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.

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

This house believes...

Food glorious food.

Various ramblings from this week...

Having just filled an 8 tonne skip with massive quantities of metal, plastic, material, wood, I think it's important not only to consider what we buy, but also how we look after it, or pass it onto others to look after before they rot or go beyond repair.

It takes a massif amount of effort to explode rocks out of the ground and to reduce them to rubble and heat to make metal. It takes a fair amount of effort to extract oil from our sub-surface, and to chop down, season and refine those trees to turn them into tables and chairs etc.

Hmm where do I start this week.

Supermarkets and Freezers :
See : http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/feb/01/supermarket-fridges-pollu...
and : http://www.chillingfacts.org.uk/

Think again the next time you buy something which is needing chilled or frozen. Are the big players using the right gases ? - Equally, are the next replacements any safer ?...

FIT's and Starts
Great news that the UK Gov has announced the Feed In Tariffs for renewables that generate electricity. Solar PV, Wind, and even a trial for micro CHP. Exciting times.