Best articles: Britain NEWS^132November2019 THE WEEKWhy school is a
place that’s no
good for work
Paul Johnson
The Times
On theface of it, our education system isahuge successstory,says
Paul Johnson:GCSE resultsareway better than in the1990s; far
more people go touniversi ty;the workforcehasnever been “more
educated”.But more educated forwhat?Not forthe demandsof
our economy:asanew reportfrom theGovernment’sIndustrial
Strateg yCouncil shows,agrowing skillsshortageisholding back
growth andthreatening ourcompetitiveness. Andthat’s because
British schools areobsessedwithAlevels andgettingpupils to
university. Fine forsome ,ofcourse, but itslam sthe door onall
whofail tomake therequi site GCSE grades at16.Evenfor th ose
whodo, thesyste misgeared to discourage the kind oftechnical
or vocational courseof study fromwhic hmanywouldbenefit.
Unlike in other Europeannations,thefunding systemutterlyfails
to promoteskills-relevant diplomas andcertificates as an alterna-
tive to takingadegree. True, educationisn’tjustabout ea rnings
–but if it failstoe quip children for the workplace, itfails us all.The winds that
blow offshore
wind...
AmbroseEvans-Pritchard
TheDailyTelegraph
IhavesomeadviceforExtinctionRebellionactivists,saysAmbrose
Evans-Pritchard(IEA):readthenewreportbytheInternational
EnergyAgencyandrejoice.TheParis-basedclimatewatchdog,
anarch-scepticinsuchmatters,predictsthatoffshorewindcould
meetworldelectricityneeds11timesoverby2 040 .Digitaltech-
nology;thesizeofthenewgiantturbines;theabilitytomaintain
themusingdrones;theplummetingcostoffinancing:thesehave
transformeditspotentialcapacity.What’smore,asauctionprices
nowshow,themarketassumesoffshorewindwill,inthewords
oftheIEA,“be competitivewith fossilfuelswithinthe next
decade”. Even inChina, the IEA predicts, offshore wind willmatch
newcoalcapacity by2030.Fiveyearsagothiswasfantasy:now it
looks asifwe cancrack globalwarming. And forBritain,the added
bonusisthatthetwo biggest offshoreturbineproducers –Siemens
Gamesaand Vestas–makemanyof theirblades intheUK.But
Extinction Rebellion,please note:thebankerswho willbeover-
seeingthe$1trnthatit ispredictedwillbeinvestedin offshore by
2040 ,are, bydoingso, actingnot asyour enemybutas afriend.....won’t be
enough to save
our planet
SimonKuper
FinancialTimes
Sustainablegrowth.That’sthesong weliberalslike tosing,says
SimonKuper:we can gogreen,savetheplanetandkeepspending.
Anicestory. Alas, it’samyth. Yes, we in Europe have reduced our
carbonemissions inrecent decades,butmainlybecausewe’veoff-
shoredthemto Asiawheremuchofour stuffismade.And yes,
theamountofCO 2 required toproduceadollarof GDPisf alling
by0.4%ayearand we’rebecomingmore fuel efficient. Butit’s
toolittle,toolate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change says we’llhavetoalmosthalveglobalCO 2 emissions by
2030 if we’reto limit the rise in global temperature to 1.5°C. Yet
today’sdirtyplanes, containerships and infrastructurewill still
be in service in2040. Meanwhile, as global population rises and
energy prices fall,increased demand for carsand flights (fourout
of fivepeople have yet to take one, but long to do so) will lead to
avastriseinemissions.No, “theonlyway toprevent climate
catastropheis‘degrowth’now”:toban meateating,carowning,
clothes buying,flying. But we won’t. No electoratewill ev er vote
to destroy its ownlifestyle.We’re headed for disaster. Butit’s not
the politiciansort he bi gcorporations whoare to blame. It’sus.Junk jobs built
on the delivery
of junk food
Patrick Collinson
The Guardian
Amanwhousedadroneto
flyamobilephoneintoPerth
Prisontoldpolicethathe
wasjustsearchingforhis
chihuahua,afteritwasstolen
bymembersofaRomanian
circustroupe.Askedwhathe
wasdoinglurkinginbushes
nearHMPPerth,heexplained
thathehadbroughtalitreof
vodkatosustainhimduring
hissearch,andhadfallen
over.Incourt,thesheriff
describeditas“oneof
themostremarkablelines
ofdefenceIhaveever
heard”,beforejailinghim
forninemonths.AmaninTennessee has
created a“haunted house”
experiencesoterrifyingthat
no onehas yetmanaged to
get aroundit,despitea
rumoured $20,000 prizefor
anyonewhodoes. Visitors to
McKamey Manor mustsign
a40-pagewaiver,accepting
thatas theygoaround the
house,theymaybe Tasered
and haveplastic bags
wrapped aroundtheirfaces.
Theyare also warnedthat
however much ofafright
they get, theymust not
swear–onpainof
disqualification. “The manor
is the most extremehauntin
the world,”says its owner,
Russ McKamey,“but t here’s
no cussinginvolved.”Along-distance
runner who pu
the slogan
“Jesus Saves”
on his bib had
his life saved
by aman
called Jesus.
Tyler Moon wa
competing in t
TC 10 Mile event in
Minnesotawhenhesuffered
aheart attack. Fortunately,
nurse Jesus Bueno was
running behind him, and was
able to perform CPR.ITMUSTBETRUE...
IreaditinthetabloidsAfew yearsago we scoffed at millennials for splurging on
avocado-on-toastbrunches, says Patrick Collinson. If onlywe still
could. Today,alas, they splurgeonhomedeliveryjunk food.My
local McDonald’s heaveswith Uber Eatscourierspicking upBig
Macs, whilethe nearbyKFC is aJust Eat and Deliveroo hangout.
There is nothing newaboutthe UK takeawaybusiness, of course,
but today“it has balloonedintoan£8bn mark et,growi ng fa ton
the explosionof appspromisingspeedy onlinedelivery”.Ina
bidding war last week, Just Eat received anoffe rofa lmost £5bn.
What’s going on? “Financially, nutritionally, environmentally and
economically, noneof this addsup.”Yes, deliveryfirmsemploy a
vast precariat–Deliveroo alonehas 35,000 riders worldwide; but
such jobs willalways belowwageand generate minimum added
value.Economists maypuzzle over whyBritain has such low
productivity,buttheyclearly“don’t get out much”.It’s these
junk jobs that are behindmuch of ourso-calledjobs miracle.And
Britain, unlike, say, Germany, hasatruly unhealthy share of them. ©TYLER MOONe
tas
heMedtronic