This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Running Rural Radiators?
Many rural households are unconnected to conventional gas supplies. Indeed, some 1.7 million largely rural UK homes have kerosene boilers. These must be phased out, inorder to achieve necessary reductions in 'greenhouse gas' emissions. It was originally assumed the boilers would be replaced by devices, such as heat pumps. An ex-Environment Minister (and farmer) is, however, attempting to introduce a bill allowing rural boilers to be converted to run on hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO) (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/11/plan-rural-households-run-heating-on-vegetable-oil-uk). The MP concerned, argues that the cost of installing heat pumps in older rural properties is prohibitively expensive. He alternatively advocates the removal of duty on 'renewable' liquid heating fuel (the HVO) and providing financial support for boiler adapting. He claims that this scheme will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 88%. This seems more than a little disingenuous. That level of 'reduction' could only be achieved, on paper, by deducting the carbon dioxide 'consumed' by the photosynthesising plants, from the actual emissions generated by burning HVO. It's essentially carbon in and carbon out calculation that does nothing to reduce atmospheric 'greenhouse gas'. It will, however, save farmers a lot of money.
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