united kingdom

Lloyd noted a little while ago that Zeppelins are back, and they are even offering passenger journeys, as opposed to just cargo (like the SkyHook being proposed for the Alberta Tar Sands, of all places). However for now, when I say passenger journeys, I really mean sight-seeing tours. The Guardian has a fabulous photo essay showing the view that can be had floating over London in an ...

photo by Tim Duckett

Gordon Brown recently announced that a £100 billion government investment in renewable energy would be “the most dramatic change in energy policy since nuclear power”. Such an investment will allow Britain to generate 30-35% of its electricity from renewables by 2020. Based on recent statements in Paris, we now know more clearly about his commitment to nuclear energy.

New Plants Required to Replace Existing Aging Ones

Hydrogen home concept drawing by ITM Power.

We reported on an Australian version of the home hydrogen refueling concept over a year ago. This time, a British company is pushing the same sort of idea forward: Enter the Hydrogen Fridge.

Hydrogen in Your Garage
The BBC is reporting that ITM Power of Sheffield, England has unveiled a hydrogen home refueling station which has been installed in showcase “hydrogen home”. The device works via and electrolyzer to produce hydrogen from wate...

Transport Infrastructure Will Change
With the i-MIEV electric car being rolled out sooner than expected and electric vehicles like the G-Wiz and Vectrix becoming ever-more common sights on our streets, it’s a good time to start figuring out what the transport infrastructure of the future will look like. Dale Vince of Ecotricity fame, who is h...

London Borough to Reverses Free Parking for EVs
No sooner do I report on the virus-like spread of electric vehicle charging points in London, that I hear from our friends at GoinGreen that at least one London borough is preparing to withdraw some of the privileges enjoyed by EV drivers:

Today saw the announcement of changes in the City of London's parking concessions for electric vehicles. Existing users of the borough's electric vehicle scheme will see an increase in on-street parking from zero to £50 per year wh...

Your fingers will itch for a pair of needles when you see the luxurious, stylish and ethical knitting yarns and craft kits from The Toft Alpaca Shop. A peek at The Toft Alpaca Shop's introduction information immediately convinces one that Toft is committed to sustainable and ethical best practices across the entire product line and all production processes. For example: Alpaca wool is harvested from the flock at the Toft site or purchased from farms within 50 miles of the point of sale. All hand-knitted finished products are crafted by knitters working from home in the surrounding areas -...

In a complete turnabout the Food and Drug Administration has issued a health warning over amalgam dental fillings after insisting for years that they were safe. A change in stance which is a major victory for activists who claim fillings can cause a range of problems, including heart conditions and Alzheimer's disease.

According to their website, the FDA now states that fillings contain mercury that "may have neuro-toxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses".
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Being fans of the charming and witty Eco-Worrier Blog at The Times Online we naturally wanted to take a peak at the new book by the Eco-Worrier herself Anna Shepard. Recently published by Eden Project Books 'How Green Are My Wellies' sees Shepard translating her eco-agony aunt style blog, in which she doles out sensible and practical advice to the pon...

The UK-based Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is a body that regulates truthfulness in advertising. We’ve already seen the authority step in to a number of disputes regarding sustainability claims – including banning a deceptive Lexus ad; a greenwashing campaign for conventional cotton, and claims from Ryanair that aviation accounted for only 2% of global greenhouse emissions. But it’s not just corporations that the ASA has on their toes – it also ...

Image courtesy of Flourish.

Whenever we’ve discussed Triodos Bank, the European sustainability-oriented savings bank with branches in the UK, Spain, The Netherlands and Belgium, we’ve always been impressed at the number of customers who attend their annual meetings. In many ways it’s no surprise though, as these events are far from the usual dry run-through of the organization’s finances – last year’s event included an organic lunch and a chance t...

Scientists and businesses are increasingly turning to an innovative strategy to fight rising emissions: turning waste carbon dioxide into a commodity. Now researchers at Newcastle University have unveiled a new technology to capitalize on this trend; the team, led by organic chemistry professor Michael North, has developed a method of converting carbon dioxide into cyclic carbonates -- compounds wi...

We had to do a double take on this one. A UK energy company is building a brand-new house, to 1930s standards, in order to go green. The idea isn’t entirely as daft as it sounds. E.On, one of the largest energy companies in Britain, is teaming up with the University of Nottingham to build a replica 1930s house to test retrofit low carbon technologies. The house will be on campus, and will be lived in by students, and will be used to collect real-life data about the technologies that are utilized:

“"It will be lived in. We want to show the re...

The size of food product packaging may have to increase, not contract, if recent thinking on providing more information on environmental impacts was to be enacted. We’ve heard about carbon labelling for food in the UK, now an Australia academic is proposing also adding water impact labelling to the mix.

Speaking from last week’s Water Down Under conference in Adelaide, James Hazelton, a senior economics lecturer from Macquarie University, floated the concept of packaged food carrying a label indicating how much water was used in its...

Last year Guardian columnist Ashley Seager crunched some numbers on whether solar was a good investment for his London home, and after including government subsidies he concluded that an installation would be more profitable than putting his money in the bank. But how have his calculations worked out one year on? The payback is looking pretty good it seems, if his latest update is anything to go by:
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Photo Credit: Loop.ph

It looks like Loop.ph, a UK-based design research studio, has (re)created the perfect tree: by day, it offers shelter from the sun: by night, it sheds light for the local community, using the energy collected in solar cells embedded in its canopy. Its name: Sonumbra. It is a ‘sonic shade of light’ as the designers Rachel Wingfield & Mathias Gmachl like to describe it. ...