bemoreeco

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

Members of the energy industry are currently meeting in Bali, Indonesia, for the World Geothermal Congress 2010.

The event is already being called the largest forum ever held on the utilisation of the world’s natural heat energy.

And from its location on the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire, one of the most active volcanic regions in the world, Indonesia seems like the ideal host.

The BBC reports that the country has “ambitious plans” to make use of the natural heat energy to power the homes of its growing population.

Indonesia estimates that it may have total reserves of 13,070 MWe contained in a number of different areas under its many islands.

To harness this, the country would have to drill into the earth before pumping down water to be naturally heated. It is then brought back to the surface and used to power generators and create electricity.

Scientists believe that it is possible the earth holds enough geothermal energy beneath its surface to meet the needs of the entire global population.

This conclusion is understandable when countries such as Indonesia and Iceland are used as examples. However, what about countries like the UK, which don’t have an abundant supply of geothermal energy?

Well the UK government seems to have a number of options in mind.

Late last year it launched a £6 million investment fund to be used for the exploration of deep geothermal energy in Britain.

It estimates that the energy stored within the south-west of England alone could meet two percent of the country’s energy needs, and, as such, plans for a geothermal power plant in the region are being looked into.

The Scottish Highlands are also thought to hold genuine promise as a centre for the production of electricity from geothermal energy.

Currently, the UK only uses geothermal energy for heat, through the Southampton District Energy Scheme. There is also a series of ground-source heat pumps installed in homes and businesses across the country which are being used to provide hot water and heat.

It is thought that the take-up of this microgeneration technology will increase following the introduction of the feed-in tariff scheme.

So, is geothermal power really an option for the UK, or should it be consigned to the countries which have the abundant resources to properly utilise it?

>>> Please read the full article here

It’s the 35th National Tree Week (25th November – 6th December). First mounted in 1975, National Tree Week is UK’s largest tree celebration annually launching the start of the winter tree planting season.

National Tree Week is a great chance for communities to do something positive for their local treescape. It is time to get out the tree planting boots, wield a spade and Grow Your Own; trees for food crops, trees for fuel sources, trees for wildlife, trees for biodiversity and, not least, trees for future generations.

The Tree Council is encouraging everyone to think about sustainability and remember, particularly, that as well as planting to harvest fruit such as apples, plums and pears, there are many trees that have edible seeds – sweet chestnuts, hazel, walnut and many others that we may not care for, but that help feed birds through the winter.

Traditional British orchards have become a nationally scarce resource over the last 50 years and Britain now imports nearly twice as many apples from abroad as are grown here. By planting a traditional apple or pear variety, in particular, you can benefit from free food for years to come and help preserve some of the wonderful native varieties that are peculiar to different parts of the UK.

“It is a tragedy that we import hundreds of thousands of tonnes of apples from abroad when we can grow better varieties, throughout Britain, even in small back gardens.” commented Pauline Buchanan-Black, Director-General of the Tree Council.

“Planting an apple tree in your own garden can provide fantastic free food for you and your family for decades ahead. With literally thousands of apple varieties to choose from, and special root-stocks to ensure they don’t outgrow the space in your garden, they are the perfect tree to plant this National Tree Week.”

There will be thousands of organised events throughout Britain this autumn to celebrate National Tree Week. They are planned by The Tree Council’s Tree Wardens, member organisations and supporters though anyone who wants to take part can also think about doing something positive by planting a tree in their own garden.

If you wish to support of National Tree Week visit The Tree Council website or you can buy trees ready for planting and earn cash back from the following MoreEco Retailers.

Tree2mydoor - 8% Eco Shopping Cash Back – To celebrate Tree2mydoor are offering customers a recession busting HALF PRICE NATIVE TREES OFFER. They are offering customers a massive 50% discount for all native tree gift orders placed over a 6 day period during National Tree Week from Wednesday the 25th of November through to Monday the 30th of November. Saving you over £12 per native tree! Hurry – this offer is limited to the first 500 customers.

JumbleAID is a new ‘free to use’ fundraising website that enables anyone with an unwanted item to find a new home for it, thus keeping it out of landfill, and in the process converting it into valuable funds for their chosen charity.

It was born out of frustration with the throwaway society and a genuine wish to unlock the second and third hand value of unwanted stuff for the benefit of any UK charity.

It empowers charity supporters to raise funds without putting their hands in their pockets and it gives charities a way of asking supporters for help in the current economic climate without asking for cash. It brings ‘New Money’ into the charity pot.

JumbleAID creates a community that is all about giving and care for the environment. As nobody can list an item for commercial gain, it cuts out any profiteering and opportunism.

How does it work?

Very similar to the ebay process, funds are raised by ‘Gifting’ unwanted stuff online and people make a donation in return for the items. The whole process is administered through the site and all money is securely collected and distributed to charities by Charities Trust – a not-for-profit charity specialising in the collection and distribution of charity funds. Their fees are fixed at a flat 4% to cover transaction charges and Gift Aid administration (the Gift Aid process has been approved by HMRC).

Not a penny of any donation goes to JumbleAID. JumbleAID sustains itself through advertising revenues on the site and selected sponsorship agreements.

The word is starting to spread!

The site is now starting to gain awareness through PR, social networking, search engine optimisation and ‘Corporate Group Schemes’ where an organisation uses the site to involve their staff in community fundraising.

Promotion is starting to builds with over 300 charities having contacted the site to register their interest, and founding charity partners starting to spread the word in a range of communications.

The site is also developing a growing following with Local Authorities who, as advocates, are starting to recommend JumbleAID to the communities they serve as a worthwhile and responsible way of finding new homes for unwanted stuff and keeping it out of landfill.

Winemaker deploys miniature sheep to cut fuel costs and keep grass short.

A New Zealand winemaker believes he has struck upon the solution to reducing the carbon footprint of wine – and the answer, which may come as no great surprise, lies in sheep. Miniature sheep, that is.

There are only 300 of them in the world and they were originally bred as cute miniature pets, but Peter Yealands believes that babydoll sheep could help him to reduce the environmental footprint of his wine.

By allowing the rare breed to graze on the grass between his vines, Yealands says he can dramatically reduce the energy his wine takes to make and ultimately enable the process to be more sustainable.

Marleen Stumpel, co-director of AdVintage Wines, a London-based supplier of carbon-neutral wines, said the babydolls are an unusual approach. She said most wine makers reduce their carbon footprint by paying to offset their emissions. “There is a growing market for it, but the wine does tend to be a little bit more expensive,” she said

Courtesy of guardian.co.uk. To read full article, click here

In the UK we throw out an estimated 6.7 million tonnes of household food waste every year which accounts for around a third of all the food we buy.

Approximately half of this domestic food waste is edible food which translates into a financial cost of £250 to £400 a year for every British household. In addition to the economical impact, food wastage has an enormously detrimental effect on the environment impacting on landfill and contributing to the production of greenhouse gases.

By adapting a number of simple measures such as planning when to shop for food and only making necessary purchases consumers can considerably reduce their food waste. Food storage is also an important factor and proper storage eliminates premature ageing of fruit and vegetables which in turn reduces the amount of wasted food.

The Eco Cooler is an innovative new hand made terracotta fruit bowl and root vegetable store with natural cooling properties. Water poured in the bottom plate is absorbed by the terracotta. As the water evaporates it cools, helping to create the ideal cool, damp, dark environment to store potatoes, onions, garlic, swede and other root vegetables inside. Root vegetables last longer if stored 3-4 degrees below room temperature and in an environment a little warmer than a fridge. Fruit likes to be slightly chilled, but stored in the open air and light, so Eco Cooler also has a bowl on top which cools fruit just a couple of degrees.

Another nifty gadget which can help food last longer is the Ethylene Gas Guardian (RRP £3.99) This ingenious little egg shaped device can save households money by absorbing the ethylene gas fruits and vegetables give off in the fridge thus keeping them fresher for longer.

Many fruits and vegetables, especially if they have been damaged, give off ethylene gas as they ripen. Although harmless to people, much of the fresh produce in fridges is sensitive to the presence of even very low levels of ethylene gas and the refrigerator acts as a trap allowing the ethylene to build up to damaging levels.

The easiest way to combat this and save the costs of prematurely aged produce is to declare the refrigerator an ethylene gas free zone. By keeping the ethylene gas guardian on duty in the refrigerator, a very low presence of ethylene is assured regardless of what produce is stored there and users can continue to enjoy fresh produce for longer whilst saving money at the same time.

Both the Eco Cooler(RRP £69) and the Ethylene Gas Guardian can be bought online at Ecoutlet.

We are now in day three of Recycle Week and we are getting more and more people to accept the fact that they need to recycle more. Our daily format is simple, we will talk about what we have been reading, having for lunch, discuss recycling bins and post any amusing and informative recycling video’s.

Recycle Week Reading

Last night I used Google to search for interesting Recycle Week news articles. My first favourite was provided by WRAP titled ‘More plastics could be recycled from packaging‘. Much of this plastic packaging ends up in landfill, but WRAP’s research based on the trials shows this does not have to be the case.

The work shows for the first time that collecting of non-bottle household plastic packaging, reprocessing it and finally manufacturing it into useful popular items, is both technically and commercially viable. Recycling of this plastic packaging is also the best environmental option. WRAP is also launching a £2 million capital grant competition to help the recycling supply chain build the capacity for recycling more plastics packaging.

The second article I found encouraging was at www.letsrecycle.com titled ‘Councils gear up for 2009 Recycle Week’. This article details the efforts being made by City of York and Cherwell local counsils.

Lunch (Recycle Week Pledge)

Day three lunch and what am I going to have today. Well last night we had roast chicken so I decided to make a soup with the leftovers. The office was very jealous of me today when I heated up my organic chicken and vegetable soup and ate it with a nice wholemeal roll. This has definitely been the best lunch this week.

Recycle Bins

This collection of recycle bins have been taken while on my travels around the UK. A few years ago they would off been a rare site, but now they are becoming more and more noticeable and prominent.

This is a positive sign demonstrating that Councils, Shops, Festivals, Beaches, Public Places and Museums are taking an active role in trying to encourage people to place their rubbish in the correct recycling bin.

Recycling Video

This recycling you tube video  may seem a bit corporate and boring, but I found it realy interesting on how rubbish can be sorted and recycled.

Did you know that Bywaters hosts the largest undercover dry recyclables Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in London? The MRF processes a wide range of co-mingled office and commercial dry recyclables and being largely automated efficiency and recovery rates are maximised.

Also as bonus if you sign up to MoreEco during Recycling week we will give you an extra 100 joining points. Use offer code ‘recyclenow’.

This article was written by Zoe at Rekindle, we thought that BeMoreEco readers by learn a thing or two about sustainable gardening. So take note!

For some garden essential  products why not visits EcoTrendSpotter.

Growing your own veg is undoubtedly better, for you and the planet, than buying them from the supermarket.  However, the way you grow your vegetables also has its own effect on the environment.  The obvious issue is whether to use chemicals (including fertilizers, weedkillers and pesticides) or whether to go organic.  But beyond that, there are still ways you can reduce any negative impact from your vegetable plot.  These sustainable and thrifty tips will help you save money and reduce waste.

Plant Pots

We all know that we should try to avoid using plastic bags – but what about plastic pots?  Plastic plant pots are actually very difficult to recycle because of the variety of different types of plastic that they are made from, not to mention the number of different colours that are available.  This is where the three R’s come into play.  Firstly, instead of trying to recycle pots, simply reuse them, as many times as you can.  Plastic is quite tough and long-lasting, which is one of the reasons why it is such a problem when it ends up in landfill, but when it comes to reusing, this makes it ideal.

You can also reduce the number of plastic pots you use by buying biodegradable pots, or even making your own.  For example, this year I am using loo roll tubes as seedling pots.  They are an ideal size, you can write what you have planted straight onto the pot (instead of using plastic labels) and you can just plant them straight into the ground, as the cardboard will rot away, which will minimise root disturbance for the plant.  Plus, you will already have a free supply of them, and if you need lots you can always ask your friends to save theirs for you.  It’s a win-win situation for you and your plants!  Just make sure you press the compost in well so that it doesn’t all fall out the bottom when you pick it up!  Alternatively, you can use a loo roll tube and some newspaper to make your own Newspaper Plant Pots, which do have a bottom.

In addition you can also reuse any type of tray packaging as seed trays.  In the picture shows I have used a tray from a ready meal and the lid from a punnet of fruit.

Composting

If you are growing anything in your garden, you will need compost at some point, either to fill containers and raised beds, or to use as a soil improver.  Making your own compost is a great way of turning your garden and food waste into a valuable resource.  It also requires minimal effort and it all happens a bit like magic!  I chuck all my fruit, veg and garden waste into my compost bin, along with crushed eggshells, teabags and a bit of shredded paper (take that identity thieves!).

I have a two bin system which I have just set up.  I have one bin to fill up and one bin to use up.  Once the second bin is empty, I will empty the contents of the first bin into it, as a way of turning the compost.  The only downside is that it does take a long time to get anything useable, but if you can be patient it is well worth it.

e.c.o. Incorporated is marketing its first product, the Green Box, a pizza box manufactured from 100% recycled material. The top of the Green Box breaks down into convenient serving plates, eliminating the need for disposable plates. The bottom of the ‘Green Box’ converts easily into a handy storage container, eliminating the need for plastic wrap, tin foil or plastic bags.

The perforations and scores that create this functionality allow for easy disposal into a standard-sized recycling bin. Made from a standard pizza blank, the Green Box requires no additional material or major redesign and can therefore be produced at no additional manufacturing cost.

This is a GREAT idea, and I love Pizza!

Check out their website at www.ecoincorporated.com.

Consumers will come to expect “labelling” to indicate the environmental and social impact of holidays, TUI Travel head of sustainable development Jane Ashton has predicted.  Other industries, such as food, are already putting information on their products about CO2 as well as about fairtrade, she said.

Speaking at the WTM Vision Conference, she said: “Other industries are addressing these issues in product labelling; so our customers are going to expect carbon and social impact and other tourism labelling.”

In TUI’s own research, only about half of 25 airlines surveyed currently report their carbon footprint. Carbon labelling would highlight efficiencies of individual airlines, she added. She predicted a change in the next decade. “Carbon labelling on flights might well be something we see on flights in the next ten years,” she said.

Ashton admitted holidaymakers were not currently demanding that travel companies take a sustainable approach, but she said: “I think they are increasingly expecting it and they do value it.”

Research by the Concerned Consumer Index in January showed 62% of people wanted to take a more ecologically-friendly holiday. The expectation is that travel companies will address sustainabiltity issues, she added. “People feel that when they go on holiday they do not want to deprive themselves of the enjoyment of the holiday. They expect the company to address the issues on their behalf.”

It is “highly dubious” whether holidaymakers will pay for companies to take a sustainable approach, she said. Only around one in three are currently paying a small contribution on bookings towards carbon offsetting through schemes such as the Travel Foundation.

Meanwhile, she warned that travel companies will be forced to take a more responsible view on their carbon footprint under the UK Carbon Reduction Committment legislation next year.

“We will have to become more carbon savvy and large corporates will be under a lot of pressure to reveal carbon data,” she said.