Rachel Clarke
I am recently retired from a career in medicine but have always been interested in the natural world. I want to know more facts about the climate.
Location UK
Activity
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
I live in Devon in the south west UK; a relatively rich but small and crowded nation. We have a lot of coastline so I was surprised that the vulnerability from sea level rise did not appear to be that great.
Over the years the UKs own manufacturing base has shrunk to almost nothing, but we still consume resources as we import many goods from all over the... -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
Alll the below are correct. politicians move too slowly and are severely hampered from doing the right thing by powerful lobbyists and vested interests. Ordinary people, economics and technological advances will help us go in the right direction. Perhaps also the growing realisation that nature is not just a nice thing for the weekend but is critical for our...
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
Interesting details about ice sheets and how they melt in the additional information
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
There is certainly a huge amount of publicity given to increasing flooding which is partly due to climate change causing warmer air and therefore more moisture to be held in the atmosphere. I think it is noticeable that rain seems to fall more heavily even if for a shorter time. Of course there are also many local factors that affect flooding such as...
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
Very interesting parts of this course, although I felt that sometimes the problems of low emission cars were explored much more than the advantages. I would like to have seen more focus on dealing with pollution of the environment, including our water as well as the atmosphere. All transport causes some emissions, its just that BEVs cause less. All pollution...
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
Interesting course, particularly the sections on biofuels and hydrogen which I knew relatively little about.
I have not changed my view that a fully electric BEV is the bst answer to most transport needs but recognise that the technology is not there for heavy long distance vehicles, shipping or aeroplanes. Also it is clear that all private vehicles consume... -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
I would like to see a focus on dealing with pollution of the environment, including our water as well as the atmosphere, as all transport causes some emissions, its just that BEVs cause less.
I also feel that energy conservation and energy. efficiency have not been considered enough in this course. -
The cost of petrol and diesel has also shot up though Barry. New technology is always more expensive at first but the cost of BEVs is decreasing month by month and soon could be cheaper overall, certainly equivalent. @BarryLowden
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
I agree with comments below that the real way forward is to invest in good public transport as we need fewer cars as well as reduced emissions. In practice this is only likely to be successful in cities, as it is in London where most commuters use the underground or buses or trains. Trains can also be the main way to travel long distances between cities. If...
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
I am not convinced by the argument that biofuels are carbon neutral when they produce carbon dioxide as a waste product. Also if they require hydrogen to be manufactured that is not likely to be "green" hydrogen.
I agree that there might be a small place for mitigating the pollution of heavy good vehicles but it does not seem to be the answer. -
Rachel Clarke replied to ann v
Except that Artificial fertilisers are vastly overused and contribute to the degradation of once fertile soil.
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I think the article has very clearly set out that hydrogen, at the moment is not at all a green option 95% of the time. In fact it's widespread use could increase carbon emissions.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
With every article in this section, more and more complications and difficulties are exposed. However this technology is still in its infancy.
In the future, if significant amounts of hydrogen are produced by excess wind energy from off shore wind farms or floating nuclear hydrogen producers storage facilities would preferably be where the electric cables... -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
I am still not clear how highly pressurised gas is safely transferred into a hydrogen tank in the car.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
I see an announcement by JCB in the news yesterday that they are converting their fleet of diggers etc to hydrogen fuel. The firm producing the hydrogen is from Australia so I'm wondering how that can be "Green"
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
I think many people feel more comfortable with the idea of filling up their car with hydrogen as it feels more similar in principle to filling up with petrol or diesel.
Personally I don't fancy moving highly pressurised cylinders in and out of my car. Perhaps we find out more about it as the course goes on. Meanwhile I will continue to enjoy plugging in my... -
how do you know its easy to refuel?
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And what other precious or rare elements are used in a hydrogen fuel cell? We have not been told yet.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
Overall, it uses so much energy to produce and compress hydrogen, just to power an electric battery and motor that I cannot help but feel BEVs are the best for most domestic purposes. There may well be a place for hydrogen in long distance heavy vehicle transport.
I hope it is only used for domestic heating purposes if adequate green hydrogen can be produced.... -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
So the oil companies make hydrogen from oil but then they need it to refine oil into petrol..... A nice circular process to keep them in business.
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How do we know what infrastructure will be required for safely keeping an extremely inflammable gas under pressure?
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
Even if hydrogen cars are only a small part of the answer, at least the air around roads and traffic will be cleaner and healthier.
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None of these issues with and EV. no pollution discharged while you are stationary. @BarryLowden
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That's why it has to come from the bottom up, not top down. I have not met anyone who wanted HS2 to be built. If the government listened to people and upgraded existing railways, especially in the north of England they would not have had any opposition at all. In the near future a railway between Okehampton and Exeter will re-open to much acclaim. This will...
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
What an excellent summary of all the issues and recommendations.
I haven't read all the supporting literature yet but Octopus energy is also doing a pilot of Vehicle to Grid technology to try and help define the benefits and /or problems with their system. -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
Wireless charging show the most potential for the future as it would be extremely practical and almost invisible, just a different road surface. supermarkets and other carparks could easily have charging areas. Also these would be much less likely to be damaged by careless use or vandalism.
In the meantime innovative street chargers and to a lesser extent... -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
In practice what this means that if you are the only person charging an EV it charges faster than if you are sharing the charge points. That won't matter if fleets of electric vans are charging over night in their warehouse or garage. Smart domestic charge points will avoid peak times so spreading the load.
There has been no mention of "vehicle to grid" so...
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The government could start by wiring all new buildings with a supply adequate to meet potential future uses.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
It's about time the charging providers collaborated. I cannot see any disadvantage as it will lead to more motorists using the charging points if its easy to do so, and new EV owners will feel more confident, more people will buy EVs and everybody wins.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
Despite all the issues, changing to an electric car is the single best thing that people can do to reduce their carbon footprint.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58996348 -
Yes, and usually very accurate. Also the car keeps reminding you if you are running low. (I have driven three types of EV)
I am interested to know how many Electric miles you get in your hybrid? @BarryLowden -
I agree. all chargers should be available to all EVs and you should be be able to pay with a credit card as you can for anything else. At the moment there are still too many systems and too many different apps to pay with. @JanMole
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With my Renault Zoe you can reset the battery management as it tends to adapt to driving conditions and how you drive.
different cars are obviously different but the battery does not take up the whole base of the car. Renault Zoes were initially designed to have the battery changed regularly but this has not been found to be necessary as they last so long.... -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
The other problem for new EV owners is that the staff in dealerships do not usually know much about electric vehicles and customers are given misleading advice. My husband and I have had an EV for nearly 4 years and still find customers who have been told they can charge "anywhere" which is sadly not true. There are apps which can help you. Also many ordinary...
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not necessarily, see my experience above
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Tesla charging points are often much faster than this. At the moment these are not available to other makes of car but it indicates how the technology is already available and developing fast.
most people on a long journey have to stop every couple of hours anyway to use toilets or grab a drink and a snack. This often takes 20-30 minutes and currently you... -
I have a 7KW home charger and we have never had any trouble with it. when it was fitted we had to have an extra slot on our house hold fuse box. Usually we set it to charge over night when we have cheaper electricity or when the sun is shining and our solar panels feed into it.
We also have a lead which can plug into an ordinary 13amp plug, the so called... -
what do you think we should all do then, Barry?
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Its good that concern about recycling the materials in ALL batteries is a leading concern, we should be moving to a circular economy. One problem for recycling electric car batteries is that they have lasted much longer than it was initially thought so there is actually a shortage of them to recycle.
Its also a pity that recycling electronic waste is only in... -
By 2035 Lithium will have been superseded by much less contentious metals or minerals such as iron, carbon or even sodium chloride. Also electric motors will be lighter and more efficient.
Listen to the excellent podcast "Fully charged" with Robert Llewellyn and various guests. @BarryLowden -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
What is the real cost of a litre of petrol? To include drilling and pumping it out of the ground, transporting the crude oil, refining it, storing it, then moving it to a petrol station, using electricity to pump it into the car?
The oil industry still receives huge subsidies from governments all over the world and every stage of the process consumes energy. -
They are cheaper to maintain; and the price will soon be equivalent.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
As an owner of 2 electric vehicles I would never go back to an ICE car for many reasons, but I have to admit that the charging network is still largely inadequate.
I do not understand why all garages do not have electric charging points installed as drivers of electric vehicles can have a coffee and got shopping in the garage shop while their car "fills" up.... -
and you don't need to buy a new battery, they last longer than the car.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
I would wait for a year or so if possible as the range and variety is getting better almost day by day, but there are family cars already out there like the Kia-e Niro. so definitely go for BEV
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I think there have been occasional days when all the electricity in the grid has come from renewables.
I note that the introduction very carefully said that electric cars produce fewer emissions than ICE cars over their lifetime, not zero.
Also the refining of oil to make petrol consumes large amounts of electricity so it's a double whammy. -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
General motors produced a very popular electric car, the EV-1 from 1996 to 1999 which were leased out to customers. A combination of concern about future profitability (not so many spare parts) and lobbying from the oil industry to change legislation that encouraged all electric vehicles resulted in the withdrawal of the leases and most of the cars were...
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The trouble with hydrogen is that it takes a huge amount of energy to separate it from water or other source. So the widespread use of hydrogen will do nothing to conserve energy and might even make things worse if the fossil fuel industry promotes itself to generate hydrogen as it is doing now. . Much more efficient to use the electricity generated by...
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
My husband and I have two electric vehicles. Nearly 4 years ago we bought a second hand Renault Zoe which has been a fabulous little car for going around the city. Mostly it has been free to run as in the summer we charge it from our solar panels and in the winter there are many carparks in Exeter with free charging (you still have to pay for the parking as...
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
The enormous contribution of private cars to air pollution caused by road transport.
The many misconceptions about electric cars from people on this course ( although of course they do not solve all the problems)
The difficulty of developing suitable alternatives for shipping, heavy industry etc. -
Agreed, there are lots of issues to be addressed and the charging network certainly needs a lot of improvement. Electric cars are improving all the time as is their range. The new fast chargers are also very quick to charge. Even in another year or so the average range could be 400miles so keep hoping.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
It's depressing that yet again our government says things that sound good but do not back them up with adequate legislation. (Thank you Greg Archer for your paper above).
On a positive note, I have not seen an advert for a petrol or diesel car for ages, they are all for electric models. -
One of my sons lives in London, he uses Uber or the underground most of the time and trains for most long distance journeys. I think it would be relatively easy to make all cities function like this but much harder in rural areas.
The range of some EVs is now approaching 400miles and yes they are not cheap but neither are the SUVs, range rovers and such like... -
Many so called "third world" countries are in fact very rich in resources, not just minerals but sunshine, wind and water. Sensible foreign aid would help to utilise these resources rather than impose fossil fuel industries which are more expensive in the long run.
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Everyone talks about recycling the batteries in electric cars but what about the huge amount of precious metals in all the tons and tons of electronic waste produced by the large numbers of discarded smart phones, computers and other gadgets?
We need a circular economy that AUTOMATICALLY considers recycling its materials. -
I agree, but as long as there are plenty of charge points that are easy to use, it should not be necessary for everyone to be able to charge at home. after all nobody fills their ICE cars with petrol at home.
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definitely they should set a good example.
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Tax breaks on the purchase of electric cars ( this worked for company fleet cars in the last couple of years)
Building a network of reliable chargers; give garages a tax incentive to install electric charging points so customers don't worry about being able to charge.
Tax breaks to encourage cities and county councils to replace ageing diesel buses and vans... -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
Environmental and social are the main reasons to change our dependence on petrol and diesel transport, in fact a healthy society needs and healthy environment so they are really the same.
Economics and technology will make it happen but this needs political will, to speed things up; for example wind and solar power are now cheaper than burning gas and oil,... -
Rachel Clarke replied to Ian Black
I agree that sadly our government is not inclined to make sensible plans for the change. They could easily change the tax system to reward simple things like double glazing, loft insulation and stop subsidising oil and gas but even that seems like too much at present.
Green technology should be able to use the skills of people currently working in fossil... -
Hybrids are good in theory but I have read that they are so heavy they can cause even more pollution than a conventional petrol car. Plug ins are better than non-plug ins though.
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Fast chargers now can be so quick you barely have time to pop to the loo. Also you don't have to stand there in the rain while you fill up! @JimTyson
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The second hand market is growing. I bought a 2 year old second hand Renault Zoe for £6499 and it has been a brilliant small car. Batteries are lasting for at least 10 years and can definitely be recycled. Nobody worries about recycling ICE cars and obviously you can't recycle petrol that has been burnt
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There are loads of different sizes and styles coming out all the time now!
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1) Initial cost of electric vehicles is the main barrier, although I bought a 2 year old second hand Renault Zoe for £6,499 and its brilliant for around town. mostly it runs on sunshine as we have solar panels.
2) The unreliable charging network although the is improving. I don't understand why garages don't cash in on the, if they had an array of charge... -
I think economics is the only way to change peoples behaviour. Make something cheaper and they will do it.
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In Norway the government has made it cheaper to buy and run an electric car than an internal combustion car. In China there are small electric cars that cost no more than about £5,000 so it can be done.
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Energy storage is the answer to renewable energy. Battery technology is developing fast but is still way behind the generating side of the equation. There are other ways to store energy when the supply is intermittent by using water and gravity for instance, or even making hydrogen. This would be the best direction for research to go in.
The trouble with... -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
The pandemic reduced road traffic dramatically for a while but cycling on normal roads, especially in big cities, is fraught with danger and not at all enjoyable.
There is no reason why most public transport cannot be electrified; predictable bus routes, also delivery van routes are ideal for electrification and the vehicles can charge up over night. Trains... -
Rachel Clarke replied to Jim Matthews
Well what do you suggest?
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Rachel Clarke replied to Jim Matthews
That's a very interesting comment.
I would imagine that wind and solar energy is ultimately released back in to atmosphere but without the smoke and chemicals that burning fossil fuels causes. It would be good to hear some expert comment.
Also energy conservation has also always been part of a green economy. -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
I am a retired doctor and very interested in environmental issues. I know quite a bit about electric vehicles as I have 2, but want to know more about their production and alternatives. For instance lots of people on this course have already said they think hydrogen is likely to be the answer. I strongly disagree with that as its extremely expensive and costs ...
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The problem with hydrogen is that it takes a huge amount of energy to make it. The oil industry are pushing it. Much better to invest in storing renewable energy so you dont have to switch off wind turbines when they produce too much! Battery technology is also developing very fast and may not require lithium in the future. @JimTyson
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My husband and I have two electric cars and are often astonished at how little most people know about having an electric vehicle, so I want to have more facts and figures at my finger tips.
Most people are unaware of the ENORMOUS amounts of electricity required to refine petrol and also that cobalt and other minerals are also necessary for the process. Much... -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
I have a very simple rain gauge in my garden in Topsham, Exeter. I measured only 3.4cm of rainfall in April, which was sunny but very cold and frosty. In May there was at least 33.85cm, but one day my little gauge was overflowing the rain had been so heavy.
So far June is in-between; the summer solstice is a washout but last weekend I got sun-burnt. -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
I love those maps of the rainfall.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
I find the whole concept of geo engineering as frightening as climate change itself. There are bound to be unforeseen consequences.
We need to concentrate our technology on the main problem of reducing our use of fossil fuels and our energy consumption overall. -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
Surely in this day and age drones could be used instead of balloons and they would be retrievable.
Every bit of plastic pollution that can be avoided is worthwhile. -
Rachel Clarke replied to Margot Dixon
These days, surely you could use drones which would come back to base and be used multiple times. Much less wasteful
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
Forgive me if I missed it, but I couldn't find an explanation of the Dew Point, and its not in the glossary at the beginning of the course. I have now looked it up but am still a bit hazy about relative humidity.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
I didn't realise that arctic air was different to polar air.
I think I am gradually getting there. -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
I am in the South West of England so it looks to me as if the wind is coming from the southwest, across the Atlantic, so this will be warm humid air giving plenty of cloud and rain. There looks to be a depression in-between Scotland and Iceland but that may pass to the north of the UK.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
The only good thing to come out of the terrible floods in Autumn 2019 in Yorkshire was the realisation that funnelling rivers into concrete "flood defence" mechanisms was not the best way to prevent floods, in fact it just moved the water downstream. Finally some more sustainable methods of flood precaution are gaining publicity, such as restoring the course ...
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
I am trying hard to accept that cold fronts and cold air have high pressure and that warm front and warm air have low pressure and rain. I always thought it was the other way around!
The diagrams and illustrations do make it clear eventually -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
Looks a bit dangerous to be done inside unless its in an empty garage !
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
I am interested in the environment and climate in general. already I have learnt something new looking at the different layers of the atmosphere.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
1) Start with conserving and valuing what we have. This leads to not wasting anything, whether it is electricity, food , artificial fertiliser or plastic bags. To take it further, governments will need to stop subsidising fossil fuels and kickstart sustainable agriculture, energy and transport. This will all save money in the long run.
2) Recycling is also... -
Exactly. The polluter should pay; but how to enforce that is the big question
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
There are shocking levels of pollution of all sorts in British rivers according to a recent report where none met Environment Agency standards. Cuts to the funding of the EA have led to this dire state. Agricultural run off is one of the main issues, also sewage overflow after heavy rain.
In the South West, the re-introduction of beavers upstream is helping... -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
I like the concept of these planetary boundaries as anything that makes the science of this clearer to sceptics the better. Perhaps you could add the consequences of exceeding these boundaries which are already beginning to happen eg increased desertification, (in the news recently about dustbowl conditions returning to the American plains because of increased...
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
Western Human society has believed for too long that the Earth's resources are just there for us. In the past, indigenous societies cherished nature and only took what they needed.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
The role of plants and their evolution often receives less publicity than it deserves. The Eden Project does its best to emphasis their importance. I thought it was fascinating that the level of oxygen in the atmosphere gradually increased with the great oxygenation which allowed more complex plants and animals to evolve in the ocean, in fact killing off...
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Medicine postpones death.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
The fact that climate change had effects on past civilisations is yet another warning to us not to take nature fro granted; the problem now is that we are polluting and destroying so much and so quickly that there is no time for the world around us to adapt. with the exception of rats and other animals who thrive in human chaos.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
Covid-19 in some ways has been a wake-up call to humanity but also it has halted the very vocal climate emergency movement that developed in 2019.
The importance of nature has been emphasised but dire economic hardship will not make it easy for people to think long term. -
Rachel Clarke made a comment
good conclusion
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
Microbes powering fuel cells! Thats really the stuff of science fiction
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
Fascinating insight into bacteria that metabolise iron and sulphur. I can help but be concerned about using bacteria as pesticides however, it would could have a lot of unforeseen consequences. Better to encourage good farming techniques, reduce monoculture and enhance soil fertility to produce healthy crops rather than degrading it with excess chemical...
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
I think life would end if there were no microbes. I don't think that technology will replace microbes but some microbial processes may be adopted by technology. I was reading yesterday about scientists in America trying to reproduce photosynthesis by special plates resembling solar panels that have a particular type of catalyst inside to make amines.
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Rachel Clarke made a comment
In the War of the Worlds, written by HG Wells, the alien invaders from Mars were defeated by microbes, not conventional weapons. This was first serialised in 1987 so they know about microbes a long time ago.
In Antartica there are virtually no microbes so rubbish left by humans does not decay.
As we do more and more research into microbes I imagine we will...