bemoreeco

The teams at BeMoreEco and MoreEco would like to congratulate the following Green Awards 2008 winners.

Best Green Audiovisual (under 50K) - WINNER: BDH and the Soil Association: One Planet Food

Best Green Audiovisual (over 50K) - WINNER: DEFRA: ACT ON CO2 - Save Money, Save Energy Campaign

Best Green Digital - WINNER: Green Thing: Walk the Walk

Best Green Direct Mail - WINNER: International Fund for Animal Welfare: MP Humpback Adoption Campaign

Best Green Internal Communications (under 50K) - WINNER: Punch Tavern: How big is your Carbon Footprint?

Best Green Internal Communications (over 50K) - WINNER: Nokia: The Power of We

Best Green Integrated Campaign (under 50K) -WINNER: We Want Tap: Tap

Best Green Integrated Campaign (over 50K) - WINNER: DEFRA: ACT ON CO2 - Save Money, Save Energy Campaign

Best Green International Campaign - WINNER: UNEP & UITP: The Voice of Reason (Age 6)

Best Green Outdoor (under 50K) - WINNER: International Fund for Animal Welfare: IFAW on the Underground

Best Green Outdoor (over 50K) - WINNER: Coca-Cola GB: Talent From Trash

Best Green Press - WINNER: CLG and COI: COI Energy Efficiency check up

Best Green PR Campaign (under 50K) - WINNER: United Utilities Plc.: Tap Into Water

Best Green Packaging (under 50K) - WINNER: Lush Ltd: Squeaky Green - There’s no greener packaging than no packaging

Best Green Packaging (over 50K) - WINNER: Cadbury: Cadbury Eco-Eggs

Best Green Radio - Highly Commended: Gcap Media: Green Month on the One Network

Best Green Website (under 50K) - WINNER: Friends of the Earth: The Big Ask

Best Green Website (over 50K) - WINNER: largeblue: green.tv

Best Green Campaigner -WINNER: Batteryrecycling-uk.co.uk: batteryrecycling-uk.co.uk

If you delve deeper into the world of tress and shrubs around us, then you will find more reasons as to why we need to protect the existent forest cover in the world and why we need more trees to make the planet a better place.

Till recently scientists believed that trees countered the phenomenon of global warming by just absorbing the carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. In effect, reduction of carbon emissions was their only contribution towards cooling the planet.

But a new study indicates that there is a lot more going on than meets the eye!

Trees release a chemical called Terpenes which helps form aerosols by reacting with particles in the atmosphere. These aerosols ensure that the clouds form thicker than normal.

Dominick Spracklen, of the Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science at Leeds University, the brain behind the research, says that his team found this effect prevalent in boreal forests across northern regions such as Canada, Scandinavia and Russia. The release of Terpenes ensured clouds doubled in thickness some 1,000m above the forests, and could reflect an extra 5% sunlight back into space.

In fact, it is these Terpenes that give pine forests their unique aroma and scientists now believe that this effect would surely go a long way in slowing down the effects of global warming. A 5% of additional sunlight being reflected back into space is actually a huge difference and this can cause a cooling effect that can effectively combat global warming.

Any other conclusion than being good stewards to the planet and not steal its forest? We need to plant more trees. It’s a fact!

Source : The Guardian

This is part 2 of my BemoreEco Winterproof guide so take comfort though in my credit crunching tips to help you winterise your home - protecting you and your investment. 

3. Insulate, insulate and insulate

It may not be sexy but insulating your home can save you hundreds of pounds. Half of typical home heat loss is via walls, floors and lofts so make sure you insulate these key areas.

4. Reduce your thermostat

Turn down your thermostat - For every degree you lower your heat you’ll save up to 5 percent on heating costs. Wear warm clothing like a sweater and set your thermostat lower during the day and evening, health permitting. Set the thermostat back to its normal position or off at night or when leaving home for an extended time saving 5-20 percent of your heating costs.

5. Give your Boiler an MOT

You give your car a regular service and so you should your boiler. Now is the time to get your boiler ready for winter; book a service with a qualified and reputable heating engineer so you can sort out any small faults before they cause a breakdown which can cost thousands. A serviced boiler will also work more efficiently, which can save you energy and money.

When interviewed by Good Housekeeping magazine Kate Hudson, mother of Ryder, 4, said

“When it comes to living a healthier life, I really feel you have to call your own shots. I’ll make things myself, partly because it’s fun, partly because I’ve been doing it since I was little, mostly because it gives me a sense of control. I’ve made homeopathic treatments and aromatherapy treatments. I’m constantly looking for the best products out there, and I helped my hairdresser launch a line of organic hair-care products, free of animal products as well as parabens and sulfates [chemicals thought by some experts to have a negative impact on health and the environment] called David Babii for WildAid. Ten percent of the money goes toward protecting endangered species.”

“Food is another area where I try to exert control. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do; when I’m away on a set and can’t cook for Ryder, it drives me crazy. I like to get as inventive as possible. He doesn’t like veggies, so I boil them, puree them, then hide them in his food so he doesn’t say, ‘Mommy, I see something green….’ Often I put them in lasagna or other kinds of pasta. I’ll also put flaxseed oil or a flavored omega-3 oil in peanut butter. It’s all about taking charge. You can’t stop your child from doing what they’re going to do outside the home. But I can do something — quite a lot, actually — about the products in my home. That requires my being as conscious about things as possible, what I put in and on my body. Plus, I believe in constantly finding new ways to do things — myself.”

The number of wind farms spouting the UK hills is staggering. Following a conversation Greenbang had with a stock broker last week, you have to wonder if it’s just because of the generous government subsidies that exist for wind that make it profitable.

But would it be profitable without them? That’s an unpopular topic in the UK.

Anyway, here’s news of yet another wind development. Renewable Energy Holdings is to buy a wind farm development in Llangurig, Powys, mid-Wales for “just under £16 million”, payable in stages as the project progresses.

Contrary to popular belief, the banks are still paying out as can clearly be shown here. This will be funded from the the company’s project finance facility with Standard Chartered Bank of approximately €177 million.

The company hopes the wind farm will be operational by 2010/11, when it will start contributing towards the government’s target to generate 10% of the UK’s energy from renewable sources by 2010.  Currently the UK’s annual total electricity consumption is approximately 75 TWh per annum.  The 200,000 GWh produced by the wind farm would contribute 0.26% towards this total.

The team at BBCGreen have carried out some investigation on the myths surrounding Green cars.  My wife is pushing me to replace our current car with a more Eco-Friendly one, but I am not to sure what is the best path to take. Hopefully this 5 part series we have put togther about the myths of buying a Green Car will help. This is the last myth.

It’s what you drive that counts -  How you drive matters a lot too. Eco-driving can be fascinating and quite fun. Imagine there’s an unbroken raw egg between your foot and the accelerator pad – be smooth rather than sticking to the bumper in front.

The trick is to think ahead: read the road, anticipate where the traffic will be and how it’s moving. If you adopt this kind of driving style, you’re less likely to encounter any nasty surprises. 

You won’t have spurted on the accelerator, only to jam on the brakes seconds later and throw away the momentum from the fuel you burned.

With practice you’ll get along pretty much as quickly and you’ll be safer. On motorways, dropping your cruise by just 5 mph will reduce fuel use by up to 10 per cen

This was the last Green Car myth which we are going to publish from BBCGreen. If you are now clearer on what car strategy you should take  please post your comments. I have now provided my wife with the information we have published and I am waiting to see what her Green Car choice is going to be.

In was reported on the BBC News website that a bit of greenery near our homes can cut the “health gap” between rich and poor, say researchers from two Scottish universities.

Even small parks in the heart of our cities can protect us from strokes and heart disease, perhaps by cutting stress or boosting exercise.

Their study, in The Lancet, matched data about hundreds of thousands of deaths to green spaces in local areas.

Councils should introduce more greenery to improve wellbeing, they said. Across the country, there are “health inequalities” related to income and social deprivation, which generally reflect differences in lifestyle, diet, and, to some extent, access to medical care.

This means that in general, people living in poorer areas are more likely to be unhealthy, and die earlier. However, the researchers found that living near parks, woodland or other open spaces helped reduce these inequalities, regardless of social class.

When the records of more than 366,000 people who died between 2001 and 2005 were analysed, it revealed that even tiny green spaces in the areas in which they lived made a big difference to their risk of fatal diseases.

Although the effect was greatest for those living surrounded by the most greenery, with the “health gap” roughly halved compared with those with the fewest green spaces around them, there was still a noticeable difference.

Stress buster

The change was particularly clear in areas such as heart disease and stroke, supporting the idea that the presence of green spaces encourages people to be more active.

However, the researchers, Dr Richard Mitchell from Glasgow University, and Dr Frank Popham, from the University of St Andrews, said that other studies had suggested that contact with green spaces also helped reduce blood pressure and stress levels, perhaps even promoting faster healing after surgery.

They wrote: “The implications of this study are clear - environments that promote good health might be crucial in the fight to reduce health inequalities.”

They called for planning authorities to consider making more green spaces available to improve the health and wellbeing of their residents.

In an accompanying article in The Lancet, Dr Terry Hartig, from the Institute for Housing and Urban Research at Uppsala University in Sweden, wrote: “This study offers valuable evidence that green space does more than ‘pretty up’ the neighbourhood - it appears to have real effects on health inequality, of a kind that politicians and health authorities should take seriously.”

David Tibbatts, from GreenSpace, a charity which promotes parks in urban areas, said that they were threatened by “decades of decline” in some areas.

“The study confirms what we have been saying for many years - parks are important for health and everyone should have access to high quality, beautiful and vibrant green spaces. “Unfortunately, despite the benefits green spaces bring to communities, our research has shown a decline in park services that has spread across more than 30 years.

“Despite increase recognition of their role in areas such as improved health, far too many parks teams find their revenue budgets are still under continuous threat.”

Professor Barbara Maher from the Lancaster Environment Centre said her research had shown that roadside trees improve health by protecting people from pollution.

“Urban and roadside trees may be an under-used resource both in terms of acting as natural ‘pollution monitors’ and actively screening people, especially, children and the already ill, from the damaging health effects of particle pollution,” she said.

Article source www.bbc.co.uk/news.

It’s November and it’s cold. Take comfort though my 4 part series of credit crunching tips to help you winterise your home - protecting you and your investment. 

1. Beat the drafts
Worried about the draft? Drafts can waste 5 to 30% of your energy use. Start simple and adopt that old fashioned fixture – the excluder. Place a rolled bath towel, a draught excluder or custom-made “snake” across the bottom of leaky doors and windows. Seal all the draughts around windows and doors will keep you warmer and lower the cost of your bills. Your letterbox can let in a nasty draught so fit a nylon brush seal or spring flap.

2. Turn down your water heater
Reduce hot water temperature - Set your water heater to the “normal” setting, unless the owner’s manual for your dishwasher requires a higher setting. Savings are 7-11 percent of water heating costs. Insulate the first five feet of pipe coming out of the top of your water heater or the whole length until the pipe goes into the wall if that is less than five feet. Pipe insulation is available from your hardware store. You can also save money by insulating pipes.

A tree fungus that grows only in the Patagonian rainforest has been found to naturally produce a mixture of chemicals that is virtually indistinguishable from diesel.

According to the American scientists at Montana State University who made the discovery, ‘mycodiesel’ is a fungus-derived biofuel that can be pumped directly into an existing diesel car without the need for modification.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said:

“It will be a little time before we are filling our cars at the garden centre rather than the petrol station, but the potential of this unexpected discovery is huge. A commercially-produced Mycodiesel might solve many of the problems associated with current biofuels.”

The discovery will now lead to a pilot study to determine the costs and benefits of commercial production.

Fungus diesel

Many simple organisms produce chemicals similar to those in transport fuel, but the Gliocladium roseum ‘diesel fungus’ offers:

• A particularly high energy potential
• In ability to feed on the organic waste that is currently discarded, such as stalks and sawdust
• A step towards second-generation biofuels based on fibrous non-food plants which could be grown without displacing other crops and raising food prices

The problem with biofuel

The European Union has set biofuel targets of 10% by 2020, but this will excacerbate the problem of deforestation as land is cleared to produce the food crops such as corn, rapeseed, palm and soya with which current biofuels are made.

Article Source: Environmental Transport Association (ETA)