.

So Billothewisp doesn't do charity any more. Charity is for the work-house and pompous Victorian oligarchs.

Now there is a better way for a personal involvement in helping the poor of the third world.

It is called Micro-finance.

Small loans to real people in need of a hand up. The crucial thing here is that the money is a loan not a hand out. It gets repaid, and then (of course) can be lent out again.

It appears to work. The main organisation involved in this at the moment is Kiva. I have a couple of issues with Kiva, but nothing that (as yet) would stop me using them.

It is run a bit like the UK peer to peer lending organisations, Zopa and Funding Circle, but Kiva is a not for profit organisation. Kiva allows individuals to loan small amounts of cash to real people. $25 via Paypal deals you in.

The people are  requesting loans to run a business or generally improve their life. Just like in the UK.

The default rate is evidently 1.8%. Which is pretty good. Of course if they default then they don't get another loan. But almost to a man (or woman) they don't default. Which must give us all a bit more faith in humanity.

For Billothewisp there is to be no more "charity" to poor Africans, but there will be loans. I am going to give a hand up not a hand out.

It is a pity that my pay is going to be drained of another £500 so the fats cats in the DFID can go and squander it at home or in foreign parts.

Believe me, with Kiva I think even my 2 year grand-daughter could do a better job with my £500 than the DFID.

Welcome to Southern Sudan

Occasionally, very occasionally, something good happens in Africa.

Recently under the threats and intimidation of their northern occupiers the people of Southern Sudan voted overwhelmingly for independence. This independence (if it is not strangled at birth by the regime in Khartoum) is due to take shape in July.

Already there are acts destabilisation and violence (bordering on genocide) being committed against the long suffering people of Southern Sudan. (See Here) .

The world looks on. If it looks at all.

The West (particularly the UK - especially the UK) wastes billions propping up cruel and corrupt regimes all across Africa. Meanwhile the average African is left to go to hell.

So how much support have we given to the common people of Southern Sudan? How much help do we give to a desperate people who are striving for independence and dignity?

HERE  they say £40 million. This £40 million for the Southern Sudan though, is actually, £40 million "given" to the UN.

The figure itself is derisory compared to how much scumbags like Mugabe have received. One estimate I read was that the Mugabe regime received over £12 billion in twenty years.

But remember, this £40 million is money going to the UN.

After you take out the "administration", the "commissions", the "pre-payments" the "enabling payments" and the outright bribes then that figure probably comes down to £4 million. This is what gets  directed to Southern Sudan.

Then after this is shipped through the neighbouring gangsters and thieves who surround the good people of Southern Sudan, I expect the net amount probably is about £500,000.

If that.

Southern Sudan has no roads. No sewage system. No power grid. The people are grindingly poor. Yet they aspire to better things. They have fought for democracy and independence just as our forefathers did.

Khartoum will try everything it can to destabilise the South and we, shamefully will probably just look on. If democracy is defeated, we will probably end up  supporting whatever faction has some marginal preferential business or party political interest to the UK.

We will probably look the other way while some nasty warlord takes control. Just as we have done elsewhere in Africa. We will probably see Southern Sudan mired in squalor.

No doubt in years to come there will be the Band Aid style appeals so the stupid and ignorant can massage their consciences and egos by donating some cash. This will of course, almost inevitably end up in the pockets of the gangsters who run Africa just as it has done before..

Nothing will change. Nothing will [expletive deleted] change.

Our £40 million is simply the modern day equivalent of medieval indulgences. Paid so the indolent can look righteous. Paid to secure a place in heaven. Paid so it looks good.

A year ago I blogged about a different way to do foreign aid, a way pioneered by Cuba. I am no fan the ugly Cuban regime, but just as the Nazi's built good Autobahns the Cubans do good foreign aid. The post is HERE. With this method everyone wins - except the fat cats.

Southern Sudan is a blank sheet of paper.They need our practical help. Their emerging political system can be influenced by decency and fair dealing.

Southern Sudan deserves better than petty medieval indulgences.

If there is anywhere on the dark continent (or for that matter the world) that deserves practical aid it is Southern Sudan.

Will they receive it? I am not holding my breath.

Eating People Is Wrong

Tonight my rowdy, randy and ravenous little Englanders, I want to instil a little moral discipline. Especially in you my fellow Hoi Polloi. Heaven knows, we, the (Ugh!) masses, need some form of control.

Basically I want to educate you how to behave with decency when confronted with a dead body. But more on that in a minute.

I am taking my lead here from the extremely well fed at the BBC. They are always giving you those numbers to ring.

You know, those 0845 numbers they give out after after any potentially distressing fictional occurrence. Anything from a murder to a spilt cup of coffee on a new carpet.

Then there are similar numbers so you can 'fess up to those wicked perverted thoughts you have had about Kate Moss.

Or you can tell all about the evil deeds you have inflicted on the neighbour's cat when all Tibbles did was crap in your vegetable patch.

What prompted me to write this moral tirade was this This Expose of the decadence of Mesolithic man (that is "Stone Age" to you  Dorset Dinlows)

Evidently Mesolithic man was none too phased about using his neighbour's skull as a drinking vessel.

I know the feeling - You are down the pub, you have a jug of old Rosie (the Cider of Champions) and no glass. What do you do?

The pre-historic neighbour's brain box conveniently provided a drinking vessel to be used in some dark ritual. The the rest of the neighbour also provided a nice nutritious snack to soak up the booze afterwards.

You can imagine the scene: A Stone Age boozer. A bar with a row of skulls filled with (of course) Old Rosie (the Cider of Champions).

Darren and Pete are at the bar. They are in deep conversation about the way the wife is always droning on about she hasn't seen the neighbour for a while.

In comes Wayne. Darren looks up.

"Hey Pete. Its Wayne! Give the man a hand."

Pete bursts into applause. Darren looks cross.

"No.No No! Give the man - A hand"

Pete blushes.
"Ha-ha-ha Of course! Sorry!"

Pete reaches across the peanuts and picks up the required item, recently retrieved from the missing neighbour. Wayne is grateful.

"Oh Yes! I am so starving!"

Darren nonchalantly passes Wayne a spare skull of "Old Rosie" (the Cider of Champions).......

Well, my grubby little Englanders, I have to inform you that things have changed.

It is no longer considered reasonable to drink Old Rosie (the Cider of Champions) out of your neighbours skull.


Even if you are desperate.

Eating your neighbours hand, or any other part of their body is also considered totally verboten.

If you have been indulging in any of these pre-historic practices, I cannot offer you a 0845 number to seek counselling on, but I can assure you that ringing any of those other numbers offered by the BBC will suffice. Although after the councilling session, I expect the operator may well have truly earned their wages for that day.

But basically my dirty downbeat little Englanders, I need you to understand one thing.

Eating People is Wrong. 

No Ifs. No Buts.

Don't do it.

Just say No.

Glowing In The Dark

Good evening my grubby little Englander pals. Recently, this blog has been far, far too serious. So tonight the subject matter is a little lighter.  Radioactive poisioning to be precise.

Hmmm. Bet you feel better already.

The shocking truth is that every day, (maybe even five times a day - if you follow government guidelines) those bastards in Tesco, Asda or even Morrisons are dosing you up with radioactive Potassium-40.

It is no use thinking you will get rid of it either. It has a half-life of 1248000000 years.

Think on that - a number so huge it is only dwarfed by the National Debt.

Potassium-40 decays by beta emmission - arguably the nastiest of the evil triad of radioactive decay mechanisms.In a sufficiently high doze it is absolutely guaranteed to kill you.

Stone dead.
Finito.
Corpseville USA.

Lower doses may just make you grow another head and possibly a third arm.

So how are these corporate demons delivering their hellish poisons to you, your children, grand parents, pets, goldfish and other loved ones?

Bananas.

The bastards are putting it in the bananas. My God! That must be why bananas have that eerily yellow skin.

Here you are coating little Johnny in factor 120000 sun cream to protect him from the poisonous solar radiation, locking him in his room and keeping him well away from those nasty boys who play in the mud.

Yet it is YOU feeding him radioactive bananas.

No wonder he is such a uncontrollable little monster.
In fact he probably will be a real monster, third arm and all. And quite soon.

Your not responsible? You thought bananas were the very epitome of Green (or even Yellow) living?

Ha! They all say that. Tell it to the judge.

An example of how utterly, utterly, totally and completely serious this is is to compare a single Banana Equivalent Dose to that of a nuclear disaster.

Remember Three Mile Island?

Melts downs?
Radiation Release?
The near destruction of the Western hemisphere, if not the entire solar system?

Well, a single Banana Equivalent Dose (no honest - I'm not making that up - See Here ) corresponds to drinking a massive 30 pints of Three Mile island contaminated milk.

Or about five pints of Old Rosie (the Cider of Champions). Perhaps that is why Billothewisp has been known to have a radiant glow as he staggers back from the boozer.

You don't have to ingest these deadly bananas either. That eery yellow radiance will get you. All you need to do is look at them. Stand by a crate of bananas, even for a moment and you will recieve a measurable dose of radiation. (again - I'm not actually making that up)

Haven't you ever wondered why Radiation warning posters are all yellow?

But that is not the only toxin these corporate monsters are feeding you

Brazil nuts, potatos and even sunflower seeds are all packed with radiation.

Don't even look at a packet of chocolate brazils. Ever wondered why they are all that funny bent shape like a "C"?

The zombie slaves who grew them are sending you a subliminal message - cancer... Cancer... CANCER.

God knows what they have been doing to the Mung Beans.

Hat tip to Antony Watts - see the full dastardly facts at Antonys blog - Watts Up With That

Canadian Green Party Leads the Way

Like the Friends of the Earth in England, the Canadian Green Party is an avid supporter of Industrial Wind Turbine technology. But at least the Canadian Greens are acting responsibly and putting people before their ideology

Due to the growing mountain of evidence  regarding the damaging effects these turbines have on people living near them, the Canadian Greens have requested Canada Health (the Canadian National Health Authority) to undertake an epidemiological survey on what has become known as Wind Turbine Syndrome. ( See their Resolution Here - passed with 66% majority)

It is refreshing to see politicians seeking to defend the  people they represent, even though the outcome may be against their ideological preferences.

Perhaps the Canadian Green Party could give a little moral  instruction to the Friends of the Earth here, who, with every passing day appear to be more in the pocket of the wind industry.

It is a shame that while their cousins in Canada give moral leadership, the Greens in this country seek to overwhelm local objections and rail-road their demands though. They seek to  ride rough-shod over any local objection, how ever valid. Today it appears that the FOE is so wedded to its doctrinaire ideology it would go to almost any lengths, destroy and trample over anyone, to get its way.

The people who the FOE sneer at and disparage will remember how the FOE preferred to side with rich developers.

One day the FOE will find this will come back and haunt them.

Wind Turbines: The Tide is Turning

The Klondike gold-rush to industrial wind generation continues, but the cracks are beginning to appear.

The most authoritative renewable energy body, the Renewable Energy Foundation has been scathing about onshore wind generation. It has also heavily criticised the catastrophically awful subsidy scheme that enables the greedy to cash in at the public's expense.

Here's are a couple of quotes and links to the fuller articles from the REF

[quote]
"Such figures confirm theoretical arguments that regardless of the size of the wind fleet the United Kingdom will never be able to reduce its conventional generation fleet below peak load plus a margin of approximately 10%"   (Link to full article here)

[quote: Dr John Constable, REF’s Director of Policy and Research]
“The government needs to face the facts: the Renewable Obligation is enormously costly to the consumer, and is delivering high profits to developers even for underperforming and environmentally damaging on-shore wind.”  (Link to full article here)

The time to stop all further on-shore industrial wind generation especially near homes is now. In Denmark there is now a blanket ban on all further on-shore industrial wind generation. In France the equivalent of the French BMA have directed that no turbine should be placed within 2Km of a dwelling. The data on the health affects of being forced to live on top of these things is building. I have read some of the initial peer reviewed work that has already been done. The authors credentials are impeccable. Their findings are devastating.

This will be a scandal.

In the future, those now buckling a knee to the avaricious developers and their stupidly naive supporters will have to publicly account for their acquiescence.

There will be a fuller post on the health effects and the research papers in a (near) future post. Believe me, initially I thought that damaging health affects were illusionary but now I have totally changed my mind. Nobody should be forced to live near these things. Especially as on shore industrial wind turbines are next to useless in generating electricity.

There are many groups around our country who are defending their homes and the countryside from a modern day rape and pillage by greedy developers. Tonight I wish them well and hope they taste success in the their fight for their homes and country this year.

When the PIIGs have Wings

Here we go again. The Euro is descending and there does not appear to be a parachute. Portugal's borrowing rate is going through the roof and Ireland does not look like it is going to be able to meet the recent Euro bail out requirements  (See FT Here). The Spanish economy, or rather, what is left of it, looks like it will need a massive transfusion of Deutschmarks  Euros in the near future.

The PIIGS, are perhaps better known as that friendly, "lets-party!" group of nations, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain. Like us, they blew all their money on "Services" while letting those boring old manufacturing industries wither on the vine.

Luckily though for the bankrupt PIIGS,  they have their bosom buddies in dear old Deutschland. Kindly Angela Merkel will no doubt chastise the errant Europhiles, but she is always there like a good auntie, ready with the credit card.

To be fair though, this is only reasonable. After all, it is the Germans who enjoy all that slave-like dedication to work, over-time and hard labour. The Germans can get on with their toiling.  Meanwhile the PIIGS can do what they are truly superb at doing, and all they need to do that, is a nice new credit card from the Bundesbank.

I keep telling my oily rag German friends, "You know it makes sense".

I tell them that in fifty years time we can all look back on this and laugh.

For some reason though, at the moment, they do not seem to be particularly amused.

The Wind Turbine in Reading

The Daily Mail was in typical indignant mode when it reported (HERE) "Is this the most useless wind turbine?" But I think their report could had been a little more thorough.

With a quick look through the Renewable Energy Foundation database on wind turbine output (HERE) it quickly becomes evident that while the output from the Reading turbine is derisory, it is far from being the worst performing turbine. At least the Daily Mail pointed out that this  thing gets a ROC subsidy of £130,000 while producing only £100,000 worth electricity. (total payout £230,000). But the rest of the figures they present, shocking as they are, disguise the truly terrible statistics surrounding the whole of the wind power industry.

I suppose these up front figures look so bad the Daily Mail has simply not dug any deeper. If they did ( and it is not difficult) they would find that the actual situation is far, far worse.

The main area of the Mail's indignation is that for this particular turbine at Green Park in Reading, the Capacity Factor for 2010 was only 15%. But accepting this figure on face value neglects the true awfulness of the situation. If they had paid attention the the nature of wind power they would have found that this turbine would have failed to even get close to this pathetic output MOST of the time.

The day to day figures for this individual turbine, like most others, are hard to come by. But we know from the NETA data  (HERE) that nationally half the energy from wind is generated in less than 25% of the time (See earlier Post Here). This leaves the other half to cover 75%  of the time. From figures from the Le Ranch Wind farm in the USA we see that, on a single site basis this gets further scewed to 15% and 85%  (Lee Ranch synopsis half way down this Wikipedia page)

Even if you use the UK national figures this means that the typical  (i.e. the most common output)  from this turbine  falls to 10%.If you use the (probably more applicable) Le Ranch figures this typical output falls to less than 9%.

But even that fails to show how 40% the electricity will arrive when it is unneeded (i.e. at night) and that the output will be at this dismal 9% (or less) for one third of the time. But however lowly the output, or unneeded it may be, the electricity generated  is guaranteed a full market price plus the massive ROC subsidy.

High wind, or low wind, night or day, the Fat Cats in the wind industry are always smiling. Forget about bankers bonuses. Look at the money (your money) these people are raking in.

Every pound coin that people spend on electricity has its own little carbon footprint. Money has to be earned. In earning money resources are used. Using this hard earned cash to fund massively expensive and hopelessly inefficient wind generated electricity is not only foolish and wasteful but is also counter productive.

Clarkson's Mexico

In the latest "controversial" Top Gear, Clarkson and Co made some snide remarks about Mexico and Mexicans. There are the inevitable hysterical cries of outrage and calls for Clarkson to be sacrificially murdered or at least fired.

While I don't believe Clarkson should be burnt at the stake for his tasteless jokes, sometimes his humour does stretch the boundaries.

Entertaining as Top Gear can be, it can also sometimes be childish and tedious. But better that than some typical grey BBC Mung Bean chomping Politically Correct trash.

But even so, I do think Clarkson did Mexico an unnecessary disservice.

Personally, I really like Mexico and the Mexicans. As a people, they are generally kind, helpful and entertaining. I have found them far from lazy.

Mexico is a poor country ravaged by a drug war that has cost many thousands of lives. The big losers in all this are the average Mexicans who earn (if they are lucky) $150 a week. Money they work hard for.

Even though they are poor, Mexicans are not constantly in your face like you get in some other countries.  I have ridden around Yucatan Peninsula on public transport and never felt threatened or at risk. Unlike some places in this country I could mention.

Mexico and the Mexicans get enough bad publicity thanks to their large neighbours drug dependency. Perhaps a little positive publicity would be nice.

After all, Mexicans get short changed enough as it is.

Wind Turbines and Silver Spoons II

Apologies to my fellow grubby little Englanders. I think my first post on this was a bit obtuse. In brief, using wind turbines to generate electricity to reduce carbon emissions is like trying to bale out a dinghy with a set of silver spoons.

I want to explore this analogy a little more, because the more I think about it the more accurate this analogy is.

Going back a couple of months I sat in a meeting where a planning application to build four huge wind turbines was being given a public hearing.

Objections were raised by worried residents. The turbines were close to a care home for children who suffer from autistic spectrum disorder. The site was right next to a scout camp and also very near residential housing.

Half way through the speeches, one supporter of the turbine scheme declared that the turbines were too important. The scout camp, care home and if necessary the residents should be relocated to allow the development to take place. He got a flicker of applause from other supporters.

His view was plain. Global warming was such an emergency that any crumb or morsel of relief was to be grasped at. Irrespective of the consequences for those immediately affected.

You may well think he was just some fizzing little eco fascist, and perhaps you are right. But I suspect that really, he was just another willing victim of the wind industry's propaganda.

The wind industry loves to push the naive theory that we must do something, anything and at any cost. For them the eco warriors support was simply more money in the bank.

This guy was, I regret to say, fanatically wedded to his silver spoons. He wanted to see them thrashing about in order to calm his nightmares. He didn't care if they got in the way of the guys with the dirty bilge pumps and was even less concerned at those who would get thrown overboard to give his spoon wielders some arm room.

His huge, hopelessly ineffective turbines would be an icon, a talisman for a world no longer dependant on filthy mathematics or high technology. Essentially they would be a large eco fashion statement thrashing about for all to see and marvel at. The "selfish Nimbys" could go to hell.

Needless to say, the vested interests, the landowners, the silver spoon makers and those who would be handsomely paid to do the paddling, all purred with support and praise.

One day I hope this guy sees past his own neurotic demons. I do hope that he realises that he has a moral obligation to the people affected by these monstosities and this obligation trumps his fashionable desires.

If he wants to really cut carbon emissions (or even plain old pollution) he needs to see past the propaganda and look to effective methods for energy reduction and energy generation. Wind farms and all their paraphernalia are simply a massively expensive dead end.

A silver spoon has its niche. But it is a truly hopeless way of baling out a boat.

Wind turbines also have their niche, pumping water on remote farmsteads, even producing electricity in remote off-grid locations.

But they really are a hopeless way of supplying our daily electricity demands.

Appropriate Reading Material

My fellow grubby Little Englanders, I have a confession.

My youngest daughter is now an overworked F1 medic. That is a shiny new baby doctor to those of you who do not know the arcane abbreviations of the NHS.

That is five years at Med School. A year in the Far East. A tour of Australia and New Zealand. Emergency medicine in Vietnam and Cambodia.

A (semi) competent skier and a phenomenal singer.

But....... she still reads HEAT Magazine.

I must have done something wrong. Perhaps you should report me to the NSPCC.

I'll 'fess up. It's a fair cop.