A Design Crime At West Hampstead Thameslink Station
I almost laughed, when I saw this extension.
It’s the sort of building put up on industrial sites, where planning rules don’t apply.
Manchester Metrolink Extensions In A Sentence
This article on the Manchester Evening News, sums up the extensions to the Manchester Metrolink like this.
It includes tram extensions to Port Salford, Middleton and Stalybridge, plus ‘tram trains’ to Hale, Warrington, Gorton and Glossop.
We all need more pithy sentences like this. Me included!
Stanmore Tube Station To Convert Car Park Into Flats
The title of this post is the same as this article on Ian Visits.
STRABAG Commences Expanded € 1 bn Contract for UK Mine
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Tunnel Business Magazine.
The article gives a good description of the scope of Sirius Minerals’s York Potash project and their massive mine under the Yorkshire Moors.
- The tiunnel to bring the polyhalite to Wilton is nearly forty kilometres long.
- Three tunnel boring machines will be used.
- It is the largest polyhalite deposit in the world.
- The conveyor in the tunnel will handle twenty million tonnes of product a year.
The Wikipedia entry for Sirius Minerals, says this about the project.
This will deliver a £2.3 billion annual contribution to the UK’s GDP, £2.5 billion of annual exports which represents a 7% decrease in the UK’s trade deficit and 2,500 direct and indirect production jobs as well as over 2,000 jobs during construction.
I doubt, there will be few projects in the UK in the next twenty years, which wil contribute so much!
Super-Efficient Flats Don’t Need Heating Or Air-Con
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on Page 34 of today;s copy of The Times.
These are the first two paragraphs.
In a city of skyscrapers the 26-storey building on a small island next to Manhattan looks unremarkable. Hiding in plain sight, however, is an architectural revolution.
The House, a dormitory for graduate students at Cornell University, is so energy efficient it can eliminate the need for heating and air conditioning. It is the first “passive house” in the US and is providing a stream of data for engineers.
If someone built a passive skyscraper in London, I’d ceretainly go and look.
Oxford Splashes Out On £4bn Science Hub
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on page 8 of today’s copy of The Times.
Legal & General is investing the four billion in three related projects.
- Affordable homes for post-gradiates and staff.
- An innovation hub in Begbroke.
- An innovation quarter at Osney Mead.
Oxford is breaking out!
If I have one criticism, it is that Begbroke and Osney Mead appear badly placed for rail and bicycle access.
As some of the best innovators and researchers are short of money, this could be a mistake.
All our universities; large or small, ancient or modern, must come to the aid of the country!
Mountains, Moors And Heaths Offer £20bn In Green Benefits
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on page 2 of today’s copy of The Times.
This is the first paragraph.
Britain’s mountains, moorlands and heaths are worth £20.1 billion for their ability to absorb carbon, remove air pollution and provide recreational activities, according to the Office for National Statistics.
It certainly make you think.
If you think twenty billion pounds is a large number, then this is another two paragraphs.
Natural accounts are required by the European Union but Theresa May has also made them a feature of the 25 Year Environment Plan that she unveiled last year.
The plan is focused on “protecting and enhancing [natural landscapes and habitats] for the next generation”. It follows work by the World Bank, which has estimated the value of the world’s untouched ecosystems at $33.7 trillion (£27.2 trillion).
Surely, this means that if you burn the rain forest, you are literally burning money!
Schroders Unveils Global Energy Transition Fund
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Investment Europe.
This is the first paragraph.
Schroders has launched global energy transition fund in order to harness the global shift towards a low carbon energy system and meeting growing client demand for actively-managed exposure to this fast-evolving and ground-breaking sector.
Read the rest of the article about their new fund.
I pick out this paragraph, that defines the strategy.
The strategy will not invest in companies with exposure to nuclear or fossil fuels. It will harness three significant global trends; the decarbonisation of power generation, the electrification of energy use and increased energy efficiency for its investment process.
This is the first sentence in the Wikipedia entry for Shroders.
Schroders plc is a British multinational asset management company, founded in 1804. The company employs over 5,000 people worldwide in 32 different countries around Europe, America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Headquartered in the City of London, it is traded on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
I think that launch of this global energy transition fund by one of the City of London’s most respected institutions, will eventually be one of many similsr and related funds launched by companies and institutions and that these funds will play a big part in decarbonisation of the planet.
Investment from the big boys is going green.
Thoughts On eScooters!
Consider.
- This article on the BBC is entitled Emily Hartridge: TV Presenter And YouTube Star Dies In Crash. It is an extremely sad tale and it has led to the inevitable call to ban electric scooters.
- There is also this article on the BBC, which is entitled Iris Goldsmith: Teenage girl dies in ‘quad bike’ accident. This is another extremely sad tale and many are questioning, what a teenage girl was doing, riding a quadbike.
- And then there’s this article on the BBC, Which is entitled Govia Thameslink Fined £1m Over Gatwick Express Window Death.
Young people and some older ones too, often do stupid things.
Many also crave danger and go mountaineering, riding on the tops of trains or jumping into rivers from a great height.
Doing things out of the ordinary is a natural reaction and is one of the reason, why humans are the most successful species on this planet.
I think the problem is the way we bring up children.
- My parents let me do anything I wanted up to a point.
- They also taught me lots of skills.
- From about twelve, I used to cycle all over London.
- I spent endless hours in my father’s print works doing things that would be frowned upon now, because they are too dangerous.
A couple of months ago, I was interviewed by a sixth-form girl student, in the volunteering I do at Barts Hospital in giving experience to prospective doctors.
She had lived in an over-protective environment and hardly left home on her own.
It was almost child abuse. She didn’t say, but I suspect she’d even been driven to and from school.
When it came to our own children, C and myself were fairly liberal and it was strange how, two became very street-wise and had the occasional scrapes, whereas the other was generally well-behaved.
Perhaps, we didn’t get everything right, but I like to think, we gave them a good appreciation of risk!
And that is one of the mot important things to learn in life, as often, those that ca’t assess risk, come to unfortunate ends.
I do feel my youngest son’s unhealthy lifestyle was a factor in his getting pancreatic cancer, especially if he was coeliac like me! But then he wouldn’t get tested!
His daughter though, seems to have a good appreciation of risk, but then if your father dies, you probably do!
To return to the eScooter, which is where this post started.
They Look Fun!
They certainly look fun and I constantly want to have a go on one.
Remember, I have crashed a twin-engined aeroplae and ridden horses in the Masai Mara.
At seventeen, I also sat on the back of a motorcycle, the wrong way round and went through the Mersey Tunnel.
Was I wearing a helmet? Of course not!
Are They Dangerous?
The risk depends on where they are used and how competent the rider is!
Ask any A & E doctor, what sport causes the most injuries and they’ll say something like rugby or horse-riding!
When A & E doctors start complaining about eScooters that will be the time for action.
Would Training Help?
Training isn’t the important thing.
However experience, especially that gained in a safe environment is important.
But to legislate that training should be mandatory will only have the reverse affect.
Conclusion
It’s a difficult problem, but we must teach everybody to appreciate risk.
When I joined ICI in 1969, I went on a formal Health and Safety course.
It has proven to be invaluable all my life an I haven’t worked on a chemical plant since 1970.
Will Sky Ever Broadcast A Freeview Sports Channel?
Yesterday, Sky held the rights to both the Cricket World Cup Final and The British Grand Prix.
But in the end Sky shared the coverage of both events with Channel 4!
Now that both events have successfully concluded, Sky will have the details of the following.
- Number of viewers.
- Advertising revenue on both Sky and Channel 4.
- Reaction from politicians, some of whom are not very pleased with Sky.
This will enable the company to decide, whether it is in the company’s interest to do it again.
- I can also see a scenario, where if a Sky Freeview channel exists, that sports would want to do promotional deals to get their sport in front of viewers, by perhaps having the top level on satellite and lower levels on Freeview.
- Sky uses a lot of repeats on its Sports Channels at Off Peak times.
- Freeview technology will also be allowing more channels.
- Sky must be a bit worried about competition from other broadcasters woth bottomless pockets.
I don’t think we can rule anything out, as Sky are an innovative and ambitious broadcaster.
