August 31st, 2009
In a bid to reduce Britain’s dependency on fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil the government has introduced its Renewable Energy Strategy.
Heavily weighed down by its promise to reduce CO2 emissions by 34% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, the government is poised to invest £100 billion into a renewable energy infrastructure, including 7,000 wind turbines by 2020.
All well and good, but the increased cost to the consumer could result in many households facing fuel poverty. It is anticipated that bills will have to rise by 20% to pay for this investment. The average household currently pays approximately £1,150 a year for electricity and gas, the cost of converting to renewable energy and modernising Britain’s power stations could add another £230 to this.
Too bitter a pill to swallow? Then be aware that in all likelihood, as things stand our energy prices will increase anyway, so it’s crucial to make a positive change before it’s too late.
Tags: Climate Change, CO2 Emissions, energy prices, expensive energy, fossil fuels, renewable energy | Posted in Climate Change, Life Change, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy
Comments: No Comments yet!
August 27th, 2009
‘Changing the World One Gift at a Time’
This is the tag-line of an online organisation called Freecycle. It is their aim to keep as much of our reusable junk/throwaways out of landfill sites, items can include anything from old china to furniture, to electronic equipment.
It is an ingenious idea, you simply post on your local site the ‘gift’ you would like to offer or the ‘gift’ you would like to receive and the matching up is done for you. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns.
‘Everything posted must be free, legal and appropriate for all ages.’
The environmental benefits are numerous, so if you are interested check out freecycle.org for your local site.
Tags: freecycle, landfills, recycle, recyling, reuse | Posted in Life Change, Self sufficiency
Comments: No Comments yet!
August 25th, 2009
Not only can Portland boast hosting the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic sailing events, but also in September of this year work will commence to create an eco-friendly, low carbon community.
This new development will be sited at the former Royal Navy Air Station’s Osprey Quay. The 77 new homes promise to reduce carbon emissions by more than half compared with conventional properties.
Features will include wood pellet boilers, rainwater harvesting systems, solar water heating and solar panels to generate electricity. In addition to this residents will have the opportunity to pay for access to an electric smart car which will be kept on site.
The developers are expecting the work to take two years to complete. Let’s hope it is successful and the first of many!
Tags: 2012 Olympics, eco-friendly, electric cars, low carbon community, Paralympics, Portland, rainwater harvesting systems, sailing, solar panels, solar water heating, wood pellet boilers | Posted in 2012, Self sufficiency, Sustainable Energy
Comments: No Comments yet!
August 21st, 2009
The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games have been billed as the greenest games in history.
The organisers are striving to exploit and improve the Brownfield sites, while respecting and preserving the Greenfield areas.
The Brownfield site (underdeveloped, derelict or contaminated land), in this case the Lower Lea Valley in London, will house the Olympic Village and the area will post-games become the biggest new park in the city.
The Greenfield sites (area which has not been used for non-agricultural development) such as Hackney Marshes and London Fields will be used sympathetically, meaning that nothing permanent or damaging will be built in these areas.
Also 2012 will be ‘car free’ (except for disabled vehicles), construction will minimise pollution, waste and wildlife habitats will be protected. In addition to this, the organisers are conscious of taking every opportunity to educate Londoners about the importance of sustainable development.
Green Olympics
Tags: 2012, car free zone, green games, greenfield sites, London, Olympics | Posted in News, Transport
Comments: No Comments yet!
August 19th, 2009
The Borough of Poole boasts many stretches of heathland, involving a size greater than 700 football pitches, which not only houses important wildlife, but brings great pleasure to the local community.
These sites provide green spaces which are the ‘green lungs’ of the town, contributing to improving people’s physical and mental health by providing places for informal recreation – walking, sitting, socialising and children’s play; breathing spaces to take time out from the stresses of modern life. Yet these beautiful areas have been subject to a recent spate of arson attacks.
A particularly bad fire in April damaged one-third of Talbot Heath in Poole. There were 20ft flames which the wind swept from one end of the heath to the other, destroying protected wildlife and wrecking the habitat of one of Britain’s rarest birds, the Dartford Warbler. It is believed that this land will not recover from this alleged arson attack for 10 – 15 years!
Because of the increasing number of these incidents desperate measures have had to be taken. These fires which happen with alarming regularity during the spring and summer months are at best started carelessly and at worst deliberately. The situation has got so bad that the Dorset Police are now offering a £250 reward to anyone who can provide them with any information on the perpetrators.
Tags: arson, Dartford Warbler, Dorset Police, green lung, Poole, Talbot Heath | Posted in Local Councils, Wildlife
Comments: No Comments yet!
August 17th, 2009
The largest seahorse colony in the UK is under threat. Boats mooring and anchoring off Studland Bay, in Dorset are damaging the seagrass in which these beautiful creatures reside.
The RYA have come out in defence of the yacht owners, by stating that they are ‘normally very pro-environmental’.
None-the-less Natural England have organised for an area to be cordoned off with buoys to protect the threatened species.
This ‘anchor-free’ zone will be voluntary, but policed by wardens. The boat owners however, are concerned, that should they be caught in the wrong place, at the wrong time their boat details will be published on the internet. Natural England have denied that this is the case and explained that the wardens are only there to monitor the situation and they are confident that the cordon will be respected.
The Seahorse Trust has recently begun tagging seahorses in an effort to track and monitor their existence. Currently there are believed to be 40 in Studland Bay.
Last year, seahorses were registered as a protected species for the first time. Steve Trewhella of the Seahorse Trust, welcomed the study and said a ban on anchoring was just what was needed.
Tags: Dorset, Natural England, protected species, RYA, seahorse, seahorses, Studland Bay, The Seahorse Trust | Posted in Local Councils, Wildlife
Comments: No Comments yet!
August 14th, 2009
British Film Director and green celebrity Guy Ritchie who resides in Ashcombe House, near Salisbury, has submitted plans to Wiltshire Council to make his 18th Century property ‘more self-sufficient’.
It is his intention to install greenhouses, vegetable plots and fruiteries at the £9 million estate, which was given to him following his divorce from Madonna.
The part-walled gardens leading from the back door to the staff building will be turned over to vegetables and given a row of greenhouses to produce vines, fruit, early vegetables and seedlings. The low-level soil heating will be provided by green energy, via the woodchip boiler situated within the staff block.
The application went onto to state that the ‘produce from the greenhouses will be used on the estate, all part of a very admirable effort to make the estate more self-sufficient and sustainable.
Meanwhile on the other side of life….
The growing popularity of allotments has meant that local Councils, Poole Council included are seeking ways of providing more allotments.
The Poole model provides a good example of the national allotment shortage. Currently there are eight allotment sites in the borough containing 409 plots. However, there are 715 people on the waiting list who could have to wait 18 years before being able to plant their own fruit and veg – or may never get one at all.
“Waiting lists in Poole are considerable and if the current turnover of plots is maintained some applicants may never be allocated a plot in their lifetime,” said a report that went before councillors.
It seems that a simple patch of land to grow your own fruit and veg is yet another shining example of the great divide in the UK today.
Tags: Allotments, Green celebrity, grow your own, Guy Ritchie, Local Council | Posted in Local Councils, Sustainability
Comments: Only 1 comment so far. Add to the discussion!
August 10th, 2009
As if there wasn’t enough guilt associated with being a parent, now we have the added dilemma of whether or not to do the ‘green’ thing with nappies, but sadly we don’t seem know what that is!
Many environmentally conscious parents do the perceived ‘right thing’ by use towelling nappies, but according to a recent report by the Environment Agency, ‘using cloth nappies has no significant advantage where reducing the environmental impact of disposable nappies is concerned.’
Indisputably, cloth nappies reduce landfill; disposable nappies in the UK contribute 400,000 tonnes of waste a year! However when you compare this to the energy and water required to wash reusable nappies, their ‘green’ qualifications disappear completely.
So the obvious solution would be ‘green’ disposable nappies, is there such a thing? Well apparently there is – Seventh Generation Chlorine Free Nappies. They have been designed to be thinner, than but just as efficient as traditional nappies. The environmental advantage of chlorine-free nappies is that they reduce the amount of dioxins that pollute the air, water and soil, which has to be a good thing.
If anyone has any other suggestions we’d love to hear them…
Tags: disposible nappies, energy resources, green nappies, landfill, reusable, towelling nappies | Posted in Climate Change, Life Change
Comments: No Comments yet!
August 3rd, 2009
The Big Green Gathering scheduled for 29th July to 2nd August 2009, has been controversially cancelled this year. Mendip Council have come under criticism for not supporting the ethos of the event and being obstructive by threatening the organisers with a High Court Injunction to stop the event going ahead.
The festival was borne out of the Green element at Glastonbury and has been going ahead since 1982; it hosts many sections of the environmental movement and in particular promotes the sustainable lifestyle message. This year had been billed as Britain’s largest and liveliest Green event to date.
Although the event has a reputation for being a, ‘peaceful event with the atmosphere of a village fete,’ its cancellation is due to public safety, crime and disorder issues. Mendip Council stresses that no injunction was made and that the organisers surrendered their application voluntarily.
The event organisers have faced financial difficulties in the past and there is an argument that left unchecked this may have resulted in them not procuring the right level of services and security for the site. If this is indeed the case, surely the council would have done better, to help out and support a peaceful festival promoting important green issues, rather than opposing it and making life difficult….
Tags: Big Green Gathering, festival, Gastonbury, green message, Mendip Council | Posted in Events, Festivals, News
Comments: No Comments yet!