UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil and Energy Security

The Taskforce sees very major consequences of rising oil prices in the next few years. Without a strong and coordinated response from Government to protect the UK economy and society from rising prices, we will see the cost of travel, food, heating and retail goods rise which will impact British businesses and citizens alike. We also need to see much quicker action from Government to support the introduction of renewable energy technology and energy efficiency measures.  http://peakoiltaskforce.net/about-2/

Fishing

Give a man a fish, and he can eat for a day. But teach a man how to fish, and he'll be dead of mercury poisoning inside of three years. Charles Haas

Government reponse re household energy bills

Mandate in law that household energy bills are made simpler, clearer and easier for consumers to understand. http://www.hmg.gov.uk/epetition-responses/petition-view.aspx?epref=betterbills

Take The Open University Green Quiz

http://www.open2.net/sciencetechnologynature/worldaroundus/greenquiz.html

Climate change: evidence from the geological record

The Geological Society has prepared a position statement on climate change, focusing specifically on the geological evidence:
http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/gsl/views/policy_statements/climatechange

New solar farm for Cornwall

The UK is to get its first purpose-built solar farm in Truro, Cornwall. http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?src=nl&id=18857

U.S. Approves World's Biggest Solar Power Project

The U.S. Interior Department on Monday approved a permit for the world's biggest solar power project that will provide electricity to up to 750,000 homes.
The 1,000-megawatt project was proposed by a subsidiary of Solar Millennium AG and will be located on federal lands near Blythe, California.

"The Blythe Solar Power Project is a major milestone in our nation's renewable energy economy and shows that the United States intends to compete and lead in the technologies of the future," said U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

The project fits with the Obama administration's efforts to have more U.S. electricity supplies generated by renewable energy sources like wind and solar power and create thousands of clean energy jobs in the process.

The end of landfill?

The recent findings from the Local Government Association (LGA) that Britain will run out of landfill space in less than eight years should be of grave concern to local authority finance directors as much as the recycling lobby.  http://www.edie.net/library/view_article.asp?id=5541

Businesses shelve green plans to weather recession

Survey finds SMEs feel cost of adopting environmental policies is too great, despite recognising commercial advantages

http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2271098/small-businesses-poor-reap

Royal Society says climate change man made

The Royal Society has announced climate change is manmade and while the evidence is not 100% policy must be set now to tackle it. http://royalsociety.org/climate-change-summary-of-science/

Postcards from the Future

A display of 14 arresting images will be on display at the Museum of London from 1 October 2010 to 6 March 2011. http://www.postcardsfromthefuture.co.uk/

Time 'Off'

Google allow their employees one day in five to do what they want – so long as they record the results. 50% of their new stuff comes from this day; not just ideas – products.

Eight years left of landfill

Britain will run out of landfill space in less than eight years' time - unless recycling rates are boosted and the amount of rubbish dumped in the ground is reduced. http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=12347120

Biophilia

A somewhat controversial hypothesis put forward by Edward Wilson is the idea that humans evolved as creatures deeply enmeshed with the intricacies of nature, and that we still have this affinity with nature ingrained in our genotype. http://www.wilderdom.com/evolution/BiophiliaHypothesis.html

Dumping used plastic bottles in landfill can sometimes be better for the environment

Dumping used plastic bottles in landfill can sometimes be better for the environment than recycling them a controversial report claims. The study by Californian consultants SRI Consulting suggests in certain countries disposing of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic bottles in landfill generates the least carbon. http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?src=nl&id=18558

Cash for all types of electrical waste

https://weeebuy.co.uk/

Ecological Debt Day

21 August was ecological debt day: the point at which humanity used up all the sustainable resources for the entire year; in 1987 it fell on 19 December.

Government subsidies paid to the fossil fuel industry in 2008 amounted to $557m; 10 times the amount provided to renewable energy in 2009.

http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/blog/index.php/2010/08/04/subsidies-for-fossil-fuels-ten-times-higher-than-renewables/

Energy use in Defra

In support of the Prime Minister's commitment for this to be the greenest government ever, Defra is making real-time energy consumption data available for its main London headquarter building; Nobel House. All departments have committed to making energy consumption data available. The online tool displays real-time energy information in units of energy, cost and carbon.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/environment/

Did emotions evolve to push others into cooperation?

The next time you feel angry at a friend who has let you down, or grateful toward one whose generosity has surprised you, consider this: you may really be bargaining for better treatment from that person in the future.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19232-did-emotions-evolve-to-push-others-into-cooperation.html

Simplicity

Until people come to view simplicity as a state or characteristic to be desired, sustainability will always fall prey to the tragedy of the commons.

Dr. Brian Treanor, Loyola Marymount University

Business opportunities in the UK from climate change adaptation

See: http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Default.aspx?Menu=Menu&Module=More&Location=None&ProjectID=17072&FromSearch=Y&Publisher=1&SearchText=adaptation&GridPage=1&SortString=ProjectCode&SortOrder=Asc&Paging=10#Description

Out of ice

Marine climate change

Marine climate change impacts Annual Report Card 2010–2011: http://www.mccip.org.uk/media/7527/mccip-report-2010-2011.pdf

US regulator shrugs off climate deniers

America's environmental watchdog has rebuffed challenges to a scientific study it published declaring climate change real, man-made and a threat to human health and the natural world. http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=18497&channel=0&title=US+regulator+shrugs+off+climate+deniers

Model energy futures

DECC 2050 Calculator tool, a spreadsheet based model and fancy web interface that allows people to model their own energy futures. Details, including an introductory video tutorial: http://2050-calculator-tool.decc.gov.uk/

GDP doesn't count…

The health of our children; the quality of education; the beauty of poetry; the strength of relationships; the intelligence of public debate; the integrity of our public officials; our wit and wisdom; our courage; our learning; our compassion; how we respect each other

GDP Counts…

Air pollution; cigarette advertising; ambulances to clear roads of carnage; locks on our doors; jails for criminals; destruction of forests; loss of natural habitats for urban sprawl; nuclear warheads and armaments; armoured police cars to fight riots; guns and knives; TV programmes which glorify violence

Food Waste

1.3 million unopened yogurt pots are dumped every day in the UK, along with 440,000 ready meals, 5,500 chickens, 4.4 million apples, 5.1 million potatoes and 1.6 million bananas. WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme)

Anaerobic digestion plant to feed renewable gas in UK gas grid

http://www.europeanenergyreview.eu/index.php?id=2164

EU Sees Solar Power Imported From Sahara In 5 Years

Europe will import its first solar-generated electricity from North Africa within the next five years, European Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said in an interview on Sunday.



The European Union is backing projects to turn the plentiful sunlight in the Sahara desert into electricity for power-hungry Europe, a scheme it hopes will help meet its target of deriving 20 percent of its energy from renewable sources in 2020.
 
The EU is backing the construction of new electricity cables, known as inter-connectors, under the Mediterranean Sea to carry this renewable energy from North Africa to Europe.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65J1ZO20100620

Lloyd's adds its voice to dire 'peak oil' warnings

The Lloyd's insurance market and the highly regarded Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS, known as Chatham House) says Britain needs to be ready for "peak oil" and disrupted energy supplies at a time of soaring fuel demand in China and India
http://www.peakoil.net/headline-news/lloyds-adds-its-voice-to-dire-peak-oil-warnings

M&S reveals three years progress of Plan A

Marks & Spencer has published the results of the third year of its attempts to transform itself into the country's greenest retailer.
http://corporate.marksandspencer.com/documents/publications/2010/How_We_Do_Business_Report_2010

Cradle to cradle design

http://www.ted.com/talks/william_mcdonough_on_cradle_to_cradle_design.html

More than three quarters of corporate executives in the UK say they plan to increase spending on climate change initiatives

Despite the tough economic climate more than three quarters of corporate executives in the UK say they plan to increase spending on climate change initiatives between now and 2012.

http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?src=nl&id=18221

Olympics faces challenges too

Two of the world’s largest sporting events — the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa to be held this week and the 2012 Olympics in London — are facing environmental challenges particularly as they try to offset millions of tons of CO2 emissions, largely due to travel.
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/06/07/fifa-world-cup-2012-olympics-face-environmental-challenges/

Football to footprints: World Cup's carbon impact

Africa's first football World Cup will generate 2.75m tonnes of carbon emissions, one of the biggest environmental impacts of any sporting event in history, a study has found.
The finals in South Africa next year are expected to have a carbon footprint eight times that of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, even before long-haul international travel is taken into account. The main reasons for the discrepancy are the vast distances between South Africa's host cities and the lack of a green transport infrastructure.
The estimated output from South Africa is 896,661 tonnes of carbon dioxide, according to the optimistically entitled Feasibility Study for a Carbon Neutral 2010 Fifa World Cup, commissioned jointly by the South African and Norwegian governments. Another 1,856,589 tonnes will result from fans travelling from around the world, making the World Cup's footprint the biggest of any major event aiming to be "climate neutral", the report said.
http://www.norway.org.za/NR/rdonlyres/3E6BB1B1FD2743E58F5B0BEFBAE7D958/114457/FeasibilityStudyforaCarbonNeutral2010FIFAWorldCup.pdf

More windmills, less polar bears - scientist considers best way to communicate climate change

Symbols of hope rather than those of environmental catastrophe make more effective tools when trying to engage the public in the environmental debate, according to scientists researching climate change communication.

http://www.nhssustainability.co.uk/energy/energy-climate-change/more-windmills-less-polar-bears-scientist-considers-best-way-to-communicate-climate-change/

Ditching smart work clothes could help climate change

http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2010/04/ditching-smart-work-clothes-could-help-climate-change.htm

Greenwash tackled by environmental experts

http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?src=nl&id=18186

Make IT Green

The report links a growth in internet computing with a 'huge jump' in greenhouse gas emissions, through the way electricity is supplied to power the buildings, or data centres, where websites are maintained.
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/usa/press-center/reports4/make-it-green-cloud-computing.pdf

Energy Security and Green Economy Bill 2010-11

The Bill will introduce access to energy efficiency measures to homes and business.
http://www.epolitix.com/legislation/legislation-details/newsarticle/energy-bill-2010-11/

EU considering environmental taxes

Speaking at a lecture in March in Brussels on growth and jobs, the European environmental commissioner, Janez Potocnik, has claimed the EU must be sending the right economic signals to ensure that the true environmental value of natural resources is reflected in their price. http://www.simplifi-solutions.co.uk/news.php#eu

Great bin label

Ocean's Helleven

In this bracing talk, coral reef ecologist Jeremy Jackson lays out the shocking state of the ocean today: overfished, overheated, polluted, with indicators that things will get much worse. Astonishing photos and stats make the case. It's just 18 minutes long and it's at: http://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_jackson.html?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2010-05-05

Economists

"Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world is either a madman or an economist." Kenneth Boulding

Workers need a brew to function

Research has confirmed what many tea and coffee lovers have long suspected – a good brew can mean better and safer working practices. Researchers from the London School of Tropical Medicine carried out an experiment to discover whether a dose of caffeine had any effect on the frequency of mistakes being made by employees working unsocial hours which causes them to fall victim to a form of “jet lag” due to disturbed body clock rhythms. The study involved 13 trials investigating the effects of caffeine on shift worker performance and found that those that were given the drug in the form of tea, coffee, “pep” pills, energy drinks and caffeinated foods performed better in a number of tests. Researchers tested the claims against a “dummy” placebo group and found that those given caffeine during the experiment performed better in various tests including memory, attention, perception, conceptualising and reasoning. Lead Researcher Dr Katherine Ker, from the London School of Tropical Medicine, said: “It seems reasonable to assume that reduced errors are associated with fewer injuries, although we cannot quantify such as reduction.”

Resource giving much detail on wind, wave and tidal energy development in the UK

http://www.youtube.com/BWEAchannel#g/u

Podcasts from UK Climate Impacts Programme

Useful collection of podcasts from UKCIP (you'll need to scroll down about 1/2 way to find them)  http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/openspires.html

Half Price Parking!

Just tripped over this:
http://www.parkatmyhouse.co.uk/

There is no away - waste again...

I'm reminded of the work of the Intitute for Earth Education - http://www.eartheducation.org.uk/ - who in their excellent 'Earth Caretakers' programme, go into schools the night before it starts and put stickers on all the bins saying 'THERE IS NO AWAY'

Waste industry heading for perfect storm

Ex-Biffa director Peter Jones has warned that we're heading for a waste crisis in Britain as landfill becomes full but we lack the infrastructure for more sustainable waste management.
http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?src=nl&id=18044

Simplicity

Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail. Henry David Thoreau

email again...

In 2005, a psychiatrist at King's College in London administered IQ tests to three groups: the first did nothing but perform the IQ test, the second was distracted by email and ringing phones, and the third was stoned on marijuana.

Not surprisingly, the first group did better than the other two by an average of 10 points. The emailers, on the other hand, did worse than intoxicated people by an average of 6 points. ("Can't Get No Satisfaction," New York Magazine, Dec. 4, 2006)

Yet, in a recent survey of 320 professionals, 17% check a few times per hour and 68% check email more or less continually--constantly breaking their focus on the primary task at hand.


http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Optimizing+email:+stay+productive,+not+busy.-a0197492903

How to handle your overloaded inbox

The first step comes from Tim Ferriss’ The Four Hour Work Week and it’s that you shouldn’t feel guilty...

From Ferris: “Recognize that you receive too much information. It’s not your fault. Just accept that there is more information than time, and that it’s increasing every day.”

Ferriss offers “three ways to deal with e-mail overload. You can ‘live by reaction’ and feel increasingly stressed and confused. You can opt out by not reading anything. Or you can practice ‘bit literacy’ by getting ‘some information - the right information - without trying to get all of it.’”

The third option is a great way to go.

Your job probably means you receive a whole host of e-letters and bulletins that you need to whittle through to find the useful ones.

Some is appalling and largely pointless. This stuff should be ditched immediately.

But that still leaves you with a ton of stuff, a more manageable ton, but still enough to stress out your inbox.

So, of this good stuff, you can then divide it into ‘worth scanning’ and ‘solid gold’.”

E-mails worth scanning tend to be from sources that reliably deliver at least some relevant information.”

But...

Solid gold e-mails are from those rare sources that provide useful tips and insights every single time.

Put these ‘solid gold’ emails to the side. Because I am confident the information in them will be useful and informative, I want to give them the time they deserve.

It’s the ‘worth scanning’ emails that I go through first. Quickly scanning them to see if there’s something inside the email that could warrant it being promoted to solid gold status.

If a quick scan fails to pull anything out of the email; it’s deleted.

It’s then time to turn to the ‘solid golds’ and read them, making notes if appropriate or filing them away for later reference.

Get the idea and then move on

However, what’s to be done if you’re still being drowned in email, even though you’ve been so selective?

Follow the Power of One rule. Scan your solid-gold e-mails until you find one good and useful idea - an idea you can implement immediately. Then stop reading.

Remember, you don’t have to know everything - or even most of what there is to know - to succeed at most endeavours.
So, on reading through the email, once you hit upon an inspiring idea you’re done and you can get on with putting that idea into action.
Remember: get rid of the rubbish (and don’t feel guilty), sort the good into ‘worth scanning’ and ‘solid gold’, pick up one important idea, and then move on…

Busting the myths surrounding electric vehicles

Greg Archer, head of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) in an attempt to dispel some of the fog surrounding the facts on electric transport:
http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?src=nl&id=17985

Air Travel Impacts

http://www.sustainablestuff.co.uk/EnvironmentAirTravel.html

Ashes to Ashes

Fascinated to hear the radio phone ins about the disruption to flights.  Challenging and horrible for those stranded it is.  Worrying that several people suggested 'something should be done' as though we could simply drop concrete into the vents and close the volcano down.  Even more worrying the early panic that we're going to run out of air freighted stuff and as yet no mention of any sustainable options that take a bigger picture view of how we organise ourselves.
Great NASA Picture: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap100419.html

Lighter Later

Lighter Later is about shifting Britain’s clocks forward, with some great benefits...

http://www.lighterlater.org/benefits.html?utm_source=1010people&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20100330

Household Energy Management Strategy

http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/what_we_do/consumers/saving_energy/hem/hem.aspx

Don't forget the heart

Often, in our interventions, we focus exclusively on the ‘Head’ and ‘Hands’ and perhaps fail to win the ‘Hearts’ which will release the real effective change.

People will only give of their best if they fully understand the decisions that affect them, how and why these decisions arose, and how their contributions can and do make the difference.

Interesting green comparison site

http://ecoswitch.com/

It's a vicar so it must be true?

http://www.ourcivilisation.com/aginatur/pagan.htm

Top Ten Popular Myths About Climate Change

Simple debunk from the Sierra Club of Canada: http://www.sierraclub.ca/national/programs/atmosphere-energy/climate-change/cc-ten-myths.pdf

Environment Agency boss hits back at climate sceptics

One or two scientific scandals should not be allowed to detract from the overwhelming evidence that climate change is real and must be addressed, says Environment Agency chairman Lord Smith.  See: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/news/115555.aspx

Lobby group calls for action on resource efficiency

Green business lobby the Aldersgate Group is calling for policy makers to take a closer look at resource efficiency, arguing that those economies that get ahead of the game in this area stand to profit in the long term. http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?src=nl&id=17626

Consign waste to the dustbin of history

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has said it is time to scrap not just waste itself but the very concept and should see it for what it is - a resource to be utilised. http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?src=nl&id=17624

Battery Recycling Now Live

You can now take back your used portable batteries to battery retailers for recycling. Battery sellers must have a recycling bin for customers to drop off their old batteries.  See: http://www.netregs.gov.uk/netregs/109275.aspx?dm_i=2WX,3D94,8LBBZ,AI1A,1

If you only do one thing…

If significant numbers of us change what we do and demand greener products, that will send a huge signal to the market, encouraging the supply of green energy, low-carbon products, organic food and much more.


The scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change presents very serious global risks, and it demands an urgent global response. The evidence shows that ignoring climate change will eventually damage economic growth.
STERN REVIEW: The Economics of Climate Change
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/CLOSED_SHORT_executive_summary.pdf


So if you only do one thing, here are 10 ideas for things you can do in the workplace or at home that will make a difference to the environment…


1 Turn stuff off. Yes, it sounds obvious, turning electrical equipment off when you're not using it really does make a difference. Set up your computer so that the monitor turns off when you're away from your desk to more than 15 minutes. For some ideas of what things on standby actually cost see – http://standby.lbl.gov/summary-table.html


2 Switch to rechargeable batteries for your equipment. Regular batteries use up to 50 times more energy to produce them than they have in them. For a comparison table see: http://conclave.open.ac.uk/SustainabilityActionGuide/index.php/Procurement_Facts_%26_Figures


3 Monitor consumption of electricity, heat and water and look for areas where improvement is possible.


4 Switch to low energy light bulbs. One GU10 11watt low energy light bulb with a light equivalent to 60 W saves 45 kWh of electricity, half a tonne of carbon dioxide and about £35 during its lifetime.


5 Bring your own mug to work and reduce disposable cup waste. Each year in the UK we throw away 182 million vending cups.


6 Have a look at your organisation's environment and sustainability policy – What can you do to contribute? & if you haven't got one...


7 Share journeys to work, use the carpool, cut pollution and make parking easier.


8 Plan journeys to avoid unnecessary mileage. Many businesses have saved tens of thousands of pounds in fuel costs and reduced their carbon dioxide emissions.


9 Don't overheat. Use thermostatic valves on your radiators rather than opening the window reducing the temperature by 1° will save 6% of energy use.


10 Tell other people what you're doing and why you doing it


Finally, for more help and advice, try envirowise: http://www.envirowise.gov.uk/

The Psychology of Climate Change Communication

A free guide for Scientists, Journalists, Educators, Political Aides, and the Interested Public
http://www.cred.columbia.edu/guide/

A government with no clear vision on recycling

Frivolous business practices are encouraged by a government with no clear vision on recycling, according to an influential group of MPs.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmtreasy/230/230.pdf