north

Forget the urban myth one - here's the real thing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_pmbJpltP4

Well, thats a pretty good start. Unfortunately (like many others) my lifestyle and job require that I drive myself, use ferries and fly on a regular basis. I have done all the same things as you, except I do have a hot water tank to run my dishwasher. I have replaced all my appliances to low power models - and realized a nice saving from that as well. I also unplug everything that isn't running and recycle everything from our household. We also recycle at work, and have changed many of our processes to eliminate waste, emissions and non-environmentally friendly products. I am glad to see that I am not so far of base as far as my lifestyle goes. So if the climate change believers are ultimately proven correct, I'm already pulling my part.

I have just looked on the Google Earth images on the web-site, and it appears that many critics are mistaken about the lack of Shelter on Forvick. It appears that a monstrous great drawing pin has been installed, along with a massive billboard with the letter A on it! My God, there won't be room for anything else on the Proclamation at next years Up-Helly Aa at this rate. Does anyone know if the Queen has replied yet? Maybe Charles will want to move there? Because he lost the plot after that one!

What a wazzick! He deserves to become an honourary citizen of Forvick!

One of the most concerning issues of this (and other cooncil plans) is "business plans" created by people with no business experience, and none of the consequences of an actual business plan gone bad. If I create a plan and it fails, I will change and adjust it in an attempt to identify the issues and remedy the causes; before it leads me into bankruptcy, or bringing someone else in to take over my position. The utilisation and revenue projections need never be too accurate if you know that the Council will be in to back you up financially. I am not particularly opposed to Mareel; but I am decidedly sceptical of some of the numbers they have presented. If the same consequences are imposed on this venture, as a commercial venture, I am convinced that the possibility of being fired for failure - all the way through the entire SIC organization - will result in a much greater commitment of all concerned to ensure it is given every chance to succeed. I wish it every success now it has been approved. I will also wait for the next request for cash to sustain it!

So is Forvik a dependency or territory, governed from Cunjalstoon? I think his Excellency owes us an explanation, as it sounds like this is developing in a distinctly colonial direction!

I think Chris may have had a sound business model, but his property issues impacted the viability of the business. By his nature, he seems a pretty determined fellow, and I would not be surprised to see him back in some form or another in the future - perhaps bigger and better and answering to no-one, and dependent upon no-ones blessing. He could essentially set up anywhere in the central mainland and run a booming business. I have a lot of respect for him. None of us can pass judgement on his business, because it was obviously popular with a large number of customers - so he is obviously doing something right! He demonstrated that this kind of business can succeed in Shetland, something that I am sure other entrepeneurial individuals will have paid close attention to. In a community like Shetland, there is no reason it cannot support a large (ish) department store, which would capitalize on the latent demand currently being satisfied by shopping through Catalogues, Internet or physically travelling South. I think the retail business in Shetland is about to undergo a major transformation - and the Customer is going to be the winner. Fancy that!

I drive an efficient car and/or motorcycle. I am an enthusiastic conserver of power in my personal and business life. I entirely believe in moderation and conservation. I believe that reducing pollution and consumption is good. I believe in clean seas and rivers. I believe in the use of wood, oil, modern farming practices and nuclear power. My house is run very efficiently and is well insulated - although I do rely on a fireplace in the winter. I am a frugal person - so this drives many of my choices. But I do get on planes and fly around the world. I cannot tell you that I am convinced of the theory of Global Warming or Climate Change as I am naturally a sceptic of authority and politics - from any source - without my own research. I'm afraid that I see this entire issue as a political agenda, and a self-serving work creation for the scientific community - many of whom are entirely funded by the same government system (read tax-payers) and this should see them all employed for their entire careers. When I read of the obscene consumption of Al Gore - the great prophet for all the followers, I truly laugh out loud. Do as I say, not as I do! I do not believe that taxes will solve any issue. I do not believe that Government policy or intervention alone will solve anything. I do not believe in any kind of global government body that I have no ability to vote out, should ever have ANY kind of control over my legal activities or actions under my own sovereignty. I do not believe in taxation without representation - so you can shove these global taxation concepts. I think Carbon Credits are the greatest scam of the 21st Century. So what are you disciples doing? What do you do in your own personal lives to make a difference. Can we make a difference without regulation and government? Have you changed your life and lifestyle to consume less? Let's hear the changes we all make and look at the potential impact.

It is interesting to see this topic driving itself in the direction of Customer Service and Customer Satisfaction. The Customer is the one controlling the entire retail marketplace - not the retailers - although in any area with a captive marketplace, the retailers typically lose sight of this issue! Any retailer, in any sector, can adjust any number of parameters to succeed - or equally fail - to meet market demand. Service, pricing, quality, selection, choice, people, location and value will drive the choice on the Customer. Adjust them in any combination and find the winning and losing combinations. Low price and low quality in a poor location can sometimes result in a booming business. On the other extreme, exceptional quality and high prices with fabulous service can be an equally successful combination. The problem is when the mix is wrong - and I would suggest that high prices, poor selection, mixed quality, and indifferent service (been anywhere like that recently?) - result in an attractive opportunity for all kinds of new retail business. There are plenty of excellent service providers in Shetland and they will take this challenge head on and succeed, no matter what. There are also a number of poor service providers, who are not prepared to change their business practices; nor the importance of their customers priorities in consideration to their own future livelihood. There will be some that disappear, new ones will start - some succeeding, some not; but Customer Satisfaction expectations will be significantly raised and it provides a tremendous opportunity for those that rise to the challenge. I find it very concerning that a large number of businesses do nothing more than run to the council demanding protection from change and competition. Their future lies not in the hands of the council, but entirely with their own business practices and the recognition that the Customer will completely control the marketplace - based on the factors listed above. There are some businesses in Shetland that provide levels of service and response that no large business can match - every retailer in Shetland should be comparing themselves to them and figuring out how they are going to compare to them - before it might be too late. The formula for business success is complex, but it rarely lies in low volumes, poor selection, high prices (through high margins), abyssmal service, indifferent employees and varied quality. Try changing the parts of this equation as applicable to your business and you might see business grow in the face of challenge.

From the Shetland News website: Never run into that charge before. Maybe God made him do it?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jun/22/climatechange.carbonemissions Seems that dissent against the all knowing scientific community is alive and well!

I agree, but this is precisely the type of forum where people sprout forth all kinds of whacko "science", when not one of them can personally substantiate the content, nor provide original interpretation of the data, or qualification of the results presented. The sides taken for the most part mirror political beliefs, and in my experience they themselves reflect character traits; dependent upon an individuals optimistic or pessimistic viewpoint. There is nothing wrong with reducing consumption. There is nothing wrong with reducing pollution. There is everything wrong when an ineffectual action plan is utilized as a political agenda, a self perpetuating environmentalist business plan and a mechanism for additional taxes on everyone - excepting a select few. There is also nothing wrong with dissent and questioning authority - which appears to be working in reverse in this situation. Karma?

As soon as I see any reference to the UN, my eyes glaze over. The UN is the most ineffective venue ever created, legitimising the greatest despots and totalitarian non-democratic governments and individuals in the world, and providing a grand stage for them to play out on. The UN organization is as corrupt from top to bottom as the cartel of scientists sustaining a political agenda, based upon theoretical science; that is infecting the thinking of politicians who will do anything to get, and stay, elected. This is not to say that all science is bad or wrong - I work on the practical side of business that is founded upon invention and technological change - but simply that every part of this is theoretical and will ensure continued funding and work for the same scientists that originate the interpretation of events that started it all. Bit like religion actually. In fact, Environmentalism is the new religion to many of its proponents. Accepted and relied upon in the same manner as zealots of many other persuasions!

Oi - north most certainly didn't say that! How dare anybody employ these sources, especially if they deny the findings of the great God, Gore, and his teachings! The sheep these days don't have wool and live in a park!

Never forget that great scientists once considered the World was flat, and that the Earth was the center of the Universe! This whole issue is all about money. http://www.generationim.com/about/team.html And this is where a lot of it goes. It is where Al Gore banks his credits to neutralise his opulent lifestyle. Worse - for all those believers; it is a haven for Capitalists! And they are making money, lots of money; from your paranoia. Include China and India in any plan to change human behaviour and I'll take this far more seriously. I live a moderate lifestyle, but I am damned if I will sit back and allow others to pile fake taxes on me in the name of saving the planet. Carbon Neutral by buying your way out is a scam!

You take your side. I'll take mine. The wasted electrons arguing on the Internet will only make this problem worse - assuming you are right! Maybe we'll see Al Gore up in the Arctic again this year? Or maybe he's too busy counting his pennies (or cents) from his carbon credit scheme he has worked up. Who the hell falls for all this old cobblers? Willingly giving money away to the rich? Taxing the hell out of the rest of us. It is pathetic.

I thought that China was better known for coal fired and nuclear generation, large dams and buildings that fall down in earthquakes? Oh, and pollution to beat anywhere else on Earth!

Ah, now we get to the crux of the debate! Scientists have been wrong on all kinds of topics. There is a self perpetuating agenda at work - to ensure the continued employment of the same pack of theorising "experts" forever. Supposedly we were all going to die from bird flu last year? Foot and Mouth was admirably contained by scientists and experts? Who was talking about totalitarian, one party states! Don't argue or you will be shot (down)!

It is nearly as entertaining as Al Gore's thories. This issue has become a haven for idiots of every type, worldwide.

Try Googling yourself, and save us the bother. You only want to read and believe what you want. The vast majority of people aren't interested in getting involved in a never ending Internet argument. The Windfarm proposed for Shetland is the single worst idea I have ever seen or heard of. It is an environmental scam - and would turn Shetland into one of the ugliest places in the UK. Global Warming is the greatest excuse for taxation that has rolled around since VAT. Is sustainability good - you bet! Is moderation of consumption good - you bet. Is the science proven - absolutely not - it is a theory. Just like chemistry, or electricity. I doubt if you ever took the time to read the Skeptical Environmentalist - that debunks most of these interpretations as to what is going on - but then look what happened to the author after he DARED to speak out against the scientific establishment. You guys don't want to hear anything other than your own words. Just one interesting little link you may have missed from Al Bore's science fiction work - http://globalwarminghoax.wordpress.com/2007/04/14/australian-tv-exposes-stranded-polar-bear-global-warming-hoax/ You are a cut and paste global warming expert. You are free to believe anything you wish, just like me. Just because one group believes it, doesn't make it so!

Ok, I'll say it. The climate is not changing. Every day, week, month, year, decade and maybe even century is different. Different parts of the world see different weather systems and patterns. There is as much information countering the global warming and carbon footprint bunch, as supporting it. Just because you believe it, doesn't make it so. There, does that make your argument sound better?

What kind of boat did he buy?

I think they should put a HUGE statue of two Vikings fighting to the death in the middle of the roundabout. It could be Sandy Cluness and Allan Wishart fighting with axes and swords over the Bressay Bridge. Alternately they could build a HUGE wind turbine there, to power all those new houses!

How much do they still owe? Maybe the Councillors will vote to order the property to be sold, in order to get the money back? Or more likely, like every other bad deal they make, they will just ignore it and write it off. After all, it's somebody else's money!

Or the teletubbies windmills!