SHOPPERS in London could soon have to fork out 10 pence (23c) for every plastic bag they use in a bid to reduce landfill waste.
A group of 33 London councils came up with the idea for the bag tax and will put a bill outlining a proposed new law to government MPs in November.
If successful, all shops across London would have to charge the fee on every bag they hand out, with the money to be recouped by the councils to pay for recycling.
“The proposal for a plastic bag levy underlines our commitment to addressing these concerns,” Merrick Cockell, Conservative leader of the London Councils organisation, told The Evening Standard newspaper.
“We hope Londoners will join with us in commending these proposals to Parliament to create a greener, safer city.”
The move follows a similar tax introduced in Ireland five years ago, with shoppers charged 15 euro cents (24c) for every plastic bag they use.
The Irish tax, which has since risen to 22 euro cents (35c), cut plastic bag use by 90 per cent within months and raised millions of euros for environmental projects.
The London councils hope if a similar tax is introduced across the UK capital it will put pressure on the British Government to introduce the levy across the nation.
About 13 billion bags are used in the UK each year.
full article
Friday, 13 July 2007
How concern for the planet is changing the way we shop
Energy-saving vs standard bulbs
It seems that shoppers are seeing energy-saving in a different light. According to figures released earlier this year by the market-research group GfK, sales of energy-saving light bulbs have increased by 58 per cent to £30m in the past year. Paul Mitchell, an account manager at GfK, says that "growth of halogen and fluorescent bulbs has been dwarfed by the appeal of energy-saving bulbs. The market has been driven by the switch from the old-style bulbs to energy-saving varieties, which allow consumers to save money on their bills and reduce their carbon footprint." Energy-efficient light bulbs can last up 12 times as long as traditional incandescent bulbs and only use a quarter of their energy. With the Government set to phase out incandescent bulbs by 2011 and Currys having announced that it is phasing out their sale, it seems that energy-saving bulbs have won this round.
Bicarb vs bleach
When How Clean is Your House? became a TV hit, Asda reported a double-digit sales rise of traditional cleaning products such as scouring powder, vinegar and lemon juice. Mintel reveals that 32 per cent of us now believe such methods work, and a quarter of adults choose products such as soap and borax rather than more damaging bleach-based cleaners.
Pegs vs dryers
One of this year's biggest green success stories isn't a new solar-powered gadget or a carbon-neutral car. It's the clothes peg, enjoying soaring sales thanks to a backlash against tumble dryers. Between January and April this year, Asda sold more than 1.2 million pegs – up 1,400 per cent on the same period the previous year. Sales of washing lines and rotary dryers are also up 147 per cent. People are realising that, while tumble dryers may be convenient, they are carbon criminals. According to the Energy Saving Trust, just one use of a tumble dryer generates 1.5kg of carbon dioxide, which is enough to fill 150 balloons. Households that use a tumble dryer every time they put a wash on emit about 140kg of extra carbon dioxide a year, and the electricity used to power them could cost more than £70. According to eco-auditor Donnachadh McCarthy, "nobody has a real need for tumble dryers", which helps to explain why clothes pegs are selling so well.
full article
It seems that shoppers are seeing energy-saving in a different light. According to figures released earlier this year by the market-research group GfK, sales of energy-saving light bulbs have increased by 58 per cent to £30m in the past year. Paul Mitchell, an account manager at GfK, says that "growth of halogen and fluorescent bulbs has been dwarfed by the appeal of energy-saving bulbs. The market has been driven by the switch from the old-style bulbs to energy-saving varieties, which allow consumers to save money on their bills and reduce their carbon footprint." Energy-efficient light bulbs can last up 12 times as long as traditional incandescent bulbs and only use a quarter of their energy. With the Government set to phase out incandescent bulbs by 2011 and Currys having announced that it is phasing out their sale, it seems that energy-saving bulbs have won this round.
Bicarb vs bleach
When How Clean is Your House? became a TV hit, Asda reported a double-digit sales rise of traditional cleaning products such as scouring powder, vinegar and lemon juice. Mintel reveals that 32 per cent of us now believe such methods work, and a quarter of adults choose products such as soap and borax rather than more damaging bleach-based cleaners.
Pegs vs dryers
One of this year's biggest green success stories isn't a new solar-powered gadget or a carbon-neutral car. It's the clothes peg, enjoying soaring sales thanks to a backlash against tumble dryers. Between January and April this year, Asda sold more than 1.2 million pegs – up 1,400 per cent on the same period the previous year. Sales of washing lines and rotary dryers are also up 147 per cent. People are realising that, while tumble dryers may be convenient, they are carbon criminals. According to the Energy Saving Trust, just one use of a tumble dryer generates 1.5kg of carbon dioxide, which is enough to fill 150 balloons. Households that use a tumble dryer every time they put a wash on emit about 140kg of extra carbon dioxide a year, and the electricity used to power them could cost more than £70. According to eco-auditor Donnachadh McCarthy, "nobody has a real need for tumble dryers", which helps to explain why clothes pegs are selling so well.
full article
Thursday, 12 July 2007
Home owners face £400 bill to install 'smart' electricity meters
Home owners are facing a £400 bill to install 'smart' electricity meters in homes under new Government plans.
The £20 million scheme to test "smart" electricity meters in 15,000 British homes in a bid to slash energy use is to be unveiled by the Government.
'Smart' meters send a real time display of energy use - and its cost - to remote displays or on television and computer screens and are expected to help fight climate change.
Another 8,000 households will get clip-on display units linked to their existing meters and 17,000 more will be given extra advice with their bills on how to economise.
Business Secretary John Hutton will announce a deal with four power companies - EDF Energy, E.ON UK, Scottish and Southern Energy, and Scottish Power - to share the costs of the trial.
He said: "Changing consumer habits is vital if we are to cut our energy use and reduce the impact of climate change.
"Smart meters provide the cutting edge technology to enable this to happen. The results of the trials will provide invaluable evidence to support the future rollout of displays and smart meters; helping to cut consumer bills and cut our carbon emissions."
The Government wants smart meters installed in all households within a decade and all but the smallest businesses in the next five years.
It has also called for monitors to be supplied with all new meters from next year and to all households that request them between 2008 and 2010.
Alistair Buchanan, chief executive of watchdog Ofgem said: "Smart meters have great potential to help customers better understand their energy consumption and encourage energy efficiency.
"Ofgem's initial work suggests that smart meters are the future - the end of the meter reader, the ability to meter home-made electricity sales back onto the grid and vastly improved consumption data available within your home.
"These trials, which will be administered by Ofgem over the next two years, will provide us with firm evidence and hard facts about the benefits smart meters can bring."
full article
pdf SMART METERS
Wednesday, 11 July 2007
hydrogen fuel cells
Because an external energy source is needed to produce it, hydrogen strictly speaking isn't a primary energy source like coal, sunlight or wind, but instead is generally referred to as being an energy carrier like electricity. Hydrogen's critics claim that since its production invariably involves natural gas, hydrogen's energy budget doesn't add up. And with CO2 being produced every step of the way, hydrogen, it's claimed, isn't very green at all.
Ulf Hafseld, HyNor's project manager, accepts that making hydrogen using fossil fuels isn't sustainable. "The answer is to produce hydrogen from water using electricity from renewable energy, which is very easy," he says. "This is already happening in Berlin, where a small electrolysing plant at a filling station is generating the gas from water, using 100 per cent renewable energy from a hydroelectric plant in the Alps. It produces no CO2 emissions at all."
Along with using renewable energy to produce "green hydrogen", Hafseld believes that the increasing use of hydrogen-powered fuel cells in cars are crucial for maximising hydrogen's potential. "Fuel cells are about twice as efficient as internal combustio
n engines so can help compensate for any energy loss in the gas's production."
* Fuel cells produce electricity from a chemical reaction involving hydrogen and oxygen. They emit no carbon, although it may be released when producing the hydrogen itself.
* Fuel cells will be at the heart of any future hydrogen economy. Their supporters claim that they potentially offer a carbon-free alternative to fossil fuels.
* While fuel-cell cars are expected to reach mass production by 2025, some believe that we will see widespread use of fuel cells in everyday applications within a few years.
* Anticipated uses of fuel cells include mobile phones, laptops, home heating and power plants.
full article
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