Letters in Keswick Reminder: "Nuclear Re-launch Shameless"

See below for letters re. Cumbria 'Geological Disposal Facility' in current edition of local newspaper, the Keswick Reminder. (Sorry about the inferior quality of the second file. In the absence of a scanner I took photos of the letters with my camera. If anyone is interested I can do a proper scan in due course).

Submerged Bicycle Bridge in Haarlem

Thanks to Chris for pointing out an interesting article on an ingenious piece of cycling infrastructure:

The city of Haarlem wanted to create a barrier free passage where a main arterial route for motor traffic and a main cycle route along a river bank crossed each other’s paths. But there was no space for an overpass, and a tunnel right next to a river was not such a great idea either. So designers came up with the plan to lead the cycle route through the river under the approach span of the two existing drawbridges for the arterial road. A perfect idea, but there was just one small problem: there was not enough clearance, the bridges were almost 30 centimetres or a little under a foot too low. So what do you do? 

Read on at http://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2013/09/19/submerged-bicycle-bridge-in-haarlem

Leading green groups judge the parties’ environmental leadership

The Green Standard 2013, published on 13th September, assesses the environmental leadership provided by senior ministers and shadow ministers from the UK’s three main parties since the last election in May 2010.

The report is pretty condemning.

Read more at http://greenallianceblog.org.uk/2013/09/13/do-they-meet-the-green-standard-leading-green-groups-judge-the-parties-environmental-leadership/

Backwards Reasoning - or: Could fracking prevent climate change denial?

Good article by George Monbiot at http://www.monbiot.com/2013/08/30/backwards-reasoning/
Shame he still hasn't learned the nuclear lesson though.

The Myth of “Saudi America”

I only just read the excellent article at http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/02/u_s_shale_oil_are_we_headed_to_a_new_era_of_oil_abundance.single.html, which an American colleague who works in the oil industry sent me some time ago.

Quote:
It will be hard to muster the resources to develop replacements for fossil fuel energy if we wait until both the economy and climate are in ruins. We are in for a hard landing if we don't use our current prosperity to pave the way for a secure energy and climate future.

Julian Huppert: Trident – getting off the nuclear ladder

I have to admit that I hadn't come across Julian Huppert before, but his position on Trident and nuclear deterrence in general seems eminently sensible. You can read his blog post on the subject at http://www.libdemvoice.org/julian-huppert-trident-getting-off-the-nuclear-ladder-36050.html

Soap opera [White Queen] offers strong link to county [Leicestershire]

Interesting First Person article by historian Malcolm Elliott in the Leicester Mercury on 16th August 2013. Unfortunately it doesn't appear to be available online, so I scanned it.

German Word of the Week: Sonntagsfrage

“Wenn am nächsten Sonntag tatsächlich Bundestagswahl wäre, welche der folgenden Parteien würden Sie dann wählen?” (“If the Bundestag election were next Sunday, for which party would you vote?”) asks a typical Sonntagsfrage poll question, asking citizens to envision how they would cast their ballots if the election crept up on them unexpectedly.

Read more in the current German Word of the Week article, published by the German Information Center USA, at http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/__pr/GIC/TWIG__WoW/2013/32-Sonntagsfrage.html

"Translators Are a Waste of Space"

Really?

Make sure you watch the whole video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGYL5sUwr2Q
before you make up your mind!

Leicester accent and dialect undergoing biggest change for decades

See recent article in the Leicester Mercury at http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Leicester-accent-undergoing-changes/story-19642610-detail/story.html

Germany in Transition

Interesting article at http://www.downtoearth.org.in/coverage/germany-in-transition-42039

Quote:

"Will Germany be able to solve all problems and meet challenges that energiewende has thrown up? Can it meet all its targets?

I believe, it can and it will. The exciting thing about energiewende is not how much renewable energy Germany has installed so far, but how the German government, businesses and civil society are thinking about the energy transition. I believe the German society has crossed the hump."