Be Eco Friendly

Last year, the anti-plastic bag campaign was deemed a success as use of disposable bags had fallen by 50% meaning 5 billion fewer bags were going to landfill.  The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that, in carbon terms, the saving had been the equivalent of taking 41,000 cars off the road.

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A boat constructed from over 12,000 bottles has set sail on a 11,000 mile journey from San Francisco to Sydney.

The Plastiki catamaran was the brainchild of David de Rothschild who hopes the voyage will make people awarene of pollution in the world’s oceans.

Along with his four crew, De Rothschild will sail from San Francisco to Sydney highlighting the sea waste – particularly plastic debris – they encounter.

On route the eco-friendly boat, which is powered by solar, wind and sea turbines, will go past the Great Pacific Garbage Patch – a pile of floating waste about five times the size of the UK.

Read more: http://newslite.tv/2010/03/22/boat-made-from-12000-plastic-b.html

The UK’s low carbon market defied the recession throughout 2009, exceeding expectations to grow 4.3 per cent during the year to £112bn, according to new figures to be released later today.

Read more: http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2259303/uk-low-carbon-market-defies

Buying an electricity plant to halve the bills on your property has meant one Cotswolds pensioner can stay in her 19th century property

Faced with having to give up her treasured family home of 21 years, a Cotswolds pensioner has come up with a thoroughly Green-and original-solution to the financial burden of running it, and has nearly halved her power bills. Christine Shine now owns and manages her own Ofgem-accredited renewable electricity plant, which powers not only her home, but others in the area.

The power station comprises a series of 390 photovoltaic panels, which cover an area roughly the size of two tennis courts and are concealed in the grounds of Mrs Shine’s Gloucestershire home. The construction sits only 60ft from the 19th-century manor house, but is discreetly hidden by a raised bank and housed in a purpose-built pit.

Read more: http://www.countrylife.co.uk/news/article/446159/Halve-your-bills-buy-a-power-station.html

”Biodegradable” plastic bags used by major supermarkets do not break down as quickly as believed and may not be as environmentally-friendly as they sound, according to Government-funded research.
A study into ”oxo-degradable” plastics, often labelled as degradable or biodegradable, found there was uncertainty about their impact on the natural environment.

The carrier bags, bin bags and flexible packaging, made from common plastics with small amounts of chemicals to speed up their breakdown, are also not suitable for recycling with other plastics, reuse or composting, the research by Loughborough University found.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/7422006/Biodegradable-plastic-bags-may-not-be-as-eco-friendly-as-thought.html

The star of the BBC’s Gardeners’ World has been drafted in by the Government as they try to persuade the public to stop using peat compost.

Ministers hope that Diarmuid Gavin will help them convince gardeners to stop using peat, which is present in almost half of all compost sold by garden centres.

Yesterday the Environment Secretary Hilary Benn announced a new target to phase out the use of peat compost in amateur gardens by 2020 but shied away from imposing a ban, provoking criticism from members of wildlife groups who said that ministers should have taken stronger action years ago.

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/gardeners-urged-to-stop-using-peatbased-compost-1918355.html

Why are we asking this now?

Because yesterday the UN issued a new report on electronic waste, highlighting the danger from “rocketing” sales of mobile phones, PCs and electronic appliances, in the developing countries especially.

What danger is that?

Modern electronic devices might look clean, sleek and spotless on the outside, but inside they contain a lot of materials used in manufacture which are potentially hazardous to human health. Typical ones are PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plastic, used as an insulator with internal cabling, and brominated flame retardants, chemicals used to laminate printed circuit boards to prevent them catching fire.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/the-big-question-how-big-is-the-problem-of-electronic-waste-and-can-it-be-tackled-1908335.html

Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe (MPSE) is investing £100m in offshore wind turbine research in Britain and will create up to 200 jobs by 2014.

The plan is one of several boosts to Britain’s wind industry in recent weeks, raising hopes that the UK manufacturing sector will cash in on the rapid expansion needed to meet green targets.

The MPSE research and development (R&D) programme is supported by £30m of government grants, from a £950m fund created to invest in industrial innovation, job creation and growth.

Although the plan is initially for research only, it puts Britain in a strong position to compete for future MPSE manufacturing investment, with the potential for another 1,500 jobs, according to the Government.

Read more: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/mitsubishi-to-invest-163100m-in-uk-wind-turbine-research-1911242.html

Source: Telegraph

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