Feudalism. You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.
Pure Democracy. You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets your milk.
Representative Democracy. You have two cows. Your neighbors pick someone to decide who gets your milk.
Pure Communism. You have two cows. Your neighbors help take care of them, and you all share the milk.
Pure Socialism. You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everybody else's cows. You have to take care of all the cows. The government gives you as much milk as you need.
Bureaucratic Socialism. You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everybody else's cows. They are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk as the regulations say you should need.
Fascism. You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to care for them, and sells you the milk.
Dictatorship. You have two cows. The government takes both and shafts you.
Bureaucracy. You have two cows. At first, the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.
Pure Anarchy. You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price, or your neighbors try to take the cows and kill you.
Anarcho-Capitalism. You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.
Surrealism. You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.
SBGI's Chief Executive Mike Foster's Friday Round Up
I was pleased to be able to attend both the utility Networks seminar on Transforming Utility Performance and the HHIC's conference on the Retrofit revolution this week. Both were well attended and featured informative contributions from key players within our sector. I also know that delegates took the opportunity to network and talk through some of the challenges facing us as we look to what 2012 brings.
I must admit to being disappointed by the Chancellor's Autumn Statement with regard to energy related issues. Last week it was trailed by his number two, Danny Alexander, that we would hear more detail about £200 million Green Deal incentives in the statement. What we got was what I'd call a holding statement:-
"The Government is committed, through the Green Deal, to improving the energy
efficiency of buildings to benefit energy bill payers and the environment. As additional one-off
support for this, delivering the commitment at Budget 2011, the Government is allocating
£200 million to encourage early uptake of the Green Deal in its initial phase over
2012-13 and 2013-14. Further details will be set out next year and will be subject to state aid
considerations."
I was really pleased though with the turnout at the HHIC reception held on the Terrace in the House of Commons on Tuesday evening - Minister Mark Prisk spoke, and Parliamentarians including Robin Walker MP, Chris White MP (host) Shadow DECC Minister Luciana Berger MP, Lord O'Neill, Baroness Smith (Shadow DECC Minister in the Lords) and Baroness Maddocks attended.
Please read my article on the benefits of reinstating the Boiler Scrappage Scheme in Progress Online click here.
£200M Funding Boost for Green Deal
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£200m of new and additional Government funding has this week been announced to provide a special time-limited 'introductory' offer to boost the early take up of the Government's Green Deal energy efficiency scheme.
With bills rising because of rocketing global energy prices, the Government wants to see as many people as possible benefiting when the Green Deal hits the high street next year.
The announcement follows the consultation on the Green Deal that was launched by the Government yesterday.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said:
"I can announce today that as part of the Autumn Statement we will provide £200m of funding for new and additional support to enable a special time-limited 'introductory offer' for the Green Deal.
"An offer that could save early adopters hundreds of pounds.
"A fund to get the Green Deal off to a flying start.
"One that will work with the Green Deal mechanism and the ECO to motivate thousands of more consumers to take up energy efficiency measures, over the next two years."
Read: Damian Carrington's Blog on why Osborne's false economy is the death of the greenest government ever
It's official: the government's ambition to be the greenest ever is dead, choked by the exhaust fumes and chimneystack smog belched out in the desperate attempt to restart the economy's engine.
How utterly empty that sentiment is now, and how damaging is that which replaces it: cutting carbon kills jobs; endless social and environmental goals lead to poverty; protecting the countryside is a ridiculous cost on business. And what a false economy. On a finite planet, the eventual coming of a sustainable economy is a certainty: what we can choose is how we get there.
Is Chris Huhne's Green Deal just a marketing strategy? The Ecologist seems to think so!
The 2011 Energy Act provides for a 'Green Deal' in which households will be encouraged to borrow money on easy terms to finance energy saving home improvements. But will it work?
We have been living from bubble to bubble. First the dot com bubble, then the housing bubble, and you could hardly have missed the Southern European bond market bubble. It is as if we are in constant search of a new folly in which to lose our heads - and then our shirts. But if anyone has been wondering where the next bubble will come from, we have the answer: it will be an energy bubble.
Trading Standards warning over energy efficiency plugs
Rogue telephone fraudsters are targeting older people with the offer of "energy saving devices" that could result in fire or electrocution.
The Trading Standards Institute (TSI) is dealing with more than 200 complaints about people who have claimed to be a victim's energy supplier, or working in partnership with them, and are offering a plug-in device costing £99 which they say can save users 40% on energy bills. But trading standards has had a number of the devices tested and found that they not only failed to satisfy electrical safety standards, but do not deliver any tangible energy savings.
Ron Gainsford, TSI chief executive, said: "Consumers are warned not to use the product as they pose a risk of fire and electrocution, and a safety recall has been issued for the items traced so far.
"Unscrupulous criminals are using the rising energy prices as an opportunity to lure cash strapped consumers - elderly people seem to have been deliberately targeted. The number of complaints we are currently dealing with is bound to be only the tip of the iceberg."
The City of Westminster Trading Standards Service has been investigating the scam as the caller gives a London W1 Oxford Street address for the company, but this belongs to a "virtual" office provider.
THE organisation which represents thousands of heating and plumbing engineers across the country has set up a new working group to look at the issues surrounding renewable energy.
The Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) has launched the group and its first meeting will be held in the New Year.
The country's leading heating and plumbing organisation has more than 12,000 members across the country and represents the interests of the industry at local and national level.
And with increasing subsidies for renewable energy schemes and growing interest in sustainability the CIPHE believes the time is right to create a new advisory body. Changes to the law have also meant that there is more pressure than ever before on the industry to cut emissions.
The Climate Change Act which was introduced in 2008 set legally binding reduction targets which mean the emissions will have to reduced by 34 per cent by 2020 and 80 per cent by 2050. And with heating leading to the highest percentage of carbon emissions in homes the pressure is on the industry to lead the way in introducing new renewable technologies.
The group is being headed up by leading industry expert Keith Westcott and it has already drawn up a set of core objectives and aims.
Its core mission is to keep a close eye on emerging technologies and pass on the necessary advice and information to CIPHE members. The newly created body is also keen to take part in the ongoing debate on renewable energy and advise the Government on policy.
HHIC is participating in Climate Week in 2012 - why not sign up and make a difference
Britain's Biggest Climate Change Campaign - 12 to 18 March 2012
The Heating and Hotwater Industry Council is supporting Climate Week in 2012 and challenging our membership to get involved and showcase some of the exciting steps being taken to tackle climate change and enhance sustainability across the industry. Climate Week is a supercharged national campaign to inspire a new wave of action on climate change. It culminates with thousands of events and activities taking place throughout the week of 12 to 18 March 2012, planned by organisations from every part of society. Showcasing real, practical ways to combat climate change, the campaign aims to renew our ambition to create a more sustainable, low-carbon future.
How can you participate? As a member of the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council, this is your chance to get involved right now by starting to plan an event for Climate Week. This provides a unique opportunity to showcase your own initiatives and innovations to stakeholders and staff, customers and the community, members and the media by showcasing the actions you are taking to reduce your environmental impact and improve your business. Engaging those around you, whether in the workplace or in your community, can make a big impact and give others a strong example to follow. If you are already planning to run an event, seminar, or workshop on the week show your support for the campaign by making it an official Climate Week event. You can register your event for 2012 here, http://www.climateweek.com/run-an-event/register-an-event/ .
Entries are now open for the high profile Climate Week Awards, showcasing the most inspirational and impressive actions taking place across all sectors of society. This is your opportunity to highlight the efforts being undertaken by your business to combat climate change every day. For 2012 the judging panel contains figures such as the former President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, the Bishop of London, and the former UK Secretary of State for the Environment, Lord Deben. Past winners included a community-run hydroelectric project in Settle, North Yorkshire, a virtually waterless new washing machine that uses polymer beads to clean clothes, and a schools project in the North East that has resulted in over 18,000 hours of pupil-led activities. Please enter your nominations here, http://www.climateweek.com/awards/how-to-enter/ .
PR is all about imagination, creativity in the written word and considered risk!
Planning a PR campaign that ticks all the boxes and will make an impact is not always easy. Harder when
promoting what is not considered that 'sexy a subject' for journalists to get their teeth into. I think the heating industry is one that can fall off the radar of the journalists' amour list. Now, think of a dense brown yeast substance, you either love it or hate it. I can bet most of you know what I am talking about don't you?
Well read this fascinating article on how the magic ingredients of imagination, creativity and risk achieved Marmite to reach the status of being a national treasure.
If there are any colleagues in your organisation who you think should be receiving HHIC News, please ask them toe-mail jodie@hhic.org.uk,so that we can add them to our mailing list.
Please consider the environment before printing this newsletter.
The HHIC is the trade association for the domestic heating and hot water industry and is a division of SBGI.
"When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks into you."
