Skip navigation 
Previous Page
30
HEALTH&HABITAT
August/September 2012 www.esb.ie/em
ELECTRICITY ABROAD Electrical news bites from across the globe
PRIVATE DRIVERS’ HANDBOOK THE VEHICLE
SAFE DRIVING
In the June-July 2012 issue of EM, we looked at some of the issues around your journey as outlined in The Private Drivers’ Handbook. Let’s consider your vehicle this month and how keeping it roadworthy and clean and how correctly stowing loads, can contribute to your safety.
DAILY ‘60 SECOND VEHICLE SAFETY CHECK’
ESB’s daily ‘60 Second Vehicle Safety Check’ procedure is a simple and effective way to spot potentially dangerous issues before vehicles are used. By checking the basics like mirrors, tyres, lights and brakes, you are off-setting potentially bigger issues. In addition, all staff should undertake a weekly vehicle safety check.
GOOD PRACTICE
• You should have your car serviced at appropriate service intervals, as per the manufacturer’s recommendations, to ensure optimum performance, to help avoid faults or unexpected breakdowns.
• Legal minimum tread depth for tyres is 1.6mm. The life of tyres depends to a large extent on the manner in which the vehicle is driven. Try to avoid hitting your tyres against kerbs, especially when parking. It may weaken the tyre and may also damage your wheel or wheel tracking. Excessive speed, braking or acceleration will cause tyres to deteriorate. If tyres are not maintained at the manufacturer’s recommended pressures, they will wear more quickly. You should regularly check your tyres, including the spare, and, if in doubt, any authorised tyre depot will check your tyres and advise on replacement as necessary.
• Check your car’s oil level when the engine is cold and you are parked on level ground. If you do it after the engine’s been on, you may get a false reading.
• It is recommended that you change your wiper blades at regular intervals. This is because the rubber deteriorates over time when exposed to the atmosphere. In the interim period, an occasional wipe with methylated spirit will avoid streaking.
LOAD CARRYING
All loads in cars must be secured, ideally in the boot. Smaller items should be held inside a storage box, secured in the boot.
Unrestrained loads in cars can cause major damage and personal injury by becoming a missile flying through the vehicle when the driver brakes or swerves suddenly or is involved in a collision.
TOWING
Drive at the appropriate speed. The maximum legal speed limit for a vehicle towing a trailer is 80km/h.
Check that:
• All loads are secure.
• The tow bar or towing device is strong enough and attached securely.
• The safety breakaway cable is secured in place.
• The load in the trailer is spread evenly to reduce the risk of swaying.
• The wheels, tyres, wheel bearings, steering suspension and brakes are in good working order.
• All lights and reflectors on both the vehicle and the trailer are clean and working.
VEHICLE CLEANLINESS
• Windscreens should be free from clutter to aid de-misting.
• Dashboard and cab area should also be kept clean and free of loose items, e.g. paper.
• Mirrors should not have any items attached which may impede your view.
• If eating/drinking in the vehicle, leftovers, wrappers and containers, etc, should be disposed of immediately in a suitable manner.
• Ensure objects that could affect safe use of pedals are safely stowed, e.g. bottles and cans.
For more information contact Gráinne Coogan, Communications Officer at 01 4631721, email safedriving@esb.ie or visit the Safe Driving Website: http://esbnet/safedriving
What we can do…
Electricity Abroad
IN THE most exhaustive study of its kind, the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory has concluded that renewable energy technologies already available, combined with an upgraded national grid, are “more than adequate” to provide 80 per cent of America’s projected demand by 2050. “If we’re talking about a low-carbon future,” said an NREL spokesman, “…this is all possible.”
So far, so good. But there’s a catch. The NREL makes clear that its study is purely a technical assessment, which does not address governmental, business and social obstacles to such a solution. It assumes “the development and adoption of technology advances, new operating procedures, evolved business models, and new market rules.”
There is no road map. Multiple independent electrical utilities and a bureaucratic tangle of government agencies would need to come together as one, to radically transform a fundamental element of U.S. infrastructure – a political problem in the first instance, and a logistical question of daunting complexity. At a time when some fossil fuels, such as natural gas, are enjoying a renaissance of unexpectedly larger reserves and lower prices, the will may simply not exist.
…and what we can’t
ROBERT BRYCE, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute Center for Energy Policy, has published a troubling vision of the future: no matter how promising the technology, he claims, clean energy “cannot overcome the problem of scale”.
Mr. Bryce contends that the pace of global demand means renewables ‘simply cannot provide the vast scale of energy needed by the world’s seven billion inhabitants, at a price that can be afforded”. Writing for Energy Tribune, he offers two calculations: that merely to keep up with growth in global demand would require the construction of 25 times as much photovoltaic capacity as Germany’s total installed base – every year; and that the wind industry would need to cover a land area of 96 square miles with wind turbines per day – every day.
What’s the answer? Mr. Bryce advocates a strategy of “N2N” – natural gas to nuclear. Natural gas, he contends, is not merely abundant, it is “super-abundant”. And putting nuclear firmly back on the table, he insists: “If you are anti-carbon dioxide and anti-nuclear, you are pro-blackout… no energy source can compare to nuclear when it comes to power density”.
Our energy future is not hopeless, Bryce concludes, but it won’t be helped by facile answers. The next time someone calls for an immediate end to fossil fuels, he says, “buy them a calculator”.
Green peace takes bite out of Apple’s iCloud
GREENPEACE HAS questioned Apple’s commitment to renewable energy sources following the construction of a new Apple data center in North Carolina to facilitate its iCloud technology.
“Apple still lacks a plan that outlines a realistic path to eliminate its reliance on coal to power its iCloud,” Greenpeace stated last month.
Apple says its new center is expected to be using 100 per cent renewable energy by the end of this year. “We have major projects under way… including building the nation’s largest private solar arrays and building the largest operating non-utility fuel cell installation.”
Apple, in fact, improved its score on Greenpeace’s Clean Energy Index – reaching 22.6 per cent from 15.3 per cent between the organisations’s April and July reports.
Are you a Garbally past pupil?
THE LAUNCH OF THE Garbally College PPU Dublin branch website took place outside Leinster House on Tuesday 17th July.
Staff member Colum Grogan has for many years been an active member of the branch being a former Chairman and current Vice Chairman.
Our picture shows (l-r): Paddy Feehily (Chairman) Colum Grogan (vice Chairman) Tanaiste Eamonn Gilmore TD, (past pupil) Minister Brian Hayes TD, (past pupil) and Richard Moore (PRO).
The PPU welcomes any past pupils to view the website which will have relevant information regarding PPU meetings and events in the Dublin and greater Dublin area.
If you are a past pupil of Garbally please contact Colum Grogan on colum.grogan@esb.ie
