OT - More on generation (sigh) but what is the alternative to coal?

[jgharston]

Unemployment benefit already stops after *six* months, then you have to apply for means-tested benefit.

JGH

[jgharston]

I'll volunteer to do anything anybody's prepared to pay me to do. What you mean is *unpaid* work.

But, if there is work avaialble for people to do unpaid, why can't it be done by paid people?

JGH

[Bill Wright]

Because the wages would make it uneconomic.

Bill

[Mark]

I assume that quite a few people do forget or are just too busy to deal with it at the time.

Me too and they never match the calculations given by the comparison sites.

Very true.

I almost we could go back to the "bad old days" when we had a choice of precisely one supplier offering a single tariff. I feel obliged to waste hours every year to save a few pennies on my leccy bill.

[Mark]

No.

Child benefit in no way finances people to have an unlimited number of children.

I am not opposed to having different rules for economic migrants to make it more attractive to employers to employ british people. I don't believe your idea on benefits would have the desired result though as it would encourage greater exploitation.

I do believe people should have to prove they are capable to support themselves before being allowed to live here and the additional costs could be paid for by a zero or reduced tax allowance.

What if they're unable to get work? What if they're no capable of working?

[Huge]

Child benefit should stop. Period.

[Bill Wright]

Invalidity benefit.

Bill

[David Paste]

Menses?!

[jgharston]

They are - or at least they were when my then-wife was applying for right to remain in the UK in the 1990s, after coming here from Hong Kong.

During the temporary leave to remain, you have to commit to not "resorting to public funds" at any time. You can only apply for permamant leave to remain after you have proved your commitment to remaining here by remaining here for a continuous period of five years or a discontinuous period of five years over seven years - all while not resorting to public funds.

And not resorting to public funds doesn't exempt you from paying /into/ those public funds through income tax, etc.

JGH

[Bill Wright]

I should think not.

Bill

[ss]

Moving on slightly and assuming like most other things that governments are involved in they make a pigs breakfast of it, be it nuclear, coal, gas or wind. What (to me) is more relevent, how would an individual cope? Assuming we are going to have periods of no elec or gas and I suspect the frequency will increase as the government gets us used to doing without. For cooking purposes I could get by but heating, how easy to build something (outdoors) fuel it with anything that burns and bring heat into the house presumably using water.

[Dave Liquorice]

I was teenager, a useful learning experience I think. Loss of power doesn't send me into a fluster just break out the standby lighting/heating/cooking kit.

We took the coal fire out to put in the CH... Forunately the gas kept flowing so we could have the gas fires on. B-)

Gas cooker... Can't remember what we used for light, probably candles.

I don't think there would be "panic" but there would be on helluva noise. Why have "they" let this happen? Why didn't "they" do anything to avoid it? Why didn't "they" tell us this was going to happen? Why didn't "they" build the powerstations?

[Dave Liquorice]

Many wouldn't IMHO.

No gas is situation normal, there is no mains gas here. B-) No electric beyound 12 hours or so is a bit of PITA as the freezers start to defrost, that's one of the reasons for having a generator, the other is to keep the heating working. Cooking and light is from gas powered camping kit.

Fairly easy if you can metal bash, but without any electricty you'd be limited to gravity circulation so the upstairs would be warm (FSVO "warm") but not downstairs. Having enough fuel might be a problem unless you stock piled it.

[jgharston]

During the floods of 2005 we had rolling 12-hour blackouts for several days. Wind-up torches, UPS for the server, thick curtains, thick carpets, cosey enclosed rooms - let's see how quickly open plan and stripped floors go out of fashion! Calor gas camping stove for backup cooking, pre-cooked tinned food in reserve. And that's before re-opening the fireplace and feeding scrap wood into it like what when I worra lad.

Simples. ;)

JGH

[Huge]

Because "we"(*) told them not to.

(* Greenies.)

[The Natural Philosopher]

The government privatised the power industry.

but it can't resist meddling to this day.

[grimly4]

I suspect all the NIMBYs and greenwankers will be keeping schtum about the nuke plants they scuppered.

[Mark]

IIRC 9 out 10 of the proposed sites were approved.

[grimly4]

They're gearing up for delaying moves as we write. Frankly, I'd not object at all if a nuke plant was built nearby - as long as I got free or v.cheap leccy :)

[John Williamson]

I'd settle for knowing that the supply was secure for the foreseeable future. Even the most pessimistic forecasts of the available supply of nuclear fuel go way past my expected lifetime. (Barring politics, of course.)