As anyone who will tell you who has been living in London the past week, we have been seeing headlines of water shortage, hosepipe and sprinkler ban to come into effect, as well as compulsory water metering
Homes forced to get water meters
Q&A: Compulsory water meters
Now this really gets my back up a great great deal. I am not too concerned with the idea of hosepipe ban and a sprinkler ban; I think personally most can get by without having to use a hosepipe or sprinkler. What upsets me the most is the idea that a water company is allowed to force people to have water meters. This is absurd, seriously absurd.
When the privatisation of water was done back in the 80s under Thatcher, it was done with the intention that they would bring the water supply up to scratch, ensure that there was reduced number of leaks and proper investment. What a surprise, none of that happened, shucks, I should have seen that one coming. Here we are a public need, i.e. water, and it was sold to private investors, whom were asked, stress the word asked to bring the aging system up to scratch. Well the best part of 20 years later, and no progress has been made, in fact, in many areas, things are actually worse than when the privatisation occurred.
So for a company to ask for compulsory water metering is a laugh, and the fact they were granted it as well, shows just how bad things are. For instance Thames Water loses about 33% of its water each and every day through it leaking water system. 33%, that is absurd amount of water, and they want us to take better care with water. Fine I can understand the consumer taking more care, but to suggest that the consumer is the real source of the problem misses the bigger picture. If lets say on the conservative side that Thames Water pumps 1 billion litres of water through the system each day, which I understand is about right, then you are losing 333 million litres of water each day through leaks. You would think the business model for that would say that is a serious problem, a very serious problem. Nope, that one goes over their heads.
If you want to fix the problem of water shortage, here are some of the solutions.
1) Fix the bloody leaks, the figures are higher now than when privatisation took place, so until they fix the water leaks to below 10% then they aren’t allowed to raise prices, demand compulsory water metering or anything, simple, easy to do and enforce, and in the south east a big big issue, with low levels of rainfall in the past couple of years.
2) Take a leaf out the New York water board books. When they in the past had a problem with needing to build a new reservoir, because of high demand. They were forced to look at other solutions. Guess what they did, they ensured that all the toilets in the houses for that area were low flush loos. And guess what happened, my oh my, shock of horror, they found they didn’t need the reservoir, because there wasn’t enough need for it, as the water they saved from installing low flush loos meant enough water to go around. What has been the water companies response to a similar situation here, oh put in a toilet hippo, as if that will do anything. If they ensure that the toilets are low flush then that firstly helps a lot, and secondly if they were to use recycled water, say from washing machine or washing dishes, then it is well used water. Heck many countries in Europe do the same thing, can’t see that being a problem, so why are we so reluctant in this country.
3) Stop the government from forcing more people into London and South East, and stop the idea of building so many homes in the Thames Gateway when it simply can’t cope already, and the homes that are to be built are on low lying flood plains. Umm, did I miss a geography lesson there, if you build on the flood plains, you are inviting trouble, simple as. The government should not being building so many properties in London, shouldn’t be building high rise blocks, also shouldn’t be squeezing more and more people onto an ever smaller piece of land. Where I am in London, there is a proposal to build a 19 storey high block of apartments/flats, whatever you want to call them, and there is no need for them, homes are constantly being split into ever smaller and smaller dwellings which means that more and more people using fewer and fewer resources. And what a surprise, this government is intent of killing the golden goose called London.
4) Educate people on how to use water properly, stop them running taps whilst brushing their teeth, encourage showers, help people to setup water recycling in the their homes, encourage people to wash their clothes on full loads, to reuse the water they have, boil less water in a kettle, etc. I mean this is simple ideas, which when enacted should do something
When these ideas have been exhausted, then consider doing something like a water meter, but I can bet money, that you won’t need to, because these ideas above will save a lot of water, and suddenly we will find we have excess instead of not enough.
It is like the brains of the government were stolen, nope that is being too kind, they never had any in the first place, and people like the environment minister simply can’t see the bigger picture.
Please bang together the heads of the government, the water companies with a wall called common sense, when that is done, come back to me, I will be more than happy to oblige.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Travelling bug
No I haven’t caught a bug whilst travelling, rather that I seem to have a bug for travelling. Like many people these days, I do like the idea of going to experience an area in small doses and take in what is special about that area.
This year I have already been to Slovakia, I am also intending a lot of travel in the coming months, much more than I have done in a while, and it struck me as to wonder why I seem to have a wunderlust, and why it has been stoked up so much in recent times.
My family is certainly a family that has historically been spread wide and far, and always tended to marry people from other nations, my own parents are English and American, and their own parents, at least one was a foreigner to these shores, even close members of my immediate family are currently abroad as well. So I do think that has had some bearing on the situation. I also with thought realised that being with Z has meant it has come back to the fore as well. With Z being Slovakian, and also having a lust for travelling, heck she wanted to be a stewardess too, travel has become high on our list for the coming future.
This year, we already did Slovakia, we will also be off to Paris come May, going to be going to Slovakia again in June, plus Krakow in Poland, Budapest in Hungary, Bratislava in Slovakia, Vienna in Austria, Prague in Czech Republic, Belfast in Northern Ireland, and we did also consider other places depending on finances of course.
If by chance anyone reading this has been the above places and can recommend places to see or eat, etc in the above, please leave a message, other people’s recommendations are appreciated and help a lot.
Next year – 2007 will be a big one, we already have it in the planning stages, and intend to visit Malaysia for 3 weeks, and might well visit other neighbouring places as well whilst there. Thankfully with family out there, it helps all the while, and it should be good to see members of the family for the first time in a while.
It is funny mind, that living in London, you would think I would do so much of what is on my own doorstep, but despite living here all my life, and being someone who on the one hand sells London as a place to visit and see, I also find it lacking in many ways too, but there is so much of this city I have yet to experience and I really need to do so, especially as it is on my doorstep. Maybe I need to take a tourist view of London and then I will find more of the place to discover. London is bursting with so much in it, it seems daft to let it all just go to waste, though with the current problems of the tube and that the next 3-5 years will be ruined by constant engineering works which always seem to overrun, one has to temper the desire to go around the city with the practicalities of living in the ‘burbs
This year I have already been to Slovakia, I am also intending a lot of travel in the coming months, much more than I have done in a while, and it struck me as to wonder why I seem to have a wunderlust, and why it has been stoked up so much in recent times.
My family is certainly a family that has historically been spread wide and far, and always tended to marry people from other nations, my own parents are English and American, and their own parents, at least one was a foreigner to these shores, even close members of my immediate family are currently abroad as well. So I do think that has had some bearing on the situation. I also with thought realised that being with Z has meant it has come back to the fore as well. With Z being Slovakian, and also having a lust for travelling, heck she wanted to be a stewardess too, travel has become high on our list for the coming future.
This year, we already did Slovakia, we will also be off to Paris come May, going to be going to Slovakia again in June, plus Krakow in Poland, Budapest in Hungary, Bratislava in Slovakia, Vienna in Austria, Prague in Czech Republic, Belfast in Northern Ireland, and we did also consider other places depending on finances of course.
If by chance anyone reading this has been the above places and can recommend places to see or eat, etc in the above, please leave a message, other people’s recommendations are appreciated and help a lot.
Next year – 2007 will be a big one, we already have it in the planning stages, and intend to visit Malaysia for 3 weeks, and might well visit other neighbouring places as well whilst there. Thankfully with family out there, it helps all the while, and it should be good to see members of the family for the first time in a while.
It is funny mind, that living in London, you would think I would do so much of what is on my own doorstep, but despite living here all my life, and being someone who on the one hand sells London as a place to visit and see, I also find it lacking in many ways too, but there is so much of this city I have yet to experience and I really need to do so, especially as it is on my doorstep. Maybe I need to take a tourist view of London and then I will find more of the place to discover. London is bursting with so much in it, it seems daft to let it all just go to waste, though with the current problems of the tube and that the next 3-5 years will be ruined by constant engineering works which always seem to overrun, one has to temper the desire to go around the city with the practicalities of living in the ‘burbs
Good behaviour for teens
Paying Teenagers for good behaviour
I read this headline on the BBC website the other day and I sat there in disbelief. The MP called Gordon Brown, the so called leader in waiting of the Labour party is actually suggesting to reward teenagers for good behaviour.
What the f**k!!!, rewarding teenagers for behaviour that you would expect out of them. Well thank you Gordon for wanting to give these kids my hard earned cash into their hands to spend as they wish, when they should be behaving anyway.
If you were to say that you were going to ensure that there were more activities for them to do, places to go, places to hang out instead of the street corner, then maybe I would be more willing to accept it.
These kids these days are bribed so much. This announcement goes along with the fact they pay children above the age of 16 to stay in education. They are paid £50 a week to encourage them to study more, whereas the incentive should be to show them what they can achieve with a better education instead of bribing them, what makes this bribing all for nought is when you decide to charge them for university, and will make many of those you just spent £50 a week bribing to keep them off the unemployment figures will then either work, or sit doing nothing.
This scheme doesn’t do anything to encourage teenagers to be well behaved, especially if nothing is there to back it up. I can see this be another hair brained scheme thought of by someone who really doesn’t understand a single thing about teenagers, and actually ensuring that they are listened and respected, which is what most teenagers want.
What also might be a good idea is to ensure the parents teach their children how to behave. If you look through all the hot air around this, it is focusing mainly on the chavs of this world, whom many would say are nothing but a waste of space. I won’t get into my personal view, although the idea of chav hunting instead of fox hunting doesn’t seem such a bad idea……..
I read this headline on the BBC website the other day and I sat there in disbelief. The MP called Gordon Brown, the so called leader in waiting of the Labour party is actually suggesting to reward teenagers for good behaviour.
What the f**k!!!, rewarding teenagers for behaviour that you would expect out of them. Well thank you Gordon for wanting to give these kids my hard earned cash into their hands to spend as they wish, when they should be behaving anyway.
If you were to say that you were going to ensure that there were more activities for them to do, places to go, places to hang out instead of the street corner, then maybe I would be more willing to accept it.
These kids these days are bribed so much. This announcement goes along with the fact they pay children above the age of 16 to stay in education. They are paid £50 a week to encourage them to study more, whereas the incentive should be to show them what they can achieve with a better education instead of bribing them, what makes this bribing all for nought is when you decide to charge them for university, and will make many of those you just spent £50 a week bribing to keep them off the unemployment figures will then either work, or sit doing nothing.
This scheme doesn’t do anything to encourage teenagers to be well behaved, especially if nothing is there to back it up. I can see this be another hair brained scheme thought of by someone who really doesn’t understand a single thing about teenagers, and actually ensuring that they are listened and respected, which is what most teenagers want.
What also might be a good idea is to ensure the parents teach their children how to behave. If you look through all the hot air around this, it is focusing mainly on the chavs of this world, whom many would say are nothing but a waste of space. I won’t get into my personal view, although the idea of chav hunting instead of fox hunting doesn’t seem such a bad idea……..
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