Building in a Swamp According to Karl Popper, science is a process of conjecture and refutation. A hypothesis is formulated, and using deductive reasoning, empirical tests are proposed; these tests are performed and the hypothesis is either corroborated or falsified. For a new hypothesis to falsify an existing one, it must have greater explanatory power … Continue reading The Tyranny of Facts
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The New Industrial Revolution
The Steam Engine When George Stephenson’s Rocket was revealed to the world at the Rainhill Trials in 1829, a surprisingly large range of objections was raised. Operators of canals and stagecoaches feared competition from a vehicle that could travel as fast as 25 mph (!) and there were fears about the safety of steam engines … Continue reading The New Industrial Revolution
The Heartland Institute: A Misinformation Factory
Recently, Nigel Farage and Liz Truss were speakers at a seminar in London organised by the Heartland Institute UK, whose Executive Director is Lois Perry, formerly the leader of the UK Independence Party. What are the aims of the Heartland Institute UK? The landing page for the Institute offers this statement: "CSDDD: The European Union’s … Continue reading The Heartland Institute: A Misinformation Factory
Let’s Get Britain Drilling
The Leader of the Opposition, Kemi Badenoch, has launched a new campaign in an attempt to seize control of the political narrative about energy security. In a film on the Conservative Party YouTube channel Mrs Badenoch says: “its time for us to drill our own oil and gas in the north sea so I’m calling … Continue reading Let’s Get Britain Drilling
If Renewables are so Cheap, why is the UK’s Electricity so Expensive?
Few subjects have generated more misinformation in the UK than arguments about the price of electricity. If we are so good at producing renewable energy, the argument goes, why is it that electricity is so expensive in the UK? It seems simple. If renewables were as cheap as it is claimed that they are, and … Continue reading If Renewables are so Cheap, why is the UK’s Electricity so Expensive?
Things that keep me awake at night (2)
Forests could soon be drivers of climate change The carbon cycle consists of a set of natural mechanisms that together process huge quantities of carbon dioxide. These mechanisms involve both the capture of carbon dioxide and its conversion to organic molecules in photosynthesis, and its release into the atmosphere through natural processes (respiration). Carbon sinks … Continue reading Things that keep me awake at night (2)
I think everything will be OK
I got into conversation with a taxi driver recently. He asked me what I did for a living, and when I said that I was a chemistry professor, he asked me what I thought about climate change. This man was intelligent, but had no scientific training and he wanted to hear a scientist's perspective. I … Continue reading I think everything will be OK
The Electrification Revolution
The fossil fuel industry has mounted a massive campaign to portray renewable energy as an unrealistic, unaffordable fantasy promoted by woke elites. It has the support of the US Government: the President recently re-stated his claim that climate change is a hoax, and in Munich in February the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said that … Continue reading The Electrification Revolution
Things that keep me awake at night (1)
Global warming will make some of us a lot colder Northern Europe is warmer than it should be, all other things being equal, thanks at least in part to ocean currents. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), of which the better-known Gulf Stream is a part, is an important convection current that moves warm water … Continue reading Things that keep me awake at night (1)
Net Genius Zero
The Economist reported recently that “Cheap solar power is sending electrical grids into a death spiral”. Solar power is now so cheap that it is breaking the model used to regulate the supply of energy in many nations. Pakistan, the Economist reports, “has sky-high energy prices, a legacy of expensive contracts to pay for capacity … Continue reading Net Genius Zero
Science and Non-Science 