All posts in the topic How votes are cast on our behalf... (Short link)
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- There are 4 posts — by 3 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by dermot dobson at May 22 04:17 UTC
This site: http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/ looks quite interesting - it shows MPs voting records, by postcode, for the last decade. Is there a similar resource for local councillors, I wonder? The MP representing Headington (and the rest of Oxford East, of course) is shown to be 94% in favour of government policy on post offices and a mere 6% against post office closures; on other topics directly affecting Headington he is also 100% in favour of foundation hospitals. Although I didn't make the Low Carbon Headington meeting, it is one of my interests; I now have the internal tank and plumbing in place for a solar-thermal hot water system. I would very much like to add photvoltaic panels and a small wind turbine, but sadly, our local MP also voted (30th April 2008) against a measure that would have rewarded consumers for each kilowatt hour of energy exported back onto the public electricity network from a renewable source, thus losing a valuable economic incentive for installing green energy systems. On Julia's point about Post Offices and the EU, he voted 100% against a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, and, as might be expected, in favour of ratifying it. I was over to a small town in Ireland last week, the pro-Lisbon clan have posters hanging from streetlamps everywhere (Irelend is the only country to give its citizens a vote on this latest power-grab by the EU) - yet the gossip is that Ireland may vote 'NO' and perhaps save the rest of us from, at least prompt implementation, of the treaty. I wonder how Headington - and UK generally would have voted if given a chance? http://www.libertas.org/content/view/229/83/
Ireland's written constitution means that on any treaty the people have to
ratify it by referendum. That's one of the diadvantages of having a referendum.
As for your proposal for putting up solar cells and wind turbines.
1. The economics you will find dodgy on such a small scale.
2. What you don't factor in, is the cost of standby capacity needed. Take wind
power they only operate for 20% of the time because the wind is too strong or
too little. Similar factors apply to solar.
3. Also if you live in a conservation area, no doubt your neighbours would be
opposed to such developments will have on the image of the area.
Anyway it would be more cost effective if you upgraded your home insulation and
used your electrical goods more efficiently.
As for Post Offices.
There is falling demand for the traditional services provided and there are
alternative ways of collecting your pension, paying bills and buying stamps.
Even in Headington there are rival locations such as banks and shops that
forfill the same functions including posting a parcel.
Wasn't there some heavy persuasion to encourage pensioners have their pensions paid into a bank account? And of course the BBC didn't help things by taking the TV licence franchise away from the Post Office. As for other places fulfilling the functions of the Post Office, they don't do it all in one place as the post offices do; and not everywhere has as many outlets as Headington. What about the villages? They don't have a bank, nor do many small towns. There's always another story. PG ----- Original Message ----- From: Nicholas Newman To: Headington & Marston Neighbourhood Forum Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 2:36 PM Subject: Re: [HMNF] How votes are cast on our behalf... Ireland's written constitution means that on any treaty the people have to ratify it by referendum. That's one of the diadvantages of having a referendum. As for your proposal for putting up solar cells and wind turbines. 1. The economics you will find dodgy on such a small scale. 2. What you don't factor in, is the cost of standby capacity needed. Take wind power they only operate for 20% of the time because the wind is too strong or too little. Similar factors apply to solar. 3. Also if you live in a conservation area, no doubt your neighbours would be opposed to such developments will have on the image of the area. Anyway it would be more cost effective if you upgraded your home insulation and used your electrical goods more efficiently. As for Post Offices. There is falling demand for the traditional services provided and there are alternative ways of collecting your pension, paying bills and buying stamps. Even in Headington there are rival locations such as banks and shops that forfill the same functions including posting a parcel. Nicholas Newman Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, Oxford, Info about Nicholas Newman: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/nicholasnewman This topic's messages may be viewed at: http://forums.e-democracy.org/r/topic/6nsR4XxT2f9JUZNUj1RZho ----------------------------------------- To post, send your message to: <email obscured> To leave or for daily digest, type "unsubscribe" or "digest on," in subject line and send to: <email obscured> More info about Headington & Marston Neighbourhood Forum: http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/oxford-hm E-Democracy.Org rules: http://e-democracy.org/rules ----------------------------------------- Technical assistance thanks to our friends at http://OnlineGroups.Net
From Nicholas:
>That's one of the diadvantages of having a referendum (did you mean referendum
or constitution here?? constitution makes more sense in context)
Also an advantage, if you happen to feel that further expansion of EU powers is
bad for the local community.
>1. The economics you will find dodgy on such a small scale.
Pretty much all of the economic studies are based on energy costs from several
years back - before the recent price rises (let alone the 45% anticipated rise
later this year. Headington, much of which is on a hill, is one of the better
areas around Oxford for microscale wind turbines.
> 2. What you don't factor in, is the cost of standby capacity needed. Take
wind
power they only operate for 20% of the time because the wind is too strong or
too little. Similar factors apply to solar.
Standby capacity is only relevant if one proposes to try and run mostly on
wind/solar - I didn't claim that approach, merely to cut grid consumption when
alternative energy is available. As an engineer of some 35 years experience, I
actually have quite a good idea of these sorts of factors...
There are now a number of trials going ahead to 'level' power output; one of
the best (sadly, not a good fit for the local area, being suited for large wind
farms) is to use excess power on windy days to compress and store air
underground (depleted salt caverns or empty gas/oil locations). When power is
required, the air is released, mixed and burnt with a modest amount of natural
gas (to make up for the drop in temperature during expansion), then fed through
an electricity-generating turbine. Some friends in Iowa live nearby a wind farm
planning to build just such a system. I don't think we have any suitable
geography locally, unless we hollow out Shotover...
For domestic systems, any excess power can be dumped into, for example, a
centrally located storage heater during winter or the grid in summer. As
materials technology improves, stronger composites will probably allow
operation in higher winds.
3) I do take your point about conservation areas and I would hate to see such
areas 'defaced', and they do form a significant chunk of Headington.
Yes, I've already upped my roof insulation to 450mm and clad walls with extra
insulation; I concentrated on stopping energy escaping before worrying about
getting more in... and have various electricity monitoring systems to help use
power more sensibly.
Since you dismiss both solar and wind, that leaves you the options of nuclear,
fossil fuels till they run out (or choke the planet) or going back to a low
tech society. Wave/tidal power is interesting but not even as close to economic
as the others. Waiting for fusion is fine - but still 30+ years away
commercially.