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For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
We now have the final two candidates for leader of the Conservative party and the next Prime Minister and it's Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt. Jeremy Hunt beat 3rd placed Michael Gove by two votes.
-------
You can view a video introduction to this newsletter at:
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. I might also add that in newspapers such as the Guardian, Scotsman, Courier, etc. you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish.
Tree-mendous effort sees planting target met for first time
About 11,200 hectares of new planting was undertaken last year, a significant increase on 2017.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-48629939
‘I’m delighted’ says Fife baker as scone is named the best in Scotland
It’s official. Scotland’s best scones hail from Courier Country, and it’s all thanks to a family run bakers from Fife’s east Neuk.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news...t-in-scotland/
BRITAIN is in pretty good shape for a No Deal Brexit
Sir Mark Sedwill said preparations for the UK crashing out of the EU without an agreement were among the most impressive pieces of cross-government work he had seen.
Read more at:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/brexit...itehall-chief/
Scotland's crannogs are older than Stonehenge
Archaeologists have discovered that some Scottish crannogs are thousands of years older than previously thought.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...lands-48625734
BBC News must ignore false claims of Brexit bias and re-establish its authority
Brexit has been a disaster for the BBC.
Read more at:
https://inews.co.uk/opinion/columnis...its-authority/
Millions of Canadians cheer Toronto Raptors in NBA victory
Toronto Raptors given key to the city at victory rally
Read more at:
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/every-doo...ally-1.4469436
Heathrow reveals expansion masterplan
The plan includes diverting rivers, moving roads and rerouting the M25 through a tunnel under the new runway.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48668001
Scottish alcohol sales drop as minimum price kicks in
Analysis by NHS Health Scotland found Scottish adults still bought more alcohol than people in England and Wales on average but the gap narrowed.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-48675313
A simple explainer about Article XXIV of the GATT
There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding flying around about Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT). GATT is one of the main WTO Agreements, and relates to trade in goods.
Read more at:
https://lawyersforbritain.org/a-simp...iv-of-the-gatt
Royal Highland Show 2019
More than 1,000 exhibitors and 2,150 livestock competitors are taking part in this year's Royal Highland Show on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
See pictures at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...-fife-48706242
MSPs miss the bigger picture
The annual Scottish Budget contains lots of detail on spending priorities for the coming year.
Read more at;
http://sceptical.scot/2019/06/msps-m...igger-picture/
Let’s make the special relationship great again
The special relationship is about trade, security and so much more
Read more at:
https://capx.co/lets-make-the-specia...p-great-again/
Then there were two
Johnson and Hunt fight for British PM job
Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-br...-idUKKCN1TL0XU
Electric Canadian
The Canadian Horticulturist
Volume 31 (1908) can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...culturirst.htm
Among the Canadian Alps
By Lawrence J. Burpee F.R.G.S. (1914) (pdf)
You can read this at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/lif...nadianalps.pdf
Bushcraft Canadian Scout Manual
The skills and knowledge of Bushcraft are some of the key elements in the Army Cadet training program.
You can read this at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/for...ual_PO_403.pdf
The Canadian Nurse
Owned and published Monthly by the Canadian National Association of Trained Nurses
Volume 14 issue 11 November 1918 in which training is featured. Added to our Magazine page with a link to another 200 + issues can be found at the foot of our Magazine page at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/magazines/index.htm
The Leader
A Guide to being a successful non commissioned officer in the army (pdf)
You can read this at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/for...he_Leader1.pdf
Canadian Camp Life
By Frances E. Herring (1900) (pdf) which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/pio...ianamplife.pdf
Profiling Rob Myres of RM Classic Cars in my Canadian Journal
You can read about him at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/canada_add2.htm
Electric Scotland
The National Tribune
Was the premier Union veterans’ newspaper of the post-Civil War era. Launched in 1877. I found 2 of their Scrap Books with loads of stories.
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/history...ak-tribune.htm
The Old Lieutenant and his Son
By the Editor of Good Words, Norman MacLeod in two volumes (1862).
Added this to the foot of his page at: https://electricscotland.com/history/macleod/index.htm
The Night Lamp
The Means by which Spiritual Darkness was Dispelled from the Death-Bed of Agnes Maxwell MacFarlane By the Rev. John MacFarlane, LL.D. (1851) (second edition) (pdf)
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/bible/NightLamp.pdf
The Buchanan Banner
The July 2019 issue of the Buchanan Banner newsletter which you can read at;
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...anan/index.htm
Northern Folk-Lore
On Wells and Water, An Account of some interesting wells in the Neighbourhood of Inverness and the North by Alex. Fraser (1878) (pdf)
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/history...lsandwater.pdf
Nick of the Woods
A Story of the early settlers in Kentucky by Robert Montgomery Bird (1880) (pdf)
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/history...ickofwoods.pdf
Nick of the Woods
By Alaska Blacklock (George Edward Lewis) (1916) (pdf)
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/history.../nickwoods.pdf
The Story
Scotland urged to invest in nuclear to hit climate goals
By Severin Carrell
Massive increase in low-carbon energy needed to hit goal of net zero by 2045, inquiry says
Scotland should consider new nuclear power stations, investing in hydrogen and installing many more windfarms to meet its climate goals, an expert inquiry has concluded.
The inquiry by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland’s national academy, said a massive increase in low-carbon electricity production would be needed in order to reach the country’s new goal of net zero emissions by 2045.
Prof Becky Lunn, a civil engineer who is deputy chair of the inquiry, said electricity production may need to increase fourfold to decarbonise the transport system and heating, with major implications for ministers and the public.
“We have got difficult decisions to make and if we delay we will end up importing by default, which is not a place where in future I think we would wish to be,” she said. “We need to change. At the moment we have a totally unsustainable system.”
Alongside a substantial increase in electricity production, Scotland would need:
• A statutory commission to provide independent expert direction on energy policy and governance.
• Much tougher energy efficiency regulations for homes and buildings.
• Substantial investment in carbon capture and storage, so CO2 created during the production of hydrogen could be buried offshore.
• Subsidies to ensure higher energy prices and upgrading costs did not increase fuel poverty.
Lunn said this was increasingly urgent. Scotland’s two nuclear power stations at Hunterston and Torness, which provided 37% of the country’s electricity in 2017, are due to close by 2030, just as electricity demand is forecast to soar.
The RSE report, Scotland’s Energy Future, was published as climate activists with the Extinction Rebellion protest group marched on the Scottish parliament to set up a week-long camp to put pressure on Holyrood to agree more ambitious CO2 reduction targets.
Meanwhile Greenpeace continued its campaign against BP’s increased oil drilling by pursuing an oil rig its activists had occupied in the Cromarty Firth last week into the North Sea, using its protest ship, Arctic Sunrise.
Greenpeace said its continued pursuit of the rig, the Paul B Loyd Jr, had prevented it from arriving in the Vorlich oilfield, where BP hopes to extract 30m barrels of oil. Extinction Rebellion is planning to block roads in Edinburgh this week, mirroring similar protests in London and other cities.
The Scottish government has accepted a challenging target of achieving net zero emissions by 2045, five years earlier than the 2050 UK target agreed last week by Theresa May, the prime minister. In 2017, Scotland emitted 40.5 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion argue that continued drilling undermine those goals – a stance rejected by the UK and Scottish governments and the RSE. The net zero concept means continued use of oil, gas and potentially coal. But extra forests, carbon storage and other measures would be needed to soak up the CO2 that those released.
The RSE inquiry was funded by four major energy firms, the oil company BP, the French nuclear and renewables firm EDF, the gas company Centrica and the renewables firm SSE.
The RSE said they had no bearing or influence over the report’s conclusions but the report mirrored those companies’ arguments that nuclear energy, oil and gas would still be needed – conclusions many climate and environment activists reject.
Lunn said ministers should eventually consider small modular nuclear reactors, an experimental technology which, its supporters argue, is safer and much easier to build than large-scale nuclear power stations.
Methane would still be needed in large amounts to produce hydrogen: large-scale hydrogen plants would be connected to carbon storage sites in the bedrock offshore. Oil would still be needed to provide fuel for aviation and shipping, for medicines and materials such as plastics.
It would be impossible, the RSE said, to equally meet the four key tests of tackling climate change, guaranteeing energy security, making it affordable and at the same time maximising the social acceptability and economic wellbeing of those energy choices.
Lunn said the RSE’s conclusions were that meeting the country’s low-carbon energy challenges would require compromises.
And that's it for this week and hope you all have a great weekend.
Alastair
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
We now have the final two candidates for leader of the Conservative party and the next Prime Minister and it's Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt. Jeremy Hunt beat 3rd placed Michael Gove by two votes.
-------
You can view a video introduction to this newsletter at:
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. I might also add that in newspapers such as the Guardian, Scotsman, Courier, etc. you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish.
Tree-mendous effort sees planting target met for first time
About 11,200 hectares of new planting was undertaken last year, a significant increase on 2017.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-48629939
‘I’m delighted’ says Fife baker as scone is named the best in Scotland
It’s official. Scotland’s best scones hail from Courier Country, and it’s all thanks to a family run bakers from Fife’s east Neuk.
Read more at:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news...t-in-scotland/
BRITAIN is in pretty good shape for a No Deal Brexit
Sir Mark Sedwill said preparations for the UK crashing out of the EU without an agreement were among the most impressive pieces of cross-government work he had seen.
Read more at:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/brexit...itehall-chief/
Scotland's crannogs are older than Stonehenge
Archaeologists have discovered that some Scottish crannogs are thousands of years older than previously thought.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...lands-48625734
BBC News must ignore false claims of Brexit bias and re-establish its authority
Brexit has been a disaster for the BBC.
Read more at:
https://inews.co.uk/opinion/columnis...its-authority/
Millions of Canadians cheer Toronto Raptors in NBA victory
Toronto Raptors given key to the city at victory rally
Read more at:
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/every-doo...ally-1.4469436
Heathrow reveals expansion masterplan
The plan includes diverting rivers, moving roads and rerouting the M25 through a tunnel under the new runway.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48668001
Scottish alcohol sales drop as minimum price kicks in
Analysis by NHS Health Scotland found Scottish adults still bought more alcohol than people in England and Wales on average but the gap narrowed.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-48675313
A simple explainer about Article XXIV of the GATT
There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding flying around about Article XXIV of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT). GATT is one of the main WTO Agreements, and relates to trade in goods.
Read more at:
https://lawyersforbritain.org/a-simp...iv-of-the-gatt
Royal Highland Show 2019
More than 1,000 exhibitors and 2,150 livestock competitors are taking part in this year's Royal Highland Show on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
See pictures at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...-fife-48706242
MSPs miss the bigger picture
The annual Scottish Budget contains lots of detail on spending priorities for the coming year.
Read more at;
http://sceptical.scot/2019/06/msps-m...igger-picture/
Let’s make the special relationship great again
The special relationship is about trade, security and so much more
Read more at:
https://capx.co/lets-make-the-specia...p-great-again/
Then there were two
Johnson and Hunt fight for British PM job
Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-br...-idUKKCN1TL0XU
Electric Canadian
The Canadian Horticulturist
Volume 31 (1908) can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...culturirst.htm
Among the Canadian Alps
By Lawrence J. Burpee F.R.G.S. (1914) (pdf)
You can read this at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/lif...nadianalps.pdf
Bushcraft Canadian Scout Manual
The skills and knowledge of Bushcraft are some of the key elements in the Army Cadet training program.
You can read this at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/for...ual_PO_403.pdf
The Canadian Nurse
Owned and published Monthly by the Canadian National Association of Trained Nurses
Volume 14 issue 11 November 1918 in which training is featured. Added to our Magazine page with a link to another 200 + issues can be found at the foot of our Magazine page at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/magazines/index.htm
The Leader
A Guide to being a successful non commissioned officer in the army (pdf)
You can read this at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/for...he_Leader1.pdf
Canadian Camp Life
By Frances E. Herring (1900) (pdf) which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/pio...ianamplife.pdf
Profiling Rob Myres of RM Classic Cars in my Canadian Journal
You can read about him at: https://www.electriccanadian.com/canada_add2.htm
Electric Scotland
The National Tribune
Was the premier Union veterans’ newspaper of the post-Civil War era. Launched in 1877. I found 2 of their Scrap Books with loads of stories.
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/history...ak-tribune.htm
The Old Lieutenant and his Son
By the Editor of Good Words, Norman MacLeod in two volumes (1862).
Added this to the foot of his page at: https://electricscotland.com/history/macleod/index.htm
The Night Lamp
The Means by which Spiritual Darkness was Dispelled from the Death-Bed of Agnes Maxwell MacFarlane By the Rev. John MacFarlane, LL.D. (1851) (second edition) (pdf)
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/bible/NightLamp.pdf
The Buchanan Banner
The July 2019 issue of the Buchanan Banner newsletter which you can read at;
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...anan/index.htm
Northern Folk-Lore
On Wells and Water, An Account of some interesting wells in the Neighbourhood of Inverness and the North by Alex. Fraser (1878) (pdf)
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/history...lsandwater.pdf
Nick of the Woods
A Story of the early settlers in Kentucky by Robert Montgomery Bird (1880) (pdf)
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/history...ickofwoods.pdf
Nick of the Woods
By Alaska Blacklock (George Edward Lewis) (1916) (pdf)
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/history.../nickwoods.pdf
The Story
Scotland urged to invest in nuclear to hit climate goals
By Severin Carrell
Massive increase in low-carbon energy needed to hit goal of net zero by 2045, inquiry says
Scotland should consider new nuclear power stations, investing in hydrogen and installing many more windfarms to meet its climate goals, an expert inquiry has concluded.
The inquiry by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland’s national academy, said a massive increase in low-carbon electricity production would be needed in order to reach the country’s new goal of net zero emissions by 2045.
Prof Becky Lunn, a civil engineer who is deputy chair of the inquiry, said electricity production may need to increase fourfold to decarbonise the transport system and heating, with major implications for ministers and the public.
“We have got difficult decisions to make and if we delay we will end up importing by default, which is not a place where in future I think we would wish to be,” she said. “We need to change. At the moment we have a totally unsustainable system.”
Alongside a substantial increase in electricity production, Scotland would need:
• A statutory commission to provide independent expert direction on energy policy and governance.
• Much tougher energy efficiency regulations for homes and buildings.
• Substantial investment in carbon capture and storage, so CO2 created during the production of hydrogen could be buried offshore.
• Subsidies to ensure higher energy prices and upgrading costs did not increase fuel poverty.
Lunn said this was increasingly urgent. Scotland’s two nuclear power stations at Hunterston and Torness, which provided 37% of the country’s electricity in 2017, are due to close by 2030, just as electricity demand is forecast to soar.
The RSE report, Scotland’s Energy Future, was published as climate activists with the Extinction Rebellion protest group marched on the Scottish parliament to set up a week-long camp to put pressure on Holyrood to agree more ambitious CO2 reduction targets.
Meanwhile Greenpeace continued its campaign against BP’s increased oil drilling by pursuing an oil rig its activists had occupied in the Cromarty Firth last week into the North Sea, using its protest ship, Arctic Sunrise.
Greenpeace said its continued pursuit of the rig, the Paul B Loyd Jr, had prevented it from arriving in the Vorlich oilfield, where BP hopes to extract 30m barrels of oil. Extinction Rebellion is planning to block roads in Edinburgh this week, mirroring similar protests in London and other cities.
The Scottish government has accepted a challenging target of achieving net zero emissions by 2045, five years earlier than the 2050 UK target agreed last week by Theresa May, the prime minister. In 2017, Scotland emitted 40.5 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion argue that continued drilling undermine those goals – a stance rejected by the UK and Scottish governments and the RSE. The net zero concept means continued use of oil, gas and potentially coal. But extra forests, carbon storage and other measures would be needed to soak up the CO2 that those released.
The RSE inquiry was funded by four major energy firms, the oil company BP, the French nuclear and renewables firm EDF, the gas company Centrica and the renewables firm SSE.
The RSE said they had no bearing or influence over the report’s conclusions but the report mirrored those companies’ arguments that nuclear energy, oil and gas would still be needed – conclusions many climate and environment activists reject.
Lunn said ministers should eventually consider small modular nuclear reactors, an experimental technology which, its supporters argue, is safer and much easier to build than large-scale nuclear power stations.
Methane would still be needed in large amounts to produce hydrogen: large-scale hydrogen plants would be connected to carbon storage sites in the bedrock offshore. Oil would still be needed to provide fuel for aviation and shipping, for medicines and materials such as plastics.
It would be impossible, the RSE said, to equally meet the four key tests of tackling climate change, guaranteeing energy security, making it affordable and at the same time maximising the social acceptability and economic wellbeing of those energy choices.
Lunn said the RSE’s conclusions were that meeting the country’s low-carbon energy challenges would require compromises.
And that's it for this week and hope you all have a great weekend.
Alastair