Energy

Update from Kingsnorth

Posted by bex — 8 October 2007 at 12:48pm - Comments

The view from Kingsnorth

I've just spoken to Jamie, our intrepid webbie inside Kingsnorth power plant, which we shut down in the early hours of this morning.

While the team scaling the chimney just keeps on climbing (several hours and counting), the team down at the conveyor belt are coal-covered but comfortable - even finding time to wind down after a pre-dawn start this morning.

The police have arrived, assessed the situation and put up a cordon around the plant, and there's some speculation that they may bring cutting equipment soon. We'll see - it's a waiting game now for the conveyor belt team now.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, direct actions, energy, kingsnorth

Greenpeace shuts down coal fired power station

Posted by bex — 8 October 2007 at 6:32am - Comments

On the conveyor belt

See all Kingsnorth updates.

We've taken over Kingsnorth coal fired power station in Kent to send a message to Gordon Brown: don't bottle it on climate change by giving the green light to the first new coal plant in the UK for over 30 years.

Just after 5am this morning, 50 Greenpeace volunteers took over the plant. One group immobilised the huge conveyor belts carrying coal into the plant then chained themselves to the machinery. As I write, a second group is climbing a 200 metre ladder up the chimney, with supplies to hold it for several days and force it off the National Grid.

Why are we there?

Coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels; it just isn’t fit for purpose in the 21st century. No new coal fired power station has been built in the UK in over 30 years but now Gordon Brown may be giving the green light to a new coal rush.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, direct actions, energy, kingsnorth

Calling planners, businesses and councillors: an invitation from Greenpeace

Posted by bex — 24 September 2007 at 3:23pm - Comments

Manchester was at the heart of the industrial revolution. Now it could take the lead in the next energy revolution. While national energy policy flounders, towns and local authorities can do an enormous amount to achieve the emissions reductions we so urgently need.

So, as part of a series of nationwide events, we're hosting an evening of discussion (and the regional launch of our film, The Convenient Solution) at Manchester City FC – soon to be the first UK sports stadium to be powered by its own 85m wind turbine.

Article tagged as: climate change, councils, decentralised energy, energy, policy

Taking your message to Medway: no new coal

Posted by bex — 12 September 2007 at 10:57am - Comments

Delivering the message to Medway
Our energy expert Robin, delivers a giant, coal-filled postcard to Medway Council

A few months ago, I wrote that the UK could be facing a new coal rush; Medway Council was considering an application to build the UK’s first new coal-fired power plant in over 30 years.

The story had a huge response, with over 13,000 of you writing to Medway Council to ask them to turn down the application (thank you!).

This morning, a team from Greenpeace HQ hand delivered a huge batch of your postcards to Medway Council, adding a giant, coal-filled, perspex postcard of our own to the thousands of messages from people in Kent and around the country.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, energy, kingsnorth

Design for light

Posted by jamie — 11 September 2007 at 12:30pm - Comments

The design for Jason Bruges's installation using energy efficient light bulbs

So far in our light bulb campaign, we've bashed companies like Woolworths for not being proactive enough in sweeping inefficient incandescent bulbs from their shelves, but we're also working on more positive angles to demonstrate the plus-points of energy saving light bulbs or compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). One of the frequent excuses used for not switching to CFLs is that they're unattractive/ungainly/ugly/inconvenient (delete as applicable), but that's not so. They now come in an exhaustive variety of shapes, sizes and colours and can be just as aesthetically pleasing as old-fashioned bulbs.

Jason Bruges certainly thinks so. One of the UK's top interactive installation designers, he’s currently working with us on a new work to demonstrate the versatility of CFLs. He's no stranger to low-carbon design projects - his recent installation at the South Bank in London, Wind to Light, featured mini-wind turbines powering hundreds of LEDs, and his studio's latest work will be the front of house feature at this year's 100% Design at Earls Court Exhibition Centre later this month.

Article tagged as: 100% design, CFLs, climate change, energy, energy efficiency, jason bruges, light bulbs

Oil to burn in the Arctic?

Posted by jamie — 1 August 2007 at 3:28pm - Comments

After twenty years out of fashion, the term 'cold war' has become the hot favourite in Fleet Street once more. Not just because diplomatic relations between Russia and the UK distinctly frosty at the moment, but Russia's current Arctic adventures are lowering the temperature even further.

Article tagged as: arctic, climate change, emissions, energy, oil, russia

Woolworths and light bulbs: a bit of history

Posted by jamie — 14 July 2007 at 4:31pm - Comments

A Greenpeace volunteer outside a branch of Woolworths in Southampton

It's just after 3pm now and all of the main teams of volunteers have either been removed from or left their respective branches of Woolworths after clearing the shelves of inefficient light bulbs. The management at head office seems clearly rattled as their press officers have been telling our Light Brigaders (or is that Brigadiers?) that there'll be an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss their light bulb policy. We'll keep you posted on what, if anything, transpires next week. In the meantime, there's our cheap-as-chips video and photos from the day of action on Flickr to keep you entertained.

Article tagged as: climate change, direct actions, energy, light bulbs, woolworths

Woolworths won't stop selling power crazy light bulbs, so we've cleared the shelves for them

Posted by jamie — 14 July 2007 at 10:20am - Comments

A Greenpeace volunteer locked on to baskets of inefficient light bulbs

It's going to be a busy day at branches of Woolworths across the UK today as the Greenpeace Light Brigade pay them a visit to ask why they're still selling old-fashioned, power crazy light bulbs. Woolworths came bottom of our new league table, ranking light bulb retailers according to their commitments to phase out inefficient bulbs, so our volunteers have decided to take matters into their own hands.

Article tagged as: climate change, direct actions, energy, league table, light bulbs, retailers, supermarkets, videos, woolworths

MEPs show themselves to be a bit dim

Posted by jamie — 15 June 2007 at 4:23pm - Comments

The numbers are in and sadly they weren't quite what we were hoping for. Despite the huge amount of emails you sent to MEPs, asking them to support a ban on inefficient light bulbs across the EU, not enough signed up to adopt the declaration.

Article tagged as: climate change, energy, energy efficiency, EU, light bulbs, meps

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