GreenPeter (BBC) asks why hedgehogs are in decline. I shout at the TV, BADGERS!!! Cue Dung Heap to come on and try to convince a farmer rep that 10x the number of badgers is not the reason, and anyway, badgers don't eat hedgehogs - except there, behind him is a film of a badger taking a hedgehog. Anything to blame farmers and not the conservationists. Twits - but so bloody ignorant. Dung Heap!! It's the badgers!!!!

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2018/04/01/huffpost-notices-academic-climate-hypocrisy/

The Climate Change Hypocrisy Of Jet-Setting Academics

By Nives Dolšak and Aseem Prakash
03/31/2018 09:00 am ET

"Recently, we witnessed a fascinating conversation among a few of our professorial colleagues about their frequent flyer status on a prominent airline. Two of them had achieved “Diamond” status ― the very top of the priority boarding pecking order. They spoke the most and were the loudest. The others, with either Platinum or Gold frequent flyer medallions, also noted how “busy” they were with “all this travel.” "

"The group casually mentioned the various benefits ― such as seating upgrades and access to airport lounges ― that come with their statuses, but the bragging was not really about those perks. It was about importance and recognition. After all, only the most successful academics fly around the world, attending conferences, participating in workshops and giving lectures. Congratulations all around!"

Big ships are more fuel efficient than smaller ships

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

Very long thin hulls can defeat the Laws of Physics, which is why a racing rowing boat (Oxford Cambridge Boat Race etc is about 55 feet long and only 18 inches wide.

Trans Pacific shipping would need a recharging point in the middle, Pearl Harbour would be ideal, but they would need more ships to transport the fossil fuels to generate the electricity.

From the days of coal, Britain ensured it had coal bunkers at strategic locations around the World. Cape Horn was a problem, until the Falklands became British.

Apr 1, 2018 at 10:46 AM | Uibhist a Tuath

http://eodg.atm.ox.ac.uk/user/dudhia/rowing/physics/basics.html
"This means that to double the boat speed, you need to supply 2cubed= 8 times more power. Put another way, if you double the power, you only go 1.26 times as fast."

AK, 'scratch my back'? Sorry I don't self identify as someone who does kinky stuff but thanks for offering.

Another way to look at batteries for shipping is to consider that a large vessel probably has tankage for 5,000 tonnes of bunkers, and might typically take on 2,000 tonnes when bunkering - enough for a trip from Shanghai to Europe Cape Laden with a bit to spare - unless the price looks really good: it will use around 30 tonnes/day (a Panamax is probably around half that) . At 12MWh/tonne, 2,000 tonnes is 24GWh of batteries. We can discount perhaps by a factor of 4 to 6GWh to allow for the thermodynamic efficiency of the engines, and we are still at something of the order of 45 Big South Australian Batteries. Quite aside from the volume they occupy (and the need for A/C and firefighting equipment), there is the small matter of cost - several $bn per ship. The other little hazard is that they need to refuel while in port - so they may be allowed 24 hours to take on board their 6GWh, requiring a supply of 300MW (allowing for the round trip efficiency of the batteries). There better not be any hazardous cargo around.

Of course, coming from China, they will be fuelling on coal fired power anyway.... You might almost as well appoint a chief stoker and go back to the days of steam.

tiny. Let us all agree that "anything else you've got coming to you", you mightily deserve and probably it is long overdue. Get in line; scratch my back.

I've decided to self identify as a black, blind, disabled, transexual pensioner MP and demand a guide dog, home makeover, round the clock carer, with MP salary, a job at the BBC, a pension or five and... anything else I've got coming to me. I will refuse to accept and be offended by anyone who tries to tell me I don't qualify.