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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JakeStraw who wrote (77102)	1/5/2010 11:27:38 AM
From: FJB	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 224729

RE:Britain is currently having one of the worst cold spells in 30 years... There is record cold all over the world.

To: JakeStraw who wrote (77102)	1/5/2010 5:45:13 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	3 Recommendations Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 224729

South Korea just had record snows!

To: JakeStraw who wrote (77102)	1/6/2010 6:16:11 AM
From: FJB	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 224729

GAS SUPPLIES RUNNING OUT AS BRITAIN SHIVERS Tuesday January 5 2010 byLouise Barnett dailyexpress.co.uk SHIVERING Britain faces the prospect of gas supply shortages as the worst cold spell in 30 years keeps a stranglehold on the country. The National Grid yesterday issued only its second-ever warning that demand for energy is threatening to outstrip available supplies unless industry quickly slashes its consumption and more gas is rushed in from abroad. The alert prompted the wholesale cost of gas to rocket by 70 per cent and raised fears that businesses and households could soon be hit by power cuts if the freezing weather persists as forecast for the rest of the month. Shadow Energy Secretary Greg Clark warned: “For 12 years the Government has had its head in the sand about Britain’s precarious energy security. “Today’s alert is a taste of what is to come as a result of Labour’s negligence – gas supply shortages and regular power cuts. I have repeatedly warned that Britain lacks the back-up plans that France and Germany have for these situations.” National Grid issued its warning – known as a gas balancing alert – because an unexpected shortfall meant Britain’s demand was at risk. Gas was flowing out of the UK’s main storage facility at Rough, 18 miles off the Yorkshire coast, at a record rate yesterday as energy needed for homes and businesses came very close to the previous record high. Analysts said the freeze combined with the post-New Year return to work created a surge which put intense pressure on supplies and added to the need for expensive additional gas to be pumped in from mainland Europe.Experts have estimated that Britain only has enough gas storage for 15 days so in times of high demand we have to rely on imports. Ian Parrett, of energy analysts Inenco, warned that the country was in danger of being held to ransom over gas prices and blamed a lack of investment in storage plants. “We’re faced with a shortfall of supply created by a combination of the cold weather and the number of people returning to work and putting the heating back on putting extra demand on the system,” he said. “Some big companies on interruptible gas contracts risk a reduction or cessation of their supply.” Britain is increasingly reliant on imported gas because North Sea supplies are running out. Official predictions said just over 50 per cent of winter supplies would come from the North Sea with the rest piped from Europe and by ship from the Caribbean and the Far East. A spokesman for energy market regulator Ofgem said of the National Grid’s alert: “It is a signal to the market to tell it that there is a possibility that gas demand could exceed gas supplies.” The warning encouraged industry to use less gas and sent an appeal to the supply market to lift quotas. Its impact was a leap in the wholesale cost of gas from 35p to 60p per unit of energy – the therm. An analyst at energy experts Platts warned: “This is only the first day of the current cold snap. What would be really scary would be if it stayed at 60p for months.” Jeremy Nicholson, director of the Energy Intensive Users Group, which represents heavy industry, said: “This shows how vulnerable we are in the UK.” A National Grid spokesman last night said of the imports: “It is all designed to ensure that domestic gas supplies are not affected.” A spokeswoman for Energy UK which represents the big energy suppliers said: “Consumers shouldn’t be worried about this. The reason energy companies buy in advance is to protect customers from peaks in demand.”

To: JakeStraw who wrote (77102)	1/6/2010 6:17:25 AM
From: FJB	1 Recommendation Respond to of 224729

Britain braced for heaviest snowfall in 50 years The heaviest snowfall in almost 50 years is hitting parts of Britain as Arctic weather brought nationwide chaos. By Martin Evans Published: 8:05PM GMT 05 Jan 2010 telegraph.co.uk As the country was plunged into one of its worst winters for decades, the Met Office issued an emergency weather warning for all counties of the UK. The South, including London and the Home Counties, were expected to bear the brunt of the snowfall with emergency services warning they are already struggling to cope with the increasingly bitter conditions. The residents of Hampshire and Wiltshire were expected to be the worst hit, with as much as 16 inches likely to be dumped by the end of tomorrow. Residents and commuters in London, which ground to a halt last February following heavy falls, were warned to expect a covering of several inches by the morning rush hour. On the roads drivers were advised not to venture out unless their journey was absolutely essential, as councils warned they could run out of grit if the conditions failed to improve. The Met Office claimed the amount of snow forecast could be the biggest single fall since the notorious winter of 1962-63, when some areas of the country were blighted by snow and ice for more than three months. During that winter the south saw more than a foot of snow, while blizzards in some parts of Wales led to drifts of over 18 feet. A Met Office spokesman said they had issued a so-called "flash warning" because of the substantial quantity of snow which was expected to fall across the south in a short period of time. The spokesman said: "This kind of warning is very rare. It's the level of alert we put out for the floods in the Summer of 2007." Forecasters have warned of little respite over the next week as freezing temperatures will continue to grip Britain. On Tuesday, up to eight inches of snow fell in parts of the country. It brought chaos to schools, businesses and the transport networks. Scores of rail services and flights were cancelled as temperatures struggled to get above freezing. The overnight temperature on Dartmoor in Devon fell to minus 9 on Monday night. More than 1,000 schools were closed across Scotland, the north of England and Wales. Police, fire and ambulance services were preparing to put into place contingency plans in order to maintain their operations through the worst of the weather. In some hard-hit areas however emergency services admitted they were losing the battle against the bad weather. The Manchester Constabulary issued a plea to the public to only dial 999 where there was a life threatening emergency or a crime was taking place. And the North West Ambulance Service also declared a major incident due to the weather. A spokesman for the service said: "We are unlikely to be able to reach patients with minor injuries or symptoms. We are having to stringently prioritise all of our 999 calls and dispatch our resources to life-threatening cases only. We would like to stress the urgency for people to stay indoors unless it is absolutely necessary. "The driving conditions are extremely hazardous and we would like to ensure that the risk of injury on the roads is reduced as much as possible." Ambulance services across the south were monitoring the worsening weather situation with some turning to 4x4 all terrain vehicles in order to reach patients. South Central Ambulance Service which covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire was last night contacting staff to ask them if they can stay overnight near their ambulance stations. In London many ambulances were also fitted with special equipment which provide extra grip for tyres in slippery conditions. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the Government and all the services were doing everything possible to keep the country moving throughout the worsening weather. He said: "The weather is taking a turn for the worse. We are doing everything possible to keep disruption to a minimum. The Highways Agency has kept the vast majority of major road networks running. We are in close contact with local authorities and it is a situation we will keep a very close eye on." There were also fears that gas supplies could begin to run low if the icy conditions continue for sometime as forecasters have predicted. Figures obtained by the Conservatives suggested under the current levels of usage, supplies would only last for another week. Major sporting fixtures also fell victim to the weather with both Carling Cup semi final football matches between Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa and Manchester City and Manchester United, postponed. Elsewhere supermarkets reported a surge in panic-buying as shoppers tied to stockpile food supplies.