Fracking May be Good for You
There is a great deal of opposition to the use of fracking to extract gas from shale in this country.
I went to a lecture at the Royal Geograhical Society yesterday called Unconventional Gas. It was very enlightening and I can draw various conclusions from the lecture. You can find out more about the lecture here.
The first is that there is a very large amount of gas available to be extracted using fracking and a lot of it is in countries, with pretty stable regimes, like Australia, Canada and the United States.
The second is that gas prices in North America are falling fast, because of the large amounts of gas now available. I believe, that Canada has far too much gas for its own use and will soon start to export.
So it is not inconceivable, that Europe will start to import gas from North America rather than from regimes like Russia and Qatar.
Am I wrong to therefore suggest that because of fracking, we may well find that our gas prices start to drop?
I have deliberately not discussed the use of fracking in the UK and Europe.
The technologies employed are still very much under development and have been used mainly in the very underpopulated parts of the United States and Canada. The extraction is now moving towards more populous states, like Pennsylvania, and only when it is totally accepted by the inhabitants there, will it be time to use it in Europe.
In the meantime we should keep a strong watching brief, investing in resarch in the best universities, as I outlined here.
But as with many things, there are many against the technology, when it starts to be used, but now it is totally accepted. Just look at the opposition Brunel, Stephenson and others had when they started building railways!
Obesity
They’ve just given a forum on BBC Breakfast for a very large lady, who calls herself a Size Awareness Campaigner. She objects to being called obese and wants doctors to use other words.
I would just use fat!
After all because of their overeating, they are pushing the NHS down the toilet.
Why should I pay my taxes to fund other clear up the mess causes by the bad habits of others. And of course that includes smoking and excessive drinking!
That item would never have been shown, whilst the program was based in London.
Clapham High Street and Clapham North Stations
Clapham High Street station will be on the London Overground from December 2012 and Clapham North station is on the Northern Line. So how do they rate as an interchange?
This picture shows the view of Claphsm North from under the bridge by Clapham High Street station.
Looking Towards Clapham North Station
The station is in the distance on the right. And this shows the view the other way.
Looking Back at Clapham High Street Station
It’s not too far to walk and Clapham North station does have escalators. But it also has rather a scary platform.
A Scary Platform at Clapham North
With a tricky set of stairs to get down to it.
Tricky Stairs at Clapham North Station
It was a station that I was glad to leave on a train.
I asked how the two stations rated as an interchange. I managed to use them successfully, but the platfdorm gave me the willies.
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Borehole Cooling at Green Park Tube Station
Green Park Tube Station is cooled using water from a borehole in the park. The method is described here.
Cooling Unit in Green Park Station
The picture shows the cooling unit above the Victoria line platform.
Over The Top of Brixton and Loughborough Junction Stations
Today I wanted to get another view of Brixton and Loughborough Junction stations, so I took a train from Victoria to Peckham Rye and then back to Clapham High Street station.
You can see how high up the line is and the two tracks that will form the London Overground are much higher than the parallel tracks that pass through Brixton.
Did Mrs. Thatcher Wash Her Own Smalls?
According to the Standard tonight, Frau Merkel still washes her own.
Do You Think We Should Have a Whip-round to Buy God a New Bath-plug?
Our youngest son always used to say that thunderstorms were caused because God let the bath-water run over.
So, he might have said the title of this post, after all the bad weather, we’ve been having lately!
Minding the Gap on the Victoria Line
The Victoria line is unusual in London’s Underground lines in that many of the stations are hump-backed. This means that the slope up into the station, slows the train and the descent out of the station, speeds it up. I took some pictures as I rode the line this morning.
Note the variable step-up into the trains,which is also partly explained by the humped-backing of the platform, which was done a couple of years ago,to ease entry for wheelchair users and buggy pushers. All stations except Pimlico have these humps and they are at the middle of the station.
As to the hump-backed designs of the stations, this saves energy. In fact 5%, according to Wikipedia, which also says it makes the trains 9% faster. So why isn’t this simple idea used on other lines?
More Train Doors
I took a few more pictures yesterday.
Note that most are not much better than the first ones I took and posted here.
The strange one is that the Overground at Dalston Junction station is virtually flat, but it isn’t at Highbury and Islington station. As there is only one class of train on the line, surely the step should be the same.
The London bus which may be slightly higher was taken with a typical kerb, but the step up is generally lower. Remember too, that this door on all London buses has a wheelchair ramp, which unfolds from under the bus.
The Anonymous Widower 