Wednesday 11 December 2019

Rolling Apples GIF

Rolling Apples GIF

Badly done GIF of Apples rolling across table. I was trying to describe"upset the apple cart" in a picture. . . didn't work very well !



 Ah just found online convertor that did a better job. File size is larger though. . .




Life Cycle Assessment

Tuesday 12 November 2019

CSS Font Style not Showing on IOS mobile device.

CSS Font Style not Showing on IOS mobile device. 

 

Recently I have noticed that when I view my website on an IOS mobile device using either safari or firefox, that the font defaults to a standard font (times / times new roman) rather then the font in my CSS which is Arial.

I have seen many apparent solutions to this problem on countless forums, but lucky for you the solution is easy as pie.

arial not Arial

Simply remove the capital letter from the font name in you CSS:


And all will be well. . . . happy someday! Thorpy. 

Tuesday 5 November 2019

Coffe GIFs

Here within a collection of Coffee related GIFs:

Below from scene in futurama where Fry drinks 100 cups of coffee.


More to come soon.

Tuesday 17 September 2019

Graffiti in Bristol

Graffiti in Bristol 


I do a lot of work in Bristol and now ans again I come across some lovely graffiti, which I have shared with you here, it is a work in progress I will post more as I find them. All images are from Google Street View.

171 Hotwells Road


"Bristol Food" this reminds me of the Mint Sauce Cartoons, painted by Joe Burt in a magazine from my youth. Love this one.


Eugene Street

Some  run of the mill stuff in an industrial area.

The Duke of York Pub - Conduit Place

Far out! (Yes I was born in the 80's.)
 

Banksy - Girl with Pierced Ear Drum - Bristol Marina

Others such as Visit Bristol have done a great job of marking all things Banksy, so I will stop at the one picture. 


Marcruss Outdoors Hotwell Road 



 


 

Monday 9 September 2019

Animal Tracks Visible from Space

The below image struck me as rather spectacular as it shows cool patterns decided upon by animals as they walk in to a field. The pattern kind if reminded me of nerve / synapses that you see in a picture of a brain. Image location: https://goo.gl/maps/BY1qzCDhFqHT8HQKA


Again animal tracks in Nairobi national park. Image location: https://goo.gl/maps/NtY2Fdd3VYov1Ufv8, are these animal tracks leading to a watering hole?


Sunlight and Daylight Assessment

Environmental Consultants

Saturday 10 August 2019

How to Deal with a Climate Change Denier

How to Deal with a Climate Change Denier

Push them off a cliff. . . . just kidding. Maybe.

As more and more science adds to the consensus that man made climate change is a real thing Climate Change Deniers because less and less commonly encountered. But when you do come across these oddities, you can bet they are:

I all cases this makes them appalling human beings, and you are unlikely to change their minds. What you need is the NASA CO2 Graph. It rocks for the following reasons.

  • Its a picture.
  • Its shows how weird things are getting.
  • Its from NASA
The last point is likely to sit  well with any denier, as they probably like big noisy things that look like penises such as space rockets.


I saw Professor Brian Cox use this graph to very good effect in a TV debate some time ago. There we had some moronic buffoon towing his oil paymasters line, on how the data didn't stack up etc. Well this graph, got a round of applause from the audience, and the dude stopped talking. Amen.



These days it is easy to look this up on a phone or tablet, and show it to the offender, although my personal favourite is to print on to a baseball bat and hit them on the head with it. If the offender is a co-worker why not super glue this graph to their desk?

Misinformation   

Deniers have often been fed on a diet of carefully crafted misinformation. Oil and Gas Companies have known for decades that global warming was likely to be a real thing. 

Further Reading:





Why we are Not Doing Anything About Climate Change?

Why we are Not Doing Anything About Climate Change? 

It may seam that we are doing nothing about climate change, things are happening but not quickly enough.

Who is Doing the Most?


First off we are doing something about climate change. Countries get together to discuss the issue, we describe the problem, we discuss the solution, we set targets. All this is doing something and in some countries meaningful reduction sin CO2 emissions have been made.


So the west is leading the world in reducing CO2 emissions . . .  .no not really. We may be showing the greatest percentage decreases, but compared to huge manufacturing nations such as China and India, we do not create very much CO2, and what we do create is easier to decarbonise.

Quick Example: It is easy to switch a heating system in an office block from oil to gas and save carbon in the process, we could also add solar panels to the roof and reduce further. It is far for diifcult to decarbonise a steel works, or a cement factory.

What is Getting in Way? 

Most people (including politicians) are fully aware that climate change is real and require urgent attention. Unfortunately there are some powerful players who stand to loose a lot of money if we stop using oil and gas. Who, the oil and gas companies.

BP (British Petroleum) for example runs advertising campaigns telling it customers how green it is as company, whilst spending over $50,000,000 (50 million) a year on lobbying the government to benefit the sales of oil and gas.

In total, just in the UK oil firms spend $200,000,000 (200 million) a year on influencing politions to use more oil, and prevent the removal of oil subsidies.

Oil Subsidies? What? Really?

So world wide tax payers contribute Trillions of Dollars to subsidise oil. In the UK alone tax payers contribute $12,000,000,000 (12 billion) a year to help reduce the cost of oil and gas.

In the same year we give only $9,000,000,000 (9 billion) a year in subsidies to renewable. Now it is worth pointing out at this point that just throw subsides at renewable may not fix the the problem, nor might it be the best solution.

For example energy efficiency measures such as subsidising loft insulation, or offset measures such as Tree Planting are far far cheaper then renewable energy infrastructures subsidies.

But the fact remains that by subsidising oil and gas we are making oil or gas a more competitively price energy source, which will slow the uptake of renewables. 

What to Do?


We need to act quickly and choose the best value options for decarbonising and offsetting our emissions. Efficiency measure such as altering diet, and turning down heating etc. will only get us so far.

Not all carbon saving measures cost the same amount so it is important that we subsidise the correct ones.  The recently defunct FITs scheme (paying subsidies to electricity generators for renewable energy), cost around £250 t/CO2e, whilst tree planting in a developing country can deliver the same effect for £3 t/CO2e.

This is not to say the Solar or Wind are bad options, but the administration of the subsidies in this case was not good value for money, in term of CO2 reduction per unit of currency.

Desktop Study

Tuesday 16 July 2019

Semi-Proportional Carbon Footprint Diagram


Semi-Proportional Carbon Footprint Diagram


Please find below a free to copy, alter or bastardise Semi-Proportional Carbon Footprint Diagram. It shows which aspects of our lives use the most carbon. It is based on a diagram found in "How Bad are Bananas" and which is a good book to read if you are interested in Carbon Footprints. 


As you can see whilst most of obsess over gas and electricity use it is food, flying and useless crap we buy which are the main problems.

A quick look at this diagram and I hope most will see the quickest way to cut your footprint is to buy less junk, and eat a vegetarian diet. 

Scientific Web Content

Tuesday 19 February 2019

Riverford Organic Slaughter Procedure

Riverford Organic Slaughter Procedure


Below is Accurate of November 2018, it is a copy of an email received from Riverford:


Here are the details of the slaughtering procedure. I have also added in a little extra to how the animals are kept. If you did want to find out anymore you are more than welcome to call us here at the Farm (Riverford Organic). Or on our (Riverford Organic) website at the top left hand side there is a tab called 'about' click on that one and scroll down there is another box on the right hand side click on 'faqs' this will open up all the information about why we do things the way we do, packaging, prices vs supermarket prices, etc. 

There is a lot of information backed up with scientific facts to support our ethos here are Riverford.
All the beef and lamb used at the butchery is bought directly from members of our producer group, who are all within 40 miles of the abattoir. The group is very selective and we only use farmers we have a long trusting business relationship with (some also supply veg into Wash). All producers and their farms have been visited and approved by the butchery general manager. Regular visits are also carried out during the year.

We (Riverford Organic) use a small family run abbattoire in Devon that is 10 minutes’ drive from our butchery. Unlike most abattoirs, they only slaughter three days out of seven so it is not done on a mass scale (low throughput). It is fully E.C. licensed and Soil Association approved, has a full time F.S.A. meat inspector and veterinary surgeon on site during slaughter.

The method used is called stun & stuck- which means that the animal is “stunned” to render them unconscious and then “stuck” which means their throat is cut. This process is only carried out by fully licensed and trained slaughter persons under the supervision of the F.S.A. staff.

Lambs are held in a holding pen, in groups of 3 – 4 as this reduces stress, where they are “stunned” on either side of the head with a specially designed electrical stunner. The voltage and “stun” time is meticulously monitored to ensure the animal is fully unconscious before “sticking”. They then have their throats cut (“sticking”) and allowed to bleed before being further processed.

Cattle are held, separately, in a specially designed “stun box” and shot with a “captive” bolt rather than by electrical stunner because they are so much larger the electric method would not give an effective “stun”. The animal is then “stuck” by having its throat cut and allowed to bleed before further processing.

Chickens are processed at another “low throughput” facility in Devon. This facility is also fully E.C. licensed and Soil Association approved to process poultry and again there is a F.S.A. veterinary surgeon on site during slaughter.

The chickens are hung on a moving line and get dipped into an electric bath & “stunned” before coming out the other end where a fully licensed slaughter person is waiting to ensure they are fully stunned before cutting their throats (“sticking”). They are allowed to bleed before further processing.
I can assure you that all our animals are killed in the most humane way possible; none are killed using “ritual” slaughter methods, and they do not suffer any unnecessary stress or pain. The welfare of the animal is very important to us and our chosen processors.

All premises are monitored and supervised by F.S.A. officials who are completely independent. We also visit and audit the premises on a regular basis to ensure every process meets our own high standards. The butchery won the R.S.P.C.A. award for good business in 2011.

Lamb


All of our lambs come from farms local to the butchery and they live outdoors all year round as this is the most natural way for the animals to live. They will graze on grass and natural herbage in the spring and summer and are given hay/silage in the winter & autumn. Farmers may also supplement the sheep’s diet with organic sheep nuts if there is insufficient grass to graze.

Farmers will bring the ewes inside to lamb where there will be straw bedding and penned off areas. These areas are large enough for the ewes to be comfortable but small enough to ensure the safety of the lamb. As soon as the farmer feels that the lamb is safe and healthy it will be turned out to pasture with its mother, this could be anywhere from a few hours to a couple of days.

The sheep are free to graze naturally which means that they are able to grow at their own rate. This means that the meat produced is as natural as possible, giving it a wonderful flavour and the right balance of muscle and fat.

Beef 


Our (Riverford Organic) beef herds live outdoors for the majority of their lives and all are traditional beef breeds. The Soil Association welfare regulations dictate that they must be brought inside for a period during the winter time. This is to allow the pastures to recover during the wetter months of the year so that the grass will be lush ready for the animals to be let out in early spring.
When the cattle are brought inside they are kept in large barns with good ventilation. They all have large bays in the barns with plenty of straw bedding that is regularly maintained. During this period they are fed a diet of silage with occasional cereal supplements.
As with other organic livestock, the beef herds are fed and kept as naturally as possible. This ensures that the meat has the right balance of muscle and fat, and also means that the need for vaccinations is eradicated.

Pork


Our (Riverford Organic) pork is now supplied by Helen Browning Organics. http://helenbrowningsorganic.co.uk The pigs are British saddlebacks who live outdoors all year round. They are in fields which have natural shelter as well as “pig arks”. These arks are open so the animals can exercise their natural behaviour patterns without restraint, avoid sunburn on the hotter days and keep warm in the winter time. The pigs are fed organic pig meal.
The pigs will be taken inside a few days before they are taken to the abattoir. They are brought inside so that the farmers can make sure they are clean, healthy and up to weight. The barns have a good ventilation system which keeps the pigs healthy and cool. They have the run of a large barn which is bedded with straw. Pigs are sociable animals and enjoy being able to be together in the barns. All pigs are allowed to grow at their own rate. They are not given any supplements or fattening aids.

Chicken:


All our (Riverford Organic) chickens are organic. The chickens have huts for shelter which are opened each dawn so the chickens can go in and out freely and easily during daylight hours. They are shut in their huts at dusk to have protection from predators during the night.
The chickens are fed organic chicken feed inside the huts but when they are outside they scratch and forage in the grass for worms etc. and lead a totally natural existence. Outside we also provide them with shelters which they can use for protection from predators and/or inclement weather.
Our farmers keep small flocks of chickens as opposed to larger ones. This is so that the chickens have plenty of space inside the huts and outside. Inside the huts the chickens have perches and hay bales and feed toys (dried corn to peck at e.t.c.).

Tuesday 29 January 2019

Which type of Grocery Bag is the most Environmentally Friendly?

Which type of Grocery Bag (shopping bag) is the most Environmentally Friendly? 

This is not a simple choice. Each of the below grocery or shopping bag options has its own problems. The choice will boil down to whether you want to prevent global warming or prevent plastic pollution. Plastic pollution despite being a very visual problem, is a small problem compared to global warming. 

Conclusion: The most important factor with a shopping bag / grocery bag is that is is reusable. You should look for a bag that will last a long time, and is easy to make. This is unlikely to be a paper bag, they do not last very long. There is no problem with plastic bag provided it is re-used multiple times, and recycled at the end of use.

Plastic or paper? 

Paper is better right? No not really. A life cycle comparison conducted by NASA (you know rocket scientists), have shown that  really there is little to pick between paper or plastic in terms of environmental credibility. Below image courtesy of NASA. 



Bag for Life?


A very simple "bag for life" option for a super market may well be a very good option, a 20c / 10p heavy duty plastic carrier bags will last for perhaps 100 uses and is very easy to make and recycle. 

But even with reusable bag you have to be careful with you choice.  Some heavily made reusable bags such as cotton totes bags have to be used 1000's of times before they are better than a normal plastic grocery bag. Why is this? . . .

It is because normal plastic grocery or shopping bag is very quick and easy to make. A complicated fancy looking bag for life is complicated to make, you need to grow cotton, wash the cotton, feed the workers, spin the cotton, weave the cloth, stitch the bag together, transport the bags in trucks. Each of these stages produces CO2 and a complicated bag will produce a lot more CO2 than a simple one. 

The best option might be to reuse a bog standard carrier bag. Just make sure you dispose of it properly. 



Compostable?

A compostable plastic carrier bag is an excellent choice if you actually intend to compost it at home in you well managed compost heap. But is is not a good choice if it ends up in the normal rubbish bin, or mixed with normal bags for recycling. 

No Bag

Perhaps the best option is no bag at all. But this only works for just a few items. But if you are wearing a coat, why not put the stuff in your pockets. 

Card Board Box


Many stores provide a used cardboard box, in which to put groceries. Provided this is recycled or composted after use, this might also be a good option.

In Depth 

The below table comes from a report published by the Environment Agency of UK. It shows the number of times you have to reuse a carrier bag, for it to become comparable with a certain alternative.

A conventional HDPE bag is very easy to make, and creates little environmental impact. Re-use for best option. A paper bag would have to be used 3 times to be comparable. But I doubt you would be able to re-use a paer bag 3 times. An LDPE bag need only be used 4 times to be comparable, it is entirely feasible that an LDPE bag could be reused 4 times, and as such this is the best option.


Below is a table showing the types of bag, so as to avoid confusion regarding types.


Based on the CO2 footprint of manufacture the below graph is derived. This is just one part of the life cycle analysis that was carried out.








Monday 28 January 2019

Why can't single-use plastic items be recycled?

Why can't single-use plastic items be recycled?


Some single use plastic items can be recycled, but not all of them. It depends on the type of plastic, and whether facilities exist to recycle it the plastic if it is indeed a variety which can be recycled.

Types of Single Use Plastics

There are 6 types of plastic, all of them can be recycled but not all are. There is a 7th type of plastic but it is really a group of plastics, which nobody can be bothered to name individually.


From the above list types 1 and 2 are likely the most commonly recycled. And as such you should always try to use single use plastics that are PET or HDPE, as generally there are option for getting these recycled.

Facilities to Recycle Single Use Plastics

In the UK PET and HDPE are recycled by 92% of councils. So if for example you have just finished some bottled water (PET), take the bottle home and put it in your recycling bin, and it will get recycled. 

As for nearly all other packaging it can be taken back to the shop where you bought it. When shopping at Tesco for example, if you find that your microwave meal tray is not recyclable, then take it back to the store . . . if everybody did this the problem would disappear over night. 

Keep it Simple

As a final point do not buy single use plastic packaging that is "stuck together" with multiple types of other material. The below image shows some shampoo, image is from 666 Alert.

 
In this packaging there is at least 2 type of material that are not needed. The box, and the film "window" both will require seperation, before you even get the the bottles in side, which you can not even see to check they are recyclable!

Waste Recycling Permits London

A Political Response to Climate Change

A Political Response to Climate Change


Below set out is a political response to climate change. Often climate change is sold by politicians as a problem, when really it is an opportunity. Change can bring around opportunity. However, at present politicians are using a sticking plaster approach; we are placing restrictions on a system that was developed in era of carbon intensive growth, and the below considerations should be made, listed in order of importance.

1 – Swap GDP for Citizen Satisfaction Metric


The first requirement is to change the way a nation’s success is measured. At present this is represented by % GDP over a typical year. This metric would be adequate is we lived in a limitless environment, where resources and space will never run out, but we do not. We live on a spec of rock, drifting in an indifferent vacuum. We can rely on a metric that relies on constant growth.
The metric that needs to be considered in any political response to climate change is "satisfaction" of the populace. This after all is the metric used by most other entities to gauge there performance. It will also reduce our reliance on growth as a form of self-validation.
This switch from a growth based metric, to a condition based metric will free up politicians to make hundreds of choices that would damage the current growth based system:

2 - Reduce Birth Rates 


 Humans are the root cause of accelerated climate change. Yet world population is growing rapidly. This is policy will be the most unpleasant and difficult policy to implement. A birth control policy was implemented in China for many years, however China is not a democracy and this decision could be made without public consent. How can for example a two child policy be presented as acceptable?
It is very likely that a family with more then 2 children will be experienced to greater stresses, whether this be in terms of time allocation of financial. This need to be researched. Research should look in to negative outcomes arising from higher number of children:
•    Likelihood of Parental
•    DivorceLikelihood of Bankruptcy
•    Likelihood of Mental Illness
There have been great strides made in stopping people from smoking by advertising its negative effects. The same principals should be adopted with an aim to forming a policy for reduced birth rates.
After data has been collected for 2 years on the above “carrot” approach a “stick” approach may be warranted where financial penalties are introduced. This will need careful research.

3 – Worker Owned Entities


There will be vast numbers of capital enterprises that will need to be undertaken in order to action required polices. The current system whereby all projects are carefully gauged on the basis of financial risk, will not be appropriate.
Works will be undertaken by worker owned cooperatives. Individuals with experience of project management should be appointed as managing members of such entities and they will undertake all normal resource management based on the current. A small group of founding individuals will face an interview and aptitude process in order to bid for government funding. Works will be undertaken between these founding individuals and the government on the basis of a standard contract template, where by pay grades are set out in advance, and all employees and directors of companies receive an equal performance based bonus.
Funding will be made available via quantitative easing. Negative impacts currently associated with this technique will be lessened owing to new metrics as explained in section 1.
These working groups could be allocated to any number of projects ranging from delivery of energy infrastructure to support roles for regulatory enforcers, to deal with additional burdens.

4 – 100% Renewables over 10 Year Period


It is imperative that we move quickly to establish a 100% renewable energy infrastructure. With full policy support this could be implemented in less than 10 years. This is massive undertaking and the opportunities for employment are also massive. Countries should move to undertake manufacture of PV panels and Turbines (Sea or Wind) domestically so as to provide employment from these new industries. Regulatory hurdles which may prevent renewables projects from coming to fruition, should be lessened but not removed as these serve as a valuable scoping tool.
Renewable Energy projects should be chosen on the basis of the carbon pay back. Shortest should proceed first, or a pass mark could be introduced such as “any project under 10 year carbon payback time”.

5 – Adequate Energy Storage over 10 Years


Owing to fluctuations in output from solar and wind renewables. It will be required that energy storage infrastructure is increased.

6 – CO2 Removal  


With a 100% renewable energy infrastructure, there will be a myriad of opportunity for geo engineering. For example at present we would not consider capturing carbon from the atmosphere using mechanical means as it would not result in a carbon saving, but with 100% renewables the carbon intensity of this operation would be zero, and as such a feasible solution. This could provide long term employment.

7 – Transport


Whilst there are many options for road based transport in terms of battery powering. The largest hurdle to overcome is air travel. It may not be possible to power an aeroplane with anything other than liquid fuels. However, pending the delivery of 100% renewable, it should be possible to manufacture hydrogen fuels, which have a negligible carbon footprint.




Environmental Policy Consultants London