The Weather Thread 2023

[steviewevie]

FUCK THE GREY SQUIRRELS!

[Crazyfool01]

40 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

I guess will get people used to being more careful in how they use energy, how important building insulation is, how maybe don't need to drive everywhere, and maybe that don't need to take as many flights...but I think biggest impact will be how many nations will realise they need to become less reliant on fossil fuels from elsewhere and invest more in other sources of energy...nuclear and renewables mostly. Not sure the transition away from fossil fuels is going to be a peaceful one though, and maybe we're seeing the start of that.

bit nervy on the nuclear option given its pushing a problem further down the road ( waste ) and it is the most expensive option , also look at that power station in ukraine and the vulnerability of that as target in and unstable world .... but I guess it needs to be part of the equation unfortunately.

[Skip997]

1 minute ago, crazyfool1 said:

bit nervy on the nuclear option given its pushing a problem further down the road ( waste ) and it is the most expensive option , also look at that power station in ukraine and the vulnerability of that as target in and unstable world .... but I guess it needs to be part of the equation unfortunately.

The other problem with nuclear is that it takes around 7-10 years to commission a power station.

[steviewevie]

3 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

bit nervy on the nuclear option given its pushing a problem further down the road ( waste ) and it is the most expensive option , also look at that power station in ukraine and the vulnerability of that as target in and unstable world .... but I guess it needs to be part of the equation unfortunately.

Yeah, not ideal...

[Crazyfool01]

Just now, Skip997 said:

The other problem with nuclear is that it takes around 7-10 years to commission a power station.

and umpteen to decommission them .... im damn sure Hinckley c is going to take longer than that tbh 

[efcfanwirral]

31 minutes ago, crazyfool1 said:

bit nervy on the nuclear option given its pushing a problem further down the road ( waste ) and it is the most expensive option , also look at that power station in ukraine and the vulnerability of that as target in and unstable world .... but I guess it needs to be part of the equation unfortunately.

If no nuclear then the conversation changes dramatically. Wind and solar won't do it

[steviewevie]

2 minutes ago, efcfanwirral said:

If no nuclear then the conversation changes dramatically. Wind and solar won't do it

Yeah need both at moment

[efcfanwirral]

33 minutes ago, Skip997 said:

The other problem with nuclear is that it takes around 7-10 years to commission a power station.

All the more reason to start now and think big with the scale of it 

Edited August 11, 2022 by efcfanwirral

[Punksnotdead]

2 hours ago, squirrelarmy said:

It’s an interesting theory. People talk about saving the planet but in reality it’s about keeping the climate in a state where the human race can survive. Long term the planet will outlive humanity and rebalance itself out. 
 

As@crazyfool1’s dad says. The existence of the human race is finite. 
 

I wonder which species will evolve to be the next dominant force on the planet. 
 

My money is on the Squirrels. 

Cockroaches the size of SUV's!

Mind you, we're already being governed by cockroaches! 

[steviewevie]

9 minutes ago, Punksnotdead said:

Cockroaches the size of SUV's!

Mind you, we're already being governed by cockroaches! 

and lizards.

[Kizzie]

22 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

and lizards.

Oh the lizards, I always call them lizards 🦎 

Kids don't get it. 

 

[DeanoL]

1 hour ago, Skip997 said:

The other problem with nuclear is that it takes around 7-10 years to commission a power station.

Everything takes long, or is difficult. Until there's an emergency and then we take a bit more risk and it gets much quicker.

It takes 3 years to get a vaccine approved too. Until it doesn't. There's nothing inherent about a nuclear station that means it takes that long.

"It'll take too long" and "It'll cost too much" are two things we are happy to ignore in an emergency. We just need to acknowledge that we are *in* an emergency. Which many still won't.

[Crazyfool01]

Just now, DeanoL said:

Everything takes long, or is difficult. Until there's an emergency and then we take a bit more risk and it gets much quicker.

It takes 3 years to get a vaccine approved too. Until it doesn't. There's nothing inherent about a nuclear station that means it takes that long.

"It'll take too long" and "It'll cost too much" are two things we are happy to ignore in an emergency. We just need to acknowledge that we are *in* an emergency. Which many still won't.

Go tell those workers on The biggest construction site in Europe , Hinckley C they need to get a wriggle on …  I’m sure it takes that long for a reason … oh and we need to get these workers from somewhere too … they’ve been recruiting for ages down there…. And we would need to do this many times over … 

[dotdash79]

1 hour ago, DeanoL said:

Everything takes long, or is difficult. Until there's an emergency and then we take a bit more risk and it gets much quicker.

It takes 3 years to get a vaccine approved too. Until it doesn't. There's nothing inherent about a nuclear station that means it takes that long.

 

In project management you have something called the quality triangle where you can have 2 of the following:

cheap

quick

done well

mid you want it cheap and done well, it’s going to take an age. If you want it done well and quick it ain’t going to be cheap. 
 

guess where vaccines come in, until it’s needed by everyone now and loads of money gets thrown it to speed it up (most of the time it’s bidding for funding that slows things dow)

The only exception is government projects where projects aren’t cheap or very good quality and are delivered slow. 

[DeanoL]

Yup. People are acting like these are unsolvable problems. Can't find workers? Pay more. Pay construction workers on new nuclear sites £40K a year and they'll be lining up around the block. 

It's not cheap but money is worthless if we're all dead anyway. Doesn't have to be nuclear. Throw the same level of money and commitment at massive solar projects. They ultimately have the same issues, demand for solar installations is extremely high right now in the UK.

But this thread highlights the problem, even with a group of people agreeing we need to do something, someone suggests something and it's "but that'll take too long".

Given money is essentially a human construct anyway, the notion that we literally can't afford to save the human race is frankly fucking batshit. 

[henry bear]

Given the impending hosepipe ban, I’m stocking up

[Alvoram]

https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/derby-news/new-rolls-royce-mini-nuclear-5427413

We're working on it... Lobby lobby lobby and get it moved to the absolute top of the agenda... First one online around 2030 is not soon enough!

[Alvoram]

Also, I still for the life of me cannot work out why there has been no legislation yet to mandate the inclusion of solar panels with every single new build in the country!!!

It should by now be part of building regs, a legal requirement, x wattage of solar per x M2 of roof space!

Edited August 11, 2022 by Alvoram

[stuartbert two hats]

4 hours ago, crazyfool1 said:

bit nervy on the nuclear option given its pushing a problem further down the road ( waste ) and it is the most expensive option , also look at that power station in ukraine and the vulnerability of that as target in and unstable world .... but I guess it needs to be part of the equation unfortunately.

I'm pretty sure nuclear energy is a big reason behind France being able to cap the energy prices so low. They've got so much of the stuff, they're much less exposed to gas price fluctuations. And of course, it's all very low carbon.

[stuartbert two hats]

57 minutes ago, Alvoram said:

Also, I still for the life of me cannot work out why there has been no legislation yet to mandate the inclusion of solar panels with every single new build in the country!!!

It should by now be part of building regs, a legal requirement, x wattage of solar per x M2 of roof space!

I was thinking about that with my tinfoil hat on the other day, and I did note that decentralised power generation means that there's not going to be massive corporations making large profits of people forever.

Centralised wind +solar farms (along with fossil fuels and nuclear) are perfectly fine for getting cash out of people indefinitely. Generate the electricity yourself, not so much.

Edit: Who would lobby for that? Big tradesmen?

Edited August 11, 2022 by stuartbert two hats

[Crazyfool01]

6 hours ago, Alvoram said:

Also, I still for the life of me cannot work out why there has been no legislation yet to mandate the inclusion of solar panels with every single new build in the country!!!

It should by now be part of building regs, a legal requirement, x wattage of solar per x M2 of roof space!

I investigated it and was told it was pointless as my house doesn’t face the correct direction but I agree with the point … where its beneficial they should be fitted and this will drop the price for others that choose it 

Edited August 12, 2022 by crazyfool1

[moogster]

6 hours ago, stuartbert two hats said:

I'm pretty sure nuclear energy is a big reason behind France being able to cap the energy prices so low. They've got so much of the stuff, they're much less exposed to gas price fluctuations. And of course, it's all very low carbon.

Yes but

1- The electricity company is suing the French government because they're running at a loss. Which is weird because it's mostly owned by the French state

2- Some of the power plants are not running because they can't release cooling water that's too warm in the rivers right now. I believe they are starting to make exceptions though.

3- For the third French update, Macron's been caught on a jet ski during his holiday, some pointed out it may not give the best image, so he took a canoe out the next day. Which was so unsubtle it brought even more backlash.

In my country of adoption, the NL, most energy comes from gas. It used to be from the fields in the north of the country, which were until now being closed because it created small earthquakes and houses get damaged. Everyone's thinking that before the end of the year they'll reopen the fields and buy a crapload of houses so that people can relocate. They're pushing nuclear too.

This is all so tense... I knew this was coming but it's coming so fast. 

But yes, some rain coming next week...

[stuartbert two hats]

1 hour ago, moogster said:

Yes but

1- The electricity company is suing the French government because they're running at a loss. Which is weird because it's mostly owned by the French state

2- Some of the power plants are not running because they can't release cooling water that's too warm in the rivers right now. I believe they are starting to make exceptions though.

3- For the third French update, Macron's been caught on a jet ski during his holiday, some pointed out it may not give the best image, so he took a canoe out the next day. Which was so unsubtle it brought even more backlash.

In my country of adoption, the NL, most energy comes from gas. It used to be from the fields in the north of the country, which were until now being closed because it created small earthquakes and houses get damaged. Everyone's thinking that before the end of the year they'll reopen the fields and buy a crapload of houses so that people can relocate. They're pushing nuclear too.

This is all so tense... I knew this was coming but it's coming so fast. 

But yes, some rain coming next week...

I didn't know all that.  Nuclear is certainly not without its own problems, even if you discount the disaster scenarios and the long build times.  I guess there are no easy answers to this one.

[moogster]

One thing I am seeing in the past days though is that instead of posing pictures of kids playing in fountains and people tanning on the beach, the media seems to finally illustrate their articles about the heat with - unfortunately - pictures of kids playing football on a dried field, and other dried up crops and and burnt trees. Hoping this summer will jolt something.

What irks me is the NIMBY attitude of some people. Oh no I am not getting an airco at my house, but how dare you make me work in an office where the temperature is 24 degrees? No but I need to wash my car every two days. I'm a sales rep see. Etc...

 

[squirrelarmy]

50 minutes ago, moogster said:

What irks me is the NIMBY attitude of some people

“Why don’t they build more wind turbines”

Planning permission gets put forward 

“Urgh I’m not having that near my house”