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Transforming the UK's Old Housing Stock
Photo: Julian Jackson
The UK's poorly insulated, energy inefficient housing stock could be easily transformed into cheaper to run, low carbon homes by the end of the next decade. But a new report by WWF-UK How Low shows that without a radical shift in Government policy the UK is set to miss out on the biggest opportunity to cut household energy bills, and reduce CO2 emissions. The first-ever modelling of the country's entire housing stock shows that solid wall insulation and low and zero carbon technologies such as
ground source heat pumps and solar water heating are key to greening our homes and getting the UK on track to meet its emission reduction targets for 2020.
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Trees for Business
Green is the new black. People want to be associated with green initiatives. Recent UK research found that over 82% of consumers want to deal with a company that is eco-friendly. Being green can boost staff morale – many employees want to take environmentally sound initiatives at work. A survey of top UK Graduates by an accountancy firm showed significant numbers wanted to work for environmentally responsible organisations. Numerous other polls and opinion samples show that increasing numbers of people want to participate in improving the environment. Tree planting is one option that is readily recognised by consumers as a positive eco-action.
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Junk for Joy – how to Freecycle your unwanted goods
Photo: Faringdon Ecoweek
Junk. You've got a lot of it, clogging up the attic, in the garage, and festering in the cupboard under the stairs. It is said that one person's junk is another person's treasure, and that is where “Freecycling” comes in, which is just the greenies' way of saying “giving stuff away”. Freecycling events,
Swap Shops,
swapmeets, giveaways are where people get rid of things they don't want and take things they do. It's the same sort of thing as the local jumble sale.
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Government Plans Eco-Towns
Photo: Craig Jewell
The UK Government is proposing to build new Coal Fired Power Stations. As coal is by far the most polluting form of energy production this seems the most retrograde step in terms of ameliorating our carbon footprint.
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USB Battery wins Design “Oscar”
A British-designed sustainable product, the USBCell rechargeable battery, has been awarded Gold status at the iF Product Design Award's (sometimes referred to as a ‘Design Oscar'). The battery recharges itself whilst plugged into a personal computer's USB port, so that toxic battery landfill waste and C02 emissions are reduced. Moixa Energy, the company behind the project, has been awarded Gold status at the iF Product Design Award's (sometimes referred to as a ‘Design Oscar'). It received a research and development grant from the London Development Agency in November 2005.
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