La-La Land:

Richard Murphy and Colin Hines on creating a programme of economic activity that improves social conditions and addresses the environmental crisis

There is no better example of what Larry Elliott perceptively terms “capitalism for dummies”, whereby our political systems self-destructively fail to tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis, than the unspent 95% of the green homes programme (We’re on a collision course with the planet. But with public support, that can change, 10 February).

To reverse this trend, and overcome the social and employment effects of the Covid pandemic, will require a new form of growth – one which only supports an increase in economic activity that improves social conditions, creates secure, adequately paid jobs and seriously addresses the environmental crisis.

Just as it appears that the government is beginning to take back control of the NHS from inefficient aspects of private-sector involvement, so the same kind of “smart, activist state” is required to decarbonise and make energy-efficient the UK’s 30m buildings. Such a massive programme providing jobs in every constituency could be paid for by offering green Isas at an interest rate of, say, 1% to attract huge swathes of the £70bn invested in this annually. This programme could be underwritten by green quantitative easing, whereby the Bank of England electronically creates the money involved and no government debt is incurred.

Such a multibillion-pound programme could be rolled out in time to act as a global exemplar for Cop26 in Glasgow this November. “Saving for the planet” is also likely to be extremely popular politically, given the growing public support for tackling the climate crisis.
Richard Murphy Visiting professor of accounting, Sheffield University Management School and Colin Hines Convenor, UK Green New Deal Group

At 15.02 on BBC's website:

Why we shouldn't fall for the ‘climate doom porn’ narrative

Climate scientist Michael Mann claims we should be wary of the fossil fuel industry's tactic of diverting attention away from their own carbon footprint.

A nice bit of free and unquestioning propaganda there.

Meanwhile, in the real world:

US snow: Winter storm tightens grip in southern states

Authorities across the US are on alert as a winter storm brings freezing winds, ice and snow to many areas that rarely see such frigid conditions.

President Joe Biden has approved a state of emergency in Texas where a surge in demand for electricity has led to widespread power cuts.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said more than 150 million Americans were now under winter storm warnings.

Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Oregon and Oklahoma are among states affected....

And this:

Frozen wind turbines hamper Texas power output, state's electric grid operator says

Nearly half of Texas' installed wind power generation capacity has been offline because of frozen wind turbines in West Texas, according to Texas grid operators.

Wind farms across the state generate up to a combined 25,100 megawatts of energy. But unusually moist winter conditions in West Texas brought on by the weekend's freezing rain and historically low temperatures have iced many of those wind turbines to a halt.

As of Sunday morning, those iced turbines comprise 12,000 megawatts of Texas' installed wind generation capacity, although those West Texas turbines don't typically spin to their full generation capacity this time of year.

Texas power outages: Rolling blackouts possible amid record demand for energy

AK

I'm usually shocked when I watch TV reports from big towns and cities that seem to be virtually deserted. Here in our small market town, life remains as vibrant as is possible in the circumstances, and locals are actively supporting those small local shops which remain open, and even those that are closed, by ordering goods from them over the internet or by telephone. Many local shop-keepers, of closed shops, are delivering goods in that way, or arranging brief windows of time when goods can be collected from their shop doorstep by appointment.

However, there is no doubt that the damage wrought by these repeated lockdowns is immense, and will be felt for years, if not for decades, to come. Very few people doubt the harm that would be done by letting coronavirus rip, but the Government's failure to offer impact assessments on their lockdown legislation, and the failure to allow much real debate about the harms -v- benefits of lockdown are certainly disappointing.

As for Jaguar's electrification, here's the BBC's take for those who are interested:

Jaguar car brand to be all-electric by 2025

Jaguar cars all to be electric. So sad.

For the first time in more than 3 months I visited Norwich and was greatly shocked. I watch the news each day, but somehow the impact of it had not really registered. We travelled by double-decker bus and were the only passengers. The heart of the city has been ripped out. Many small shops closed and shuttered, commonly in clusters. Cafes and restaurants closed, and worst of all, large stores permanently empty - Debenhams, a local Department Store Jarrolds, the big clothes stores all empty and derelict. Few people wandering about, but most shocking of all were the numbers of homeless, shown by their tents and bedding - sometimes two to a closed store entrance. Parts of Norwich look like a zombi film set. Is it like this across the land? What a disaster this virus, and attempts to curtail it, have wrought. To me, all out of mind and sight. Our local town is not suffering anywhere near as bad.

Norwich used to be vibrant, now it is near comatose.