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Carbon Reduction Commitment- a Guide For Tenants and Landlords
Posted at: 2009-09-05 16:53:13
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Very helpful, thanks for posting.
It’s good that they put this stuff online. Otherwise it’d be a nightmare to find!
The aim of the Carbon Reduction Commitment- how ”The use of market mechanisms encourages organisations to reduce their energy usage as CO2
becomes associated with a definable financial reward or cost.” — i.e. the principle of *trading* emissions, and charging organisations the purchase of ’allowances’, is an interesting way of working through emissions and carbon footprints- in a language that business understands.
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Travel guide, with British Isles eco-hotel section
Posted at: 2009-09-03 12:24:12
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Yeah, it seems like you have to ring up each hotel and ask why they’re ’eco’! It’s good having all these hotels in one place, to look at and compare, but I really don’t see why the website can’t just have a list down the side of them detailing their eco credentials. I’ve seen some hotels here that talk about their eco-friendly wood chip burning biomass heat system, but have large flat screen TVs in every room (although, I guess, there are energy-efficient TVs out there- aren’t there?).
And it seems to me that if being eco simply involves not having your sheets and towels changed, and not having a swimming pool, then pretty much any hotel could claim to be eco, just by being more lax about the laundry, and by saying ’look, we haven’t got a pool!’- i.e. the hotel is just cashing in and getting more money from the tourist by doing *less*!!! |
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English holidays- sapping wonder and shortening horizons?
Posted at: 2009-08-31 17:08:53
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Well, there is one answer. City breaks to other countries, only, travelling there by train. Although the damn prices are silly sometimes. |
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Posted at: 2009-08-29 16:10:37
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I’ve never used the stuff, but thin-film sounds really rad. It uses a very thin film of silicon-based or other material in its ’core’, rather than a load of silicon like the older types. In the lab, thin-film tech can be really efficient, and can convert up to 20% of sunlight into electricity. Better than traditional silicon photovoltaics. In mass-produced versions this efficiency is almost halved, because there’s less control of the chemicals involved, but this can be solved, hopefully, over time.
A key point is that it uses much less silicon and is therefore, in theory, much cheaper to produce, alongside it’s claims to efficiency and power conversion/production. At least 100 times less material is needed than traditional silicon photovoltaic cells, according to Scientific American. So the raw materials are cheaper. Although I’m guessing that it’s more fiddly to produce, which might raise costs.
The main manufacturing companies of these materials basically just need to overcome the lifetime durability of the material (it’s thinner, right) and the consistency of energy conversion in mass-production. But while it might be less durable in some ways it actually resists the extreme heat of the sun a lot better than the older materials, and it produces more power within extreme temperatures. They’re getting round the durability issue though- for instance, by using a large section of glass to safeguard the tender photovoltaic layers.
A great thing is that with thin-film that uses cadmium telluride inside, rather than silicon (Sharp electronic in Japan use silicon), something like 90% of the material of the product can be recycled at the end of its life- the metal, the glass, the wires.
Cadmium telluride is great also because aside from the (low quantities of) heavy metal used in the cells, production require a lot less energy to make in the first place (the production of cells and film is usually done using fossil fuels).
All thin-film can be used in a semi-transparent way to make windows in buildings, which only appear ’tinted’- a great incorporation. Used in building materials (roofing shingles too) would be a great change to building and life in general.
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Leather- eco?
Posted at: 2009-08-26 20:39:12
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I would say it is. But in the following ways.
Second hand, I think it’s fine. Leather goods can last a long time, especially thicker types. So if you buy a good jacket second-hand, then it might last you for many years, meaning you buy less and less energy is used in making the new clothes you would have bought instead.
Leather alternatives are all petroleum-based, plastic-type material. They’re terrible for the earth.
Leather is tanned and modern tanning practices can be bad- metals and chemicals are used. But there exist traditional methods using vegetables and waxes, so you can get leather that’s been made with energy saving practices and no harmful chemicals.
In terms of killing an animal, that’s more complex obviously and can’t be covered here. I’m sure most would agree it’s not responsible to kill an animal for its hide, especially considering the amount of land, resources, methane that goes with that. But if an animal is killed for food, using its hide for a good purpose is better and more efficient than wasting the dead animal…
Oh leather biodegrades if it isn’t conditioned too so a pair of shoes, it is said, might take 25-40 yrs to degrade, so that’s a plus point.
I’d say, second hand leather= definitely better than PVC fake leather etc. New leather? Unless you’re radical and think all animal ’exploitation’ should end (and that we shouldn’t waste energy on feeding animals, as it’s uneconomical feeding them so much energy and only getting a little in return, etc etc) then new leather tanned/produced with ’natural’/energy efficient means is good and gives you lasting, durable, degradable clothing.
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What are your outdoor interests?
Posted at: 2009-08-26 11:31:50
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Yeah, cycling is the best. Such an efficient machine, the design is spot on and unlikely to change significantly. Lean and light for speed and racing, and just stick a couple of paniers on the back, and you’ve got a great form of transportation for yourself and quite a lot of goods, even cross-country or for holidays, and a tent can be carried on them.
The dutch-style sit-up bikes with baskets are good for transporting stuff and going between the city if speed isn’t a concern. Their sturdiness and weight makes them ideal for people with jobs that require carrying/moving stuff, like ’creatives’ (i.e. stylists or graphic designers) who have less materials to move than, say, a carpenter, who would need a van. |
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Pub take-away packaging
Posted at: 2009-08-25 12:43:54
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Definately. I think also a discount scheme for people who bring in their own mug would work well in some settings. |
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Washing hands with lemons?
Posted at: 2009-08-24 14:38:50
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Lemons are great for cleaning the kitchen etc, and your hands, they cut through grease too.
It might save money, as well as the environment, to make your own cleaning product with lemons (and something else to bulk it up). Depends on the price of lemons I guess!
I’m not qualified enough to tell you what the environmental impact of excessive household lemon usage would be. Buy local lemons, if possible?!
I read that they are anti-bacterial and anti-septic too. |
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Pub take-away packaging
Posted at: 2009-08-23 03:03:56
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I went for a drink tonight and saw how you can take home two pints of beer in a special carton, tetra-pack presumably.
The carton is gonna have such a short life-span. From the pub, to the home, where it’s emptied, and then thrown away.
I’m presuming there’s plastics and all sorts in the tetra pack and that it can’t be put in the recycling bin.
I like the idea of a take away from the pub but this seemed extra wasteful for such a short transportation of liquid |
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Drunk cycling… debate
Posted at: 2009-07-28 15:38:15
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Apparently, if you are caught drunk on a cycle by the police, and you’re breathalised, you can lose your driving licence.
I heard about this from a friend in Milton Keynes.
Anyone know any more? |
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