energy efficiency
Last edited 28 February 2008 at 12:39pm
Reacting to news of a major initiative to "retrofit" London's public buildings -
including police and fire stations - to cut energy waste, Greenpeace Chief
Scientist Dr Doug Parr said:
"London is setting the pace, and if we're
going to beat climate change then we need to see this level of ambition in
cities across the world. Slashing energy waste and decentralising power across
the capital will save Londoners money and cut emissions, but just as importantly
it will mean our city is seen as an environmental trailblazer.
Last edited 1 January 1970 at 1:00am
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Posted by jamie — 14 February 2008 at 6:25pm
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Excellent news reaches us from the Philippines where a ban on old-fashioned incandescent bulbs has recently been announced.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced plans for phasing out inefficient bulbs by January 2010, adding the Asian archipelago to the growing list of countries, including Ireland and Japan, which are slashing their emissions by shifting to compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). So pressure is building up on our own government - and indeed the entire EU - to bring in their own mandatory efficiency standards for light bulbs.
Posted by bex — 7 February 2008 at 2:15pm
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Visit EfficienCity, our climate friendly town
If a picture speaks a thousand words, a multimedia-packed, animation-filled interactive town must speak a million. Which is why we've launched EfficienCity - to explain exactly what decentralised energy is and how it works in practice (which can otherwise be a wordy business).
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Posted by jamie — 17 January 2008 at 5:32pm
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In the
past, I've been a bit sniffy about carbon calculators and have tended to
dismiss them, although if I'm honest it's been on principle rather than
first-hand experience. From what I've seen, they oversimplify an incredibly
complex issue and, as a colleague pointed out, shift the weight of
responsibility onto individuals when it should be an energy-efficient
government that leads the way.
But then I
came across mobGAS, a calculator produced by the European Commission's Joint
Research Centre which sits on your mobile phone and allows you to enter daily
updates about your energy consumption. Hurray, a new application for me to
fiddle with in a borderline obsessive-compulsive manner, and an excuse for a
broader look at carbon calculators in general.
Posted by jamie — 9 January 2008 at 12:36pm
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As Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone might not be the perfect politician but at least he's streets ahead of central government on climate change and reducing emissions in the capital. His latest ploy is to hold a light bulb amnesty during which Londoners can exchange their old incandescent bulbs for a bright new energy-efficient one.
According to london.gov.uk, you can take up to two old-fashioned bulbs to any London branch of B&Q between Friday 11 and Sunday 13 January and exchange them for compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) provided by British Gas. Nice.
Posted by jamie — 8 January 2008 at 2:25pm
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The Mail waxes lyrical about its favourite subject
What fun the media has been having with light bulbs
lately, peddling claims that they are extremely dangerous due to the mercury
they contain and that they could cause skin cancer. With an eye recently
sobered by new year abstinence, let's take a closer look.
Posted by jamie — 14 December 2007 at 2:40pm
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After last
week's amazing news that Ireland
is going to ban inefficient light bulbs in early 2009, we thought it was time
to give our own government a squeeze on the issue. The speed at which our
neighbour across the Irish Sea will be ditching incandescent bulbs has shown
just how ineffective London
has been so far.
Not only
does Ireland now join the
likes of Australia, Venezuela and Cuba who have already laid down
bulb legislation, it also proves our own government is dragging its feet.
Earlier this year, a voluntary phase-out of inefficient bulbs by the end of
2011 was announced which even at the time was pretty rubbish. Thousands
of small retailers aren't covered by the scheme so incandescent bulbs will
still be on sale beyond that date. Ireland's tough new legislation now
makes this initiative look even more feeble.
Last edited 19 November 2007 at 3:45pm
Reacting to Gordon Brown's speech outlining his vision to make Britain a low carbon nation, Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said:
"Brown now appears to be serious about meeting the binding EU renewables targets. But more debate won't get us there. Action is what counts, not words. No investment will take place off the back of a speech alone.
