US toilet paper 'worse for planet' than gas guzzling cars

The vast majority of the paper used by American consumers is produced from virgin forests, while Europeans are more open to using recycled lavatory paper.
Greenpeace this week launched a guide about the ecological impact of the use of toilet paper. Lindsey Allen, a forestry expert with the envirnmental campaign group, said: "We have this myth in the US that recycled is just so low quality, it's like cardboard."
More than 98 per cent of the toilet paper sold in the US is from virgin forests, with the figure just under 60 per cent in Europe.
US consumers consume significantly more of the paper than Europeans - reportedly three times as much. They are said to use 100 times paper per head of population than the Chinese.
Allen Hershkowitz, a scientist at the Natural Resources Defence Council, said: "Future generations are going to look at the way we make toilet paper as one of the greatest excesses of our age. Making toilet paper from virgin wood is a lot worse than driving [petrol-thirsty cars] in terms of global warming pollution."
American producers of the products maintain that there is ample choice for consumers, with recycled toilet paper - which involves less use of chemicals when manufactured - available widely in the US.
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Centrica set to report bumper £2 billion profits

CENTRICA, the owner of British Gas, will court fresh controversy next week when it reports annual profits of about £2 billion and an increase to its dividend while steadfastly refusing to cut household electricity prices.

Chief executive Sam Laidlaw is expected to justify the profits by giving details of a multi-billion-pound investment programme that the company plans for the coming years in renewables, nuclear and gas production and storage.

He will also be grilled by investors and analysts over his determination to complete the controversial £3.1 billion acquisition of a 25% stake in the nuclear operator British Energy from its French owner EDF Energy.

Since the deal was struck last year, power and gas prices have collapsed, making what was a generous top-of-the-market deal look even more costly. A minority of investors and some analysts have called for Laidlaw to abandon the deal or negotiate a lower price. EDF and Centrica have said they hope to close the deal by the end of next month, and Laidlaw is expected to reiterate his support for it this week.
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Green charger hits high street

CARPHONE WAREHOUSE is about to launch an ECO CHARGER that it says "reduces the amount of energy needed to power a mobile phone more than any other on the market".

It's a bold claim but for starters this has one advantage. While other chargers continue to zap electricity from the plug if left in the socket with no phone attached, this automatically switches itself off as soon as the handset is fully juiced or unhooked.

CPW reckon this can save the UK approximately 217 million kWh of electricity per year, the equivalent to the annual energy consumption of almost 66,000 households.

If you're like me, then you'll be guilty of leaving the plug in the mains with the switch on and no mobi at the other end. We all do it, so any move to help reduce that standby-drain has to be welcomed.

Andrew Harrison, UK CEO at The Carphone Warehouse, said: "Increasingly, concern over global climate change is becoming top of everyone’s agenda, and that’s why I’m thrilled that we’re now able to offer a device that will not only will save our customers money, but help them to be energy efficient too."

Out in the chains 820 stores from March 3, it will cost £22.99. Customers can get £10 off when bought with a handset.

That's a small price to pay for saving the planet but then it'll be a lot easier to save the cash and just remember to switch off the socket and take out the charger!
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An eco-dream of a house

It's the house that decades of design and centuries of building have been leading up to... but it takes its inspiration from the Middle Ages.

Strange as it may sound, this home of the future, designed for his family by architect Richard Hawkes, is wedded to the past.

Its very framework is based on a medieval design, known as timbrel vaulting, which can be seen in the dome-shaped roof.First used in 1382 in Spain, this method uses thin bricks to create a lightweight,
durable building.

The arch is less than 5in thick, so wastes no material. Gravel and soil on top, in which flowers will be planted, help weigh the self-supporting frame down, stabilising it.
Not only does the structure do away with the need for materials such as concrete, which are energy intensive to make, it also allows the building to retain heat.

And in his quest to save power, Mr Hawkes again found traditional methods were best.

He used locally-sourced, old-fashioned clay tiles, in place of brick, as they were more energy efficient.
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