COOLING TOWERS

WET WET WETTER

There has been a lot of flooding over the last few weeks. I was hearing from people who were in Derry the other week who witnessed the flooding first hand. I was also over in England last week and they too have had their fair share of water. My mothers village was under water last year, not because of rain but because someone (allegedly) forgot to close the sluices on the local reservoir. The people concerned were hosting a party for Dianna Ross and got distracted. The excess water was diverted away from the village back in the 16th century but over time the water has managed to find its original course, which goes straight down the high street underneath everyone’s house foundations. This makes me realise that there is little point in fighting nature, as she will invariably always come out on top.

There are problems that planners encounter as towns and cities grow over the years. Problems such as the size of the storm drains and the fact that in towns and cities there are so few areas for water to soak away that the water just builds up on the surface. Car parking is a big problem in these areas so front gardens have been concreted to accommodate them, which makes it even more difficult to get rid of a heavy shower of rain. There are all sorts of long-term problems that serious flooding can cause. In nature floods bring vital minerals down the hills onto the pasture ground. The unsavoury reality in towns and cities is that the floodwater is usually mixed with raw sewage and that can have a very unpalatable effect on your vegetable plot. Trees and shrubs may suffer too if the roots are under water for longer than a week they are usually severely checked back or even die. If anyone has been affected by flooding they shouldn’t be in too much of a rush to get out into the garden as walking on the wet soil can cause severe compaction of the ground and nothing will grow in it. Shrubs and trees that look dead could always pick up the following year too.

A LOAD OF HOT AIR

We don’t see them around here but cooling towers are a familiar sight in some countries. The purpose of these towers is to cool down the water in the power station after the fuel is burned and steam comes out of the top. There is a nuclear power plant in Dumfries (Scotland!) that is changing to become a wood burning electricity plant in an effort to transform these aging reactors. When it is set up it will generate enough power for 200,000 homes. The plant is going to burn willow, which has been especially grown for the purpose. This idea comes about as there is growing concern as to whether wind farms can bring countries up to the European standard of green energy production over the next few years. Although burning the wood will produce carbon monoxide, the willow plantations that are created to supply the power plant would more than absorb the greenhouse gas. If this one is a success then six more BNFL nuclear plants could undergo similar transformations.

A LOAD OF COLD AIR

We are all familiar with the bouncy castles that adorn front gardens when the kids have a birthday party. A few years ago I was in a town where there was a giant version of an inflatable. The inflatable structure was about as big as two tennis courts and instead of jumping up and down on it you put on a coloured cape and went inside (the cape was supposed to change colour in different rooms and mesmerise people!). The effect when you are inside one of these things is quite stunning as the natural light filters through it are intensified so the whole space glows with a rainbow of colour. The designer, Alan Parkinson has now made a structure even bigger than before and he has called it the ixilum, which is part of a tour called Luminarium. The inflatable is about the size of a football pitch and 26 feet high. You walk into the entrance, take in the colours and curves and hopefully come out again before whole thing is deflated and shipped over to another country. According to reports the inflatable is causing a great deal of interest with all ages.

Update: Last year there was a tragic accident where the inflatable structure was thrown into the air killing the people inside. I have not of heard the inflatable being used again

Environmental.