Home Page
   Articles
       links
About Us    
Traders        
Recipes            
Latest Articles
Do you think that this is typical of how are rivers.
Page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    Downsizer Forum Index -> Conservation and Environment
Author 
 Message
Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 09 8:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Behemoth wrote:
On thing on the horizon is the designation of the Humber Estuary as a 'sensitive water'. This is a bureaucratic designation of some estuaries etc across the whole of Europe and requires them to meet certain standards, it has nothing to do with local ecology. If this goes through it will cost £500m (half a billion) to meet the standards. To put that in perspective out investment programme is usually about £1.5 to £1.8 billion over five years. The benefit to the environment will be marginal. As James says, diffuse pollution form agriculture has a greater effect.


What was Yorkshire Water's last annual profit?

Behemoth



Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 09 9:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

About £150m. Some of which is reinvested an some goes to the owners as their return. We're owned privately, no shareholders, no dividends, but we still have to pay the owners a return for their investment. Generally the owners want it reinvested to grow the capital value of the company.. They are a bunch of banks and are more interested in their asset book value being worth more that having a little bit more cash.

Rob R



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 09 9:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Behemoth wrote:
As James says, diffuse pollution form agriculture has a greater effect.


Something we all have a hand in, and trying to treat it as containment, like most other industries is unlikely to ever work, given the area of land it occupies.

Behemoth



Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 09 9:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Absolutely and there's a legacy. Even if nitrates are stopped/reduced/applied more effectively we'll still be treating groundwater to remove them for several decades to come.

Rob R



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 09 9:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Ah, cheap food

James



Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 2866
Location: York
PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 09 3:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

twoscoops wrote:
It came across to me as a question, which is what it was. I also thought it was one worth discussing, rather than getiing precious over.


actually, after writing my initial comments,I thought about it further and I realized it was a question as well. I did consider suggesting that the discussion would be more suited to the "does it really matter if..." forum, but then its not my discussion...

However, I feel it is worth getting precious about.

It may have been written as a question, but personally I don't think it was meant as a question.


mihto wrote:
The big problem arises when the politicians, in order to save money nobody know how is used anyway, take away the funding. The negative results can take years to surface, but the damage done may sometimes be irreparable.

Yes, it seems inevitable that with the UK so in debt now, our public sector funding will be greatly reduced during the next government. The conservatives have already said the Environment Agency (for whom I work) is in their sites. The future doesnt look at all safe.
Its not helped by the fact that most people dont realise what we do.

Dr Rob



Joined: 04 Sep 2008
Posts: 273
Location: Moylgrove, nr Cardigan, Pembs
PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 09 3:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I grew up in a mining village in the south Wales valleys at the confluence of the rivers Cynon and Taf when the coal mines were in full swing. The rivers were black and opaque (Welsh 'humourist' Gwyn Thomas remarked that the fish had to wear contact lenses - except that there were no fish). I remember playing on the black 'beaches' wondering where the smell came from. Until I was about 7 I thought all rivers were this colour.

The transformation today is stunning and down to the work of those like James...

Rob R



Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York
PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 09 4:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

James wrote:
Its not helped by the fact that most people dont realise what we do.


Or that the people who are employed to interact with the public really shouldn't be allowed out, while the people that really know what they are talking about are just beavering away quietly in the background.

Mutton



Joined: 09 May 2009
Posts: 1508

PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 09 6:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Lets not forget the pollution introduced by building windfarms on peat hillsides.

Braes of Doune
https://www.swap.org.uk/index.asp?pageid=86885

and

See https://www.swap.org.uk/Documents/Reports/2006-08_EI_on%20the_Braes.pdf


Derrybrien
https://www.swap.org.uk/index.asp?pageid=86548

And there was damage done at Cefn Croes as well

https://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~hills/cc/gallery/

Behemoth



Joined: 01 Dec 2004
Posts: 19023
Location: Leeds
PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 09 7:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We're trying to mend the damage done in the pennine catchments by the deep drainage ditches put in years ago. Actively blocking them and trying to reduce run off. The peat erosion and other chemical changes cause raw water quality problems and if nothing is done will require even more expensive water treatment works to clean the water.

dpack



Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 45374
Location: yes
PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 09 8:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

complicated thing having a biodiverse river
i did a very quick and subjective high survey on saturday and the colne has a good catchment above marsden
plenty of invertibrates for fast cleanstone water
below the first little town the picture changes
i need to do a full survey
5 miles down the kingfishers ,herons and fish have gone
this one is personal
most rivers are far far better than even ten years back due to legislation and the folk who work to meet it

Bodger



Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 09 10:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Well James, I've only just come across this vitriolic out burst of yours and to say that I'm not impressed with your attitude towards what i thought was a sensible question is to put it mildly. I find your answer to be most unpleasant and full of of your own self importance.

Well here you go, suck on this. Do you think for a minute that our rivers would be in the state that they are in now if the UKs economy was still depended on the now defunct polluting industries ? Get real and get pleasant.

Bodger



Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 09 10:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Dr Rob wrote:
I grew up in a mining village in the south Wales valleys at the confluence of the rivers Cynon and Taf when the coal mines were in full swing. The rivers were black and opaque (Welsh 'humourist' Gwyn Thomas remarked that the fish had to wear contact lenses - except that there were no fish). I remember playing on the black 'beaches' wondering where the smell came from. Until I was about 7 I thought all rivers were this colour.

The transformation today is stunning and down to the work of those like James...


I take it that you havent noticed that all the mines have been closed. The likes of James could work as hard as they like but if it wasn't for economic changes they'd be swimming backwards. Funds wouldn't be made available to pay for improvements, the will from goverment wouldn't be there and millions of tons of industrial waste would still be emptying into our seas and rivers.

jamanda
Downsizer Moderator


Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Posts: 35056
Location: Devon
PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 09 11:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

This is nonsense Bodger - and very insulting to the people who do work hard to protect our waterways.

Bodger



Joined: 23 May 2006
Posts: 13524

PostPosted: Mon Jul 27, 09 12:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Nonsense ? To many, what I say will be common sense. and unlike other peoples remarks, mine are far from being insulting.

Post new topic   Reply to topic    Downsizer Forum Index -> Conservation and Environment All times are GMT
Page Previous  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8  Next
Page 2 of 8
View Latest Posts View Latest Posts

 

Archive
Powered by php-BB © 2001, 2005 php-BB Group
Style by marsjupiter.com, released under GNU (GNU/GPL) license.
Copyright © 2004 marsjupiter.com