Charging for waste

The Local Government Association are proposing schemes to cut the amount of domestic waste. One possibility is to charge households more if they throw more stuff out. This will only work if there's a baseline amount of rubbish removal covered by Council Tax with rebates for those who produce less and charges for tose who produce more. And it wouldn't be the easiest thing to police.

A better idea, also hinted at, is to cut the amount of unnecessary material entering the house in the first place- fining manufacturers and shops whose products are over-packaged.

Technorati tag: Waste

Drivel in the Daily Telegraph

Janet Daley believes that Green policies are just a middle class plot to keep the 'umble workin' man down. Just in case they, like the Daily Mail, won't publish comments that are too sensible to fit their world view, here's my reply-

We have these things called feet, and there's a wonderful invention known as the bicycle. Intelligent use of these allows far more efficient access to the "metropolitan existence" than a car ever could, whilst saving enough money to more than cover any increased cost of longer journeys.

The call is for people to consume less. This, some fail to recognise, saves money. The poorer members of society will benefit more from it as energy costs are a greater proportion of their expenses. If Janet Daley really cares about the welfare of ordinary working people she should be calling for carbon trading and more energy saving measures to give them the boost they deserve.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse

Snowmen against global warming

Students in Oslo created a small army of plywood snowmen demonstrating against global warming, and placed them outside the Parliament buildings.

via BoingBoing

Technorati tag: Snowman, Norway

Meet the Green party's male principal speaker"

Derek Wall is the leader of the English Green party, or would be if they went in for such titles, and the only party head to be banned from every Tesco store in the country.

There's an interesting statistic in the profile.

Asked to name one or more other parties that they might support, Conservatives polled were much more likely to choose the Liberal Democrats or the Greens than parties such as UKIP.

Some 32% of Tories say they might vote Lib Dem and 19% say Green.

Technorati tag: Green Party, Green Party

Big, dumb and fading away

The sales of urban 4 wheel drives, and hopefully other oversized thirsty cars, look set to continue dropping as fuel economy becomes an important factor in purchases.

It's refreshing news, especially as, on top of all their other sins, they encourage bad driving in their owners.

Technorati tag: SUV, Road Safety

The Guardian's list of the top ten Greenest councils

Sadly, Manchester is nowhere on this list of the top ten Greenest councils and the twenty next best.

Technorati tag: Council, Green

Fighting Climate Change down on the farm

A collection of environment and agriculture related items from the BBC today-

David Cameron wants Britain's food labelling laws changed so UK farmers can benefit from "food Patriotism".

A project has launched to highlight the potential opportunities, as well as the dangers, of climate chenge for farmers.

The next generation of biofuels, one of the opportunities the above project will no doubt be looking into.

A conference on boosting the recycling of farm waste in East Anglia.

Technorati tag: Agriculture, Biofuel, Food Miles

Taking on the climate sceptics

No matter that the mass of evidence points to climate change being real and influenced by mankind, there are still some who won't accept it. The few dissenters get funding and far more airtime than their minority views deserve, without really saying anything of any substance. So Britain's leading climate scientist is calling on them to put up or shut up and present their arguments against global warming for consideration by their peers.

You can follow the debate, and even participate, at www.nerc.ac.uk.

Technorati tag: Global Warming

Interactive greenery

The Guardian has an interactive guide to cutting your house's energy consumption and waste production.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse, Flash

Boxing Day viewing

An Inconvenient Truth is released on DVD on Boxing Day. Obviously it won't arrive on the 26th, but it's worth ordering as a late present.

There's a book to go with the film, also available in a young adult version due in April.

Technorati tag: Al Gore, Inconvenient Truth

It's A Green Christmas In This Town

(Cross posted from Spinneyhead)

Manchester City Council have some statistics on waste this Christmas, plus some ideas on how to cut it down (mostly by carefully choosing what to buy, which might be a little late for most of you) and some guidance on what can be recycled.

If you live in Manchester, the link to the recycling centres around Manchester and what each one accepts is also useful.

(Title taken from Green Christmas by Barenaked Ladies)

Technorati tag: Recycling, Manchester

The home turbines aren't turning

Whilst large scale wind farms are quite efficient, especially the less controversial new breed of offshore ones, home turbines can produce little or no power because of wind turbulence. Perhaps it's just the traditional windmills that have this problem and the next generation of home based wind power will involve Savonius or other vertical designs better suited to catching the breeze from constantly changing directions.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse, Wind Turbine

And now for some really bad news

Based on current measurements, the Arctic summer ice cap could be gone by 2060. However, if the expected feedback- less light reflected by ice, more absorbed by exposed sea- happens, it will be even earlier than that.

Recent studies suggest that even a minor local nuclear exchange could cause a far worse nuclear winter than previously expected. But don't tell Bush that, or he might suggest it as a solution to global warming.

Technorati tag: Arctic ice cap, Nuclear Winter

Sticking plaster solutions- towing airliners

I suppose every little helps, but you can't help thinking that Virgin air's plan to tow airliners out to the runway, rather than having them get there under their own power, is a mostly symbolic piece of environmentalism.

Technorati tag: Airliner, Virgin

Fines and bath reduction- council level green action

Two proposals from local councils to battle energy consumption and waste-

Barnet has drawn up guidelines for planning, including a suggestion to leave baths out of new builds.

Tameside council will fine departments £30 for each computer left on overnight.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse, Council, Energy Saving

Towards zero carbon new builds

When I wrote the piece about net energy producing social housing last night I hadn't seen all of the proposals in Gordon Brown's pre-Budget speech. Amongst the plans is the aim to have all new build homes zero net carbon producers within a decade. The carrot for this is a rebate on stamp duty for all new homes deemed to be zero carbon, to start next year.

There's no definition of what constitutes a zero carbon home, we'll have to wait for the Budget proper for that, and builders' groups are already weighing in with complains about the rebate not covering the extra cost and house prices going up. Of course, house prices are rising regardless, and I'm sure there's a case for larger mortgages on such properties because the savings on bills will make the buyers better off on a payment to payment basis.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse, Gordon Brown, Budget,

Department of Free Ideas: Net energy producing social housing

The Department of Free Ideas is something I've rolled out a couple of times at Spinneyhead. It's basically irregular posts where I outline ideas I've had that I just don't have the time, money or expertise to follow up. They're just ideas, not costed and often without links to supporting material, but I believe they merit further investigation, which is why I want to set them free. If anyone likes them and can act upon them, then they're more than welcome to. Credit or royalties would be cool, if you're inclined.

We don't have enough houses in Britain. Particularly, we don't have enough affordable houses and council house building has ground to a halt. On top of that, we really should be doing more to cut energy consumption. So why don't we solve these problems by building council houses that are so efficient that with the addition of micro-generation they produce more electricity than they consume?

These houses couldn't be individual show pieces dropped amongst ordinary box homes, for the scheme to work properly whole streets or closes would have to be built. Economies of scale menat that technology that would be exorbitant on a single house could be incorporated relatively cheaply. Heat pumps could warm whole closes and the buildings could be arranged to catch and convert the most sunlight.

Tenants would have to sign up to certain community responsibilities, the sort of "socialist" idea that drives some reactionaries mad, but in return they'd get to live comfortably without worrying about ever rising energy costs.

Poorer families can't afford energy saving devices, partly because they're struggling with the cost of the energy they're wasting through older equipment and poorly insulated houses. Even if no council will take up the challenge of building such green homes for them they should at least be subsidised to make the savings themselves.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse, Council House, Energy poverty

Making plans for Gordon

The BBC asks some experts to weigh in with potential Green tax schemes for Gordon Brown.

Technorati tag: Budget, Gordon Brown, Green Taxes

SUV sales fall

The message may be getting through. Sales of larger 4x4s dropped 5.5% in the first 10 months of this year, and by 15.2% in November. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says this is because of the phasing out of two popular models and sales will pick up again, but I have more faith in people's common sense.

Technorati tag: SUV

Carbon Trading for industry

Gordon Brown looks set to propose carbon trading for business in his pre budget speech today, along with increased fuel duty for drivers and fliers.

Technorati tag: Carbon Trading, Gordon Brown