Even the most environmentally minded among us often have to frequently rely on four wheel car transportation to get us from A to B so finding a low carbon emitting car, whether it’s a family car or a commuter vehicle, is important. Stop-start technology, which is also known as micro-hybrid technology, is tipped to become a standard component in vehicles and would be responsible for considerable carbon emission reductions.
The Green Village News for the ‘Green Family’ Category
Micro-Hybrid Technology Could Stop-Start An Eco-Car Revolution
Friday, December 11th, 2009Big Green Home Show Promotes Eco-Renovation and Self-Builds
Thursday, October 22nd, 2009
The National Self Build & Renovation Centre in Swindon will be hosting the Big Green Home Show this weekend, 23rd-25th October. The green event will be the second Big Green Home Show held at the venue and will feature a wide range of activities including seminars, live building demonstrations and a large number of experts on site throughout the weekend.
Whatever your green building needs, from finding an environmentally responsible trades person to help you carry out renovation work in your home, to attending one of the many seminars being delivered over the weekend, there’s plenty to keep you busy. Alternative Build Live will be held to provide on the day demonstrations of green building techniques such as straw bale building and offering visitors the opportunity to have a go at clay plastering. The Build Live! Demonstrations will provide information and guides to installing solar panels, insulation, heat pumps and solar water heating.
World Carfree Day 2009 Taking Place On 22nd September
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Tuesday 22nd September 2009 is World Carfree Day, the day each year when people are urged to leave their cars at home and use alternative transport. Around the world, different events take place to spread the word about the importance of relinquishing our hold on oil powered transportation and the alternative methods of transportation and public transport services that are available.
As well as helping cut worldwide carbon emissions by reducing the amount of cars on the road, the day also aims to increase awareness of the importance of reducing the amount of single person car trips we make, by increasing the number of people travelling by bus, train, bike or on foot and encouraging more people to carshare where possible. Single occupant car journeys contribute significantly to pollution and the extra vehicles clogging up the roads create added congestion that can be the bane of many of our lives.
Bike Bans Leave Kids Unable To Cycle To School
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
Most people will be aware now that the kids are back at school, if only because of the added congestion that returns once the school gates reopen. Congestion that could be eased if fewer people relied on gas guzzling vehicles to transport their children to school each weekday morning were it not for a number of schools issuing bans on kids cycling to school.
Safety on the roads is being blamed as a primary reason for not permitting or strongly discouraging children to cycle into school, as a number of headteachers are concerned that roads are too busy and traffic too much of a threat for them to be prepared to take the risk of allowing children to arrive on two wheels instead of four. Although walking is still an option for those with the time, travelling by bike is often a more practical approach due to the increased distance that can be travelled within the same amount of time.
Age Of Stupid Premiere In Australia And New Zealand
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
Climate change film ‘The Age of Stupid’ will see Pete Postlethwaite posing the question of why we didn’t do something to save ourselves to Australia and New Zealand at tomorrow’s premiere. The premiere will be the follow on from the low carbon example set by the UK premiere in March which set a Guiness world record for the largest simultaneous film premiere with people watching the live link-up with London from cinemas across the UK.
The premiere will see the return of the green carpet for celebrities to walk up, and will have a number of guest speakers including the head of Greenpeace in Australia, a Senator and there is even the chance that the Australian Prime Minister may join the event by telephone. In addition to this, there will be a satellite link to a boat in the Arctic where explorer Eric Phillips will be on board waiting to join in discussions, a video message from some children in Copenhagen will pass on their message to world leaders, and viewers will be able to send text messages to question the director and producer team, Franny Armstrong and Lizzie Gillett after the film.
Chicken Out! Goes Out And About To Promote Free Range Chicken
Monday, August 17th, 2009
The Chicken Out! team are going out and about on a tour of a number of UK cities over the 39 days spanning between 10th August and 17th September. The tour will last the same amount of days as a broiler house chicken lives, from the day of hatching to the day they are shipped to the supermarket shelves.
The tour coincides with a daily blog which tells the story of a factory farmed chick’s lifetime from the day it hatches until the end of its short life 39 days later. Chickens that are raised for meat in broiler houses live an unnatural and short life. Intensive farming of chickens means that large numbers of birds are crammed into vast broiler houses with no natural light, no stimulation to promote natural behaviour such as scratching and perching, and large numbers of the birds die before they even reach the age required to be sent off for food.
Homeopathic Remedies Could Cure Swine Flu
Saturday, August 15th, 2009
Homeopathic doctors in Mexico City have discovered that homeopathy can be used to successfully treat and cure swine flu. The pandemic outbreak of the disease that is sweeping the globe, with over 215,000 cases reported and 1,735 people who have died after being infected with the disease.
Although a vaccination programme has been announced in the UK yesterday (Thursday) that will be rolled out from October to vaccinate 13 million people who are most at risk in the first stage of the plan, some people are sceptical about how effective immunisation will be. In America, one of the three strains of swine flu that people are contracting is resistant to the drug of choice being used to treat the disease, Tamiflu.
National Allotment Week Encourages People To Grow Their Own
Thursday, August 13th, 2009
It’s National Allotment Week and across the UK different events have been taking place to spread the word about growing your own. From open days at allotment gardens across the UK to a scarecrow competition launched by an Elvis impersonating scarecrow at the Eden Project in Cornwall, and plenty more to come before the week is out.
As well as enjoying a family day out at one of the events taking place, it is the ideal time to get some last minute gardening in before the end of the season. There are still plenty of different vegetables you can try your hand at, including radishes, carrots, turnips and beetroot, and, there are varieties of cabbage and lettuce that can be grown all year round.
Alternative Festivals And Refund Options Available To Big Green Gathering Ticket Holders
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009
Last week the shocking news that the threat of an injunction against the Big Green Gathering 2009 forced directors to cancel the event 3 days before it was due to begin shocked the green community. All is not lost however, as ticket holders have a number of options available following the cancellation.
A number of other festivals that will be taking place during the summer and early in 2010 have come to the rescue and have agreed to accept tickets for the Big Green Gathering to enable people to still enjoy some summer festivities. Although all the details have not yet been finalised, they should be available within the next week with ticket swap options including the Family Yoga Camp and The Big Chill which starts on Thursday for a £20 upgrade; an event that is usually sold out before the event begins.
Zero Emission Nissan ‘Leaf’ Electric Car Revealed
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
Car manufacturers Nissan have announced their new 100% electric car, the Leaf, will be rolled out in car showrooms by the end of next year. The zero carbon vehicle would not only have a greater range than other electric cars on the market but would also have a top speed of 90 miles per hour and will be available in Japan, the US, Europe and the UK.
The new electric car will sit in the £10-15k price bracket and will be the first mass-produced electric car on the market. In contrast to other electric cars, however, it will be looking to fill a gap in the family car market appealing to those wanting to reduce their family’s carbon footprint, as a 5 door hatchback with no carbon emissions. The green machine also boasts a 100 mile range between charges compared to the top figure of 70 miles for the city favourite, G-Wiz.
