www.everythingsgonegreen.co.uk

Ignore the name on the device (We’re thinking of going to our friends at Ecotricity for their green gas scheme) but this is our new smartpower meter. OK, we’ve had it a few weeks now, but this little device is a lifesaver. OK, moneysaver. Energysaver.

Since plugging this meter we’ve monitored our electricity consumption, which is pretty low we think anyway, and it’s made us even more aware of our energy use than ever. It’s interesting watching the meter as the kettle is boiled or the fridge kicks into life but we’re happy that we’re consuming very little (Compared to some households we know)

The other device that has helped us reduce our electricity costs has been the excellent Energenie Automatic AV Standby Shutdown gang socket which totally switches off our TV, Wii & DVD when we’re not using them.

We got this from our gas supplier but if we can find a link or place where you can grab one too we’ll let you know.

Does anybody else think it’s ironic that we have to plug in an electricity-consuming device to monitor our electricity consumption?

Recent high temperatures this summer have meant an increase in use of air conditioning in the High Street according to Make It Cheaper, the business price comparison service.

The recommended operating temperature for turning on the air con is 24°C — as advised on the Carbon Trust’s website — and a third of retailers have been switching on their equipment below this figure, wasting energy to cool down shoppers. Furthermore, off all the stores monitored during the experiment, which took place on a sweltering July shopping day, only one store store kept its doors closed to prevent the cool air escaping!

Using thermal imaging equipment to record the temperatures at shop entrances in Oxford Street, London, the Make It Cheaper team braved 28.4°C temperatures to record the habits of the high street retailers. The research shows that the high street is effectively wasting millions of pounds by squandering energy. Turning on the air con to make shoppers “more comfortable” and then leaving the doors open is akin to leaving the fridge door open (and we all know the fridge works ever harder to stay cold as the cool air escapes)

Jonathan Elliott, the Managing Director of Make It Cheaper, said:

“Shopkeepers in New York get fined $400 by the City Council if they have their doors open with the air con on because it burns so much more energy to cool a shop than it does to keep it warm. This can only be a taste of things to come when the government’s CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme kicks in over here and forces retailers to re-think how they use energy in their stores. There are simple things that staff can do now, however, such as to challenge head office policy, set the thermostat higher, turn off some of the lights and tweak the automatic doors to close more frequently. It is common sense, saves money as well as energy and is everybody’s responsibility.”

The Carbon Trust says that the retail sector emits over 5 million tonnes of CO2 a year and that energy savings of 20% are possible – that’s a saving of more than £300 million!

Key findings include:

• A third of stores operated below 24°C, against advice on the  which recommends their air conditioning doesn’t operate below this temperature
• Whilst there was a difference of as much as eight degrees between outside and inside temperatures, just one store – Debenhams – kept its doors closed to prevent the cool air escaping and the warm air entering
• At 20.1 degrees Celsius and a huge 8.3 degrees cooler at the door than the outside temperature, Next was the worst offender
• Boots, River Island and Ann Harvey did not fare much better, at 21.1, 21.6 and 22.4 degrees respectively. Boots at least had automatic doors, though these were recorded as open almost all the time due to the high volume of traffic into and out of the store

According to figures from The Carbon Trust, the retail sector is responsible for over five million tonnes of CO₂ emissions per year. It is estimated that energy savings of up to 20% – equivalent to more than £300m – are possible across the sector. Make It Cheaper say that by switching energy suppliers alone can reduce costs to businesses by as much as 50% and energy efficient measures, such as being frugal with the air conditioning can reduce bills by a further 10-30%.

High Street Coldest Shops League Table:

The experiment took in to consideration a number of factors in measuring the efficiency of the air conditioning in the high street retailers’ premises and took into account factors such as outside air temperature, the shop entrance temperature and whether the doors were efficiently kept closed, left wide open or if they were automatic doors (The sort that slide open as you walk past )

Environmental disasters are currently at the forefront of world news with the BP gulf oil catastrophe in particular dominating the headlines over the last few months. In response,  explore.org, the non-profit multi-media organization, has teamed up with HATCH to champion the selfless acts of others through a short film award at this year’s HATCHfest Bozeman film festival.

The explore/HATCH Award presented by explore.org will be given to the filmmaker who best tells the story of a remarkable individual’s actions in response to a devastating environmental event.

Winner of the explore/HATCH award will be flown to HATCHfest Bozeman September 22-25 in a full expenses-paid trip and be presented with a Canon HD SLR camera package from explore.org’s founder, Charles Annenberg Weingarten, and HATCH.

If you’re interested in submitting your film then please visit http://explore.org/about/explorehatch_award/ for full details. The deadline for filmaker submissions is August 25th. Good Luck!

I’ve just had an interesting note from Volvo Cars UK regarding the Emission Equality Congestion Charge campaign.

As you may already know, London has a Congestion Charge which aims to limit the amount of traffic in busy London streets. The benefits are numerous and the reduction of traffic is beneficial in many ways. London residents see & hear less vehicles (70,000 less vehicles a year, according to official figures, public transport flows better, cyclists have a better time getting around, the air is less polluted and money goes into local government coffers (hopefully to invest in better public transport and cycling schemes).

There are however concessions to the Congestion Charge with the Alternative Fuel Discount – to qualify for this discount vehicles

“must be powered by an alternative fuel, bi fuel or dual fuel, and not solely by petrol or diesel. It must also meet strict emissions criteria.”

Under the current rules, the AFD gives drivers a 100% discount, but Volvo Cars UK believe the method of discounting is now obsolete because the Volvo S40 DRIVe emmits less CO₂ than most hybrid vehicles and it is the current What Car? Green Car of the Year.

Volvo questioned the fairness of the AFD scheme saying that, if the discount should exist then it should not bias any one particular technology over another. You can see their point: If a hybrid emits more CO₂ than a Volvo S40 DRIVe and gets a 100% discount then that’s hardly fair is it?

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has since launched a consultation on this matter, the Emission Equality Congestion Charge Campaign, instigated by Volvo.

The Mayor of London’s new ‘Greener Vehicle Discount’ proposes that any cars registered after 1 January 2011 that emit less than 100g/km of CO₂ and meet the Euro V standard for air quality will be exempt. In addition, and as a way of encouraging the uptake of electric cars, the same exemption will apply to full battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars.

Transport for London (TfL) invites feedback on the new proposals with the deadline for responses by 2 August 2010, so visit their website to express your views on the proposed changes to the Congestion Charge.

Once a decision has been reached, the results will be published and the changes will be in force from 4th January 2011.

Welcoming the announcement, the MD of Volvo Cars UK, Peter Rask, said:

“When we started the Emission Equality campaign, it was clear to us that the discounts offered to hybrid and alternative fuel cars were out of date and unfair to the many thousands of motorists who’d decided to take a different technical route to achieving a lower level of emissions.

“On behalf of all manufacturers of conventionally-powered low emission cars, all we asked The Mayor for was a level playing field. I’m very pleased that this consultation has been launched and the proposals could give Londoners a far broader choice of low-emission cars in the future.”

Volvo already offers a sub-100g/km Volvo C30 SportsCoupe with prototype full battery-electric C30s in the pipeline and plans to release a V70 plug-in hybrid estate in 2012 that emits less than 50g/km CO_2.

Today a contractor turned up on behalf of South East Water and installed a water meter at my request. It was a pretty quick and easy job and the water meter was actually installed at the point in the public highway (the footpath at the end of my drive actually) where the water pipes into my property rather than in the house as I had suspected (I was concerned it would be yet another  a big ugly box just like the gas and electric meters that take up space inside an understairs cupboard in the hallway)

I have to admit, the main reason for getting a water meter installed was a financial one. Currently I occupy a 3-bedroomed semi-detached house on my own whilst my better half and daughter spend an extended period of time abroad. The local council reduce my council tax rates for single occupancy but the water company do not. The annual bill for water is approximately £320 and that is based on the rateable value of the property.

Somewhere down the line you can only assume that the water companies have estimated the average use and cost of water supply, drainage and sewerage for a typical 3-bed semi with X amount of people living there. In my case that doesn’t apply so it makes pefect sense to be metered – So, presumably, the cost of my water bills should  come down.

Now here’s the green bit…

Because this is a green-thinking household there is a bath in the house but showers are more than 99% of the time. A shower uses a third of the volume of water that a bath does (plus it’s quicker to take a shower than run a bath, as we all know) OK, there is a Turner Monsoon pump fitted to boost the water pressure of the shower (and it uses electricity) but that’s because the water pressure is really pathetic in the bathroom and it’s virtually unusable without a boost. Continuing to have showers rather than baths will keep the water consumption down. Winner.

Then there’s the fact that  a low-flush toilet was installed in the bathroom, the only WC in the house. Not only does it use less water to flush than the previous Armitage Shanks cistern from 1964 but it has a dual-flush that uses less water (depending on whether you flush number 1s or number 2s ). Winner #2.

Also, by not driving a car, partly out of green choice, partly for health & fitness and partly for financial reasons, the cars don’t get washed. Winner #3.

And then there’s the water butt in the garden. Because the local council had a great deal on a compost bin we saved enough money to have a water butt purchased & delivered for the same cost as had we just had the composting bin on its own. Winner #4.

So it looks like this could be a win-win situation – Not only does this household save water but it saves money too. If you’re green and you haven’t got a water meter installed then it might be time to consider doing so. I’ll keep you posted as to how long it is before the water company start reducing our water bills – you know what these big companies are like when it comes to letting go of your cash…

Footnote: I just had a look at the volumetric water meter manufacturer’s website. Being a marketing guy myself I wasn’t totally enamoured at the language used for the V210 meter:

V200 and V210 volumetric meters are designed to maximise revenue collection.

Now I know the website is not consumer-focused but when they stumble across the term “maximise revenue collection” it doesn’t sound fair does it? Maybe I should suggest to the manufacturer that they use the term “optimise revenue collection” – that would be far more agreeable, don’t you think?

There are many things you can do to reduce the amount of heat and money lost in your home, and a lot of them are easy and cheap. From watching the temperature of your thermostat to covering up draughts from fireplaces and windows, there’s something for everyone.

To coincide with the Government announcement of £17m to improve energy efficiency in social housing around the UK, we caught up with experts from the Energy Saving Trust and Technology Strategy Board to find out what their top tips were.

In the following video, discover how small actions on your part can save both cash and the environment.

For more information visit www.innovateuk.org

I just flicked the TV on before going to work and caught a story on BBC1’s “Breakfast” news show highlighting the fact that we will all be getting more junk mail in the UK.

Apparently Royal Mail’s management have agreed to pay conditions with the postal workers’ union just so long as Britain’s postmen start shoving more junk through our letter boxes.

The deal is said to be quite lucrative for Royal Mail and for the union, which had previously agreed that postal workers should only deliver three items of junk to an address per week, this is quite a compromise.

On the BBC Breakfast show the presenters questioned two guests; one a proponent of “direct marketing” and the other a representative of the group Waste Watch. (Sorry I don’t have any more detail, I missed the names and the introductions)

What we saw was a scruffy talk about junk mail with a lack of clarity on exactly which form of junk mail was being discussed with the direct marketing representative spearheading a charm offensive on behalf of junk mail.

Junk mail, by my definition, is any brochure or advertising that comes through my door unsolicited. What Royal Mail seem to be advocating, and making money from, is “unaddressed mail”. This “unaddressed mail” includes those envelopes addressed to “the owner” or “the occupier”.

With those two terms, junk mail and “unaddressed mail” cleared up nicely the people on the sofas then proceeded to discuss the generic term “junk mail” which allowed the direct marketing guy to positively present his figures. I suspect he was talking about “unaddressed mail” but was allowed, pretty much unchecked, to spin the facts as applying to junk mail/direct marketing in general and not purely “unaddressed mail”.
“Mr. Direct Mmarketing” said that 80% of direct marketing was opened and read by recipients. He also added that direct marketing is not a waste of time because the process generates around £130 billion of business a year. In addition he said that less than 2% of household waste is direct marketing/junk mail. He also repeated the soundbite, a couple of times, that the perception that “junk mail is bad” is “a complete myth”.

In response the representative of Waste Watch said that only 1% of junk mail was acted upon.

The direct marketing guy relished the opportunity to market his industry virtually unopposed and massaged the figures to his own advantage. £130 billion is a lot of business but how much of that business is won by direct marketing via “unaddressed mail”? How much is won by door-to-door direct marketing? How much business and revenue is generated by junk flyers?

I was a little surprised at the smug fact that less than 2% of household waste is junk mail/direct marketing. Was this by weight or by item? I decided to have a quick look in my recycling box that sits in the kitchen. OK, the food waste goes into a bucket and onto the compost so I didn’t count that.

Granted, there was more general recyclable material by weight and bulk, especially considering there are steel cans, aluminium beer cans, cardboard boxes, cardboard tubes etc but the item count?

• Junk mail – 20
• Recycling – 30

That’s probably about a week or two’s worth of recycling on show and the junk mail is all direct marketing and no “unaddressed mail”.

So, in terms of “unaddressed mail” my own personal figure tallies up with the marketing guy – less than 2% of my household waste is “unaddressed mail”, infact, this week, it’s 0%, but hardly a fair representative figure.

In terms of weight of junk mail, again, it’s probably very light and may well be about 2% of my recycling.

But as a proportion of my waste it’s 40%.

Hold on – there’s a BIG flaw in my manipulation of the figures here – it’s only a week or so’s worth of rubbish AND it’s only my recycling.

Yes, I have only thrown away ONE item of rubbish this last week – a pasta packet, that’s it.

So, back to the BBC breakfast story; who is right and who is wrong? Who lost and who won?

Well, the direct marketing guy probably won the charm offensive, he marketed his own corner really well and was given free reign to use some great figures and say twice, “it’s a myth” that junk mail is bad. And yes, my own example of rubbish is from a green guy who wastes very little anyway – of course “the average household” may well waste SO MUCH MORE and the junk will be an even tinier percentage of their household waste.

But as time goes on and we become less wasteful, the guy from Waste Watch is right. If only 1% of the junk mail message gets through then 99% of the paper, print, energy and manpower is wasted on going straight back into the bin/recycling. It may make the commercial world go around but 99% waste is not sustainable from an environmental perspective.

So, if you guys & girls out there have any figures to demonstrate the direct marketing claims one way or another then please feel free to let us know

Personally I think it’s a big shame that Royal Mail are keen to promote more waste for the sake of money. Read the Royal Mail door-to-door opt-out page. It’s almost laughable that they’re trying to get you to reconsider before you even send your details in;

Opting out means no one at the address will receive unaddressed mail items – is this acceptable to everyone living at the property?

Yes. The cat doesn’t need double glazing or a conservatory or a kebab or a pizza or a valuation on the property or timeshare or a haircut…

Diarmuid Gavin gives his top tips on preparing your sustainable garden for summer

After one of the longest and coldest winters most of us can remember, the first shoots of spring are slowly starting to emerge. And while it is still too early for the nation’s gardeners to start preparing the beds and borders in their gardens, there is plenty to be done indoors, particularly when it comes to seeding.

However despite many of us pledging to get back out and into our gardens this year, barely a third of gardeners are aware of the serious environmental issues surrounding the use of peat.[1]

Nowadays, with environmental concerns high on everyone’s agenda, choosing your compost is as important as the seeds you select.

Every year, 3 million cubic metres of peat is used in the UK for horticultural use and sales of multi-purpose compost. But the extraction of peat releases Significant amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, as well as damaging lowland raised peat bogs, which are home to many rare animals and plants. Just under half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide is emitted in the atmosphere each year as a result of peat extraction from UK sites alone; that’s comparable to the total emissions of over 100,000 homes. [2]

Fortunately there are environmentally friendly compost solutions available , and in the following video, gardening guru Diarmuid Gavin shows you how to make your garden green in every possible sense – using peat-free compost to reduce your carbon footprint and preserve our valuable peatland habitats and wildlife.

For more information visit www.direct.gov.uk/buyingcompost

[1] One Poll Survey, over the period 27028 Jan 2009, 2000 respondents

[2] The UK’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory records emissions of 420,000 tonnes a year for peat extraction from UK sites. However, 57% of the peat that we use in the UK is imported, mainly from the Republic of Ireland and the Baltics.

Last night I went to a climate change consultation with my local Rushmoor Borough Council.

40 local residents were invited down to Aldershot on a cold February night to discuss the borough’s policy and, arranged into small groups, we brainstormed Rushmoor BC’s plans for the environment and the future.

Of course, the number one topic raised was the issue of climate change itself. Currently, if you spend a lot of time in the media, the subject of climate change seems to be getting a real kicking. The Climategate affair, involving the leak of data from the University of East Anglia on the eve of the Copenhagen summit, followed by the controversy over the predictions of retreating Himalayan ice and now Sir David King’s attack on the IPCC mean that a lot of scepticism is creeping in and, last night, a few dissenting voices were heard in the room.

The important consensus though was that climate change is happening. It’s not just global warming or global cooling, but variations in “local” climate all over the world and, whether it’s man-made or natural, it’s best to prepare for it.

So, that first hurdle over, Rushmoor BC presented their plans for the next 20 years. The big issue locally is the Aldershot Urban Extension, meaning that our neighbouring town of Aldershot is to be the subject of a 4,500 home expansion. Whilst brownfield sites are preferable for new builds, it seems inevitable that so many more homes will be needed and the council will have to develop a new “town” of so many houses.

This will surely impact upon on our small Borough which is already a busy commuter area (with great links to London and the south coast via train and motorway). The plans are to lessen the impact of any new development, and Rushmoor BC made bold statements to meet and exceed environmental building standards by an additional 15%.

That prompted questions of “are the current environmental standards stringent enough?” meaning that beating them by 15% is a fairly easy task plus that age old question of “the council says it will meet & beat standards but will it actually do it?”

Many ideas were bandied around in our group with a lot of focus on restoring localisation, creating closer community, water run-off into the River Blackwater etc. Plus there was great interest in the proposed new power plant, powered, presumably, by local waste and providing heat & energy. The notion of creating an “eco town” was popular with the notion that Rushmoor could be as well-regarded as the city of Brighton which is always thought of as one of Britain’s greenest urban places.

The usual topics of individual wind & solar power arose with ground-heat pumps and green roofs being thrown in for good measure.

Overall, a wealth of ideas were explored and there seems to be a consensus that the majority of people were in favour of bold steps in order to make the borough a greener place in terms of planning over the next 20 years or so.

The Natural Environment

The second part of the night revolved around Rushmoor’s natural environment. Surrounded by military land, we are blessed with a fairly natural environment that is protected by its ownership under the MOD.

The consensus was that we should not only protect every single piece of green environment that we have around here but that we should also restore and improve upon it. Natural and man-made attrition of the trees in the borough is something close to my heart as I’ve seen numerous trees come down locally over the years, never to be replaced. Do we get an organisation like the Woodland Trust involved to help us re-green Rushmoor?

Cycle paths were mentioned again as local citizens expressed a desire to expand cycle routes and to encourage more use of cycles in the borough. One resident even complained that where he locked up his cycle in the North Camp part of town they had removed the cycle racks and never replaced them!

Conclusion

There was a very healthy discourse over the evening and a number of people felt as though this was just the first of many discussions regarding the environment in Rushmoor. The many notes that were made were taken away to be digested by the council and they will have much food for thought.

Some great ideas came out of the meeting and, for starters, I would like to see the replacement and replanting of more trees, an extension of cycle tracks and a push to get more people cycling, loft insulation for all, better buses and routes and a green roof initiative.

Every piece of green and MOD land must be fought for and preserved and the inevitable expansion of Aldershot MUST be sustainable, green and a benefit to current residents not a detriment.

Finally, I’d like to see flights to Farnborough Airport capped as they are. I’ve seen no major benefit to the local economy from the planes flying in and, working near the airfield, the avgas fumes are unpleasant and unhealthy, not to mention the M3 motorway and the ridiculous “sound barrier” erected for residents who brought houses right next to the M3 but complained it was too noisy! (irony?) Thanks to them the sound bounces off the wooden fences and pollutes an even greater area.

Let’s hope Rushmoor Borough can only get safer, greener and cleaner.