Ships bring water to parched Barcelona

Climb down the stony banks of the massive Sau reservoir in the mountains above Barcelona and you get a real sense of why this famous city is so short of water that it's resorted to bringing in emergency supplies - by ship.

Nestling in a deep valley of stunning cliffs and forests, this vital source of water has sunk so low it's exposed the eerie sight of a medieval village that was flooded when the reservoir was opened in the 1960s.

The huddle of ancient stone buildings, including a church with its spire, has now re-emerged into the light and stands as a potent symbol of the severity of this water crisis.

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British Gas to raise prices as profits slump

Millions of homeowners face a second rise in the gas and electricity bills this year as British Gas owner Centrica grapples with a slump in its profits.

British Gas customers were dealt a 15 per cent rise in their energy bills in January as the company struggled to deal with the near doubling in the cost of buying gas in the wholesale markets.

That price rise did not go far enough for Centrica however as a trading update revealed that as the continued rise in wholesale gas prices "has caused profit margins in British Gas in the first half of the year to be squeezed to levels below our long run expectations."

British Gas has lost 100,000 customers since the January price rises, leaving total customer base at 15.9 million the company reported today. The group had 17.7 million British Gas customers at the start of 2005.

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Cash cuts see green grants halved

The number of government grants made to people who want to fit solar panels or other green energy systems to their homes has halved, the BBC has learned.

It comes after the low carbon buildings programme cut the maximum grant on offer from £7,500 to £2,500.

The Renewable Energy Association, which says the programme is failing, has accused ministers of complacency.

But the government says uptake went up considerably last month after the need for planning permission was removed.

Europe's third worst

Figures seen by the BBC show that in 2007, 2,339 grants were made nationwide, compared with 5,104 the previous year.

Britain is the third worst performer in EU for producing energy from renewable sources - 2% of the UK's energy is produced in this way - and it has been told to raise its share to 15% by 2020.
In comparison, Germany has 200 times as many homes fitted with solar photovoltaic power.

But critics say the low carbon buildings scheme has been confusing and stingy, and has provided little incentive for people to go green.

Last month the programme was extended by a year to April 2010 but the £2,500 cap remained.

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Vote for 'Tomorrow's Lifestyle Home'

The brief is to design a home for families of every generation, where you could stay for life.

From 2013 every new house must comply with 16 'lifestyle home standards', such as wider doors for wheelchairs, higher wall sockets and an accessible downstairs lavatory, and from 2016 they must also be zero-carbon.

Ms Flint paid tribute to the British housebuilding industry's attempts to meet these targets.

"Our goal is to build not just more homes, but better homes.

"The UK housebuilding industry is at the forefront, not only signing up to the target but coming up with the innovation to make this happen," she said.

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