Cargo Sous Terrain
This is a Swiss idea to move small parcels around the country.
This is the project’s web site.
There will be a network of tunnels under Switzerland serving all the major centres.
This article on LeNews is entitled Switzerland’s Underground Tunnel Project Gets Green Light From Upper House, describes the project.
This is the first paragraph.
On 1 June 2021, a project to build an underground freight tunnel network stretching from Geneva to St Gallen, gained almost unanimous support in the Council of States, Switzerland upper house.
These are a few points from the article.
- It appears to be privately funded.
- There will be a three-lane tunnel network across the country.
- It will use driverless electric vehicles.
- Speed will be 30 kph.
- It will run twenty-four hours per day.
- There will be a track in the roof of the tunnel for smaller parcels.
- There will be a total of 500 km of tunnels.
- Completion date is set for 2045.
- It will cost around £24 billion.
It’s as though all of Switzerland were to be turned into a giant Amazon or Ocado warehouse.
Will It Work?
I don’t see why not, although it would be an immense project!
This paragraph indicates they will start small.
The first 70 km section of the tunnel network, which will connect a hub in Härkingen-Niederbipp with Zurich, is scheduled for completion in 2031.
But even that will cost around £2.5 billion!
It certainly, is a bold idea, that has possibilities.
Has Tess Daly Only Got The One Dress?
Pictures of Tess Daly have been all over the London Underground for over a year now.
But it’s all getting a bit boring and perhaps she needs a new dress?
Air Passengers Can Beat Queues With Uber-Style Private Jet Service
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on The Times.
Hyer Aviation are starting a service that uses similar technology to Uber to share seats on private jets around Europe.
Their modus operandi is laid out in this press release on their web site.
This paragraph is from the press release.
The concept works like an extra-comfortable UberPool with wings. Passengers can initiate their own flight or join flights proposed by others. This allows them to fly on private aircraft for a fraction of the cost while offsetting the carbon emission of their flights. From London, routes are available to some of Britain’s favourite holiday destinations such as Ibiza, Cannes, Malaga, Amalfi Coast and Amsterdam. From Amsterdam, it is also possible to find flights proposed by other passengers to Nice and Ibiza.
think this business model could fly.
Years ago, I owned a twin piston-engined six seater aircraft and I flew it all over Europe. I don’t fly now, as my medical history would probably stop that, but the experience showed there are many quiet airports all over the UK and Europe, that could be destinations for a 6-9 seater aircraft.
To me the interesting thing about this business model, is that there are several zero-carbon 6-9 seater aircraft under development.
Two are electric developments of the widely-used Cessna Caravan and the Britten-Norman Islander and others are clean-sheet developments like the Eviation Alice or the Faradair BEHA.
ZeroAvia are also experimenting with a hydrogen-powered Piper Malibu.
An electric or zero-carbon future for aviation is closer than many think.
But it will start at the smaller end with ranges of up to 500 miles.
Is Qatar 2022 Seriously Under Threat?
For various reasons, I’m not in favour of holding the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
I am not alone and summed up Greg Dyke’s views in Greg Dyke On Qatar 2022, where I came to this conclusion.
I think the whole tournament is already dead-in-the-water and that it probably won’t take place in Qatar. If it does, it will be in fully-enclosed air-conditioned stadia, with virtually no spectators and absolutely no real fans or atmosphere.
The air-conditioned stadia will probably use masses of electricity generated in fossil fuel power stations.
This article on the BBC is entitled Christian Eriksen: Denmark Midfielder Suffered Cardiac Arrest, Says Team Doctor.
Was Eriksen’s cardiac arrest caused by the heat in Copenhagen?
We shall probably not know until the full investigation has been completed.
Now put yourself in the position of an owner of a Premier League or other important football club.
Would you allow your star player to go and play in the heat of Qatar without a full investigation into what happened with Christian Eriksen?
I suspect many owners would tell Qatar and FIFA, where they could stick their World Cup.
They just can’t afford to risk their assets!
Cummins: Paving The Way To A Hydrogen Economy
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on H2 View.
Cummins is an American multinational corporation, with sales of $23.77 billion in 2018.
That is not small and a lot of that sales revenue comes from the sales and support of products that use diesel fuel, with all the emission and pollution problems that that entails.
So rather than just wait for a slow corporate death, Cummins have decided to embrace a zero-carbon fuel strategy based on hydrogen.
As part of this strategy they purchased an 81 % stake in Canadian hydrogen technology company; Hydrogenics.
This must-read article is a good report on the progress of the strategy.
I believe Cummins is a company to watch in the strategy of replacing diesel with hydrogen.
Was 1926 A Good Vintage?
It was Trooping The Colour yesterday on Queen Elizabeth II’s 95th birthday.
The Queen also shares a birth year with broadcaster; David Attenborough.
So was 1926 a vintage year for births?
These are my selection from Wikipedia.
David Berglas – Without doubt the best magician I’ve ever seen. He’s also solved the puzzle of staying alive!
Chuck Berry – I saw him live twice on stage at the Regal cinema in Edmonton
Danny Blanchflower – Without doubt the best footballer and captain I’ve ever seen.
Michael Bond – Who hasn’t read Paddington or seen one of the films?
Frank Carson – One of my favourite comedians.
Fidel Castro – Love him or loathe him, he was significant!
Beryl Cook – A quirky British artist!
Pat Coombs – An actress who was everywhere, when I was growing up! She may have been related to a friend at school!
Hazel Court – Another actress prominent in the during my formative years. One of her characters even suggested a solution to a problem I had! Click here!
Quentin Crewe – An extremely entertaining writer!
Miles Davis – One of the most influential musicians of the 20th century!
Paddy Doherty – I actually spoke to him for an hour on the phone, after I gave a donation to one of his projects in Derry.
J. P. Donleavy – His books were above my literary capability!
Frank Finlay – An actor who got a lot of meaty roles!
Garret FitzGerald – Irish statesman.
Dario Fo – Italian comedian, playwright and theatre director, who won a Nobel Prize for Literature!
Bryan Forbes – One of the most important figures in the British film industry!
Harry Fowler – A Cockney actor, who was never out of work!
John Fowles – English novelist.
Allen Ginsberg – We had a physics teacher, who introduced us to the Beat Generation poets!
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing – French president
Buddy Greco – Successful singer and pianist
Alan Greenspan – former head of the Federal Reserve.
Gus Grissom – Astronaut
Gyula Grosics – Hungarian goalkeeper and the first sweeper-keeper.
Terry Hall – Lenny the Lion’s friend
Paul Hamlyn – British publisher.
Hugh Hefner – Playboy!
Geoffrey Howe – Conservative politician
Nelson Bunker Hunt – American billionaire!
Rex Hunt – Governor of the Falklands at the time of the Argentine invasion.
Norman Jewison – Retired film director, producer and screenwriter
Narinder Singh Kapany – The father of fibre optics.
To be continued…
Brutal Third Wave Or Harmless Ripple? The Scientists Aren’t Yet Sure
The title of this post, is the same as that is the same as that of this article on The Times.
The scientists nay not be sure, whether with two jabs, you are safe from the Indian or Delta variant.
But how about me?
- I have had my two AstraZeneca jabs.
- I am also coeliac and have stuck tightly to my long-term gluten-free diet.
- Despite possibly being challenged by a group of Chinese students, that I wrote about in Did I Have A Close Brush With Covid-19?, I have not knowingly had the covids.
- I’ve only had one test for the virus and that was negative.
For various reasons, I believe that coeliacs on a long-term gluten-free diet have a very strong immune system, that could help to protect them from the covids.
- Personally, my health was transformed, when I went gluten-free in 1997.
- I am sure, my immune system gave the first dose of the vaccine a good kicking.
- I rarely, suffer from colds and sniffles, although I do have flu jabs.
- Research by Joe West at Nottingham University, has shown that as a group, we’re 25 % less likely to suffer from cancer.
So could these points prove my hypothesis?
In addition, I ask people, if they have any coeliac friends. These personal tales have yet to reveal any coeliacs on long-term gluten-free diets, who’ve had a serious dose of the covids.
I’ve also talked to intensive care doctors, who have said they can’t remember caring for a coeliac with a serious dose of the covids.
So I shall be Keeping Calm And Carrying On!
Hyundai’s Hydrogen Future
I found this video from Hyundai informative.
The video quotes the following about the hydrogen truck, that is shown in the video.
- It has a range of up to 248 miles
- Charging takes between 8 and 20 minutes
- If one of these trucks replaces a diesel truck, it cuts seventy tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, based on 50,000 miles per year.
I know a lot is corporate speak, but I certainly think hyundai are right about hydrogen.
UK Air Taxi Start-Up Finds Early Buyers For 1,000 Vehicles
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the Financial Times.
The article is well worth a read and describes the progress of Vertical Aerospace, which was started by Ovo Energy founder; Stephen Fitzpatrick.
The Vertical Aerospace web site is worth a visit.
Details given of their VA-X4 plane include.
- Range – 100+ miles
- Speed – 202 miles
- Capacity – 5
- Carbon Emissions – Zero
- Certification – EASA/CAA
- Noise – 100 times quieter than a helicopter.
There is a lot to like!
What is certain in my mind, is that there is a market for a short range zero-carbon aircraft of some sort.
Judging by the number of aircraft being proposed for this market, I come to two conclusions.
- The market isn’t mythical.
- Someone will make a success of it.
I also wouldn’t be surprised, if the most successful design has rather a weird look about it.
But despite saying that, two of the frontrunners; the Cessna Electric Caravan and the electric version of the Britten-Norman Islander are both conversions of existing successful aircraft.
I believe, that I’m young enough to fly in an electric aircraft.
800009 – John Charles
On my way to Wales on Tuesday, I travelled in the Class 800 train, that is numbered 800009 and named after the great Welsh footballer; John Charles at one end.
I actually saw him play for Leeds in a match against Spurs at White Hart Lane. Leeds played in a blue kit in those days and I am fairly sure John Charles played up front.
I suspect, it likely, that it must have been the 1956-57 season as it would be the only season where Leeds were in the First Division, before John Charles left in 1957 to go to Juventus.
I wonder how many people, who saw John Charles play, have actually ridden in the train named after him?
It was good to see that Great Western Railway have also put his Italian nickname; Il Gigante Buono on the train.
The Anonymous Widower 