Interesting Links for 25-09-2014

[andrewducker]

• Please be careful with your iPhone 6 - looks like it bends if you apply too much pressure
  (tags: iphone apple )
• Cats aren't actually domesticated. (And they think of you as a large, not terribly effective, cat)
  (tags: cats )
• India now has a spaceship orbiting Mars
  (tags: mars India space )
• The Surprising Path to a Faster NYTimes.com (How do you

Comments

China Solar Power

[danieldwilliam]

Thoughts off the top of my head

Re: China Solar Power

[andrewducker]

It also depends on how much solar one can generate in your country.

I can't remember precise figures from "Renewable energy without the hot air", but we just don't get enough light in the UK to make it feasible to generate all of our power that way. China is different, of course.

I wonder if coal people are investing in cheaper extraction _now_ - because waiting for solar to catch up will then leave them trying to improve faster than solar can, which might be a race it can't win.

Re: China Solar Power

[danieldwilliam]

Yes - although trade allows this to be evened out. Either trading energy directly or locating energy intensive industries in areas with cheaper energy. Like the aluminium smelters in Iceland.

Solar pv even in the UK would still contribute a significant amount of energy and knock a number of our less good power stations off the grid.

In some ways the fact that we are not an ideal location for solar power might mean we end up getting the panels much cheaper but later. Cheaper because by the time everyone else has done theirs there is so much more Swanson effect and also because by the time we get round to it there will be huge numbers of solar panel factories, set up to supply a growing market, now trying to supply a steady state market. Therefore some over capacity.

Re: China Solar Power

[apostle_of_eris]

Just out of curiosity, I looked it up: London, in the south of England is 51.5° N latitude; Beijing, in the north of China is 40° N latitude.

[bart_calendar]

The whole secession thing is because the Constitution never really defined the difference between state and federal powers and the courts have been useless at settling the issue.

[danieldwilliam]

Do you think any US state would have a sufficiently large, organised and motivated constituency to get a succession proposition in front of the electorate?

[danieldwilliam]

Which obviously makes it tricky because, on the face of it you can’t do what we’ve just done in Scotland; vote in a local / state government with a clear manifesto commitment to holding a succession plebiscite and then holding the plebiscite

[alitheapipkin]

That devo max article is very interesting. The more I read about it and all the constitutional issues with devolution for England and how the UK is really not set up for proper federalisation, the more I think independence in our lifetimes may actually be inevitable. Interesting times...

[danieldwilliam]

Yes - I think making federalism work will be tricky and require some big changes to the way England goes about being England. Which I’m not sure, with the best will in the world, they are up for. Many people in England I think will take the view that the changes they need to make to accommodate Scotland are too big and they’d rather not, on balance. And others will perhaps underestimate the desire for Home Rule in Scotland and think we are bluffing.

Which takes us down the route of independence. Perhaps sooner rather than later.

[alitheapipkin]

Let's face it, the Lib Dems have been talking about federalism for decades and no-one else was interested until they nearly lost us. Given the complacency already being shown now the no camp have won anyway, it does not exactly bode well for anyone bothering with all the work federalism would entail.

[danieldwilliam]

Aye - although there are calls for more devolution in England already. Just confused and not connected to the Scottish Question.

DevoMax

[danieldwilliam]

Having thought about it over night I’m not convinced that devo max and the transfer of e.g. corporation tax to the control of devolved legislatures is impossible or unwelcome

Re: DevoMax

[andrewducker]

Yes. I think we're in for a major disappointment for people hoping for major change. The question is how upset are they going to be?

[andrewducker]

I could go with that.