Over the recent years a number of architects have taken it upon themselves to take the principle of Recycling to whole new levels, there has been a plane that uses a whole Boeing 747 in its creation, swimming pools made out of shipping containers & a whole host of other wild & wacky creations made out of rubbish. But its not just architects, almost anything can be created out of waste, what one man calls waste could be what another man calls home. I’m not talking about recycling here – I mean people have well & truly built their houses out of rubbish!

But whatever next?

Reusing a whole plane in the creation of a house is in no doubt a good handling, after all the majority of disused planes lie in graveyards in vast fields amongst their kin. Why do we not all reuse things to this extent? We may not all have the money, or the means to be building houses out of aeroplanes, sinking shipping containers into the patio may not be the wisest of moves. There are however plenty of techniques you could be undertaking at home which could help you to do your part. As proven with the examples above, reusing waste doesn’t have to be an ugly or a gruesome process, people throw away things that have surpassed their original use, but what is stopping them from being used for something else? Creation of objects such as storage devices or artworks out of the booty can often be a marvelous way to liven up your living room. On in Bradford currently is an exhibition, displaying artworks that are created entirely out of rubbish. So why not head on down, or even start making something out of your waste? The possibilities are endless.

Recently Channel 4’s Dispatches exposed the ugly truth about the International Gold Trade; despite the fast growing movement for more responsible mining, the use of child labour, extremely dangerous working conditions and masses of the environment being destroyed remains widespread. Dispatches also revealed during its program that some UK jewelers are telling their customers that their Gold or other precious metals are mined responsibly, but when confronted on this their details on their supply chains were either very unclear or just plain wrong.

Consumers who care about where their gold has come from should know that over 70 jewelers worldwide, including Fifi Bijoux, April Doubleday and Ingle & Rhode in the UK, have signed the ‘Golden Rules’; these are a set of social, human rights and environmental criteria for more responsible mining of gold and other precious metals. (For a full list of Jewelers taking part in this agreement please see HERE.

Many of the Jewelers taking part in the Golden Rules have also signed on to the ‘Bristol Bay Protection Pledge’, promising not to use gold from the proposed Pebble mine, which UK based Anglo American wants to dig at the headwaters of the world’s most valuable salmon fishery in Alaska.

As an apprentice jeweller myself I know full well the price of gold and other precious metals, plus how much people are willing to buy it for, what I didn’t know was the extent of dirty gold being allowed to be sold in the UK by our Government.

It is my opinion and I feel compelled that if a customer were to ask me where the gold I was selling to them was from that they should know exactly where from and that it be the truth. I work in a jeweler’s where the gold is not dirty and we very much so encourage recycling of gold and other precious metals, in fact so much so that I wouldn’t just let my partner scrap her gold; I made it into a ring instead, which she loves and says is just like buying a brand new piece of jewelery, it really is that easy.

I believe it is well over due that jewellers should provide assurance to their customers that they care about where their gold comes from. I believe they should be made, by the government, to encourage recycling of precious metals. Why not, we are encouraged to recycle everything else? Further more, now that I know of the Golden Rules, I will most definitely be trying to convince my boss (owner) of the shop I work in to sign up. I believe this should be done by all staff in every jewellery shop that is not signed up to these rules.

The Golden Rules calls up-on mining companies to meet the following basic standards in their operations:

• Respect basic human rights outlined in international conventions and law
• Obtain the free, prior, and informed consent of affected communities
• Respect workers’ rights and labor standards
• Ensure that operations are not located in areas of armed or militarized conflict
• Ensure that projects do not force communities off their lands
• Ensure that projects are not located in protected areas, fragile ecosystems, or other areas of high conservation or ecological value
• Refrain from dumping mine wastes into the ocean, rivers, lakes, or streams
• Ensure that projects do not contaminate water, soil, or air with sulfuric acid drainage or other toxic chemicals
• Cover all costs of closing down and cleaning up mine sites
• Fully disclose information about social and environmental effects of projects
• Allow independent verification of the above

So say you had the choice of buying a ring for lets say £500 from a jewelers who hasn’t signed the Golden Rules agreement and is unclear with the details of where their gold is from, or the same ring for £700 from a jewelers who has signed the golden rules and is clear on where their gold is from; which one would you buy? Id buy the £700 one, the reason for this is simple, I know the people who have mined this gold ring have been paid enough to feed their family, they haven’t been forced to at gun point. Yes it may be a little more expensive, but it doesn’t hurt you to save up that little bit longer, unlike the poor child who’s been treat like a slave.

Do you have a hankering to be sustainable but you don’t have much space? Consider vertical planting, you can pack a lot of growth space in a small area. If you only have a small town garden, (or even just the space beside your front door,) you can grow some plants in a sustainable way. Whether you’re using you vertical garden to grow some Vegetables or if you just have decorative flowers grown on your walls, there is a great deal of benefit that can be observed from vertical planting.

The plants can be placed into modified drainpipes & fed via rainwater runoff or elaborate irrigation systems can be created to feed the plants via their ideal method. The planters also provide a way to offset some of your carbon footprint. If you have paved over your driveway, why not grow some plants up the side of the wall instead, in order to replenish the equilibrium of plant numbers within your boundaries.

Vertical planting is also a good means of insulation for your property. Studies have shown that a layer of vegetation on the outside of your property can cut wind chill by up to 75%. This can reduce your need for central heating by up to a quarter.

This method can be used within cities in order to create pockets of highly planted space, where air is purified. This benefits the city by creating a green zone whilst offsetting carbon, looking attractive, causing spectacle, enticing tourists & having an actual practical benefit on the area. After all, why not cover all possible orifices with plants if we are going to build housing everywhere & plough roads through all avenues of the country?

The most famous Vertical gardener is a man called Patrick Blanc, an interesting article about his work can be found HERE.

There are a number of companies around now that offer Green Walls as a product, designing the wall, planting it & providing irrigation systems alongside. The arrival of companies like this on to the market show that the idea of vertical planting is catching on. People are becoming aware of the possibilities that could be mounted to their walls.

Of course many people in this area are not struggling for space, so they may argue the point that vertical planting is not a necessity for them, but as you can see from the pictures displayed below, vertical planting does not have to be ugly & very commonly is wonderous to behold.

There are various methods of vertical planting, the one for you is dependant upon the plants that you want to grow, the methods include:

-Pot Based Planting – pots are suspended above one another with enough room left between them -for the plant underneath to properly grow.

-Climbers – Plants such as sweet peas that naturally grow vertically

-& Plant walls (a system in which a column/bag of soil is attached to the wall & holes are cut into it in which plants are rooted into, so they grow out of the side.)

What about the issues?

There are some issues with vertical planting, but these are easily addressed, they include preservation of structural integrity – this can be achieved by adding a layer of waterproof material to the outside of your property, or a layer of foam that the plants can root into. These methods both preserve your property. In the case of a drastic move in alignment on the idea of vertical planting, or if you are moving property & the next proprietors of the property are not as enlightened then the vertical planting can be removed (maybe even packed away to bring with you,) swiftly. Plants that are not strongly rooted may also be an option although they may not be as hardy to change in weather, but other planting methods can rectify this situation.

Although some plants may be unable to grow in such extreme growing conditions, the different methods of planting can account for that. With some feeding systems, there can be issues with the distribution, whether that’s just water or plant food, it is often the case that the plants situated nearer to the water supply are over-watered & the plants at the bottom are under-watered. There are methods around this, using irrigation or sprinkler systems, or you can use specially designed foam that distributes water evenly within itself when it is fed through the top of it.

Whether you grow vegetables or just use this as a means to get more plants into your life, I can’t recommend the idea of vertical planting enough.

The Energyshare is a website offering the opportunity to gain funding for energy sharing projects in local areas, the ATC have put forward their own project on the site & we would like as much support as possible to push the project forward. There is a lot of power in the valley & this project could be the key to unlocking it.

The creation of an efficient and financially sustainable community energy infrastructure will be delivered through an Energy Energy Services Company (ESCo) which will coordinate the following 7 strands:

1. Initial development of 3 key hydro power sites where feasibility studies have shown a good return and partnerships links are already formed.
2. Establish a revolving fund to channel funds from developed sites into further renewable energy development; guaranteeing financial sustainability.
3. Provision of technical, legal and financial advice to the local community regarding new site development
4. Promotion of the benefits and potential capacity of renewable energy in Calderdale
5. Secure additional finance for renewable energy infrastructure
6. Administer a brokerage service for the sale of energy from renewable energy systems
7. Develop in-house skills and community skills through training and practical experience leading to employment opportunities

This proposal offers an innovative finance mechanism that will generate a further £2.5 million in Calderdale.

ATC Energyshare

In recent weeks figures suggest up to half of Britons are avoiding the suggested culprits behind the recent outbreaks of the bug. It has killed 22 people and left 3000 ill in Germany. Due to cucumbers being attributed to the outbreak originally there have been figures suggesting around a quarter of the UK have decided to shun the vegetables. Bean sprouts are another vegetable receiving a wave goodbye from our shopping lists in the coming weeks, after German examples have been discovered to be the likely bearer of the bug.
What are the implications to this though? What happens if Britons stop eating these vegetables for a while? There have already been implications along the supply chain, with vegetables being left in supermarkets; the cautious nature of our public has once again taken the better of us. This outbreak will damage the success of a number of farmers, but maybe this means that British grown vegetables will take a large turn up in trade. Who knows it may even push the public into their gardens. The European Commission has suggested a £135,000,000 bailout for the farmers, paying a proportion of the cost of the products they were unable to sell. This amount of money may be a required off set however as with the temporary demise of agriculture a number of countries economies will take a hit, losing out on what is a large proportion of exports in a lot of countries around Europe. If this happens, the Euro will likely take a knock in its economic strength temporarily. Without the bailout however, its implications may last a lot longer. Some countries including Russia & Bahrain even temporarily banned the input of vegetables from other European countries during this period of fear & crisis.

In the midst of this infestation, there is in fact no need to be worried about yourself getting infected, it has been tracked to one area around Hamburg in Germany, with all cases being attributed to that area (all the sufferers in the UK have recently travelled to the area.)

E.coli is an airborne virus, but it can also be transferred from human to human or through animals, seeds & crops, the seeds of the crops could be where the virus has come from, as E coli is often genetically added to crops to make them resistant to insects (by harming the insects on them). Using this method damages the soil in the coming years, slowly diminishing the quality of the soil, making inferior yields in the upcoming seasons. But promise of gain in the short term is often a good reason for using a product, without thinking about the long term effects. This then increases the yield on the crops temporarily. Seeds are often sold on to other farmers for planting themselves, or used as animal feed. When used as animal feed, the seeds can then be in the meat of the animals. Although this may not be a problem in a lot of cases as the virus can not live if heated to a level of over 140 degrees for a sustained period of around a minute. The animals are however treated with antibiotics which stop them from becoming contaminated by the E.coli & other “treatments” that they are administered with in the high density farms that many of them are reared in.

If the animals are resistant to the E.coli then what does this mean for the farming industry?
Well farms are often situated close by or downstream from the High Density farms, meaning that the virus can become waterborne & then infect the soil or the land that it is grown on. This also makes the land less fertile, by killing the insects that inhabit it, causing further problems

What can we do to avoid E.coli then? Hygiene around the kitchen is a big must, alongside ensuring the use of cooked food & use of organic (preferably local) produce. This helps to keep our carbon footprint down as well as ensuring our own safety. If enough of us heed the advice then maybe we could even reduce the need for genetically modified mass produced food which is aiding the spread of viruses & is capable of eliminating the world in the long run; both economically & via the spread of produce that is riddled with anti-biotic resistant viruses.

As we know seeds and animals are both administered with e coli in a bid to create safer conditions, but what sense does it make to administer a virus that is endlessly changing in order to be able to survive and creating immunity to the drug that is restraining it.

The Farming industry will be affected by this crisis, however it may be beneficial to British farmers, but one thing it does show is that we should all buy organic in order to stop the usage of these genetically modified products that are both inferior products & capable of being harmful to our health.

We have seen various numbers being flung around by the government in the past, mostly to no avail, other than that they push a few meagre (albeit appreciated) energy schemes through when it’s getting to the last minute & they are realising that they haven’t a hope of reaching their target. So the new target? – A limit on the total amount of greenhouse gases to be emitted by the UK between 2023 & 2027 to be a reduction of 50% 1990 levels and furthermore this is to enable the UK on the way to a cut of 80% of carbon emissions by 2050. I think I can be forgiven for thinking it seems a little far fetched. This is supposedly showing this government’s commitment to being the greenest government ever. Despite the fact it is going to be a very short lived & disrespected government – this target seems as though they are once again not doing anything about the problem, only extending deadlines so that they sound more impressive, but instead – alas just pandering it off to the next government who then look worse when the plans don’t come to fruition.

Maybe it’s time to look to new technologies for the answers then? In recent weeks, I have highlighted a number of new technologies that could be a part of the answer to our energy crisis. So is the government actually doing anything currently to push us further towards the target than the previous governments have? Well the renewable heat incentive is on the cards, although it is just a rehash of the late low carbon buildings program. The idea is there however for the United Kingdom to become a ‘green economy’ highlighting the fact that their need not be a tension between green & growth. Although this seems like a promising beginning, there are yet no big new plans created by this government in order to help us towards these ambitious targets, it is a step in the right direction.

Still in argument is a possible target for a 30% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020. If this goes ahead it will mean that a great deal of change in the standards of living, & the quality of services provided to us. We will see the introduction of an energy grid and we will start to see the beginnings of technologies that are not wasteful; like CHP boilers providing energy for our homes. We will have to see grants introduced to help people set up systems in their own homes & the feed in tariffs must continue on in a manner that is going to allow people who haven’t got a backlog of money to participate. More MCS registered products & fitters must be introduced in order to make a competitive market place & drive the prices down.

This is an aggressive move by the government & I hope they realise this; now is the time to act if they want their plans to be realised, action must spread if we want to see the benefits in the future.

Patrick

Combined Heat & Power (CHP, Cogeneration, Total Power) is a means of generating electricity out of the waste from other processes It comes in varied scales – from generating hundreds of megawatts using the super heated steam waste from large power stations, to Micro CHP systems that generate electricity via the steam from your boiler. The methods are generating electricity from what is otherwise considered waste.

In The Home

CHP in the home comes in the form of a special boiler that has a generator attached, they work in the same way as a normal gas boiler aside from the fact that less waste comes out of the flue. The benefit in the CHP boilers is that they can generate around half of the electricity that is needed within your home, alongside the fact that the feed in tariff will pay you for electricity generated in this renewable* method. The feed in tariff is guaranteed for 10 years, so that initial investment that you put in for one of these boilers is guaranteed to be paid off in that time. Available products that make use of CHP in this country include the Ecogen system that is currently being advertised by British Gas, other available boilers that use micro CHP are the Genlec Kingston system & the Whispergen system.

*Renewable

Yes you get the feed in tariff for this & yes it is definitely better for the environment than your average boiler – but can it truly be considered renewable? Currently the only way a micro CHP system (home based) can work is via the use of fossil fuels, usually natural gas is in fact the only method of using one of these boilers.

Other Benefits

The method relies on the use of grid electricity as it does not generate enough electricity to solely depend upon it, generating roughly 1kW per hour. This figure may not seem too large, but it is enough to power around 10 energy efficient light bulbs, along with a computer & washing machine. Now imagine a power cut, this 1 kW would be an amount that would be incredibly helpful in this situation, ensuring that you are not plunged into total darkness.

CHP is a proven method that has been in use in mainland European countries for some time (particularly Denmark) & has shown that it has some worth in modern day society, if it could be powered by a totally renewable means then it could be a phenomenal technology, ensuring that waste is kept down to a minimum. For now though, backed by a large campaign by British Gas, can micro CHP boiler systems become a mainstream product on UK shores?

High altitude wind could be a large step towards our targets of renewable energy in the future – whilst the wind at ground level is very apparent to us & we can effectively harvest it for its energy, the rewards for wind at high altitudes are even greater. With much more consistent levels of faster wind than at the surface. Now that technologies are available which can harvest this wind, maybe we should start looking up to the skies for our energy. It is approximated that over their lifespan, the various technologies of high altitude wind farming can generate electricity for 1-2 pence per kW/h, which is cheaper than the 3.7 – 5.2 pence that it costs for generating electricity at onshore wind farms. This figure is even lower than the 2.2 pence per unit generated at coal power stations.

There are a number of means for collecting the power from HAWT (High Altitude Wind Turbines) using technologies that are both lighter & heavier than air. These include rotating blimps, tethered kites, kytoons, miniature computer guided model aeroplanes & many more.

So why are we not already reaping the benefits of HAWT?

Well as with other technologies, there are a number of downsides. Although they do not require large amounts of maintenance, most would need reeled back in during adverse weather condition, which could be a costly & time consuming job. As with regular wind turbines, most HAWT interfere with radar – this fact has already halted the production of ground based wind farms that could have constituted for 10000MW’s of power in the US alone. Dependant on the altitude of the turbines (they range from a few hundred feet to up in the jet stream – that is normally reserved for aeroplanes.) the turbines may be approved or disapproved – positioning of the turbines away from any obstacles however could be a viable method. Considering all of these facts, maybe we should start embracing the idea of HAWP as it cheaply, quickly & effectively harnesses the power of the wind. Most designs are not visible for a large proportion of time & the velocity of high altitude wind is fairly consistent globally – meaning it would be possible to either avoid the paths of aeroplanes (on a local or national standpoint,) or better yet, creating a large farm of HAWT in places where planes very rarely fly & radar is infrequently used.

Heating

The heat used in our homes, public buildings, businesses and factories is responsible for around half of all the energy consumed in the UK, and accounts for roughly half of all the UK’s carbon emissions.

RHI

The Government is taking a phased approach to implementing the RHI. Initially, in the first phase, long-term tariff support will be targeted at the big emitters in the non-domestic sector. This sector, which covers everything from large-scale industrial heating to small business and community heating projects, will provide the vast majority of the renewable heat needed to meet the targets and represents the most cost-effective way of increasing the level of renewable heat. The Government therefore wants to provide support now in order to kick-start take-up in this sector.

As part of the first phase, the Government will also introduce Renewable Heat Premium Payments for the domestic sector. They have ring-fenced funding of around £15 million, which will be used to make premium payments to households who install renewable heating.

Premium Payment ‘likely levels’

These direct payments will subsidise the cost of installing qualified renewable heating systems.

The government will consider focusing support for primary heating systems, such as heat pumps and biomass boilers, on households off the gas grid, where fossil fuels like heating oil are both more expensive and have a higher carbon content. They aim to launch the Renewable Heat Premium Payments in July 2011 and will announce further details in May 2011.

A second phase of RHI support will include long-term tariff support for the domestic sector. This is to be introduced in 2012 to coincide with the introduction of the Green Deal for Homes.

Domestic Technologies supported

The RHI will only include technologies which the European Commission considers to be renewable under the Renewable Energy Directive.

The RHI is not intended as a mechanism to support innovative technologies in development or early deployment phase; the intention is to support technologies which we are confident can make a significant contribution to meeting the UK’s renewables target.

Biomass boilers

Solid biomass will be eligible for the RHI only where that heat is generated using biomass boilers specifically designed and installed to burn biomass.

Heat pumps (ground, water source)

Ground and water source heat pumps will be eligible for the RHI provided they meet certain eligibility requirements. However, air source heat pumps will not be supported from the outset because more work is needed to better understand the costs associated with the technology and, for air to air heat pumps, work is ongoing to develop a robust methodology for measuring heat delivered in the form of hot air. Subject to successful conclusion of this work and other factors it is intended to extend eligibility to this technology from 2012.

Eligible heat pumps will be required to have a coefficient of performance of 2.9 or above, as a proxy for the EU standard for renewable energy measured. This is to help ensure that heat pumps provide a good return in terms of renewable output and that ultimately, they represent value for money.

Solar thermal

Solar thermal panels (liquid filled flat plate or evacuated tube solar collectors) will be eligible for support.

NOTE: For all these technologies a capacity of up to and including 45kW will have to be MCS, or equivalent, certified.

For any installation larger than 45kWth, Ofgem will verify eligibility based on the documentation required from RHI applicants as part of the accreditation process.

A full copy of the Renewable Heat Incentive can be found here.

Our first Solar Cooker attempt was a Heat Trap Box design, we modified 2 cardboard boxes and created  large coned lip around the edge of the large outer box, we then wedged in the smaller oven segment by using some Thermafleece insulation. The inner surfaces were all coated with tin foil (intended to bounce the suns rays into the inner box – where the heat is stored due to the insulation (and a tempered glass panel over the top hole.) Two bricks were also placed within the inner section in order to store the heat that makes its way in – whilst also handily acting as shelves to store our attempted cookery over the top of it. Unfortunately this cooker was not a great success, in the height of last weeks glorious sun it reached a peak temperature of around 40 degrees in the centre of the oven – which although is quite an increase in temperature – this is evidently not hot enough to cook an egg. This concluded our first day of experimentation, however it did not deter us from continuation. The next day we came back with a vengeance – smoothing off the edges with some new tin foil and attempting to adjust the angles of the edges in order to direct more sunlight into the oven section – whilst also using vegetables as our food stuff of choice for cooking (chosen due to the fact that they can be eaten whether they are cooked or not) We also angled the oven towards the sun intermittently in order to ensure the focus of the sun was correct for longer periods of the day.The tomatoes & salad were happily cooking (more accurately: drying & warming) in the sun & so we decided to create another oven which cooked by using perfect mirrors to create a parabolic curve which points the focus of all the sun hitting the oven at a skewer which is elevated in the middle – & more specifically at the food on the skewer. The oven itself is constructed by using roughly half of a segment of Sunpipe, which was held in position by being attached into a perfectly sized cardboard box. A segment of metal coat hanger that was roughly straightened was then pushed though the edges where the sun was focused (It ended up slightly lower down than we had anticipated – due to slight over curvature within the mirror but nevertheless, we attached a number of pieces of tomato to the skewer, aimed the oven towards the sun, covered the box with clingfilm as a rudimentary form of insulation & then aimed it at the sun throughout the day, which quite effectively heated the tomatoes to a level at which we decided to eat them alongside some hummus & pitta bread.

Alongside these ovens, we also experimented with other means of solar cookery, by using our homemade solar water heater, in this we tried first to cook some eggs – but despite the amount of time we gave them and the evident steaming heat of the water (roughly 60 degrees) the eggs did not cook. I think that this was due to the thick shell of the eggs having come from local free range Hens. This however was not an end to our cookery experiments with the water heater, on Friday we steamed some vegetables with the water heater, floating some mixed vegetables on the surface in a metal tray on the surface of the water and then sealing in the steam by coating the top of the tank with cling film, which successfully steamed the veg which Adam then thoroughly enjoyed eating.