Sep 20, 2018 at 8:13 AM | Mark Hodgson

Hydro Electric Power started in Croatia, not Bosnia or Niagara:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaruga_Hydroelectric_Power_Plant
"Jaruga Hydroelectric Power Plant is a hydroelectric power plant on river Krka, located in Šibenik-Knin county, in central Dalmatia, Croatia.

The Jaruga is the oldest power-generating facilities in the world. Its present location dates back to 1903,[1][2] when it was moved from the nearby original Jaruga power station built in 1895.[3][4]"

It seems that the Green Blob are turning on HEP, with a vengeance, especially for those countries such as Bosnia that would benefit the most, with smaller schemes benefitting local communities. HEP is more reliable and predictable than wind and solar, and whilst peak flows may be seasonal, total annual flow can be restricted to balance out demand.

Small to even smaller systems are available that would allow some power to be generated from the height difference of an average river/canal weir in the UK

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitation_water_vortex_power_plant

I do remember road signs to Pitlochry and "Dam and Fishladder" which always seemed like an expletive. Have salmon catches upstream of Pitlochry been damaged permanently?

There are quite a number of successful and unsuccessful monetary unions in the 19th and 20th centuries. Successful The German Zollverein and the US Dollar. Not so successful The Latin Currency Union and The Scandinavian Currency Union both of which folded in the 1920s. The Gold Standard could be classified as a monetary union of sorts.

It seems that to be successful the participants want a unified country as well as a common currency. Unsuccessful unions seem to not have the fully committed membership required. The Euro seems to fall into the latter category at the moment. Not all members are committed, Italy and Greece for example, some members were forced to join which doesn't lead to 100% support. It also seems that success or failure can take decades so I'd say the fate of the Euro is far from clear, and therefore the fate of the EU and Europe is equally uncertain.

"'They dammed everything' - Bosnia's hydropower gone sour"

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-45470309

"For an example of the ugly face of sustainable energy, environmentalists in Bosnia point to the Medna Dam on Bosnia's Sana River.

Where there was once a free-flowing river, home to a population of Danube salmon, now there are piles of rubble, broken pipes and a concrete wall blocking in the water.

The moss on the rocks shows how high the water used to reach before the dam was completed in March; a black-and-white indicator confirms the low levels during the summer months....

"Western companies are coming here because they can't do new dams in, say, Germany and Norway. They dammed everything - and there's legislation to keep them away from those rivers. They know they can pull it off here, where there's no media attention or legislation like in the European Union."...

About 300 hydropower projects have been proposed for Bosnia's waterways. If they were all constructed, the country would be able to increase its exports of electricity - but its natural environment would be radically transformed...

"This was a crime against nature and the people," says Boro Jankovic, the Eco Zone's founder.

"This is not renewable or green. Using just three water mills on the river would be good; that would help the locals. But they wanted to do it their way and not consult the locals. We can't remove the dam - but we want to use this as an example to raise awareness in other places in Bosnia, so they can't do it there."...

The Austrian developers of the Medna Dam were not available for comment.

The authorities in Bosnia's Republika Srpska - the Bosnian Serb entity - have supported dam projects, saying they are exploiting "unused hydro potential" to "achieve goals set by the EU"....

As more communities wake up to the issues around hydropower, it may just be the start of a long battle for the future of Bosnia's rivers."

Pcar

The Irish Language Act is just the latest excuse to keep the manufactured crisis going and people voting for the two extreme parties.

Remember Bradley's Law.

In Northern Ireland catholics vote for catholics and protestants vote for protetants.

Th DUP have found that in an active Assembly they have to make difficult decisions and lose votes to Ulster Unionists.. Similarl Sinn Fein lose votes to the SDLP.

I doubt we'll see either back in office before Brexit.

Climate Science damaged by historical (not Biblical) storm.

http://joannenova.com.au/2018/09/worst-storm-ever-over-8000-people-killed-in-uk-in-extreme-storm-that-lasted-nine-days-in-1703/