Plastic Bag Fee ‘To Double To 10p’ And Include Every Shop
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the guts of the story.
The 5p fee for plastic carrier bags in England will be doubled to 10p, and extended to all shops, under plans set out by the environment secretary.
The change is contained in a government consultation aimed at further reducing the plastic used by consumers and could come into effect in January 2020.
Smaller retailers, who are exempt from the current levy, supply an estimated 3.6 billion single-use bags annually.
I’m all for this, if it cuts down the amount of plastic, that blows around the country, before ending up in the seas.
This is the bag I use.
Note.
- It folds up, so that it first into my man-bag.
- It easily holds two days of my food shopping.
- The handles re very comfortable, even when carrying eight bottles of beer.
- I’ve had it over a year now and it is finally showing the odd sign of wear.
- It is big enough to hold a copy of the Sunday Times without folding.
It did cost be five pounds from M & S, but how much have I saved on five pence bags?
It is not a perfect bag, but it is a good start.
Other things, in the same vein, that I’d like to see.
- A charge on takeaway food, especially pizza boxes, which seem to end up in front of my house.
- A fine for piling household and commercial waste around litter bins, which is very prevalent in this area, despite council camnpaigns to stop it.
- Remove the foxes back to the countryside, so they don’t spread the rubbish all over the street.
As to the latter, foxes seem to have eaten most of the cats, hedgehogs and birds, so it is their only way to get food.
I Am A Twenty-Four Hour Person
I rose as usual at around five-thirty this morning and went through my normal routine.
- I measured my weight and blood pressure. Incidentally, I weighed 61.8 Kg.
- I checked my savings in Zopa and my bank account.
- I did two dozen press-ups
Now I am on my first cup of tea of the day. I have also replied to a couple of e-mails.
I’ve been like this in one way or other since the 1970s, when I started programming Artemis.
In those pre-e-mail days, I would be on my computer writing code before six and generally only stopped writing code around ten at night having been writing on and off all day.
C would sometimes drag me off for some shopping or a visit to a pub or restaurant, but I worked very hard and was well rewarded.
Some would say my hours are unusual, but my father was the same. Memorably, he once mowed the lawn at two o’clock in the morning!
Open Golf Championship’s £69m Boost To Scottish Economy
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the first two paragraphs.
The Open golf championship at Carnoustie in July boosted the Scottish economy by £69m this year, according to an independent study.
Researchers at Sheffield Hallam University found the Angus area alone received a £21m cash injection from hosting the event.
It just goes to show the value of big events to a country, region or a city.
I have to ask the opposite question! – Do some areas of the UK, suffer because they don’t host a big sporting event, arts festival or site or museum of national importance?
Funding Injection For Smart Central Heating Project
The title of this article is the same as that of this article in The Scotsman.
This is the first two paragraphs.
East Lothian-based thermal energy storage specialist Sunamp and energy supplier OVO have secured seven-figure funding to develop a commercially viable smart central heating system.
The project brings together OVO’s intelligent energy management platform, called VCharge, with Sunamp’s super compact “heat batteries” which are said to store four times more heat than hot water tanks of a similar size.
This sounds like an interesting concept from Sunamp and OVO.
This video from Fully Charged, shows Sunamp’s thermal batteries in action.
I believe we’ll be seeing more of thermal batteries!
Harry Redknapp And Stacey Dooley
With Harry Redknapp winning I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here and Stacey Dooley winning Strictly Come Dancing are we seeing a reaction to the gloom that pervades everyday life and especially politics.
I’ve never met either, but both seem likeable characters, to whom not many would object.
Palm Oil Giant Wilmar International To Combat Deforestation Using Satellite Monitoring Of Suppliers
The title of this post is the same as that of an article on The Independent.
This is the first three paragraphs.
The world’s largest trader in palm oil has unveiled plans to use satellite monitoring to prevent further destruction of rainforests.
Wilmar International is backing a project by sustainability consultancy Aidenvironment to draw up a comprehensive mapping database of suppliers in countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia.
It has pledged to immediately suspend groups involved in deforestation or development on peatland, while also working with them to improve their operations.
Both the Independent and The Times, quote Kiki Taufik of Greenpeace, as the announcement being a potential breakthrough.
The Times also says, that Mondelez, who own Cadbury, have backed Wilmar’s palm oil plan.
Christmas Card Messages
I received a card with a stylised dove of peace on the front. Underneath were the words.
All is Calm
Inside the sender had added.
The makers of this card clearly hadn’t heard about Brexit!
You wouldn’t want to send it to a friend or relative in France either!
There are some very inappropriate cards in shops.
The New London Pollution Charge — May Be Mayor Sadiq Khan’s ‘Poll Tax Moment’
The title of this post is the same as that of a news story in today’s Sunday Times.
This is the first paragraph.
The ‘ultra-low emission zone’ will force 1m motorists to pay the £12.50 daily charge — or get off the road,
The Sunday Times has done a detailed analysis and makes the following points about the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ).
- About a million vehicles will be liable to the new levy.
- The ULEZ charge of £12.50 will be a nice little earner for Transport for London (TfL).
- The ULEZ charge will raise three times as much as the Congestion Charge.
- It could collect up to £1.5billion per year.
- Some people will be paying £4,000 a year to drive their own car.
- Initially, the charge will only be levied in Central London, but after 2021, it will apply inside the North and South Circular Roads.
- The Sunday Times has read some TfL impact assessments.
Reading the full article convinces me, that I made the right decision to give up driving.
I am in favour of the ULEZ, as I suffer from pollution and I don’t have a driving licence because my eyesight was damaged by a stroke.
But Sadiq Khan seems to have forgotten a lesson of recent history, where the City of Westminster voted down his laudable aim of pedestrianising part of Oxford Street.
On that issue, he should have pedestrianised all of it. Just as the City of London seems to be doing!
But the motoring lobby gave Westminster a good kicking and do you think, they will be less active at the ballot box in the next Mayoral Election?
Few would vote for someone, who would tax them an extra £4,000 a year.
Sadiq Khan is a well-meaning politically-correct lightweight, who doesn’t think through the effects of his promises.
2022 Opening For £80m Eden Project North Which Would Attract Up To 8,000 People A Day To Morecambe
The title of this post is the same as that of this article in the Lancaster Guardian.
This is the first paragraph.
The Eden Project North would open in autumn 2022 at a cost of £80m and attract up to 8,000 people a day to Morecambe – if planning and funding can be agreed.
Given the undoubted success of the Eden Project in Cornwall, I would be very surprised if this project doesn’t go ahead.
Exciting Renewable Energy Project for Spennymoor
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the Durham University web site.
This is the first paragraph.
In January 2016, local residents Alan Gardner, Cllr Kevin Thompson and Lynn Gibson from the Durham Energy Institute at Durham University, met a team of academics to explore the advantages renewable energy and specifically the use of geothermal resources could bring to Spennymoor.
And this is the last.
Durham University is one of the world leaders in this research field. Spennymoor now has an opportunity to be at the forefront of that research. What the outcomes will eventually be is unknown at this stage but being able to explore the opportunity by the best in the business is encouraging.
Charlotte Adams mentioned in the article is the academic, who did the presentation I saw yesterday and talked about in Can Abandoned Mines Heat Our Future?.
Everybody, who lives in a mining area, should read this article and show it to everyone they know.
