Published Articles
This is my web equivalent newspaper cuttings, most of the articles are from publications I come across either as an engineer or as a councillor and they help to inform me on subjects like renewable energy and local government which I have a particular interest in. I hope these articles will also be interest to you to.
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Article: May 1, 2015
Research published by VoteSmart has shown that David Goodall of the Liberal Democrats has become the only left of centre candidate who can win in Isle of Wight.
With the election in Isle of Wight being one of the closest fought in history it has become crucial that voters unite behind a progressive candidate who can defeat the reactionary candidates from UKIP and the Conservative Party.
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Article: Mar 22, 2015By Richard Garner in The Independent
The Government programme gives schools extra cash for every disadvantaged pupil they take in
Thinking outside the box can do wonders for disadvantaged pupils, according to evidence from schools about how they are using the Government's pupil premium to improve performance.
In one case, the simple act of buying a pupil a football kit and providing soccer coaching, as his parents were unable to afford it, dramatically improved his performance, Schools minister David Laws told The Independent. "It got him taking part in lessons and attending again," said the Liberal Democrat.
A study of how schools have implemented the Government's pupil premium programme - which gives schools extra cash for every disadvantaged pupil they take in - also reveals that participating in the arts or sports can put pupils two months ahead in the three Rs. Taking pupils out on school trips can boost performance by three months, it added.
Some schools have found children without computers at home are falling behind their classmates because they do not have the facilities to do homework. As a result, they have set up breakfast computer clubs.
The evidence has emerged on the eve of an awards ceremony in London on Wednesday for those schools that are making the best use of the pupil premium, which the Lib Dems have pledged to protect from inflation.
Commenting on this article the Isle of Wight's parliamentary candidate David Goodall said:-
"Lib Dems front cover manifesto pledge from 2010 to help disadvantaged pupils is working"
Related link:-
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Article: Mar 20, 2015By Phoebe Greenwood and Rowena Mason in The Guardian
Lib Dem leader makes unexpected claim in a Guardian interview in which he says the way politics works is 'bust' and Westminster is a 'joke'
Nick Clegg has declared he feels more anti-establishment now than he did when he entered government five years ago as deputy prime minister.
The Liberal Democrat leader made the unexpected claim in an interview with the Guardian, in which he said the way politics works is "bust" and described Westminster as a "joke".
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Article: Mar 29, 2014By Giles Goodall - Liberal Democrat MEP candidate for South East England in The Huffington Post UK
As we draw closer to the European elections on 22 May, more and more business leaders are speaking out in favour of Britai n's membership of the European Union. Not a day seems to go by without another major employer warning of the risks for Britain's jobs and economy of a potential EU exit. That's because - as Nick Clegg said in last night's debate with Nigel Farage - it's about jobs, jobs and jobs.
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Article: Mar 25, 2014By Mehdi Hasan, Political Director in The Huffington Post UK
In recent months, with the exception perhaps of the BBC's Andrew Neil, TV interviewers have failed to land many blows on cheeky-chappy, man-of-the-people, buy-me-a-beer-mate Nigel Farage, populist leader of the UK Independence Party (Ukip). Could Nick Clegg do their job for them tonight?
The deputy prime minister may be the underdog going into his live clash with the Ukip leader on, of all subjects, the European Union, but he has proved himself handy at TV debates (remember 2010?). Farage, on the other hand, claims not have prepared for these bouts - and is pretty poor when it comes to dealing with detail or proper scrutiny of his party's positions.
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Article: May 19, 2010By Terry Macalister in guardian.co.uk
Independent study says North Sea wind and wave power could make Britain the 'Saudi Arabia of renewable energy'.
Britain could become the "Saudi Arabia of the renewables world" on the back of North Sea wind and wave resources, according to a study carried out by government and industry.
The review by independent consultants for the Offshore Valuation Group estimates that by 2050 the UK could generate the equivalent in electricity to the 1bn barrels of oil and gas being produced annually offshore.
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Article: May 2, 2010By Vicky Kenrick in charter2010.co.uk
Final clutch of Sunday newspaper opinion polls before election day suggests Britain is still heading for a hung parliament. In each case the Conservatives have the edge, but they could be anything up to 60 seats short of a bare overall majority, if the reported percentages were repeated with a uniform national swing on Thursday.
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Article: Apr 23, 2010By Alan Travis in guardian.co.uk
Despite their attack on Liberal Democrat proposals, Labour and the Conservatives have pursued a similar policy
Labour and the Conservatives are targeting the Liberal Democrats' policy of an amnesty for illegal migrants, hoping it will prove the achilles heel that will lead to Nick Clegg's downfall.
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Article: Apr 23, 2010By Andrew Grice, Political Editor in The Independent (www.independent.co.uk)
The Sun newspaper failed to publish a YouGov poll showing that voters fear a Liberal Democrat government less than a Conservative or Labour one.
The Liberal Democrats accused the newspaper, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, of suppressing the finding. The paper, which endorsed Labour in the past three elections, declared its support for David Cameron during the Labour Party's annual conference last October. Like other Tory-supporting papers, it has turned its fire on Nick Clegg over his policies, pro-European statements and expenses claims since he won last week's first televised leaders' debate.
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Article: Apr 19, 2010By Rebecca Pool in The Institution of Engineering and Technology - E & T Magazine
In December 2007, a team of German epidemiologists reported a 220 per cent increase in leukaemia amongst children living within 5km of nuclear power stations in Germany. They also showed that the closer the children were to each of the 16 reactors, the higher the risk of contacting all types of cancer, especially leukaemia.
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Article: Apr 19, 2010By Sean Davies in The Institution of Engineering and Technology - E & T Magazine
There are four types of nuclear waste, ranging from the very low level waste that can be disposed of commercially to the high level waste (HLW), primarily spent fuel, which is of the greatest concern.
The nuclear industry would argue that the volume of HLW is small, but to the layman the numbers will seem quite staggering. At present there are some 270,000t of HLW around the globe, stored in storage pools at the reactor sites. Each year another 3,500t is added that burden.
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Article: Apr 13, 2010In BBC News Website
Bonuses for bankers should be capped at £2,500 a year while board directors in financial institutions should never earn extra payouts, the Lib Dems say.
A "top-to-toe" overhaul of the British banking system was needed, with an end to "morally obscene" salaries and bonuses, party leader Nick Clegg added.
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Article: Apr 2, 2007By Bernd Müller in Pictures of the Future - The Siemens Magazine for Research and Innovation
The zero-emission power plant is no longer a fantasy. Filters are becoming increasingly sophisticated, removing dust and other harmful substances from exhaust gases. And in the future, new power generation technologies should prevent emissions of carbon dioxide getting into the atmosphere. Enhanced measurement methods and more efficient power distribution are also helping to ensure cleaner air.
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Article: Apr 2, 2007By Thomas Ruhnke in SiemensWorld - The Employee Newspaper
Sustec acquisition strengthens position in the growing market for clean electricity from coal - Global demand for electricity is growing constantly. Experts anticipate that demand will have nearly doubled by 2030 compared with 2000. However, power generation must be as environmentally benign as possible to prevent the earth from becoming a greenhouse. With this in mind, Siemens has consistently expanded its expertise in environmentally friendly electricity production over the past few years, including acquisitions in markets that are undergoing rapid technical transformation. By acquiring the coal gasification activities of Sustec, Siemens has secured a key technology for low-emission power generation.
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Article: Mar 21, 2007In The Independent newspaper
1. The end of war between European nations - While rows between England, France and Germany have been a feature of EU summits, war between Europe's major powers is now unthinkable. The fact that the two world wars that shaped the last century now seem so remote is, in itself, tribute to a visionary project that has permanently changed the landscape. As the EU celebrates the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome it is clear that while the detailed topography will always be difficult to agree, it is an extraordinary achievement that we are standing on common ground.
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Article: Mar 1, 2007By The Institution of Engineering and Technology in IET Engineering and Technology magazine
Scotland is setting a course to achieve global leadership in marine power generation. The Scottish Executive has named nine marine energy projects that will share grants worth more than £13m, including one that will be the world's biggest wave energy project to date.
Deputy first minister Nicol Stephen said the initial fund of £8m announced last October had been increased by £5.15m to meet demand. He also confirmed that Scotland has already reached its 2010 target of having 18% of its electricity generated from renewable sources, three years ahead of schedule.
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Article: Aug 1, 2006By Carolyn Fry in IEE Review
The BedZED architectural project in South London aims to deliver high living standards with low environmental impact.
A report published this year by conservation organisation the WWF estimated that the average person in the UK has an 'ecological footprint' of 5.4 global hectares. A global hectare is a hectare of globally productive space with an output capacity equal to the average capacity of the 11.4 billion productive hectares on the planet. The figure means we each need that amount of land to produce the food, clothing, energy, water and other materials we consume throughout our lives. The imbalance that has long existed between rich and poor countries has enabled us to get away with far more than our fair share for a long time. But populous developing nations such as China and India are understandably now keen to take up their place in consumer society, putting an additional strain on the world's resources. The report concluded that if the world's six and a half billion inhabitants all began consuming at the same level as the UK, we would need three planets to support us. Clearly, we don't have three planets, so our only option is to reduce our ecological footprint. But is it possible to live in a more sustainable manner, without making huge compromises to our standards of living?
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Article: Mar 1, 2006By Rebecca Pool in IEE Review
Rebecca Pool investigates the case for clean coal in the coming UK energy White Paper - In his State of the Union Address this year, US President George Bush vowed to replace more than 75% of his nation's oil imports from the Middle East by 2025, by pouring nearly $1bn into an 'Advanced Energy Initiative'.
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Article: Jan 1, 2006By Institution of Electrical Engineers in IEE Review
A generator that harnesses the energy of underwater tidal currents will be connected to Northern Ireland's electricity grid this year. Marine Current Turbines has won consent to install a 1MW SeaGen device in Strangford Lough, which has one of the strongest tidal currents in the British Isles.
MCT has operated a smaller underwater turbine, the 300kW SeaFlow, off the north coast of Devon since May 2003, but SeaGen will be the world's first commercial prototype feeding power into an electricity network from underwater currents (rather than waves or the rise and fall of tides).