It’s been quite a rollercoaster these last few weeks. A combination of lots of work and now the birth of young Developing Mind (now my son and heir, Infant Mind) has kept me away from the computer screen. But hopefully blogging will increase as the Mind family settles into its new routine around our new pride and joy.
A quick scan of the papers this morning suggests I’m not the only one playing catch up. The Daily Wail is telling its legion of readers:
Britain’s ability to meet its water needs is at a ‘critical point’, according to a report.
It says water use should be drastically reduced and bills increased to penalise over consumption, as increasing temperatures and a rising population stretch resources.
The Institute of Civil Engineers said the Government’s water strategy does not recognise the ‘urgency’ of the situation.
If you are feeling a sense of deja vu reading that, you’re not going mad, this is what the Failygraph was reporting back in March.
Of course, I could begin a comprehensive fisking of the report’s conclusions – making the blindingly obvious point that this group of engineers might better occupy their time thinking of new engineering solutions to the problem, such as developing new reservoirs or water transit networks. But that was done already by Richard over at EU Referendum months ago, back when the story passed for news – and again when he exposed the mendacity of the politicians and corporations.
It might be more productive if our great engineers stopped shilling for politically driven policy dogma and repeating the contradictory climate change effect on water nonsense that sees the need to build bigger flood defences because climate change is going to make it rain more on the one hand, and the big state and water companies telling us to pay more for water because climate change will make it rain less on the other, and got on with engineering.
Autonomous Mind 
Many congrats with the new addition to your family, AM.
Enjoy the coming weeks and months as much as you can.As a father of a five month son&heir, I can tell you things change awfully fast, from one fortnight to the next.
Congratulations Autonomous, (I was getting worried about the lack of new posts)
Good work, Mr AM, best wishes to you and yours
Hi AM, great to see you back. Congratulations on the new additions. We have 6 children and 4 grand children (so far).
The trend I notice in energy supply and now water supply shortage is their essential nature, the solution will cost a lot, suppliers can charge more when there is a shortage. Ie. these products are strongly price/volume inelastic.
I wonder if the next thing on the list will be food, which of course we could supplement ourselves at home in our plots. But then will come the scares that we don’t know what to do, we might use fertilizers, or the wrong seed.
Just wondering.
Good that you should be helping the native Brits to have some semblance of numbers over new immigrants.
Perhaps it would be a good idea for Britain to insist that new residents have the capacity to drill their own water bore hole or employ suitable rain water tanks to catch their requirements.
Congratulations!
Be of good cheer. Such predictions and programs always produce the opposite of what they claim and assume, so you will have abundant water for the foreseeable (!!) future.
>:p
Congratulations and all best wishes to the Mind family! (ps. dont expect to get much sleep in the coming months……)
many congrats indeed! and welcome back.
Congrats!
MORE GOOD WISHES , Not to fret about the water as soon as they have screwed us a bit more I’m pretty sure there will be enough to go around.
Well done in keeping your gene pool intact, it will be even more vital in years to come
congratulations to the Mind family….hope all are well
Congratulations on the family expansion! And thanks for the new posting; I always enjoy reading your blog.
Indeed, congratulations on the appearance of Developing Mind to Mrs AM – and you, of course!
Thanks for your good wishes everyone. Mrs M and me have been touched by them.
May I add my sincerest congratulations and wish to your new born; a peaceful, peaceable, full and successful life.
How serious is saving energy Globally? check Las Vegas, lighting, New York and the rest of the High risers, not only the tall buildings consume big resources, and for every one coming in to the World, I have yet to see stats on total energy consumed in the life time of the individual?
The industrial Nations have the intention of keeping the Planet on a temperature increase to exploit the vast resources of the Poles and use Polar shipping lanes for increased profiteering, for the few.
Congratulations!
Water. I was under the impression that the amount of the shortage of water in the SE that kicked off the drought status was the same as the amount of water lost to leaks. I.E. An artificial drought. I was also under the impression that a core part of privatisation was that the water companies upgraded the water network to deal with the scandalous amount lost to leaks.
It would seem that, as usual, the money that should have been spent has gone into director’s wallets and shareholders’ dividends. We know the government turned down the building of new reservoirs in the SE a few years back, on the grounds that they were not needed.
Regardless, it will be the taxpayer that picks up the tab. We are now to all intents and purposes, working to keep the government going. Fuck that.
Firstly, congratulations! Secondly, re water, there was a BBC news item last week which covered the wet weather but managed simultaneously to warn of future shortages and climate change. It’ll be gone from iPlayer by now, but I’ve transcribed it here (h/t Shevva at Bishop Hill):
https://sites.google.com/site/mytranscriptbox/home/20120607_b1
Phillip Mills (member of Institution of Civil Engineers): “The water situation in the UK is becoming critical, and so we do need to think about it now. The situation is just going to get worse because of the impacts of climate change, with less rainfall, so less water availability.”
Which is interesting, because long-term drought conditions are nothing new in the UK. Here’s the official blog of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, from March this year:
http://cehsciencenews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/decades-not-years-historical.html
‘Skimming through the Weather paper I was intrigued to find that the longest UK drought episode in recent times lasted 20 years(!), when the ‘Long Drought’ of 1890-1910 led to “significant water supply problems” and “major and sustained groundwater impact” – including a period in London’s East End when a 73-day sequence of rainless days was reported! The paper states that “Although punctuated by several notably wet interludes, the 1890-1910 period includes the most sustained drought conditions captured in the instrumented record” and goes on to say, “A defining characteristic of the ‘Long Drought’ is the long sequences of very dry winters, especially in the English Lowlands.’
I think what is driving this propaganda about reducing water use (increased price and metering helps this) is some EC directive, based around global warming assumptions. Can’t be asked to look it up just now.
There are engineering solutions could fix the UKs water issues. I read a number of water companies have shelved plans for new resovoirs because of theis policy/directive.
congrats bro