The Scottish Parliament has given the go ahead for a new crossing over the Forth. Nobody has decided if it’s going to be a bridge or a tunnel, but I hope it’s a bridge. Both of the existing bridges are beautiful in their own ways: let’s have more!
Bridges are awesome constructions that fill one with pride in human ingenuity, and to me they symbolize freedom and interconnectedness. I’m not sure of the relative engineering merits, but a tunnel is a dismal affair in comparison, worming its way unseen and shameful. I’d much prefer the crossing to soar above the waves and merge with the land in a stunning, beautiful, innovative structure.
If that’s a load of romantic twaddle, then so be … read on »
Archive for February, 2007…
Climate Change: Mitigation or Adaptation?
Newly published in Nature is a study by researchers about adapting to climate change. The gist, according to EurekAlert, is that we’re making a mistake in concentrating on the mitigation of global warming, and that this has been at the expense of adaptation. (Now, I may have dramatized it somewhat with those words – such research findings are much more dry and circumspect by comparison – but forgive me, because I think it is, at the very least, a fair conclusion to draw from the findings as described. But don’t take my word for it.)
I hope we begin to see more of this sensible approach to the world’s problems. It is just one among many and should be tackled in … read on »
The IPCC Summary
On Friday, Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis – Summary for Policymakers (PDF) was published. The media are going crazy, but I read it and found no predictions of forthcoming catastrophe. A rise in temperature of between 1.8C and 4C and a rise in sea levels of between 0.18 and 0.59 metres, by the year 2100. And most of the media are still not interested in the idea that adapting to such changes and industrializing the whole world are the wisest things to do. One of the Working Groups of the IPCC is looking into this kind of adaptation, but it doesn’t get the publicity that the mitigation-orientated Working Group III does. It’s natural that they run with the … read on »
Ben Vane Winter Walk
I was a bit worried about how I’d manage on the mountain yesterday, considering that:
I’d hardly exercised at all since September (our last mountain walk);
I now had not one but two dodgy knees;
I had a cold;
I was feeling pretty run-down from all the commuting and staying up late;
It was February and I had no ice axe or crampons.
But I needn’t have worried: although it was hard-going (it always is) there was no doubt that I’d make it safely to the top, and there was barely any snow around – I was forgetting about how relatively mild it’s been this winter. In fact it was warm enough to strip down to my shirt, and it was only the cold wind at … read on »
©2010 Alistair Robinson