Court bid to block third runway

23 February 2010 - Campaign to Protect Rural England

Unless you're well off you will agree that the basics of life: fuel for home heating and travel, materials, food etc. are getting more expensive. Maybe when there is a recession there is less demand and prices drop, but not for long. Is there a solution for the fact that modern civilisation depends on digging up materials that took millions and millions of years to create? Perhaps Read more

Since the Industrial revolution and earlier civilisation has been plundering the World's resources. All our machines use fuel that is derived from fossil remains, and it is now getting harder and harder to find new deposits. I know that we are not going to run out yet, but we will.

All those people that were borne in the middle of the Twentieth Century will not be affected but it will be the Twentyfirst Century children who will be hit hard and their children,  unless real action is taken now. There has to be a replacement for the materials that we are consuming. Maybe my fear that those who could do so are doing nothing, or even worse don;t know what to do.  Is there new technology available? Perhaps. The video link below is to the Bloom Box a new invention

I am starting to feel a bit happier after watching this video.  I'll be happier still if the planned third runway at Heathrow is scrapped.

I only recently heard about this campaign. It is independent of any political party and seeks to identify what we would like from our democracy. There are a list of changes that we can select to vote on. The vote ends on Monday the 22nd Feb.  I am quite sure that many people have views that they would like to see implemented this is your chance to contribute your views. Quote from the website:

"Our democracy is in crisis. MPs fiddle while the planet burns. Our rights and freedoms are under attack. Bankers blow billions and the taxpayer foots the bill. We can't go on like this.

We need a healthy democracy that works for all of us and not just a powerful few. POWER2010 exists to help create it. It gives you the chance to have your say on how our democracy works so that together we can change it for the better.

Do you want cleaner funding? Fairer voting? More accountability? You decide. Tell us your ideas for changing the way we run our country. Those with most support will become the POWER2010 Pledge and the focus for our national campaign at the next election. "

Power2010 Countdown to a new politics 

I have learnt quite a lot about burning wood, stacking up the fire at night with huge logs was a big mistake as the wood doesn't burn properly and is largely wasted, quite apart from creating pollution. Wood is carbon neutral and is clean if burnt properly. I have found a website which I think is the most useful resource of information I have found so far: wood stove warehouse  I have a Jetmaster fire which is quite efficient for an open fire (50 per cent). I have been researching with a view as to whether to buy a wood stove - they are more efficient than an open fire and can be used for cooking. Aparently to use wood to also heat water is difficult as a simple water jacket lowers the temperature of the gasses to the point where the wood is not burnt efficently and tar and pollution is increased. For a really good review of all the issues I think the link I have included above is excellent.  There are of course many local suppliers.

Whilst Westwood Parish Council were debating road safety in the village a young police officer was tragically dying. He had apparently left the road at the "S" bend (double bend or Z bend)along Westwood road. Whilst there was some frost and ice that evening the road in the village itself was free of ice. The S bend  is in a hollow and may have had black ice. Westwood Road should not be mistaken for Lower Westwood Road which goes through the village. Westwood road is some distance from the village.

The road safety issue that the parish council was discussing arose out of the formation of Westwood Community Road Safety Committee (WCRSC) which was formed last year to investigate residents concerns with the speed of vehicles through the village. The WCRSC have suggested 20 mph limits for both Lower and Upper Westwood Roads and soft cushion type speed control humps. The WCRSC petitioned residents and gained a lot of support for the proposals. 

As a result of the meeting Councillors decided to ask Wiltshire Council to undertake a traffic study of the village. Until minutes are approved and Westwood residents are informed via the Westwood Update I have nothing more to say about the meeting  (I am now a Westwood PC Councillor) However, I have decided to add my opinion, based on research where possible, on traffic management locally and in the UK.  I intend to do this through a series of articles on the Freshford Somerset forum. Readers are free to add their comment to what I have written, subject to registering on the forum. Geoff Edwards  Speed Limits

But first what is a speed limit? What better resource is there than Wikipedia? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limit It is a very, very interesting article. And I mean very interesting. The article needs about fifteen minutes to read and digest, but it is well worthwhile! Let's take,as an example, the first person to be convicted of breaking a speed limit. The first person to be convicted of speeding in the UK was Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent. On January 28, 1896 he was fined for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thus exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h). He was fined 1 shilling plus costs (from the Wikipedia article) Now, doesn't that sound absurd? Yes , yes, yes! How on earth can someone be accused of speeding at that speed, slower than someone can walk, except by some balmy legal system?  I am not going to answer that, but I don't really suppose that the authority was balmy, they had their reasons. But today, in 2010 I can drive my Land Rover Discovery weight 2 tons through most villages and towns at speeds up to 30 mph. Most of these towns and certainly villages do not really enforce the speed limit. The police might occasionally organise a speed trap, but they need to choose a location that is safe not only for the officers but also where there is space to pull the driver over.  I don't think that the authorities that set these speed limits are balmy. But, I do challenge the wisdom of many of them when they set speed limits, and when they review them. Wiltshire has just published a review of speed limits on the A and B roads. the C and D roads, many of which go through villages will be reviewed later. I am not sure whether I am allowed to publish the recommendations which are subject to review.

Maximum speed limits

I will leave for another  article, the discussion of what is an appropriate speed limit. My understanding of what a speed limit is for, is that it is for informing road users that they are entering a zone where a speed limit is in operation. The local authorities have determined that vehicles should not exceed the posted speed limit for the safety of the public. There are maximum speeds associated with certain types of road in the UK: 70 mph on motorways and dual carriageways and 60 mph on all other roads. sisty mph is the National Speed Limit. There are also additional speed limits to reduce the speed of motorists. The reason why there are speed limits is because to exceed the posted limit would endanger the driver and other road users. A speed limit sign is an important guide to road users that they should limit their speed for one reason or another. The sign is also, a warning for that those who exceed the speed limit that they will be breaking the law and this can result in a fine. This means that speed limit signs should not be disregarded. The government link Speed: know your limits is a PDF document. It is interesting to note that The Times Online has an article on a government proposal to cut the National Speed Limit from 60 to 50 mph, except for certain A class roads. Cut Speed to 50 

Scrap speed limits?

Whilst local people will understand that the speed limit is appropriate, and may not really need to have a speed limit, strangers will not have that local knowledge. There is also an important role that road markings and signs have that should contribute information to road users that they should modify their speed. These signs can negate the necessity to have a speed limit. Whilst the majority of the public who drive on the roads do so sensibly and use road signage to guide them in selecting an appropriate speed, unfortunately there are others who do not. It is therefore, necessary to have speed limits. The existence of a speed limit does mean that the police could be used to control motorists speed. This is especially effective where there are radar traps that are in operation most of the time. However, the use of speed limits, it could be argued, is not necessary. There is a danger that drivers ignore speed limits that appear to be unnecessary, especially where it is unlikely that the limit will be enforced.

Sat-nav

With the introduction of sat-nav navigation systems motorists are directed to take routes that they would not have been aware of before the advent of sat-nav. This has meant an increase in the number of road users in rural areas. These road users are ignorant of local road conditions and a proportion of these drivers are impatient to get to their destination, and will thus be travelling faster than they should. It is therefore, very important that both road signage and speed limits need to be very carefully selected.

In another article I will discuss some roads in Wiltshire and Somerset that are subject to inappropriate speed limits. These roads are examples of a lack of wisdom locally, and I am sure that examples could be found elsewhere. 

No it's not speeded up! Look at the pedestrians, some do run, but who can blame them.

Police, Ambulance and fire engine were called. No one was injured as far as I know, I believe the driver was a police officer.  The road was gritted afterwards! (08/01/2010)

Well. I did write about this gritting issue last year link:Salt supply!  Even if one accepts the Global Warming scenario, will we still be likely to get this sort of weather? In fact, well according to the possibilities, yes we are more likely to get widely varying weather. Salt is like fossil fuel, a non-replenishable resource, unless we extract it from sea water which would waste precious energy.  Sand is also another non-replenishable resource as well, but then that is another story. Are we really going to buy salt from Africa. and will it need to be flown over here? 

What is the worst spam website? In my opinion ClickOrlando. This website sends me email several times a day, day after *****day. There is a link to unsubscribe but I never subscribed to this new site anyway. To unsubscribe they want all sorts of information that I have no intention of supplying, especially since I have not subscribed to this service.  I have no interest in Florida or in its news service. Why should I? I live in England. Fortunately, Outlook traps the email and puts it in my Junk Email folder. The reason that this "service" exists is to bring in revenue from advertisers. As a matter of policy, I do not buy goods or services from any unsolicited email I receive. Apparently, others do, that's why we have spam.