The PR Blog

The world's rich and famous, plus an army of publicists, hangers-on and mendicants, are attending the COP28 meeting in Dubai, the ostentatious 7-star play-ground capital of United Arab Emirates where even the police drive luxury sports cars.

We peasant classes sitting at home note that climate royalty, including King Charles from UK, John Kerry from USA and Blackouts Bowen from Australia, are all flying there burning vast amounts of carbon fuels. Fittingly, these hypocrites chose to meet in the richest and most wasteful artificial city in the world wallowing in wealth derived from oil, gas and air-travel tourists.

I recently watched the Netflix Mini series " The Railway Men. " What a great tribute to the Railway employee who saved thousands of lives during the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. 

The incident, one of the most devastating industrial disasters in history, occurred on the night of December 2-3, 1984, in the city of Bhopal, India. The incident not only left an indelible mark on the affected community but also raised critical questions about industrial safety, corporate responsibility, and the environmental impact of chemical disasters.

The catastrophe unfolded at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant when a lethal gas, methyl isocyanate (MIC), leaked into the atmosphere. The gas quickly spread across the densely populated city, affecting thousands of residents while they slept. The immediate and severe health effects included respiratory problems, blindness, and various other life-threatening complications.

They Marched in Silence and Their Voices Weren't Heard.

It was a cold October morning in England's north. Their goal? To walk to London, over 300 miles ( about 500km ) from their dying home in Jarrow. It was not a journey for the faint of heart or the meek of mind. It was a march for their right to work. Their right to feed their families.  Thousands volunteered, but only 200 were chosen.  Their job? To represent the people to the government that apparently represented them. 

The British government had decided to close the shipyard and steelworks. 

It was the act of defiant men in great need.  

How many men today would march for the RIGHT to work? Or are they too busy gluing themselves to the road for climate change? 

The nations of the world pursue an unprecedented energy transition. Efforts are underway to force a shift from coal, oil, and natural gas to renewable energy sources by 2050. But key elements of the proposed transition suffer from major safety issues. These are batteries for electric vehicles and electricity storage, and hydrogen fuels for industry.

Most energy sources involve safety risks. Gasoline cars can explode or burn, especially after collisions. Natural gas pipelines and processing facilities have been known to explode or combust. Nuclear power plants have suffered famous disasters such as Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, when cooling systems have failed. But green energy is bringing a new dimension of safety problems to society. 

Spontaneous combustion can really ruin your day.

This article features Zak, who has developed a video camera able to record the past.

It was early summer in England. Zak walked up the aerobridge into London’s Heathrow terminal with his newly invented video camera (referred to as camera) and small adjustable tripod in a bag slung over his shoulder, his hands in his trouser pockets, whistling a silent tune.

He collected his baggage from the carousel, hailed a cab outside the terminal, and gave the driver the address of the small private hotel within walking distance of Hyde Park, where he always stayed while in London.

In this world of misery and mayhem, violence and vitriol, chaos and calamity, I often think of a man I call Mr Beaconsfield. 

Redhead and I met him in Tasmania when we were on a motoring holiday. We had visited the museum dedicated to the Beaconsfield mining disaster. For those of you who do not know of it, the Beaconsfield Mine collapse, occurred in Tasmania, Australia, on April 25, 2006. The incident gained international attention due to the dramatic rescue efforts and the survival of two miners who were trapped underground for an extended period.