Switched On Scotland?

Once the leaves start to fall so start the political circuses generally referred to as the 'conference season'.

This week the LibDems are doing a grand job of tearing their coalition partners and colleagues apart and from the few speeches I've managed to read to their conclusions, it would appear most are fighting something - either to keep their job or to grab someone else's.

I've attended two political party conferences in my life.  Both were many years ago now and in the days when SNP members did debate matters. Nowadays, partially due to the wonder of television, party conferences are tightly staged managed.

Was it at an SNP conference that the party agreed to this policy? The document is entitled 'Switched On Scotland' and it reveals the Scottish Government's dream of making Scotland's cities free from the 'damaging effects of petrol and diesel fumes' by 2050 with an 'almost complete decarbonisation of the road transport sector'.

In the words of the friend who brought this to my attention: "Are the SNP hell bent on destroying themselves?"

Seeing images of Keith Brown and Gordon McGregor (the Energy and Environmental Director of Scottish Power) in the Foreword is surely enough to turn most Scots into cynics. For those like myself who are of a cynical nature, it may take some strength to read the propaganda, but it's all there: 'improve local air quality', 'public heath and wellbeing', 'energise Scotland's economy through opportunities for flourishing green technology industries".

I don't want an electric car and I've yet to meet anyone who does. The Scottish Government is now investing £14m ridding itself of all its petrol and diesel vehicles which will be replaced by electric models.

In the past few weeks I've had more than my fair share of 'energy efficiency' companies telephoning to tell me I'm eligible for one of the 'new' grants.  I can have a ground air system or an air to air system but not one would discuss the actual cost to me. As I said to one young woman who was grimly determined to finish her sales spiel, "There's never a free lunch."  Sadly she didn't understand my meaning.

The job creation target in the renewable sector was blasted by the Auditor General last week and I can't see it improving much in the coming years because we will continue to import equipment and expertise.

Local councils complain about their city centres dying, but if council car parks are to be turned into 'charging ports' then fossil fuel drivers will go elsewhere.

Earlier in this post I mentioned the word 'dream'. Hopefully this policy stays in the SNP's dreamland because if it doesn't it will cause them more than a few nightmares; one being a rapid loss of supporters. This is a vanity project too far and should be switched off immediately.

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Not Exactly Driving Miss Daisy

The Scottish Government are spending £2.6million on charging points for electric cars. Or are they? 

In December last year it was reported that of the £7.8m handed to Scottish government councils, about £5.5m has been spent by local authorities, leaving more than £2m of taxpayers' cash lying unused in bank accounts.

Some councils have yet to spend any of their allocation, with a third of authorities not even having electrical charging points to power up the green vehicles.

Is the £2.6m mentioned yesterday in addition to the £2.3m lying in council bank accounts or is it an effort to ensure councils spend the money pinpointed for charging points?  There is nothing as yet on the Scottish Government website to suggest it is additional money.

The Scottish Government wish to 'decarbonise' road transport by 2050, yet the seem content to push a mode of transport which 'pose an environmental threat'.

I was forced to smile when reading the sales blurb for electric cars on the Next Greencar site. Firstly I need a garage; secondly my mileage needs to be limited to less than around 100 miles a day (some say around 60-70); and last by no means least I need a barrow full of money. The first necessity I had have, the second I can never guarantee and the third is a hopeless dream.

So no electric car for me but in many ways I'm pleased.  The thought of running out of electricity one dark evening fills me with dread and there would be no point phoning the AA either - unless they are to be provided with an emergency generator to do a swift top up to the nearest charging point - which could be miles away of course.

Another little snippet I discovered is that the E-cosse Partnership, which promotes electric vehicles, was initiated by Transport Scotland and WWF Scotland and the policies introduced are the result of an EU directive. 

How WWF Scotland managed to get into the vehicle business is anyone's guess but I'm sure all of you deducted the EU would be involved somehow.

Now, if I could only find out something about the free installation of home charging points ...

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Electric Cars

Contributed by tedioustrantrums

Electric cars are only available in a GT version. No, not “Grand Tourer” unless a sixty mile trip there and back is a long journey for you. No the GT in this case stands for Gargoyle Treatment. Why have they made them so ugly? Normal cars look good mostly and hybrids aren’t too bad. But the Nissan Leaf, the G-Wiz (named after the remark passers-by use when they see one fold up completely in a crash), Ze car and Ze van (they look like the same vehicle to me) etc. etc. are not “easy on the eye”.

The government want us to buy electric cars to reduce carbon emissions (as if). The manufacturers might want to make them look less, well, less frightening if they are really that keen on selling them. The £5000 grant (bribe) towards the purchase price doesn’t really help. The cars are all massively overpriced compared to normal cars.

Now you’re going to say – “what about the Tessla, or the Mini, or the other electric cars which look just like their petrol/diesel variants?” That’s cheating. The Tesla is very expensive to start with and the other cars have limited ranges and they lose space and gain weight which compromises them.

There are few charging points. They take too long to charge. They are powered by electricity generated by coal, oil, gas and of course nuclear power stations which makes the carbon foot print or other environmental issues questionable at best. Their build also adds to their carbon foot print.

I’m thinking of getting a more environmentally friendly vehicle. I’ll change my current car in the spring. It’s hugely fast. It makes a wonderful noise when I press the hurry up pedal. My new to me vehicle will probably be a large 4x4 jeep with a V8 engine with a more open exhaust so it sounds amazing. I’ll get one which has been converted to LPG and pay 58p per litre. Fun to drive AND affordable.

That’ll do for me.

I admit to being a petrol head. I like cars and motorbikes. I also like cycling. I like those tree things and that natural green carpet people play sports on, grass they call it. I like a nice view without windmills. I don’t mind a walk through a wood or alongside a stream. I don’t mind wee furry or feathered things as long as they don’t bite, scratch or leak from their bottom in my vicinity.

Wasps however, I’m just not fond off. What is the point of a wasp? The wasp is the hoodie, chav or punk of nature. I don’t kill them unless they start to play that hovering game close to my nose, ear, head, hand etc, etc, which can end by them stinging because they can, Over and over again. For the hell of it. And why not?

Bottom line is I am in awe of mankind’s achievements. Nature has its place and we need to protect it appropriately but mankind? Our ingenuity knows no bounds, it just needs enough time and money and anything can be achieved.

  

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This Could Solve Edinburgh's Problem

Shock. Horror. The Scots don't seem to have taken the idea of electric cars to their hearts.

In the first six months of operation fewer than 700 people have taken advantage of a 'generous' government grant to encourage us to buy one even although a company, specialising in electric vehicle infrastructure, said it would provide 4000 charing points across the UK by the end of 2012. This follows a decision by the Westminster government earlier this month to abandon plans to install 9000 points by 2013.  The excuse given by the government for this decision was 'the infrastructure would be expensive and potentially under-utilised as most motorists would charge their vehicles at home or at work.'

Unbelievably, Transport Scotland is working on plans to install 375 public charging points across central Scotland to target commuter journeys between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

It is unbelievable - when the UK government make the excuse building the infrastructure is too expensive, yet another branch of government ignores it.  These wee cars may be exceptional on fuel but their purchase cost is prohibitive, charging costs aren't yet known and no one as yet has proved their stability in Scotland's winter weather.

My apologies for once again writing about electric cars when the title of this post is about Edinburgh's problem - which is trams.  I wonder if this is the solution and Edinburgh council ought to be arranging immediate talks with South Korea.

These could have saved a city having its roads dug up for years.

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Labour Attempts to Plug Into the Future

I trust you've remembered the Westminster government's New Year present to us all - a £5,000 electric car grant - all part of the process of meeting carbon targets.  Surely you haven't forgotten such benevolence from the Coalition.

Motorists will have a choice of just one subsidised car to buy outright this year - the Mitsubishi e-MiEV - but should have a choice of nine or ten fully electric and plug-in hybrids by 2010.  The AA's president said a car such as the Leaf (pictured) would cost 3p per mile to charge and run, compared to around 14p per mile for a similiar-sized petrol or diesel vehicle.  They also pay no road tax, have cheaper insurance premiums, are exempt from London's Congestion Charge and can be charged for free at some public car parks.

Some Scottish councils have purchased electric cars for their staff by way of a £105,000 low carbon vehicle support grant from the Scottish government.

These cars currently cost over £30,000 - minus the £5000 grant - and only the reasonably wealthy would be in a position to give them consideration. Even the best reviews emphasise they are only for city driving as they require frequent recharging.  The Institute of Engineering and Technology magazine claims it could take a day to recharge with a domestic electric socket and they could be restricted to less than 100 miles while batteries would only last two years.

But, if you do fancy one of these new-fangled modes of transport, although you're worried about recharging facilities, all in not lost.  Chugging into the picture is Labour's Iain Gray with a manifesto pledge of 10,000 new charging points for your new toy.  Who could ask for more?  Possibly the current owners of the few cars on Scottish roads because there are just 10 sites with public charging points for electric vehicles in Scotland.

Friends of the Earth are over the moon at Mr Gray's policy.  Says Beth Stratford:

“A less obvious benefit is that electric vehicles can help smooth out the peaks and troughs in demand for electricity.

“If demand is high then the charging process could be deferred for several hours, and with expected improvements in battery technology, it will be possible for energy to be drawn from the batteries to help cope with temporary shortages of generation.”

Ah, I see the purpose of these cars now.  Their use will be controlled by power suppliers. Why didn't I see that coming?

Mr Gray's policy will be seen by most as supporting electricity suppliers rather than making life easier for the general public.  If the best Labour can do is copy SNP policy and build power points for cars, which will only be owned by the better off, they won't win support from floating voters.

Between the despicable manipulations of Eric Joyce and Iain Gray's latest major Labour policy I've no idea why anyone with an iota of sense votes for them.

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