Hard Rain

Greenhouse gasses are causing shifts in rainfall patterns, leading to summers like this one (so far the wettest since records began). Just to make things more complicated, this heavier precipitation is going to alternate with hot summers like last year, but in entirely unpredictable ways.

Aside from focussing on the root cause of all of this I think it's time to do some better planning around water use. Perhaps every new build should have mandatory rainwater storage for grey use (toilets etc.) All of those tanks would provide a buffer during heavy rain fall that would lessen run off and thus flooding and save water in dry spells. Whilst we're about it, how about fines for the fools who concrete over their gardens and/or rewards for anyone who rips the paving up and plants a lawn.

Neither of these measures woudl stop flooding, particularly with water volume such as that seen in the last week, but they could soak up overflow in lesser events, and cut the burden on reservoirs.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse

Morph goes Green

Technorati tag: EcoHouse

Heywood Gardens low energy homes

Seddon Homes have put some serious thought into this new development, turning cookie cutter looking homes into energy efficient buildings. The designs have been thought through from first principles, with well planned insulation and energy saving measures so that the houses require less (solar and wind) power in the first place. I'm not in the market, so I don't know if the £245,000 asking price is comparable to similar mundane homes, but Manchester Confidential seem convinced.

Most of us are still ignorant to the fact that energy efficiency doesn't mean compromising standard of living. Yes you can give up your car and wash the dishes as oppose to using a dishwasher, but where eco-homes are concerned there really aren't any sacrifices because the changes are already in place and finely tuned to provide maximum comfort.

Seddon Group's case study on Heywood Gardens

Technorati tag: EcoHouse

Vegetarian shoes

If you don't want any cows to suffer for your footwear then why not get your next pair from vegetarian shoes? I don't have any problem with leather, and there do seem to be a lot of man-made materials used in their range. This isn't a big problem if, like me, you recycle your old boots into plant pots after five years of service, but if they're just thrown away the ethical balance is skewed.

On balance, I think I'd rather have some of the ethical, hemp or recycled footwear from Arkadash.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse, Shoes, Vegetarian

Nil Rubbish

Bryn Fogden challenged himself to produce no landfill for the whole of May. To do this he had to change his shopping and some of his eating habits, but he did manage and intends to carry on. He blogged the whole experience at nilrubbish.blogspot.com.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse, Rubbish