124 Search Results for "united kingdom"
- most relevant
- most recent
- highest rated
- most viewed
- top favorites
- most comments
-
Chickens a year on Chickens a year on
- From: RobLyons
-
Description:
Well... if anyone remembers we got some chickens last year, and purchased a thing called an Eglu which is nicknamed a chicken caravan by many of our friends. Its plastic and easy to clean. It also has wheels so if you have a large enough garden you can move it round so that when the chickens are in the run they don't destroy the patch of grass too severely.
All good in theory, but with 6 chickens at the time and a small garden, we found out within days there was no way of stopping the chucks from devouring everything and turning the ground into a barron mud heap!
So why did we bother... and more's the point why are we still going at it!? Simple.... the eggs are wonderful and in most people's opinion better even than the free range eggs you can buy from the shop. They all develop their own personality, and in my opinion watching their interactions is much better than playing a computer game like the Simms. They'll be friendly with you (especially if you have food) and they'll even let you pick them up when they're used to it.
We started with 6 chickens but unfortunately over last year we lost two of them through natural causes. I response was to add another 6 making a total of 10! But recently again, we're lost two more, so we're left with 8 chucks now. Getting real about it, I have had to dispatch two of them myself out of being humane.
Here's the reality check: They poo everywhere, eat everything edible, and desttroy anything that's not. Where we used to have a lawn, I had to ring-fence them in and they turned it into a field of mud. If you've got a garden you're proud of I wouldn't recommend you let them have free range of all of it. Mucking them out is not the nicest of jobs, but with the Eglu being plastic its a much easier job... and you can hose the whole thing down every so often.
That said, we're really glad we did it. With 8 chickens now, we're averaging about 7 eggs a day. OF course we can't eat all of them, so our neighbours and friends gladly help in that part of the process in return for a small donation towards their food.
We're lucky we work from home, so we can keep an eye on them at all times, but they're quite happy to run around on their own as long as you can lock them in at night and let them out again in the morning... oh and obviously the odd treat to keep them happy with you!
So all in all, if you're considering chickens we'd recommend it to everyone, and with them being more eco-friendly than most its a bonus!
- Blog post
- 3 months ago
- Views: 61
- Not yet rated
-
Volcano in Iceland Volcano in Iceland
- From: RobLyons
-
Description:
Maybe not a direct issue with being eco friendly, but what happend with the Volcano in Iceland (Eyjafjallajokull) proves a point about how dependent on mother nature we are. We all know the obviously direct effects on air flights through europe, but there's plenty of economic knock-on effects where for example, business bound by delivery agreements are going to get penalised for not delivering on time. And I'm sure we've only just touched the tip of the economic iceberg on that one.
BUT then there's the awe inspiring side of what actually goes on when a volcano erupts. I'm in two minds about wanting to be there at the moment, but someone put a load of pictures together and even made it a screensaver.
You won't believe how incredibly these pictures are, and they're even asking for more images if you have them.http://yourownscreensaver.com/screensavers/free-screensavers/alternative/257-volcanic-events
Oh... and I'm impressed if you can pronounce "Eyjafjallajokull" as I'm still having problems with Reykjavik.
- Blog post
- 5 months ago
- Views: 71
- Not yet rated
-
Bamboo Bicycles. Bamboo Bicycles.
- From: adeymoore
-
Description:
On the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia, next year's crop of bicycles is being watered by Benjamin Banda.
"We planted this bamboo last year," he says, "and now the stems are taller than me. When it's ready we'll cut it, cure it and then turn it into frames."
Mr Banda, is the caretaker for Zambikes, a company set up by two Californians and two Zambians which aimed to build bikes tough enough to handle the local terrain.
Co-founder Vaughn Spethmann, 24, recalls how it all started with a game of football.
Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant in the world
"We were here on a university field trip and we organized a match against some locals. Afterwards we asked them what they did, and they said: 'Nothing'. They didn't have jobs.
"So we decided to come up with a business which would be a source of employment and provide a useful product."
That product was the rugged, bright yellow Zambike, assembled at the firm's smart red-brick workshop set in sun-browned farmland.
Other projects followed as the mechanics' skills improved: a sturdy cargo bike, a bike trailer and a bike-drawn "zambulance", now in use at 10 clinics around Lusaka.
Good vibrations
Meanwhile Santa Cruz-based bike designer Craig Calfee was experimenting with bamboo as a material for bike frames.
His prototypes proved that the strength and lightness of the plant made it a great substitute for metal.
As a bonus it had excellent vibration-dampening properties, making it comfortable for riding over long distances.
It was eye-catching too - Mr Calfee's stand was besieged when he unveiled his first bamboo frame at a bike show.
Mr Calfee hatched a plan to manufacture the frames in developing countries, distribute them in the US and share the profits.
He had already set up a workshop in Accra, Ghana, and started looking for more bike producers, nicknamed "bambooseros".
The industry telegraph started humming and soon he was talking to Zambikes.
"We were so excited," says Mr Spethmann. "The thought of Zambian-made products being sold in the USA. That just doesn't happen."
There are many reasons why it's so unusual: capital is difficult to raise in Zambia; tools and raw materials - if available - are expensive; skilled labour is in short supply; and bureaucracy isn't.
In this context having a low-cost raw material on the doorstep is a godsend.
"And of course there's very little impact on the environment," says Dustin McBride, the other American on the Zambikes management team.
Growth market
Inside the workshop, bike mechanic Elastus Lemba is setting up treated bamboo pieces on a jig made from plumber's pipes and bicycle parts.
It looks low-tech, but that's intentional.
Mr Calfee wanted a production process that did not require sophisticated machinery.
With wood glue holding the frame in place, Mr Lemba binds the joints using sisal - tough cord made from plant fibre soaked in epoxy.
Hand-making the frames in this way takes at least a week.
After a final sanding and coat of varnish, each batch of bamboosero bikes will be shipped to the USA, tested, fitted with wheels, pedals, handlebars and brakes, and put on sale.
So will the bike be a success?
Mr Calfee thinks so, based on all the enquiries and advance orders he has received.
"Hundreds of people have asked when they can buy one. From a bike messenger who wants an affordable fixie to a wealthy collector who wants one from each bamboosero location."
He is convinced the price tag - $475 (£290) for road or mountain bike frames, and more than $900 (£550) for a finished bike - won't put people off.
"The only criticism I've had is that they might be too cheap.
"After all, buyers are helping to get self-sustaining businesses off the ground in developing economies, and they're getting a unique bike into the bargain."
The mood is optimistic at Zambikes too.
Operations co-ordinator Divilance Machilika, watches company cook Fabian Mumba taking a finished bamboo bike for a spin around the yard.
"I can see these selling well in America. They'll like them because they're natural," he says.
Mr Machilika lived in a tent on the site for a year while the workshop was being built.
A quick learner, he soon mastered construction skills and bike mechanics. Now he oversees day-to-day running of the workshop.
Benefit to the community
One of the founders, Mwewa Chikamba, says Mr Machilika is an example of what Zambikes wanted to achieve.
"It was never just about bikes. We wanted to give our workers practical skills and reward their dedication. We want to change lives," he says.
Assistance is also offered in the form of business coaching or discretionary loans - Mr Machilika used one such loan to buy a plot of land.
"I want to build three houses there. I'll use the rent money to start other businesses and employ people myself."
Instead of charging interest, Zambikes asks staff to demonstrate that the investment made in them is benefiting their community.
Perseverance and an innovative approach to product design and working practices have helped Zambikes put down strong roots.
But in a business environment that leaves much to be desired, it is no surprise that they have not yet seen a profit.
If the bamboo bike shoots out of the shops as fast as Mr Calfee predicts, that may be about to change too.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 414
-
March of the Toreador - Bizet March of the Toreador - Bizet
- From: adeymoore
-
Description:
- 1 year ago
- Views: 48
- Not yet rated
-
Eco Cars Eco Cars
- From: adeymoore
-
Description:
Being half of Click4Carbon, we knew we had to get rid of the polluting Land Rover Discovery we had.
Yesterday we got a Volvo C30 drivE.
The most environmentally friendly diesel production car in the world.
In UK, cars are taxed on the amount of CO2 emissions, the Land Rover made us pay £400 per year and got an average of 32 mpg.
The Volvo cost us just £35 per year to tax and we can get upto 76.3 mpg !!!!! Massive saving both environmentally AND financially.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 324
-
National Liftshare Day - 9th J National Liftshare Day - 9th June 2009
- From: JohnRussell
-
Description:
If you want a sociable way to reduce local congestion and pollution - and save yourself money - check out LIFTSHARE.
Car Sharing is taking off in the UK: over 330,000 people have already joined the FREE LIFTSHARE NETWORK. You can either offer a lift, request a lift, or take turns driving. There are tens of thousands of journeys on Liftshares database which people want to share, so the odds are that someone who lives near you is also going your way.
The typical commuter who car shares every days cuts C02 emissions by about a tonne a year. And for every driver that starts car sharing, another car is taken off the road. It's also great from bringing communities together - friendships are made that last long after the car sharing arrangment is no longer needed.
Tuesday 9th June is National Liftsahre Day - what better day to give it a try!?!
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 243
- Not yet rated
-
Bluebells Bluebells
- From: adeymoore
-
Description:Bluebells surround the trees at Ashridge, near Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire.
- 1 year ago
- Views: 244
-
Spuds! Spuds!
- From: adeymoore
-
Description:This parked car was crushed when a trailer full of potatoes toppled on to it in Wragby Road, Lincoln. No one was hurt but the road was shut.
- 1 year ago
- Views: 170
- Not yet rated
-
3rdwhale's Greenest Person on 3rdwhale's Greenest Person on the Planet Contest
- From: BobCarbon
-
Description:
Who is the Greenest of them all?
April 22, 2009 - Earth Day, launched this year's Greenest Person on the Planet Contest.Last year's contest was a huge success, with international coverage and over 600 applicants from 24 different countries.
This year they're going to reach even farther, and inspire even more people to act to create change in the world!
Whether you enter the contest, or want to have your say in who will get to the next level and be named the Greenest Person of 2009 - we'll get you the inside scoop at every step of the contest.
Matthias Gelber 2008 WinnerLast year we supported Matthias.
Check out what the Green Man has been up to!And Blog to let us know if you think others are worth supporting.
Watch the Launch Video Now!
Brought to you by National Geographic Canada - Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 364
- Not yet rated
-
Matthias Gelber Matthias Gelber
- From: BobCarbon
-
Description:Winner of the 3rdwhale's Greenest Person on the Planet Contest
- 1 year ago
- Views: 468
- Not yet rated
-
Buy Eco Friendly Knickers! Buy Eco Friendly Knickers!
- From: JohnRussell
-
Description:
It all began as a student project - but now GreenKnickers looks set to stay.
The undies which are kind to the planet, have proved so popular that the zero carbon pants have sold out and a new wedding range is to be launched.
Sarah Lucy Smith came up with the idea for her final project while doing the Eco Design course at Goldsmiths university.
She then teamed up with her school friend Rose Cleary-Southwood, and GreenKnickers was born.
Sarah said: "We started GreenKnickers to prove that ethical can be funny, beautiful and sexy.
"The fabrics are so gorgeous, and super-duper green.They're selling extremely well.
"Some customers say they're the comfiest knickers they've ever worn."
The knickers are made from environmentally friendly fabrics, like organic cotton, hemp and silk. Goods from abroad are shipped by sea and staff travel by bike.
Each pair arrives in a box made from recycled paper and printed with organic vegetable based inks.
The global warming knickers are printed with thermo-chromic inks, and change colour as they warm up.
There is also a range of cycling smalls with removable padding to encourage people to reduce their carbon footprint.
At the moment GreenKnickers operates online, but Sarah said: "If the business continues to be successful I would love to open up a boutique."
Around 80% of the wholesale value goes to the suppliers.
But at a cost of up to £25-a-pair, plus £3 postage and packaging, you will have to pay the price to do your bit.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 328
- Not yet rated
-
Chickens Chickens
- From: RobLyons
-
Description:
Well, believe it or not, me and my partner have decided to invest in some chickens. What for? Simple...Eggs. What I decided was to start keeping a blog to let you know of the trials and tribulations of doing this from a person who willing to give it a go but has no idea what is in store.
We only have a small garden, and frankly its only just big enough to swing a cat (or our dog) in. We're not going on a self-sufficiency crusade, but if this blog helps sway anyone out there to get the courage to do this, then I've done my job.First things first.... we needed housing for them. We considered trying to build a chicken coop, but as we seem to spend longer and longer working at the computer these days, we thought we'd cheat and buy something in. We're also not the "Smiths vs Jones" type either, but on this occasion we found something that made a pretty cool and trendy statement and even become a feature in the garden.
The product is called an Eglu Cube. Its made of plastic and comes with a chicken run of a couple of metres. And here's a picture of it:
So, where are we now?We ordered the Eglu Cube along with 6 chickens. The company, if you're interested is Omlet, and can be found by Omlet Eglu Cube.
Here's the crunch.... the one we bought just cost us in the region of £600. So this is as much of a lifestyle choice as it is an economic decision. It will take us a while to recoup (pardon the pun) the monies invested by accumulating and even selling the eggs. But before you lose interest due to the pricing rememer this:
- We got 6 chickens
- a raft load of accessories
- A delivery guy who is going to install, the Eglu Cube and show us how to clip the wings so the chickens don't fly over to nextdoor too often.
Our delivery date is 5th May 2009 so we are waiting in anticipation on our new fine feathered friends.
Hopefully in the next few weeks and months I'll have plenty to say on the trials and tribulations of a chicken farmer (Is there a technical term for someone that does that?). So please keep coming back, and give me your thoughts too.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 387
-
Eglu Cube Eglu Cube
- From: RobLyons
-
Description:A fantastic idea for keeping chickens in your garden.
- 1 year ago
- Views: 387
- Not yet rated
-
Landfill and Easter! Landfill and Easter!
- From: adeymoore
-
Description:
What's the most egregious offender in the matter of excess packaging? There are some who think it's the Easter egg, spewing waste plastic and foil into our landfill.
What is an Easter egg?
Is it a chocolate egg, perhaps accompanied by some mini chocolate bars or truffles?
Or is it a combination of the items above with gaudily coloured, glossy card, a plastic box and shiny foil, all jumbled into one seductive whole.
That's the issue that the giants of the confectionery industry have been wrestling with for the last few years.
On the one hand there are voices from the environmental lobby that single out the Easter egg as quite the most outrageous piece of overpackaging in the realm of retail. On the other there are consumers whose eye needs to be drawn to products that make them feel like they want to give them as a gift.
Jo Swinson, Lib Dem MP for Dunbartonshire East, has been campaigning against excess packaging for several years.
"Easter eggs are obviously one of the worst examples of excessive packaging you can find. It is going to taste the same whatever box it comes in. It doesn't make any sense to pay for excess packaging."
Boxing cleverer
Last year she named and shamed various overpackaged eggs including one from Nestle. This year the confectionery giants have seen which way the wind is blowing.
Nestle has eliminated many of the plastic inserts - used to hold the egg in place and protect it - from its boxes and reduced the amount of cardboard used.
BIG REDUCTIONS
- Cadbury's: Treasure eggs which have no box, other eggs' carton sizes cut by 25%
- Nestle: Many plastic inserts removed, packaging reduced 30%
- Mars: Carton weight reduced 42%, plastic insert weight reduced 35%
- M&S: Packaging reduced 30%
Mars is using print ads to trumpet its reduced packaging, and Cadbury's is shrinking boxes, having also introduced its Treasure Eggs range that don't come in a box.But Ms Swinson says the confectionery giants still have some way to go and that further reductions in box size are required.
Andy Dawe, from waste and recycling action group WRAP, says it is important to remember that there is a functional element to egg packaging.
If packaging prolongs the shelf life of an egg, then waste is avoided. If packaging stops eggs being damaged in transit, then again waste is avoided.
"But one of the biggest concerns for consumers is when they can't recycle the packaging that is presented to them."
Bulky boxes
What you can and can't recycle varies from borough to borough, but there will be many people unable to recycle plastic inserts and even the foil on the egg can probably only be recycled by about 50% of households.
Then there is the environmental cost of transporting bulky egg boxes containing, well, very little egg.
"You are paying to transport air," says Ms Swinson. "There is still a lot of empty space in them."
But it hasn't always been this way.
Robert Opie, curator of the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising in London, and author of Sweet Memories has been in a position to chart the history of Easter egg packaging.
"In the 1920s smaller eggs might be wrapped in foil and then brought to the shop in a sturdy wooden box that would then act as a display, but there would be other larger, fancier eggs [in their own boxes]."
By the 1950s the use of light bulb style card boxes became widespread for eggs, Mr Opie says, before in the 1960s and 1970s eggs started on their journey to today's flamboyant boxes.
"Cartons became increasingly more complicated, more gifty, more wonderful, more voluminous."
But of course, Easter egg packaging cannot be stripped down totally. The logical conclusion from an environmental perspective would be an egg in a brown paper bag, or perhaps no egg at all.
"You have to bear in mind what you are giving somebody is not just a hollow egg, it is a gift," says Mr Opie. "The packaging is as much a part of the gift as the egg itself.
"Why not just give somebody a bar of chocolate of the same weight? We like the difference in texture. It has a different kind of crunch moment."
So assuming that Easter egg packaging is a compromise between attractive design and minimal environmental impact, how green can it be?
St Asaph-based product design consultancy Design Reality, which recently completely Easter egg packaging design work for Duc d'O, a Belgian chocolatier, tackled the idea.
"There are several factors that should be considered when designing such a product," Mr Evans says. "These include consumer expectations and needs, durability and strength in order to avoid damage to the fragile egg, its practicality in terms of palletisation and shelf stacking, an attractive graphical appearance and structural design, and an increasing desire of the consumer to purchase a product that is either ecologically sourced, or able to be recycled."
Design Reality's hypothetical Eco Egg would attempt to minimise the amount of material wasted.
"This involved creating a simple-sided pyramid that would fold up around the egg, with built in tabs to secure the egg inside," says Mr Evans. "The pyramid would be tied together at the top with a ribbon, thereby negating the requirement for gluing or tabs that would complicate the assembly process. The design would not require an inner plastic shell either.
"This design would inherently present a novel element to its 'unwrapping', intended to delight and surprise the consumer.
"Its four-sided pyramidal shape would also tessellate, fitting together into a pallet or shelf either by slotting together 'side by side', or using a simple punched cardboard sheet that would separate the different layers of pyramids on the shelf."
Hence, fewer lorry journeys and less fuel used.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 315
- Not yet rated
-
Pyramid Egg Pyramid Egg
- From: adeymoore
-
Description:
- 1 year ago
- Views: 176
- Not yet rated
-
Gordon Brown Herlads Green Eco Gordon Brown Herlads Green Economy Budget
- From: adeymoore
-
Description:
PM heralds 'green economy' Budget
Mr Brown pledged to aid economic recovery by 'building a greener Britain'
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is promising this month's Budget will plot a "green" route to economic recovery.Trials of electric cars, a roadside network of vehicle-charging points and incentives for environmentally friendly carmakers are among planned measures.
Mr Brown told the Independent there was scant room for further fiscal stimulus.
Instead, he said, the Budget on 22 April would be "a job creator, a quality of life improver, and an environment-enhancing measure".
Mr Brown told the newspaper: "It is not just what we do to give real help to people and business now, but about setting a path for the future as well.
"We always take into account both what we need to do now and what is the best future for the fiscal position," he said.
'Token gestures'
The Conservatives accused Mr Brown of copying their proposals for a low-carbon economy.
Shadow energy and climate change secretary, Greg Clark said: "Now that the governor of the Bank of England has aborted Gordon Brown's plans for a ruinous new debt-funded fiscal stimulus, the prime minister is desperate for something to say in the forthcoming budget.
"There needs to be a greater sense of urgency that will bring much needed jobs and help reduce emissions causing climate change": John Sauven, Greenpeace
"He has clearly alighted on Conservative polices announced by David Cameron in January to turn Britain into a low-carbon economy. These include a national network of charging points for electric vehicles, and a smart meter for every home.
"We hope Gordon Brown will implement our programme for a low-carbon economy in full, but in the past his environmental promises have proved to be hollow."
Last month, Bank of England governor Mervyn King warned against further public borrowing to fund measures to boost the economy while being questioned by MPs from the Treasury Committee.
Simon Hughes, for the Liberal Democrats, said the Budget needed to contain "more than just token gestures towards acknowledging the environmental crisis".
He said: "This government's record on the environment has been a disaster, with the approval of the third runway at Heathrow and a massive road-building programme."
'Green cities'
The Independent said trials of electric cars were likely to begin next year in two or three cities, while ministers would open talks with electricity suppliers on developing the roadside power points.
Councils would also be invited to submit bids to become Britain's first "green cities", it said.
Mr Brown has previously called for an international "green new deal" to stimulate growth.
He said that moving the UK to a low-carbon economy would create 400,000 new jobs over the next eight years.
However, he was recently criticised by the New Economics Foundation think-tank for failing to harness Labour's economic stimulus for the benefit of the environment.
'Greater urgency'
In a report, it said new green spending was "astonishingly small" compared to other spending commitments, several of which were in conflict with environmental goals.
And Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said Mr Brown's promises that economic recovery was going to be green needed to be backed up by actual delivery.
He said: "There are great targets for the delivery of renewable energy by 2020, but missed targets for 2010. And this sector of the economy is receiving nothing like the boost it needs."
New funding for greening the economy accounted for just 0.6% of the total UK stimulus package and that European competitors were rolling out national plans for electric cars while Britain was just discussing pilot schemes, he argued.
"There needs to be a greater sense of urgency that will bring much needed jobs and help reduce emissions causing climate change.
"The economy and the environment won't be saved by promises alone," he said.
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 299
- Not yet rated
-
Shoppers urged to 'get a bag h Shoppers urged to 'get a bag habit'
- From: JohnRussell
-
Description:
Shoppers are being urged to reuse their plastic bags as part of efforts to cut the billions of carrier bags handed out each year.
According to the Environment Department (Defra), consumers get through an average of more than 160 new carrier bags each year - mounting up to 13,000 in their lifetimes.
Last year, some 9.9 billion carrier bags were handed out in the UK which, if laid to end, would be enough to reach the moon and back seven times, Defra said.
The Government is launching the "get a bag habit" campaign in a bid to get people to reuse their old bags.
A YouGov poll of almost 2,500 shoppers to provide "top tips" for remembering to use bags more than once found almost half of people (49%) who reuse plastic bags keep them in their car and almost a third (29%) keep them in their handbag.
The new campaign with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) follows voluntary agreements by stores to reduce carrier bag use, which have seen the number of bags cut by more than a quarter (26%) since 2006.
In December the seven major supermarket chains - Asda, the Co-operative, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury's, Somerfield, Tesco and Waitrose - agreed a new target to cut the number of single use bags handed out by half by the end of May.
Environment Minister Jane Kennedy said: "Retailers and the public have already made great steps in the right direction and I think if we can really can 'get a bag habit' and remember to reuse our bags, it puts us on the right track to doing even more to reduce the amount of waste we're sending to landfill."
Jane Milne, business environment director at the BRC, said: "Customers have done a great deal to help us reduce the number of carrier bags issued each year by over a quarter.
"Now we all need to redouble our efforts to reach our target of halving new bag numbers by this May."
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 314
- Not yet rated
-
Maine snails Maine snails
- From: adeymoore
-
Description:This predatory snail is getting bigger - at least in the Gulf of Maine. Researchers found the snails (Nucella lapillus) are about 25% longer than they were a century ago. They suspect it is a defence against an invasive crab species that arrived from European waters nearly 200 years ago.
- 1 year ago
- Views: 213
- Not yet rated
-
City buses turn to sewage for City buses turn to sewage for 'clean' fuel
- From: JohnRussell
-
Description:
Can the key to "clean" energy be found down in the sewer? That's the idea in Oslo, where city officials soon plan to introduce buses that run on biofuels extracted from human waste.
As of 2010, the new buses are due to start plying the streets of the Norwegian capital.
"It's a win-win situation: It's carbon neutral, it hardly pollutes the environment, it's less noisy and its endlessly renewable," says Ole Jakob Johansen, one of the people in charge of the project at Oslo city hall.
The biofuel, which is methane generated by fermenting sludge, will come from the Bekkelaget sewage treatment plant which handles waste from 250,000 city dwellers.
"By going to the bathroom, a person produces the equivalent of eight litres (2.1 gallons) of diesel per year. That may not seem like a lot, but multiplied by 250,000 people, that is enough to operate 80 buses for 100,000 kilometres (62,000 miles) each," Johansen says.
Compared to diesel, biomethane is a giant green step forward.
In addition to being carbon neutral, it emits 78 percent less nitrogen oxide and 98 percent fewer fine particles -- two causes of respiratory illnesses -- and is 92 percent less noisy.
Even the price is advantageous, says Johansen.
All included, the cost of producing biofuel equivalent to one litre of diesel comes to 0.72 euros (98 cents), while diesel at the pump in Norway currently costs more than 1.0 euro.
"The fuel is less expensive but the cost of the new buses and their maintenance is higher. In total, it's about 15 percent more expensive," notes Anne-Merete Andersen of Ruter, the operator of Oslo's public transport system.
Contrary to first generation bio-ethanol, made from grains and plants, biomethane has the added advantage of not impacting food supplies, nor does it require fertilisation or deplete precious water resources.
Environmentalists are delighted.
"We've been waiting for this for a long time. It's extremely good for the climate and also for the quality of urban life," beams Olaf Brastad of the Bellona environmental organisation.
"I see absolutely no downsides. On the contrary, it is an optimal way of using a renewable energy that has always been there, just waiting to be exploited," he adds.
The initiative, if extended to Oslo's second waste treatment plant and complemented with biofuels made from food waste, could provide enough fuel for all of Oslo's 350 to 400 buses.
"If our entire fleet switched to biomethane, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by around 30,000 tonnes per year," according to Ruter.
Biofuel buses have already been introduced in several cities, including the French city of Lille and Stockholm, Sweden, where 70 such buses are already in service.
"There were some teething problems with the introduction, but now that those problems have been resolved we see that we have a fuel that works well," Sara Anderson, a biofuels specialist for Stockholm's public transport system SL, told AFP.
And, for those who remain sceptical, Johansen stressed that "there is absolutely no smell."
- Blog post
- 1 year ago
- Views: 321
- Not yet rated
-
Sunrise Sunrise
- From: adeymoore
-
Description:
"In the absence of trees, our communities would simply collapse,"
- 1 year ago
- Views: 183
- Not yet rated