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UTILITY WEEK | 11TH -17TH SEPTEMBER 2015 | 31 Community Editor, Utility Week, and content director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellen. bennett@fav-house.com; News editor: Jillian Ambrose, t: 01342 332061, e: jillian.ambrose@ fav-house.com; Associate news editor: Mathew Beech, t: 01342 332082, e: mathew.beech@ fav-house.com; Assistant editor (insights): Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: jane.gray@fav-house. com; Research analyst: Vidhu Dutt, t: 01342 332026, e: vidhu.dutt@fav-house.com; Reporters: Lois Vallely, t: 01342 332080; e: lois.vallely@fav-house.com and Lucinda Dann, t: 01342 332083; e: lucinda.dann@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Ed Roberts, t: 01342 332067, e: ed.roberts@fav-house.com; Business development executive: Sarah Wood, t: 01342 332077, e: sarah.wood@fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amanda.barnes@fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership subscriptions: UK £577 per year, overseas £689 per year, t: 020 8955 7045 or email membership sales manager Paul Tweedale: paultweedale@fav-house.com. ISSN: 1356-5532. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Printed by: Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton, Derbyshire SK17 6AE. Published by: Faversham House Ltd, Windsor Court, Wood Street, East Grinstead, West Sussex RH19 1UZ 3,580 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2014 Membership subscriptions: UK £577 per year. Overseas £689 per year. Email: paultweedale@fav-house.com GeorgeMonbiot @GeorgeMonbiot 2 years ago I proposed that the Hinkley C #nuclear power plant was a waste of money and opportunity. Sadly, not wrong. Emma Pinchbeck @ELPinchbeck The good people of the Internet are really making Twitter diamonds out of the #coalisamazing campaign… Kees van der Leun @Sustainable2050 #coalisamazing: Burning it causes 40% of the world's CO2 emissions. Max Phillips @maxphillips #coalisamazing at posing an existential threat to humanity through climate change Alice Bell @alicebell Well here's a thing. Nottingham Council have launched their own energy company. Called Robin Hood Energy. Obvs. Isabel Hardman @IsabelHardman Just seen Jeremy Corbyn running away from a Sun journalist on College Green, shouting "goodBYE!" EDF @edf_maginot Why #HinkleyPoint C? After #Orban offers nuke site to Russians #Cameron to offer nuke site to Chinese. PeterMannionMP @PeterMannionMP Jeremy Corbyn having a chat with labour veteran Kevin Barron MP at the back, I note. Sounding him out for frontbench job? He could do worse. Jennifer Webber @jennifercwebber Hinckley confirmed delayed. To plug low carbon gap need cheap, quickly deployable solutions like onshore wind and solar. Jamie Ross @JamieRoss7 Incredible scenes. Jeremy Corbyn refused to do an interview in a car with @ChrisMasonBBC because it's environmentally unfriendly. Will Nichols @WillNicholsRisk Nuts that the UK is trying to kill off solar just as affordable home batteries are coming to Europe Top Tweets Disconnector Rats on a bender The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. And rats. The long-tailed rodents are writ large in the popular imagination as ferocious and dangerous, which is hardly surprising bearing in mind the awful press they get. Their cause will not have been helped by some headline- grabbing stories highlighting their ability to navigate the U-bend of a toilet, suggesting that the furry denizens of the sewers may soon be seeking accommodation more to their liking, that is, yours. The story was based on a video released by National Geographic sent in by a reader who had snapped one of the little critters emerging from the toilet. It turns out that rats are quite remarkable creatures, able to swim for three days solid and hold their breath for three minutes. And because their ribs are also hinged at the spine, allowing them to wriggle through improbably small spaces, the U-bend in your toilet does not present an insurmountable obstacle to a determined rat. However, predictions that this will lead to a Hammer Horror-style invasion of rats ignore a crucial piece of evi- dence. Rats in their thousands have lived down the sewers for as long as there have been sewers. They have not recently gained the ability to crawl though U-bends; we've just recently become aware of it. If rats were going to take on humankind via the toilet, we'd have noticed already. What's hairy and purrs? So, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. And spiders. Certainly the sort of spider you get in Australia. A Queensland woman shared a photo on website Reddit of a spider as big as a dinner plate, together with hundreds of tiny baby spiders, that had made a nest on her electricity meter. The photo of the wolf spider (for that, dear reader, is what it was) went viral, with most commentators agreeing that it was the stuff of nightmares. The more level-headed of them pointed out that although the spider was venomous (what insect in Australia isn't?), its bite is painful but doesn't cause any long-term harm. Plus, it makes an audible purring sound like a cat. That last bit of information was offered to reassure, although Disconnector isn't sure how many citizens would find a giant purring spider more comforting than an otherwise silent one. In fact, it occurs to the great man that energy suppli- ers could use the avoidance of chancing upon a spider as a strong selling point for smart meters. Lots of folk have little to say on the subject of demand-side response, but they've got plenty to say about spiders. Liquid diets So there you have it – turns out we've got plenty to fear. Except for the obesity crisis, apparently. Research from "scientists at Birmingham University" claims that drinking water before meals can help dieters to lose weight. A group of 80 volunteers were put on a 12-week diet, with half of them told to drink a pint of water half an hour before meals, three times a day. At the end of the three months, those who had loaded up on water lost on average 1.3kg more than those who hadn't. It's hard to see how drinking pints of water on command will do anything but make you feel sick, but there you go. The team are looking for backing for a bigger, longer trial to confirm their findings. Since no bottled water was used in the trial, but only tap water, perhaps the marketing departments of our water companies should expect a speculative phone call. Disconnector