Greener solar power

As large scale solar schemes become more common, planners need to think about their effect on the land they are built on. Introducing the concepts of agrivoltaics and ecovoltaics.

https://theconversation.com/solar-power-occupies-a-lot-of-space-heres-how-to-make-it-more-ecologically-beneficial-to-the-land-it-sits-on-216423

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On yer Ebike

If I was in a permanent job, rather than working as agency staff, I would long ago have got myself an ebike through the Cycle to Work scheme. I may have ridden through most of the winter, too, rather than putting of getting back in the saddle for far too long.

Schemes like Cycle to Work may be relatively expensive as ways to cut carbon emissions, but they have many other benefits that more than make up for that. The authors of the article below have considered some of them and looked at ways to increase uptake further.

https://theconversation.com/e-bike-incentives-are-a-costly-way-to-cut-carbon-emissions-but-they-also-promote-health-equity-and-cleaner-air-224312

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Carbon Removal Credits to fight climate change

As the article says, it’s not enough to stop pumping out carbon dioxide, there need to be schemes for soaking it up and locking it away again. I’m filling my concrete covered back yard with plants as my bit, but industry has the options for larger and more complex schemes.

https://www.wired.com/story/carbon-removal-cur8-gabrielle-walker-credits-offsets-greenwashing/

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Spongy cities are the future

Los Angeles is an unlikely champion of a new wave of water savvy urban planning. A city most of us think of as all about cars and concrete has introduced more permeable surfaces to soak up water rather than turning it into run off. The change has been so successful that not only was severe flooding avoided during recent extreme rainfall but it will help solve the city’s water supply issues.

https://www.wired.com/story/los-angeles-just-proved-how-spongy-a-city-can-be/

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Good(ish) news on carbon emissions

Global greenhouse gas emissions could peak as soon as this year. Then there’s the hard job of bringing them down to a safe level, of course, but it’s an important milestone.

https://www.wired.com/story/global-emissions-could-peak-sooner-than-you-think/

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When the Sahara was green

Wobbles of the Earth on its axis have created periods when the Sahara was savannah rather than desert. These periods recur roughly every 21,000 years, and the last one was around 10,000 years ago. Counterintuitively, the greeting happened when the tilt moved the Northern Hemisphere so it was warmer, which increased humidity and rainfall. It’s not clear whether climate change is going to have a similar effect, or if that would matter with all the other problems it causes.

https://theconversation.com/the-sahara-desert-used-to-be-a-green-savannah-new-research-explains-why-216555

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Heating up animal brains

The movie pitch is that some ancient or mythological creature is defrosted by climate change and wreaks havoc on mankind. The truth is going to be more pervasive, with populations shifting, plant life changing, and massive changes no matter how well they adapt.

https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-altering-animal-brains-and-behavior-a-neuroscientist-explains-how-215035

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The bitter taste of climate change.

As if things couldn’t get worse- climate change is set to reduce the quantity and quality of beer. Warming and changing seasons and precipitation patterns mean a reduction in the hops harvest, with flowers containing less of the alpha acids that give the flavour.

https://theconversation.com/hotter-drier-summers-will-make-european-craft-beers-less-hoppy-new-study-215273

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Destroy the Tories before they destroy the planet

The Conservative Party needs to be so thoroughly beaten at the next election that it collapses and is never heard from again. It’s the least they deserve for policies that leaves us poorer, colder and at greater risk from climate change just so their rich friends can get a little richer.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/09/how-tories-green-hostility-will-hinder-a-future-labour-government

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Don’t look there: how politicians divert our attention from climate protesters’ claims

https://theconversation.com/dont-look-there-how-politicians-divert-our-attention-from-climate-protesters-claims-211381

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Frack Off!

Footage from the anti-fracking demo in Manchester on Saturday.

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Flying around Incredible Edible in Todmorden

Last week, I was lucky enough to get a look around Todmorden, to see how the Incredible Edible group in the town has found ways to bring food and colour to its public spaces. Thanks to my action cam and a selfie stick, I was able to get a view of the project from the point of view of some of the insects it helps promote.

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Newcastle professor says UK could produce 100% of its energy from renewable sources

Using the Internet of Things to cut energy use.

“In the years to come every household appliance will have its own IP address linking it to the internet and allowing it be controlled from an app on our smart phones,” he said.

This so-called ‘internet of things’ will allow us, and the network operator, to tailor demand to accommodate the unreliability of renewable energy.

“If the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining then we may be asked to use less electricity and our pre-programmed appliances will react as instructed,” explained Prof Taylor.

Source: Newcastle professor says UK could produce 100% of its energy from renewable sources

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Buy your own bit of Heathrow

Airplot is a scheme dreamt up by Greenpeace to scupper plans for a third runway at Heathrow. They've bought up land on the planned site (not quite on the runway itself, but near) and will refuse to sell it. I think the idea is that everyone named as a co-tenant/owner of the land will have to be approached by the Government when it comes time to start buying up the land, making the job particularly hard.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse

Chorlton Green Festival

Chorlton Green Festival was on Saturday. It was overcast but didn't rain in the end, luckily for all the stalls that were outside. I chatted to Friends of the Earth and the local Green Party, blagged quite a few goodies and picked up a few leaflets.

Practical Cycles had a load of interesting bikes.

Manchester Free Software gave me a Linux boot disk. I may soon be in the position to det up a Linux box, if only to re-learn how to use it.

Little Valley Brewery had many interesting beers, but I didn't think midday drinking, and potential falling off my bike, was such a good idea.

There are more pictures on Flickr.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse

Feed in tariffs on Radio 4

Costing the Earth on Radio 4 today examined the feed in tariff, which should become available with the new tax year, and the economics of buying yourself a windmill or solar panels. You can listen to it through iPlayer.

Normally listen and watch again programmes on the BBC site expire within a week, but this one says it's okay until January of 2099.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse

Nuclear reactors that eat their own waste

I'm not keen on it, but I think nuclear power will have to be part of any low to no carbon future. There's a lot of other stuff that should be done before going nuclear, but that's another post.

The design of reactors which burn up most of their radioactive waste has to be a step in the right direction. As the article points out there are still a lot of other ethical and physical problems with the technology, but reducing the amount of stuff which has to be buried for millions of years is a good step in anyone's book.

Technorati tag: Nuclear Power

The algae powered house

Students from the University of Cambridge have designed a house which utilises algae and household waste to produce power.

More information here.

Around the world by chip fat

A trip around Europe in a biodiesel powered van was one of those plans I had that never came to fruition. Wired has an article about one man who is better organised than I and is on the road at the moment.

Global Cooling is a con

This won't be news to anyone who's been paying attention, but it needs to be shouted out and repeated often, because the American public and even the BBC are falling for the lie.

There are many quote worthy lines in this report. Almost at random, let's go with-

Saying there's a downward trend since 1998 is not scientifically legitimate, said David Peterson, a retired Duke University statistics professor and one of those analyzing the numbers.

Identifying a downward trend is a case of "people coming at the data with preconceived notions," said Peterson, author of the book "Why Did They Do That? An Introduction to Forensic Decision Analysis."