The Hay Festival is an appropriate place for a lightbulb moment. I was at a talk where green guru Julia Hailes was talking about converting her old farmhouse and making it as environmentally efficient and green as possible. I wrote down lots of things (not very efficiently, on my smartphone) but one slide caught my… Continue reading
Browsing Category Environment
The future is smart – taking control of the energy we use
Do you know how much electricity you used watching TV last night, and how much it cost you? And what was your bill for mowing the lawn, and boiling the water for three cups of coffee and two pots of tea? Any clue how much your freezer costs, particularly when you haven’t defrosted it lately?… Continue reading →
Will a new Leaf turn Nissan’s fortunes in 2013?
Nissan launched its all-electric LEAF three years ago today in London. I was there, and I shared the general feeling of optimism. That brave new dawn turned into a very dingy dusk, punctuated by long periods of darkness. The range anxiety skeptics prevailed, and sales figures were beyond sluggish. Since 2009 fewer than 4000 electric cars,… Continue reading →
Masdar’s array of renewable energy initiatives impress
An oil-rich Gulf state is supplying the equivalent of 94,000 families in the UK with zero carbon energy. The first phase of the London Array, the world’s largest offshore wind farm, became operational in early 2013. 20% of the investment came from the state-sponsored Abu Dhabi renewable energy company Masdar. The remainder is owned by… Continue reading →
UK’s National Solar Centre opens in Cornwall
The first phase of the London Array, the world’s largest offshore wind farm, became operational in March (2013) in the Thames estuary. It’s a notable achievement. 175 turbines will power 470,000 homes, replacing 900,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. They will make a big contribution to meeting the government’s target to raise 15% of its… Continue reading →
Bluebells – we love them, but do we really value them, and all our other nature too?
It was a quiet news morning in London on Monday, April 8, 2013. Just the sort of time for the newspapers and the broadcast media to pick up the publication of a very important report, concerning the whole of Britain’s land and natural resources. And then, boom. Mrs Thatcher’s death was announced at noon, and… Continue reading →