This Week -- An end to the diversions!

Thankfully the diversions that have served to take hard news off the television screens, the radio stations and national newspapers of the world in general are now coming to an end, with the one exception of the BBC World Service. In other words, not only have the tennis championships at Wimbledon come to a close, but the football World Cup closes this coming Sunday when the final is played. This week the two semi-finals are being played, with Spain narrowly defeating a strong German team. Thus avoiding what we see on the world’s political scene.

But for the diversions there might have been much more in the news regarding the finding of the huge resources of uranium ore in the Jordanian desert. That’s just about all Israel needed! The implications of this have not yet been assessed in the media, but we have no doubt they will be. The geo-political implications are undoubtedly being assessed in Jerusalem and in each of the antagonistic Arab nations.

As it is said, “watch this space”!

What else? Some hard questions are soon to be asked of Mr Tony Blair regarding the war in Iraq. The enquiry into the way the war with Iraq was started by America and Britain continues in a few weeks time. This time Mr Blair may well be requested to return to answer some further questions. Questions which can be asked as the relevant documents have now been declassified. This could well be a “moment of truth”!

THE CLIMATE

The Independent – 29th June – Consequences of global warming are ‘unpredictable’. – The global climate risks slipping into an unpredictable state with unknown consequences for human societies if carbon dioxide emissions continue on their present course, a survey of leading climate scientists has found. The researchers believe high levels of greenhouse gases will bring the global climate system to a fundamental shift – or tipping point – with potentially far-reaching consequences. The 14 scientists were asked about the probability of reaching a tipping point before 2200 if global warming continued on the course of the worst-case scenarios predicted by the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. …. All of the experts agree that, …. We are likely to witness an increase in global average temperatures not experienced in the past 10,000 years. …. The increase in carbon dioxide emissions over the coming few decades will be crucial in determining the sort of climate that the world will live in by the year 2200.

The Independent – 1st July -- Driest first six months in 80 years. Britain has experienced the driest first six months of the year for more than 80 years. Met Office figures showed the average rainfall across the country was 356.8mm, making it the driest start to the year since 1929 and the second driest in a century. ….Last week millions of householders were warned of a possible hosepipe ban after the “Biblical floods” in Cumbria were followed by a summer drought. Water levels in many of the county’s reservoirs and lakes have plummeted to less than half their capacity.

Our comment: Constantly we are seeing more and more indicators of change to the climate. More and more records are being set. It is hard to deny that there is a very definite shift around the world.

ENERGY

The Independent – 15th June – Letters to the editor – Hydrogen won’t save the planet “The assertion (in an earlier letter) that the UK can meet its ambitious carbon reduction and renewable energy targets by development of hydrogen technology is far too optimistic. Indeed it is not at all surprising that in May 2009 the Obama administration cut off funds for developing hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles, for there are many problems with hydrogen fuel-cell technology that seem incapable of being resolved in the near future. When the Bush administration put $1bn into development of hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles, enthusiasts were predicting a breakthrough in five to 10 years. It is instructive to ask why this failed to materialise. To begin with, the proposed method of obtaining hydrogen fuel by the electrolysis of water using solar, wind or wave power is a very energy-intensive process. At present the easiest way to produce hydrogen fuel is to react natural gas with steam. This process not only depends on a non-renewable resource but also leads to the production of carbon dioxide, meaning that hydrogen is not in general a carbon-neutral fuel. …. Hydrogen fuel cells still depend on precious metal catalysts such as platinum and will continue do so for the foreseeable future. …. A wholesale shift to hydrogen fuel cells would require a sixfold increase in mining of platinum and related metals. This would exhaust global reserves of such minerals in about 70 years. …. Is it any wonder that hydrogen technology is, in the words of a New Scientist article back in November 2008, on “the long road to nowhere”? from AJ, Cardiff

Our comment: Further deposits of oil are being discovered all the time and if they could be recovered would undoubtedly last the planet quite a few more years. The problem is, however, they are more and more difficult to access. And, after the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. government and other governments are now very reluctant to allow exploration and sample drilling off the coast. The BP rig was drilling over a mile down – other and later deposits found are likely to be even deeper, making the likelihood of accident even more possible.

CHINA

International Herald Tribune – 28th June – Follow the renminbi. The Obama administration and many Western policy makers celebrated the recent revaluation of China’s currency as a victory in persuading China to correct its trade imbalance with the rest of the world. China’s move, however, was not motivated by international trade concerns. Beijing is using currency revaluation as a part of a larger strategy to change from being a producer of low-value-added exports to a leader in high-tech, green production. Coming in the aftermath of other policy changes, revaluation is meant to increase the cost of production and discourage the old export-processing industries. …. The new exchange-rate policy, and the Communist Party’s tolerance of the strike movement (in China), point to a new economic strategy. China is edging into the second stage of its globalisation. …. China is saying farewell to its past economic strategy. It is beginning a new path to development. …. Meanwhile, China’s trade surplus with the world will persist. The new China will be exporting high-tech, green products.

Our comment: The high-tech, green products are a whole new market for China. Having virtually cornered the market for the low-tech, inexpensive products, China is now paying attention to that market they haven’t yet taken over. Undoubtedly they will be as effective in cornering it as they did the low value products.

THE MIDDLE EAST

International Herald Tribune – 28th June -- Let Jordan enrich its own uranium. Article written by Israeli, Yossi Beilin (former Minister of Justice in Israel) Quietly and with barely any public confrontation, Israel is creating a new enemy for itself: the Kingdom of Jordan. In the situation that we justifiably or unjustifiably find ourselves now – boycotted and isolated – we do not need to lose the only Arab state with which we have peace-like relations. …. Jordan is a poor country, lacking almost any natural resources …. But in 2007, at least 65,000 tons of uranium ore was found in the Jordanian desert – the 11th largest deposit of uranium in the world. Jordan is now taking international bids to build a 1,100 megawatt reactor the first in a planned series of plants. …. The Obama administration, however, is trying to dissuade Middle Eastern countries from producing their own atomic fuel …. (leading to a regional arms race) ….so America is trying to get Jordan to buy nuclear fuel on the open market rather than use its own uranium. King Abdullah is furious and is convinced the U.S. demands are the result of Israeli pressure. ….There is a certain risk in allowing Jordan to enrich uranium so close to Israel’s border, but the risk in denying the king’s request is far greater. …. Do we strengthen those who want peace and stability in the region or, with the help of the American government, do we turn our backs on them?

Our comment: This is all we needed! Massive supplies of uranium ore discovered in one of the Arab nations that joined with 3 others to attack Israel from three sides. Ever since that time Jordan has maintained a tacit peace. It has kept out of any provocative issues such as the west bank! Actually it might have helped Israel if it had joined in the “discussions” regarding it. And if it had stated that it was content with the status quo, that it had been originally annexed by Jordan and was in fact, strictly speaking, Israel’s territory.

SOME CLOSING BRIEF NEWS ITEMS

The Independent – 3rd July – Blair was warned of the perils of Iraq occupation.

The Sunday Times – 26th June – Obama pressed to put his boot on China’s neck

The Guardian – 26th June – New battle for the Nile as rivals lay claim to Africa’s great river.

The Daily Mail – 19th June – McGuinness and the machine-gun murders that fanned the flames of Bloody Sunday.