Some news, links and thoughts on a range of topics.

Councils to soon make their own electricity.
Seems crazy, but at present, local authorities cannot legally produce and sell electricity. This is all set to change, and within a year or so, we should see some freedom which we hope will encourage councils to fit solar panels on schools, leisure centres etc.

20 million gallons !
I'm not sure I can grasp how much oil that is, but somewhere I read, it's the equivalent of an area the size of Scotland, it terms of it lying on the top of the ocean... Boy that's an oil disaster and a half and it's only going to get worse now that the approach to bung golf balls and old tyres down the hole hasn't worked !

Energy Showcase.

I have an online subscription to 'The Ecologist' - a fantastic source of information on all things environmental. The only problem is that I usually end up being depressed every time I log in. There are so many articles on all the things that are going wrong: global warming, disappearing wildlife, scary farming methods, lack of natural resources, mountains of waste etc, etc.
It always make me wonder if our efforts are in vain, are we actually too late.

We are now back in Scotland after a great time in Denmark, but the holiday did make me think about the issues that occur when you go visiting - how do you keep up your green ways outside your normal daily life?

(This blog was originally written on the 4th April, apologies for the delay)

I am currently in Denmark. Yes I have increased my carbon footprint for a trip to see the family, but I think I have already said enough about that decision, so this blog has a different theme. This is my first trip back since we started our project and it is interesting to see this Scandinavian country through green glasses.

Saturday was Earth Hour: switch off your lights for an hour in the evening - so we spent an hour in a candle lit house. It was quite nice, it reminded me of spending time in my grandparents little summerhouse during my childhood. The house had no electricity, and to us kids there was something exiting about lighting petroleum lamps and candles in the evening, on special occasions we even got to light little plastic lanterns with tea lights in them on the patio - a 'beautiful' sight.

Steam, Games, Grants, ECO Bling, and low-enery Gardening.

Firstly to Moisture.
I've done a few audits in the last week or two and there's a recurring theme that I thought I'd share with you, and that is humidity and condensation. Living in scotland we all know what moist air is all about, [esp today], but in our homes ? under the shelter of the roof. it can't rain inside can it ? Looking at a few homes, you would think it had. The air in our homes needs to be properly ventilated and extracted, for 2 main reasons.
1. Our health - it's good to get fresh air and not stale air