www.everythingsgonegreen.co.uk

If you’re green and you’ve got an iPad then what better desktop accessory than a WoodPad?

The WoodPad is a solid wooden iPad stand that comes in a range of finishes – Ash, oak, cherry or maple.

Handmade in England by a traditional cabinet maker, each WoodPad is made from solid hardwood, has two viewing angles and has non-slip rubber feet.

What’s more, the WoodPad is just £20 and comes with FREE international shipping.

So hurry, get a WoodPad for christmas, whether it’s for you or for someone cool, the lovely WoodPad, the perfect green xmas present, will enhance any environmentalist’s desktop

NB: There’s also a WoodPad for your iPhone too, so if you want a stylish solid wood iPhone dock on your desktop to present your iPhone at the perfect viewing angle, grab yourself a WoodPad for iPhone too (and just £16 too!)

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We’ve had an interesting email from the Make Wood Work campaign.

In essence, the UK Government’s Renewables Obligation (RO) policy encourages the use of bio-mass burners for electricity generation with financial subsidies. Whilst, from an environmentally-friendly point of view, biomass burning creates energy from waste materials, the forest products industry is concerned that using wood for bio-mass burners will damage their industry.

They have a good point. If the waste material from the wood industry is used for biomass burning then it is being diverted away from the recycled wood industry where collected waste wood is used to created further products. If biomass burning is encouraged then the wood will be burnt and the capacity for the energy industry to a) be heavily subsidised and b) burn vast amounts of timber is not only a worry for the forest products and wood panel industries, but also for the environment, for local economies and for the greater social good too.

By using wood and waste wood in products, there is greater environmental good with the carbon being “locked up” in the products and reused and recycled, stimulating initiatives to find further ways to innovatively use waste wood. The biomass energy industry would simply burn the timber and produce greater carbon emissions than the waste wood recycling and reprocessing industries.

Basically, the government’s well-intended renewables obligation policy is distorting an “already fragile wood supply and demand balance in the UK”. You only have to look at Channel 4 News’ report Timber prices up as power plants boost biomass use to see what the subsidised energy industry is having knock-on effects elsewhere by voraciously burning timber.

So, quite simply put:

RO means wood and waste wood go stright to burners to generate “renewable” energy. Wood, that takes 30/40 years to grow, is burnt. Waste wood is burnt. Wood and waste wood are simply destroyed.

A rethink of RO means wood goes to the wood products industry and actually makes useful products. More people are gainfully employed in business and industry and there is innovation in creating from wood and waste wood.

We’re not against biomass energy as it does have the potential for energy production from sources that would not otherwise be of any use, but to use wood and waste wood is a short-sighted and destructive path.

For more information take a look at the Make Wood Work campaign website, their video is particularly interesting.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Vax have come up with a cardboard vacuum cleaner.

No, it’s not the practical equivalent of a chocolate fireguard, it’s a seriously cool, practical and very green product. This is how it works…

You get your Vax ev vaccum cleaner in its box. The box disassembles to become the corrugated cardboard panels of the vacuum cleaner and they fit around the motor housing, popping into place, no need for glue.

The cardboard panels are flame retardant and fully-customisable, meaning that when you get your felt-tipped pens out, you can design the outside of your Vax ev cardboard vacuum cleaner however you like.

And if you break any panels, that’s OK, because they’re cheap and easy to replace and, what’s most important, is that they’re recyclable too, so your flash new vaccum cleaner won’t cost the earth!

The brains behind this green and clean vacuum is industrial design student Jake Tyler, who developed the green vacuum cleaner in his final year degree project at Loughborough University. Jake spent a year working at Vax under their student placement scheme and was supported by Vax’ New Product Design (NPD) team.

Paul Bagwell, Director of NPD at Vax said:

“With sustainability becoming an increasing concern for manufacturers, the Vax ev shows just what can be achieved when young designers are encouraged to think creatively and push the boundaries of product design.

It’s so important that manufacturers such as ourselves support young British designers like Jake, as they are the key to this country’s future success.”

For further information on current industrial student placement opportunities at Vax visit their industrial placements page or email recruitment@vax.co.uk

You can see Jake’s green cleaner at the New Designers exhibition to be held at the London Design Centre from the 6th-9th July. Vax are also looking into a very limited production run of the Vax ev, so if you think this environmentally friendly vacuum cleaner is a great idea then badger Vax and tell them you really want one

So we’ve had Google Chrome, Google Buzz, Google Wave, Google Labs, Google Docs, Google Mail and now Google Wind Farms.

OK, not really, that last one we made up, but it might as well be real seeing as Google, the search giant, has invested $38.8 million in a wind farm (approximately £25.3 million). Apparently this is the first time that Google has made a “direct investment in a utility-scale renewable energy project”.

It also seems that Google has taken a long time to act in directly investing in clean energy since we reported, way back in 2007, on Google’s Renewable Energy Goal. Back then the philanthropic arm of the behemoth, Google.org, was talking up its RE<C project: Renewable Energy cheaper than Coal.

Now considering the carbon footprint of a Google search, which was quoted as being a wild stab between 0.2g and 7g for every search, it’s about time Big G did something to clean up its own act. Back in January 2009 there were an estimated 200 million searches daily on the Internet, so if that was all on Google we can only estimate between 40,000 and  1.4 million metric tonnes of carbon emitted daily in the process of  powering the machines that power search.

So this investment by Google, albeit late, is very welcome. The wind farm, developed by Next era Energy Resources is purported to develop  around 169.5 megawatts of power or enough to power 55,000 homes (Is that American homes or British homes? Remember that per capita electricity consumption in the US is around 1460 watts per person when compared to 667 watts per person in the UK  but is an almighty 3152 watts per person in Iceland whilst the world average consumption is 297 watts per person. Source. But that’s a whole topic for discussion on another day)

We’d be interested if anybody’s done the maths to work out just how many Google rack servers this wind farm in North Carolina will power, so if you have any idea we’d be really pleased to hear from you.

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?

I’m currently staying in Germany, the land of recycling, where they’ve had recycling machines for years, so it’s nice to see that we’re catching up in England and the county of Lancashire has now its first reverse vending machine.

Blackpool and The Fylde College has installed Lancashire’s first Reverse Vending Recycling Machine at their new University Centre. Students and staff are being encouraged to recycle more bottles & cans. Every can or bottle that is placed in the machine is a unit worth 5 pence and vouchers are issued to spend in the new Grads Café Canteen in the Central Hub.

The innovative reverse vending machine not only compacts and saves recyclable materials but also monitors and records the types of units deposited, allowing the data to be viewed online so that the college can review the success of the vending initiative.

Ruth Paisley, Vice Principal of Resources & Planning at Blackpool & The Fylde College commented:

“We’re really pleased to be leading the way environmentally with innovative new ideas and a commitment to reducing our impact on the environment.

“We were one of few projects committed to achieving a post-construction BREEAM ‘Excellent’ merit, meaning we have stuck to our plans and not compromised on environmental impact in order to cut costs.

“I’m sure the ReVend machine will also give students and staff even more of an incentive to recycle their waste.”

It would be great to see this initiative extended to other schools & colleges and even better to see reverse vending machines in every high street in Britain, so let’s hope this is the first of many. If you’re interested in reverse vending machines then pay a visit to the Reverse Vending Corporation.

A report today from Britain’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has tipped “Cleantech and renewables… to become two of the most important sectors of the economy.”

The encouraging news comes from a survey of British business leaders who have also tipped technology and media to be growth sectors in the UK over the next decade.

43% of the business leaders questioned considered that cleantech will grow at the fastest pace by 2020, followed by science & technology (20%) then media & entertainment (15%).

Whilst the UK government is mainly interested in the economic aspect that new growth areas will have on the country, in order to pull us out of recession and keep us competitive in the world marketplace, it’s very encouraging for the population at large; if Britain is to see growth in cleantech & renewables then there will be investment in green research and green jobs will be created. Although why the Vestas wind turbine plant in the Isle of Wight was allowed to close with a loss of around 700 jobs still remains a mystery (and a crying shame) when Number 10 are touting the benefits of a green future for this country.

The government have also recently launched their iawards competition for British companies to compete in, demonstrating their skills and innovations. Aswell as combating aspects such as terrorism and an ageing population, the green aspects of the iawards include

Preserving finite natural resources in the face of population growth and climate change

So let’s hope that the government puts its money where its mouth is and pushes the green agenda so that we can go to Cop 15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (7-18 December 2009) with a genuinely green direction that can contribute to cutting carbon emissions. 80% by 2030? Let’s hope so!

Friends, Britons, countrymen… lend me your ears.

Today, Friday 10th July 2009, is supposedly Green Britain Day. The concept has been thought up by French nuclear energy giants EDF.

However, as has been said , this whole concept is a complete sham because:

1. EDF are French not British.
2. EDF are not green because they are the world’s biggest corporate producer of nuclear waste.
3. The green union flag has been stolen from British wind-power generators Ecotricity.

So really it’s not Green Britain Day but rather Greenwash Day. Do not be fooled by the company that:

1. Has Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s brother, Andrew Brown, as their Media Director (funny that, aye?)
2. Has spent a reported £50 million in advertising revenue on the campaign.
3. Brought Britain’s nuclear energy generator, British Energy, for some £25 billion.

Dale Vince, CEO of Ecotricity, is right in saying that this could be the biggest greenwash in corporate history, so shame on EDF for these bully-boy tactics.

Have you seen those green union flags doing the rounds? On the 10th June this tweet came from @ecotricity on twitter:

The Green Britain flag you may have seen on the TV etc is not ours! EDF the French nuclear power company has stolen it!

The very next day I spotted one of the green union flags in the nearby town of Aldershot on a billboard in the High Street. This street advertising was part of a campaign which has been gathering momentum both online and on TV with what seems like a huge campaign.

EDF, or Electricité de France, seem to be pumping millions of pounds into their campaign of the first Green Britain Day on Friday 10th July. They’re also the official sponsors of the 2012 Olympics in London. So apart from sponsoring a huge international event with one of the worst logos ever designed they’ve stolen someone else’s rather good imagery.

Ecotricity have been using the green union flag for a number of years now and it has become synonymous with their brand – they are British and they are green, so to have a French nuclear company effectively “trade off” the brand that has been created by Ecotricity over the years seems a little shady to say the least. Ecotricity may be a smaller company and less well known, they also spend less on their advertising because they have an organic reputation and they spend more money on generating clean, renewable energy rather than wasting money in the advertising game.

So it’s no wonder that Ecotricity’s CEO Dale Vince is rather annoyed with EDF, calling it The Green Union Hi Jack. Take a look at Dale’s blog to see how the Ecotricity vans have been branded and EDF have copied them.

To add injury to insult, EDF are also the world’s third largest nuclear polluter, beaten only by the USA and Canada, so EDF are then by definition the world’s largest corporate nuclear polluter. They burn lots of coal too.

So apart from the blatant plagiarism, the “trading off” another company’s image & credentials, EDF could be pulling off one of the greatest acts of Greenwash and the British public need to know that they’re being lied to, which is a shame really as the EDF campaign is in partnership with the much-loved Eden Project. There is a Green Britain facebook campaign that people can join.

The threat of legal action against EDF remains a real possibility after they were apparently asked to desist from using the green union flag that Ecotricity had commissioned and used for a number of years. EDF are understood to be “disappointed” by Ecotricity’s stance, although whether this came from EDF’s Media Director, who just happens to be the brother of illustrious PM Gordon Brown, is not known.

We’ll keep you posted.