Practical Eco

Saturday Times "How To Be Green"

I'd have expected to see this in The Guardian, Observer or even the Independent newspapers here in the UK, but to see a special section titled "How To Be Green" in the Times was a welcome surprise. I think it says the mainstream is increasingly interested in being "Green" and that has got to be a good thing.

There were indeed some good items in the section such as reminding us how many transport miles and  thus how much CO2 emissions are involved in many food products. One New Zealand blueberry = 10,732 g of CO2 while a UK Cox apple = 33 g.  And, there's a good round up of some of the electric vehicle choices we have nowadays. 

However, (and pardon me for another rant) I noticed Zac Goldsmith is still hyping Ecotricity in favour of other good green electricity suppliers like Good Energy and Green Energy - and for all the wrong reasons. As I mentioned in my letter to him last year, the argument he advances and which was put forward by whichgreen.org (a division of Ecotricity mind you!) is a complete fallacy. Yet he gives ecotricity top billing in his list and he promotes whichgreen without declaring its affiliation. I use Good Energy because they're great people and because they do just as much as anyone else to promote new green generation in spite of the whichgreen argument. Of course I should declare I've done some consulting for them in the past, but that wouldn't colour my views and I'd be just as happy to consult for Ecotricity one day in the future.

The Alternative Energy Store

I'm very impressed with the Alternative Energy Store and sorry I didn't discover it sooner. For anyone in the US it's a great resource for the whole range of products related to renewable energy and eco lifestyles. Even for those of us residing in Europe and elsewhere out of the US, they can air freight smaller items and can still come out less expensive. They have excellent prices and a surprisingly wide range of products. I just wish I lived nearer so I could drop in a browse regularly!

Click here to visit the Alternative Energy Store for discount prices on solar panels, wind turbines and  renewable energy equipment for your home.

The President's new energy plan

The most positive thing about President Bush's recent state of the Union address is the fact that he admitted America is addicted to oil. Like any good rehab program will say, admission is the first step to recovery.  But a rehab program will at least take some genuine steps to wean the addict off of his or her chosen drug.  Bush presented some rather bold rhetoric suggesting he would accelerate the use of renewables.  But most observers seem to agree (well, perhaps not the dyed-in-the-wool oilmen) that the measures he has put forward pale in comparison to the incentives he has granted the oil industry over the past five years of his presidency.  So is this all just empty words from a government who's true allegiance is clearly still with the oil industry?  I think so.

The tax credits that were granted last year are due to expire in two years. He could, for instance, have extended that incentive for a really positive impact - one that gives businesses some predictability enabling them to plan more effectively.

And his pledge to reduce Middle East oil imports by 75% is carefully crafted to sound impressive without any real substance. 75% sounds like a big reduction. Firstly he's only promissing to shift from one source of oil to another which makes zero difference to the environment or long term sustainability. Secondly the Middle East only supplies less than 20% of the US's oil imports. So the promise is to shift 15% of oil the US imports from one source to another.

And while the President is mouthing positive verbage in support of renewables his administration's record has been to consistently slash spending on renewables at the Department of Energy and elsewhere.

The winners for now appear to be Solar PV which gets a $65 million boost at the DOE, and Biofuels which is expected to get an additional $59 million - and helps keep the farmers happy.

I'm sorry to say this is another fine performance by Bush thinly obscuring his favoritism for friends in the oil industry with some small concessions to the renewable energy industry. Very sad for the future and for our children who will have to pay the price.