Comments on: Tomorrow’s World

By: Andy @ Yellow Swordfish

Andy @ Yellow Swordfish — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:21:26 +0000

@Darren: C5: Totally agree that if it had been built and designed properly – instead of to a price – then it could have been a success.
However – as of 2004 nobody ever died using one (see This news item from 2004). I think, like the ‘fact’ that it used a washing machine motor, deaths were just another urban myth.

By: Darren

Darren — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 09:51:29 +0000

My point exactly, life finds a away. My points about the Sinclair C5 were meant as, it was a quick fix to the congestion and pollution of the day, and if executed properly, would have been a great success, but then people started dying in them…

Who says any publicity is good publicity!!??

Darrens last blog post..Alan Knows Best

By: mike power

mike power — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:43:23 +0000

My understanding is that as the oil broke down over a long period it produced a large increase in the nutrient levels usable by simple organisms which in turn fed through the entire food chain.

It reminds me of the report showing that victims of Hiroshima who had received smallish doses of radioactivity developed fewer cancers during their lives than those in the non-radiated population.

As Maggie said: Funny old world isn’t it?

mike powers last blog post..Tony ‘Two Guns’ Blair

By: Andy @ Yellow Swordfish

Andy @ Yellow Swordfish — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:07:51 +0000

@mike power: Fascinating. Any explanation offered?

By: mike power

mike power — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:41:38 +0000

Anyone remember the 'Torrey Canyon Disaster' of 1967? TC was the first supertanker and was wrecked off the west coast of Cornwall heavily polluting the Cornish and French coastline. Years late an ecological survey discovered that not only had the polluted areas fully recovered, they were actually healthier and had more abundant flora and fauna than the unpolluted areas! mike powers last blog post..Obama/McCain? This is how they'll do it

By: Andy @ Yellow Swordfish

Andy @ Yellow Swordfish — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:56:21 +0000

@Darren: yes – so often it seems that the good side of any technology is outweighed by the bad. Mind you, I am not sure the Sinclair C5 was a brilliant idea….

By: Darren

Darren — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:57:44 +0000

You have to remember that some of these reversal processes can be just as harmful as the original product. The powder to clean up oils spills may be all well and good, but you may be inadvertantly be creating a substance that then takes 200 years to bio-degrade and produces more harmful gasses than a field full of cows.

The Toyota prius, for example, contains a battery that yes, reduces you emissions by technically giving you an electric car, but in truth, the battery itself has a limited lifespan (about 5-10 years I am told), and is an absolute b*tch to dispose of, more so than regular batteries, when it has expired…

I would love to see a process that reclaims fossil fuels from discarded products though, these are the kinds of ideas we need, but in a quick fix society, they’ll never happen.

Who remembers the Sinclair C5, brilliant idea, most unsafe vehicle ever, I’m surprised spontaneous combustion didn’t occur, despite containing no combustable materials what-so-ever.

Darrens last blog post..Alan Knows Best

By: Andy @ Yellow Swordfish

Andy @ Yellow Swordfish — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 07:30:48 +0000

@mike power: Well – to be fair, I can’t remember what my ‘powder’ was made of so it might well have been this…

By: Andy @ Yellow Swordfish

Andy @ Yellow Swordfish — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 07:29:48 +0000

@Thud: That would be nice…..

By: Thud

Thud — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:59:28 +0000

I'm still waiting for my flying car. Thuds last blog post..police car!