Practical Eco

New US Energy Bill - more US oil?

It's a shame the US couldn't do better with the new energy bill. So far it appears to be a thinly veiled instrument to enrich oil and gas companies. Supporting deep sea drilling in the Gulf of Mexico may (just maybe) perhaps reduce dependence on foreign oil a smidgin. But is that really more important than reducing oil consumption - period?

Oil has been great for building a powerful and successful Western civilisation over the past 100 years. And while it seemed great once to have cheap energy, we know more now than we did before. We know that oil is the major contributor to green house gasses which are driving climate change. And while some may still question that science, there is still the fact that oil , gas and coal produce enormous quantities of pollutants that spoil our eco system and our personal health. We must reduce our use of oil, even elliminate it as quickly as possible, if we want ensure we have a better chance of healthy, happy lives.

So the Energy Bill threw a couple of bones out to the renewables industry but does very little to actually support it other than some temporary increases in tax breaks for Solar energy.

What about the increased support for plug-in hybrids? Rubbish. First of all, hybrids just provide an increase in gas mileage which I could match by driving a diesel car anyhow - which has other advantages. But secondly, plugging them in so they can run on electricity means most of them will ultimately be burning coal, and electricty is a highly inefficient way of delivering coal's energy value - some 70% or more is lost in translation.

I for one am disheartened by this Energy Bill.

Easy ways to make a difference

These are some of the many easy ways you can make a difference:

1. Use Recycled products such as office supplies
   Buy 100% post-consumer recycled paper produced as close to home as possible.
   Try www.evolve-papers.com or www.greenstat.co.uk

2. Use both side of your office paper then get it collected for recycling
   Reuse or recycle everything you can - its sensible to save energy and other resources.

3. Refill your printer cartridges
   Around half of all toner cartridges end up in landfill and most are not biodegradable. Refilling cartridges takes 5 minutes and they can be refilled up to 5 times, saving money and reducing waste. Try www.cartridgeworld.com, www.rapidrefillink.com,  www.refilltoner.com or www.actionaidrecycling.org.uk

4. Look at your energy use
   Energy Efficiency Advice Centres (EEACs) around the UK give free impartial advice.  For information phone them on 0800-512012.
   Consider a renewable energy supplier such as www.good-energy.co.uk

5. Consider your office machinery purchases carefully. Do you need it?
   Consider buying second-hand equipment or upgrade your existing pc instead. Remember, there are many hazardous substances in electronic equipment so discard things carefully. You can also donate used equipment to local schools.

6. Talk to your suppliers
   Raise their awareness of environmental and ethical issues.  It's only by telling suppliers that it's important that they will begin to change. Investigate alternative ethical suppliers where possible.

Add more good tips by making comments to this posting.

Why are petrol cars still being made?

I've been driving a diesel car for 8 months now and I can't believe it took me this long to convert. Frankly, it's a tiny bit rougher and noisier, but it runs smooth and fast and very few people notice any difference.

The arguments in favour of modern diesel engines strike me as impeccable. It's cheaper to run, the engines are longer lasting and the fuel is safer to store. The only environmental argument against is higher particulate emissions; but that can be addressed with better filters and it's a small price to pay for getting twice the mileage out of a litre of fuel.

Furthermore, most modern diesel engines can easily be run on biodiesel fuel either pure or in any percentage blend depending on the manufacturer. I've been running my VW 1.9 TDi engine on 100% biodiesel for most of the time with great results.

And we shouldn't ignore the safety issues. This angle was brought sharply home to me when a friend of mine while driving a diesel on a motorway ran over a metal bar. The bar spun through the wheel well and punctured his fuel tank. So at 60 miles per hour he found himself gushing fuel while the bar was dragging along the road creating sparks. Had this been a gasoline or petrol car he would now most likely be dead. Fortunately diesel has a much higher ingition point than petrol which ingites very easily at about 80 degrees C. Biodiesel is even safer with a flash point of 300 degrees C.

So why would any one still buy a petrol or gasoline engine these days?