UK summer floods a freak event, nothing to do with climate change
by David Masters
A new report has suggested that the UK's floods last summer were not a direct result of climate change. The report, called 'The summer 2007 floods in England and Wales - a hydrological appraisal', was put together by researchers from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. It states that the UK floods in June and July were a "very singular event", completely out of sync with historical patterns of weather. This ...
Bottled water banned in Seattle
by David Masters
Seattle is hotting up the competition with other green cities by banning the sale of bottled water in its city buildings. Seattle's mayor, Greg Nickells, has said that the purchase of bottled water in city buildings will be phased out by the end of this year to be replaced by tap water. This saves plastic drinking bottles being thrown away, which take hundreds of years to decay in landfill. The ban ...
Subaru R1e, all-electric vehicle on display in New York.
by Alan Harten
The new Subaru R1e an all-electric vehicle to go on display at the upcoming New York International Auto Show running March 21st to 30th. Located at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The New York Power Authority is to evaluate two cars beginning this summer. The new electric Subaru R1e utilises the latest in battery technology, the fast-charge lithium ion battery. This type of battery does not have ...
EU tells Ireland that tackling climate change is too expensive
by David Masters
Ireland has been told that it is not allowed to change its targets for climate change because it cannot afford to. Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission's president, has told Ireland that to implement its plans of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases 20% by 2020 would be too expensive. Barroso was asked by Ireland if he would consider rethinking the methodology used to set Irish targets. He responded in a press ...
German company posts environmental results for 2007
by David Masters
Henkel, a Germany-based manufacturer of household products, has released a report detailing the environmental effects of its operations during 2007. In the report, Henkel claims that it cut back on energy usage by over 20%, workplace accidents were down 72% whilst the release of heavy metals due to its operations fell by 57%. This year Henkel is planning to make further cut-backs in terms of both water and energy usage levels. ...
Virtual servers could save the planet
by David Masters
An IT expert from Microsoft has postulated that Irish businesses might install new computing technology to help shrink their carbon footprint. IT expert Bill O'Brien said that at the moment there are over 100,000 servers being used by Irish businesses, with an extra 35,000 expected to be installed every year. According to O'Brien, servers have a high level of detrimental impact on the environment. To reduce these effects, O'Brien suggests that ...
Highly efficient plastic solar cells take a step closer.
by Alan Harten
Plastic solar cells made from what are known as heterojunction materials produced from fullerenes and semiconducting polymers are already known to have extremely promising energy output. Unfortunately scientists have yet to determine how to take control of the nano-scale morphology. They are researching into ways of optimising the plastic solar cell performance to allow it to be used in a commercial environment. Leader of the scientific team performing research is Nobel Prize ...
Irish minister calls for businesses to protect the country’s forests
by David Masters
A government minister in Ireland has emphasised the importance of protecting the country's forests. Mary Wallace, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, spoke last week at the opening of the National Forestry Conference in Ireland. Delegates were told how businesses should join the campaign to protect Ireland's woodland for "environmental, economic and social" reasons. Wallace pointed out how recent changes to the Forest Environment Protection Scheme ...
Pest controller fined for bee killing antics
by David Masters
A pest controller from Yorkshire has been fined £1,000 after killing thousands of honey bees, and putting human health and the environment at risk. Sheffield magistrates ordered John Allison to pay £1,000 in fines and costs after he pleaded guilty to four offences of failing to take all reasonable precautions whilst using an insecticide containing bendiocarb. An investigation found that Alison had not been given the required training to use the product, ...
Local councils ‘vital’ in the fight against climate change
by David Masters
Local councils in the UK who want to take action in the fight against climate change can now apply to the government for funding. A new government fund, called the Local Authority Best Practice Programme on Climate Change, has a total budget of £4 million. The decision as to who gets funding lies with experts from Whitehall and the Carbon Trust. The money available in the programme is to help ...
Are the green hills of Ireland turning brown?
by Alan Harten
The rolling green hills of Ireland are under threat of becoming the rolling brown hills. As climate change threatens Ireland’s lush green landscape. This is according to a new study, seemingly released to coincide with St. Patrick's Day. The paper, which has the title ‘Changing Shades of Green’ is a report published by the Irish-American climate project. The paper, oddly, is a combination of information gathered from the ...
Australia going green with second solar city
by David Masters
Alice Springs, in the Australian outback, has been awarded the status of Australia's second "Solar City". The conversion to solar will cost a total of $37 million and will take six years to complete. It follows Adelaide's launch as a solar city in October, and is part of Australia's attempt to reduce carbon emissions by trialling eco-friendly energy options. Alice Springs, which on average gets nine hours of sun every day, ...
Cornell University focused on biofuel production
by Alan Harten
A disused agricultural machinery and engineering laboratory located at Cornell is in the process of being gutted to be transformed into the very latest in state-of-the-art Biofuels Research Laboratory. The laboratory will be used in the conversion of wood-based biomass and perennial grasses into viable cellulosic ethanol. The Project has been awarded a grant of $10 million of which $6 million is being invested into the lab. Cornell University professor, of ...
New taxes on cars with high emissions set to raise an extra £1.2bn
by Rachel Thomas
The budget yesterday introduced a showroom tax on buyers of cars with the highest emissions of almost £1000 from 2010 in an overhaul of the road tax regime. In contrast buyers of more environmentally friendly cars, with emissions of less than 130g of carbon dioxide per km, such as the Fiat Panda and Peugeot 207, will pay no tax in their first year. From next year those cars that emit more than ...
Britain bored by climate change chatter
by David Masters
A new YouGov poll has found that the British public is fed up of hearing about climate change warnings and thinks that the media gives the issue too much coverage. YouGov conducted the poll for the Environmental Transport Association, quizzing over 2,000 adults. They found that 50% of everyone polled was bored of climate change. Men were twice as likely as women to find climate change boring. Almost one third ...
Japan is harnessing hydrogen power for homes.
by Alan Harten
In one Japanese community, 2200 homes have been equipped with hydrogen fuel cells to provide not only hot water, but also heating to the houses. The hydrogen is combined with oxygen derived from basic water to cause a chemical reaction from which energy is extracted. This is not new technology, it has been used with some success in the automobile industry, but this is its first commercial use in a ...
Chancellor focuses on plastic bag and emissions crack down
by Rachel Thomas
In the budget issued today the chancellor, Alistair Darling, said that legislation will come into force in 2009 that could potentially result in about 12 billion fewer plastic bags in circulation. The budget stated that the government is prepared to impose charges on the use of plastic carrier bags unless adequate progress is made by supermarkets on their own voluntary basis. Darling pronounced a series of green measures of which ...
Majority world needs rich world support on renewables
by David Masters
Tony Killeen, an Irish Minister of State, spoke at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference this week, and told delegates of the need to help developing countries reduce their emissions. Killeen was giving the keynote address to the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) meeting. Ireland is an active member of REEEP, and helps to support renewable energy projects in Africa. Ireland is world renowned for its own ...
Help the Aged ban carrier bags to link green and grey issues
by David Masters
In a bid to highlight their role as a recycling centre, Help the Aged will be banning plastic bags from its high-street shops from June this year. The charity is following in the footsteps of Marks and Spencers, who will be charging customers for plastic carrier bags starting in May. Until the ban comes into force, charity shops will be giving out reused bags and cardboard boxes to customers. Bosses at ...
Eco-business grants spell green success
by David Masters
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Ireland have reported that their scheme to encourage green business practices among Ireland-based companies has been a huge success. The EPA's Cleaner Greener Production Programme was set up to encourage Irish businesses and organisations to take up greener business practices. The grant part of the programme was particularly successful, as it challenged businesses to produce both goods and services in more eco-friendly ways, resulting in minimised ...