After HS2 is complete which is in about 15 years there will no doubt be links to Scotland to be considered. Although extending the line to Newcastle along the east coast is reaching into less densely populated areas and it might not have the traffic to make it worthwhile.

The smaller cities to the west such as Bristol, Plymouth, Cardiff would never justify such expenditure and Bristol already has a very fast straight line to London.

In some ways it could be said a single line from London to Birmingham then Manchester and Leeds would be the most densely used.  Yet the planned spur bringing Sheffield, Nottingham and Derby into the route gives it wider reach.

The route to Scotland via Preston which has always been a major line looks like it might be downgraded by remaining a ‘classic’ line which is unfortunate as our area would welcome such a line. In particular the line to Heathrow would be of benefit cutting out flying from Manchester for connections. It would also be expected that being able to reach here or London in  just over an hour could transform what people consider a day trip.

£5 a day for internet use plus £1 per 1MB.  So 10 days might cost £70 just to look at a few e-mails and a bit of internet. Here’s the extract:

Vodafone Pay as you go customers

As a pay as you go customer you’ll automatically benefit from Vodafone Data Traveller. You just pay £2 a day in our Europe zone and £5 a day (midnight to midnight, UK time) in our rest of world zone each day you use it.

• Vodafone Data Traveller countries (these may change from time to time)
• Terms and conditions

Standard data costs abroad

• Europe - £1 a MB up to 5MB, then £5 for every 5MB after that
• Rest of the world - £3 a MB up to 5MB, then £15 for every 5MB after that

We’ll send you free texts to let you know when you’re nearing the end of your data allowance. Once you’ve used your allowance you’ll pay the standard data rates.

It isn’t that clear what the overall advantage of starting HS2 in the north will be except that it is probably easier as it cuts through less inhabited areas and so will make faster progress. It also creates jobs in areas that are currently suffering more.  Politically it delays decisions in sensitive areas and perhaps changes to airports will enable the southern part of the route to be adapted.  Heathrow is badly constrained by lack of runways, an airport operating at over 90% capacity is a recipe for delays and increasing cost of landing slots.

Meanwhile the UK is accelerating its slip down the league table of developed countries not helped at all by having a clogged up transport system while Asian and major EU countries are building more runways and a fast rail network to major cities.

Our state of democracy is that a few newts placed on a site or a footpath used by a few people can set back a major development by years and cost millions of pounds.  While campaigners can make all kinds of fanciful claims.

In particular articulate people close to the capital and hub of UK power have a stronger voice than those in far off regions.  This is creating a two speed Britain where a region buffered by the Chilterns is getting a disproportionate amount of investment. A few crumbs are cast out to other regions like a few miles of electrified rail between Manchester and Liverpool while London gets a £16bn pound new rail line that is about the same length.

So Heathrow’s days of operating at over 90% capacity should be numbered and a new rail line linking the major cities of the UK should be started immediately to help create an M25 effect by spreading the wealth about.

The Japanese stations are quite old and Japan is on the edge of a Tectonic Plate, so there were 2 major factors of risk.  With the natural one perhaps being of such significance that the building of the stations in that location would be questioned.

On the other side it can be said that the tsunami killed over ten thousand people and the nuclear station hasn’t killed anyone, as yet.  While the reactors aren’t likely to give off significant radiation even in a worse case.

Yet there is a lot of ignorance about nuclear power, most people have no idea what it is but it sounds worrying when headlines talk of meltdown, radiation and health risks.  So I’ll add that I know little about it either.

In the UK we are in a stable region of the earth and the physical risks to power stations primarily come from: gross human error, terrorists, meteorites, perceived possibility of a tidal wave from the Canary Islands or other random volcanic event.  None of these risks have as high a probability or impact as in Japan. The technology will use ‘passive’ safety and not the old water cooling used in Japan.

Some politicians are now stating their concerns about nuclear power in the UK and in Germany older reactors have been closed. The question then becomes; if no nuclear how do we supply enough clean power? It is said that one nuclear power station provides the same power as 1500 windmills, yet the wind often doesn’t blow on the coldest days. Others say we should use the energy in the tides and estuaries and insulate our houses more, drive smaller cars and use public transport. There is also the carbon capture and storage for coal powered stations.

Green energy is expensive. Some say building and de-commissioning nuclear power stations and storing the radio-active material is very expensive as well. Yet figures quoted in reports by the US government show that taking all that into account nuclear is significantly cheaper than coal with CCS, offshore windmills and solar. With on-shore windmills and hydro being less per kilo-watt hour.

Overall most of the green options are expensive, unreliable and require our green and pleasant land to be converted into a windmill farm with estuaries dammed.  Can’t say it appeals much and for that reason a proportion of nuclear gets my vote.

Nissan announced that their new electrically powered car, the Nissan Leaf, will be produced in Sunderland from 2013. Up to 50,000 cars a year will be made.  Nissan stated that the UK commitment to providing the infrastructure and education to operate these cars helped the decision.  The North East has agreed to fit 13,000 charging points and London 25,000. Also a novel leasing arrangement for batteries will ease the cost of ownership and another plus the batteries will be made in Sunderland as well.  Photographs of the car look quite smart with nothing to make it look different. Ironically the ‘green’ car will be produced next to the Juke urban off-roader which doesn’t sound quite as green.

Ford announced about £1.5bn investment in new efficient engine R&D and manufacturing in the UK.  A significant portion of the money will be loans from the UK Automotive Assistance Programme and the EU. Ford will test 15 electric vehicles as well as work on low carbon engines.  Ford produce 25% of their world supply of engines in the UK.

Sheffield Forgemasters received government loan support to make a 15,000 tonne forging press, making the company one of two companies in the world capable of making specific nuclear components. The government said the UK can produce 50% of the parts for a nuclear power station and the investment will take it to 70%. The government is also to support up to 1000 apprentice places a year in the nuclear industry.

It is a curious business the offering of loans to keep manufacturing in a country. Subsidising has long been illegal in the EU. However such large scale investment is often only possible with government assistance. Vice versa governments often say that infrastructure projects, for such as energy, cannot be afforded without industrial investment.  Does one balance the other out or is it just convenient to make the best of both worlds. No doubt a company has to get the best deal it can so an existing plant must count for something and make the loan required less than it would be from a place without a plant or who didn’t have other incentives to offer such as car power point infrastructure. We can only welcome this as good news.

I’ve read a few comments saying that a number of pharmaceutical companies are moving their facilities east, usually in smaller numbers than this.  This industry has been held as one of the UK’s torch bearers into the future but appears to be going the same way as the heavy industries.

This week I read with disappointment that Mr Obama is cutting the US manned moon programme. The disappointment was that the un-inhabited moon will be annexed by who-ever goes and stays. It seems the Chinese and Indian governments are viewing their future power symbolised by moon colonies. Yet the US isn’t. The US will be a clipped wing power by 2050 like Britain is now and as someone who has always seen the US as a beacon of technology it isn’t something I want to see.  Maybe I won’t because I’m too old now.

There are those who might think, sort out things on Earth first and such power plays are hostile and out-dated.  To that the answer is that the wise man invests for the future while budgeting for the present, mankind would be in caves if the cave was to be sorted first. To that end we are always pushing the boundaries and getting better.

This sounds good but surely issuing these meters to people with home generators would be a first priority. Then a second priority will be those whose energy use exceeds the norm.

I’d be amazed if having one in our house saved a penny. There must be millions like me who keep an eye on their heating timer and setting. There is a compromise between the budget allowed and how warm the house is.   The opposite might be true as it could encourage energy use if it was cheaper off peak and more expensive at peak time.

Also we have just had our gas and electricity meters changed. What happens to these old meters? Who is making the new ones?  Should they be British made meters or will 26million electricity meters and 21 million gas meters be bought from China so save pounds but cost jobs, well-being and health.

What alternatives are there? If I was to ensure minimal peak power use the biggest savings in our house would be a timer on the electric water heater to ensure it is off at peak (there already is one).  The biggest user of fuel by far in our house is the central heating and that is already on only for a limited time as we’ve gone more into heating individual rooms around the time we use them.

How much incentive are we going to get to improve our energy use. The people on the trials with these units are like the well known Hawthorn experiment where people being watched worked harder and harder.  In reality the meter will soon just be a background item that no-one notices. Surely it will be preferable that  its introduction should come with some cost offsetting incentive like going to a new tariff or buying a wind generator to give you a new meter rather than a blanket change over. 

Who is paying for this?  It seems the government is announcing this when surely if it is so wonderful the utility companies would be launching it. I would imagine the utility companies see it as good business just fitting these new units.  Who wouldn’t with some 50m meters to change sounds like a good earner.

Overall without further education it appears the strategy for rolling out the new meters is flawed and that the benefits of their use are not as great as claimed.