Utility Week - authoritative, impartial and essential reading for senior people within utilities, regulators and government
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/735063
UTILITY WEEK | 7TH - 13TH OCTOBER 2016 | 35 Community We're living in strange times In our post-truth era it's dif- ficult to know what objective reality is, or even whether there's any such thing any more. It's no longer a matter of what you know so much as what you believe – and everyone's beliefs should be regarded as equally valid regardless of the supporting evidence. Aer all, we've had enough of experts, yeah? So Donald Trump argues that it's impossible for him to be a misogynist because of the high regard in which he holds his mother – a "wonderful woman". In fact, so appreciative of female beauty is he that he once observed of his daughter, Ivanka: "Yeah, she's a beauty, that one. If I weren't happily married and, ya know, her father…" Yeah, we know. Yet despite Trump's passing acquaintance with the truth, it's difficult to label him a liar as such. Aer all, he believes every word he says, and isn't that enough? Splashing the cash Hubris seems to be the order of the day when it comes to mega- rich celebrity businessmen. Facebook supremo Mark Zuck- erberg has promised $3 billion to eradicating all disease by the turn of the century. All disease? Blimey. Most people might have hedged their bets and tried to come up with something a bit more doable first. Maybe a cure for cancer of something. But why limit your- self? That's not how you get to be Mark Zuckerberg, aer all. Or indeed Elon Musk, the Paypal co-founder and man behind Tesla and SpaceX. Last week he outlined how he planned to make regular space travel to Mars a reality. Appar- ently a methane-powered rocket could do it in three months if it were fuelled in orbit. Musk seemed unfazed by the fact that one of his SpaceX rockets spectacularly exploded on the launchpad last month – taking a $200 million Facebook satellite with it. Heck, you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs. In from the cold Back on planet reality (assum- ing such a thing exists), and the best laid plans of scientists and mice o go awry. Disconnector had cause to muse thus on hearing that global warming is catching even the military industrial complex napping, to wit, it threatens to reveal a hitherto top secret American base bur- ied under the ice of Greenland. Back in the 1950s, at the height of the cold war between the Soviet Union and the West, and when Greenland was still part of Denmark, the US built a complex of tunnels under the Greenland polar ice cap sufficient to station 200 person- nel together with restaurants, shops and even a cinema. Officially, Camp Century was an Arctic research centre. In reality, it housed Project Iceworm, which was a Dr Strangelove-type plan to house 600 nuclear missiles in a fantastical 4,000km complex of ice tunnels. In the event, the shiing ice proved too unstable and Project Iceworm was shelved. In 1964 they took their portable nuclear generator and abandoned the underground base, they thought, to eternity. When they abandoned the base it was 12m under the ice. Today it lies 36m under the ice, as predicted. The problem now is that with climate change this process will go into reverse and the base will, over the next decades, rise to the surface. And with it will rise 200,000 litres of diesel fuel, similar quantities of wastewater and unknown amounts of radioac- tive coolant and toxic organic pollutants such as PCBs. Mr Zuckerberg and Mr Musk take note: even science isn't always, er, an exact science. Disconnector Editor, Utility Week, and content director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@fav-house.com; Acting editor: Jane Gray, t: 01342 332087, e: janegray@ fav-house.com; Insights editor: Mathew Beech, t: 01342 332082, e: mathewbeech@fav-house. com; News editor: Lois Vallely, t: 01342 332080, e: loisvallely@fav-house.com; Networks correspondent: Lucinda Dann, t: 01342 332083, e: lucindadann@fav-house.com; Reporters: Saffron Johnson, t: 01342 332050, e: saffronjohnson@fav-house.com and Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Richard Powell, t: 01342 332062, e: richardpowell@fav-house.com; Business development executive: Nigel Searle, t: 01342 332009, e: nigelsearle@fav-house.com; Publisher: Amanda Barnes, e: amandabarnes@ fav-house.com. General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332507, e: peterbissell@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 2015 Membership subscriptions: UK £637 per year. Overseas £749 per year. Contact Peter Bissell on: 01342 332507 Utility Week is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK's magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors' Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint please contact the editor, Ellen Bennett, at ellenbennett@fav-house.com. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors' Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk Liz E @EErrington1 From the organisation that gave you Delayed DCC: DCC Delayed Harder. William Marchant @richonlyinname BREAKING: Nefarious pack of rogues sign ter- rible deal that will blight your grandchildren. A nation rejoices. Unfortunately it's China. Paul Massara @paulmassara Consumers should be shown all deals – CMA have it badly wrong. Ann Robinson @AnnRobinson8 Could have mini nuclear reactors for energy by 2030. Great if Rolls-Royce in lead so we create technology we can export to the world. Richard Black @richardblack Worth pointing out that Rolls-Royce's existing SMR is a PWR – not the most adventurous design on the block. Jean-Claude Juncker @JunckerEU Ministers approved ratification of historic #COP21 climate deal. The #EU delivers on promises made. Barry Gardiner @BarryGardiner India ratified Paris Climate Agreement. Now with 62 countries and 51.89% global emis- sions. Will the UK be on board at inception? Philip Jardine @Phil_Jardine Tidal lagoon turbines to be built in a new £22m plant in Swansea – despite the best efforts of government to delay! Daniel Walker-Nolan @DWN85 Tough talk from Greg Clark on £2bn detriment in the energy market, safeguard tariff exten- sion is the logical solution. Tim Rotheray @trotheray #energy @ #CPC16 yesterday. Key change is alignment of industrial strategy and #energy for gov. Security of supply a big talking point. Top Tweets