WHEN a Green Guru goes for nuke power

If those who worship at the shrine of Gaia are susceptible to logic (any many doubt it) the fact that one of the founders of Greenpeace is now openly advocating a switch to nuclear power, should make them start thinking. Dr Patrick Moore was in Johannesburg this week and had some harsh truths to tell. Among them the following: "I find it logically inconsistent for people in the environmental movement who say that climate change threatens the very existence of our civilisation, and threatens to drive millions of species into extinction, and then they are opposed to one of the most important technologies that could bring about a resolution to that problem - replacing fossil fuels with nuclear energy," and… "People all around the world are watching this PBMR (pebble-bed nuclear reactor) research and development with anticipation, as the high temperature reactor being constructed here will have applications in industry and technology that the conventional light water reactors simply cannot do, as it will produce a higher temperature of steam and be capable of producing hydrogen directly. Because it is modular, it will also be suitable for a lot more applications than these large 1000-MW-plus reactors. It is going to be a very important technology for the future." Once again we can thank Engineering News for a full report on what Moore said. You will not find as full a report in any other media. I wonder why?

Uncle Raymond goes in to battle for the housewife … not.

UNCLE Raymond Ackerman, the housewives' friend who used to be fond of referring to "she, the consumer" is never slow to see the movement of a bandwagon, or a slouch when it comes to jumping on it. So it comes as no surprise that the old chap has seen fit to once again roll out his old attack on the regulated pump price of petrol and diesel. To put it his way, all will be well if only the pump price of petrol and diesel were free to go up and down. "Our stance on price fixing and monopolies is born of a fundamental belief in the free market, and the benefits for consumers that accrue from vigorous competition. This is particularly the case in a developing economy, where growth is at the top of the agenda, particularly now," says Ackerman. "Any deregulation of a basic commodity is always great for consumers, who buy fuel as regularly as groceries," he noted -- and thus revealed Pick 'n Pay's true motive. You see, dear readers, Uncle Raymond wants the pump price of petrol and diesel to be de-regulated so that he can build massive petrol stations outside his supermarkets. There he can offer cheap petrol and diesel to lure housewives to his stores. Will his super stations employ pump attendants? Well, perhaps, to begin with -- until dolly birds in short skirts bring in more drivers or until the first wage dispute, whereupon, with unctuous reluctance, self-service will be introduced. What will happen to all the mom and pop service stations so conveniently situated in our neighbourhoods? Alas, they will go to the wall and the pump jockey jobs will go with them. And what about the price of fuel in, say, Agenys? Ah, the price there will go through the roof, as will any farm produce from similar rural areas. Finally, you can kiss your caravan holidays goodbye. You may be able to fill up your vehicle on the coast, but the further you travel inland, the higher the price will climb until -- if you are not careful and go too far -- you might need a bank loan to buy fuel get back. Thank you, Uncle Raymond.

The truth on Escom is out

AS USUAL Engineering News, rather than the daily and weekly newspapers (which seem increasingly to be written by children) has produced the best reporting on the energy crisis. Using simple logic and arithmetic, Engineering News has asked why it was possible last winter for lights and heating to continue uninterrupted (when July's demand was a record 36 513 MW), whereas present peak demand is only 33 000 MW. Good question. The answer is not, as everyone (including Spigot) thought, the fault of the Government refusing to sanction enough new power stations in time. No, it's because of "unplanned maintenance and maintenance slippages". No less than 20% of our generation capacity is out of service. About 3 000 MW of capacity is out for planned maintenance, and 5 000 MW is down for unplanned maintenance. To coin a phrase this is the drol in die drinkwater. Putting it another way, the daily shortfall is because Escom could not organise a booze-up in a brewery -- or, clearly, a proper maintenance schedule with built in contingency plans. Spigot recalls that Escom's management inherited massive and well-oiled kit from the previous regime of white males who, whatever their other failings, knew how to plan and look a bit further ahead than their next pay check.

Hot air Marthinus

While the headlines are dominated by the electricity crisis and the world confronts huge economic issues, that master of hot air CO2 emissions Minister Marthinus ‘Kortbroek’ van Schalkwyk, is obviously feeling sidelined. His latest hectoring sermon of green rectitude tells the United States to come to the table on global warming and curb its CO2 emissions. This is rich from a man under whom environmental assessments have become a bureaucratic art form that stops development; a man who presides over an environmental department in a country with the third highest per-capita CO2 footprint on the planet. But our Marthinus has clearly learned two valuable lessons during his stint(s) in the public eye: a. Always blame a third force - just like Uncle Bob. a. When the shit hits the fan, stick your neck out on things nobody gives a shit about

Too much power leads to no power

BY NOW just about everyone should know that no less a person than the State President has apologised ( so that's all right, then) for not allowing Escom to build new power stations. It was a supremely arrogant and ignorant Cabinet decision. Taken some seven years ago by people who, it must be said, knew nothing whatever about electricity supply and its key role in the economy, the result is the cock-up we are now facing: power cuts played out across the country like a bizarre game of Russian roulette. Less well known is the intervention of another group of unqualified, arrogant and ignorant people. The actions of this group has made getting out of the energy crisis even more difficult. The group is called Nersa for short. For those with a sense of humour the group's full title is The National Energy Regulator of South Africa. Actually it's just another bunch of self-important bureaucrats. In its wisdom, Nersa refused Escom's request for an 18% increase in tariffs to fund much-needed capital projects like new power stations. Nersa only "granted" Escom a 14, 2% increase. Don't you just love that 0,2 %? It makes it look as if they knew what they were doing. As Voltaire once said (tongue in cheek) freedom will only come when the last noble has been strangled with the guts of the last priest. Try substituting bureaucrat and politician for a modern pearl of wisdom. Perhaps it is a case of too much power in the hands of the ignorant and arrogant leading to no power in the hands of anyone?