HUGE lifestyle changes affecting everyone in Wales are necessary if we are to leave behind our shameful “Three Planets” status, according to a major report published today.
The report, commissioned by environmental campaign group WWF Cymru, says that if everyone on Earth consumed resources at the rate Wales currently does, the world’s population would need three planets to survive.
Produced by researcher Joe Ravetz of the University of Manchester’s Centre for Urban Regional Ecology, the One Planet Wales report sets out a vision for a radically different Wales, with a 75% cut in the nation’s ecological footprint by 2050.
It identifies seven key areas where it says change must occur:
Food – At present 75% of all food eaten in Wales comes through supermarkets where consumers are faced with 20,000 products, each with sophisticated packaging and advertising. The One Planet Food agenda sees a transformation of the food system at each stage of the supply chain, with an agricultural-environmental agenda on the producer side, and a healthy diet agenda on the consumer side;
Buildings – Many towns and cities in Wales are composed of buildings which are inefficient and unsuited for the 21st Century. While policies for new buildings are much needed, it is the existing building stock which is the bigger challenge. One Planet Buildings in Wales sees a future of low carbon sustainable buildings responsive to the sun and the elements, surrounded by townscapes which are green, clean and human scale;
Transport – The terrain and geography of Wales is certainly a challenge for sustainable transport. The One Planet Transport vision sees a future of low-impact, high-quality, IT-enabled, responsive public transport; a car fleet which has raised its efficiency by several times; and on the demand side, a total coordination of activities and locations to reduce travel needs to a minimum;
Products – In a One Planet Wales economy, the average product will last longer and be adaptable, designed for re-use and reconditioning, built from lower-impact materials with higher efficiency, sourced locally or with low-impact distribution. While most manufacturing in Wales is an integral part of the UK and EU economies, there is great potential for a unique and competitive marketing edge in the One Planet Wales label. In a tough business climate, this needs kick starting by the public sector through procurement and innovation partnerships, followed by extensions of carbon trading industrial markets;
Services – Now that services form the majority of Gross Value Added and employment in Wales, the One Planet agenda needs to focus on these more complex and wide-ranging activities. The vision of One Planet Services in Wales would be led by public sector procurement and based on corporate social responsibility, integrated environmental management, ethical trading and investment, life-cycle carbon trading, IT-enabled distribution and local community ownership;
Energy – The One Planet Energy vision sees a future where Wales’ energy demand is tapered down and local renewable energy sources are accelerated up. Behind this is a wide-ranging transformation of the energy infrastructure and distribution system, from global resources to individual homes and products;
Resources – A One Planet Resource economy is based on re-circulation: recycled, re-manufactured and re-used materials and products would become the norm, and virgin products and imports reduced to a minimum. The challenge is how to fit this to supply chain innovation, retail logistics and packaging, economic value added, consumer lifestyle habits, local charging incentives.
Today, Sustainability Minister Jane Davidson will respond to the report during a conference at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff.
Morgan Parry, head of WWF Cymru said, “Our very future depends on our ability to live within the limits of the Earth’s natural resources, yet since the 1980s human demand has been exceeding the Earth’s ability to replenish and absorb.
“To meet the unprecedented global challenges we have before us, we need a shared vision and a shared plan. A vision whereby everyone in Wales, by 2050, can enjoy a high quality life, using our fair share of the Earth’s resources.
“The pressure is now on us to make changes in the way we consume, the energy we use and the impact we have on the environment.
“By living sustainably we can find lasting solutions to our problems both today and tomorrow – and we all have a role to play.
“A shift towards a One Planet Wales economy will place Wales at the leading edge of global environmental initiatives through targeting the biggest footprint growth sectors in Wales .
“The One Planet Wales principles are being widely discussed and a chain reaction has been triggered, but some questions remain.
“Are we ready to change our everyday lifestyle choices? More important, are the government and businesses ready to provide services and frameworks for change that will make it easy, attractive and affordable for people to choose more sustainable options?”
full article
Monday, 15 October 2007
Sunday, 14 October 2007
Thatched roof homes are back
Westley Marriott is one of those rare, happy men who loves his job. He spends most of his days up on the roofs of rural England, in the fresh air, employing his centuriesold skills as a thatcher.
It is peaceful, creative and fulfilling work – and recently, increasingly busy. A thatcher for 10 years, Westley started his own business six years ago and has had to employ an extra apprentice a year since then, to keep pace with demand.
It is not that, coincidentally, all the thatched cottages of England need reroofing at once – much of the extra call for Westley's skills comes from developers building new houses with thatched roofs.
"Ten years ago I may have thatched one or two new builds a year, now they make up around 70 per cent of my work," says Westley, who is based in Northamptonshire (www.thatchcraft.com).
"There is more demand for thatching now than at any time in the last 70 years."
"Better building regulations means fire hazards have been reduced and there are far more competitive insurance premiums. Thatchers are better trained, resulting in higher quality than you might have got in the Seventies. These roofs holds their value today. Thatch is definitely back."
There has been confusion about whether or not, for the purposes of Energy Performance Certificates in the new Home Information Packs, thatch constitutes roof insulation.
The latest advice is that insulation is calculated to be half the thickness of the thatch, so if for example a thatch is two feet thick, the insulation is considered to be one foot thick. This means that virtually all thatched houses should out-perform minimum insulation standards.
The Energy Savings Trust has full details of the calculations on their website (www.est.org.uk) or ring 0800 512012 for free advice.
full article
It is peaceful, creative and fulfilling work – and recently, increasingly busy. A thatcher for 10 years, Westley started his own business six years ago and has had to employ an extra apprentice a year since then, to keep pace with demand.
It is not that, coincidentally, all the thatched cottages of England need reroofing at once – much of the extra call for Westley's skills comes from developers building new houses with thatched roofs.
"Ten years ago I may have thatched one or two new builds a year, now they make up around 70 per cent of my work," says Westley, who is based in Northamptonshire (www.thatchcraft.com).
"There is more demand for thatching now than at any time in the last 70 years."
"Better building regulations means fire hazards have been reduced and there are far more competitive insurance premiums. Thatchers are better trained, resulting in higher quality than you might have got in the Seventies. These roofs holds their value today. Thatch is definitely back."
There has been confusion about whether or not, for the purposes of Energy Performance Certificates in the new Home Information Packs, thatch constitutes roof insulation.
The latest advice is that insulation is calculated to be half the thickness of the thatch, so if for example a thatch is two feet thick, the insulation is considered to be one foot thick. This means that virtually all thatched houses should out-perform minimum insulation standards.
The Energy Savings Trust has full details of the calculations on their website (www.est.org.uk) or ring 0800 512012 for free advice.
full article
Saturday, 13 October 2007
Eco homes: 20 ways to make your home greener
There's no way of escaping it: everywhere you go these days you leave dirty great carbon footprints revealing, for the world to see, just how wasteful and unsustainable your lifestyle is. From the type of car you drive (you do drive, don't you?) to your choice of grocery provider (could we be talking supermarket here?), you wear your green credentials on your sleeve.
But however guilty you feel about your turbocharged SUV and penchant for Peruvian asparagus at Christmas, the likelihood is that your home is your most carbon-rich, energy- burning crime. So, if you're really serious about reducing your impact on the environment, the best place to begin your quest is at home. Eco-friendly homes don't have to be weird-looking and expensive. An award winning five-bedroom eco-home on a brownfield site in Lewes, East Sussex, which cost just £340,000 to build, is selling for £865,000 (www.lewesestates.co.uk). Its environmentally friendly features include solar panels, underfloor heating and English lamb's wool insulation.
It is insulation that is the biggest single contribution you can make to reducing a house's carbon footprint. "We still let a huge proportion of our energy escape through windows, roofs and walls," says environmental campaigner Brigit Strawbridge. "But other options, like solar hot water, are both efficient and surprisingly affordable." Strawbridge is best known as the diminutive but feisty martriarch in the BBC2 series It's Not Easy Being Green, which documented the Strawbridge family (Brigit, husband Dick and grown-up children James and Charlotte) as they struggled to convert a 300-year-old Cornish farmhouse into a comfortable yet environmentally friendly place to live.
Anybody who is serious about reducing their carbon footprint can start making changes immediately, says Brigit. "It's a doddle. What's not easy is making decisions - whether biofuel crops are a better option than using the land to grow food, if investing in solar electricity will save money and the environment - these are all questions that you have to think hard about."
Earlier this month she encouraged home-owners to adopt a whole range of energy efficient measures at a weekend promoting green energy, low carbon, environmentally conscious lifestyle options at Hallsannery Centre near Bideford, North Devon, courtesy of the Torridge Action Group for Sustainability (TAGS for short). Visitors from across the country learnt the virtues of biomass boilers and the need for the thickest possible layers of insulation, and were taken to see dozens of different homes and businesses which have already invested in sustainable energy-saving technology. "My message is that you can switch to a greener lifestyle by making changes gradually, and the best time to start is now," says Brigit.
The Strawbridge family runs courses in greener living and their website provides useful links (www.itsnoteasybeinggreen.org).
1 Switch to low-energy lightbulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs use up to 80 per cent less energy than incandescent bulbs and last 15 times longer.
2 Turning your thermostat down by 1 deg C can save up to 10 per cent on your annual heating bill.
3 Never leave your personal computer or monitor on when not in use - they burn a huge amount of energy.
4 Turn your television off at the wall when not in use. A television on standby is still using 80 per cent of its power.
5 Close your curtains when it starts getting dark to reduce the amount of heat escaping through your windows.
6 Air leakage wastes an enormous amount of thermal energy. Seal all leaky doors and windows.
7 Save water by putting a flush saver, or even a brick, in your loo cistern to reduce the amount of water used with each flush.
8 Replacing an ageing central heating boiler with a new condensing type could cut your heating bills by more than 20 per cent.
9 Your hot water does not need to be boiling, so make sure your cylinder thermostat is set at 60 deg C.
10 Next time you upgrade your fridge or freezer make sure you get an energy-efficient model. An "A++" rating denotes the best energy efficiency.
11 Urban water run-off from paths and patios can be stored in a sustainable drainage system which helps prevent flooding in main sewers and drains.
12 Use water butts to store rainwater for use in the garden. It can even be filtered and used in the house for flushing loos and in your washing machine.
13 'Grey water" from your bath and shower can also be filtered and re-used in the house or garden.
14 Solar hot water heating is one of the most cost-effective technologies available. Once installed, up to 70 per cent of your annual hot water requirement can be met by this technology.
15 Solar photo-voltaic (PV) panels generate electricity from sunlight. Although a whole-house system is an expensive option, small panels can be used efficiently to power certain appliances such as water pumps and lighting circuits.
16 If your windows need replacing, make sure you fit new double- or even triple- glazed units. Double glazing can cut heat loss through windows by up to 50 per cent.
17 A third of all building heat is lost through walls. Cavity wall insulation is easy and cheap and even solid walls can be insulated either indoors or outside.
18 Increasing the depth of your loft insulation to at least 20 cm could reduce heat lost through your roof by 25 per cent.
19 Use a compost bin and reduce the amount of kitchen rubbish you send to landfill.
20 Most metals, glass and plastics can be recycled and most local authorities have a collection scheme. Make sure that you segregate and recycle all these materials.
full article
But however guilty you feel about your turbocharged SUV and penchant for Peruvian asparagus at Christmas, the likelihood is that your home is your most carbon-rich, energy- burning crime. So, if you're really serious about reducing your impact on the environment, the best place to begin your quest is at home. Eco-friendly homes don't have to be weird-looking and expensive. An award winning five-bedroom eco-home on a brownfield site in Lewes, East Sussex, which cost just £340,000 to build, is selling for £865,000 (www.lewesestates.co.uk). Its environmentally friendly features include solar panels, underfloor heating and English lamb's wool insulation.
It is insulation that is the biggest single contribution you can make to reducing a house's carbon footprint. "We still let a huge proportion of our energy escape through windows, roofs and walls," says environmental campaigner Brigit Strawbridge. "But other options, like solar hot water, are both efficient and surprisingly affordable." Strawbridge is best known as the diminutive but feisty martriarch in the BBC2 series It's Not Easy Being Green, which documented the Strawbridge family (Brigit, husband Dick and grown-up children James and Charlotte) as they struggled to convert a 300-year-old Cornish farmhouse into a comfortable yet environmentally friendly place to live.
Anybody who is serious about reducing their carbon footprint can start making changes immediately, says Brigit. "It's a doddle. What's not easy is making decisions - whether biofuel crops are a better option than using the land to grow food, if investing in solar electricity will save money and the environment - these are all questions that you have to think hard about."
Earlier this month she encouraged home-owners to adopt a whole range of energy efficient measures at a weekend promoting green energy, low carbon, environmentally conscious lifestyle options at Hallsannery Centre near Bideford, North Devon, courtesy of the Torridge Action Group for Sustainability (TAGS for short). Visitors from across the country learnt the virtues of biomass boilers and the need for the thickest possible layers of insulation, and were taken to see dozens of different homes and businesses which have already invested in sustainable energy-saving technology. "My message is that you can switch to a greener lifestyle by making changes gradually, and the best time to start is now," says Brigit.
The Strawbridge family runs courses in greener living and their website provides useful links (www.itsnoteasybeinggreen.org).
1 Switch to low-energy lightbulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs use up to 80 per cent less energy than incandescent bulbs and last 15 times longer.
2 Turning your thermostat down by 1 deg C can save up to 10 per cent on your annual heating bill.
3 Never leave your personal computer or monitor on when not in use - they burn a huge amount of energy.
4 Turn your television off at the wall when not in use. A television on standby is still using 80 per cent of its power.
5 Close your curtains when it starts getting dark to reduce the amount of heat escaping through your windows.
6 Air leakage wastes an enormous amount of thermal energy. Seal all leaky doors and windows.
7 Save water by putting a flush saver, or even a brick, in your loo cistern to reduce the amount of water used with each flush.
8 Replacing an ageing central heating boiler with a new condensing type could cut your heating bills by more than 20 per cent.
9 Your hot water does not need to be boiling, so make sure your cylinder thermostat is set at 60 deg C.
10 Next time you upgrade your fridge or freezer make sure you get an energy-efficient model. An "A++" rating denotes the best energy efficiency.
11 Urban water run-off from paths and patios can be stored in a sustainable drainage system which helps prevent flooding in main sewers and drains.
12 Use water butts to store rainwater for use in the garden. It can even be filtered and used in the house for flushing loos and in your washing machine.
13 'Grey water" from your bath and shower can also be filtered and re-used in the house or garden.
14 Solar hot water heating is one of the most cost-effective technologies available. Once installed, up to 70 per cent of your annual hot water requirement can be met by this technology.
15 Solar photo-voltaic (PV) panels generate electricity from sunlight. Although a whole-house system is an expensive option, small panels can be used efficiently to power certain appliances such as water pumps and lighting circuits.
16 If your windows need replacing, make sure you fit new double- or even triple- glazed units. Double glazing can cut heat loss through windows by up to 50 per cent.
17 A third of all building heat is lost through walls. Cavity wall insulation is easy and cheap and even solid walls can be insulated either indoors or outside.
18 Increasing the depth of your loft insulation to at least 20 cm could reduce heat lost through your roof by 25 per cent.
19 Use a compost bin and reduce the amount of kitchen rubbish you send to landfill.
20 Most metals, glass and plastics can be recycled and most local authorities have a collection scheme. Make sure that you segregate and recycle all these materials.
full article
Saving energy at home could take 200 years to repay its cost
The cost of installing energy-saving measures such as solar panels would take more than 200 years to recoup in reduced bills, according to research published today.
The Energy Performance Certificates which are now required with all Home Information Packs for houses with three or more bedrooms list eight measures to secure a high rating of A or B against a poor rating of F or G.
But the study from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors shows that some of the measures, such as solar panels to heat water, would cost £5,000 to install but reduce average bills by only £24 a year and would take about 208 years to pay back.
The RICS data shows that putting in all eight measures, including insulation, condenser boilers and double glazing, would cost £23,547. This would knock only £486 off fuel bills and would take 48 years to recoup.
Ministers have argued that the energy performance certificates would reduce carbon emissions and shave hundreds of pounds off household bills, making them an attractive selling point. But the cost of double glazing would take 124 years to recoup in lower heating bills while underfloor insulation would take 54 years.
Even loft insulation would take 13 years to produce savings in utility bills. “People on average spend 16 years living in one property, making most of the EPC energy saving measures financially unattractive propositions,” said RICS. Ten per cent stay in their home for less than five years, and about 12 per cent less than three years.
The organisation is now pressing ministers to reduce the 17.5 per cent VAT rate paid on energy saving measurs to 5 per cent or zero. But they also want the Government to provide grants to give householders a financial incentive to reduce carbon emissions.
“The Government needs to do a lot more than just introduce a ‘fridge style’ energy rating system to encourage people to take up energy saving measures,” said Jill Craig, RICS Head of Policy and Public Affairs.
“RICS has been calling on government to reduce the level of VAT applied to all energy saving measures and to provide an attractive grant program to aid real change. If this Government is really serious about combating climate change they have to turn their big talk into even bigger actions.
“Efforts must be focused on the bulk of the housing market, made up of older homes from the 1920s1960s, that produce twice as much CO2 as a homes built after 1995. The EPC should be applied flexibly to all residential property, not just those that are being bought and sold.”A review of the whole of the residential housing sector begins on Monday which will consider the effectiveness of energy saving measures.
The inquiry, which will be chaired by Sir Bryan Carsberg, former director general of the Office of Fair Trading, will examine the benefits and drawbacks of Home Information Packs. It will also examine current practices in buying/selling and renting and letting property before drawing up recommendations on the regulation of estate agents and letting agents.
The commission, sponsored by RICS, the National Association of Estate Agents and the Association of Residential Letting Agents, will take evidence in public hearings. Yvette Cooper, the housing minister, will be one of the first witnesses to be invited.
Jill Sherman
full article
The Energy Performance Certificates which are now required with all Home Information Packs for houses with three or more bedrooms list eight measures to secure a high rating of A or B against a poor rating of F or G.
But the study from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors shows that some of the measures, such as solar panels to heat water, would cost £5,000 to install but reduce average bills by only £24 a year and would take about 208 years to pay back.
The RICS data shows that putting in all eight measures, including insulation, condenser boilers and double glazing, would cost £23,547. This would knock only £486 off fuel bills and would take 48 years to recoup.
Ministers have argued that the energy performance certificates would reduce carbon emissions and shave hundreds of pounds off household bills, making them an attractive selling point. But the cost of double glazing would take 124 years to recoup in lower heating bills while underfloor insulation would take 54 years.
Even loft insulation would take 13 years to produce savings in utility bills. “People on average spend 16 years living in one property, making most of the EPC energy saving measures financially unattractive propositions,” said RICS. Ten per cent stay in their home for less than five years, and about 12 per cent less than three years.
The organisation is now pressing ministers to reduce the 17.5 per cent VAT rate paid on energy saving measurs to 5 per cent or zero. But they also want the Government to provide grants to give householders a financial incentive to reduce carbon emissions.
“The Government needs to do a lot more than just introduce a ‘fridge style’ energy rating system to encourage people to take up energy saving measures,” said Jill Craig, RICS Head of Policy and Public Affairs.
“RICS has been calling on government to reduce the level of VAT applied to all energy saving measures and to provide an attractive grant program to aid real change. If this Government is really serious about combating climate change they have to turn their big talk into even bigger actions.
“Efforts must be focused on the bulk of the housing market, made up of older homes from the 1920s1960s, that produce twice as much CO2 as a homes built after 1995. The EPC should be applied flexibly to all residential property, not just those that are being bought and sold.”A review of the whole of the residential housing sector begins on Monday which will consider the effectiveness of energy saving measures.
The inquiry, which will be chaired by Sir Bryan Carsberg, former director general of the Office of Fair Trading, will examine the benefits and drawbacks of Home Information Packs. It will also examine current practices in buying/selling and renting and letting property before drawing up recommendations on the regulation of estate agents and letting agents.
The commission, sponsored by RICS, the National Association of Estate Agents and the Association of Residential Letting Agents, will take evidence in public hearings. Yvette Cooper, the housing minister, will be one of the first witnesses to be invited.
Jill Sherman
full article
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