Now its stopped snowing, I have come up with a cunning plan to clear the roads of snow :-)
All we need is a bit more heat out there.
So, we get everyone in the UK to put the heating on full blast & open all the doors & windows. 20 million odd 30 kw boilers would chuck out a lot of heat.
To speed things up - everyone could start their cars, put the heater on full, leave the windows open.
Brilliant!
Unless anyone can spot a snag.....
You are not getting rid of the snow.
You are merely changing it to water.
Where does all the water go?
Owain
It's no longer snow though is it...
Down into the valley and becomes SEP. If the snow we have melts quickly (24 to 48hrs) there will be problems lower down. There is 3 to 4 feet of the stuff at our level, there will be more on the fell tops, that's equivalent to 3 or 4" of rain.
Yes, I think you've far too much time on your hands.....
:-)
Wait a mo, snowfalls are now just a thing of the past. Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia, says that within a few years winter snowfall will become "a very rare and exciting event".
By Charles Onians
Monday, 20 March 2000
Britain's winter ends tomorrow with further indications of a striking environmental change: snow is starting to disappear from our lives.
Britain's winter ends tomorrow with further indications of a striking environmental change: snow is starting to disappear from our lives.
Sledges, snowmen, snowballs and the excitement of waking to find that the stuff has settled outside are all a rapidly diminishing part of Britain's culture, as warmer winters - which scientists are attributing to global climate change - produce not only fewer white Christmases, but fewer white Januaries and Februaries.
The first two months of 2000 were virtually free of significant snowfall in much of lowland Britain, and December brought only moderate snowfall in the South-east. It is the continuation of a trend that has been increasingly visible in the past 15 years: in the south of England, for instance, from 1970 to 1995 snow and sleet fell for an average of 3.7 days, while from 1988 to 1995 the average was 0.7 days. London's last substantial snowfall was in February 1991.
Global warming, the heating of the atmosphere by increased amounts of industrial gases, is now accepted as a reality by the international community. Average temperatures in Britain were nearly 0.6=C2=B0C higher in the Nineties than in 1960-90, and it is estimated that they will increase by 0.2C every decade over the coming century. Eight of the 10 hottest years on record occurred in the Nineties.
However, the warming is so far manifesting itself more in winters which are less cold than in much hotter summers. According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia,within a few years winter snowfall will become "a very rare and exciting event".
"Children just aren't going to know what snow is," he said.
The effects of snow-free winter in Britain are already becoming apparent. This year, for the first time ever, Hamleys, Britain's biggest toyshop, had no sledges on display in its Regent Street store. "It was a bit of a first," a spokesperson said.
Fen skating, once a popular sport on the fields of East Anglia, now takes place on indoor artificial rinks. Malcolm Robinson, of the Fenland Indoor Speed Skating Club in Peterborough, says they have not skated outside since 1997. "As a boy, I can remember being on ice most winters. Now it's few and far between," he said.
Michael Jeacock, a Cambridgeshire local historian, added that a generation was growing up "without experiencing one of the greatest joys and privileges of living in this part of the world - open-air skating".
Warmer winters have significant environmental and economic implications, and a wide range of research indicates that pests and plant diseases, usually killed back by sharp frosts, are likely to flourish. But very little research has been done on the cultural implications of climate change - into the possibility, for example, that our notion of Christmas might have to shift.
Professor Jarich Oosten, an anthropologist at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, says that even if we no longer see snow, it will remain culturally important.
"We don't really have wolves in Europe any more, but they are still an important part of our culture and everyone knows what they look like," he said.
David Parker, at the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research in Berkshire, says ultimately, British children could have only virtual experience of snow. Via the internet, they might wonder at polar scenes - or eventually "feel" virtual cold.
Heavy snow will return occasionally, says Dr Viner, but when it does we will be unprepared. "We're really going to get caught out. Snow will probably cause chaos in 20 years time," he said.
The chances are certainly now stacked against the sortof heavy snowfall in cities that inspired Impressionist painters, such as Sisley, and the 19th century poet laureate Robert Bridges, who wrote in "London Snow" of it, "stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying".
Not any more, it seems.
It freezes up at night, being around -5deg C (here anyway).
You have been watching Baldric again. 'I've got a cunning plan' ;-)
Can't we just move the planet a bit closer to the sun for the duration of the winter season?
The nomads of the Sahara will love you! ;->
And following on from the "This bit of snow" thread where I was informed that urea was used to clear runways I have pissed all over the doorstep to clear the ice.
ISTR that they tried "under-floor" heating on a section of the A4 in west London (Hammersmith flyover?) a few years ago to stop it freezing up.
Haven't heard anything lately though, so I assume that the idea didn't catch on?
That's pure quality man.
Owain
If you crap on the step instead, it'll not only keep the ice away, but unwanted salespeople too.
Yes, thats proven to not only melt snow but eliminate its recurrence. Adam take note :)
NT
It does that on its own.
Our trouble is that there is no space avaiable to shovel the stuff. Wondered if we could melt it away with one of those weed-killers (blowlamp on a stick) so it would run down the drain.
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