Since this is the beginning of a new decade, and a decade which I think will set the basis for the near future (for either good or bad), I thought it might be interesting to see what the energy footprint of the communities of the near future will look like.
Biomass electric generators. These of course exist but I think in the near future we will see many popping up in urban areas to provide power for local communities. These run on any waste bio material, woodchips, straw, sawdust, peat and natural gas, the latest models use a sophisticated heat extraction and recovery system using insulated pipes to heat local building such as hospitals. The World's largest biomass power plant will soon open in Port Talbot and will provide enough power for half of Wales.
Part of the gas supplies needed for biomass generators will be supplied by your local sewage works, after treatment the “sludge” can be used to produce bio-methane as well as valuable fertilizers.
In time I believe all new builds and major renovation will have to incorporate solar panels both for heating water and using photovoltaic cell to produce electricity for localised use. The British government have recently put £60 million into setting up the basis for a series of new “eco towns”.
In coastal areas we will see the the building of wave powered generators to supplement electrical generators. These “Pelamis Wave Energy Converter “ are hinged floating snakes 180 metres long in 3 sections using hydraulic rams which produce 750kw and can power around 250 homes. Although a British invention the first installation was in N, Portugal , a new installation in the Orkney's will 3mw.
In tidal areas the sea every 6 hours ebbs and flows. "Tidal stream generators" will extract energy from moving water like under water windmills. It's estimated that in the UK these could produce up to 16% of the nation's power needs.
Of course living in France you can't have missed the arguments for and against éolienne or windmills, what isn't in debate (unlike where they are to be sited and who benefits from the power produced) is that they are one of the most mature of the alternative energy sources and will be with us for the foreseeable future. I would love to have a personal one on land but the initial cost is prohibitive, although I am investigating using the French Government interest free loan for green installations scheme.
In terms of transport the future is already with us, Poitiers and many other towns use LPG powered vehicles, La Rochelle (amongst others) provide free bicycles for visitors to tour the town and also electrically power cars for short local trips. With more people using hybrid cars and the evolution of hydrogen vehicles it won't be that long before our dependence on fossil fuels lessens considerably.
I have recently started to use a a free piece of software called “micromiser”, which when configured cuts your PC's use of electricity by up to 35% which according to the designers is around 30€ per year and around 330kw, just think if we all used it!
On show in San Francisco is the ultimate garment for those concerned about pollution – the EPA Dress – which wrinkles when it detects pollution giving it that just been pulled out of the laundry bin look – who said fashion is a crazy business?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Hot air
It can’t have escaped your notice that just before Christmas one of the biggest meetings of all time was going on in Copenhagen to discuss the biggest threat the world has ever seen bar none. Namely our environment and how we the people of this planet can help save it from a catastrophe that will effect both us and generations to come. Now I watched the comings and goings, the political divides, the footage of negotiators running around the Danish capital trying to broker deals and placate diverse pressure groups. President Obama popped up with a huge entourage, spoke and disappeared again, only to speak once more without appearing with what he called a deal.
The only clear thing I could see was that no one was in agreement with anyone else. The South and Latin American countries would not sign (how much of that was to do with anti US sentiments rather than anything else is up for debate) Tuvalu condemned the final text, saying it would likely mean that their country would eventually be submerged if a higher drop in temperature was not adopted, while the Sudanese delegation said Africa would ‘incinerate’.
So what did we get in the end? An accord brokered by the US, China, India, Brazil and South Africa containing no reference to a legally binding deal, and no deadline for turning it into one. It was merely recognised by 193 countries not approved by them, which would have required unanimous support. This accord says that the world must limit temperature rises to 2 Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This is not a formal target, mind you, just a recognition that this should be a target! By the start of this month all countries were supposed to have spelt out how this was to be attained by curbing carbon emissions. But the deal doesn’t impose any penalties on those that fail to reach their targets.
It allowed for $30 billion over the next three years to help under developed countries combat the effects of global warming and $100 billion by 2020. But this financial help is coming from a mixture of sources not just ‘no strings’ aid, including a lot from the commercial sector who will have their own agendas. The developed world’s efforts will come under ‘rigorous, robust and transparent’ scrutiny and then what? A registry will be kept on pledges on climate mitigation measures seeking international support, whoopee. Finally, a review of the accord’s implementation will be held in 2015.
So in answer to the question…what did we get? A huge and expensive meeting which only showed where the world is divided, an ‘accord’ which does too little and isn’t legally binding, and proof that politicians should never be allowed to make decisions which affect us all; they should be made to consult us beforehand. The only good thing I can see that has come out of the Copenhagen summit is that it is so vague that it can only be improved upon in the coming months and years.
A recent find on the internet recent had me wondering what other ingredients the following product had in it for someone to have thought of it: Soil Association-certified edible shoe cream made from pure coconut oil. It can also be used in skin care, as lip balm, in drinks and on toast!
The only clear thing I could see was that no one was in agreement with anyone else. The South and Latin American countries would not sign (how much of that was to do with anti US sentiments rather than anything else is up for debate) Tuvalu condemned the final text, saying it would likely mean that their country would eventually be submerged if a higher drop in temperature was not adopted, while the Sudanese delegation said Africa would ‘incinerate’.
So what did we get in the end? An accord brokered by the US, China, India, Brazil and South Africa containing no reference to a legally binding deal, and no deadline for turning it into one. It was merely recognised by 193 countries not approved by them, which would have required unanimous support. This accord says that the world must limit temperature rises to 2 Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This is not a formal target, mind you, just a recognition that this should be a target! By the start of this month all countries were supposed to have spelt out how this was to be attained by curbing carbon emissions. But the deal doesn’t impose any penalties on those that fail to reach their targets.
It allowed for $30 billion over the next three years to help under developed countries combat the effects of global warming and $100 billion by 2020. But this financial help is coming from a mixture of sources not just ‘no strings’ aid, including a lot from the commercial sector who will have their own agendas. The developed world’s efforts will come under ‘rigorous, robust and transparent’ scrutiny and then what? A registry will be kept on pledges on climate mitigation measures seeking international support, whoopee. Finally, a review of the accord’s implementation will be held in 2015.
So in answer to the question…what did we get? A huge and expensive meeting which only showed where the world is divided, an ‘accord’ which does too little and isn’t legally binding, and proof that politicians should never be allowed to make decisions which affect us all; they should be made to consult us beforehand. The only good thing I can see that has come out of the Copenhagen summit is that it is so vague that it can only be improved upon in the coming months and years.
A recent find on the internet recent had me wondering what other ingredients the following product had in it for someone to have thought of it: Soil Association-certified edible shoe cream made from pure coconut oil. It can also be used in skin care, as lip balm, in drinks and on toast!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
My top 10 New Year Resolution for a more environmental 2010
My top 10 New Year Resolution for a more environmental 2010.
These are things that can be easily done and can save energy and CO2 production as well as saving you money.
1) If you have a central heating system installing a thermostat can help you save energy and money, on average around 15%. Reducing the temperature of your house by 1 degree Celsius can save 2%. Don’t over heat the rooms you don’t, use your radiator thermostat to run at minimum. At night run your heating at minimum - after all duvets are warm. Don’t have the heating on when you not at home, programme it to come on just before you arrive back.
2) Avenge your phantom load, a peculiar saying but all it means is – if you aren’t using an electrical item unplug it! Phone chargers, dvds, videos, etc all use electricity just by being plugged in and take all your electrical items off standby when not in use.
3) Change all your light bulbs for new energy efficient ones, they have come right down in price, I recently saw them at a local supermarche for 1€. The arithmetic make huge sense, the new bulbs use around 25% of the electricity of old style bulbs and last longer. If you use halogen spotlights the savings can be even more dramatic, I recently changed the nine 50 watt halogen bulbs in the kitchen for 60 led equivalents and the consumption went from 450 watts to 27 and they will last around 10 times longer!!
4) Convert your electricity to a green tariff; France now has a large number of environmental tariffs to choose from. www.energies-renouvelable.com is a good place to start looking.
5) Don’t drive so much it’ll save you money and the environment, get a bike and get fitter in the process, the average bike goes about 20 kmph so the 2km journey to the boulangerie will take a 12 minutes round trip as opposed to 4 or 5 in the car, not a huge chunk out of your day and you’ll use up 120 calories or so more a day!
6) Try taking longer journeys by train or by using a full car, the difference in carbon emissions is startling, a journey from Bordeaux to London produces 0.24 tonnes per person, a car with 4 people onboard 0.09 tonnes per person and by train 0.08 tonnes per person.
7) Remember your reusable shopping bags and not just for supermarche shopping, if you shop twice a week and use 2 bags that’s over 200 plastic bags saved a year.
8) Buy a water filter and fit it to your mains supply, they can be as little as 40€ to buy and the cartridges are about 30€ per year, but if you use bottled water at 1 bottle per person per day that’s 365 bottles saved and around 70€ not spent!
9) Reuse stuff, yoghurt pots and cans make great containers for seedling, nails in the workshop and buttons in the sewing basket. I’m sure you can think of many more uses for stuff headed for the landfill or recycling.
10) Compost all your organic waste not only will you save filling up landfills you’ll have a great source of nutrients for your garden and you’ll know where it came from.
These are things that can be easily done and can save energy and CO2 production as well as saving you money.
1) If you have a central heating system installing a thermostat can help you save energy and money, on average around 15%. Reducing the temperature of your house by 1 degree Celsius can save 2%. Don’t over heat the rooms you don’t, use your radiator thermostat to run at minimum. At night run your heating at minimum - after all duvets are warm. Don’t have the heating on when you not at home, programme it to come on just before you arrive back.
2) Avenge your phantom load, a peculiar saying but all it means is – if you aren’t using an electrical item unplug it! Phone chargers, dvds, videos, etc all use electricity just by being plugged in and take all your electrical items off standby when not in use.
3) Change all your light bulbs for new energy efficient ones, they have come right down in price, I recently saw them at a local supermarche for 1€. The arithmetic make huge sense, the new bulbs use around 25% of the electricity of old style bulbs and last longer. If you use halogen spotlights the savings can be even more dramatic, I recently changed the nine 50 watt halogen bulbs in the kitchen for 60 led equivalents and the consumption went from 450 watts to 27 and they will last around 10 times longer!!
4) Convert your electricity to a green tariff; France now has a large number of environmental tariffs to choose from. www.energies-renouvelable.com is a good place to start looking.
5) Don’t drive so much it’ll save you money and the environment, get a bike and get fitter in the process, the average bike goes about 20 kmph so the 2km journey to the boulangerie will take a 12 minutes round trip as opposed to 4 or 5 in the car, not a huge chunk out of your day and you’ll use up 120 calories or so more a day!
6) Try taking longer journeys by train or by using a full car, the difference in carbon emissions is startling, a journey from Bordeaux to London produces 0.24 tonnes per person, a car with 4 people onboard 0.09 tonnes per person and by train 0.08 tonnes per person.
7) Remember your reusable shopping bags and not just for supermarche shopping, if you shop twice a week and use 2 bags that’s over 200 plastic bags saved a year.
8) Buy a water filter and fit it to your mains supply, they can be as little as 40€ to buy and the cartridges are about 30€ per year, but if you use bottled water at 1 bottle per person per day that’s 365 bottles saved and around 70€ not spent!
9) Reuse stuff, yoghurt pots and cans make great containers for seedling, nails in the workshop and buttons in the sewing basket. I’m sure you can think of many more uses for stuff headed for the landfill or recycling.
10) Compost all your organic waste not only will you save filling up landfills you’ll have a great source of nutrients for your garden and you’ll know where it came from.
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