Above is Arnold Genthe’s iconic photograph, “Looking Down Sacramento Street” after the San Francisco earthquake of Wednesday 18th April, 1906. Devastating fires broke out in the city and lasted for several days. As a result of the quake and fires, about 3,000 people died and over 80% of San Francisco was destroyed. Of course on Tuesday the day before folks were going about their lives with no knowledge whatsoever that would quite literally shake them from their beds at 5:12AM in the morning local time.
On Friday evening last and repeated on Saturday morning, the excellent James Delingpole playing the role of “Daniel in the lions den” when he was on the panel of BBC Radio 4’s “Any Questions” on Machynlleth in Montgomeryshire. Machynlleth happens to be the location of The Centre for Alternative Technology – a place where many are convinced that Planet Earth is in grave danger from CO2!
Mr Delingpole dared to suggest that wind turbines and photo-voltaic cells combined of course with “energy saving” was not a practical answer to providing the 62.74 million people currently resident in the UK with their electric power!
He was of course shouted down with many of the greenies in the audience howling like wild dogs!
These people are truly living in a fool’s paradise as they should realise if they take a look at the debt clock below:
(By courtesy of the Tax Payers Alliance)
The above Dear Reader is the debt being accumulated by the UK as you read this article.
What the howling dogs of Montgomeryshire fail to understand is the fact that WHEN (it is no longer IF) the lights go out, the point will have been reached when international investors finally begin to loose confidence in the UK’s ability to service the mountainous debt above. It will be at that point when interest rates begin to go up: FAST and HIGH!
What you ask can be done about this?
Sadly, probably very little. The problem is this: the country has very likely run out of time. Addressing the shortfall in generating capacity means going to the Sales Director of Rolls Royce and to try and get him to accept a order for as many of the gas-generating set versions of the Trent aero engine as he can manage, with delivery as soon as possible. The problem is that Rolls Royce has quite a healthy order book with the world’s airlines and the Sales Director will be most unwilling to upset these folks by delaying their order, in case such customers take their business to General Electric and Pratt & Witney. The Sales Director will of course want to see that the UK is provided with as many Trents as Rolls Royce can make and in the shortest possible time. He will of course point out that the two aircraft carriers being built on the Clyde have these and these can be used. Let’s face it: an aircraft carrier without aircraft is as useful as a chocolate teapot! Without aircraft there is no point in these ships going anywhere and therefore their need for engines becomes moot!
The problem for all of us – and this includes Montgomeryshire’s morons – is that the country probably has until January 2014 (seven months!) – to address the shortfall! This Dear Reader cannot be done. You see, if the winter of 2014 is severe it could well be possible that power cuts will come about at that point. If they do?
You have been warned!