News & Views - Part 3

Papier-mache milk bottle arrives in UK supermarkets

A Suffolk-based inventor believes he may have found the answer to Britain’s rapidly developing landfill crisis.

Each day some 15m plastic bottles are used in the UK, many ending up on the country’s burgeoning waste mountains. And as the average plastic bottle takes 500 years to decompose, this legacy will have an impact on generations to come.

But now, inspired by a papier-mache balloon that his son made at school, Martin Myerscough believes he has come up with the answer. The GreenBottle, which looks remarkably like the conventional two-litre plastic bottles on supermarket shelves, comprises a sturdy paper shell with a plastic liner to keep the milk fresh.

Once the lining is ripped out, the paper shell can be quickly flattened and recycled up to seven times – plastic bottles can be recycled only once. Alternatively the paper bottle can be turned into compost within a matter of several weeks.

The bottle has been trialled at Asda stores in East Anglia and a national roll-out across the supermarket chain will start this week, beginning in Cornwall.

Myerscough dreamt up the idea for Greenbottle after talking to a man in his local pub. “A chap I row with was running the local landfill, so I asked him what was the main problem and he said plastic bottles, especially milk bottles, and that set me thinking.”

Recalling his son’s efforts with papier-mache, Myerscough played around with several designs before coming up with a prototype.

Currently 1,000 two-litre bottles are supplied to shops around Suffolk, and Myerscough claims customers have been “overwhelmingly positive”.

There are plans to make the next generation of bottles entirely from paper and to sell products to other industries, such as detergent and shampoo manufacturers.

Asda’s decision to introduce the bottles nationally should help bring costs of production down. “The price is the same as a plastic bottle,” Myerscough said. “Our target is to be competitive with plastic bottles.”

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Public belief in climate change weathers storm, poll shows

Taken from The Guardian

The public’s belief in global warming as a man-made danger has weathered the storm of climate controversies and cold weather intact, according to a Guardian/ICM opinion poll published today.

Asked if climate change was a current or imminent threat, 83% of Britons agreed, with just 14% saying global warming poses no threat. Compared with August 2009, when the same question was asked, opinion remained steady despite a series of events in the intervening 18 months that might have made people less certain about the perils of climate change. Emails between climate researchers that were released online in November 2009 had led to unfounded suggestions that the scientific basis for global warming was flawed. World leaders also failed to agree to a global deal to combat warming and a mistake over the melting of Himalayan glaciers was handled badly by the UN’s science panel.

Supporters of action on climate change, from government to business to campaigners, will be relieved that this series of negative news failed to increase scepticism significantly. Polling by other organisations in early 2010 suggested a rise in the proportion of those unconvinced of the danger of climate change. But over the 18-month period between the ICM polls, the proportion of people saying climate change is not a current threat rose by just 3% and was balanced by a 3% rise in those saying it is a threat, representing a small polarisation of the opposing viewpoints.

The UK also suffered two unusually cold winters in 2009 and 2010. But three times more people said the freezing weather had actually made them worry more about global warming than those who were less worried. The finding runs counter to the idea that people are influenced more by local conditions than by reports of globally rising temperatures. It may also indicate an understanding of how warming is projected to increase extreme weather events and that people distinguish between changes in short-term weather and long-term climate.

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Weekly green glossary: Assam, Hydroxyl radical and natural disasters

Taken from The Independent

Buzz words for the week ending January 07.

Assam – The world renowned tea brand is beginning to be affected by climate change, according to reports. (Guardian)

Bees – New research confirms that bee populations are dwindling, which could have catastrophic effects on agricultural production. (Reuters)

Blackbirds – and other wildlife have been dying in huge numbers across some parts of the United States , leaving scientists baffled as to the cause of their death. (CBC News)

Bluefin – The controversy surrounding the fishing of endangered Bluefin tuna hasn’t dampened the enthusiasms of Japanese gastronomes, where one of the fish sold for a record breaking €298,711. (Guardian)

Chukchi – Alaskan residents and conservation groups have succeeded in challenging permits held by Shell Oil to drill exploratory wells in the areas of Beaufort and Chukchi. (Associated Press)

Hydroxyl radical – A new study shows that levels of Hydroxyl radical, an atmospheric substance that acts in a similar fashion to a detergent, maybe more stable than previously believed, providing a stronger scientific basis for emission regulations. (NY Times green blog)

La Nina – the weather phenomena that has left a part of Australia the size of Germany and France flooded. (Reuters)

Natural disasters – In terms of natural disasters, 2010 was one of the deadliest years, with a total of 295,000 people losing their lives to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, forest fires and other natural catastrophes. (AFP)

Plastic bags – Italy became the latest country to ban the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags on January 1; however, retailers are still being allowed to use up their stocks. (Environmental Leader)

Tidal power – American company Verdant Power has submitted an application to install 30 new tidal power turbines in New York’s East River. If successful, the turbines could generate power for the city. (Intelligent Energy Portal)

ULE - American safety certification firm Underwriters Laboratory Environment (ULE) has created a sustainability standard for mobile phone manufacturers. (Green Biz)

Unilever - has unveiled what is believed to be one of the greenest headquarters (HQ) ever built. The HQ of the company behind Vaseline is located in Hamburg and is equipped with LED lights and efficient heating systems. (Inhabitat)

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UK plastic bag use on the rise

Taken from The Guardian Online

Plastic bag use in Britain is on the rise after the limited success of a voluntary agreement by retailers to cut the number of bags given to shoppers, according to figures compiled this week.

By contrast, in Ireland, which imposed a tax on plastic bags in 2002, the number of plastic bags has plummeted. Consumers in the UK now use nearly four times as many plastic bags as those in Ireland.

According to the figures by the New Statesman from official government sources, the number of bags used a month by each person in the UK dropped from 11 in 2002 to 7.2 in 2009, but then rose again to 7.7 last year – equivalent to 475m bags in total per month. In Ireland, the equivalent figure – compiled from plastic bag tax receipts – has dropped from 27 in 2002 to 2 in 2009, suggesting that the tax is having a strong impact on consumer behaviour.

“Ireland’s shoppers are enjoying freedom from the endless unnecessary plastic bags, as these figures show,” said Julian Kirby, resource use campaigner for Friends of the Earth. “A standard charge in England would help save resources and cut climate-changing gases.”

Four years ago, single-use plastic bags became an environmental issue in the UK, after the residents of Modbury, Devon, banned them from the village. Photographs of wild animals caught up in plastic bags drew attention to the damage the bags were causing, and the Daily Mail joined the campaign, with a call in 2008 to “Banish the bags”, so that “our streets, fields, parks, seas, rivers and beaches will be cleaner for our grandchildren to enjoy”.

But, despite support from many sides, Gordon Brown backed away from imposing either a ban or a levy on the bags, and instead allowed retailers to create a voluntary agreement. The New Statesman’s waste policy report suggests the agreement – although initially leading to a drop in bag use – has had only a limited success.

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Sales of sustainable seafood soar in UK supermarkets

Taken from The Guardian Online

Sales of “alternative” species of fish and seafood have soared after being championed in Channel 4’s newFish Fightcampaign, the UK’s leading supermarkets reported today.

Consumers are favouring coley, dab, mussels, squid and sardines over the staple salmon, cod and tuna following the programmes last week, which highlighted the wasteful use of “discard” in fishing practices while encouraging shoppers to take the pressure off popular fish stocks by being more adventurous in what they eat.

The cook and Guardian writer Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, credited with boosting demand for higher-welfare chicken three years ago, has taken the lead in the new campaign.Programmes from fellow chef Jamie Oliver have shown consumers new ways of cooking less popular species such as mussels, squid and trout.

Sainsbury’s said sales of “bycatch” from its fresh fish counter had been “promising” overall, while sales of pollack had leapt by 167% week on week. It said customers had responded well to the fish featured in Jamie Oliver’s programmes with sales of British and MSC-certified mackerel up 60% and mussels up 16%.

Sales of its sustainable “line and pole caught” canned tuna increased by 17% over the last week, while sales of organic salmon grew by 16% and normal salmon sales remained unchanged.

Tesco, the UK’s biggest fish retailer, said it had seen an increase in sales of between 25 and 45% for fresh sardines, coley, brown crab, sprats and whiting in the week since the first programmes. It said in a statement: “We sell around 40 species of fish on our fresh counters and our staff are trained to advise customers on trying new varieties. Sales of fresh cod, herring, mussels, mackerel and canned tuna also increased compared to last week.”

But the supermarket was singled out by Fearnley-Whittingstall for misleading labelling on its canned tuna, leading the company to pledge to catch 100% of its own-brand canned tuna using the “pole and line” method. Tesco last week came fifth out of the major supermarkets in a 2011 league table of sustainable tuna, compiled by Greenpeace.

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Surprising by-products of green oil

By lowcarboneconomy

With all the gathering interest in bio fuel crops, it is interesting to see some of the by-products the green oil industry is producing whilst farming the sustainable green oil crops.

The Millettia pinnata plantations in Queensland, Australia have many varied by-products, some of which would surprise even the most hardened advocate for bio fuel crops.

They utilise many natural ways to develop their crop yields and harness the experience of many years in the agriculture industry. They keep a huge number of bees on the plantation – as they manage to get the crops to flower for most of the year, thus virtually removing the old problem of seasons, this means the bees have a food source all year round. The abundant food for the bees allows them to produce a very high yield of honey, which is harvested and sold as one of the by-products of the green oil plantations. This approach removes the reliance on buying in bee hives to pollinate the crops, and removes some of the threats associated with colony collapse disorder which is threatening bee populations all over the world. It is thought that colony collapse disorder is being made worse by the practice of farms buying in bees for short periods of time to pollinate their crops – this could increase the spread of mites and viruses over much larger areas than the bees would normally cover, and allowing the bees to mix with other bees they would not normally come in contact with.

The plantations also provide cattle feed produced from the seed pods after they have been processed and the oil has been extracted. This biomass is called seed cake and is an extremely valuable source of cattle feed. The rest of the biomass is used to create biofertilizer; this is made up of prunings and cuttings from the Millettia trees themselves.

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Al Gore, Gary Neville or Cheryl Cole: who would you trust on climate change?

From the Guardian

We are often told that we are living in the “age of celebrity”. Yes, it’s an utterly depressing thought, but some believe we should exploit this collective obsession by putting to good use the mighty influence many celebrities wield. Charities have long latched on to the idea that for their message to be heard in the media mêlée it must have a “face” attached. And, of course, the media is heavily complicit in this “game”, too.

Environmental campaigners, like everyone else, have actively sought the support of celebrities to help not only broadcast their message, but also add an air of authority. The reason is simple: many people – whether they admit it or not – look up to celebrities.

Ahead of Climate Week – a series of events scheduled for March which “offer an annual renewal of our ambition and confidence to combat climate change” – the organisers have commissioned a survey to illustrate which celebrities would most likely get us to “act on climate change”. The results are intriguing and perplexing in equal measure.

Climate Week asked Millward Brown, a brand research consultancy, to utilise its “Cebra” (celebrity-brand) index. Twenty celebrities were chosen to represent a spread of people who were either a “well-known activist”, “environmentally inclined but not an activist”, or “not known for activism”. A “nationally representative sample of 500 adults aged 16-65″ was then asked how much influence each celebrity had on environmental issues. They were also asked to allocate a score to each celebrity using the measures of “familiarity”, “affinity”, “media attention”, “role model” and “talent”. And here, in order of influence, are the results:

1) Al Gore
2) Bill Gates
3) Arnold Schwarzenegger
4) Boris Johnson
5) David Beckham
6) Ken Livingstone
7) Chris Martin
Cheryl Cole
9) Gwyneth Paltrow
10) Duncan Bannatyne
11) Phil Schofield
12) Robbie Williams
13) Fearne Cotton
14) Leonardo DiCaprio
15) Holly Willoughby
16) Colin Firth
17) Graham Norton
18) Sienna Miller
19) Paloma Faith
20) Gary Neville

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Why use LED?

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are much more efficient at producing visible light than traditional light sources such as filament bulbs, and fluorescent lights. LEDs are made of semi-conductor material; light is produced when electrons are passed through the semiconductor material.

Unlike traditional light sources, LEDs do not get hot, so very little energy is wasted as heat. LEDs also do not produce ultraviolet or infrared rays, which are light waves which can not be seen by the human eye. What LEDs do is convert a higher percentage of energy into light within the visible spectrum which means that less power is required to produce the same amount of useful light.

The lifetime of an LED lamp is around 50,000 hours—that means that, under normal use, an LED bulb will not need replacing for 12 years. Using LED lamps means that replacement bulb costs are reduced, as well as man hours spent replacing the lamps. Most LED lamps consume between 1 and 3 watts of energy. This means that the electricity cost to run an LED bulb is much lower than standard incandescent, compact fluorescent and halogen lamps. In some cases, switching to LED lamps can yield a 95.4% saving on electricity charges.

Some materials used in the manufacture of other lighting sources, such as fluorescent lamps, require the use of harmful chemicals. Fluorescent lights contain mercury, which means that when the lamp comes to the end of its life it has to be disposed of in a landfill site. LED lamps contain no toxic materials which mean when they come to the end of their life they can be recycled, a better solution for the environment.

In the present day, everybody should be responsible for helping to reduce carbon emissions and halt global climate change. In the UK over 50% of household carbon emissions are attributable to lighting. Changing to LED bulbs would make a very significant difference to the amount of energy consumed by UK homes and businesses.

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Carbon Economy to create 1 million jobs

More than a million jobs will be created by the low carbon industries, according to Business Secretary Lord Mandelson speaking at the Prime Minister’s job summit, Lord Mandelson said that the low carbon sector of the economy was set to grow dramatically and that it could help ease rising unemployment figures.

Lord Mandelson said:”The global market for low carbon and environmental goods and services is currently worth about £3 trillion, and it is projected to grow strongly over the next decade as both the developed and the emerging world makes the shift to low carbon or post-carbon.”

He added: “We could see more than a million jobs in this sector by the middle of the next decade”.Last year, Prime Minister Gordon Brown suggested that people facing unemployment could find jobs in the green industries and offered retraining for some to learn to install insulation.

An Oxfam report recently noted that environmental issues and poverty should be tackled side by side and pointed out that insulation helped people cut both their energy bills and their carbon emissions.

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US wind industry forged ahead in 2010

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the national trade association of America’s wind industry, emphasises that the wind power industry combated challenges in 2010 and laid the foundations for a strong return in 2011.

While the industry “saw the all-too-real impacts of having no long-term US policies toward renewable energy”, the industry nevertheless made significant advances in 2010, said Denise Bode, CEO of the association.

Bode highlighted that wind power supply chain manufacturers continued to announce new US plants despite an uncertain economic climate. The industry reached over 50% domestic content for turbines installed in the US. In addition, advances were made in regional transmission plans, the market for smaller turbines grew 15%, and offshore wind took major steps on the path to the first US installations, said Bode.

The year 2010 closed out with Congress extending by one more year the Section 1603 Investment Tax Credit for renewable energy, a policy that helped the industry emerge as a bright spot in the US economy and keep 85,000 Americans working even at the depth of the recession, Bode said.

The numbers posted by the US wind industry in the third quarter of 2010 made for its slowest quarter since 2007. According to AWEA, once the year’s final numbers are tallied, they are expected to show that China installed approximately three times as much wind-powered electricity as the US in 2010, and Europe twice as much, as US installations fell to just over half of 2009.

Factors in the US decline included an absence of long-term US energy policies (such as a Renewable Electricity Standard), resulting in an unstable business environment, and utilities being less eager to enter wind energy power purchase agreements.

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