The book, Sustainable Energy-without the hot air by David JC MacKay has brought an insightful look into how everyone can make efforts to use sustainable energy and energy sources.
To read this intuitive and informative book you can go online and read each section or download pages from the contents table.
Many have endorsed and reviewed the book, from scientists, economists and engineers to environmentalists and politicians. Robert Sansom, EDF Energy commented ’ At last a book that comprehensively reveals the true facts about sustainable energy in a form that is both highly readable and entertaining.’
Peter Ainsworth, MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs mentioned ’ “Sustainable Energy-without the hot air” is engagingly written, packed with useful information and refreshingly factual. Those, like, me of a non-technical bent will find the Technical Chapters at the end daunting ; but we don’t have to read them to get the message.’
To join the mailing list and to receive information from the author add your details HERE.
With the disaster that is currently happening in the gulf coast to the waters, fish, sealife and beaches, it is a great move forward in the protection of the world’s seas and oceans with the new initiative Green Blue.
The Green Blue is the joint environment initiative created by the British Marine Federation(BMF) and Royal Yachting Association(RYA) for anyone whose livlihoods depends on the oceans or for anyone who loves to be out, on or in the water. Boat users, boating businesses, sailing clubs and training centres are given information and help to reduce their impact on coastal and inland waters.
The Green Blue projects aims are to raises awareness, conduct scientific research, identify environmentally friendly products and offer the best practice advice to anyone keeen to make boating in the UK as sustainable as possible. The project will cover a wide variety of topics from waste management, fuel efficiency and marine paints to effects on wildlife and efficiency resources on board boats.
Projects withing the Green Blue programme are taking place across the country and are already making a difference to the nations surrounding seas. For full information on the Green Blue project visit http://www.thegreenblue.org.uk/
An enjoyable day out sightseeing with environmental and health benefits not to mention it was all free, what more could you ask for?
West Dorset district council (WDDC) are encouraging local people and visitors alike to explore the breath-taking scenery that is on offer by taking to your bicycle and hitting the trialways. The WDDC have created several FREE informative cycle guides availble to all. Some of the guides follow the National cycle networks (NCN) with one in particular covering the spectacular 30 mile ride between Lyme Regis and Dorchester.
Rural West Dorset has so much to offer with exciting exploration and the sightseeing possibilities are endless. But why do it trapped in a car behind glass windows using up fuel and adding to the carbon emmissions? Looking after the countryside is a key part of enjoying it and prolonging its beauty for others, and so the new initiative to promote cycling with these new cycle guides is well on its way to helping look after the environment and peoples health.
These cycle routes and guides are perfect for families, tourists and those wanting to get outdoors and get healthy. The guides are being promoted as a greener and healthier way to visit west Dorset and so there is no better way to experience the Jurassice Coast, picturesqe riverbanks, market towns and quaint villages that are all featured in the guides.
A list of Dorset’s information centres is availble on the Visit Dorset website and PDF files of the cycle guides are available to download by clicking HERE. Five shorter circular routes called the West Dorset Pedal are also availble to download.
Ok, so perhaps America hasn’t got the best green credentials and that’s putting it mildly, but under the new Obama administration there are some very positive noises for change coming from across the pond.
If there’s one thing we can say about our American cousins, it’s that when they do something they do it big time! While Obama is doing what all American Presidents dread, going head to head with the oil conglomerates to cease the horrendous oil spills off the coast of Mexico, it seems the American people are also picking up on the grassroots environmental movement.
Working For Green is a video-based web community which showcases innovative ways to save money and find meaningful work, all tied together with a very green bow. It’s a fascinating site. The rapidly expanding online community features everything from green hair salons to eco-dentist, including green hotels, green careers, community projects, knowledge sharing, you can even sign up to be a Green Irene, something which must be seen to be believed.
What all of these sites, services and the YouTube clip below show, is that perhaps here in the UK we’re missing a trick. What is so clever about all of these very green initiatives is that the saving the planet ethos shares centre stage with cold, hardnosed commercialism. If anyone was going to come at green issues from a hard line capitalist stance it would be the Americans and frankly I think it’s genius!
The focus on business, on jobs and on what a green approach can realistically and materialistically offer an individual other than a warm fuzzy feeling inside, makes it compelling to a much wider demographic. Of course this has been going on here for a long time, but because the Americans are so frank and open about blatantly making money, their approach seems particularly effective. If this little spark ignites it could mean big, bold and brash changes are afoot in the USA – bring it on!!
It has come time for sailors to stop saying that all ’stink pots’ aka motorboats pollute the seas with their fuel guzzling engines.
It is all about the environment and conserving the world’s seas and oceans for boat designing company J&J Design. Brothers Jernej and Japec Jakopin have designed over 250 boats both power and sail for manufacturers all over the world and have won over 30 Boat of the Year Awards in several different countries.
J&J Design have teamed up with VW Marine and renowed boat builders Seawayto bring their ideas for the future of motor boating into being in the form of the Greenline 33 (pic left)
The Greenline 33 is dedicated to efficiency producing four times less fossil fuels in a year than any other planing powerboat and is completely emission-free in the electric mode. These great features of the Greenline 33 means that for a boating family they are hugely reducing their carbon footprint by going green out at sea.
Not only for people out using the Greenline but for others enjoying the seas and boating areas there will be the added bonus of no smoke, no wake and no noise. The lithium batteries can have up to a 10 year life expectancy and the solar panelled roof will keep batteries charged and provide additional energy supply to the electric drives on board. This is all encompassed in a beautifully designed layout with comfortable and attractive features to appeal to any boating family, couple etc.
The mission is to preserve the world and its top boating areas for future generations. There is no reason why a motorboat cannot be enjoyed out on the water without it causing any damage to the environment or the water it is in. Already exceeding expectations, the Greenline 33 has gained J&J Design another Boat of the Year Award by winning the title at the HISWA (Dutch Boat Show) 2010. For all information and the design behind this new green creation go to www.greenlinehybrid.com
A great article posted in The Independent recently debated the best way to make progress on environmental issues and it seems that times are changing. The 1970’s saw a surge in the success of the Environmental Protests and Rallies; however there is an argument that ever since these successes, the achievement of protests and mass demonstrations has been in steady decline.
Given last December’s COP 15 debacle, there has never been more proof that our glorious leaders are not listening to us; that they cannot be trusted to act in our best environmental interests when they keep getting distracted by pretty shinning things like money and popularity and that they are no longer taking much notice of physical protests.
There is of course always the lobbying aspect, where campaign groups converge in the paperwork, littering MP’s desks with letters of concern, petitions for action and cluttering up their hard drives with online petitions and e-mails threatening not to vote…
The 1990’s saw a raise in more dramatic feats to get heard, with handfuls of the more adventurers, steadfast protestors scaling huge buildings, tying themselves to things often in fancy dress or taking up residency in trees or on sites of environmental interest.
Although I am being flippant in my descriptions, all of the above represent large swaths of people, action groups and protesters who feel incredibly strongly and are desperately trying to make a difference.
It seems that in 2010, with the rapidly gaining prevalence of groups such as Transition Towns, Transition Heathrow and 10:10, a new form of action is being put in motion. Not surprisingly given the disillusionment of environmentalists following Copenhagen, this new style of making change happen operates on an individual, grassroots level, cutting out government and attempts to change legislation and instead focusing on the reality of modern day living and the price we will all have to pay for it.
The Transition Towns movement is a superb example of this; having lost all hope that local government will lead the way, and acknowledging the fact that fossil fuels are a limited resource, the movement prepares communities for a low carbon future, gradually yet effectively weaning towns off of fossil fuel dependency through a united and conscientious approach.
So are the days of protest marches well and truly over? Certainly not, any positive action will always have its place, however since we can’t trust the government to make the difficult decisions for us, we will simply have to start making changes to our own lives, doing what little we can to make a difference and leading by example – who knows one day they might just catch on.
Ever feel ashamed of living in the UK? On the whole I feel highly privileged to live in this country, but just sometimes I’m forced to publically blush at the petty minded bureaucracy which plagues us. Case in point is a story I first came across on a US blog UK Barber Banned from Composting. It’s also been covered by The Telegraph. I had to read both articles twice because I simply couldn’t believe what I was reading.
It seems that a local barber, Jeff Stone from Blackburn in Lancashire, has been banned from taking hair clippings and salon newspapers home to compost: Why I hear you ask?
Is he stealing from the people whose head it once belonged?
They left it behind happily so apparently not.
Is human hair somehow toxic to our delicate eco-structure?
No, in fact quite the reverse, apparently all environmental agencies recognise human hair as fantastic, highly biodegradable compostable material, perfect for adding nitrogen to the soil.
Perhaps he’s taking home so much of it, it’s upsetting the neighbours?
Nope – only one small swing bin every two or three weeks.
Well then, obviously it’s because Blackburn and Darwen Councils have invested heavily in establishing domestic and retail recycling programs and by taking the hair home Mr. Stone is somehow confusing the system?
Absolutely not, documentation received by Mr. Stone confirms that the waste will be emptied at landfill sites at Whinney Hill, near Accrington, and Withnell just outside Blackburn.
Well then, what could possibly be the problem…? Surely it would have nothing to do with money? Surely no council would stoop so low as to force Mr. Stone to buy one hundred Council issued waste sacks, which he doesn’t need and which cost £100, in order to ‘comply’ with their guideline?
Apparently so.
Reassuring isn’t it that Councils have so little to do; that crime levels are so low, housing so abundant, local facilities so immaculate, that they have nothing better so spend our council tax on than paying people to search through our dustbins checking for people who might be ‘illegally’ trying to save the planet…
Looking for some green, environmentally friendly outer clothing? Well the Spudcoat could be the answer to your prayers. It comes in two styles the waterproof cloak (good for the festival goer) or the raincoat (for the more dapper eco-warrior). The spudcoat is made entirely from bioplastic which is derived from potato starch and other natural resources.
The coat is 100% biodegradable and compostable and even has a small clay ball with seeds in it so that once its lifecycle is over; you can dig a hole in the garden and bury it. So the garment doesn’t just return to the natural cycle, it also helps the seeds inside grow into plants – what more could you ask for?
The University of Bath is undergoing a project to find environmentally friendly building materials that can be used as an alternative to the current products used within the construction industry.
A straw house came up as a viable option. Straw is not only a renewable resource, but also a farming by-product, which made it a popular choice for the researchers. It can be locally grown and absorbs carbon monoxide, therefore buildings made from straw have zero or even a negative carbon footprint. It can potentially provide such good insulation that normal heating may not be necessary, keeping running costs low and minimising environmental impact.
The construction itself has been built using prefabricated panels, consisting of wooden frames filled with straw or hemp, then rendered with a breathable lime based system.
Research into alternative building materials is important as cement contributes up to 10% of all carbon dioxide emissions. Hopefully this project, which over the year is to be monitored, will prove that straw is a sustainable building material. Let’s just hope it can withstand all the wolves huffing and puffing and trying to blow the house down!
Go green with a wormery. Compost leftover food scraps, newspapers, even the contents of your vacuum bag – worms love it! The invertebrate’s waste products create fantastic compost, known as vermicompost, which is full of nutrients and beneficial to both indoor and outdoor plants.
Waste is a huge problem in this country, households’ dispose of around a third of the food they buy. Over 6 tonnes of food is thrown away each year, ending up in landfill sites therefore contributing a large percentage to the methane emissions that pollute our atmosphere. A wormery is a simple and eco-friendly solution.
The wormery comes in the form of a plastic or wooden box. The type of worms used (generally Red Tiger and Dendrobaena worms) live on decaying matter, as opposed to the common earth worm which burrow underground. A wormery comes in varying shapes and sizes, but shallow trays seem to be the most favoured – surface area rather than depth is recommended. This type of environment allows the waste to compost down quicker allowing the worms to feed and breed quicker.
Prices start from around £30 for a basic model and go up to £80 for an ‘executive’ version. Give it a go, it’s good for the environment and the kids will love it!
