RSGS: helping to make the connections between people, places & the planet

In This Edition...

The newsletter of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society

Summer 2014

Energy ChoicesSubsidies, security, sustainability and smart homes

• Scotland’s Energy Choices

• Ukraine: The Price of Gas

• Alternative Energy Technologies

• Fracking, Coal, Biomass & Nuclear

• Call for EU Leadership: Mary Robinson & Desmond Tutu

• Mungo Park Medallists Tim Butcher & Ed Stafford

• Reader Offer: Doubling Back

plus other news, comments, books...

“A nation that can’t control its energy sources can’t control its future.”President Barack Obama

The Geographer

The GeographerOil industry boss Mike Bowlin, formerly

Chairman and CEO of ARCO (now BP), stated recently that, “We’ve embarked on the beginning of the last days of the age of oil. Embrace the future and recognize the growing demand for a wide range of fuels, or ignore reality and slowly – but surely – be left behind.”So what type of fuels are there to choose from, and what are the consequences of the energy choices we make?

Energy is a hugely complex and broad issue to tackle, and in this edition of The Geographer we have simply tried to lay out some of the energy choices that exist and some of the dilemmas that underpin these choices.

Our energy choices have ramifications for our security, affordability and sustainability. So as population grows, emissions increase, demand expands and costs begin to rise, what are some of our options? Do we need to reconsider the mix of energy we currently enjoy in Scotland? How important is availability of supply, versus security of supply, versus its (and our) sustainability? And what are the pressures which will shape these decisions?

In this edition, we feature articles on fracking and coal seam gas, thoughts about our attitude to nuclear power, and explanations of the problem of coal and the energy of nations. We consider the new world of ‘smart homes’, and the development of biomass and wave power. We also include a personal appeal from recent RSGS Livingstone Medallist Mary Robinson and Desmond Tutu of The Elders, encouraging the EU to take a lead on greenhouse gas emissions reduction.

In particular, and ironically not long after a minority of us voted on representation in Europe, we have views from Ukraine as it disintegrates over its majority desire for access to the EU, held back by a gas bill and an over-reliance on imported energy from Russia. We have personal perspectives from friends in the Ukraine and an academic perspective on the threat to the security of the whole country when energy is used as a political tool.

As ever, we hope you enjoy this edition of The Geographer. Please share articles and magazines with friends, and help us to make the RSGS as successful as it can be.

Mike Robinson

Chief Executive

RSGS: helping to make the connections between people, places & the planet

Charity registered in Scotland no SC015599

The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the RSGS.

Cover image: Meeting on the Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kiev. © istockphoto.com

Masthead image: © Mike Robinson

energy choices

RSGS, Lord John Murray House, 15-19 North Port, Perth, PH1 5LU tel: 01738 455050 email: enquiries@rsgs.org

www.rsgs.org

A Night of Award Winners

Ed Stafford, pictured here with RSGS President Iain Stewart, completed one of the world’s last great adventures when he walked the entire length of the Amazon river, an epic voyage that took two and a half years and helped to raise awareness of the devastating effects of deforestation of the Amazon rainforest on indigenous communities and the environment. In recognition of this, he was presented with the RSGS’s Mungo Park Medal.

Professor Christopher Smout, Historiographer Royal in Scotland, received the Society’s Geddes Environment Medal in recognition of his contribution to environmental history and the great value of the inter-disciplinary nature of his work.

Dr Catherine Delano-Smith was awarded the Bartholomew Globe in recognition of her exceptional contribution to cartography. She has been one of the foremost activists behind the resurgence of the critical history of cartography through her publications, and in her role as the editor of Imago Mundi, the world’s leading journal for the history of cartography.

Honorary Fellowship of the Society was awarded to the Scientific Director of Edinburgh’s Our Dynamic Earth, Professor Stuart Monro; to geologist and Scottish Geodiversity Forum founder Dr John E Gordon; to Alan Caldwell, who works with community groups across Scotland; to Uddingston Grammar geography teacher Alison McGuigan; and to long-standing RSGS committee member Alan Colvill.

Constitution rerunOwing to procedural short-comings, the new Constitution was not in fact adopted at the 2014 AGM. We will present the new Constitution to members again for approval at a General Meeting in due course.

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Summer 2014

The Geographer

RSGS staff changesMike Robinson

I am sorry to have to announce the departure of two of our long-standing staff team, although it is pleasing that both are going on to exciting new jobs elsewhere. Fraser Shand, our Communications Officer, has taken up a new job in events and communications in Edinburgh, and Pam Henderson, our Finance Officer, has moved to another financial role with a Perth-based agricultural company. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them both for their hard work and enthusiasm over the last few years, and wish them well in their careers going forwards.

I am, however, delighted to welcome Richard Bowman and Alexa Martin to our staff – both are appointed on short-term contracts to help out in the office, and both are young geography graduates. They will be at the end of the phone and the email, and will be invaluable as we get through what is a very busy summer period.

Celebrating CrollThank you to those members and supporters who have already responded so generously to our recent appeal to improve the facilities at the Fair Maid’s House and to celebrate the great 19th-century Scottish scientist James Croll. At the time of going to print, we have already received more than £5,000, including two extremely generous anonymous donations of £700 and £2,000 – thank you very much indeed.

If you have not yet responded to the appeal, please do consider helping us. Every donation will make a difference to the quality and scale of project we can deliver.

Celebrating Croll“Croll was one of the truly great Scottish scientists – someone who revolutionised how we think about the climate of the past... and from that, what’s waiting for us in the future.” Professor Iain Stewart

RSGS Appeal Envelope 28.indd 1 14/05/2014 14:58

Writer-in-ResidenceIn June, we appointed our first ever Writer-in-Residence – poet and author Hazel Buchan Cameron from Crieff – funded by Creative Scotland through the Perth Cultural Partnership. Hazel will work part-time over the summer with two young aspiring writers, mentoring them in developing skills to become professional writers, and using the collections, history and activities of the RSGS to inspire them. Hazel was born and

brought up in Renfrewshire but has lived in Perthshire for over 25 years. She administers the Scottish Pamphlet Poetry website and performs her poems with the Lippy Bissoms. She has published four poetry pamphlets, including The Currying Shop (Imago, 2007), which was joint winner of the Callum Macdonald Memorial Award in 2008, and Finding IKEA (Red Squirrell, 2011).

Hazel Buchan Cameron

Exhibition at the Fair Maid’s HouseWe are delighted to be hosting, from 26th August until 24th October 2014, an exhibition of needlework panels from the Commonwealth Games National Plants project and the UK Patchwork Meadow project, both co-ordinated by Plantlife. See www.wildflowereurope.org for more information about the Patchwork Meadow, including images of the artwork.

Plantlife’s Dr Seona Anderson said, “We hope that people will be interested in the glorious and diverse stories of the plants and cultures of the Commonwealth, and that visitors to Scotland in the next few months will be inspired to visit the exhibitions and celebrate their beauty and diversity.”

The Fair Maid’s House will usually be open from 12:30 to 4:00, Tuesday to Saturday, but please call ahead if you are planning a special journey.

26thAugust -24thOctober

see the exhibition

make a donation

RSGS OnlineThanks to donations received from members and supporters in response to our Digital Drive appeal last year, and thanks also to a grant awarded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, we have been developing the RSGS’s online presence, to help us reach new audiences and persuade more people of the interest and relevance of geography and the RSGS.

Our blogs, Facebook page and Twitter account are now well-established, with support for them growing steadily. And in late July 2014, we plan to launch a new-look website, which should be more user-friendly, with additional content to help members and non-members to learn more about the RSGS’s current activities and history, and to inspire and encourage people to get more involved with geography.

Bill Ruddiman receives Research MedalWe are delighted to report that Professor William F Ruddiman, currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia, recently received the RSGS’s highly-esteemed Coppock Research Medal, which is awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions in the

field of geographical enquiry and the development of geography as a discipline.

Professor Ruddiman trained as a marine geologist and has become one of the world’s leading palaeoclimatologists, having written more than 125 scientific papers and a number of books. His research interests centre on climate change over several timescales; he is currently best known for proposing an ‘early anthropocene’, hypothesizing that human activity has been altering the climate ever since the rise of agriculture 8,000 years ago.

Rory Stewart to give Borderlands talk in CarlisleThe RSGS will hold a joint event with the Royal

Geographical Society in The Fratry, Carlisle Cathedral, on Friday 5th September. Rory Stewart, currently MP for Penrith and The Border and an RSGS Livingstone Medallist,

will speak on Borderlands: a walk through the vanished Middleland of Great Britain, discussing the geography of the English-Scottish border in the light of the referendum on Scottish independence and some comparisons with Central Asia.

The talk will begin at 7pm, and will be followed by a wine and cheese reception. Tickets are £5 for RSGS members and students, £10 for other adults. Please book by sending SAE, contact name, address and phone number, plus a cheque made payable to ‘RGS-IBG’, to Mrs Hokey Bennett-Jones, Scales Hall, Calthwaite, Penrith, CA11 9QG.

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RSGS Dumfries Group OutingBill Boone

Thirty-three members of the RSGS Dumfries Group had a most interesting summer outing to Edinburgh. We took a coach to Dynamic Earth where we had an entertaining and informative talk from the Director, Professor Stuart Monro. We then toured the exhibition which we found fascinating, well laid out, and full of interesting facts. After lunch we saw a 360° film about Charles Darwin before the coach took us off to the small but well-stocked National Trust Malleny Garden at Balerno. It was a very enjoyable day.

Andersonian Library Celebrations2014 is the 50th anniversary of the granting of the royal charter of the University of Strathclyde. However, the university can trace its history much further back, to the foundation in 1796 of Anderson’s Institution by John Anderson, Professor of Natural Philosophy at Glasgow University. Anderson’s legacy was the establishment of a new university – a place of education for all, regardless of gender or social class – from which the C19th Scottish scientist James Croll was later to benefit.

The archive team at the Andersonian Library have launched a blog (stratharchives.tumblr.com) to celebrate the university’s rich history. Each week throughout the year, they will post an image of an item from the archives which helps to tell the university’s story from 1796 right up to the present day.

RSGS members can also visit the Library itself to access the RSGS’s academic book collection, which has been held there for many years.

John C Bartholomew Schools CompetitionIn a ceremony at Uddingston Grammar School in March, eight pupils received prizes in the John C Bartholomew Schools Competition, and a further 12 from the grammar school and its feeder primaries received certificates of merit. The presentation was made by Anne Mahon, Managing Editor, CollinsGeo (Harper Collins). We are extremely grateful to Harper Collins who have given generous support over many years to the Schools Competition. This year’s competition could not have taken place without the considerable assistance of Alison McGuigan FRSGS, Depute Head Teacher at Uddingston, and her leadership and contribution is gratefully acknowledged. The presentation was attended by Alan Colvill, RSGS Glasgow Group Chairman, and Jim Carson, former RSGS Education Committee Chairman.

5thSeptember

energy choices

20:20 VisionScotland’s 2020 Climate Group, an organisation set up in 2009 in response to the Scottish Government’s climate change targets, launched an awareness and fundraising campaign at the end of May, with £200,000 of Scottish Government funding. The group has brought together Glasgow Caledonian University and SolarAid in a team which will help deliver Scotland Lights up Malawi, a project whose ultimate goal and vision is to contribute to the eradication of kerosene lamps, batteries and candles in Malawi by 2020.

The campaign will last for 20 months and 20 days and will seek to raise £2,020,000 from all aspects of Scottish society, to deliver nearly 100,000 solar lights to the most disadvantaged communities in Malawi.

Black Watch MuseumSpecial 2-for-1 Offer for RSGS MembersWhy not make a day of it in Perth, visiting the Black Watch Museum in the morning and the Fair Maid’s House after lunch? Uniforms, fine paintings, medals, photographs, diaries, weapons and military equipment, together with film and reminiscences, bring to life the proud military heritage of the Black Watch Castle and Museum. The collection contains significant items that have been gathered by the Regiment throughout its history, right up to the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Show your RSGS membership card at the Museum to recoup a special 2-for-1 deal on admission (normal prices are £7.50 Adults, £6.00 Concession, £3.50 Children). The Museum is open Monday to Saturday, 9:30am to 5:00pm, Sunday 10:00am-4:00pm.

special offer

Massive peat bog found in CongoA peatland the size of England has been discovered in Congo-Brazzaville. The discovery was made by a team from the University of Leeds, the Wildlife Conservation Society-Congo and Congo-Brazzaville’s Marien Ngouabi University. Congo-Brazzaville has a small population, with most inhabitants living in the south-west. The wetland stretches over 40-80,000 square miles, is seven layers deep, and could contain billions of tonnes of peat.

The team included Scottish postgraduate student Greta Dargie, who graduated with a Masters in Geography from the University of Edinburgh in 2009. She was described by her supervisor, team leader Dr Simon Lewis, as “officially the world’s hardest PhD student – 18 days in the swamp with no respite”.

come to a talk

Professor Paul Boyle FRSGSProfessor Paul Boyle (right) was recently awarded Honorary Fellowship of the Society. Formerly Director of the ESRC-funded Longitudinal Studies Centre Scotland (LSCS), where he led in the establishment and support of the Scottish Longitudinal Study, he became CEO of ESRC, and is now Vice-Chancellor at the University of Leicester.

Geographical indicators – where are they?Are you interested in giving the RSGS a hand? One of our Collections Team is researching the life of John Mathieson FRS (1855-1945), RSGS Honorary Map Curator, Honorary Librarian, RSGS Gold Medallist 1927, and a Vice-President of the Society. Born in Durness, Sutherland, Mathieson spent his working life as a surveyor with the Ordnance Survey, but after retirement became involved in the design of geographical viewpoint indicators.

We’ve received a number of enquiries about Mathieson-designed indicators and are now compiling a list of these. Do you have images of any of them? Many were produced by the Edinburgh-based firm, Charles Henshaw & Son Ltd, founded in 1904. If you can help, please contact us on enquiries@rsgs.org or 01738 455050.

Court of Deans of Guild of ScotlandWe were delighted to welcome the Court of Deans of Guild of Scotland who visited the RSGS at the end of April. Representatives of the Guildries of Edinburgh, Leith, Glasgow, North Berwick, Brechin, Arbroath, Dundee, Aberdeen and Lanark, were hosted by Perth’s Lord Dean of Guild Alastair Anderson on a day which included a formal procession and also took in the newly-refurbished Black Watch Museum.

Our Chief Executive was asked to give a formal speech at the evening dinner, held in the splendid setting of St John’s Kirk. The Guildry Incorporation of Perth has since generously pledged £5,000 towards our Croll Garden project (part of the Celebrating Croll appeal), as the Guildry established the villages of Guildtown and Wolfhill where Croll grew up and went to school.

2-3Summer 2014

The Geographer

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can you help?

John RaeOrkney-born Arctic explorer Dr John Rae is finally to be honoured later this year with a memorial in Westminster Abbey. Dr Rae discovered the Northwest Passage, the navigable Arctic route linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, whilst searching for traces of the earlier ill-fated Sir John Franklin expedition. Franklin’s men all perished, and the local Inuit told Rae that they had resorted to cannibalism in a final desperate attempt to stay alive. Victorian society was appalled by this revelation, and Rae’s reputation never recovered. The memorial, to be placed next to that of Franklin, will put the historical record straight, and acknowledge Dr Rae’s achievement.

energy choices

Community energy schemesCommunity-led sustainable energy projects are not taken seriously enough by government, and better support is still needed to get grassroots environmental projects off the ground, according to a new report. The research team from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and the University of Sussex looked at 12 small-scale projects which aim to reduce energy consumption in local communities across the UK. These included a solar panel project in Brighton, hydro-electricity generation in Cumbria, and a community island buy-out on the Isle of Gigha.

Lead researcher Dr Gill Seyfang, from UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences, said, “What we found is that there is a great deal of community enthusiasm for small-scale innovative projects like this, but the resources available are not always enough to really help them flourish. What is really needed is flexible and tailored policy support at all levels. While technical advice is available through handbooks and toolkits, there are some really critical support needs in particular – from decision-making help to financial models and emotional stamina to keep going in challenging times. Community energy has a part to play in a sustainable energy future for the UK, but demands joined-up policy support, spanning community development, social inclusion, regeneration, energy and climate change.”

Joseph Thomson FRSGS Penpont Heritage CentreSundial Cottage, the childhood home of geologist and explorer Joseph Thomson, was officially opened as Penpont Heritage Centre

on 29th April. Thomson explored East-Central Africa as part of Keith Johnston’s expedition in 1878, and was an important figure in the ‘Scramble for Africa’. The RSGS holds a bust of Thomson in the Explorers’ Room of the Fair Maid’s House.

The Heritage Centre, in Penpont, Dumfries-shire, will be open from 2:00pm to 4:00pm on Saturdays until the end of September, or any other time by arrangement (email info@penpontheritage.co.uk or phone 01848 330700).

Higher Geology Campaign UpdateOver the past year, the RSGS and a wide group of people who are interested in Earth science in Scotland have come together to express concern at the very low content of Earth science in the Scottish schools curriculum. Our main aim has been to lobby the Scottish Government, Education Scotland, and the Scottish Qualifications Authority to ensure that the planned cessation of the Higher geology certificate in 2015 is postponed until a new Earth science Higher is created.

While we remain disappointed that Higher geology remains scheduled to disappear next year, some significant progress has been made. Following a further article in the Times Educational Supplement Scotland in April 2014, our campaign group became formalised and named as Earth Science Education Scotland. The group consists of teachers, academics, learned societies and industry. A major step forward has been public backing of the campaign from Oil & Gas UK. We are currently gathering cross-party support and hope to have a meeting with Scottish Government Ministers again soon. Visit the Earth Science Education Scotland website www.earthscienceeducationscotland.com to pledge your support.

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Angus Miller receives President’s Medal

At the 2014 Scotland Rocks conference, Angus Miller was awarded the Society’s

President’s Medal for his pioneering efforts to promote and popularise Earth sciences, and his involvement in the Scottish Geodiversity Forum. He helped to establish, and now chairs, the organisation which works to promote Scotland’s geodiversity. In 2012 he led in the publication of Scotland’s Geodiversity Charter, which is now supported by more than 50 organisations.

Book DonationsWe are very pleased to have received donations of several dozen books from members in recent weeks. Subjects have included travel, mountaineering, the Arctic and Antarctic, and biographies of some fascinating geographical personalities. The books will be added to our collection in the Fair Maid’s House, for visitors to peruse at their leisure. If you have books that you think might be of interest to the Society and its members and visitors, please do get in touch.

John VannetWe were greatly saddened to hear of the death of John Vannet, aged 60, who was Depute Headteacher at Forfar Academy. The popular teacher taught geography and was involved in every aspect of leading and managing the school, though he was never happier than when engaging with pupils and continuing his teaching of geography, the subject that was

his passion. John was also a key member of the Scottish Association of Geography Teachers. He was always cheerfully enthusiastic, and a great advocate for the subject – and a great teacher.

Headteacher at Forfar Academy Melvyn Lynch paid tribute to his colleague, saying, “The school has been inundated with messages of condolence and fond memories of a colleague, a friend and a wonderfully warm human being. He had the utmost respect for the children he worked with and the community he served. John was, in the truest sense of the word, a gentleman and a gentle man, who went about his business quietly and without fuss.”

Our thoughts are with his wife Val and their family.

energy choices

The Power of Gas – an unpaid billIn mid-June, Russia’s state-owned gas giant Gazprom said Ukraine would have to pay upfront for its gas supplies, after Kiev failed to settle its huge debt. Gazprom had warned it would cut supplies if Ukraine failed to pay $1.95bn, out of $4.5bn it said was owed. Gazprom stressed that it would continue to supply European consumers with gas at “full volume” and that it was Ukraine’s responsibility to make sure the gas transited through the country. Almost 15% of gas used in Europe comes from Russia via Ukraine.

Ukraine said it refused to clear its debts completely, in protest at Gazprom’s recent 80% price increase, after Gazprom ended its discount price for Ukraine, negotiated by former President Viktor Yanukovych, in April. Before the discount was cancelled, Ukraine’s gas bill was heavily reduced by Russia to $268 per 1,000m3. The price is now $485 per 1,000m3, the highest in Europe.

Prospects of a breakthrough in discussions were diminished after increasing tension between Kiev and Moscow over the pro-Russian insurgency in the east of Ukraine. Moscow reacted angrily to a violent protest outside its embassy in Kiev on 14th June after separatists shot down a Ukrainian military plane, killing all 49 people on board. Meanwhile, Ukraine accused Russia of sending tanks into the east of the country to support pro-Russian fighters.

The John Muir Way was officially opened on 21st April. Linking John Muir’s birthplace in Dunbar to the waters of the Clyde at Helensburgh, it is 134 miles long and is estimated to take seven to ten days to walk.

John Muir was an explorer, mountaineer, botanist, conservationist, amateur geologist and writer. He is known as the Father of the National Parks for his work on preserving the wilderness areas of the USA, where he moved at ten years old. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas, and he founded The Sierra Club, one of America’s most important conservation organisations.

John Muir Way now open

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RSGS Glasgow Group OutingAlan Colvill

Forty members and friends of the RSGS Glasgow Group enjoyed a most varied and interesting excursion organised by Frank Norris, in a day which embraced geology, geography, industrial archaeology, art, antiques, gardens and woodland walks. Educated and entertained en route by Don Cameron, we travelled to Wanlockhead, where we visited the Museum of Lead Mining, with its rich collection of mineral samples and materials illustrating the process and history of gold and lead mining in the area; the Miners’ Library, the second-oldest subscription library in Europe; and Lochnell Mine, where a narrow tunnel took us right to the mine face in the heart of the hillside. We then journeyed to Drumlanrig Castle for lunch and a guided tour. One of the seats of RSGS Vice-President the Duke of Buccleuch, the castle has an unrivalled collection of historic furniture, antiques and rare art.

energy choices

Future City | GlasgowA £24m programme showing how technology can make life in the city smarter, safer and more sustainable, is being mapped throughout Glasgow in partnership with specialists at Strathclyde University – exploring opportunities to turn derelict and vacant sites around the city into mini solar farms.

Around 400 sites owned by Glasgow City Council are being assessed for suitability for power generation using (GIS) mapping technology. Results will be available on the Open Glasgow website (open.glasgow.gov.uk).

Councillor Alastair Watson, the Council’s Executive Member for Sustainability, said, “We aim to become one of the most sustainable and resilient cities in Europe and are exploring the potential of a range of technologies which will help us cut emissions and secure energy supplies.”

4-5Summer 2014

The Geographer

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An exhibition of world-renowned adventure photographer Lukasz Warzecha’s images, which are often jaw-dropping and feature stomach-churning feats of risk as the subjects search for a thrill, is on display at the Fair Maid’s House from 12th June to 25th July.

12thJune- 25thJuly

Adventure Photography Exhibition

Inspiring People 2014-15We are delighted to be welcoming some fantastic speakers to the Inspiring People talks programme for 2014-15.

We will have a series of speakers tying in to the centenary of the Endurance Expedition. Stephen Venables will visit a number of our Local Groups, giving his talk Enchanted Island: In Shackleton’s Steps Across South Georgia, whilst fellow mountaineer Rebecca Stephens will visit others to share her own insights into Shackleton’s journey.

Nature photographer Laurie Campbell returns too, with a talk about photographing the wildlife, landscape, and a little of the culture of a community-owned estate in wild and beautiful North Harris.

Our Explorer-in-Residence, Craig Mathieson, will continue to tour our Local Groups to talk about his experiences in Greenland and at the Poles, and with the latest news on his exciting venture The Polar Academy.

Our hard-working Local Group committees are always looking for new members to help with the organisation of talks. If you would be interested in volunteering for the committee in your area, please contact enquiries@rsgs.org or 01738 455050.

Strathearn MapIn a private presentation at the Famous Grouse Experience at the Glenturret Distillery in Crieff, the RSGS’s Chief Executive Mike Robinson presented the Earl and Countess of Strathearn with a framed facsimile of the 1688 John Adair map of Strathearn, during their first formal visit to the area. The Earl and Countess were delighted with their gift, which was one of many they received from well-wishers throughout their day. They described it as “a very apt and touching gift”, clearly enjoying their visit and the opportunity to meet so many local people.

New RSGS Board MembersFurther to the AGM in March, we are delighted to welcome three new members to the RSGS Board. Tim Ambrose from Brechin is a hillwalker and retired tax partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers, and has a wide range of experience with a number of Scottish charities and a love of polar and mountaineering books. Malcolm Good from Edinburgh is a management consultant in the financial sector, and has a keen interest in polar history. And John McCrone is a planner from Perth; he chairs the RSGS Perth Group, assisted with the RSGS’s move to Perth in 2008-09, and with his family is a keen traveller and enthusiast for all things geographical.

Mungo Park Medal for Tim ButcherAuthor, journalist and broadcaster Tim Butcher was presented with the RSGS’s Mungo Park Medal in May after a public talk in Stirling. The Medal was given in recognition of his travel writing and pioneering work in conflict zones.

In his time at The Daily Telegraph, Tim reported on Kurdistan under attack by Saddam Hussein in 1991, Sarajevo during the Bosnian War of the 1990s, the Allied attack on Iraq in 2003, Israel’s 2006 clash with Hizbollah in southern Lebanon, among other crises. He has continued to shed light on the lives of those most affected by these ongoing

wars, the civilians forced to live in warzones, through his books Chasing the Devil and Blood River. His latest book, The Trigger, is featured in our Book Club (see back page).

First awarded to Captain Angus Buchanan in 1930 for his crossing of the Sahara, the Mungo Park Medal has a rich history of being presented to some of Britain’s most highly-regarded journalists and travel writers, including Michael Buerk, Kate Adie, John Simpson and William Dalrymple.

see the exhibition

Laurie Campbell

“If we really want to reduce Scotland’s contribution to climate change, we would be prioritising development of renewable heat.”

Scotland’s renewable energy transition: quo vadis?Professor Paul L Younger FREng, Rankine Chair of Engineering and Professor of Energy Engineering, University of Glasgow

The Scottish First Minister memorably remarked in 2011 that Scotland could come to be seen as “the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy”. Three years later, with the Scottish independence referendum looming, it seems a good time to ask whether this is feasible. The Scottish Government has set ambitious targets to position Scotland in the premier league of renewably-powered nations. In summary, by 2020 the Scottish Government plans to have 30% of total Scottish energy use met by renewable sources. As energy includes heat (55% of Scottish energy use in 2011), transport (24%) and electricity (21%), separate targets for each of these modes have been set. The electricity target always grabs the limelight: an equivalent of 100% renewable by 2020. This does not mean that all energy consumed in Scotland at that time will be renewable; rather, it effectively means that over a year (say) Scotland will export enough renewably-generated electricity to match the non-renewable element of its domestic consumption. Logically, if we really want to reduce Scotland’s contribution to climate change, we would be prioritising development of renewable heat. However, the 2020 target for renewable heat (11%) is even more modest than that of the UK Government (12%). At present, mainstream suggestions for decarbonising heat invoke electrification, on the assumption that electricity will soon be decarbonised. This would imply increasing the total

amount of electricity generated by a factor of 2.5. But will Scotland’s renewable electricity generation be up to the job?

Renewable electricity supply in Scotland has a distinguished pedigree, dating back to the commissioning of the Galloway Hydros scheme in 1935. Many large hydropower systems were constructed in the Highlands during the 1950s, but development then slowed to a trickle, with only one sizeable new hydropower station being built since 1963 (the 100 MW Glendoe system commissioned in 2009). The current total installed hydropower capacity in Scotland is around 1.5 GW. Estimates from Heriot-Watt University indicate that, given the imperative of conserving scenic glens, this could only be expanded by about 50%, mainly through small schemes. This is frustrating, as hydro is less variable in output than other renewables, albeit it is notably vulnerable to inter-annual variations in rainfall. In 2013, Scotland’s hydropower stock produced around 15.5 petajoules (PJ) of electricity, which amounts to 10.3 PJ per GW installed. This is significantly better than wind, which produced 8.9 PJ per GW installed. Yet even if all of Scotland’s remaining hydropower potential were to be developed over the next few years (which it will not be, given the lead times involved), it could not contribute more than 10% of the additional renewable electricity capacity needed by 2020.

Given Scotland’s weak solar resources (amongst the weakest

in sub-polar Europe), and given that wave and tidal technologies remain nascent and exorbitant, wind is the only option for meeting the 2020 renewable electricity target. What does this mean in terms of further expansion of installed wind capacity? Scotland currently uses around 132 PJ of electricity per annum, and given the ambitions for economic growth and expansion of electricity use for heat and transport, we can assume that the 2020 figure will be some way north of this. In 2013, Scotland generated a record amount of electricity from renewable sources: 61.2 PJ, or 46% of Scottish electricity demand. Given the proven annual productivity of Scottish wind farms, this means that a further 70.8 PJ will have to be generated by wind in 2020, which equates to 9 GW extra installed capacity. This is a realistic prospect: around 4 GW of onshore wind already has consent with a similar amount in planning; 5 GW of offshore wind is also in planning, though the recent cancellation (or ‘postponement for at least a decade’) of the 1.8 GW Argyll Array offshore from Tiree casts some doubt on the degree to which this will be deployed by 2020. Nevertheless, it seems likely that renewable electricity generation in Scotland can indeed meet the 2020 target.

This is where things get interesting though. Due to natural variability of wind speeds, onshore wind in mainland Scotland struggles to exceed a capacity factor of around 30%

Scotland’s Energy Mix

6-7Summer 2014

The Geographer

“Scotland’s 100% renewable electricity target is absolutely dependent on it continuing to export to England.”

(ie, the proportion of the time it is actually producing significant amounts of electricity). This means that, even with 100% equivalent renewable capacity installed, some other source of electricity will always be required for more than two-thirds of the time. Thus, ensuring a 24/7 power supply will always need a combination of baseload (ie, constantly-available) and dispatchable (ie, available on demand) electricity sources. (Electricity storage also has a role to play, but it is sufficiently costly that it is difficult to see this expanding beyond the niche application of marginal load balancing). The problem is that most baseload and dispatchable sources of power cannot be switched on or off within the timescales over which wind output fluctuates. Much of Scotland’s baseload is provided by its two remaining nuclear power stations, Hunterston B and Torness, which between them produced 34.5% of Scotland’s electrical output in 2012. Some baseload, and virtually all of the dispatchable output, was provided by just two power stations: Longannet (coal-fired, 25%) and Peterhead (gas-fired, 8%). Although the outputs of these fossil-fired power stations can be tweaked over a timescale of hours, they cannot be adjusted instantaneously as wind speeds wax and wane. Thus when we say Scotland produced 46% of all its electricity renewably in 2013, we need to be clear that much of this had to be exported to England. Indeed, Scotland’s 100% renewable electricity target is absolutely dependent on it continuing to export to England.

The net export in 2012 was 26.1%; yet there are early signs of changing fortunes for Scotland’s electricity export business. The four remaining non-renewable power stations in Scotland were until recently five: Cockenzie (coal-fired) closed in 2013 and will shortly be demolished. Since Cockenzie was taken off-line, Scotland has begun

to experience periods in which it is reliant on electricity transfers from England. This happened on about ten days in 2013. The Scotland-England interconnectors have hitherto always flowed N-S. This change in polarity represents the increasingly tight margins of baseload and dispatchable capacity in Scotland. At present, no new power stations with such capability are under construction in Scotland. Moreover, under current plans Scotland will lose its two nuclear power stations in 2023 – and with them a third of its electricity output, and the core of its baseload. Meanwhile, Longannet is ageing (it was originally commissioned in 1973), and notwithstanding recent upgrades, it is not currently expected to remain in service beyond 2025. Scottish Government policy precludes any replacement nuclear or coal-fired power stations, so in little more than a decade almost all of Scotland’s baseload and dispatchable generation capacity will have gone. That already leaves us barely enough time to design, obtain consent for, and construct alternatives. The only alternative of sufficient scale deployable to such a deadline is gas-fired generation.

Unless unconventional gas developments are permitted and succeed, Scotland will continue to be poorly endowed with natural gas resources. The majority of the North Sea gas fields are offshore England. Gas separated from Scotland’s oil fields is currently burned for power generation at only one site. Yet Peterhead has seen steady decline in capacity, from 2.2 GW in the early 2000s, to 1.1 GW in 2010; by April 2014 it was just 0.4 GW. These reductions have been ascribed to uncertainty over future prices for fossil-fired generation, coupled with transmission cost penalties for power stations in remote locations. Neither of these factors auger well for construction of replacement, non-coal, non-nuclear, baseload

or dispatchable capacity in Scotland within the next decade.

But does this matter? Can’t England provide these services to Scotland, while Scotland virtuously sticks to renewable generation alone? The current connector capacity is nominally 4.4 GW, though in practice this is limited to 3.3 GW due to thermal stability problems. A new 2.2 GW connector from Hunterston to North Wales is currently under construction. We can therefore rely on an England-Scotland connector capacity of around 5.5 GW: this amounts to just 40% of Scottish peak demand, and closely approximates the amount of power output currently coming from Scotland’s nuclear and fossil-fired power stations (5.4 GW). There is no room for manoeuvre, and no guarantee that England (which has similar problems of its own) will have the spare capacity to feed power north when Scotland stands in need. We live in interesting times.

Energy Choices

Global energy is changing. Energy usage has trebled in the last 50 years, importing nations are becoming exporters, and whilst oil remains the largest source of primary energy in the world, its persistently high price has opened up the viability of a range of alternative energy types.

However, fossil fuels still dominate the global energy mix, providing more than 85% of global energy, and of these it is coal that has seen the fastest-growing demand of all.

In a recent global review, the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated that there was the equivalent

of 142 years of proven reserves of coal at current consumption rates (compared with 61 years of proven reserves of natural gas and only 54 years of oil). The World Coal Association, an industry representative group, further claims that the remaining recoverable resources of coal are more than

20 times larger. Of course, these estimates are based on current usage, and only a small increase in annual demand could cut the number of years significantly. For example, if coal saw even a 5% per annum growth, reserves would fall from 142 years to c45 years.

So, coal is the fastest-growing energy source. It is effective. There’s still a lot of it. And it is also relatively cheap. Sounds great.

But coal has a problem. It is not

called ‘dirty coal’ for nothing and, along with its immediate health and environmental impacts, coal has the highest carbon content (and therefore the highest carbon emissions) of any fossil fuel. In 2011, coal produced about 30% of global energy use, but accounted for around 44% of global carbon dioxide emissions; and historically it is responsible for more global emissions than any other fuel source.

As IEA Executive Director Maria van der Houven stated recently, “Irrespective of its economic benefits for the countries, the environmental impact of coal use, especially that coming from carbon dioxide emissions, should not be overlooked.”

Being the most available fossil fuel, and the cheapest, it is unlikely that people, companies and nations are going to be successfully persuaded to give it up, even though many of its damaging costs are ‘externalised’. Poland, for example, which hosted a recent round of IPCC climate negotiations (and simultaneously ran a major coal conference in the next-door stadium), uses coal almost exclusively (85% of electricity production) and is not going to give up its own energy security just for the climate without a very significant incentive.

The Obama administration unveiled historic environmental rules in June to cut carbon pollution from power plants by 30% – the first time any president has moved to regulate this carbon pollution – in large part by targeting reductions in coal use.

The only hope for the climate in relation to coal, other than simply cutting our use of coal dramatically, is to find a way to capture some of the fossil fuel emissions from burning coal and store them somewhere where they can’t ‘leak’ or seep out into the atmosphere. This process of carbon capture and storage (CCS) is yet to be tested at

any significant scale, and will cost significant money and energy to implement.

However, whilst CCS is only a partial solution (potentially reducing coal’s carbon emissions to those of natural gas), it feels increasingly more necessary. Even in the UK, where no new coal-fired power stations have been built for years, 39% of our electricity comes from coal-fired plants. So despite CCS remaining an uncertain technology, domestically and globally we probably need to see CCS developed successfully if we are going to keep burning coal and want to maximise our chances of avoiding dangerous climate change.

However, whether CCS works or not, we need to try to limit our use of coal. Several of the proposed key steps to reducing global carbon emissions include replacing coal with gas power, replacing coal with wind, or replacing coal with nuclear power. All of these would make major inroads to global emissions. Coal is fairly evidently a fossil fuel that we cannot ultimately afford, except in moderation.

This is, in part, what drives the development of renewable energy sources. The IEA reported last year that “global subsidies to renewables reached $101 billion in 2012, up 11% on 2011, and need to expand to $220 billion in 2035”. However, it is worth noting that the same body estimated that fossil fuel subsidies increased to $544 billion in 2012.

If we are going to solve the conundrum of how to achieve energy security, environmental sustainability, and economic prosperity simultaneously, we need to see some of this fossil fuel subsidy directed towards renewables and perhaps the development of CCS. However, CCS is a costly technology and if coal has to start paying for its environmental damage and other externalities like the cost of CCS, it no longer looks so economically attractive, which is why many commentators believe the fossil fuel subsidies would be better spent purely on renewable alternatives.

Affording CoalMike Robinson, RSGS Chief Executive

“Coal is fairly evidently a fossil fuel that we cannot ultimately afford, except in moderation.”

The global energy mix in 2012. Source data from IEA.

The World Coal Association created this diagram to illustrate its estimate of recoverable reserves of coal being more than 20 times the proven reserves identified by the International Energy Agency.

8-9 The Geographer

Summer 2014

Biomess? – fuel for thoughtDr Dan van der Horst, University of Edinburgh

“If there is a suitable place for biofuels in an industrial country, then it is first and foremost in integrated waste management.”

Making and controlling fire was perhaps the single most important invention that allowed humans to conquer the planet; keeping us warm and safe, improving our food, and transforming our landscapes. Even today, biomass energy is the most important source of energy in many developing countries. But the production of liquid biofuels, a policy pursued by the EU and the US, is highly controversial with environmental, social and conservation NGOs, even if most people in Scotland have no idea it is in their fuel tanks. In this short piece I will not revisit the extensive debate of how biofuels impact on food production and biodiversity, and what it would take to reduce or control these effects. Instead, I focus on a few home truths about biofuels that have received less attention to date.

The economic problem of biofuels is that they are, under most conditions, a relatively expensive way to reduce carbon emissions, so public money could be better spent on other low-carbon interventions. Whilst other renewables may experience technological breakthroughs or significant price reductions due to mass production, this is far less likely to happen for biofuels as they are based on a feedstock that has to be grown on land, which comes with an opportunity cost.

First generation biofuels (ethanol made from starchy or sugary crops, or biodiesel made from

plant oil) are only a good value product in a market where food prices are low and petrol and diesel prices are high. Unless food production is subsidised and fossil fuels are taxed, these are rare conditions. In the absence of subsidies, we can perhaps envisage such conditions in a very remote corner of Africa where people can produce a surplus of food but cannot export it due to very poor transport links, which in turn also make the import of diesel and petrol very expensive.

Biofuels could have a useful role to play in an oil-importing developing country that is self-sufficient in food production but is struggling to sell its agricultural exports on the world market, for example because of logistical bottlenecks or import tariffs. Under these conditions, biofuel production could be a useful way to enhance the trade balance (spend less hard currency on importing oil) and boost the rural economy instead. This is how Brazil came to adopt their sugar-to-ethanol programme.

The carbon problem of second generation biofuels (made from inedible, woody biomass) is that there are better uses of the feedstock: using biomass as building material will store carbon for decades or longer. And when the time comes to dispose of these materials, they can still be burned for energy recovery.

If there is a suitable place for biofuels in an industrial country,

then it is first and foremost in integrated waste management. In the first decade of the 21st century, the UK was producing more renewable energy from biomass than from wind. This was not because we have big agricultural or forestry sectors, but because we were implementing the EU waste directive, which told us to cap landfill sites and capture the methane that emerges from them. Some of the largest anaerobic digestion plants in Europe are now found in the West Midlands; modern centralised facilities for treating sewer sludge and food waste. It could even be argued that we would have no need for a separate energy policy, if our other policy domains, such as foreign policy, environmental policy and economic policy, were more coherent and integrated.

At the end of the day, there is one very simple fundamental problem for biofuels. If you want to extract the highest possible value from a product, that product has to be very cheap and plentiful to ensure that putting it on fire is the best option. Smoking (whatever...) is just the exception that proves the rule.

Exploration and production of natural gas from unconventional sources such as coal seams and shale are rapidly expanding in Australia, with a predicted 40,000 coal seam gas (CSG) wells to be developed in Queensland alone. Community concerns over the contamination of groundwater, surface water and air are escalating, bringing together an unlikely alliance of farming communities and environmentalists united in their opposition to further development of unconventional gas fields. Recent New South Wales legislation introducing a 2km buffer zone around urban areas and certain agricultural infrastructure has seen some Australian CSG companies leave Australia to pursue opportunities in the UK, Ireland and Europe where such restrictions do not exist.

Opposition to CSG and shale gas has grown in Australia as more evidence of pollution and the environmental and social impacts on rural communities has come to light. The limited publicly-available data on chemical use and releases in the drilling and production stages has increased concerns around the potential for water

pollution and the public costs of managing the wastes.

‘Fracking’ (hydraulic fracturing) involves injecting wells at high pressure with water, proppants, radioactive tracers and chemical additives, to fracture the formation and produce new cracks and pathways to help extract the gas. While industry claims that chemical additives are minimal, consisting of less than 2% of the fracking fluid, a risk assessment provided to the Queensland Government identified c18,500kg of chemical additive used per well, with up to 40% not recovered. These quantities, although extraordinary, were consistent with the 2011 European Parliament report which estimated 16,000kg of acutely

toxic substances were used to frack tight gas in Lower Saxony, Germany. Wells may also be fracked a number of times.

The chemicals listed in the risk assessments included surfactants, lubricants, acids, scale and corrosion inhibitors, and biocides. Some chemical ingredients could not be identified in the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) due to commercial confidentiality, but of those identified, many had acute or chronic toxicity warnings. The majority had only limited data on environmental fate and ecotoxicology.

Waste Water

CSG activities generate large quantities of ‘produced’ water, reported by Australian industry to be 0.1-0.8 megalitres per day. Produced water may be contaminated with heavy metals, naturally-occurring radioactive substances, fracking or drilling chemicals, high quantities of salt, BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene), and naturally-formed halogenated chemicals. Currently, produced water in Australia is managed by ‘storage’ in large holding ponds, used for dust suppression on roads, ‘treated’ and released into waterways, or sold on for use in irrigation.

Water Contamination

In 2011, bromine was detected in treated and released CSG water at six times background levels. Methane, not detected in the upstream control sample, was detected at 68 micrograms per litre. In Australia, there has been little comprehensive testing of groundwater, despite the fact that industry has reported BTEX chemicals in five out of 14 monitoring wells in Queensland.

Proppants and Silicosis

The extensive use of proppants is also causing concern. Proppants consist of either sand/silica or manufactured ceramic polymer spheres based on alumino-silicates, which are injected as part of the fracturing fluid mixture and intended to hold open the fractures once the pressure is released. Breathing silica can cause silicosis, is a known cause of lung cancer,

and is suspected of contributing to autoimmune diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and chronic kidney disease.

Methane and Climate Impacts

Unconventional gas is promoted as a ‘cleaner fossil fuel’ compared to coal, but ongoing concern over the climate impacts of the lifecycle of gas from shale and coal seams has resulted in Australian research on the industry’s fugitive emissions. Researchers have suggested that CSG activities change the geological structure and enhance diffuse soil gas exchange processes, helping gases to seep through the soil to be released to the atmosphere.

Air Pollutants

While there are few publicly-available reports of formal air monitoring data related to CSG activities in Australia, limited government and community sampling of ambient air around CSG activities has detected many VOCs. Residents report symptoms of severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, nose bleeds, eye and throat irritations, severe skin irritations and paraesthesia in children. A preliminary health investigation by the Queensland Health Department concluded there was “some evidence that might associate some of the residents’ symptoms to exposures to airborne contaminants arising from CSG activities”.

Conclusion

With no baseline data collected prior to the CSG and shale activities, it is impossible to clearly establish cause and effect relationships. However, there can be no doubt that both community and environmental health has deteriorated in certain regions since the unconventional gas industry was established. If a proper cost-benefit analysis had been done prior to granting approvals for these projects, regulators and governments may have concluded that this industry was simply not worth the risks to community and environmental health.

The untold story of CSG expansion in AustraliaDr Mariann Lloyd-Smith PhD (Law), Senior Policy Advisor, IPEN – International POPs Elimination Network, and Senior Advisor, National Toxics Network Inc

“…there can be no doubt that both community and environmental health has deteriorated in certain regions since the unconventional gas industry was established.”

Frack to the Future?

See www.rsgs.org/publications for a longer version of this article.

10-11Summer 2014

The Geographer

While evidence has shown that the extraction of unconventional gas can present a number of risks to the environment, and some of the technologies being used in this area are new to environmental regulators, many of the processes (such as borehole construction) are not new, and neither is the job of regulating those practices to ensure that they do not harm the environment.

In Scotland, the main type of unconventional gas currently undergoing exploration is coal bed methane (CBM). Unlike shale gas, CBM extraction does not necessarily require fracking, as the seams already naturally contain fractures or fracture easily. In Scotland, as in the rest of Europe, the industry is relatively new and operations are still in the exploration stage.

There are currently three active exploration sites in Scotland: Airth, Falkirk; Deerdykes, North Lanarkshire; and Canonbie, Dumfries & Galloway. These sites have been granted planning permission by local authorities, and licences by SEPA and other regulatory bodies, to carry out exploration drilling. Planning permission is currently being sought for CBM production at Airth.

Regulation

SEPA is just one of a number of organisations involved in regulating unconventional gas extraction in Scotland, along with the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), local authorities, the Health and Safety Executive, and The Coal Authority.

We are committed to ensuring that there is a high level of protection for the environment, and we believe that, along with other regulatory bodies, we have a wide range of regulatory tools that can be used effectively to control and mitigate the environmental impacts that may be caused by unconventional gas activities.

We believe these regulatory

tools already provide a high level of protection to the environment, but if further evidence demonstrates that more protection is required, we will support the Scottish Government in bringing forward further measures.

Environmental Issues

Potential environmental impacts can include effects on groundwater and surface water from drilling and fracturing, and increased greenhouse gas emissions and health impacts from fugitive gas releases.

Effects on groundwater and surface water

SEPA is responsible for protecting and improving the environment of Scotland, and we do this by enforcing a number of regulations designed to protect the air, land and water environment. For example, the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations (commonly known as CAR) control:• potential risks of cross-

contamination of aquifers due to poor borehole construction;

• pollution from an unexpected release of gas or fracturing fluid into other parts of the water environment;

• pollution from the uncontrolled disposal of liquid or solid waste;

• the abstraction of uncontrolled quantities of water.

Increased greenhouse gas emissions and health impacts

Emissions of methane and other volatile organic compounds are regulated by local authorities under the Management of Extractive Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2010, and by SEPA through the Pollution Prevention and Control (Scotland) Regulations 2012 (PPC).

The PPC regulations are designed to control emissions to the environment from certain specified activities. The initial exploration for gas, drilling etc does not require a PPC permit. However, the extraction process

cannot begin unless all required environmental licences are in place.

As well as contributing to climate change, fugitive emissions have the potential to impact on human health and the environment. SEPA and the local authority will ensure that operators make full use of technologies that reduce fugitive emissions to air and undertake comprehensive monitoring during production to assess health risks, which will help inform regulation.

The Scottish Government has set ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the impact of unconventional gas extraction on these targets has not yet been fully assessed. ClimateXChange is currently commissioning a research project to estimate greenhouse gas emissions associated with the exploration and extraction of onshore unconventional gas in Scotland, and how these compare to other energy sources.

Unconventional gasLin Bunten, Head of Operations – Energy, Scottish Environment Protection Agency

“The Scottish Government has set ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the impact of unconventional gas extraction on these targets has not yet been fully assessed.”

Further reading

SEPA (2012), Regulatory Guidance: Coal bed methane and shale gas (www.sepa.org.uk/customer_information/energy_industry/unconventional_gas/regulatory_roles.aspx)

DECC (2013), Regulatory Roadmap: Onshore oil and gas exploration in the UK: regulation and best practice (www.gov.uk/government/publications/regulatory-roadmap-onshore-oil-and-gas-exploration-in-the-uk-regulation-and-best-practice)

www.climatexchange.org.uk

Unconventional gas exploration in general, and more specifically fracturing (commonly known as fracking), are making headlines across the UK, with coverage focusing on both the potential positive contribution it can make to UK energy security and the potential negative environmental impacts. Lin Bunten looks at the situation in Scotland and how regulation is being used to protect the environment.

With all the news coming out of Ukraine these past few months, it is easy to lose a sense of perspective as the events unfold. Yet, I firmly believe that what we are witnessing in Ukraine is the

emergence of a major new European nation on a scale to match the reunification of Germany. At the same time, the long-term consequences for the Russian Federation are unpredictable but will certainly have huge global significance.

Ever since its sudden independence in 1991, Ukraine has trodden a careful path between closer relations with its natural home in Europe, and the reality of economic and political ties to Russia. However, when Yushchenko won the presidency in 2005, as a result of the Orange Revolution, the pace of movement towards Europe accelerated. But, thanks to endless conflicts between him and Prime Minister Tymoshenko, Ukrainians became thoroughly fed up with post-Orange Revolution politics. Consequently, when Yushchenko’s term expired in 2010, his pro-Russian opponent Yanukovich came to power, mainly because of concentrated mass support from ethnic Russians in the east of the country.

Yanukovich lost no time in consolidating his power by suborning the Parliament, changing the constitution in his favour, imprisoning Tymoshenko, and acquiring a vast amount of wealth. He extended the Russian military bases agreement in Crimea, and took a generally pro-Russian stance. At the same time, the global economic recession hit Ukraine hard and the government had no serious response. As corruption and impunity from prosecution for the well-connected took ever tighter grip, Ukrainians came to see the signing of the EU Association Agreement, promised by Yanukovich, as a beacon of hope. If their own political

system could not restrain the incumbent rulers, then perhaps the EU could with its insistence on transparency, democracy and rule of law.

As the time for signing the agreement at the EU summit in Vilnius drew near in late November 2013, tension rose rapidly. After a meeting with Putin, Yanukovich abruptly announced there were obstacles to signing and more time was needed. Equally suddenly, Ukraine erupted. Demonstrations were hastily convened across the country to insist that Yanukovich sign the agreement. Even in Odessa, where political activism is rare, a rally was staged at the top of the Potemkin Steps with hundreds of people waving EU flags.

When Yanukovich returned from Vilnius, EU agreement unsigned, the scent of a new revolution, far more fundamental than the Orange one, was in the air. This time, the whole political orientation and civil administration of the country, unfinished business since 1991, was in play. Yanukovich and his cronies in government made blunder after blunder with the protestors. Too weak to impose the kind of repression Putin can exercise, they went through a series of sham negotiations, small appeasements and empty threats. Each time, the demands of the protestors grew louder and more far-reaching, until by mid-January they wanted both the government and the president to resign, and called for fresh elections under a new constitution.

In Odessa, there were nightly meetings at Potemkin Steps. My wife and I went as often as we could after work, huddling in the bitter cold with a few hundred others as we listened to the stream of speakers condemn Yanukovich and the local administration, while at the same time stressing their wish to remain on friendly terms with Russia. On Sundays, a much

larger gathering convened, up to a thousand people. There was never any violence, though the organisers told us of threats from the police and Russian sympathisers.

We visited relatives and the Maidan in mid-January. It felt like a cross between a pop festival and an army camp. On the stage and big screens, there were alternating speeches, bands and poets. The broad sweep of Kreshchatik, Kyiv’s answer to Princes Street, was crammed with tents from all over the country, including eastern cities. A canteen marquee served food and hot drinks. Hawkers peddled flags, stickers, fridge magnets and other memorabilia emblazoned with Ukrainian and EU emblems. The Sunday midday ‘meeting’ was huge: we were crammed in the Maidan with tens of thousands of cheering supporters as the main political opposition leaders, Yatsenyuk and Klitchko among them, gave their addresses calling for peaceful protest and demanding government reform.

A few days later, responding to pressure from Putin to clear out Maidan in exchange for a $16bn loan, government forces moved in on the night of 22nd January. The riot police were repulsed, but three demonstrators died. The country was in shock, and by 28th January the government had resigned. Yanukovich began more negotiations with the opposition, brokered by the EU. For a month or so, it seemed some progress was gradually being made. But the talks led nowhere, and Yanukovich made another desperate attempt to clear away Maidan on 20th-21st February. Snipers shot protesters indiscriminately – about 80 people were killed on the spot or died later from their injuries.

The EU managed to get a peace pact in place within hours, but after signing it Yanukovich fled to Kharkiv on the night of 21st February and got away to Rostov. Parliament stepped in

Ukraine – Russia’s NemesisPaul Goriup MSc CEcol CEnv FCIEEM, Managing Director, Fieldfare International Ecological Development plc

“Ukrainians came to see the signing of the EU Association Agreement… as a beacon of hope.”

Anti-government protest at Independence Square, Kiev, on 19th February.

Ukraine

and, with the co-operation of the president’s own Party of Regions, installed an interim government, restored the previous constitution, and released Tymoshenko from prison.

This turn of events did not go down well in Moscow. Putin must have been stunned. All his plans to integrate Ukraine as a crucial member of the Eurasian Union lay in tatters. While Ukraine was breathing a huge sigh of relief that Yanukovich was gone, Putin, instead of building new bridges, decided to burn them all.

By early March, ‘little green men’ were sprouting in Crimea, and some 40,000 troops were massing along the eastern borders. By the end of the month, Crimea was formally annexed by Russia, and armed anti-Ukrainian separatists were starting a campaign to set up autonomous people’s republics in Lugansk and Donetsk regions. March until mid-May was a very unsettling period in Ukraine. The separatists seemed to be gaining ground, and rumours abounded of an imminent Russian invasion across the whole of the south from Lugansk to Moldova. There was a horrible incident in Odessa on 2nd May when a bunch of separatists attacked and shot at football fans in the city centre, a block away from our apartment. The fans chased them to a building from where the separatists began throwing petrol bombs, one of which fell back, and 30 of the separatists were killed in the ensuing fire storm. Much as I was sure that Russia could not afford or sustain a full-scale invasion of a country bigger than Germany and with a population of 46 million, the sheer lack of any credible objective or strategy on the part of Putin seemed to make anything possible.

So, what in fact has Putin achieved in just three months of his Ukraine adventure? First and foremost, he has done more to unite the country and put it on the world map than any of the

four presidents during the last 23 years. For example, the Ukrainian anthem was rarely heard, let alone sung, as hardly anyone knew the words. Now it is played on every possible occasion, and has become a sign of resistance in Crimea by singing the words over the Russian anthem. The fond idea that Russia is Ukraine’s big brother has been trashed. In addition, Ukraine has received massive economic and political support from America, EU and NATO allies, and it is now fully on track to integrate with the EU over the coming decades.

Internationally, the breaching of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum that guaranteed Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty (along with those of Belarus and Kazakhstan) in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons has put America and Britain on the spot. This largely explains why they are leading the campaign for sanctions. Iran, North Korea and other putative nuclear states are watching the West’s response closely.

Within Russia itself, the asset and travel sanctions imposed by the West on oligarchs, politicians and senior military personnel may seem trivial. But this is to misunderstand their psychological refinement and how things work in Russia. There are two main oligarch communities in Russia. One group arose during the privatisation programme under Yeltsin, and was largely connected to him. Yeltsin hand-picked Putin to succeed him, correctly expecting his interests to be protected. Over time, however, Putin undermined those oligarchs who opposed him and gradually built up his own group. The economic sanctions have been imposed exclusively on members of the Putin group, with the clear implication that the older group would be next if they did not restrain him. When wealth and power is all that really matters in those circles, this is a great way to start driving a wedge among them. Moreover, Putin is caught in a very tight place

between the ordinary people and oligarchs who for various reasons do not want a war in Ukraine, and the very Russian nationalists he has fomented who want a fight and are furious that Russian troops have been withdrawn.

There is no doubt that Ukraine will face tough times in the years ahead. However, society at large is embracing the need for fundamental change and is clearly ready for them in every part of the state. But what about Russia without Putin – next year, at the next ‘election’, or ten years hence (if he survives the terminal cancer he is rumoured to have)? It seems highly unlikely that his successor will be able to concentrate and command so much personal economic and political power alone. Putin understands that Ukraine will inspire those regions and republics that are already restive (for example Tatarstan, large swathes of Siberia, and the Caucasian statelets) as well as those, especially in the younger generation, hungry for an open and democratic society. Preserving his regime is ultimately why he is fighting so hard and ultimately why he will fail; a good outcome in Ukraine means the long overdue reformation, perhaps even dismemberment, of the world’s last remnant of Empire. Slava Ukraine!

12-13Summer 2014

The Geographer

“Putin, instead of building new bridges, decided to burn them all.”

Riot police with a priest at Hrushevskogo Street, Kiev, on 24th January.

Background image: The Arch of Peoples’ Friendship in Kiev symbolizes the union of Russia and Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Energy Security

Gas Power Struggle The crisis in Ukraine and the potential impact on the delivery of Russian gas to EuropeJack D Sharples, Lecturer in Energy Politics, European University at St Petersburg

The crisis in Ukraine has dominated European headlines since November, when protesters took to the streets of Kyiv to protest against President Viktor Yanukovich’s failure to sign a previously-agreed Association Agreement with the EU. The following month, the Russian government offered its support to the beleaguered Yanukovich in the form of a $15bn loan and a discount on the price that Naftogaz (Ukraine’s state-owned gas company) pays for its imports of Russian gas. However, the protests continued and on 22nd February Yanukovich fled to Russia. In the days that followed, the Ukrainian parliament approved Oleksandr Turchynov as interim President and Arseniy Yatsenyuk as interim Prime Minister. The US, EU and EU Member States quickly recognised the new government, but Russian politicians have criticised Western support for the new government, noting that Yanukovich remains the democratically-elected President.

The situation is complicated by actions of armed ‘pro-Russian’ militias in the south and east of Ukraine. In March, pro-Russian forces seized key public buildings in Crimea and held a hastily-organised referendum, in which the majority of Crimeans voted to secede from

Ukraine and join Russia. In April, armed pro-Russian protesters began occupying buildings in Eastern Ukraine and referendums were held in Donetsk and Lugansk, with a similar result.

The Ukrainian economy was not particularly strong, even before the protests erupted in late November, and the six months of political

instability that followed have taken a further toll on the Ukrainian economy. In February alone, the value of the Ukrainian currency, the Hryvnia, fell by a fifth. The most serious problem for Ukraine’s economy is a rising level of public debt. Following Yanukovich’s flight from Ukraine, the Russian loan was cancelled. At the end of April, the IMF approved a $17bn financial aid package to Ukraine, which also unlocked a further $15bn of international financing from the US, EU, and World Bank.

Such political uncertainty and indebtedness are reflected in Ukraine’s foreign energy relations. Ukraine is heavily dependent on imports of Russian gas, which account for two-thirds of Ukrainian gas consumption. This gas is mostly imported by the state-owned energy company, Naftogaz. In April 2010, the Ukrainian government secured a $100 per 1,000m3 discount on its imports of Russian gas, in exchange for extending the lease on the Sevastopol naval base (in Crimea) for the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Despite this generous discount, Naftogaz repeatedly failed to pay its bills to Gazprom. The combination of such payment indiscipline and the change of government led the Russian government to cancel the

December discount, while the secession of Crimea left the April 2010 agreement null and void. From 1st April 2014, the price of Russian gas delivered to Ukraine shot up to $485 – 25% higher than the price of Russian

gas in Europe. Naftogaz’s debts to Gazprom now stand at $2bn, but Ukrainian government and Naftogaz representatives have repeatedly claimed that Naftogaz will not settle its debts until a new discount is granted. In May, Gazprom announced that, due to Naftogaz’s failure to pay its bill, Naftogaz will now only receive gas for which it

has paid in advance.

In 2013, the Member States of the EU imported 140 billion cubic metres of Russian gas, slightly more than a quarter of EU gas consumption – 50-60% of this is delivered via Ukraine.

In April, my colleague (Dr Andrew Judge, University of Strathclyde) and I investigated the potential impact of a disruption in Russian gas deliveries to the EU via Ukraine. We found that dependence on Russian gas imports is not evenly spread across the EU. In central and south-east Europe, the average share of Russian gas in total gas consumption is approximately 53%. According to data from the International Energy Agency, Russian gas delivered via Ukraine accounts for 100% of gas imports in Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and 70% of total gas imports in Greece. If Gazprom does shut down supplies to Ukraine, and this leads to the disruption of Russian gas deliveries via Ukraine, these countries will be disproportionately affected.

EU Member States are currently well-prepared to cope, due to the existence of gas storage facilities, the possibility of alternative deliveries in the form of LNG, and improved interconnections between EU Member States. Indeed, Bulgaria remains the only EU Member State that would struggle to cope with a short-term suspension of Russian gas imports via Ukraine. A further helpful aspect is timing: as Europe approaches the height of summer, gas demand is at its lowest seasonal level. There remain several months to resolve the Gazprom-Naftogaz relationship before European energy companies begin stockpiling gas for the winter heating season.

While gas storage and reduced seasonal gas demand provide short-term buffers against catastrophe, the dependence of EU Member States (particularly in central and south-eastern Europe) on Russian gas deliveries via Ukraine makes the political instability in Ukraine and deteriorating political relations with Russia a crucial issue in Europe’s long-term energy security.

“In 2013, the Member States of the EU imported 140 billion cubic metres of Russian gas, slightly more than a quarter of EU gas consumption.”

© www.policymic.com

14-15Summer 2014

The Geographer

Gas Power Struggle The crisis in Ukraine and the potential impact on the delivery of Russian gas to EuropeJack D Sharples, Lecturer in Energy Politics, European University at St Petersburg

“…the Scottish are like Ukrainians.”

© British Antarctic Survey

Mila, a friend of our Chief Executive, works in Kiev. These notes are taken from their email correspondence about the situation in Ukraine.

The Grey Cardinal, the Gas Princess, and the Chocolate King

22nd March Thanks that you understand how difficult is the situation here. The protests in Ukraine began after Yanukovich refused to sign a trade agreement with the EU in favour of a trade deal with Russia. More than 100 people were killed, more than 1,000 were injured, and Crimea is now occupied by Russia...People here blamed Europe for very weak position. For three months Europe has said it has “deep concern”. We asked, “How many people should be killed before Europe starts to act?” Yesterday Ukraine and Europe signed the Association, but I am not sure that after that many people are happy. Only Poland and Lithuania really helped.I try to be OK, but am sometimes depressed and cry very often. But I believe that the situation here should change for the better – we paid and are paying a very high price.

27th AprilUnfortunately, the situation in Ukraine is still anxious. Russia is a very crafty and cruel enemy. In Yanukovich’s time Ukrainian police ‘worked’ together with criminals and as criminals. The Ukrainian army had very small financial support and was demoralized. Security Service of Ukraine is built on one-third Russian citizens or agents. Because of this, the situation is only sometimes under Ukrainian control. The EU prefers not to see real things which would give them the right assessment. Today there is not only Ukraine is under threat but the whole of Europe.

Anyway the life is going on. There are a lot of jokes about Putin (the ‘grey cardinal’) and Russia. Last week I went to football. It was very fun and exciting when 60,000 people in the centre of Kyiv chanted rude words about Putin.16th MayDuring the three months of the Revolution ‘Maidan’ (the Revolution of Dignity), the EU expressed “deep concern”, very strong after first two people were killed by Ukrainian police. Everybody was disappointed – “deep concern” in that situation was even worse than saying nothing. We asked for sanctions for Yanukovich and his supporters. Many of them have business and money in banks throughout Europe. Even when Putin occupied the Crimea we got just funny sanctions, but due to Putin’s occupation a number of international agreements were broken.About our political parties, they are not all right wing as Russia is saying. Batkivshchina is the party of Yulia Timoshchenko. She was a famous Ukrainian political prisoner. I dislike Timoshchenko as the politician and as the person. She was accused of corruption and got billions of dollars – she was called the ‘gas princess’. She did a lot of bad things after the victory of the Orange Revolution. She wants only the power and does not care for the development of Ukraine. It’s better if she stays in the prison – she earned it.The Udar party established by the boxer Klichko doesn’t belong to the right wing. It is also pro-European. Yatsenyuk (acting PM and Batkivshchina party) is clever, Klichko (Udar party) is representative, and Tyagnibok (Svoboda party) is active. But Svoboda is not very good in constructive work – they destroyed any monument of Lenin in Kyiv and other cities during Leninofall.

During the Revolution a far right organization Pravy Sektor (Right Sector) appeared. They and Dynamo Kyiv ultras started fighting in the streets in January. Russians gave them a great deal of media, “awful cruel Ukrainian fascists”, and now everybody in Russia knows and is afraid of Pravy Sektor. Their leader Yarosh has been placed on an international wanted list by Russia. They are idiots.12th JuneThe situation in Ukraine is still tight. In fact Ukrainian-Russian war is going on. And Western Europe has still not called bread ‘bread’, and wine ‘wine’. Luckily for us there is support from Eastern Europe, USA and Canada. Russia has found support in Donetsk and Lugansk regions because most population there wants to go back to Soviet Union and has Russian mentality: do less, get more and get drunk.In a book by Ukrainian writer Y Andrukhovich he says the Scottish are like Ukrainians.I voted for Poroshenko, an experienced politician, and ex-Foreign Minister, although he is not from any political party. I hope he has enough love of Ukraine, experience and will to make changes. He supported Maidan. He is known as the ‘chocolate king’ and makes delicious chocolate . He promised ‘a new way of living’, building closer links with the EU and improving relations with Russia. We can only hope.14th June

Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office says pro-Russian separatists have shot down a military transport plane, killing all 49 people on board. Earlier in the day, NATO Secretary-General Rasmussen said that if reports of “pro-Russian armed gangs” acquiring heavy weapons from Russia were confirmed, it would mark “a serious escalation” of the crisis in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said a convoy of three T-64 tanks crossed the border near the Ukrainian town of Snizhne. Everyday life in Eastern Ukraine has turned into a continuous nightmare in the middle of Europe. Our country is being destroyed right before our eyes.

Mila

Slava Ukraine Letter from Kiev

Nuclear Confusion

A Forgotten Issue?Kirsten Jenkins and Darren McCauley, University of St Andrews

“Without renewal, all of Scotland’s nuclear capacity is set to ‘dry up’ by 2035.”

Two issues continue to dominate the political and legal landscape of an energy-independent Scotland: renewables, and oil and gas. Geography and geology unite to produce an irresistible combination, or flatter to deceive depending on your viewpoint. Yet, whilst analysts mull over claim and counter-claim, one issue of geopolitical importance remains for Scotland – the nuclear question. Often tied up with demilitarisation and Trident, domestic electricity generation from nuclear power is perceived to be a fait accompli in the independence debate. Surely ‘Yes Scotland’ and ‘Better Together’ have united in saying ‘no’ to domestic nuclear-generated electricity? We ask here what ‘no’ actually means, and whether it is indeed possible.

Scotland is no stranger to nuclear-generated electricity provision. Since the late 1950s, nuclear has played an important role in Scotland’s energy mix, with a total of six reactors providing consistent baseload electricity, which, even now, provide around 34% of our electricity produced. From Chapelcross, Hunterston A and B, Torness, East Kilbride and Dounreay, nuclear has played a fundamental role in keeping Scotland’s lights on. But nuclear’s card is marked. Under the current Scottish Government, nuclear has fallen firmly out of favour, as they state in no uncertain terms that there’s to be no further nuclear electricity generation development. This, despite increasing support for nuclear over the border, with plans for a new reactor at Hinkley Point C. Instead, the Scottish Government, which controls its

own planning and infrastructure, holds ambitious targets to supply the equivalent of 100% of domestic electricity consumption in Scotland from renewable energy by 2020. For current reactor facilities this signals the end of an era, as all Scottish reactors face increasingly frequent maintenance outages and the threat of imminent decommissioning. Without renewal, all of Scotland’s nuclear capacity is set to ‘dry up’ by 2035. The challenge of renewing Scotland’s energy mix, therefore, has never been more pressing. In the midst of these challenges, and with some disquiet surrounding the achievability of Scotland’s renewable aims, the role of nuclear is increasingly called into question.

The main challenge is that a devolved power, for example Scotland, has no legislative competence over nuclear energy installations, yet it has full legislative competence in respect to environmental matters and planning. The Scottish Government has rejected the idea of deep geological disposal facility (GDF) and new nuclear build. However, this does not answer the question of what happens to radioactive waste at Scottish nuclear sites and the legacy waste Scotland currently stores at Sellafield in Cumbria. This issue, whilst it has long been acknowledged, has been further intensified by the Scottish independence campaign and, as David Cameron stated in December 2013, “there is therefore a mesh of vertical and horizontal lines of authority that will impact upon policy implementation”.

If Scotland gains independence

from the UK, the waste must return to Scotland, where there are neither facilities nor legal framework in place to deal with the problem. Further, will it be necessary to develop a new legal framework in which Scottish taxpayers are liable for their share of the cost of keeping the waste in England? Considering that the UK has not yet enacted any legislation directly concerning nuclear waste, the problems created by Scottish independence – or, in what seems to be the likely minimum outcome, near complete devolution – are a real dilemma.

The UK is advancing its own policy in the area, but the Scottish Government has yet to fully engage with this issue in the debate on independence. An independent Scotland would need its own independent nuclear waste storage facility and, in having a reduced number of nuclear energy plants, would not benefit from economies of scale. Moreover, the timescales in question mean that the existing Scottish nuclear power sites will be decommissioned before any robust interim storage facility or GDF would be built. This inevitably has the potential to become a real challenge for Scotland in the near future.

There is need, therefore, to more thoroughly and openly tackle the true role of nuclear electricity generation in an independent Scotland, and to acknowledge its often-sidelined implications. The knowledge that Scotland is simultaneously dependent on nuclear, wary of nuclear, and ill-equipped to deal with nuclear waste independently, signals real trouble ahead. Nuclear is an issue that we best not forget.

As the unprecedented British floods of last winter subsided, ruinous as they were for so many, it was worth remembering that psychologists tell us we have a very worrying collective tendency for blindness to the kind of risks that can crash economies and imperil civilisations. I believe that Big Energy is repeating the failing, guilty of an enculturated risk blindness that, unless action is taken, will lead to an inevitable global crash, and not just because of the climate change they fuel.

Since the oil price began its inexorable rise in 2004, I have watched captains of the energy and financial incumbencies at work as the risk taking has built in energy markets. Too many people across the top levels of government and business have closed their eyes and ears to systemic risk taking.

I see four systemic risks. The first and biggest is climate change. We have way more conventional fossil fuel than we need to wreck the climate. Yet the energy incumbency wants us to pile unconventional deposits on the fire, not least by fracking. Second, we risk creating a carbon bubble in the capital markets: puffing up assumed value in fossil fuels that can never be realised. Third, we risk surprising ourselves with the so-called ‘shale boom’ in US gas and oil production. That too may prove to be a bubble, maybe even a Ponzi scheme, I believe. Fourth, we court disaster with our assumptions about oil depletion. Most of us believe the narrative that there will be adequate flow rates of just-about affordable oil for decades to come. I am in a minority who disbelieve the story.

It would be unwise to forget how few whistle-blowers there were

in the run-up to the financial crash. Because of the sheer prevalence of risk blindness, overlain with the pervasiveness of oil dependency in modern economies, I reluctantly conclude system collapse is probably inevitable.

But there is better news. I believe that there will be

a road to renaissance, in the re-building, and especially so if we make the right decisions as we awaken to warnings like the UK floods. We have to nurture clean energy industries, and strategies, and accelerate them as though mobilising for war. We have to kick our fossil fuel dependency into touch. The two-year preparations for the vital December 2015 climate summit in Paris will provide one opportunity to do it. If that doesn’t work, the next great crisis of capitalism will provide another. There won’t be any more, I fear.

Speaking at the Edinburgh Book Festival 2013, George Monbiot argued that we need nuclear power to help us respond to climate change. He argued that we cannot allow exaggerated misconceptions about its safety to blind us to its advantages. While he made it clear he was not a fan of the nuclear industry or its managers, he argued forcibly that nuclear power is a source of low-carbon energy we cannot afford to ignore. At the same event, Professor Sue Roaf of Heriot-Watt University argued with equal passion that advances in solar power meant that we should now embrace it more fully in Scotland. In the same week, Prime Minister David Cameron wrote an article in The Telegraph, declaring his support for fracking in Britain, arguing that it would lower fuel bills, create jobs and benefit local communities.

The energy debate is clearly well and truly underway, and we are approaching a time when critical decisions will have to be taken about the future direction of Scottish and UK energy policy.

The Scottish Government has set its face against nuclear, is distancing itself from fracking, but supports the continued development of offshore oil and gas in Scottish waters. It is also strongly supportive of wind power, both on land and offshore. The UK Government supports new nuclear power stations and fracking (and is responsible for approving and licensing all UK fracking rights), but seems less convinced about wind power, at least in areas where it arouses local controversy.

In part, this reflects our different circumstances. Scotland has the biggest wind resource and the lion’s share of North Sea oil and gas. But the decisions we take in the next year or two are critical. The Church of Scotland wants to see a clear, ethically-minded approach. We strongly support the Scottish Government’s climate change targets. Equally, we are concerned about the extent of fuel poverty in Scotland, and energy policy must seek to reduce or remove fuel poverty as an objective. We need this debate to be well-informed and we need it quickly, as the wrong decision could tie us in to developments we could be stuck with for decades to come.

Fuelling the Future

“We have to nurture clean energy industries, and strategies, and accelerate them as though mobilising for war.”

The Energy of NationsJeremy Leggett, social entrepreneur, author, founder & chairman of Solarcentury & SolarAid

In The Energy of Nations, Jeremy Leggett takes a journey through the reasons that civilisations fail, but also conveys a message of tantalizing hope, that mobilising renewables and redeploying energy funding can soften the crash of modern capitalism.

The next generation - which way now for the great Scottish energy debate?Adrian Shaw, Climate Change Officer, Church of Scotland

16-17Summer 2014

The Geographer

“…critical decisions will have to be taken about the future direction of Scottish and UK energy policy.”

New Technologies

The changing spaces of home - why the low-carbon agenda matters for geographyDr Louise Reid, University of St Andrews

Homes are gaining capacities unachievable a few decades ago. Their computerisation and automation are re-configuring how we imagine home, what we expect from our homes, and how we use them. The rise of the ‘smart home’, which according to the UK’s Department of Trade and Industry is “a dwelling incorporating a communications network that connects the key electrical appliances and services, and allows them to be remotely controlled, monitored or accessed”, is imagined as the home of the future.

The growing popularity of the smart home rests on three key ideas: ease, security and energy efficiency. Firstly, smart homes are easier to manage; for instance, a thermostat can control heating to a specific ambient temperature, saving the householder from having to continually adjust radiators. Secondly, smart homes are secure as they can incorporate alarm systems such as notifications that an appliance requires servicing or is overheating. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, smart homes can switch off appliances not in use, or time appliance use to make the most efficient use of energy. Recent initiatives by Google and Apple to acquire and develop smart home platforms, demonstrate the growth and opportunities for future development in this area.

There are three key elements required for a home to be considered smart: an appropriate internal network (wires or wireless); a mechanism to manage the system (intelligent control); and, objects or items within the home which can be automated, for instance a smart TV. Moreover, smart homes can be designed and built from scratch, or features of a smart home can be retrofitted as homes are upgraded. Although the extent to which homes in the UK are smart is not fully known, it is clear that the direction of the domestic arena is towards a

‘smarter’ more ubiquitous home, animated by the development of coded objects and pervasive computing. A smart home may, for instance, turn off lights when a person leaves a room, may close windows if a sensor detects rain, or may even recommend foods to buy as the fridge empties. The potential implications of smart homes are numerous and mean that seemingly mundane and routine domestic practices are changing, and by so doing are imperceptibly reconfiguring and reshaping the spatiality of homes.

For many decades, discussions of home have been core to geographical scholarship. So too have issues such as techno-utopia and socio-technical systems. The role and extent of smart homes, their automated, automatic and autonomous objects, raises interesting and new issues for geographers to explore. As Rob Kitchin and Martin Dodge acknowledged in their 2011 book Code/Space, the pervasiveness of computer code and the rolling out of the ‘Internet of Things’, are implicated in new spatialities across many domains. Software as ‘everyware’ is radically changing how we imagine space, the relationship between code and space mutually constituted. New questions such as who designs, develops, builds, installs, operates, maintains and destroys these technologies, are a growing concern of many geographers. Indeed, a number of research projects are now underway to explore how the relationships we have with our homes, and the stuff therein, are changing.

My research, funded by the Economic and Social Research

Council, explores how the push towards low-carbon living is influencing these everyday domestic environments. Uncertainties around climate change and energy security mean there is considerable appetite to use energy more efficiently, and the development of smart homes is lauded as having a key role in this (for example, remote monitoring and control of domestic appliances). Understanding how these transitions are experienced by householders will be essential as the low-carbon agenda unfolds. How might the move towards domestic animation and automation change what we understand as home? There is little doubt that objects with new capacities will influence our everyday practices, but in what way? And how will data be used, by whom, for what purpose? At this stage, there are perhaps

more questions than answers, but it is an exciting time for geographers concerned with domestic spaces and everyday experiences.

“The growing popularity of the smart home rests on three key ideas: ease, security and energy efficiency.”

Further reading

Kitchin R, Dodge M (2011), Code/Space: Software and everyday life (London, The MIT Press)

18-19 The Geographer

Summer 2014

The power contained in ocean waves is both enormous and inexhaustible. As an island nation exposed to the sea’s force, this is something we are regularly reminded of. Pelamis Wave Power is working to capture that power for the generation of clean and renewable electricity.

Scotland has become the global hub of activity for the development of both wave and tidal power technologies. In addition to a strong wave resource, marine expertise, infrastructure and market support, Scotland is home to a world-leading test centre for real sea demonstrations of wave and tidal technologies – the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC).

It’s at the EMEC wave test site off the west coast of the Orkney mainland that two second-generation Pelamis (P2) machines are currently being trialled and optimised, one of which is owned by Iberdrola subsidiary ScottishPower Renewables. These machines have demonstrated the safe and efficient operation of the system over more than 90% of wave conditions, and recently celebrated hitting an industry-leading cumulative 10,000 grid-connected operating hours.

This extensive test programme has delivered a range of valuable operational experience and performance data. The team at Pelamis is now working hard to apply the hard-won experience from the P2 machines into the ongoing development and optimisation of the Pelamis design, in parallel with the development of commercial-scale wave farm sites around Scotland. These pilot-scale arrays help to pave the way for large deployments in the future. The marine power sector has now progressed beyond proof of concept to focus on the economics of delivering the first wave and tidal power arrays.

But we must not rest on our laurels; the progress and momentum

generated by the sector in this country must be maintained. We’re keen to avoid repeating the mistakes made during the early stages of wind power development, when there was a failure to capitalise and commercialise on the UK’s early technological lead. The marine power sector currently continues to attract sufficient investment to maintain progress, but the support from the UK and Scottish Governments will remain crucial over the next five to ten years if we are to see wave energy successfully make the commercial transition.

Developing any new technology is going to have high initial costs. Marine energy is commercialising in a very different world to other preceding technologies. Yes, the world is now awake to climate change and the need to decarbonise energy supply, but we are also in a world of deregulated electricity supply with huge cost pressure from consumers and government. Gone are the days of amortising development and commercialisation costs across a broad portfolio. We must make rapid progress down the cost curve if we are to survive and deliver a significant contribution to energy supply.

The good news is that the opening cost of wave energy is favourable to other now mature technologies like nuclear or wind, and we have a clear trajectory for costs to rapidly reduce to the level of offshore wind. Central to this cost reduction is continuing to push innovation hard, and to develop and progressively improve the Pelamis design. The next machine is on the drawing board and will commence manufacture next year. It builds on the success and solid technical platform of our second-generation P2 machines, and incorporates the key enhancements required to make the first commercial deployment viable.

It has now been almost ten years

since we generated our very first kWh from the waves off Billia Croo in Orkney. In that time we have amassed well over 200,000kWh of electricity generated, a wealth of real operational experience and learning, and a mountain of parallel fundamental research and development data. We now have a deep understanding of the resource, our environment and our technology, of how to make it work, how to make it work better, and how to make it cheaper. Of course, we are not alone in making good progress. A number of the leading wave and tidal technologies have delivered similar step advances and success stories.

According to industry body RenewableUK, if the UK can secure its current market-leading position, by 2035 the UK marine industry could employ up to 19,500 individuals, draw investment of £6.1bn, and generate GVA of £800 million per annum. However, the future of wave energy in the next decade goes beyond UK waters, and the potential is there for wave energy to supply a significant proportion of the world’s global energy consumption.

Undoubtedly, there is still a long way to go, and the right backing and investment will be crucial to overcome the remaining barriers, but the industry as a whole has come a long, long way from its beginnings. We are now in a position where we know what needs to be done and how to go about doing it. Our challenge for the next decade is clear: take the sector from successful demonstration to large scale generation. A challenge that I and the rest of the team at Pelamis look forward to delivering on.

A Wave of New TechnologyRichard Yemm, CEO, Pelamis Wave Power Ltd

“The marine power sector has now progressed beyond proof of concept.”

The changing spaces of home - why the low-carbon agenda matters for geographyDr Louise Reid, University of St Andrews

RSGS History

The Scottish Geographical Magazine/Journal has been published without interruption, through wars and recessions, since the inaugural issue of 1885. Its aims were to spread geographical knowledge, reveal and explain research findings, act as a link between scientific specialists and the public, and to provide a means of contact with geographers, travellers, and other Geographical Societies throughout the world. For those with a keen interest in the contemporary world, publication of the Society’s Magazine provided them with a remarkable window on the world from the comfort of their armchair long before the advent of the television documentary.

The first volume of the new Magazine was an impressive publication comprising a mix of scholarly articles and additional material of interest to readers. The 12 issues of 1885 contained 38 articles on a variety of subjects that reflected the scope of Geography, and issues of concern to contemporary British society. The first paper in the first issue reproduced Henry Morton Stanley’s inaugural address to the Scottish Geographical Society. There were also four papers on various aspects of the geography of Scotland, including one by Professor James Geikie on the physical features of Scotland, and another by Liddall on the place-names of Kinross-shire. Exploration was a focus for nine papers on topics as diverse as the eastern route to Central Africa, essentially that followed by Livingstone, and explorations in Greater Tibet and Mongolia. The combination of scientific discovery and adventure was a potent mix. Readers were captivated by the fate of the International Polar Expedition led by Lt Adolphus Greeley that had been stranded in the Canadian Arctic for three years. Following their eventual rescue, and notwithstanding allegations of cannibalism, Lt Greely was invited to deliver the Society’s first anniversary address.

Regional studies, often linked to exploration, provided the theme of a further eight papers in Volume 1. A range of studies included accounts of the Egyptian Sudan; south-west Turkomania; the Congo Free State; East Africa; Togoland; north-west Australia; the Caroline Islands; and Roraima.

Physical geography was represented by several articles including one by the aptly named James Clyde entitled Rivers and Rivers, in which he presented a wide-ranging discussion on the nature of rivers; and a study of Rapids and Waterfalls by George Chisholm; other papers examined the great volcanic crater and lava desert of Iceland. There were also articles on geographical techniques such as the use of cylindrical projections; and Astronomical Observations Between Mozambique Coast and Lake Nyassa; as well as on geographical education; and the position of Geography in Scotland.

In addition to the wealth of scholarly articles submitted by eminent geographers, researchers and explorers, the bumper volume of 639 pages (only to be surpassed by the 732 pages of Volume 2) also contained a large number of notes and information for members.

The second volume of 1886, which was equally impressive, contained, in addition to the usual ephemera, articles on physical geography; oceanography; Scotland; exploration; trade and transport; Antarctic research; problems of human adaptation in Africa; political geography; and regional geographies of various lands. Contributions on the Balkan states by White and on the work of the Afghan Boundary Commission by Black can only be regarded as prescient, in view of more recent geopolitical histories of these regions. Public interest in adventure and the fate of individual explorers and travellers

was satisfied by an update on the position of Dr Emin Bay Pasha, who had become a cause célèbre at the time. Born Eduard Schnitzer, Emin Pasha, General Charles Gordon’s governor of Equatoria, had been besieged by Mahdist forces. Prompted by Robert Felkin, a member of Council, the Royal Scottish Geographical Society sent a resolution to the British Government recommending that a relief expedition be sent to his aid. Led by H M Stanley, the (successful) Emin Pasha Relief Expedition of 1886-89 was one of the last major 19th-century European expeditions into the interior of Africa.

The Scottish Geographical Journal - Shaping Scottish GeographyProfessor Michael Pacione FRSGS, University of Strathclyde

“…the Society’s Magazine provided… a remarkable window on the world… long before the advent of the television documentary.”

The Scottish Geographical Journal (SGJ) is available from Taylor & Francis online at www.tandf.co.uk/journals/RSGJ or in hard copy. All RSGS members are entitled to receive the SGJ for free, including online access to all volumes dating back to 1885.

If you are not currently receiving the SGJ but would like to, please contact us by emailing enquiries@rsgs.org or phoning 01738 455050, with your membership number, and an indication of whether you want to receive the hard copy, or to have online access, or both.

This is the second of three extracts from Professor Pacione’s forthcoming book, Scottish Geography: A Historiography, written to mark the 130th anniversary of the RSGS.

On The Map 20-21 The Geographer

Summer 2014

Mapping union and independence in 1714Chris Fleet FRSGS, Senior Map Curator, National Library of Scotland

Herman Moll, The north part of Great Britain called Scotland … according to the newest and exact observations (1714)

Maps are inherently political documents, both in terms of their promotion of certain causes and people over others, and through their impact on the maps’ readers to think or act in different ways. Herman Moll’s map of Scotland of 1714 illustrates this well in terms of the personal and national tensions between British union and Scottish independence. Following the Act of Union of 1707, the powerful London-based map engravers and publishers did well in eliding or relegating the name of “Scotland” from maps of the country: “North Britain” or “the north part of Great Britain called Scotland” clearly underlined the new political geography and focus for loyalties.

Herman Moll (1654?-1732) was born in Bremen, but worked in

London from around 1675, and from there promoted a successful image of the British state and its steadily growing empire. He chose to dedicate this map to John Erskine, Earl of Mar (1675-1732), with good reason. Mar had vigorously promoted the Anglo-Scottish Union and was in the zenith of his career, as the principal Secretary of State for Scotland. He had just moved into a fashionable house at Privy Gardens, Whitehall in 1713, and in the next year he married Lady Frances Pierrepont, the daughter of a Whig politician, strengthening his links with the new regime. But it was not to be – within months of George I’s accession to the throne in August 1714, it became clear that Mar, along with most other Tory ministers, had no place under

the new king, and Mar quickly reversed his loyalties to the Jacobite cause. After months of plotting and conspiracy, he took a leading part in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 – although his indecision and military incompetence was widely held to be responsible for its failure. Mar was subsequently forced into exile, rightly mistrusted by all sides, and never pardoned.

That said, the dedication to Mar seemed to do the map no harm in terms of its popularity or sales; it was reprinted more than five times over the following half-century, and it was widely copied by other map-makers. It remains today a striking map of Scotland, and a reminder of the opposing personal and political ambitions of those using this map for different ends.

“Moll chose to dedicate this map to John Erskine, Earl of Mar… with good reason.”

A zoomable image of the map can be seen at maps.nls.uk/view/74417584.

What Geography Means To Me

What does geography mean to me? I am a

geologist, entrepreneur and climate change activist. I have a 2:1 degree in BSc (Honours) Geology from the University of St Andrews, and I’ve started a geothermal energy consultancy company in Scotland – Town Rock Energy Ltd. The scientific evidence of anthropogenic climate change is what inspires me to do what I do.I founded Town Rock Energy shortly after I graduated University. I was advised that I would need a Masters degree in order to have any competitive advantage when applying for graduate schemes, but because I was tired of being educated formally and wanted to get out in ‘the real world’, I decided this was not the path for me and wasn’t sure what to do. Then I received a circulated email in my inbox that challenged any 2013 graduate with a business

idea to enter a start-up competition with prizes of up to £50,000. Two months later, I won the renewable energy category of SIE’s

Young Innovators Challenge, which granted me 18 months of business advice and funding. I was initially bewildered by the task in front of me, but I am incredibly

fortunate to have an exceedingly cool-headed and helpful father, who is also a geologist, has 35 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, had just recently retired, and is still very enthusiastic to advise me throughout my venture.

Geothermal energy has several significant advantages over other forms of renewable energy. It has a lower local environmental impact as there is almost no visible surface infrastructure; it provides reliable controllable 24-hour energy; and it is closer to existing infrastructure and areas of high energy demand. Town Rock Energy applies well-established hydrocarbon exploration techniques, integrated with thermal modelling and risk analysis, to evaluate areas where hot water can be sustainably produced from the rocks beneath our feet. The mission of Town Rock Energy is to locate and assess all significant sources of geothermal energy in Scotland. Our vision is to see the geothermal resources that Scotland is blessed with used as an integral part of the renewable energy system that will drive Scotland forward as a global demonstrator of carbon-neutrality.

Great teachers, awesome parents, and a fantastic education have inspired me to dedicate my life to combatting climate change through drastic and immediate reduction of global carbon dioxide emissions. This personal drive was quite a dilemma while still a student, as the vast majority of

geologists go into very fruitful careers in either the oil and gas or mining industries, both of which have a history of causing detrimental harm to the local and global environment. I am incredibly lucky to be able to enter the exciting and rapidly-emerging geothermal energy industry in such a profound way.

Anthropogenic climate change is the biggest challenge the human species has ever faced, and probably ever will. The fact that the global consensus from the scientific community still faces naïve objections from a scary number of powerful individuals, both worries me and inspires me to try to change the world as quickly and effectively as possible. We all need to act to reduce global CO2 emissions in any and all ways possible, because if we don’t, my future children and all other humans born after 2020 will spend their lifetime watching the planet we have called home for so many centuries become gradually but consistently uninhabitable. I realise it is hard to think about the ‘distant’ future with any sense of urgency, but just think of the legacy that you are personally leaving behind you, and how your actions now will be judged by future generations.

Thank you for reading, and if you would like more information about what Town Rock Energy are doing, or want to get in touch, please visit www.townrockenergy.com.

“Geothermal energy has several significant advantages over other forms of renewable energy.”

DaviD TownsenD

Town Rock Energy Limited

Town Rock Energy exhibited on the Scotland Pavilion at the 2014 World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.

Town Rock Energy is establishing the UK’s first geothermal lab in co-operation with the University of St Andrews. From left to right: Dr Tim Raub, Dr Richard Bates, David Townsend.

Building on the format of the successful interactive Storymats developed by RSPB, the new RSGS Climate Change Storymat has been developed to create awareness of the Earth, including habitats, biodiversity, climate and weather. It has also been designed to help young children think about personal actions we can take to reduce the effects of climate change on the environment.

University N

ews

The RSGS’s academic journal is available from Taylor & Francis on-line at www.tandf.co.uk/journals/RSGJ or in hard copy. All RSGS members are entitled to receive the Scottish Geographical Journal for free. If you are not currently receiving the SGJ but would like to, please contact us by emailing enquiries@rsgs.org or phoning 01738 455050.

Scottish Geographical Journal

Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation (ECCI)Smart Accelerator

In Scotland there are numerous potential or planned ‘smart city region’ or ‘sustainable island’ projects that have stalled. Operating at the intersection between energy use, mobility and ICT, such projects can improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of citizens and communities.

Multiple public agencies have come together in a Smart Accelerator programme, led by ECCI. The aim is to create more resource-efficient, low-carbon, ‘smart’ city areas, drawing on international good practice, and integrating the knowledge and know-how of Scottish companies and universities.

For too long, different groups have worked in silos. This project provides an exemplar of the rationale for ECCI: we must work together (researchers and practitioners, private and public sector, communities and enterprises) to deliver the practical outcomes of improved well-being that we desire. See www.edinburghcentre.org/Smart-Accelerator.html for more information.

University of St AndrewsQuaternary and environmental geography

Ecological records rarely extend beyond recent decades, yet many environmental and ecosystem processes play out over centuries, so palaeoecology provides essential information about how ecosystems responded to past disturbance and their resilience to environmental change. Such long-term insights have been notably absent from recent papers identifying priority research needs. Environmental geographers Prof Bill Austin and Dr Althea Davies contributed to a workshop to identify the top 50 priority research questions in palaeoecology. The resulting paper is Seddon A W R et al (2014), Looking forward through the past: identification of 50 priority research questions in palaeoecology (Journal of Ecology, 102(1): 256-267).

Big Society Seminar

The final seminar of the ESRC seminar series The Big Society, Localism and Housing Policy was held in St Andrews in March. Convened by Dr Kim McKee and Dr Tom Moore, it looked at the implications of localism for the future of social housing. Topics included the role of co-operative housing alternatives, and links between the Big Society and Broken Britain. See bigsocietylocalismhousing.co.uk/seminar-3/ for all seminar papers and presentations.

22-23 The Geographer

Summer 2014

The RSGS and the Friends of Hugh Miller are chartering a traditional sailing boat for a week in September 2014, to follow the journey of discovery taken by Hugh Miller in the summer of 1844 on the sailboat, the Betsey. The project will celebrate the life and achievements of a great Scot – a great geologist and a remarkable observer of the social history of the time.

We have recruited an inter-generational mix of geologists,

geographers, artists, writers, ecologists, storytellers, theologians and historians, reflecting Hugh Miller’s remarkable ability to think across disciplines. Geology, landscape, people and story will be at the heart of the journey which will begin in Oban on 6th September.

Public events are planned in Cromarty and Oban, and on the islands of Eigg and Rum. We are setting up a ‘Betsey blog’ and plan to have live links with the boat.

Celebrating Hugh Miller

Exciting new RSGS resourcesWe are developing two exciting new resources for primary and secondary schools, based on Hugh Miller’s voyage on the Betsey, with a focus on ‘Learning about Scotland’. We have two excellent educational consultants developing the materials: Sallie Harkness of Storyline Scotland (author of the RSGS Droving Storyline) and Alan Parkinson (RSGS Tivy Education Medallist).

The secondary resource targets S3 and involves different departments (geography, science, English, and history) working together over a period of six weeks. With support from Education Scotland, we are recruiting schools who are interested in working with us to explore a delivery model that would suit their circumstances, to make it as practical as possible but also to try some new approaches. Piloting will take place in September and October 2014 to coincide with the re-enactment of the voyage taken by Hugh Miller in 1844.

RSGS Climate Change Storymat

Education

The sailing boat Leader, which will follow the voyage of the Betsey.

Piloting the new Storymat with a P3 class.

From recent flash-floods in Britain and France to summer wildfires across Southern Europe, the threat is

coming into sharper focus. The impacts of climate change are here, on Europe’s doorstep.

Europeans are worried. In recent months, devastating winds and floods throughout Western Europe caused trauma to their victims, raising further concern about extreme weather events, but it’s the big picture that alarms the population at large: in a future defined by our success or failure to tackle climate change, are today’s leaders ready to act?

Nine in ten European citizens now consider climate change a ‘serious problem’, a Eurobarometer poll revealed in March.

European heads of state have begun discussing a package of new climate-related measures and targets for 2030 – one of the first in a delicate sequence of international events and summits over the next two years, concluding with a major conference in Paris, in December 2015.

What happens in Brussels could have life-or-death repercussions for millions of people now and billions more in the future. Climate change is a slow, grinding crisis, but urgent action is needed to defuse it.

The EU has often been the driver of the world’s ambition – morally, politically, economically – in tackling climate change. There have been setbacks, but its overall record is a model to others on the world stage. Its leadership has created the space for other blocs, such as the world’s least developed countries, to make themselves heard. And Europe cannot falter. The targets decided now will set the terms

for further negotiations. Europe must seize the opportunity to act now and create momentum towards a robust, universal, fair and legally-binding agreement in Paris in 2015.

The implications of climate change are vast and complex, but two things are clear.

If the EU agrees a package, it will have a chance to lead discussions at a major summit convened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York this September. And if Europe does not lead, who will? The signals are that the other great powers may not be ready to speak out. This risks leaving many of the more vulnerable – and more outspoken – small islands, least developed, and Latin American countries without an ally.

And the target itself should be ambitious enough to be meaningful. The European Commission’s current proposal of a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 on 1990 levels is not enough to guarantee Europe’s status as a leader in climate negotiations, or to meet its own objective of reducing its carbon emissions by 95% in 2050.

With clear, strong policy signals and targets, European businesses can boost their competitiveness. The United States and China are also making leaps and bounds in adapting their economies to meet climate targets, and Europe is losing ground. Those two countries now lead the world in wind power capacity, and are catching up with Germany and Italy, the world leaders in solar energy. European businesses must be given the conditions to compete or may lose their edge completely.

We aren’t naïve. We know it is complicated to negotiate an agreement among 28 countries. But as Elders, we believe leaders’ decisions must be accountable to moral imperatives. Addressing climate change is also a matter of justice. If we are to be true to our commitment to human

rights, then rich nations owe a fair and honest deal to the world’s most vulnerable regions. The people on climate change’s frontline have often done the least to cause it.

This means reducing the suffering of those worst affected and acting now to avoid further suffering in the future. It also means sharing technology, funds and solutions to help vulnerable countries and communities to engage fully in the transition to a low-carbon world. As the cradle of the industrial revolution, Europe created our carbon-heavy world and must lead the world into its next, low-carbon, safer and more caring chapter.

As Elders, representing different parts of the world and a shared moral compass, we would like to encourage and support leaders in the EU to act in the interests of their own citizens and the citizens of the world. Strong action on climate change in Europe will help EU members to maintain their competitive edge and be ‘ahead of the curve’ in the transition to low-carbon development. It will also help the countries and communities least responsible for the causes of climate change to make their voices heard in partnership with a strong ally; an ally that acknowledges and acts on their responsibility for carbon emissions.

Current and future generations, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren, need the world to act decisively now to avoid dangerous climate change. The EU is well placed to create the positive momentum needed to enable others to act. Tackling climate change is in Europe’s economic interest. It is also a chance to display leadership at its finest.

A call for European leadership on climate changeMary Robinson and Desmond Tutu

“…rich nations owe a fair and honest deal to the world’s most vulnerable regions.”

Former Irish President Mary Robinson and Archbishop Desmond Tutu are members of The Elders (www.theelders.org), a group of independent leaders working for peace, justice and human rights worldwide. Mary Robinson received the RSGS Livingstone Medal in 2012 for her work on climate justice.

Images © Jeff Moore

The Cost of Fuel

RSGS Explorer-in-Residence 24-25 The Geographer

Summer 2014

Much has happened since I introduced The Polar Academy in the spring edition of The Geographer. This unique project is really starting to gather momentum now, with the first group of youths and their parents attending SportScotland’s Glenmore Lodge on the first selection weekend to determine who will be picked for the life-changing Arctic expedition.

The selection weekend is demanding. Nigel Williams, Head of Training at Glenmore Lodge and my right-hand man on next year’s expedition, and I have designed a course which pushes participants well beyond what they thought possible.

The weekend started at 21:00 on the Friday, with a welcoming meeting and a brief run-down on what was in store (up to this point, I had deliberately made no information available). There were more than a few nervous faces around the room.

You have to remember, The Polar Academy is aimed at the ‘invisible kids’ in our education system; good kids who just drift through school. They have fantastic aspirations in life; they just lack self-confidence or motivation to do anything about it. So they tend to hide away, and are usually the victims of bullying as they are easy targets. Having now spent many years lecturing in schools, I know these kids have greatness within them; they just need the catalyst to release it. It has to be something truly life-changing, something they really have to work hard to attain but, overall, something which inspire their peers – like The Polar Academy.

Early on the Saturday morning, I asked everyone to get dressed in wetsuits, to stand around the specially-designed kayak rolling pool, and to practise tying a series of different knots on a length of 5mm floating rope. Not everyone

could swim, so when I then said that I wanted them to be sealed in a kayak, capsized upside-down, then tie the knots they’d just learned before being allowed to pop back up to the surface, concerned faces surrounded me.

Now, I do not do danger, nor do I ever take risks; everything I do is for a reason. This task aimed to demonstrate that, even under a perceived stressful situation (upside-down underwater), with the correct mind-set you can still perform complex tasks. After a demonstration, I selected probably the most nervous kid, and reassured her that she could do this task and that I would be right beside her throughout. I showed her how to fill her lungs properly with air (being an ex-military diver I know a few tricks), and counted to three before capsizing her in the kayak. With glass sides on the pool, everyone could see clearly what was happening under the water. However, I was not expecting what actually happened. Not only had this nervous young lady tied all the knots, she thought (wrongly) that she had made a mistake with the first one, so untied them all, retied them, and then surfaced – incredible! She was clearly proud of what she had just done; but the other kids watching were blown away and couldn’t wait to have a go.

Over the next 48 hours, they climbed, abseiled, canoed, kayaked, orienteered and hill-walked. They were exhausted but flowing with pride at what they had achieved. Their parents were now seeing what their children were capable of, being far more than they ever dreamed of.

The final task was a presentation that each parent and child had to do in front of the Polar Academy team, stating why they should be picked for the expedition and what they would do to inspire their peers

on their return. Each pair had 15 minutes to make their case.

What followed was incredibly emotional. Some of these families have nothing, they have a survival existence. For almost three hours my instructors and I listened intently to all ten families speaking from the heart. Afterwards we were all left without any doubt of the huge impact The Polar Academy will have on those selected, but also the positive impact it’s already having on those just being considered. This is the chance their parents never got; this is the catalyst this generation needs.

I have two other selection weekends before I announce the final expedition team and my plans for those not selected. The ten expedition members will return to Scotland changed people, ready to inspire their peers. This is what The Polar Academy is all about – inspiring the youth of Scotland. As an explorer, I love speaking to schools, trying to motivate and inspire this generation; however, when the ‘ten’ start to do the same job it will stir the heart of every youth in Scotland – and this is only the beginning.

Next time you’ll get to meet the ‘ten’ and hear about all the training they will have to do before setting foot on the Arctic ice.

If you would like to help me achieve all this, please do not hesitate to get in touch. I still need to raise funds, and with the assistance of the RSGS we can make it happen. Just call me on 01506 825115 or email me at craigmathieson@blueyonder.co.uk.

The Polar Academy… already inspiring our youthCraig Mathieson, RSGS Explorer-in-Residence

“This is what The Polar Academy is all about – inspiring the youth of Scotland.”

Book Club

North Korea Undercover Inside the World’s Most Secret StateJohn Sweeney (Bantam Press, November 2013)

North Korea is like no other tyranny on Earth. The regime controls the flow of information to its citizens, pouring relentless propaganda through omnipresent loudspeakers. Free speech is an illusion: one word out of line and the gulag awaits. State spies are everywhere, ready to punish disloyalty and the slightest sign of discontent.

Posing as a university professor, award-winning BBC journalist John Sweeney travelled undercover to gain unprecedented access to the world’s most secret state. Drawing on his own experiences and his extensive interviews with defectors and other key witnesses, North Korea Undercover pulls back the curtain, providing a rare insight into life there today, examining the country’s troubled history and addressing important questions about its uncertain future. Sweeney’s highly engaging, authoritative account illuminates the dark side of the Hermit Kingdom and challenges the West’s perception of this paranoid nationalist state.

The TriggerHunting the Assassin Who Brought the World to WarTim Butcher (Chatto & Windus, May 2014)

On a summer morning in Sarajevo a hundred years ago, a teenager named Gavrilo Princip fired not just the opening shots of WWI but the starting gun for modern history, when he killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Born a penniless backwoodsman, Princip’s life changed when he trekked through Bosnia and Serbia to attend school. As he ventured across fault lines of faith, nationalism and empire, so tightly clustered in the Balkans, radicalisation slowly transformed him from a frail farm boy into history’s most influential assassin.

By retracing Princip’s journey from his highland birthplace, through the mythical valleys of Bosnia to the fortress city of Belgrade and ultimately Sarajevo, Butcher illuminates our understanding of both Princip and the places that shaped him. He uncovers details about Princip that have eluded historians for a century and draws on his own experience, as a war reporter in the Balkans in the 1990s, to face down ghosts of conflicts past and present.

Readers of The Geographer can buy Doubling Back directly from Freight Books for only £11.99 (RRP £14.99) plus postage. To order, visit www.freightbooks.co.uk and use the code ‘walking’ at the checkout.

Ice Man The Making of a Glaciologist Stan Paterson (Papyngay Press, February 2014)

This story tells how Stan Paterson became a glaciologist and the author of a standard textbook on the subject and, almost as a sideline, an adventurous mountaineer – or maybe it was the other way around. His career spanned an interesting period. When he began in the

1950s, the Arctic regions were difficult and expensive to visit, only possible by government-sponsored expeditions – now they are a popular holiday destination. His mountaineering exploits were considerable, and are briefly and refreshingly described. His style is quiet

and matter-of-fact, with a counterpoint of quiet humour that makes his story delightfully readable. In 1968, Stan Paterson received the WS Bruce Polar Medal, awarded by the RSGS and the RSE, for his pioneering work, both theoretical and practical, on the physics of glaciers.

Doubling Back is a fascinating and moving account of walking in the footsteps of others. In 1952, Linda Cracknell’s father embarked on a hike through the Swiss Alps. Fifty years later, Linda retraced that fateful journey, following the trail of the man she barely knew.

This collection of walking tales, which featured as BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week in June, takes its theme from that pilgrimage. The walks trace the contours of history, following writers and relations, re-treading ways across mountains, valleys and coasts formerly trodden by drovers, saints and adventurers. From Spain, Kenya, Switzerland and Norway to Cornwall, Lindisfarne and the Highlands of Scotland, each walk is about the reaffirming of memories, beliefs and emotions, and especially of the connection that one can have with the past through particular places. This book celebrates life, family, friendship and walking through landscapes richly textured with stories.

Doubling BackTen Paths Trodden in HistoryLinda Cracknell (Freight Books, May 2014)

Sarah Moss had a childhood dream of moving to Iceland, sustained by a wild summer there when she was 19. In 2009, she saw an advertisement for a job at the University of Iceland and applied on a whim, despite having two young children and a comfortable life in Kent.

The resulting adventure was shaped by Iceland’s economic collapse, which halved the value of her salary, by the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, and by a collection of new friends, including a poet who saw the only bombs fall on Iceland in 1943, a woman who speaks to elves, and a chef who guided the family around the intricacies of Icelandic cuisine. Moss explored hillsides of boiling mud and volcanic craters, and learned to drive like an Icelander on the unsurfaced roads that link remote farms and fishing villages in the far north. She watched the Northern Lights and the comings and goings of migratory birds, and as the weeks and months went by, she and her family learned new ways to live.

Names for the Sea Strangers in IcelandSarah Moss (Granta, July 2013)

Reader Offer - save 20% Offer ends 30th September 2014

Help us to make the connections between people, places and the planet.Phone 01738 455050 or visit www.rsgs.org to join the RSGS.Lord John Murray House, 15-19 North Port, Perth, PH1 5LU Charity SC015599

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