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Solar physicists may have discovered why the Sun recently experienced a prolonged period of weak activity.

The most recent so-called “solar minimum” occurred in December 2008.

Its drawn-out nature extended the total length of the last solar cycle – the repeating cycle of the Sun’s activity – to 12.6 years, making it the longest in almost 200 years.

During a solar minimum the Sun is less active, producing fewer sunspots and flares.

The new research suggests that the longer-than-expected period of weak activity may have been linked to changes in the way a hot soup of charged particles called plasma circulated in the Sun.

The study, conducted by Dr Mausumi Dikpati of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado and her US colleagues, is published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The Sun’s activity strengthens and weakens on a cycle that typically lasts 10.7 years. Since accurate records began in 1755, there have been 24 such solar cycles.

The 23rd cycle, which ended in December 2008, was both longer than average and had the smallest number of sunspots for a century. Sunspots are areas of intense magnetic activity that are visible as dark spots on the star’s surface.

Currents of fire
The new research suggests that one reason for the prolonged period of weak activity could be changes in the Sun’s “conveyor belt”.

Similar to the Earth’s ocean currents, the Sun’s conveyor transports plasma across its surface to the pole. Here, the plasma sinks into the heart of the Sun before rising again at the equator.

During the 23rd cycle, these currents of fire extended all the way to the poles, while in earlier cycles they only extended about two thirds of the way.

Dr Roger Ulrich of the University of California, Los Angeles, a co-author of the study, said the findings highlighted the importance of our monitoring of the Sun.

The research team used sophisticated computer simulations to show how changes in the conveyor might have affected cycle duration. They found that the increased length of the conveyor and its slower rate of return flow explained the prolonged 23rd cycle.

However, Dr David Hathaway, a solar physicist from Nasa’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, who was not involved in the latest study, argued that it was the speed and not the extent of the conveyor that was of real importance.

The conveyor has been running at record high-speeds for over five years. Dr Hathaway said: “I believe this could explain the unusually deep solar minimum.”

>>> Please read the full article here

The government must do more to help small businesses in the UK improve their energy efficiency, a new report by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) concludes.

Entitled Making Sense of Going Green – Small Businesses and Low Carbon Economy, the report claims that the coalition must provide incentives for small firms to make their buildings more eco friendly and expand the current system of loans to make going green economically viable.

As 44 percent of small businesses in the UK rent their premises, the FSB said steps must be taken to make energy efficient improvements beneficial to both the company and the landlord.

This could be done by encouraging private sector providers to pay for the upfront cost of works, linking pay-as-you-save repayments to the building – which would “overcome the landlord/tenant divide” – and waving increased fees for those who improve the rateable value of their property through green improvements.

John Walker, national chairman of the FSB, said: “If the correct policies are put in place now, then small businesses will have the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions while also delivering the substantial economic growth that the UK economy desperately needs.”

There are currently around 4.8 million small businesses operating in the UK which provide around half of the annual UK turnover.

>>> Please read the full article here

The majority of UK companies do not measure their carbon footprint yet, the Carbon Trust has claimed.

Britain’s largest business and public organisations now have less than 50 days to sign up to the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme, which is intended to help the country meet its carbon reduction target.

However, a survey conducted by the trust revealed that just 26 per cent of firms make the effort to measure their emissions, Bloomberg reports.

Some 38 per cent of the 200 finance directors who took part in the poll said that they planned to begin monitoring their carbon footprint in the next five years.

Harry Morrison, general manager of the Carbon Trust, said that finance departments are playing a greater role in monitoring emissions. Earlier this year, Mr Morrison said that the key to implementing a successful CRC strategy lies within the internal audit and data collection processes.

“In many companies, the finance team in their internal audit function are best placed to have a robust view of carbon and environmental data than the energy and climate teams may have done in the past,” the news provider quoted him as saying.

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The development and global implementation of a new environmental ratings system could make product comparisons easier for consumers across the world.

The US-based Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) announced on August 10 that it had partnered with Canadian Standards Association and international US-based group UL Environment, two leading standards organizations. The three groups intend to develop a series of new standards which can be used by governments, retailers and consumers worldwide to identify and promote environmentally responsible products.
The new standards of environmental efficiency will take into account not just the energy consumption of the product, but also its ecological impact across its lifetime. In a press release, the American and Canadian companies stated that they intended to develop a “metric that will instill consumer confidence.”

Increased transparency in environmental standards is needed as consumers become increasingly ecologically aware and manufacturers begin responding to their demands; it is not yet known when the firms will have completed drafting the new standards, or when they will be implemented.
Currently low environmental impact products are awarded under the Energy Star system and are available throughout America and Europe; energy-efficient EU products also carry a green flower symbol.

Consumer websites such as www.energystar.gov in the United States, www.energysavingtrust.org.uk in the UK and www.ecolabel.eu in Europe provide environmental ratings and information on a number of household appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines.

It is hoped that development of a new system of environmental ratings could lead to a comprehensive global standardized environmental rating system, simplifying product comparisons for consumers and allowing them to avoid “greenwashing” or misleading ecologically oriented marketing.

>>> Please read the full article here

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee said it has removed Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands from its list of endangered sites, due to Quito’s protective efforts in the Pacific archipelago.

“By a vote of 14 to five, with one abstention,” the committee removed the islands from its endangered environments list, where it was included in 2007, said Brazil’s Culture Ministry, which presides over this week’s committee meeting in Brasilia.

“It’s important to recognize the Ecuadoran government’s effort in protecting and preserving this heritage site,” Brazilian Heritage Institute president Luiz Fernando de Almeida said in a statement.

Brazil had requested that the Galapagos be removed from the endangered list.

Located 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) west of Ecuador’s coast, the Galapagos archipelago of 13 main islands and 17 islets has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978 for its rich plant and animal life both on land and in the surrounding sea.

In 2007, the organization declared the island chain’s environment endangered due to the increase of tourism and the introduction of invasive species.

Some 10,000 people, mostly fishermen, live on the volcanic archipelago, which rose from the Pacific seabed 10 million years ago and became famous when Darwin visited to conduct research in 1835.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s List of World Heritage in Danger includes 31 cultural or natural sites around the globe at imminent risk of degradation or destruction.

The 34th annual meeting of the World Heritage Committee this year takes place in the Brazilian capital from July 25 to August 3.

>>> Please read more here

Citroën’s DS3 is going on tour – transporting comedians Dan Adams and Christian Ancliff to their first ever Edinburgh Fringe Festival (6th to 30th August). The Citroën DS3 Ecomedy Tour will see the two stand-ups piloting a DS3 DStyle 99g and gigging all the way from London to Edinburgh – a journey of over 500 miles – all on a single tank of fuel.

The pair will put in a performance each night during the tour, playing in London, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, Manchester and Glasgow before reaching Edinburgh in time for the start of their Fringe run. The DS3 Ecomedy Tour runs from 1st to 6th August and is supporting Oxford-based hospice, Helen & Douglas House.

To allow members of the public to follow all the action, Dan and Christian will be updating a special tour microsite, www.ecomedytour.com every day with videos, images and words.

Christian Ancliff commented; “It’s our first Fringe appearance, so understandably we’re fantastically nervous and very excited at the same time. Trying out our show material right across the UK during the tour will give us a great warm-up and a brilliant experience.”

Dan Adams added; “We’re testing our humour against the public and Citroën’s technology against the elements. I only hope we can match audience laughs per gig with DS3’s miles per gallon. This should be a terrific adventure for a very worthwhile cause. We look forward to sharing it with the public.”

For more information on each performance or to follow the tour activity, visit www.ecomedytour.com.

Tour updates will also be published on Citroën’s official Twitter and Facebook pages: www.twitter.com/citroenuk & www.facebook.com/CitroenUK

>>> Details: Kicks off in London on the 1st August and finishes in Edinburgh on the 6th August

>>> Visit the website here for more information

>>> For information on Helen & Douglas House click here

Our products harm the environment. They are not environmentally friendly. We never say they are environmentally friendly.” Who is saying this? BP’s Tony Hayward, perhaps?

Actually these are the words of Mick Bremans, chief executive of Ecover, the biggest-selling brand of “ecological” cleaning and laundry products in Britain. Despite celebrating 30 years in the business of selling greener, cleaner household products, Bremans’ team at Ecover has not yet discovered a dishwasher tab or laundry liquid that is what the consumer with a conscience is looking for – environmentally friendly.

In fact, Bremans is making the point that no product, be it a lavatory cleaner, a hybrid car or a locally sourced punnet of strawberries, is technically environmentally friendly. Everything we make takes its toll on the planet in production and leaves its mark when disposed of. Instead, Ecover describes its products as “ecological”, to communicate that they are kinder to the environment than comparable products.

>>> Please read the full article here

>>> Find out More and Shop for Ecover Products

Swedish energy group Vattenfall said it had launched a major pilot project using algae to absorb greenhouse gas emissions from a coal-fired power plant in eastern Germany.

The two-million-euro (2.6-million-dollar) trial run, which will continue until October 2011, in the depressed Lausitz mining region is one of several experimental attempts in the sector using algae to slash carbon dioxide output.

“The microalgae use climate-killing CO2 to create valuable biomass,” the chairman of Vattenfall Europe Mining and Generation, Hartmuth Zeiss, said in a statement.

“Moreover the new technology will bring useful know-how to the Lausitz and increase its importance as a region for energy production.”

Half the funding for the project called green MiSSiON (Microalgae Supported CO2 Sequestration in Organic Chemicals and New Energy) comes from Vattenfall, the other half from state and European Union subsidies.

The gas emitted at the Senftenberg brown-coal-fired plant is being pumped through a kind of broth using algae cultivated in 12 plastic tanks.

“The aim is to find out what kinds of algae work with brown coal dust and then, how economical this kind of CO2 reduction is,” a spokesman for the Vattenfall division, Axel Happe, told AFP.

The biomass produced in the process can be used to produce biodiesel, to feed biogas power plants and as a nutritious supplement in fish food, Happe said.

He said it was difficult to quantify the amount of CO2 emissions normally emitted at Senftenberg or estimate how sizeable the reduction could be with the use of algae, which can scrub 10 times as much CO2 as land-based plants.

But he said the company aimed to publish initial results in late 2011.

A project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2008 found that diverting CO2 through an algae broth could reduce emissions by as much as 85 percent.

Vattenfall is the third biggest electricity provider in Germany.

Last month, European aerospace giant EADS unveiled what it called the world’s first “hybrid” aircraft to run on algae fuel.

>>> Please read the full article here

In a Sunday Telegraph interview, the Lib Dem minister backed new onshore and offshore wind power over nuclear.

Mr Huhne, whose department is facing cuts of between 25% and 40%, said turbines were “incredibly competitive” but not always popular among locals.

Offshore sites had fewer planning issues and were “likely to be an important part” of energy independence.

There are currently around 250 wind farms operating in the UK, with a further 12 offshore, with 2,909 turbines in operation in total. A further 27 onshore and five offshore wind farms are currently under construction while plans for another 468 wind farms have been announced.

Speaking ahead of a key policy statement to the Commons, Mr Huhne identified Dogger Bank in the North Sea as a prime area for further offshore development.

“It’s relatively cheap to put wind turbines in that shallow area,” he said.

Mr Huhne said the UK needed to become more independent in energy production to allow it to withstand “shocks from the outside world”.

“The lights will not go out on my watch,” he said.

The Energy Secretary said it was feasible for Britain to be totally self-sufficient thanks to renewable sources, which also includes wave power and harnessing tidal streams.

“It implies quite a stretch as it implies we would be building an awful lot of turbines around our coasts. But the technology is changing. It is becoming substantially cheaper to generate from these renewable sources,” he said.

Plans for new nuclear plants won support from both the Tories and Labour in the previous parliament but Mr Huhne said the new coalition had “no money” to subsidise such a move.

Under the coalition agreement, Lib Dem MPs can register their long standing opposition to the issue by abstaining from any parliamentary vote.

Mr Huhne, however, told the Telegraph he expected new power stations would be built through private investment “given the framework we can put in place”.

>>> Please read the full article here

Volvo have launched a campaign to make people more aware of the dangers that car emissions pose to our health.

Did you know that as many as 50,000 people a year are dying prematurely due to toxic air emissions, linked to fossil fuel combustion? That’s more than 20 times the number that die in road accidents in the UK each year! [source: Environmental Audit Select Committee]

The most dangerous of these emissions NOx, Hydrocarbons and Particulates. But together, we’ll call them “Nasties”. Watch this animation to see the Nasties in action.

Find out more about the Fight for Your Right To Clean Air at www.facebook.com/insidevolvouk and join the debate at www.twitter.com/insidevolvouk