The Green Village News for the ‘Green Planet’ Category
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Ecotricity, the UK’s first green electricity supplier, has been researching the feasibility of supplying green biogas to the UK domestic market. From their results, plus their market research, they have announced that they hope to become Britain’s first green gas supplier too.
Green gas or ‘biogas’ is captured from rotting food waste which would otherwise escape into the atmosphere. It is estimated that about 18 million tonnes of food waste is generated each year in the UK; a figure which Ecotricity would expect to supply up to 700,000 homes.
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Tags: biogas, ecotricity, food waste, gas, gas mills, green gas
Posted in Companies and Organisations, Energy and Resources, Green Planet, Recycling and Waste | No Comments
Saturday, November 14th, 2009
A proposal to build an eco home near to the site of a former asbestos factory is facing continued opposition from a local action group. The proposal to build a three bedroom house on a car park which is situated across the road from the site of Acre Mill where the former Cape Asbestos factory was in operation.
An action group was formed in opposition to the proposed eco home that was proposed by Lyn and Christine Gledhill due to concerns that commencement of building work would disturb asbestos fibres in the ground which could be released into the air and a nearby water course. Mr Gledhill, managing director of Beer Gas Express, commented previously that he was confident there is no risk of asbestos contamination if the proposal to build on the site was granted.
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Tags: acre mill, asbestos, asbestos cancer, cancer, contamination, Eco Home, hebdon bridge, planning permission, public health, sustainable home, water pollution
Posted in Eco Home, Environmental Impact, Environmental Politics, Green Living, Green Planet, Health and Wellbeing, Sustainable Development | No Comments
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
Further to a trial in 8 of their buildings, the Environment Agency will install Voltage Power Optimisation technology in a further 33 of its buildings in a bid to reduce their energy consumption and carbon emissions. The trial resulted in a saving of between 10%-18% of the buildings’ electricity consumption, which is the equivalent of 281 tonnes of carbon.
Voltage Power Optimisation (VPO) works by reducing the voltage of the incoming electricity to reduce energy wastage. Most appliances work fine at 200 volts, however the voltage of electricity entering our homes is usually between 207 and 253 volts. This additional electricity is often wasted as heat, therefore by reducing the voltage, considerable savings in electricity consumption and, as a result, carbon emissions and energy bills can be achieved.
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Tags: carbon emissions, carbon footprint, electricity, electricity consumption, energy, energy bills, energy efficiency, environment agency, voltage power optimisation, VPO
Posted in Companies and Organisations, Energy and Resources, Environmental Impact, Environmental Politics, Green Planet | No Comments
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.
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Tags: big green home show, Eco Home, eco retrofit, green building, green building techniques, green event, green home, green renovation, insulation, low carbon, national self build and renovation centre, self build, straw bale building
Posted in Eco Home, Events and Courses, Green Family, Green Leisure and Tourism, Green Living, Green Planet, Sustainable Development | No Comments
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
In potentially the first case of it’s kind, RBS and the Treasury could face court action for investing in carbon-intensive industries including coal, oil and gas as well as environmentally destuctive mining.
The environmental groups involved in bringing about the hearing today include People and Planet, the World Development Movement and Platform. The conclusion of the hearing could lead to green groups having a case with which to sue the bank and the Treasury.
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Tags: coal, gas, oil, people and planet, platform, rbs, the treasury
Posted in Companies and Organisations, Energy and Resources, Environmental Impact, Environmental Politics, Green Planet | No Comments
Thursday, October 1st, 2009
At the annual ‘celebrating staff success’ event held by Staffordshire University, a new category for this year’s event saw staff being presented with awards for sustainability. The ceremony, which is about recognising the achievements of employees in the University over the past 12 months, included two awards highlighting commitments by members of staff to sustainability within the University, both on-site and in the curriculum, and outside the workplace.
Chrissie Pinner, the Postal Services Manager at the Stoke Campus of the University received the ‘Beyond the Workplace’ award for her commitment to addressing the problem of domestic waste littering the streets in the area around the campus and in the roads and streets in Shelton. Her commitment to this in her own time has led to improvements in the surrounding area which are benefiting the whole local community by not only improving the environment by addressing waste collection problems but have also contributed to a healthier environment for local residents and students as a result.
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Tags: environmental issues, green award, professor, renewable energy, staffordshire university, sustainability awards
Posted in Companies and Organisations, Green Planet, Sustainable Development | 1 Comment
Tuesday, September 29th, 2009
The familiar conventional solar panel that springs to mind when someone mentions solar power could be replaced by the new trend of integrating solar technology into buildings. The increasing popularity for building integrated photovoltaics is aided by the advances in microgeneration technology including solar roof tiles, shingles and even special sheeting that can be incorporated into other building materials which is coated in layers of atomised photovoltaic material.
Photovoltaics have been developed and improved over many years and are available for many uses including power supplies to charge leisure batteries for caravans, boats and motorhomes as well as for conventional use on domestic and industrial roofs. As the search for more sustainable sources of energy generation are sought to help ease the problems of peak oil and decreasing sources of energy generation such as fossil fuels, microgeneration from renewable energy sources such as wind power, geothermal energy and solar energy could be a crucial step to prevent blackouts and energy shortages for future generations.
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Tags: building integrated photovoltaics, microgeneration, photovoltaics, renewable energy, solar, solar panels, solar power, solar tiles
Posted in Eco Home, Energy and Resources, Green Living, Green Planet, Science and Technology | No Comments
Saturday, September 26th, 2009
A report compiled by the Environment Agency has revealed that despite improvements in quality over the past 20 years, three quarters of the rivers in the UK are not up to new EU water quality standards. The report assesses the biological and chemical quality of the rivers and has surveyed 6000 rivers across England and Wales, identifying only five as ‘pristine’.
Officials are pleased with the progress made over the past 20 years, with continued improvements having a positive impact on wildlife living in and around the UK’s waterways. Some species were believed to be in terminal decline but these findings have proven that with more work and commitments to reduce pollution and improve water quality across the rivers of Great Britain, more wildlife can be attracted to the waterside and current numbers and species’ futures secured.
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Tags: biodiversity, chemical run-off, environment agency, EU, pollution, river quality, rivers, water, water quality, WWF
Posted in Companies and Organisations, Conservation and Wildlife, Environmental Impact, Green Planet | No Comments
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009
Brixton will be taking a step in the direction of market towns Stroud, Totnes and Lewes with the launch of the Brixton Pound on Thursday 17th September. As the economy is still in the throes of recession, the concept of transition towns is being looked at as a model that could help ease the economic tensions by encouraging communities to become more self-supporting, as well as helping combat the problems of peak oil and climate change added to by transportation of goods from around the world.
It is hoped the launch of the new currency, which will not replace pounds sterling in Brixton but will be available as an alternative for customers, who will be offered their change in Brixton pound notes, will help keep money within the local economy. The currency will be available in £1, £5, £10 and £20 notes and a large number of businesses in the area have bought into the idea, agreeing to accept payment for goods or services in the local currency, either solely in Brixton pounds or in conjunction with sterling.
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Tags: brixton, brixton pound, buy local, climate change, community, economy, peak oil, sterling, transition towns
Posted in Ethical shopping, Events and Courses, Green Living, Green Planet, Sustainable Development | 1 Comment
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.
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Tags: alternative transport, bikes, buses, car share scheme, cars, cycling, fossil fuels, public transport, trains, world carfree day
Posted in Environmental Impact, Green Family, Green Leisure and Tourism, Green Living, Green Planet, Transport and Travel | No Comments
