Food Shortages Looming After Factory Closures Hit Production
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
This is the first paragraph.
Acute food shortages were feared last night after high gas prices forced most of Britain’s commercial production of carbon dioxide to shut down.
In some ways, this is rather ironic, when on the one hand we are trying to stop the emission of carbon dioxide and on the other we haven’t got enough for important uses in the food industry.
Perhaps we should fit carbon capture to a handy gas-fired power station, like SSE are planning to do at Keadby and use this carbon dioxide.
If the shortage continues, there’ll be no dry ice for the pantomimes this Christmas.
Vicat And Hynamics Develop Solution For Capturing CO2 And Producing Carbon-Free Methanol
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on World Cement.
This is the first paragraph.
Under a partnership with Hynamics, a subsidiary of energy-provider Groupe EDF that specialises in production of hydrogen, Vicat is developing an integrated solution for capturing CO2 and producing carbon-free methanol.
As cement manufacture is a large emitter of carbon dioxide, this could lead to a worthwhile solution.
But is it another application of Carbon Capture And Use?
Twenty Years On!
On the eleventh of September in 2001, I had three jobs to do in London.
- I had to visit my press cuttings client near Borough tube station to talk about something, which I have long forgotten.
- I had to deliver a thousand Al Stewart CDs to his manager, as the singer was going on tour. The handover was to be performed in Waterloo station.
- I was then going on to Soho to see a Chinese bookmaker, for whom I offered computer advice.
I parked my car on a meter and went to visit the first client at about two.
When I returned to the car, I needed to phone my wife; C about something. My phone was installed in my Discovery and it didn’t have any calling list, as I remembered numbers and just typed them in.
But for some reason I couldn’t remember her mobile phone number or the Office number at home, so I didn’t make the call.
This was very unlike me, as I’ve always had an excellent memory. Especially for numbers.
I did remember to deliver the parcel to Al Stewart’s manager and made my way to Soho, where I parked in an underground car park.
It was only when I got to the bookmakers did I realise what was going on in New York, as they had the televisions on and were watching the drama continuously.
I have a feeling, that I made my excuses and returned quickly to Suffolk.
By this time, my memory had returned and I was able to phone C.
But the worst terrorist attacks of recent memory were probably over.
Did my brain pick up the bad news or was it due to being close to the City of London, where there would have been a large amount of electronic communication to New York?
I have no idea.
But there is another incident, where I may have picked up tragic news through the ether.
On Sunday, the 31st August 1997, I woke up about five as I generally do and remarkably said to C. “Something tragic has happend! I think Tony Blair has been assassinated!”
She told me to stop being silly and I went downstairs to make a cup of tea and do some programming. It was then that I turned on the radio and heard that Princess Diana had died in the traffic accident in Paris.
Tideway – Blackfriars Bridge Foreshore – 4th September 2021
I passed Tideway’s Blackfriars Bridge Foreshore site on the way home and took these pictures.
This page on the Tideway web site, gives a visualisation of the project.
Heading North For Summer: Report Reveals £21bn Annual Visitor Spend Across The Region
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Transport for the North.
This is the opening paragraph.
Pan-regional figures reveal the full importance of the North of England visitor economy for the first time, with 25% of all England’s tourism spend taking place in the region.
The figures quoted are much larger than I would have expected.
Building Council Flats In London
I was told this tale by the Head of the Construction Branch of the Greater London Council, who was a big user of the first Project Management System;PERT7, that I wrote in the 1970s.
The GLC were building some council flats alongside the railway.
There were four parallel blocks with five floors and I’ll number them 1 to 4, with 4 alongside the railway and 1 furthest away.
The plan to build them involved the following.
- Deliveries were planned, so that the many residents around the site and British Rail were not inconvenienced.
- Site access was arranged with British Rail along the railway on a track to and from a major road a few hundred yards away.
- The site would be cleared with all the rubble going out in the reverse direction.
- The plan then was to build the blocks 1, 2, 3 and 4 towards the railway.
- This was logical, as when each block was completed it could be occupied and the new tenants wouldn’t be living in a building site, as what needed to be done was towards the railway.
But he was overruled by a vociferous local lobby and some local politicians, who had convinced themselves that building away from the railway in a 4, 3, 2, 1 order would be better.
In the end they were built in the 4, 3, 2, 1 order with budget and time overruns and endless complaints from residents.
If there is a lesson from this fairly insignificant project, it is that in a construction project, there is often one way to build it, that minimises construction time and disturbance to neighbours and maximises the cash flow from the development.
Deutz Hydrogen Engine Ready For Market
The title of this post, is the same as this article on H2 View.
These are the first two paragraphs
A brand-new hydrogen engine has been developed in Cologne, Germany to help accelerate the rollout of low and zero emission drive systems.
Developed by Deutz, the TCG 7.8 H2 engine has already passed initial tests on the test bench and is scheduled to go into full production in 2024.
This could be a very significant development.
Initially from the article, they seem to be concentrating on stationary applications, but it could be an easy route for large vehicle manufacturers to decarbonise their products.
UK’s Rude Place Names To Be Toured By Man On Moped
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This paragraph gives a flavour of the route.
His journey will begin in Shitterton, Dorset, on Wednesday and will take in locations such as Twatt in Orkney and Booze in the Yorkshire Dales.
Mary Whitehouse would not have been amused, but I suspect many will find some of the names raise more than a titter.
This is the JustGiving page of the guy doing what he calls the Moronic Moped Marathon. The money raised will go towards Cancer Research.
Record Levels Of Lithium In Geothermal Water At United Downs Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Think Geoenergy.
This paragraph explains it all.
Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL), the company behind the UK’s first deep geothermal electricity power plant, is today announcing record levels of lithium in its geothermal waters. Recent, third party tests have revealed that there are more than 250 milligrams per litre (‘mg/L’) in the fluid which is the highest concentration ever discovered in geothermal fluids anywhere in the world.
The article also says.
- The magnesium levels are low, which eases processing.
- Up to four thousand tonnes of lithium could be produced per year locally.
The article is certainly worth a read.
Afghanistan War: Taliban Back Brutal Rule As They Strike For Power
This article on the BBC describes the evil that are the Taliban.
They need to be rounded up and sent to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Violent thugs and despots like the Taliban give Islam a bad name.
The Anonymous Widower 