2021 Climate Change

[joe384]

Always with the UK happy talk spin regardless of the reality Nigel, while you condescendingly criticize other nations. The truth is the UK is facing a dire crisis of its own making going forward.

Opinion | Britain Is Heading Into a Nightmarish Winter

A sudden convergence of crises has cast the country’s future in darkness.

www.nytimes.com

"A dramatic fuel crisis, which has been caused in large part by a lack of truck drivers and at its peak forced around a third of all gas stations to close, is only the most glaring concern."

This is false. The data from the BEIS has shown that it was pretty much all due to panic buying.

The charts that show panic buying, not shortages, caused the petrol crisis

A small mismatch between supply and demand created a huge spike in petrol buying which retailers could not accommodate

inews.co.uk

 

[Dashmellow]

"A dramatic fuel crisis, which has been caused in large part by a lack of truck drivers and at its peak forced around a third of all gas stations to close, is only the most glaring concern."

This is false. The data from the BEIS has shown that it was pretty much all due to panic buying.

The charts that show panic buying, not shortages, caused the petrol crisis

A small mismatch between supply and demand created a huge spike in petrol buying which retailers could not accommodate

inews.co.uk

Yes, there is panic buying, but then why is the British government deploying the military to deliver fuel for what is said to be a major shortage of truck drivers?

It appears to be a chicken vs egg question. The panic buying apparently started after the problem of a shortage of delivery drivers led to empty pumps at gas stations.

Around 200 military personnel are to be deployed as part of Operation Escalin, a strategy devised by the British government to help ease fuel supply constraints caused by a major shortage of truck drivers.

Kallum Pickering, senior economist at Berenberg investment bank, said Britain's fuel crisis is a "warning sign" for the country's economic outlookIn a note Monday, Pickering said the ongoing panic buying in the U.K. "highlights the [country's] dismal state of affairs as well as the potential for more serious outcomes in the future."

Britain deploys its army to deliver fuel as panic buying and shortages continue

The panic buying of gasoline is a “warning sign” for the U.K., one economist cautioned Monday.

www.cnbc.com

Britain’s Gas Crisis, Explained

A shortage of truck drivers has led to empty fuel pumps around the country, creating long lines at gas stations and panic buying.

www.nytimes.com

 

[Nigel]

Yes, there is panic buying, but then why is the British government deploying the military to deliver fuel for what is said to be a major shortage of truck drivers?

Mainly because it was their party conference week and made for good publicity, while the crisis started at the start of the Labour (main opposition) party conference week, triggered I believe by the Labour party feeding rumours to the press.

The other reason is that it is good practice for the army, they need to practice their responses occasionally, and since they are all back from Afghanistan they need something to keep them occupied! Otherwise we will need to start another war somewhere...

I'm a bit surprised the system was able to ramp up deliveries to the fuel stations with such a huge spike (red) in response to the panic buying, there is supposed to be a driver shortage, and that spike in deliveries is not all due to the 150 army drivers, must be over 1000 extra drivers, or equivalent in overtime!

 

[Dashmellow]

Mainly because it was their party conference week and made for good publicity, while the crisis started at the start of the Labour (main opposition) party conference week, triggered I believe by the Labour party feeding rumours to the press.

The other reason is that it is good practice for the army, they need to practice their responses occasionally, and since they are all back from Afghanistan they need something to keep them occupied! Otherwise we will need to start another war somewhere...

I'm a bit surprised the system was able to ramp up deliveries to the fuel stations with such a huge spike (red) in response to the panic buying, there is supposed to be a driver shortage, and that spike in deliveries is not all due to the 150 army drivers, must be over 1000 extra drivers, or equivalent in overtime!

Oh, let's give the military some busy work to do. My God, do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?

As always, you engage in an amazing amount of rationalization about your situation in the UK. We've seen evidence of that from you during the entirely of the COVID pandemic.

However large or small your fuel deliveries may truly have been, (and they are obviously more dire that you seem willing to admit) there is a reason the population reacts the way they have. It is not the minor, isolated problem you would have everyone believe. At its peak your fuel shortage forced around a third of all gas stations to close. When you have ambulances that can't get fuel to operate you've got a serious problem. You are also experiencing chronic labor shortages on many fronts, not just truck drivers, but also fruit pickers, meat processors, waiters, health care workers, common laborers and others. You have empty shelves in supermarkets, food going to waste in fields, vacancy posters tacked to the windows of shops and restaurants. Meat producers in the UK have even called on the government to let them hire prisoners to plug the gap.

Then you have an epic gas shortage, rising energy and food prices, supply-chain issues, dramatically rising poverty and in the middle of all this your Conservative government has decided this is a fine time to slash welfare.

The sad truth of the matter is that much of what the UK is going through is the debacle that many predicted Brexit would turn out to be when it was first proposed, coupled with and exacerbated by the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

So, let's get real here about what is going on in the UK, shall we? Perhaps the next time you decide to excoriate and criticize the USA as you do so habitually on this forum, try looking in the mirror.

 

[Nigel]

You have empty shelves in supermarkets,

I've just got back from visiting two supermarkets, definitely no empty shelves, and when I passed the filling station, operating normally with no queues

That might not be confirmed by the USA press, but it was confirmed by my eyes

 

[Dashmellow]

I've just got back from visiting two supermarkets, definitely no empty shelves, and when I passed the filling station, operating normally with no queues

That might not be confirmed by the USA press, but it was confirmed by my eyes

You live in Devon. Other parts of the UK are far different.


UK press:

The empty shelves crisis isn’t just down to Covid and Brexit – it's been decades in the making | Felicity Lawrence

Ever-worsening conditions in supply-chain jobs have made Britain’s shortages inevitable, and a pay rise for lorry drivers won’t end them, says the Guardian’s special correspondent Felicity Lawrence

www.theguardian.com

 

[Nigel]

Then you have an epic gas shortage, rising energy and food prices, supply-chain issues, dramatically rising poverty and in the middle of all this your Conserbative government has decided this is a fine time to slash welfare.

The sad truth of the matter is that much of what the UK is going through is the debacle that many predicted Brexit would turn out to be when it was first proposed, coupled with and exacerbated by the disruptions caused by the pandemic.

If the transport and fuel crisis is due to Brexit, why is UK electricity still working fine while Germany is suffering power outages due to lack of fuel and lack of transport?

Scarce coal barge supply, Germany’s Bergkamen A shutters | Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

www.hellenicshippingnews.com

 

[Dashmellow]

If the transport and fuel crisis is due to Brexit, why is UK electricity still working fine while Germany is suffering power outages due to lack of fuel and lack of transport?

Scarce coal barge supply, Germany’s Bergkamen A shutters | Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide

www.hellenicshippingnews.com

Germany is hardly in the same position the UK is in, Nigel, plus the article you cite is from six months ago.

First, you blame your situation entirely on the reporting in the US press. Then, when you are presented with an even worse evaluation of the empty shelves, labor and energy crisis situation in the UK from your very own press, you change the subject to point to Germany which unlike the UK has been experiencing what has been described as a "golden decade" of uninterrupted growth and budget surpluses. Unlike the UK, Germany is hardly experiencing the ongoing disruptions to daily life your citizens are going through at this time as direct result of Brexit, the pandemic, the apparent ineptitude of your government and the whims of factors beyond your control.

The denial you are in is palpable, pathological even. We see this from you all the time as you offer up empty boasts of UK prowess and voice condescension towards many other nations, especially the USA.

 

[kamkar]

Inspections of 64 fresh water wells here, showed alarming high values of Pfos in 48 of the wells.

Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Nigel]

plus the article you cite is from six months ago.

4th October 2021 was not 6 months ago - you USA citizens can’t read numeric dates!

 

[Nigel]

Inspections of 64 fresh water wells here, showed alarming high values of Pfos in 48 of the wells.

Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You will need to start drinking desalinated seawater soon!

Presumably collected on your western coasts rather than those that face Russia?

 

[Dashmellow]

We had the same thing happen here when PFOA and PFOS were found in groundwater near former manufacturing facilities five years ago. It has required extensive remediation and nearby homes needed to be switched over to municipal water supplies from their private water well.

4th October 2021 was not 6 months ago - you USA citizens can’t read numeric dates!

Doesn't change what I posted about one iota!

Remarkable to witness the lengths you go to to deflect from the actual subject at hand.

We "USA citizens" merely write and read numeric dates differently than you do, as much as I know that pains you, Nigel. To respond to such a petty error as this with such an insult to our entire citizenship is just further inappropriate nation bashing on your part.

4/10/2021 simply means April 4th 2021 to American readers.

 

[Dashmellow]

Inspections of 64 fresh water wells here, showed alarming high values of Pfos in 48 of the wells.

Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

We had the same thing happen here in Vermont when PFOA and PFOS were found in groundwater near former manufacturing facilities five years ago. It has required extensive remediation and nearby homes needed to be switched over to municipal water supplies from their private water wells. PFOAs have left a nasty legacy.

 

[kamkar]

Yeah but these are not private wells, it is municipal well that supply a lot of houses.
And this just dropped like a bomb on the smart people here, now they are talking about all the other nasty stuff that might be down there, i assume as they do not screen for everything.
Personally i would run test samples thru a gas chromatograph every week at least, but then again i am not smart.

The investigation into the killing off the mink breeding trade here have released their findings, well already now on day 3 it is clear that a lot of laws was broken, not least by the police.
I am pretty sure no one will have to pay for any of it though.

 

[Dashmellow]

Yeah but these are not private wells, it is municipal well that supply a lot of houses.
And this just dropped like a bomb on the smart people here, now they are talking about all the other nasty stuff that might be down there, i assume as they do not screen for everything.
Personally i would run test samples thru a gas chromatograph every week at least, but then again i am not smart.

The investigation into the killing off the mink breeding trade here have released their findings, well already now on day 3 it is clear that a lot of laws was broken, not least by the police.
I am pretty sure no one will have to pay for any of it though.

Yes, it does sound worse than what we experienced here. Fortunately, the sort of manufacturing that caused the releases of PFOAs and PFOs here in Vermont only existed on a very modest scale. The problem is that the companies that caused the problem are no longer in existence so the municipalities they were in get to foot the bill for the clean-up along with assistance from the state government.

 

[Nigel]

4/10/2021 simply means April 4th 2021 to American readers.

The USA use of date format, according to the wikipedia map, is unique in the Americas, in fact unique in the world, hence me using "USA citizens" so as not to include Canadians, Mexicans, and all other peoples of the American continents!

 

[Dashmellow]

The USA use of date format, according to the wikipedia map, is unique in the Americas, in fact unique in the world, hence me using "USA citizens" so as not to include Canadians, Mexicans, and all other peoples of the American continents!

Well, so what? You apparently object to anything that differs from your own culture. Many conventions are different than in your country and intentionally so.

And let us be clear Nigel, what you said was, "you USA citizens can’t read numeric dates!" which is a demeaning insult, untrue and another of the many examples of your chronic nation bashing which is a violation of the rules here! It is also juvenile that you engage in such petty stuff as this.

And BTW, all three date formats are used in Canada, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana, so it is not "in fact unique in the world".

 

[DT MI]

And BTW, all three date formats are used in Canada, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana, so it is not "in fact unique in the world".

Which goes to show that at least 'some' British citizens are incapable of reading usage charts.

 

[DT MI]

all three date formats are used in Canada, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana, so it is not "in fact unique in the world".

Interesting article that @Nigel cited - and we know it must be accurate because he used it (incorrectly) to bolster his ill founded claims. Digging into it a bit it turns out there are actually 29 geographic/political/cultural areas that use the mm/dd/yy date format to some degree - either totally, sometimes or rarely, broken down as follows:

Yes - 17
Sometimes - 7
Rarely - 5

Surprisingly, especially for Nigel I'm sure, one of the countries included in those counts is..... (drum roll please).... the UK.

 

[Dashmellow]

Interesting article that @Nigel cited - we know it must be accurate because he used it (incorrectly) to bolster his ill founded claims. Digging into it a bit it turns out there are actually 29 geographic/political/cultural areas that use the mm/dd/yy date format to some degree - either totally, sometimes or rarely, broken down as follows:

Yes - 17
Sometimes - 7
Rarely - 5

Surprisingly, especially for Nigel I'm sure, one of the countries included in that count is..... (drum roll please).... the UK.

Yes, I perused the Wiki page again myself and noticed the same thing. Was going to post about it but I needed to make a trip into town and thought maybe I'd do it when I returned . Obviously, there's no need now that you brought it to our attention. What was that Nigel said about "USA citizens" not being able to read dates, etc.? Hmmnn......