The Micro Compact Home

The Micro Compact Home, or m-ch, is an effort to create a tiny space that is still liveable in. It would fit in a large parking bay, future versions will come with solar panels and a wind turbine to make it energy independent. I'd need to get rid of a lot of my possessions before I could live in one, and I don't yet know where I'd want to put it.

Each cube costs $96,000, including delivery anywhere in Europe. So if I start saving now I might know where I want to put it by the time I can afford it.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse

The 200mpg supercar

The Velozzi is a concept car promising supercar performance- 0 to 60 in 3 seconds and a 200mph top speed- with 200mpg fuel consumption. It achieves this by recharging its batteries with a micro-turbine which can use any "heavy fuel"- such as gasoline, ethanol, methanol, diesel or bio diesel. It's also super light, being built out of composites and liquid metal.

The research and development company behind the concept wanted to produce the most spectacular demonstration of the technology possible. The use of a turbine to charge the batteries means the car isn't tied to electrical supply points and the versatility of teh fuels means it can use the existing petrol infrastructure. Everyday production vehicles are going to be heavier and less efficient, obviously, but still a vast improvement on current motorcars.

via Jalopnik

Technorati tag: Electric car, Micro turbine

Supermarkets against excess packaging? Who'd have thought

Asda are setting up a pilot scheme where they will collect examples of over packaging from customers to build a case to present to their suppliers. The Daily Mail is supporting it because they think it will mean a return to weekly refuse collections.

I try to buy as much as possible from the local grocers, which reduces waste quite substantially. I just need to remember to take my backpack with me so they don't put everything into a carrier bag.

Technorati tag: Packaging, Shopping

Green architecture event in Manchester - Saturday 28th April

The Green Architecture Event is taking place at the CUBE Gallery and MERCi sustainability centre this Saturday. CUBE is also running an exhibition on Green Modernism at the moment which I've been meaning to check out.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse, Green Architecture

Wind turbines on Blackpool promenade

From Manchester Evening News-

TWO wind turbines are being set up on Blackpool's promenade to help power the resort's famous illuminations.

In May, a third will join the pair, which cost £147,000 each, and together it is hoped they will cut £13,250 from the town's annual energy bill.

They will sit on the front, close to the Sandcastle Water Park, and are expected to have a 25-year lifespan.

It's possible the NIMBYs will still complain about these turbines, despite the fact that there can be few better places to site them than on a sea-front (and the fact that there's little that could be done to make the Blackpool beach front uglier. It's an endearing ugly, but it's ugly nonetheless.)

Technorati tag: Wind Power, Blackpool

Eco-Schools- teach them carbon free

Up to 200 environmentally friendly schools are to be built as part of the drive to reduce carbon emissions and tackle climate change, the government has announced.

Education secretary Alan Johnson claimed the eco-schools would help save five million tonnes of carbon dioxide.

The scheme, which comes as part of a £110m investment package to be delivered over three years, will also see all secondary schools given a copy of Al Gore's film 'An inconvenient truth'.

"As people and businesses try to reduce their carbon emissions, it is only right that the government plays its part," Johnson said.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse

Volkswagen's 200mpg car

A few years ago, Volkswagen built a concept car that could manage over 200 miles to the gallon. The project was shelved because the price of a complete vehicle was judged to be too high. Now, with advances bringing costs down, and changes in management at the company, the project has been resurrected.

via Jalopnik

Technorati tag: Cars, Fuel Efficiency

Energy saving freebies from politicians

Only promised, so far, however.

The Lib Dems are proposing energy saving packs, subsidised to the tune of £2,000 (though they would probably cost £5,000 to £10,000).

Households could get free energy monitors, according to ministers.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse

I'm the only green MP

Alan Simpson MP details his ecohouse project. An odd aspect of this report is that it appears in the Daily Mail, one of the last newspapers still in denial and desparately trying to find fault with the few things the Government is doing. For example- the assessors for the energy consumption section of Home Information Packs won't have criminal record checks and will therefore all be burglars, apparently. They'll also be able to make a lot of money if they work hard (how dare they!).

Alan Simpson's website

Technorati tag: EcoHouse, Government

A Green roof for Piccadilly Gardens

Manchester's Piccadilly Gardens, imperfectly redeveloped a few years ago and with a lawn that needs constant relaying, is to get a green roof on the crescent of food outlets that line one side. This should help compensate for the excess of concrete and paving that was laid as part of the remodelling and maybe ease the big puddles that cover the tram tracks after a heavy rain. The popular fountains in the Gardens are now being fed from a ground source of water under the area, which should also cut their impact.

Technorati tag: Architecture, Green Roof, Public Space

Censorship and anti-science

Every time another unscientific denial of climate change is debunked the deniers come out crying about censorship, or threaten to sue. In truth, as George Monbiot points out, it is the scientists doing the hard work that proves mankind is changing the environment who are the ones being censored.

Technorati tag: Climate Change Denial, Censorship

Eco-houses for the rich and famous

A development of £4.5million houses in Kensington are set to have £50,000 of energy saving devices installed, including geothermal heating that will produce enough excess to keep the drive ice free.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse

Lightbulb denial in the Daily Mail

Cheaper bulbs have some of the problems attributed in this article to all Compact Fluorescent Lights, but to pretend they all do is as lazy and shortsighted as they're accusing the politicians of being. Better quality CFL bulbs (the ones from Philips are highly recommended) light up as fast as incandescents, have a pleasant colour and, even with normal switching on and off, last far longer then old style bulbs. And they pay for themselves within a year in normal useage.

Most of the people I know have houses lit with low energy bulbs and not a one of them has ever commented on problems fitting the lights. Now that everyone else is into CFLs I'm thinking of moving to LEDs, which are even more efficient.

As for China, so what if they're not making changes right now? They will in the future. If your neighbour told you they hadn't fitted smoke alarms, would you endanger your family by removing the ones in your house?

Technorati tag: EcoHouse

Taking your top off for the environment

Keeley Hazell, the Sun's top Page Three model has been name checked by David Cameron as a Green icon and, the Independent finds, she has the credentials to back this up.  Sex sells and if if it makes Sun readers invest in low energy bulbs that's cool.

Keeley Hazell on Fleshbot (NSFW)

Keeley Hazell products at Amazon

Technorati tag: Sexy

Going Green in the bedroom

Canada.com on environmentally aware sex toys, picking up on some issues raised by Treehugger and the growing trendiness of all things Green.

via Fleshbot (NSFW)

Technorati tag: Sex, Sex Toy

The Green capital

The capital will reduce its carbon emmissions by 60% within 20 years if Ken Livingstone's plans work out.

Technorati tag: EcoHouse, London

How Green should Gore be?

Do Green campaigners have to be absolutely pure? The question arises from the fuss caused by snide naysayers who are attacking Al Gore's lifestyle to turn attention away from his message.

By all accounts Gore and his family have gone beyond carbon neutral.  No matter how much energy his mansions consume he's planting the trees or making the investments to write that off and then spending a bit more.  Of course, the antis know this but don't bother to mention it because that would destroy their argument.

It's time for Gore to slap solar panels and windmills on his properties and ask what the rumour mongers are doing to reduce their carbon footprints.

Technorati tag: Al Gore

Wood- the once and future fuel

Wood pellet stoves may not have the romance of a log fire or solid fuel stove (my parents just got a Rayburn, which I haven't seen yet, but they're surrounded by a near free supply of downed trees and off cuts), but they could be as near to carbon neutral as an energy solution gets.

A few thoughts-

How are the factories making these pellets powered?  If they can close the circle and have a combined heat and power system on site powered by some of the pellets produced that will be brilliant.

The fuel will never be entirely carbon neutral until the chainsaws are powered by ethanol and every vehicle used runs on biodiesel.  But that's being picky, it's still a hell of a lot closer than anything else, and they could always plant excess trees to offset production costs.

How clean do these stoves burn?  A lot of Britain is now smoke-free zone, which has to hinder the uptake of solid fuel.  I imagine as they become more efficient the stoves create less smoke.

Technorati tag: Biomass, Renewable Energy, Wood

The denial business is still going strong

I think the title says it all "All those Scientists may still be wrong". All those thousands of intelligent, highly educated people, experts in their fields, who have spent billions of hours examining the data, testing theories and extrapolating alternatives might, just possibly, not be absolutely 100% correct in their predictions. So we should do nothing and hope they're not right.

The question should be, what's so wrong with reducing carbon dioxide output? What's being called for is an increase in efficiency and a reduction in reliance on limited resources. It's a winning combination for everyone and a great way to alleviate poverty. Even without global warming this should be the aim of every person on the planet. Or do the deniers not want to see poorer people leapfrog ahead of them into the future?

Technorati tag: Climate Change

Shell's Biomass to Liquid biofuels

Shell are investing in a technology to convert wood chips and straw to biodiesel, to take the strain off food crops.

Technorati tag: Biodiesel