Tesla, whose production of slick and sexy electric cars has earned them a name as an emerging power in the motoring industry, have seen that growing reputation rewarded with news of a partnership with car giants Toyota.

The two companies have made a commitment to work closely in developing further solutions for the design and production of electric vehicles, with the hope that continued research – not to mention the coming together of two reputable innovators – will yield greater opportunities for the advancement of an exciting and important industry.

The news represents an important development indeed, with Toyota pledging $50 million in Tesla’s public stock; it is hoped that such an investment can buoy Tesla’s eye for continued technological development with the security that comes with the support that comes with one of the world’s biggest and most well known car manufacturers.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk welcomed the partnership, stating as follows:

“Toyota is a company founded on innovation, quality, and commitment to sustainable mobility. It is an honor and a powerful endorsement of our technology that Toyota would choose to invest in and partner with Tesla…We look forward to learning and benefiting from Toyota’s legendary engineering, manufacturing, and production expertise”.

For the environmentally minded, the Toyato-Tesla commitment represents an exciting prospect indeed: to date, Tesla’s car manufacture and distribution has entered the thousands, but Toyota’s power of PR reaches far and wide, so that Tesla’s work looks set to reach a much wider audience.

And deservedly so. With Tesla continuing their production and innovation in green cars, and given the extra support of such a heavyweight manufacturer, electric cars could well get the exposure that has long been needed.

Given that cars contribute greatly to annual CO2 emissions worldwide, development of alternative means for transport are of grave importance; the joint work now beginning between Tesla and Toyota will help development of those alternative means now becoming a tangible and practical reality.

Posted under Cars & Transport

Speak the words ‘mortgages’,’ insurance’, ‘pensions’ or ‘investments’, and most won’t readily jump for the anchor of ‘ethical’; for many years now, we’ve generally come to accept that anyone looking to taking a part in your financial dealings is looking at their own gain more than our protection.

Nothing says that has to be the case, of course, and, just as the ethical outlook is becoming fashionable across a number of industries, the financial sector is subject to its own infiltration from those with good at heart.

Investing Can be Ethical Too

Investing Ethically Ltd, a Norwich-based group of independent consultants who have united under one banner in order to provide ethical financial advice, are a perfect case in point.

Believing that investment practices, whilst looking to achieve profits for those who undertake to invest, should also reflect the beliefs of those who invest, Investing Ethically have made it clear that their investment plans will void companies, however profitable, that would leave their clients in a position where they could be indirectly funding the following:

• The production, sale and trade of arms and weapons.
• Animal experimentation and intensive farming.
• Tobacco.
• Alcohol.
• Pornography.
• Companies that trade with countries which abuse human rights.
• Environmental pollution.
• Nuclear power.
• The development and use of genetically modified organisms.

Whilst profit making enterprises are of course an important part of their agenda – an investment company that wasn’t could struggle indeed – Investing Ethically try to ensure that their dealings are not only ethical but open; one of their core principles is that companies with whom they will invest for clients must ‘be open about their activities’.

Sustainable Investment

Underpinning these ethical commitments is a belief in the development of long-term relationships with their client base; whilst sensible investment should always be about getting the maximum from one’s assets, Investing Ethically look to harbour success in investment with projects that can have genuine social and ethical benefits.

In other words, the company turn archetypal investing on its head by making sure that a customer is not only seeing benefits from their investments but are also taking an active and impassioned role in the investment process, supporting projects that would interest or move them.

Sounds Great – What Services Do They Offer?

Amongst others, Investing Ethically offer consultancy on ISAs, buy to let investments, mortgage protection, inheritance tax advice, and equity release.
For a full list of their services, visit them at investing-ethically.co.uk

Posted under Articles, Money & Finance

In the age of contraception, child birth has a taken on a moral angle that existed far less acutely in the past: the question around having children now represents a real decision to be made, and increasingly it seems that many environmentally conscious parents-to-be are further being pressured into accepting an anti-procreation stance, encouraged by thinkers who argue that further population growth in a carbon-led economy will do untold damage to the planet.

It’s a hotly contested issue; literally a matter of life and death, the environmental debate over population control is the clearest symbol of our own acknowledgement or denial of the benefits and detriments of our presence in the natural order, with advocators of population slow-down admitting in essence that the human race, multiplied, equals multiplied destruction.

The moral jury is still out on the subject, though. In the Guardian’s green living blog, Lucy Siegle has argued as follows:

To spawn or not to spawn? Naturally the planet has a view. Hitherto its mouthpiece has appeared to be the Optimum Population Trust (patron: David Attenborough)Proc. Its core message: that the projected 70-80 million additions to earth every year represent environmental catastrophe. Every day 10,000 new inhabitants will, according to the OPT, begin using life-sustaining resources and emit carbon when the planet just can’t take it. We are no longer able to live on the interest from the earth’s natural capital – we are eating into the actual capital. The OPT’s “Stop at Two” pledge encourages us to stop procreating after we’ve replaced ourselves. But eco warriors send mixed messages. For every Norwegian sex activist wanting to “Fuck For Forest” (a non-profit “erotic ecological organisation” which involves more than just treehugging), there’s a green campaigner angsting over oestrogen pollution from the pill and condoms killing coral reef.

Where lies the answer? And can pro-environmental rationale really validate potential population controls? The gravity of the issue draws heavy attention to the potential sacrifices one might have to make as an environmentalist, and also the absurd weight of the issue to which we must all throw ourselves – to the point of an unsolvable despair, for some – if as a populace we are to tackle and redress the damage so far done as a result of our carbon culture.

The ultimate problem, though is this: regardless of moral questions, is it ever going to be practical to ask people to stop having sex?

Let’s see.

Posted under Articles

Over the last six months weather in Britain has been a little bit freaky. From several bouts of snow – the heaviest and most frequent to have fallen for a good few years – to several periods of doom and gloom and torrential downpours, it’s been something of a grey blur, and the spring doesn’t look set to kick in either: with April approaching, the usual ‘April showers’ are giving way to torrents of rain and little sunshine.

Given that sunshine was a little too sparse for some last summer too, the grey haze that has been an eradication of “traditional” seasons could be worrying for some Take a little comfort, then, from recent information which suggests that the Middle ages were even wetter; in fact, one study is linking the strange lack of sunshine to the “black death”.

Ominous indeed: what could the adverse effects of our changing seasons be? Though calls for a new weather induced-black-death-pandemic would be a little on the ridiculous side, what this information does show is that climate can have a real effect on a given population. Now, this wouldn’t be the place for speculation on what that effect could be in the modern era, but it’s certainly food for thought the nonetheless.

And it dispels that view that things in the good ol’ days of yore were better, doesn’t it?

Faint witticisms aside, it does represent an interesting thought experiment: is our climate just fostering a misery in us or is it going to have biological effects too? Whilst the link between climate and the plague of the Middle Ages certainly represents an exceptional circumstance, it raises certain questions about what we’re doing not only to the “environment” around us but also ourselves, in our society of high-carbon output;.

Hmm.

And if you’re wondering how people worked out that the Middle Ages had wetter summers, here follows the answer, from Professor Dr Jan Esper of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz:

“Annual growth rings provide us with an accurate indication of summer droughts for each individual year, dating back to late medieval times”

Who knew the insides of trees could be that interesting?

Posted under Articles, Climate

Not always high on the list of questions when it comes to the ins and outs of a new government budget, the impact of shifts in public spending on potential environmental targets is nonetheless an important issue. With the new budget announced, it’s imperative that discussions over its potential for environmental reform are brought to light.

What then, were the environmental concessions?The Guardian reported as follows:

“It looked like the palest of green budgets but Treasury calculations suggested that the series of small but significant transport, tax and investment measures announced could cumulatively lead to the reduction of nearly 80m tonnes of CO2 – nearly 15% of all UK climate change emissions – by 2020. The biggest benefits, said the Treasury, should come from the new green investment bank which the government hopes will encourage a £2bn kick-start for the low carbon economy. Together with initiatives – that the chancellor did not specify in his speech – to encourage biomass burning as opposed to fossil fuels, help for electric and other ultra-low carbon vehicles, this could lead to a saving of 51m tonnes of CO2 by 2020, it says. The new bank, it said, will have an exclusive low carbon focus, and will concentrate on green transport infrastructure and offshore wind.”

When combined with plans from the Department of Energy and Climate Change – which, through the Low Carbon Transition Plan, is looking to change the way that the UK produces and consumes – the new budget could have some favourable environmental impacts. Indeed, a 15% drop in the UK’s total carbon emissions is no bad thing, and whilst many might argue that a larger cut would be needed, the percentage represents something of a commitment when it’s considered that the current government could have been replaced, come May.

What it does show is that, whilst many would favour strong environmental commitments, the practical implications of such commitments aren’t so well supported; the green benefits of the new budget have slipped many by, as people (quite understandably) focus on those shifts which will more greatly affect their day to day lives.

Nonetheless, the new 2010 budget has made some useful steps toward a progressive environmental policy, and given the circumstance, should get some fair praise indeed.

Posted under Environmental News

At the heart of our problem of global warming is CO2 emissions, and the root cause of that issue can be boiled down to the mining and use of fossil fuels as a way of generating electricity for the vast power grids that keep in operation the world’s most developed countries; even a nation like the UK alone – which, because of it’s size, generates little in comparison to some countries – contributes heavily to annual worldwide CO2 emissions levels, and when you include large industrial nations like India, the US and China, it’s easy to see how quickly our current carbon-heavy economies are contributing to a seemingly unsolvable problem.

Plenty of companies, though, are looking to do the little they can to make a dent in that carbon monopoly; in the UK alone companies like Ecotricity, Green Energy UK and Good Energy are showing that when you compare green energy suppliers with more traditional coal-based suppliers, the ethical angle has a lot to offer.

Offering plenty of options – from 100% green energy tariffs to low mix renewable energy solutions -  this new generation of energy suppliers are fighting corner to corner and toe to toe with their older rivals. Growing in popularity at an impressive rate (most of us hadn’t heard of Ecotricity, Good Energy or Green Energy UK 5 years ago, but most interested parties now treat them like household names) these companies understand that saving energy is incredibly important, and that – if trends are to be believed – such companies can always compete with more traditional energy companies because green electricity prices follow brown.

And so, the ‘Green Three’ can continue their good job safe in the knowledge that they won’t be too easily priced out of the market for having ethical commitments at the bottom of their business beliefs. It’s hoped, too, that with the government’s UK Low Carbon Transition Plan, these companies might get more attention from government, and increase their output that way. If they do, then it will mean a better service and more availability for the average customer, and should allow for green energy suppliers to grow and grow.

FOr those who want to compare gas and electricity companies, Ecoswitch takes care of all the hard work. Just visit www.ecoswitch.com/greenenergy, where you can compare green energy tariffs and save a bundle in just a few minutes.

Remember: a little time out now could save a lot!

Posted under Articles, Gas & Electricity

With British local elections taking place on May 6, it’s a fairly open secret that the current Labour government will call the general election for the same day in order to increase voter turnout and have a decent shot at retaining power, with pre-election polls showing that the gap between the Conservatives and New Labour are narrowing.

The potential change of government, of course, remains. With that change would come potentially influential changes in policy, and that will apply to the still forming UK environmental policy and legislation, as much as with more established policy areas.

Given that the growing interest in environmental policy led to Labour’s formation of the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), and that the department is still in its infancy (it was formed in October 2008), an understanding of the effects of a shift in government is vital.

What, then, are the potential repercussions for environmental policy after the general election in May 2010?

If the Conservatives Takes Power

On the subject of a Conservative win in the upcoming election, there is something of a resignation in the UK press. An understanding of the main points on their environmental policy, then, is a must for anyone who takes an interest in the future of sustainability and the environment in Britain.

They have pledged to enact the following:

• Offer every household a Green Deal, the right to have up to £6,500 worth of home insulation improvements, enabling households to reduce their energy bills, with the costs being met from the much greater savings that arise;
• Transform electricity networks with ‘smart grid’ and ‘smart meter’ technology that automatically matches supply and demand, allowing a huge increase in renewable power;
• Create a decentralised energy revolution by introducing a system of feed-in tariffs to encourage micro-generation of electricity;
• Expand offshore wind and marine power and provide government backing for a network of large-scale Marine Energy Parks.

Similar to current New Labour plans in that the introduction of smart meters and a smart grid are a top priority, the Conservatives have spoken little of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) – where Miliband as will be seen, has championed it – but equally haven’t made many inroads into green energy, other than a cursory commitment to the growth of offshore wind power. Their plans for a large-scale marine energy network, though, is ambitious: how it could be implemented, though, remains to be seen.

If Labour Remain in Power

Ed Miliband will probably remain in his position as Secretary of State for the DECC, and as such remain the effective orchestrator of British environmental policy in the wake of changes to international obligation after the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit.

Generally speaking Miliband has been a popular appointment to the position of ‘Climate Change Secretary’ and would be one of the chief beneficiaries of a Labour re-election, with his generally good work having sounded him out as a potential candidate for future Labour leadership.

In his two year tenure Miliband has enacted the ‘Low Carbon Transition Plan’, and championed research into Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), which he has earmarked as a practical application of the ‘clean energy’ principle attached to the use of renewable energy, and the relatively limited funds attributed to environmental concerns from the government coffers.

A persistent presence at the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, Miliband is an active player in the international scene, and despite his relatively low profile in the UK, has carved out a reputation that makes him one of the government’s more established politicians in international negotiations.

For continuing work in environmental policy, then, a Labour re-election – provided Miliband isn’t shifted around cabinet – could be the UK’s best option. Miliband and the DECC haven’t been without their criticisms, though: tentative support for nuclear power drew many in dissenters, and CCS is a little moderate for some. His seeming silence on the large-scale production of renewable energy capabilities, too, could lead to questions about his true environmental commitments.

If There’s a Hung Parliament

Long out of power, the Liberal Democrats could see their first shot at government in decades: speculations are rife on the prospect of a hung parliament, and for the first time the Liberal Democrats have made it clear that they would consider a potential coalition with the Conservatives.

The introduction of the Liberal Democrats into government could prove for interesting changes in relation to environmental policy. That, though, would depend on the party’s decisions regarding loyalties to the UK’s two major parties.

With the Liberal Democrats, renewables seem to enter the equation:

Both Labour and Conservatives support the construction of new nuclear power stations. More nuclear power will soak up subsidy, centralise energy production and hinder development of Britain’s vast renewable resources. Nuclear has a dirty legacy and increases global security risks. We oppose construction of further nuclear power stations.

Liberal Democrats will drive a massive programme of investment in renewable energy sources such as wind, wave and solar. We will also transform the National Grid into a smart decentralised grid which will respond dynamically to the changing patterns of energy demand. Smart metering and guaranteed prices will unlock the potential of local and community energy generation, giving people control over the energy they use.

Interestingly, and alarmingly for many, it could be that only a hung parliament may draw out any potential for renewable energy investment. Given that the chance of an actual Liberal Democrat victory is highly unlikely, it would seem that all renewable energy supporters can hope for is that in a coalition government, the Liberal Democrats could pressure their chosen dominant partner into certain commitments involving the technology.

Posted under Articles, Gas & Electricity

At Ecoswitch we’re often talking up the benefits of renewable energy and green energy for the home, because it can often be cheaper, and it is certainly more environmentally friendly. What we don’t do though, is explain that switching to alternative energy is good for business.

Why Renewable Energy is a Great Way of Promoting CSR

Switching to an alternative energy company harbours the same benefits for a business as a home: it can work out cheaper, its environmentally friendly, and its stable and sustainable.

In one respect though, it is exceptional. for a business, it can be the perfect way to signal ethical considerations and a serious commitment to the corporate social responsibility of an organisation.

These days, that side of a business is more important that has ever been before, and whilst the work of an electricity and gas supply goes on silently, its useful for a business to be able to show that it practices what it preaches ethically by showing that even the way that their business is powered adheres to a code of environmental friendliness.

It might not be the most important consideration when switching to renewable energy, but its certainly one that uniquely benefits businesses and organisations.

Saving Money, Helping the Environment, Attracting Custom

Of course the fact that it may be cheaper, and that it significantly reduces CO2 emissions (in fact, on 100% renewable energy tariffs, they’re effectively zero) is still an incredibly encouraging thing at business level.

That it can also attract custom is just an extra added bonus: there are certainly individuals out there (including this writer, for one) who would see an organisation using renewable energy companies as something of a vote-swinger.

It’s important to say that it won’t do much solo – if the organisation is terrible to begin with, a green energy supply isn’t going to change things – but if its a choice between two great companies, then many would go with the one who has taken time to implement such ethical considerations.

Switching a Business to Alternative Energy with Ecoswitch

If this kind of thing sounds like the right kit and caboodle for you, then take a look at switching to renewable energy through the Ecoswitch green energy pages.All you need is geographical details and a few rudimentary stats regarding energy consumption, and you’re away.

Switching takes a few minutes, but the rewards last years. So take a look now!

Posted under Gas & Electricity

With the current spate of snow making home comforts all the more important, the usual increase in households looking to switch gas and electricity suppliers in the cold winter months could take a more drastic turn; its been a cold few months and the experts say that snow could keep falling for another two weeks.

In this cold period, then, many people will be looking at the alternatives for energy supply, either to bring down cost or to think about the energy they’re using and the wider effect that has.

Electricity Switching – The Financial Benefits

One obvious motivation for switching suppliers is to lower cost, and that’s precisely why so many people start to look at switching in winter: with thermostats going up and more electricity being used, the cost of utility bills becomes all the more apparent.

In the winter months it starts to make sense to look at keeping the heating up so as to keep out the cold, and to see if cost can be reduced in doing so.

Looking at switching suppliers in order to bring that cost down is the easiest and best way to do so, and there can often be substantial savings: on quarterly bills the difference can be one of hundreds of pounds.

Electricity Switching – The Environmental Benefits

As the heating goes up and the electricity rattles into overdrive, others think about switching for non financial reasons: all that extra heat in the house, all those extra appliances, must be having some effect on the world around them, must they not?

A common reason for switching suppliers generally, but one that also gets picked up in the colder winter months, is for environmental reasons. If a supplier can promise that the electricity and gas it supplies will have a lesser effect on CO2 emissions and global warming even as heating and electricity gets more use, then such suppliers can prove particularly popular.

Some suppliers specialise in that kind of energy particularly. Good Energy, Green Energy UK and Ecotricity were all founded with the aim of providing commercial alternative and renewable energy.

In just this instance, it can be a load off the mind if a guarantee can be made that turning up the heating won’t do the planet untold damage. A perfect reason to look into electricity switching, then.

How to Switch, Whatever the Reason

Comparing companies and switching suppliers and tariffs is simple, and can be done through Ecoswitch. Take a look at the electricity switching forms, and fill in a few simple details. The whole process, from start to finish, takes only a few minutes.

So be it financial applications or environmental concerns that might sow the seed for switching tariffs or suppliers, make sure to take a look through the compare and switch section of the Ecoswitch website.

Posted under Gas & Electricity

More than ever before the Copenhagen climate Change Summit drew interest and scrutiny on the political side of climate change and global warming problems. Now, all eyes are fixed firmly on the negotiators, and the lack of development at the summit has angered many who would brand those negotiators as the culprits, and has been reported in newspapers, on blogs, news websites and social networks.

There was nothing of the sort in 1997. The Kyoto Protocol was a matter of great press interest, but nothing of the level of scrutiny reached other forms of expression. But the move towards the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit has coincided with the rise in blogging, and now a whole host of angry activists – neither politicians nor journalists – are getting in on the act.

Putting pressure on both the politicians involved and the journalists expected to deliver interpretation of those actions to the world, blogs and social networks have allowed for an explosion of public opinion on the summit. One such example comes from Radiohead front-man Thom Yorke, who attended the summit and kept the Radiohead website in a state of frequent flux with his thoughts on the talks.

In a final flurry of anger, he wrote as follows:

“i guess this time of year is a time for serious reflection and i have been doing a lot of that since coming back from copenhagen.
you know what has stunned me coming back is the anger you can taste in the air about this, everybody i meet wants to talk about it.. everyone is angry and despairing and i have tried to remain positive when i talk to them about it.. it has perhaps awakened something in the back of the mind of sane people throughout the world who perhaps naively assumed that something positive would come of these talks.”

And anger has been the reaction for so many that it will now be hoped that the unsatisfactory deal done at Copenhagen will not be met by an equally disappointed lack of protest and backlash from those who oppose its weaknesses.Still in the immediate aftermath, it is difficult to tell. Let’s hope, though, that at a grass-roots level, something can be done.

Posted under Articles, Climate