Hydrogen?

Her's a report of a report that seems to indicate that it may be more energy expensive to produce hydrogen as a fuel than we'd get from it at the point of use. Not sure how to assess this article. There are a lot of questions raised which the article doesn't address but may be in the report. Like is this at current rates? What dofference does it make once the infrastructure is in place? Does it factor in the potential offered by 'on the spot' production through catalysis or similar? What about the fact that hydrogen could store other wose surplus and thus 'lost' energy from renewables such as tidal and wind and solar? I'm no expert, I'm waiting for the riposte before I write it off. Though you've got to take this seriously as a major report.

global warming denials from the Republicans

It starts to feel almost ridiculous were it not that these people could end up running the world's most powerful nation again. Despite the acceptance of the reality of global warming by even the Pentagon, Bush's lot are trying to give false hope and reasurance where they have no right to. Read this article and weep.

World Health Day

It turns out that RTA's a very major cause of death. In the UK they are the third biggest killer after heart disease and depression [and that latter is sobering enough -most likely to affect young men, too]. It's an interesting indictment of our way of running the world. I wonder what motoring costs would look like if we externalised the costs from the NHS to the motorists? If there is an RTA should the NHS bill the DTI for the repair jobs? [Minus their own road use? -but they have paid for that through the license fee on the ambulances already]. Anyway, the point I'm making is that the road user should be paying for the environmental cost and also the health costs of road use, that way the price of motoring would help to inform decisions more accurately by including an element related to the risks and non-financial costs of the activity.

That's not forgetting the perspective that these deaths are of people precious to God and to families and friends. I'm thinking that there is more room here for building some worship and reflection around this theme. Shame I'm not in a position to do that at the moment. I think I would want to start with a reflection on the preciousness of human life, include the way that the patterns of deaths vary between developed and developing world and the projections of future patterns, I suspect there is a place for penitence for our own misuse of the priviledge of road usage. I rather like the idea of using toy cars for intercessions ... can we work that in? And/or using road signs in some way perhaps to mark out stations? Iyt seems to me that there would be some value in considering the use of testimony or even [in some circumstances and I think that in Sanctuary it would have worked] a time for sharing of experiences of RTA's particularly recognising the feelings around them. -Of course this latter could be linked with the roadsigns idea or even the toy car idea, perhaps.

If I was part of a planning group I think that I would suggest that we started with a splurge-sharing of our own feelings and perspectives on RTA's and see what emerged in terms of having heard it all asking which stories, perspectives etc stood out as potential raw material for common worship ...

Into that mix we need to add the recognition that we may have people present who have been in RTA's either as someone who has caused injury or even death or as someone who has been injured or bereaved. It's easy to understand why the services I have seen advertised in the past that deal with this issue are memorial services for those killed or maimed in RTA's -it's easier to keep that focus clear.

Fair trade palm branches, anyone?

It had crossed my mind, idly and at one of those times when you can't really do anything with it and then forgotten as a result, that we should ask a few questions about sourcing of palm branches. Well here's an article that tells us what we probably didn't want to know -there is an ethical problem with the sourcing of at least some palm branches used on palm Sunday in many churches. I must admit I will find it hard to ask God's blessing on the use of branches/leaves whose labour-history may be dodgy to say the least. I'm now trying to work out if there are ways to find fairly traded [either officially or unofficially] palm branches. Of course there is always the solution adopted and shared reccentlyl by a colleague working in Bradford [salute to John Hartley]: buy potted palms and grow your own. Of course you may need to check where they originally came from etc but as an ongoing solution it has some merit -you could even recycle your [fairly traded, of course] tea leaves to add to the vitatlity and growth of the palms. John [who also suggested the link] bought "Cordeline Australis (Torbay Palm) plants " ... just so you know.

CLimate change more threatening than terrorism

I'm sure he's right -the powers that be, focussed [justifiably, and David King aknowledges, rightly] on the threat of terrorism but they should not take their eyes off the climate ball [should that be globe?] -the potential consequences will mean greater misery for many more in future [and not so far away as all that since we are beginning to feel the effects already]. A purely utilitarina analysis would suggest that a very practive response is required. The last budget [as blogged a couple of weeks ago] suggests we aren't do that. And the recent fossil carbon figures for the UK give no cause for complacency at all.

fair trade in UK?

Been meaning to blog this for about three days .... I was tending to buy British goods if there were no fair trade ones available on the basis that with our employment legislation, it should be reasonably fair. This article [well, leader, actually] from the Guardian has made me think again. It may be time to search out the farmers markets. I wonder if there's a fair trade campaign for British goods? The issues seesm to be to put pressure on the major food retailers -but I'm wondering how we can best go about that ... answers on a postcard ...

More on Carey and Islam

Two very different takes on this and both worth pondering. My view, having read the speech and thought about the ripostes [including Andrew Brown's negative one in the Church Times -but then he is well known for not being a fan of Carey] I still think that there are a couple of well made made points in what Carey said that deserve more investigation/fuller response. Most of the reported reactions have been picking up out of context soundbites and eliding the careful modifiers in what Carey says. It is understandable that Mulsims in the West should be twitchy about people saying things about their faith -as a Christian in an apathetic and sometimes hostile-to-my-faith society, I find a lot that smacks of the same kind of defensiveness that I sometimes feel. But for all of us there are unpalatable facts and allowing Muslims to get away from their share isn't doing any of us any good. now or in th elonger term. There is a time for truth telling. The encouraging thing is that the recent Muslim Council of Britain missive to British ulema etc seems to be a sign that some of these things are, in fact, being taken seriously. It isn't always islamophobia -least of all from George Carey who is not some hardline bigot [despite some of what people like Andrew Brown seem to imply].