I can remember as a kid there were days when the fog never seemed to lift. Walking to school I had to wear little luminous armbands on cold winter mornings over my coat, so I was clearly visible to traffic. Of course, the fog wasn't just caused by the freezing cold conditions in Scotland, but by the smoke that filled the air. Our homes were heated by coal fires and the power stations that generated our electricity were also coal fired, therefore polluting the atmosphere.
The first such, UK, power station was opened in 1882 and the country became heavily dependent on coal not just for heat and power but for our steel industry. Power stations like the one in the picture, Longannet, was designed with a working life expectancy of 25 years, however closed in March 2016 after 46 years in service.
The British Government, announced last year that they will phase out all coal fired stations by the year 2025.The National Grid, provider of our electricity, last week managed to supply the country with electricity for one whole day without using coal. Utilising alternative methods, such as, wind turbines and solar panels.
Twenty-four hours, seems a drop in the ocean, but it is important for the whole of the human race that we find efficient replacements to provide us with the energy our homes, towns and cities crave for. Even if the steps we're taking to clean our air are baby, there can be no going back.
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