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Community A meeting of minds If you thought 2016 was weird, then 2017 is shaping up to be a worthy successor. Last week US president Donald Trump's bizarre behaviour had some senior Republican luminaries wondering whether he might be mentally ill; at the same time North Korea test-fired intercontinental ballistic missiles into the sea. Who'd have thought the day would come when Kim Jong-un wasn't the doolally leader on the planet? It's hard to think of two people less well equipped for a Mexican stand-off than Jong-un and Trump. Both are thin- skinned and delusional, and if the Supreme Leader gets his way, soon both will be armed with nuclear weapons. Waste not, want not Talking of despotic leaders, over in Russia's western neighbour Belarus the locals are so poor that the Rahachow town council has told its citizens they can pay towards their water and electricity bills using recyclable waste. The authorities have put up fliers in blocks of flats to let people know that they will accept paper, plastic and glass in return for basic utilities, according to Rogachev Online. It says there is a growing issue with people not being able to pay their bills in the town. With the economy in such a state, it's a wonder that Alexander Lukashenko keeps being elected president, a post he's occupied since 1994. Or perhaps it's true that you can take the republic out of the Soviet Union, but it's harder to take the Soviet Union out of the republic. Blue Peter turns green Recycling is also the buzzword at Blue Peter, the world's longest-running children's TV programme, which celebrates its 60th birthday next year. In an effort to get with the green programme, the BBC says the famous Blue Peter badges awarded to children as rewards will in future be made in a solar-powered factory using old yoghurt pots. These days there are six badges, ranging from standard blue, which is given for writing a letter, to gold, awarded to children who have shown incredible bravery – or, weirdly enough, long-standing presenters who leave the show. Surely if you work on the show you can pretty much just help yourself to the badges? Fertile imaginations Hooray for science, says Disconnector! It's thanks to science that we have light. And heat. And transport. And lab- grown human-pig embryos! Yup, before you can say "don't do it, professor", scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, have created part-human, part-pig embryos, the first step, they hope, on the road to being able to breed pigs with human organs inside them for transplant. They've dubbed their creation a "chimera" aer the cross-species beast of Greek mythology, which Disconnector supposes is more glamorous than "monster" and will make it easier to attract investors. In a paper published in the journal Cell, the scientists outline how human stem cells were injected into pig embryos and allowed to develop for 28 days before being removed. "This is long enough for us to try to understand how the human and pig cells mix together early on without raising ethical concerns about mature chimeric animals," said lead researcher Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte. It certainly puts squeamishness about GM crops into some sort of perspective. Disconnector Editor, Utility Week, and content director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@fav-house.com; Deputy 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; Reporter: Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Policy correspondent: David Blackman, e: davidblackman@fav-house.com; Production editor: Paul Newton, t: 01342 332085, e: paulnewton@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 332057, 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 £669 per year. Overseas £781 per year. Contact Peter Bissell on: 01342 332057 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 Natalie Bennett @natalieben #renewableenergy the conversation is no longer about "should we?" but "how should we do it?" Chris Endrey @ChrisEndrey Incredible how all the public expertise on the risks of renewables exists solely across some 200 conservatives with arts/law degrees. June Stoyer @CleanEnergyView The first U.S. #hydroelectric power plant opened on the Fox River near Appleton, Wisconsin, on September 30, 1882. EDF @EnvDefenseFund Trump's energy plan doesn't mention solar, an industry that just added 51,000 jobs. William Marchant @richonlyinname Am I spending rather a lot of my time thinking about retail price controls at the moment? You bet your sweet, sweet ass I am, Samuel Adams. Tim Jones @Forthleft2 Clean coal, from the people who brought you dirty sunlight. Bob Kostic @causticbob The grass is always greener on the other side. Especially when you live next door to a nuclear power plant. Whale Extravaganza @Toumal Nuclear Power sounds great, until you measure 530 Sievert at a meltdown site and pay 190 billion for the cleanup. No thx. SESWater @SESWater Washing machines and dishwashers account for 20% of household water use. Make sure you start yours with a full load. Tim W @Blueirons Renewables are not the issue; a dysfunctional national grid is the issue #qanda Top Tweets UTILITY WEEK | 17TH - 23RD FEBRUARY 2017 | 31