Re volcanic ash: I heard Wille Walsh (BA as was) on R4 this morning just before 8am confirming Ryanair's findings from yesterday... there was nothing (or next to nothing) up there yesterday morning.

Their flight was in regular contact with ATC to ensure they were flying through the "red" zone at the various altitudes so we can rule out the Phil Hammond excuse that they were in the wrong place.

You can't make this up

Decisions on whether to fly are based on forecasts from the Met Office's Volcanic Ash Advisory Service, rather than real-life measurements of concentrations.

Although the Met Office has part ownership of a research plane, it is currently being used in Ireland to study 'marine organic particles'.

A dedicated Met Office atmospheric research plane, commissioned after last year's volcanic chaos, is not due to arrive until next month.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1390558/Ash-cloud-2011-Holiday-flights-knife-edge-Met-office-warns-cloud-blanket-Britain.html

Dr North's take on the ash cloud farce

Airline managers are complaining that last year, officials did not do enough to check the actual conditions in the air, instead relying too heavily on computer models showing where the ash was supposed to be. Yet, despite the experience, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is saying that it is "astonishing and unacceptable" that a British aircraft that is supposed to check actual conditions has been unable to fly.

The disruption arises in part from "volatile winds" which are said to be carrying clouds of volcanic ash down from Iceland over the northern British Isles. But those same winds which caused the rough weather yesterday must also have dispersed the ash.

Without real data, however, forecasters are unable to provide accurate information on ash density and particle size, relying instead on weather patterns and computer modelling to give a rough approximation of conditions. And, with no clear guidance as to closure rules, the only significant difference between this year and last is that the weather conditions are more changeable, allowing more favourable estimates of ash dispersion to be made.

http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2011/05/model-of-chaos.html

If there's one way to wake Joe Public up to what's going on in the wacky world of CAGW "science", the current Met Office computer model generated disruption to his travel plans might be an effective alarm clock.

I fell off my seat at this one

MP Ann McKechin, Labour's shadow Scottish secretary, said: "It is good that the lessons from last year's widespread disruption caused by ash seem to have been learnt and I'm pleased to see the Scottish Government is taking the appropriate action of convening an emergency committee to deal with this issue."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8534043/Icelandic-volcano-hundreds-forced-to-abandon-plans-as-ash-cloud-forces-more-flight-cancellations.html

Further to BoFA's comment, and from the link given:

Ryanair said it had completed a one-hour ''verification flight'' up to 41,000ft in Scottish airspace this morning.

The aircraft took off from Glasgow Prestwick, flew to Inverness, on to Aberdeen and down to Edinburgh.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for the airline said: ''There was no visible volcanic ash cloud or any other presence of volcanic ash and the post-flight inspection revealed no evidence of volcanic ash on the airframe, wings or engines.

If I recall correctly, last year's hysteria was similarly based on computer model outputs over empirical observation. It looks like this one is going to be similar, despite promises that things had changed.

Back to the 15th Century!

The MET office runs the model which predicts where the volcanic ash cloulds should be, wonder if they are using the same model as their AGW model.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/8533359/Ryanair-flies-plane-through-Icelandic-volcano-ash-cloud.html

''The absence of any volcanic ash in the atmosphere supports Ryanair's stated view that there is no safety threat to aircraft in this mythical 'red zone', which is another misguided invention by the UK Met Office and the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority).

Gary Neville's testimonial at Old Trafford on Tuesday night will be the greenest match in football history after the eco-conscious star insisted on the entire game being powered by wind.

The 36-year-old, who hung up his boots halfway through the season, is famous for his sensitivity to the plight of the environment, and recently won a court order allowing him to build a futuristic £8m Teletubbies-style home specially designed to have a zero carbon footprint. (TW*T)

And he will showcase his dedication to the environment in the clash against Juventus, which will feature Neville's former team-mate David Beckham and recently-shamed Ryan Giggs. All energy used at the 76,000-seater stadium - from the power for the floodlights to the heating elements in the pie machines - will be provided by 52 windmills across the UK that are operated by a firm called Ecotricity.

"I have recognised in the last two to three years the need to make personal changes in my life and reducing my environmental impact is going to be a five-year transition for me and my family," explained Neville.

"Sport crosses all boundaries and plays a significant role in many people's lives. From my perspective we have to look at the effect sport has had on other issues over the last 20 years to see that when sport comes together with society, positive actions can happen."

Neville is expected to make as much as £2 million from the match - but he has already said that he will plough all of it into building a supporters' club and hotel for Manchester United fans.
Eurosport

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/24052011/58/premier-league-neville-testimonial-wind-powered.html

52 windmills to power one 76,000 seater football stadium, the capacity of a small town!
So for each city of 200,000 population capacity there would need to be 137 windmills for power?
Population
London 7.2 Million
Birmingham 992000
Leeds 720000
Glasgow 560000
Sheffield 512000
Bradford 467000
Edinburgh 450000
Liverpool 440000
Manchester 420000
Bristol 380000
Wakefield 316000
Cardiff 310000
Coventry 305000
Nottingham 285000
Leicester 280000
Sunderland 280000
Belfast 280000
Newcastle upon Tyne 259000
Brighton 248000
Hull 240000
Plymouth 240000
Stoke-on-Trent 239000
Wolverhampton 239000
Derby 230000
Swansea 225000
Southampton 220000
Salford 215000
Aberdeen 215000
Westminster 190000
Portsmouth 186000
York 182000
Peterborough 157000
Dundee 145000
Lancaster 135000
Oxford 135000
Newport 135000
Preston 130000
St Albans 130000
Norwich 125000
Chester 118000
Cambridge 115000
Salisbury 115000
Exeter 111000
Gloucester 110000
Lisburn 110000
Chichester 108000
Winchester 108000
Londonderry 105000
Carlisle 101000
Worcester 93000
Bath 90000
Durham 87000
Lincoln 86000
Hereford 55000
Armagh 55000
Inverness 51000
Stirling 45000
Canterbury 42500
Lichfield 30000
Newry 30000
Ripon 24500
Bangor 20000
Truro 19000
Ely 14000
Wells 10000
St Davids 2000

Thats a lot of windmills!

Shale Gas:

David Nussbaum, head of the green group WWF, says this is complacent. WWF is calling for a moratorium on shale gas drilling in the UK until the US Environmental Protection Agency has carried out a major report into the practice - probably next year. They also want to see more studies on the climate effects of shale gas.

WWF wants the EPA to provide it's 'unbiased' view on the subject before the UK commits to shale!

Sorry boys the UK has done its own research, shame you weren't included but this is how opinion is changing.

This is encouraging, even seen thru the Harrabin prism:

A Commons committee has urged ministers to support plans for controversial shale gas drilling in the UK.

The energy select committee said environmental problems associated with it in the US could be overcome by tight regulation and good industry practice.

But the MPs said the UK government would need to be vigilant to ensure the technology did not pollute water or produce excessive greenhouse emissions.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13507126