Climate, Science and the Scourge of the Denialist
Who Do You Put Your Faith In For Climate Change Reality Checks? In the Climate Change and Global Warming debate, human beings are getting very tribal again. The debate is polarising into the Greens and the Denialists. I have to say right at the outset I am a Green (ish). My ire was triggered by the report from climate scientists, publicised on the Mashable blog, that the atmospheric CO2 level has already passed the 400 parts per million (0.004%) this year, weeks earlier than its first recorded 400ppm+ reading last year and its showing now sign of slowing down. (0.002% was more or less the textbook norm that we were taught as young Chemistry school students 40 odd years ago). In my Google Plus feed I noticed that Mashable had put the post out publicly and as...
The Best Plumbers Know This Science All Too Well!
My forays into plumbing have been pretty limited. A bathroom rebuild, a kitchen refit and a few plumbed in appliances are about it! What’ll be keeping our plumbers exercised this winter will be the consequences of the good old frozen pipes. As we all probably know, it’s not the freezing spell that gives the biggest headache, it’s the thaw that that unleashes all the water over your best furniture and carpets. Where I live now, is a nicely insulated little semi that escaped any real problems last winter. This coming winter though… the weathermen seem to be predicting gloomy cold times. In a previous lifetime, I was a Science teacher at one of the local secondary schools. I was a little infamous for bangs, smells and shocks! One of...
A Short Winter Climb to Revive Jaded Spirits
After a night out in Penrith and with winter still having its icy grip on the Lake District; what better way to take advantage of a low pressure day than to grab a quick trip up one of the classic little ice climbs around Thirlmere. I couldn’t track down anyone to come out to play, so it had to be something fairly easy going and quick to access. This was clearly the excuse I needed to have a look at Launchy Ghyll. This is one of those under rated mini classics that I’ve been meaning to get round to for years, but had always been tempted by higher places. Launchy Ghyll is rated grade III but is one of those amenable climbs that lulls you into thinking it will be perfectly OK for a quick morning solo. As Launchy is an SSSI (Site of Special...
A Very Different Kind of Challenge for 2010 – The Great Climb
The Previous Challenge was all about marketing and making an impact within your chosen niche, not a huge chance of tearing skin muscle and bone. In life there are many kinds of challenge. How do you fancy the chance to tackle an overhanging (150 ft in 600 ft) cliff of Lewisian gneiss in the bonny Western Isles on a typical full on Scottish summer rainstorm? That’s the invitation that Dave McLeod and Tim Emmet received from BBC Scotland about a year and a half ago! The brief was simple; find a line on the most overhanging part of Sron Ulladale on the Isle of Harris and do a trad first ascent of the line in the 5 1/2 hour live broadcast slot, no matter what the weather throws at you. The result has been the most absorbing TV adventure epic I have ever had...
Santiago de Compostela- The End of Heather’s Camino
After 780km of walking, Heather has arrived at journey’s end. The final day of the Camino was sadly let down by the weather. After all the heat and the dust, just when you’d like a bright and colourful day; what does it do? Tries to do an English Summer’s day! Now that’s no way to treat a lady! Santiago and this is the last – probably! Well, I suppose you want me to write that there were bells, trumpets, full orchestra, banners, flags, dancing when I arrived in Santiago, don´t you! Let us first go the night which was OK apart from an Italian man a) snoring b) leaving his foot smell to waft around and c) already having got my back up by tending to the weedy female he was with who kept meeowing, a bit like a baby. That is when she...
Belly Ache and Respect on the Camino
It’s hard to believe that the summer has passed by almost and Heather is actually on the last few laps of the walk. I’m a couple of days late posting this so I’m hoping that the ominous silence in the email department isn’t the gutaches catching up with her. Pride Cometh Before a Fall Part Three Hi Everybody, I´ve fixed my walking sandals with superglue so they should be good for a few hundred more kms. Trainers are still going strong even with the bottoms not quite all there in one piece, so to speak. I had a wonderful moment today – as I said, The Camino is not now what it was as it´s now full of people having joined for the last 100 km. I probably forgot to say as well that you have a credential which allows you to stay at the...
Galicia, And only 130km to Go on Heather’s Camino
Was working my fingers to the bone yesterday, but I finally managed to break away for a few photos and a bit of bouldering at Head End Quarry, as I build up an archive of climbing ropework video clips. It’s harder to get good vid of that than I imagined. Not really a one man show! Meanwhile Heather is definitely seeing the hills again and I think Galicia has rung her bells good and proper! Beautiful, Beautiful Galicia. Hola Todos, I realise I haven´t got anything funny to write about! Sorry! Yesterday I passed over into the last province, Galicia. Here there is a different language (brilliant, just when I´m getting to grips with Spanish) and beautiful mountains, completely different to any in Britain as they all seem to have vegetation. I have taken so many...