Psychosis is often caused by people make nonsensical linkages between unrelated things, like when Peggy Joseph thought voting for Obama was going to pay her mortgage and gas bill.
The UK demonstrated historical levels of psychosis when Gordon Brown created “The Department of Energy and Climate Change.” He put a group of lunatics who are terrified of energy in charge of maintaining the energy supply.
Older coal-fired power stations are due to come out of service in 2015, but new plants are not coming on stream fast enough to make up the gap, and existing gas-fired power stations have been mothballed as they are uneconomic.
Electricity companies are choosing to use coal rather than gas at present, because coal is plentiful and cheap as a result of the massive boom in shale gas in the US, which has displaced coal-fired generation there and sent the excess coal around the world at cut price rates. But most of the existing coal-fired power plants are likely to be taken out of service in 2015, in order to comply with new European Union directives on pollutants.
UK faces increased risk of blackouts, report warns | Environment | theguardian.com
For once, a Grauniad article touching on energy supply does not become a green, eco-loon advocacy piece. But if you really want a laugh – or a good cry – read as many of the comment you can before reaching for the sick-bag: the prevailing view on the evils of capitalism and the touching faith in nationalization as the panacea, the cure-all for every politically mandated stuff-up makes one wonder about the earth-worm level intelligence or general knowledge of the average Grauniad reader. Maybe they forget the great British economic success stories of the mid 20th century: the National Coal Board. British Road Services: British Rail, The Iron and Steel Corporation, the GPO, even that corrupt rent-seeker, the still extant BBC.
I am sorry it is coming to this, but the electricity consuming public of the UK and Germany will experience what happens when reliable grids are reduced to third-world status. People need to wake to the realities of making sure the lights come on when they flip the switch. That does not include shutting down the coal plants when you obstruct producing natural gas on your own soil and shutting down all of your nukes due to the tsunamis in Germany.
I say ‘bring it on!’ A cold winter and some power cuts might wake some of the idiots up from their green coma. I’ll sit in the dark and shiver if that’s what it takes.
The Grauniad, is (as usual) wrong.
http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=84412
We’ve hundreds of diesel-powered generators, all sat (and being paid for), ready to kick in and bridge any gap and damn the carbon emissions!
Steve
This is obviously a spoof. There is no way the Guardian would print the truth.