Jurdy: A voice in the wilderness
Jurdy’s path to green living gets rough …
Latest
global warming
Scotland OKs 'most ambitious' climate bill
The Scottish Parliament has approved an ambitious climate-change plan that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. That target includes emissions from international aviation and shipping. The Government’s bill also sets an interim goal of cutting emissions by 42 per cent by 2020. “Scotland
recycling
4 of 10 recycling firms in shaky financial straits
Nearly 4 out of 10 UK recycling firms are on shaky financial footing, according to a report published in Materials Recycling Week. The article cites research from the analyst organisation Plimsoll Publishing, which gave 23 per cent of the top recycling firms a financial “danger” rating, and gave a “caution”
Goal: carbon capture via amino-acid salts
Siemens Energy and TNO, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, plan to work together to advance carbon capture technology based on amino-acid salts. Together, the two companies aim to fast-track bringing the second-generation technology to market, and aim to implement a full-scale demonstration plant by 2014. Both Siemens and
Smart Grid
UK utility networks 'far too vulnerable' to failure
Utility networks in the UK — including those for electricity and water — remain far too vulnerable to disruption and failure, according to a new inquiry released by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). The inquiry, “The State of the Nation: Defending Critical Infrastructure,” is based upon oral and written evidence from
Will Day to chair Sustainable Development Commission
Will Day will succeed Jonathon Porritt as chair of the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC); his appointment was announced this week by Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Porritt, who has served three terms as chair, will step down from the post on 27 July. Will Day joins the SDC from a background
greenhouse gases
Insulation, green energy could bring 70,000 jobs
England and Wales could slash greenhouse gas emissions and create at least 70,000 jobs if councils would help insulate homes and businesses and fit green energy to buildings, according to new research from Friends of the Earth. The research by Carbon Descent — advisors to councils on climate change — was
green entrepreneurs
Peter Darwell: 'Instant' success after years of hard work
How does a 15-year-old school dropout and one-time chef become a successful serial — and super-green — entrepreneur with more than 30 startups to his name? One secret, says Peter Darwell, is a savvy eye for promising new business niches. Beyond that, though, the formula is a tried-and-true one: tonnes of research,
global warming
Over the edge: Climate scientists reach tipping point
Is it time to start panicking yet? After years of issuing academically dry, if increasingly dire, warnings about the accelerating pace of climate change, it seems leading scientists have now been pushed over the edge into new and more emotionally charged territory. Here in the UK, for example, the director
Green Card Seminar
Kyocera seminar features smart speakers, 'Stupid' film
Mark Johnson of the energy and climate change consultancy AEA Group is scheduled to speak at Kyocera Mita’s Green Card Seminar next month. The daylong event, scheduled for 9 July, will be held at 100 Longwater Avenue, Green Park. Registration is available online at Kyocera’s Green Card Network,
global warming
On climate change goals, UK's a 'small yapping dog'
The UK’s climate change goals fall far short of what’s needed to avert dangerous levels of warming, according to the director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. The Guardian reported this week that Tydall director Kevin Anderson warns that the Government’s proposed carbon cuts, if
smart cities
New assessment tool helps cities 'get smarter'
IBM has launched a new Smarter City Assessment Tool to help cities better understand and meet the demands of an increasingly urbanised world. The new offering was announced today at the SmarterCities forum in Berlin. Last year — for the first time in history, according to the Department of Economic and