The Green Village News for September, 2009
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
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.
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Tags: bike ban, bikes, cars, CTC, cycle lanes, cycle proficiency, cycling, right to ride to school, schools
Posted in Green Family, Green Living, Green Planet, Health and Wellbeing, Transport and Travel | 1 Comment
Sunday, September 6th, 2009
An increase in commercial recycling scheme costs has forced Richmond Council’s largest client to find a cheaper alternative. After annual costs for recycling collections rocketed by twenty thousand pounds from £54k to £74k Richmond Riverside Estates felt they had little alternative considering the current economic climate other than to seek an alternative service from another provider.
Despite argument from a council cabinet minister that the costs for their recycling service are still cheaper than sending waste to landfill, one member of management at Richmond Riverside Estates, Malcolm Kealy, believes this could be the first of many companies switching to more cost effective recycling companies.
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Tags: council recycling scheme, recycling, richmond, richmond council, richmond riverside estates
Posted in Companies and Organisations, Environmental Politics, Green Planet, Recycling and Waste | No Comments
Saturday, September 5th, 2009
The electric car market is due to get another boost following an agreement between Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi, and French owned Peugeot. The new electric car, which will be based on the i-MieV built by Mitsubishi, will be sold to the European market and will be available under both Peugeot and Citroen brands.
The agreement, signed yesterday (4th September) in Paris by the CEO of Mitsubishi, Osamu Masuko, and the CEO of PSA Peugeot Citroen, Philippe Varin, is a significant step in demonstrating their partnership concerning the development of electric vehicles. The new electric car will add to the current portfolio of lower emission vehicles offered by Peugeot/Citroen, which will be further added to when their new hybrid diesel models are released in 2011.
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Tags: citroen, electric cars, EVs, hybrid technology, mitsubishi, peugeot, renewable energy, sustainable transport
Posted in Companies and Organisations, Ethical shopping, Green Living, Green Planet, Science and Technology, Transport and Travel | No Comments
Friday, September 4th, 2009
The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has appointed David MacKay as chief scientific advisor. The Cambridge university physics professor was chosen by Ed Miliband to advise on matters relating to the Government’s low carbon transition plan.
David MacKay is the author of the straight-talking and critically acclaimed “Sustainable Energy – without the hot air“. The first run of copies published sold out in a matter of weeks and when the book hit the bestsellers list on Amazon, the publisher was struggling to keep up with demand.
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Tags: carbon emmisions, david mackay, de-carbonisation, decc, ed miliband, sustainable energy
Posted in Energy and Resources, Environmental Politics, Green Planet, Science and Technology, Sustainable Development | No Comments
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009
The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT), based in Machynlleth, in Wales has pioneered a new way of delivering energy to local communities via the UK’s first micro-grid.
CAT has been working towards solutions for sustainability for the past 35 years and this micro-grid technology is the latest of their developments. The mirco-grid draws its power from renewable energy sources as they are available (i.e when the wind is blowing or the sun shining) or from the national grid when they are not.
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Tags: centre for alternative technology, energy distribution, micro-grid, national grid, renewable energy
Posted in Companies and Organisations, Energy and Resources, Green Planet, Science and Technology, Sustainable Development | No Comments
Jamie Oliver’s new TV Series ‘