Powerpuff



Informative article here on the possible price to be paid if the Scottish parliament goes ahead with the planned move to alternative, re-useable power sources as old nuclear stations are decomissioned in a few years. Some (predictable the Tories amongst them) are running scare tales that our electricity bills will go up enormously. They also say that green power won't make the energy it is supposed to and only works with a massive public subsidy.



Well, the first point may or may not be right - only proper investment and engineering will tell. On the second though, I am moved to wonder just how many billions of the British tax-payer's money has been spent under-writing fossil fuels (which make a huge profit, often for foreign companies and not much for Scotland despite all of our oil) and nuclear power? And I wonder, if we could have built a weapon of mass destruction from ocean turbines or wind engines would the government of the 40s and 50s have put billions into that instead?



Let's be honest, if we put a fraction of the effort and money into R&D for renewable energy as we did for our others over the years we would have highly efficient green power by now. Electric cars were racing a hudnred years ago - are you seriously telling me that in the 21st century, the age of probes to other worlds, nano-technology, high-speed computers, optical data networks and organ transplant surgery that we can't make an efficient, reliable, clean energy source for everyday use?.



Kudos to the Scottish parliament for being so determined to make this effort to bring green power into the mainstream and give it real political backing for once (helped by the PR system bringing in a brace of Green MSPs to help keep the wavering politicians from the mainstream on course). I can't help but think that even if the programme relies on more subsidies that this is not a bad thing. They wouldn't be subsidies, they would be an investment in our future adn of the future of the generations to come. Developing energy that we will be able to use for decade after decade, without ruining our magnificent countryside. Something that doesn't leave waste that will last tens of thousands of years and something that won't require millions just to shut them down at the end of their lives like the nuclear plants. And as a bonus, good, heart-working boffins like my mate Linus who went me the link could see their excellent, cutting-edge work being put to better use.