Monday, July 23, 2007
Moving
I am in the Assembly all day unpacking my office after the big move. Essentially, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have taken over the Tory offices at the end of the corridor so as to enable all the other groups to work together.
I am due to be in the Royal Welsh Show tomorrow and already I am looking forward to wading through mud to get from the carpark to the main showground. Could this be Wales' answer to Glastonbury?
All the reports of flooding and Cabinet Emergency Sub-Committees are creating the impression of an almost-apocalyptic event. Then just when we thought it could not get any worse, farmers tell us that the impact of the weather on agriculture means that we will be paying a lot more for our food from now on.
Are these the benefits that the First Minister predicted we would be reaping from global warming and climate change? I think not.
I am due to be in the Royal Welsh Show tomorrow and already I am looking forward to wading through mud to get from the carpark to the main showground. Could this be Wales' answer to Glastonbury?
All the reports of flooding and Cabinet Emergency Sub-Committees are creating the impression of an almost-apocalyptic event. Then just when we thought it could not get any worse, farmers tell us that the impact of the weather on agriculture means that we will be paying a lot more for our food from now on.
Are these the benefits that the First Minister predicted we would be reaping from global warming and climate change? I think not.
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I thought Rhodri said there would be a mixed bag verses all bad (re: global warming). The fabled north west passage might become reality. Maybe lush green pastures and forests will return to the north pole. Climate does change constantly - is either cooling or warming. I rather a bit of global warming than a cool down (that many also predicted a few years ago). Cool down would mean ice sheets spreading - with far worse consequences for farmers - loosing land to glaciers means loss of food production for possibly decades or hundreds of years. Rather a bit of warmer wetter climate over glaciers flowing down from Welsh hills.
# posted by 
: 6:45 PM
: 6:45 PM
Anonymous 6:45 : Are you for real? Tens of Thousands of people have just had their homes submerged, 100's of thousands are without water or power. These extreme weather events are becoming more and more frequent. The time for denial and ignorance has passed. There is no justification, on Earth, for Rhodri's arrogance towards climate change.
Go tell the hundreds of thousands of people who have been affected over the past four weeks that you would prefer them to endure their misery than to take proactive measures to tackle climate change. Lets not forget that according to the Environment Agency the worst is yet to come.
Just remember, it could be your home next!
- Richie Northcote
Go tell the hundreds of thousands of people who have been affected over the past four weeks that you would prefer them to endure their misery than to take proactive measures to tackle climate change. Lets not forget that according to the Environment Agency the worst is yet to come.
Just remember, it could be your home next!
- Richie Northcote
Given the so called 'great floods' of 1947 and 1953 and before that (1791, 1881 and 1897) why should we expect to have no flooding when we are idiotically building dwellings in flood plains without adequate flood defenses?
Flooding is nothing new to the UK - severe flooding happened in 1947. We are building too many houses in KNOWN flood plains. They are called flood plains for a reason - on occasion they are filled with flood waters. Canvey Island has seen great floods in 1791, 1881 and 1897 when the whole island was almost completely submerged due to extensive flooding of the River Thames (see entry in Wikipedia). I don�t think global warming was an issue back in 1791, and no doubt Canvey Island has been flooded numerous times before 1791. The North Sea has flooded large areas of Europe from time to time before global warming became an issue. Building in known flood plains is not the answer; there are now hundreds of thousands of dwellings built in known flood plains in the UK.
I agree that our climate is getting warmer, but I rather a warmer wetter climate over an ice age and so would most folks. But I agree that we are polluting our rivers, the seas, and the air. We are also exporting pollution to China and other countries because of our short-sighted greed for cheaper made products. We really need to think about allowing outsourcing of manufacturing to countries that have appalling records on industrial pollution. We need to think about putting our clothes out to dry on washing lines, shutting down coal fired power stations, cycling more, moving closer to where we work so that we are less reliant on private transport and hiring cars when we need a car instead of spending ridiculous amounts of money to own a car. Public transport is still seen as second class way to travel - take a trip to Germany and see the investment in its train system. Their ICE trains run frequently and are incredibly good at arriving and departing on time. I have used the train system between Glasgow and Cardiff so many times, and every journey was a nightmare - specially between Crewe and Cardiff. We need better trains, buses, more use of bus routes, priority given to public transport, etc.
Flooding is nothing new to the UK - severe flooding happened in 1947. We are building too many houses in KNOWN flood plains. They are called flood plains for a reason - on occasion they are filled with flood waters. Canvey Island has seen great floods in 1791, 1881 and 1897 when the whole island was almost completely submerged due to extensive flooding of the River Thames (see entry in Wikipedia). I don�t think global warming was an issue back in 1791, and no doubt Canvey Island has been flooded numerous times before 1791. The North Sea has flooded large areas of Europe from time to time before global warming became an issue. Building in known flood plains is not the answer; there are now hundreds of thousands of dwellings built in known flood plains in the UK.
I agree that our climate is getting warmer, but I rather a warmer wetter climate over an ice age and so would most folks. But I agree that we are polluting our rivers, the seas, and the air. We are also exporting pollution to China and other countries because of our short-sighted greed for cheaper made products. We really need to think about allowing outsourcing of manufacturing to countries that have appalling records on industrial pollution. We need to think about putting our clothes out to dry on washing lines, shutting down coal fired power stations, cycling more, moving closer to where we work so that we are less reliant on private transport and hiring cars when we need a car instead of spending ridiculous amounts of money to own a car. Public transport is still seen as second class way to travel - take a trip to Germany and see the investment in its train system. Their ICE trains run frequently and are incredibly good at arriving and departing on time. I have used the train system between Glasgow and Cardiff so many times, and every journey was a nightmare - specially between Crewe and Cardiff. We need better trains, buses, more use of bus routes, priority given to public transport, etc.
# posted by : 7:47 PM
: 7:47 PM
Peter, I hope you used the recommended car park and took the shuttle bus to the showground!
(Me, I use Builth Road station if I have to visit Llanelwedd.)
- Frank Little
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(Me, I use Builth Road station if I have to visit Llanelwedd.)
- Frank Little
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