the little spider
Tuesday 17 July 2012
Traffic free cycling with children in Cumbria
Wednesday 11 January 2012
It's important to put those two phrases together – 'radioactive waste' 'Lake District'. The Managing Radioactive Waste Safely (MRWS) Partnership talks of 'West Cumbria' as if this was some form of off shore zone away from the teashops of Keswick and Buttermere. But the expression of interest in MRWS came from the borough councils of Copeland and Allerdale, and from the county council for Cumbria as a whole, though expressed only for the districts of Copeland and Allerdale. Significant parts of both boroughs are in the Lake District National Park.
Any facility for the geological disposal of radioactive waste, if it is built in Cumbria, will probably be built in a narrow strip between the LDNP boundary and a geological boundary protecting aquifers and coal reserves and the like drawn by the British Geological Survey. If you're standing in the westernmost reaches of the National Park, perhaps on the summit of Ponsonby Fell, or by the Viking-age cross in Gosforth, the distinction as to what lies within the park, and what lies without will feel pretty moot.
Now consider that the same authorities were also very supportive of the Lake District bid for World Heritage status in recent years (www.lakeswhs.co.uk/partners.html).
A dilemma emerges on the one hand for the Cumbrian authorities to shout out to the world that the landscape they occupy is of international significance – on a par with the pyramids of Giza and Machu Picchu, Stonehenge and Venice, whilst on the other hand suggesting it is an excellent spot for Britain to dispose of the detritus of 60 years of nuclear experimentation and power production.
It's a dilemma Cumbrians have been grappling with ever since Calder Hall demonstrated that power generation didn't necessarily mean the death of their young men. Remember the Windscale site development began at almost the same time in 1947 that over 100 miners were killed in William Pit, Whitehaven. The scale of death at William Pit – the 1947 disaster came on the back of a 1910 explosion at nearby Wellington Pit which killed 137 men and several smaller but no less fatal incidents in the region's collieries – demonstrates why West Cumbria could love nuclear power. Add death by pneumosilicosis (340 cases in 2010 alone according to HSE (www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/pneumoconiosis/pneumoconiosis-and-silicosis.pdf) and you can see that even with an estimated 240 extra thyroid cancers caused by the major catastrophe at Windscale in 1956, nuclear looks pretty good from the streets of Moss Bay or South Whitehaven.
The dilemma for the rest of Britain remains how to keep the lights on. In the circumstances, the Lake District may well become collateral damage.
You can comment on the work of the Managing Radioactive Waste Safely partnership by completing their consultation document. You'l find it at http://www.westcumbriamrws.org.uk/. You'll also see there is a chance to attend a public meeting to learn more. And if you don't believe the government spin, you can always seek out Professor David Smythe (www.davidsmythe.org). The former Rezillos bassist and latterday nuclear-know-it-all makes his impassioned case for the 'No' camp at Cockermouth School's Eco Centre on 2 Feb (7.30).
(Rezillos?, oh for goodness sake www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2krmvOCBJI&feature=related)
Monday 7 November 2011
Blazing the trail towards pay-to-walk?
Jaquetta Megarry made an impassioned plea at the recent annual meeting of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild. The issue that seems to have grabbed Megarry's attention was the peculiar rise of 'Trailblaze' on the National Trail network in England. If you've not being paying attention, Trailblaze is an enterprise from some 'endurance runners' to see how far they can run along a National Trail. With the permission of Natural England they have segmented a number of the nation's premier long distance walking trails with strategically positioned checkpoints, requiring participating to runners to clock in with a special plastic dibber as they pass. It is the checkpoints that have ignited the ire of a vocal opposition group. Natural England have been targetted with an e-petition, a counter website has been established and it's all become a little ill-tempered. I have a number of concerns with the saga, which I think tests the very essence of Natural England's commitment to the outdoors and recreation. It is easy to round on the 'endurance runners'. There's a section of the outdoor community that sees the countryside as one huge gym, where you can go and increase your reps, develop your quads and generally do what you would do in the local Ballantynes, except with the added threat of cow poo and barbed wire. And rain of course.
Nice folk, if a bit strange
You’ll meet these folk in ski resorts, mountain bike centres and probably your local park. Mostly they are good natured, single minded and a bit intense. I suspect some climbers fall into the same category. And some long distance walkers too. The outdoors is a big place and can usually accommodate them all in some shape or form. But it’s not the activity or the people that has caused the likes of Megarry and a few others to speak out. It is the little white boxes. Because whereas most folk who take themselves out in the countryside seem to manage independently, Trailblaze provides those who need it with a little recording mechanism, nailed to strategic waymarkers on route. They’re a little bit instrusive, and in an age of gps and smart phones, peculiarly old world. Signing up for your dibber is not cheap – you shell £20 for the privilege of having just one go, of which a whole two quid goes towards the upkeep of the trail. And if I’ve understood the charging system correctly, £70 will buy you a year’s access to the whole network, netting Natural England a whopping £7. A brief look at Trailblaze’s website suggests that the enterprising founders are not going to be sipping champagne for breakfast anytime soon, at least not from the income generated by the little white boxes.
Trojan horse for pay-to-walk
So what was the point? A niche within a niche will find these boxes helpful – many more runners will continue to keep their own times on their own watches and gps gadgets and not pay large fees for what appears to be little more than a place on a league table and a coloured wristband. The trial is scheduled to end in May 2012, after which either the organisers will demonstrate the depths of their pockets, or the boxes will be left to decay slowly until the National Trail officers get round to removing them. But in a time of austerity, any attempt to monetise the outdoor infrastructure will probably receive a positive reception from the powers that be. Would it be cynical to wonder whether this clearly unsustainable venture was being used by Natural England as a stalking horse for more serious interventions to come. After all, extreme running is always going to be a tiny market. We all know where the real money might be. Have we seen the first tentative try outs for a pay to walk scheme?
You can see more about Trailblaze at www.trail-blaze.com. You can join the anti white box campaign at www.trail-blaze.co.uk. You can observe the protagonists at a safe distance here