energy efficient homes - SprintBio - Distibutors of environmentally friendly boilers, burners and heat pumps

Last week UK Coal announced a forthcoming joint venture with Peel Energy which will see 14 former colliery sites owned by the company used to erect 54 wind turbines, generating up to 133 megawatts of electricity per hour (enough to power 80,000 homes). Unsurprisingly UK Coal shares jumped 10% in response to the news - leaving me wondering why more energy companies aren’t applying similar tactics to beat the recession?

The fact of the matter is that by demonstrating a greater degree of long-term viability and preparation for the energy markets of tomorrow, UK Coal is financially a far more attractive prospect for traders and shareholders. The investment is sounder now that the company is unveiling moves that will help it compete succesfully in coming years, and in doing so is also improving its immediate current standing in a tricky situation.

The lesson seems pretty clear - obviously implementing such moves is not easy, with credit so unobtainable and cash for new ventures all but dried up, but if companies can find a way to finance such initiatives they will reap the rewards not only tomorrow, but also today. UK Coal for example is now in a better position to build on the positive shares bounce with more money in the company coffers than before - the second step will now be easier as the company tries to move forward.

Cutting jobs and closing down factories/plants/offices is another often used crisis-busting tactic, and one that often brings about a short-term recovery in share prices when times are tough (though sadly for those whose jobs are sacrificed this is of course little consolation). Sometimes such moves can represent a sensible option for companies - though it must be stressed that they represent only short term solutions, and require far more complex new strategic initiatives if a company is to continue to enjoy success in the marketplace. In other words, simply losing money at a slower rate is not an adequate fix for such problems - companies must also address positively why they individually are not performing better, and if required overhaul the nature of their operations for the demands of today.

I am pleased to see UK Coal taking steps to do so last week, and even more pleased that the market has moved to affirm the value of such measures with a share value increase, hopefully acting as a catalyst for spurning other energy companies into realising that, for them at least, the only way out of this recession and into future success, is with positive and effective renewable energy. Those that get the message I feel will be the ones still around and successful ten years from now…

Dejan Levi

For years I have had to debate with eco-sceptics about the significance of being not only involved and aware of the climate change issue, but also pro-active in addressing it. Too many times I have heard the excuse that the UK is just a relatively small player (in terms of population and emissions) to make any effort worthwhile and basically, as long as the US or China continued to snub Kyoto or other similar efforts, then we were all doomed…

Finally, after last week’s US election, I think such views will have been relegated from being foolishly dismissive and irresponsible, to downright untenable. The simple reason for this is that, with Barrack Obama in the White House, the developed world stands a real chance of uniting to lead the kind of co-ordinated global effort that is essential if we are to arrest the current slide towards environmental disaster.

For the first time since the issue has been a major one in the public consciousness (alas it has been on the minds of many scientific experts for a good deal longer) we have the political personnel to work together and support the policies and initiatives that are so needed. It is impossible to underestimate just how significant it is to have the world’s biggest polluter and contributor to climate change (the USA) acknoweledging the problem and joining in with fixing it.

For this reason it is crucial that the EU does not allow the economic crisis to derail such efforts at a time when progress and positive action is far more palpable than at any time during the previous eight years of Bush’s reign. Obama intends to discourage the use of coal-fired power stations using heavy tax restrictions, and will veto many of Bush’s environmentally damaging policies (such as his relaxation of oil drilling bans on the Alaskan wilderness). The EU would do well to match these moves with equivalent ones this side of the pond, especially as the UK plans a significant expansion of its coal-generation capacity.

Of course we cannot expect to fix things overnight, and indeed it will be a few more weeks before the man is even in office - but the point is that amidst all the significance of the election in terms of the history of US race-relations, we must also remember that for the first time there is a man in the White House who intends to make tackling climate change a political priority. We must not desert the cause now when such powerful re-enforcements are arriving to the front - rather it seems essential to step-up our efforts both as individual citizens, and as a global political power, and work to avoid the environmental destruction that draws ever nearer on a daily basis.

Dejan Levi

Wide-ranging new coalition backs eco-towns

A coalition of organisations working in environment and social justice is now fighting in support of eco-towns and highlighting the benefits the settlements could bring.
The coalition is issuing a rallying statement, saying it believes eco-towns provide the opportunity to build homes and places of the highest design and environmental standards, providing blueprints that can be used to influence future developments.
Read the rest of the article about the new coalition’s support for the eco-towns.

Watchdog reviews eco-town proposal

A watchdog has been launched in Leicestershire to meet with developers over a controversial eco-town plan. “Pennbury” is one of 15 earmarked sites to make a Government shortlist, of which 10 will be given the go-ahead. But the proposed 15,000-home development, for land near Stoughton, has sparked fierce protests from residents who say it would put too much strain on local roads and services.
Read the rest of the article on the eco-towns watchdog.

Eco town dwellers may be monitored for green habits

Residents of the planned eco towns in England could face strict monitoring of their travel habits, home insulation and even wasted food, to ensure they are truly living a “green” lifestyle. Experts advising the government on its plans to build up to 10 eco towns by 2020, yesterday called for ministers to toughen environmental standards for the developments with monitoring to ensure their carbon footprint is three times smaller than the British average.
Read the rest of the article on the monitoring of the eco-town home owners.

Spain has recently announced a significant move towards the use of domestic solar water heaters in a bid to improve self-sufficiency and lower rising household bills. The goal is eventually to emulate Israel’s domestic water heating situation where 90% of homes are equipped with such heating systems, meaning that hot water supply has near zero financial and environmental cost. But such countries obviously have quite an advantage over the UK in the solar energy stakes, and alternative solutions must be sought if the UK is to achieve something similar.

It is not that solar heaters are unavailable in the UK - they are - and can provide a significant portion of a household’s water heating energy needs, especially in areas of Southern England. But whichever way you look at it the numbers just can’t match those of Israel and Spain in terms of broadness and scope of viability. Solar water heating has a part to play, but so too must alternative solutions…

The two aspects of approaching the problem involve reducing the amount of water required from a mains supply, and secondly reducing the amount of energy (again from the mains supply) that is required to heat this water.

In order to tackle the initial issue there is a highly viable solution available for UK homes; rainwater harvesting. Such water can be collected either from a large surface such as a building’s roof or from a large ground area, and can be used for flushing toilets, watering gardens or even supplying the washing machine.

With average daily water use in the UK currently at 150 litres per person, rainwater harvesting has a significant part to play in reducing our dependence on mains supplies (not to mention household bills, especially considering the imminent water price increases scheduled for 2010).

The second issue, of water heating, has multiple solutions and should be assessed on an individual basis depending on particulars of location and weather of your area, but the main options involve the aforementioned solar panel systems, to biomass boilers as well as ground and air source heat pumps (more information on these technologies can be found on the ‘case study’ section of this page).

The bottom line is that such technologies will not be suited to installation in all UK homes, but also that at the same time there are many that would benefit financially (in terms of reduced household bills) by adopting such tools, especially in the current climate of rising household bills. Perhaps it is time such moves were no longer considered a shopping or home improvement choice, but rather incorporated into a government housing intiative to inform those who could benefit about what is available and how such changes can be implemented.

The collective environmental benefits would encompass helping meet housing goals of reducing the average UK household’s carbon footprint, with obvious environmental benefits for all, as well as being a more short term crisis solution with regard to the current cash squeeze and climate of rising costs.

Dejan Levi

The issue of sustainable food provision is hotter than ever in the UK as we try to move away from cheap, but actually rather expensive (in terms of environmental impact) food. We have grown used to walking into our supermarkets and seeing all manner of out of season or exotic items lining the aisles; whether it be Florida oranges in December, Spanish tomatoes in January, or even wild Alaskan Salmon and New Zealand lamb to name a few.

But what would one’s diet look like if we tried to adopt a near enough zero food-miles approach to our dinners? (N.B. Strictly speaking zero food miles would require all food to be produced in our back gardens which is perhaps a bit of a stretch - for the purposes of this article, zero food-miles refers to as close to zero as possible - but for someone who still buys, rather than produces, the food they eat).

With this in mind let’s look at which fruit and veg is domestically produced here in the UK.

1. Potatoes are one of the UK’s major arable crops. Sown in April and harvested throughout late summer and autumn, with an average of roughly 82% being used for UK consumption. They provide a versatile basis to many common meals and are available (and affordable) all year round. Apart from counting as one of your five-a-day fruit and veg portions, potatoes are a great source of energy and are low in fat (depending on preparation methods of course)

2. Peas and beans. Planted in either winter or spring, the UK has been growing such crops for over 3000 years, with just over half of today’s harvests being used for livestock feed, and the rest for human consumption. Interestingly perhaps the most common type of bean in UK supermarkets (the navy bean which is used in for baked beans) is not grown domestically but imported. Importantly peas can be a valuable source of iron - especially for vegetarians looking to compensate for the effects of reduced meat (and hence iron) intake.

Other notable, but less significant (in terms of land involved) crops are:

3. Cabbages and Brussel sprouts - High in Vitamin C and amino acids (which have great anti-inflammatory benefits).
4. Carrots - As well as Vitamin A (beneficial for vision), carrots are high in anti-oxidants and dietary fibre.
5. Turnips - High in Vitamin C.
6. Cauliflowers - Like brocolli and cabbage, cauliflowers are high in several phytochemicals, including sulforaphane - a beneficial anti-cancer compound.
7. Broccolli - Like peas a great source of iron, and sulforaphane (see above).
8. Lettuces - High in Vitamin A (improves vision) and folic acid.

As for fruit, the UK mainly produces currants, strawberries, blackberries and gooseberries, as well as cucumbers and tomatoes (often considered vegetables due to their ’savoury’ nature - but technically speaking the presence of seeds places them squarely in the fruit category) - all in all more than enough variety for an interesting and balanced diet. Similarly with regard to meat production there is plenty of domestic lamb, beef and pork produced locally, as well as abundant fish supplies such as Scottish Salmon, or trout and mackerel. Such options are drastically more environmentally friendly than the aforementioned Alaskan Salmon, and New Zealand lamb options.

As more and more people take an interest in the nutritional aspects of the food they buy, as well as the environmental and social impacts of producing it, it seems there has never been a better time to consider reducing our intake of exotic imported food and instead focus on developing a rounded, balanced and healthy zero (ish) food miles diet.

With some effective planning and raised awareness it seems it is not only possible, but also not at all difficult, to satisfy both the body’s nutritional, and the appetite’s imaginative, needs while reducing the environmental impact of enjoying our dinners here in the UK.

Dejan Levi

The government’s approach to eco-towns is “deeply flawed” and wide open to legal challenges, the Local Government Association has warned, but the Department for Communities and Local Government has poured cold water over the claims.

Read more about the “Deeply Flawed” Eco-Towns

Householders wanting to live in Gordon Brown’s pioneering eco-towns face service charges of more than £500 a year on top of their annual council tax bill. Developers in several of the 13 proposed sites are planning to levy annual charges for subsidised bus travel and management costs to be paid to a local community trust.

Find out more about the Eco-Town dwellers service charge

Campaigners against an eco-town at Hanley Grange have warned the proposal could still go ahead - despite the Wellcome Trust announcing it would not sell land to developers.

Read the rest of the article on the Hanley Grange Eco-Town

We have a government target to cut our carbon emissions by 15 per cent by 2010, and far more stringent targets are being proposed. Patients don’t really appreciate how much energy and water we use. But in our trust, more people are aware of it - we’ve been banging the drum now for three years.

Read the rest of the article on the NHS goes green

The announcement by the Water Consumer Council a week ago that bills might rise by £30 per household and that more drought orders and hosepipe bans could be imposed, will pile pain on hard-pressed homeowners. But there are ways to harvest water for many of your needs and you could also be helping to reduce flash flooding.

Read more about how saving water can cut bills

Developers want to build a community with 5,000 homes and 2,500 jobs at the site of the former Rossington Colliery, alongside the M18. Under the proposals, a railway station and new road would be created to allow direct access for buses to Doncaster town centre, with the route forming the first link of a road between the motorway and Robin Hood airport. But to ensure the carriageways remained free-flowing for buses, private cars would be banned from using the road during the most congested periods.

Find out more about how motorists may be forced to give way to Eco-Road plans

The number of Gordon Brown’s flagship eco-towns should be slashed by two thirds because most of the proposed schemes are not green enough, senior civil servants have warned. They have advised ministers to cut the number from 10 to only two or three “exemplar” towns, The Sunday Telegraph has learnt.

Read the rest of the article about the scrapped eco-towns

The man behind controversial plans to build an eco-town at a former Norfolk RAF base said last night he was prepared to move his scheme closer to Norwich after it emerged ministers were keen on the idea.

Read the rest of the article on the relocated eco-town

A top Government minister is expected to visit the county to discuss eco-town plans in the next two weeks. However, it has not been confirmed whether housing minister Caroline Flint will visit the actual site of the proposed eco-town, south-east of Leicester. It is believed she may be visiting Market Harborough on Monday, July 28, but the Government said this was not finalised. Campaigners are concerned the minister may not find time to visit the location of the proposed 15,000-home eco-town.

Read the rest of the article on the eco-friendly MP

Fife residents would install more renewable technologies such as wind turbines and solar panels on their homes if they knew it would lead to lower fuel bills, research by one of the country’s leading environmental organisations has revealed.

Read the rest of the article on going green to cut energy bills

Littlehampton Town Council has voted to oppose the proposed Ford Eco-Town, following a heated debate. The full council met on Thursday, June 29 with members agreeing by a 12-three majority to object to the scheme on a number of grounds, including a lack of transport links and concerns over how “eco” the town would really be.

Read the rest of the article on Ford Eco-Town rejected by local counsil

Two more major organisations have waded into the debate over plans for an eco-town at the former RAF Coltishall airbase by voicing fresh concerns. With an announcement due within the next six months on whether the ambitious proposals will make the cut, Reporter Kim Briscoe takes a look at the support and opposition for the plan.

Read the rest of the article on the growning list of Eco proposals

The BBC have produced a guide to Eco-towns and why they have become a contentious issue. They also have a site by site break down which is very interesting.

Q&A: Eco-towns
Plans to develop sites in England into housing as “eco-towns” are drawing protesters to parliament, as a second round of consultation on the issue is launched. But why is the idea controversial?

Read the article from the BBC on the Eco-towns