The Tragic Case of Sam Riddall
Eleven year-old Sam Riddall was going home from church when he was killed by a car driven by Hannah Saaf. Today she was detained indefinitely in hospital, as she had severe mental health problems. The DVLA had revoked her licence because of this and the judge said.
You were clearly under the influence of cannabis, and you were doing so while driving twice the speed limit allowed. Finally, you left the scene having killed the victim. There’s no sentence a court can pass that will ever compensate for a tragic loss such as this.
He added that were it not for Saaf’s mental state she would have faced “a very substantial custodial sentence”.
The reaction of Sam’s father, Martin Riddall, was not one of revenge, but one of forgiveness.
In four days time we celebrate Christmas – the first Christmas without our Sam. It’s going to be very hard indeed because we still miss him very much.
The devout Christian added he would ask God to forgive Saaf for her “terrible” act.
I have no religion, but I feel that in cases like this revenge has no place, as what good does it do? I lost my wife to an aggressive cancer two years ago and no matter how difficult it is, I have moved on. In fact she told me to before she died.
I think though that we can all learn from Martin Riddall. My heart goes out to him and his family and I wish them well in the future.
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
When we think about green energy with a small carbon footprint, some ideas keep turning up. One is ocean thermal energy conversion.
It is a very simple idea in that it exploits the temperature difference between the surface of the sea and the depths. It needs deep water fairly close to land and the temperature difference is only large enough in the tropics. But as the article shows, there are a large number of places, where this method might well be employed in the future.
Is it feasible?
Perhaps not now! But as with many technologies there will be a reduction in costs and new materials and methods in the next few years.
One proposal for using OTEC is to use it to smelt aluminium from bauxite in places like Surinam. The aluminium would then be transported to places in need of power and burnt in a power station. This would produce aluminium oxide or bauxite, which would then be transported back to the smelter. Obviously, if smelters are powered by green energy such as hydro-electric, then they could be elsewhere.
I am a betting man and I reckon that we’ve not seen the last of OTEC.
Malcolm Turnbull
I had never really heard much about Malcolm Turnbull, who was the leader of the Australian Liberal Party. But he wrote a thoughtful article in The Times on Sunday. The title says it all, It’s reckless to be a sceptic on global warming.
He makes some interesting points. Take these key paragraphs.
I recognise that many people are sceptical about the science. But as Margaret Thatcher pointed out 20 years ago, this is an exercise in risk management. Given that the consequences of unchecked global warming would be catastrophic, responsible leaders should give the planet the benefit of the doubt. Few of us imagine our house is going to burn down tonight, but most of us will have taken out insurance.
So the political or indeed moral issue is not whether you are totally convinced by the climate change thesis, but what you propose to do about it. Being sceptical about climate change is not unreasonable; doing nothing about it is reckless.
He’s right. Those that advocate doing nothing are just plain wrong.
He also makes the point that most climate change deniers have their youth behind them. That is curious or is it that they have saved for and want to enjoy their retirement and then all these restrictions come along and ruin it.
I certainly am no climate change denier and know we must cut emissions. But we should do it in a scientifically correct way, that will deliver large cuts, so that we leave our descendants the maximum benefit.
Politicians Have Little Effect
I found an article, by Matthew Paris in The Times on Saturday, entitled What have politicians done for them? Zilch.
He was referring to Malawi and Zimbabwe and it is a profound article by someone who writes with thought and also knows that part of Africa.
What with the farcical non-binding agreement at Copenhagen and Prudence’s efforts to try to help the economy, I would suspect that it doesn’t just apply to Africa.
Farewell Saab
I’ve never owned a Saab, possibly because I have tended to buy British cars, but feel rather sad that General Motors have decided to pull the plug on a quintessential Swedish and European brand.
But it is only a gradual process, where cars splitting into mainstream and niches. Saab unfortunately couldn’t find a niche big enough to live in. Just like MG-Rover!
And just like MG-Rover, I doubt that they will be able to survive if someone else buys them. After all, their product line seems rather stale and it is in desperate need of new models.
The Anonymous Widower 