At the cost of sounding like a tree hugger during the recent debate on additional air conditioning use through the Heat waves, tree planting offers several long-term and sustainable advantages over using air conditioning (AC) to combat heat waves. Here’s a comparison highlighting the benefits of tree planting:

🌳 Advantages of Tree Planting Over Air Conditioning

1. Natural Cooling

• Trees provide shade that cools surfaces and reduces the urban heat island effect.
• Through transpiration, trees release moisture into the air, naturally lowering temperatures without using electricity.

2. Energy Efficiency

• Trees reduce the need for AC by shading buildings and lowering indoor temperatures.
• This leads to lower electricity consumption, saving money and reducing demand on power grids, especially during peak times.

3. Environmental Impact

• Air conditioners release greenhouse gases and use hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which contribute to global warming.
• Trees absorb CO₂, improve air quality, and support climate change mitigation.

4. Cost-Effectiveness (Long-Term)

• While tree planting has upfront costs and maintenance, it offers long-lasting benefits over decades.
• In contrast, AC units need regular maintenance, replacement, and electricity to operate.

5. Health and Well-being

• Trees improve air quality by filtering pollutants.
• They also provide mental health benefits, such as stress reduction and increased well-being.
• AC can contribute to indoor air pollution, mold, and respiratory issues if not maintained.

6. Urban Aesthetics and Biodiversity

• Trees enhance the beauty of urban landscapes.
• They provide habitats for birds, insects, and other wildlife, supporting biodiversity.

7. Resilience to Power Outages

• Trees offer passive cooling, which is especially important during power outages caused by extreme heat or energy grid failures.
• AC is useless without electricity.

8. Community and Social Benefits

• Green spaces encourage social interaction, physical activity, and community building.
• Shade from trees makes public spaces more usable during hot weather.

Summary Table:

✅ Conclusion:

Tree planting is a sustainable, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly solution to heat waves, offering long-term benefits for individuals, communities, and the planet. While air conditioning can offer quick relief, it is energy-intensive, expensive, and contributes to the problem it’s trying to solve.

Let me know if you want this turned into a flyer, infographic, or slide!

At an emergency plenary at City Hall, the London Assembly discussed the loss of police counters the MET want to implement and the implications it would mean to all Londoners yesterday. 

Now some of us in Marylebone and Paddington are use to this already, as the Church St Police Counter seems permanently closed since it was offered as a replacement of the Police Counter being closed in Paddington Green Police Station, a few years ago.  More recently the notice on the Police Counter along Church Street, redirects you to Charing Cross and Kensington Police Counter desks instead. Out of the two, it is proposed that Kensington will be closed now as well but l am not sure whether local people of the North of Westminster ever went to these two other Police Counters. 

Advocates for the closures like Brian Coleman would say that “…..the figures speak for themselves as 95% of crime is reported online or by phone . It is the same with Banks, Post Offices and Railway ticket offices . People vote with their feet or fingers on the internet. Much as we would like to we cannot stop progress” 

In response, Now l don’t think its too much to expect our Police Force to be multi-tasking the Counters!

For a full breakdown of the MPS Front Counter closure please have a look at the Update below;  

The withdrawal of USAID was considered terrible by many, but aid flows are dwarfed by the export earnings that countries receive from trade. Bangladesh’s total trade with the US is worth around US$8.4 billion, compared to, at its peak, the US giving US$447 million in aid. The sudden imposition of these tariffs is likely to cause a much greater economic shock like the employment of up to 4 million in the Garment industry where the overwhelming majority are women. So clearly in a 21^st century world of global interdependence, these tariffs will have serious repercussions for countries in the Global South like Bangladesh as the US takes a distinct shift towards aggressive protectionism.

Recent tariffs implemented by the U.S. administration have led to a complex trade situation for Bangladesh. While initial proposals had set very high tariff rates, Bangladesh successfully negotiated a lower, more favourable rate for its exports. This outcome is considered a significant diplomatic victory for Bangladesh.

On this day in 1856 the postal districts of London were created to speed up the delivery of letters with the General Post Office (GPO) under Sir Rowland Hill producing these districts. 

Since then a lot of London has grown beyond these boundaries and had some additional post codes added on to it. Also new technology and practices like on-line shopping and e-mail correspondence have clearly made an impact on the movement of our letters and parcels. Plus is has many misnomers that need ironing out. For example, l live in the City of Westminster yet l have a Camden Town post code! 

So maybe it is time to revise London’s post codes all together? 

Yes, it’s true that in some parts of the UK, the price of a coffee, particularly a flat white, is now more expensive than a pint of lager. This is due to a combination of factors impacting coffee prices, including rising costs of coffee beans, supply chain disruptions, and increased production expenses for both coffee and alcoholic beverages.

Firstly there appears to be some global factors are playing a part with coffee bean prices like climate change impacting coffee-growing regions, supply chain disruptions like around the Red sea, and increased demand are driving up the cost of coffee beans.

This along with production side of it, as farmers are facing higher costs for inputs like fertilizer, equipment, and labor, which are passed on to consumers. Furthermore, there is the brewing and retail costs. Here also the electricity, packaging, and staffing costs are also increasing, leading to higher prices in coffee shops and cafes.

Whilst with alcoholic drink costs are also affected by rising costs, though the impact might be less pronounced compared to the price surge in coffee.

Let us also not forget that  price difference can vary by location. For example, a recent study in Chelmsford, Essex, found that a flat white was 7 pence more expensive than a pint of lager. Clearly the comparison between a pint and coffee is far more appropriate.

Essentially, the confluence of factors affecting both coffee and alcohol production, combined with increased demand for coffee, has resulted in coffee becoming a more expensive beverage in some areas.

As the recognition of the state of Palestine comes into vogue by the West lets not forget much of the rest of the world has done so already. Much of this in response to the appalling daily killings occurring now in Gaza as well as assaults of Palestinians on the West Bank with famine clearly on the horizon as well. This has been long withheld by the British government, and even during the recent talk about it all, the Labour government has been not keen at all going along with this as other European nations are doing so now. Its a key step towards the two state solution yet only happening now as the very existence of Palestinian people is under threat. 

Some of us have of course been here already. It was during the London Olympics of 2012, l hosted the Palestinian Olympic Team with the Palestinian community in London for a reception at City Hall and giving them some recognition that they were not getting at the time. I cottoned onto this quite early on and duly got them this prize in 2012 whilst the Olympics was happening, by hosting this event along with International Arab Charity (IAC). After all that is all they were after, some sort of recognition of the state of Palestine. 

So while the drive for recognition of Palestine grows in Europe, l can say that along with the rest of the world we have given them this for their cause already sometime ago on the 13th anniversary of the event today. I also dare not ask what the fate of the Palestinian athletics in 2012 has been since particularly during the past few years in Gaza and the West Bank.  

In recent times we have heard about the big payment settlements between the Bangladesh government due to Adani Power where the govt paid $437 million to clear all outstanding dues including interest and other interests. This reliance on private energy supplies from India is to be maintained into the foreseeable future as the government has asked them to keep 800 MW units at the Godda plant running as needed, whilst a letter of credit has been provided  as sovereign guarantee to ensure timely future payment under the power purchase agreement. This while we know of Bangladesh’s abundance of solar on land and wind power in the Bay of Bengal, as well its gas reserves.  This while the Interim government reforms report update, tells us its renewable energy policy initiative is an on going policy review process, whilst also cancelling all 31 letters of intent for renewable energy from the last government. 

Here’s now is a basic overview of Bangladesh’s energy consumption by source from 2000 through 2022, based on the latest available official data:

Total Final Energy Consumption (Petajoules – PJ)

Based on IAEA/RDS‑1 and UN/OECD data (www-pub.iaea.org, www-pub.iaea.org):

This tell us that the overall energy consumption grew at approx 4.4 % annually from 2000 to 2020 (www-pub.iaea.org, www-pub.iaea.org), with natural gas useage rising 5.8 % annually (149PJ in 2020 to 458 PJ in 2020); coal consumption surged the most rapidly by 15% per annum (14PJ in 2000 to 229PJ in 2020) while Bioenergy & waste remained relatively stable in volume (~313 PJ to ~383 PJ), but its share declined (www-pub.iaea.org, www-pub.iaea.org).

As for the electricity generation and fuel mix, the total electricity generation rose from 14.9 TWh in 2000 to 87 TWh in 2021, a growth of nearly 486 % over the period (database.earth). Fossil fuels share remained much the same with natural gas at 88.8 % in 2000 and 55 % in 2021 while both oil/furnace oil and diesel raising to 27 % in 2021 from 6-7 % in 2020. Coal rose from 0 % in 2000 to 6-7 % in 2021 whilst hydro and other renewables were barely 1 % if that at all (www-pub.iaea.org, PMC, Wikipedia).

Summary & Trends

So in summary, there was a rapid increase in energy demand – nearly tripled between 2000 and 2020. Natural gas dominated  as consistently the main commercial energy source, though its share is declining. Coal’s had the fastest raising share from negligible levels in 2000 to approx 15 % of total energy consumption by 2020, and approx 21 % of electricity by 2023. All this while bioenergy use was stagnant  as the volume was stable but declining in share. Electricity generation surged with fossil fuels comprising 98–99 %, while renewables (hydro, solar, wind) remain under-developed. So clean energy remains tiny – solar and hydro make up barely ~2 % of electricity, with wind even lower; coal and oil have gained share in recent years (www-pub.iaea.org).

Furthermore, natural gas shortages caused by the depletion of domestic reserves have forced reliance on LNG imports and coal-fired power expansion (Reddit, Reddit) with LNG import infrastructure such as floating terminals at Cox’s Bazar is under expansion to fill supply gaps (Wikipedia). Renewable energy policies aim to scale up solar, wind, biomass and nuclear expansion at the Rooppur nuclear plant, but rollout so far remains very modest (Wikipedia) indeed. 

Final Thoughts

Bangladesh’s energy consumption profile since 2000 reflects explosive growth in demand and a heavy reliance on natural gas and oil, with coal rapidly climbing in importance. Traditional biomass continues to serve rural needs but is increasingly overshadowed by commercial fuels. Despite policy ambition, renewable and nuclear energy remain marginal, and fossil dominance continues to deepen with clear energy security implications and balance of trade and payments impacts as well when we are in a middle of a global energy crisis. As for net zero targets and reducing the carbon footprint of energy use during an economy in transition, are clearly not seen as a priority as a country that is seen as a victim of global warming. That said providing homes both rural and urban with their own solar power sources would help not needing to build an extensive grid across the country but also enhance access to energy to all.

When l say the sign along Paddington St, l thought to myself is this the return of “curry and a pint” culture at a local Indian offering a pint for £3 pounds ( Cobra or Kingfisher on draft) ? In the eighties this could have been be read as having as many pints that you can have after 10pm with a quick curry! Have we returned to those times again l wondered to myself. Surely not in posh Marylebone as well. 

Well if you heard Ruhul the owner of the Ruhul Marylebone establishment talk in the local press both in a food review and column piece, you would be forgiven for thinking he’s setting a new trend here altogether where he urges locals drinkers not to be mugged by the price of beer today! Clearly an opening gambit to get the customers into his establishment, as he suggest the price of drinks keeps customers away from eating out more often. He also suggests Marylebone needs something like this but l’m not sure Portman Estate will be keen on this at all, after all the years they have spent promoting this part of Marylebone as a posh village!  For myself its a straight return of the culture of curry and pint, which l thought the majority of the curry industry had moved on and away from some years ago as the focus now is the food that is offered. That is certainly the impression one gets when you attend many of the Curry Awards, where the Indian restaurants very proudly show off their dishes and all round offer. Against a lot more competition as well particularly in Central London with many other cuisines on offer, this is a keenly fought battle with atalian, Chinese, Thai, Vietemese establishments. 

I also understand from local publicans in Marylebone he will still be making money on the beers at about £1-1.50 a pint even before the food arrives on the table.  I makes me wonder if this is at all happening in other parts of the country and London as well. furthermore, beers at these prices, will it encourage heavy drinking like the old days? Or has this sub-culture been dropped altogether for a much better appreciation of the food now on offer. I certainly hope so for the sake of the staff serving them at least. 

So the British culture of a curry and pint, does not seen to be dying in this rather posh part of Marylebone. Will this herald its return in this financially restrained times? Only time will tell whether this entrepreuer, Ruhul’s marketing ploy can pull it off.  In the meantime, best of luck with those bringing back the “curry & pint” culture to Marylebone.