"No thank you. I brought one with me."
It's easy to do. Just have a few in the boot (US - trunk) of the car or one in your pocket. A couple of cardboard boxes. A strong "Bag for Life" that some supermarkets sell really do last a long time.
When you do that then we won't need to put people in the kinds of jobs that we see in the following news article. It's bad for their health and for their environment. It's our planet too. A lot of valuable oil is wasted on packaging.
The Guardian - Waste Land
New guttering
The previous owners of this house had some odd ideas about construction. Still, it made the house cheap enough for me to buy and I have almost corrected everything.
Today, it's time for the guttering to be be sorted out. Previously, the gutters channelled all the rainwater off the roof and into the septic tank. Normally, intermittent waste from the kitchen sink or the toilets goes into the septic tank where it settles. Solids sink to the bottom of the first tank and fluid overflows into the second.
The second tank then over flows into drainage pipes that go to a leach field. However, when you have hundreds of litres of rainwater flooding the septic tank you don't allow the solids time to sink nor do you give time for the bacteria in the septic tank to breakdown the solids.
Why bother sending rainwater to a septic tank? It's perfectly clean enough to water your vegetables, flush your toilet, provide water for your washing machine or clean the car. Contaminating it in a septic tank and making the septic system fail because of flooding is not a good idea.
When I fixed the septic system last year I made sure to disconnect the gutters from the septic system and reconnected them so that they filled water butts made from a big blue barrels. During the winter there was no need for water in the vegetable so the water butts overflowed and the land has been getting rather boggy.
To stop the land from getting boggy I shall be altering the gutters so that both sides of the house channel water into a single water butt. An overflow pipe on the water butt goes into a new pipe that takes the water off my land and into a drainage ditch that fills a small lake near here. From there the lake drains into the sea. Septic system saved, land drained and some water remaining for the vegetables. A much better drainage system.
Today, it's time for the guttering to be be sorted out. Previously, the gutters channelled all the rainwater off the roof and into the septic tank. Normally, intermittent waste from the kitchen sink or the toilets goes into the septic tank where it settles. Solids sink to the bottom of the first tank and fluid overflows into the second.
The second tank then over flows into drainage pipes that go to a leach field. However, when you have hundreds of litres of rainwater flooding the septic tank you don't allow the solids time to sink nor do you give time for the bacteria in the septic tank to breakdown the solids.
Why bother sending rainwater to a septic tank? It's perfectly clean enough to water your vegetables, flush your toilet, provide water for your washing machine or clean the car. Contaminating it in a septic tank and making the septic system fail because of flooding is not a good idea.
When I fixed the septic system last year I made sure to disconnect the gutters from the septic system and reconnected them so that they filled water butts made from a big blue barrels. During the winter there was no need for water in the vegetable so the water butts overflowed and the land has been getting rather boggy.
To stop the land from getting boggy I shall be altering the gutters so that both sides of the house channel water into a single water butt. An overflow pipe on the water butt goes into a new pipe that takes the water off my land and into a drainage ditch that fills a small lake near here. From there the lake drains into the sea. Septic system saved, land drained and some water remaining for the vegetables. A much better drainage system.
"You greens pray for peak oil"
No we don't. Simply because the world will be a lot worse off without crude oil. There will be lots of people that will need their daily fix of petrol, diesel or any of the other products that crude oil provides us with.
Crude oil has the advantage of being buried underground, whilst we go about our business above it. Replacing petrol and diesel with bio-fuel alternatives will require land currently used for food crops.
Turning large areas of our planet into vast mono-cultures providing nothing but fuel for machines is madness. It destroys bio-diversity and can only be achieved with industrial scale fertiliser. No oil means a lot less industry to provide industrial scale farming.
Crude oil has permitted many more people to live on this planet than is feasible without oil. So whilst politicians talk up a bio-fuel revolution they are frightened of admitting the truth to their electorate.
BBC - End of oil heralds climate pain
Crude oil has the advantage of being buried underground, whilst we go about our business above it. Replacing petrol and diesel with bio-fuel alternatives will require land currently used for food crops.
Turning large areas of our planet into vast mono-cultures providing nothing but fuel for machines is madness. It destroys bio-diversity and can only be achieved with industrial scale fertiliser. No oil means a lot less industry to provide industrial scale farming.
Crude oil has permitted many more people to live on this planet than is feasible without oil. So whilst politicians talk up a bio-fuel revolution they are frightened of admitting the truth to their electorate.
BBC - End of oil heralds climate pain
Want to green your car?
Well, you can take up walking and leave your car in the driveway to develop a nice patina of mould. You can also read the following article in The Guardian, discussing the relative merits of alternatives to petrol and diesel.
The Guardian - Beyond petrol
The Guardian - Beyond petrol
Is there nothing we can do?
Even hydro-electric generating stations produce emissions. Are humans just a plague on this planet?
When a dam is built an artificial reservoir is created behind it. This reservoir contains the water needed to drive the turbines that produce the electricity.
More often than not, to create this artificial reservoir, forests are flooded. Bacterial degradation of the submerged plant life releases methane gas. It would have been better to have built a coal fired power station.
The Guardian - Hidden dangers
When a dam is built an artificial reservoir is created behind it. This reservoir contains the water needed to drive the turbines that produce the electricity.
More often than not, to create this artificial reservoir, forests are flooded. Bacterial degradation of the submerged plant life releases methane gas. It would have been better to have built a coal fired power station.
The Guardian - Hidden dangers
UK carbon emissions increasing
A report shows that emissions from UK power stations rose by nearly 30% between 1999 and 2006. Quite simply it is not possible for the UK or any other country to reduce its emissions.
So long as politicians talk of nothing but economic growth and people desire stuff then emissions will continue to rise. An increasing population will require more economic growth and more stuff so any attempt at efficiency will be negated by the increase.
I was watching a programme on BBC2 last night called "Are We There Yet?" which compared Britains's fly everywhere within the UK and burn fossil fuels approach to the French TGV (high speed train service) powered by the country's many nuclear power stations. France has lower carbon emissions.
BBC - Emissions soar from UK generators
So long as politicians talk of nothing but economic growth and people desire stuff then emissions will continue to rise. An increasing population will require more economic growth and more stuff so any attempt at efficiency will be negated by the increase.
I was watching a programme on BBC2 last night called "Are We There Yet?" which compared Britains's fly everywhere within the UK and burn fossil fuels approach to the French TGV (high speed train service) powered by the country's many nuclear power stations. France has lower carbon emissions.
BBC - Emissions soar from UK generators
The problem with CFLs is
Each compact fluorescent light contains a small amount of mercury. I have a bulb that burnt out recently. It's just sitting there because I know of nowhere locally that takes them.
Reuters - Mercury in energy-saving bulbs worries scientists
Reuters - Mercury in energy-saving bulbs worries scientists
No to nuclear
As I mentioned in a previous post, various EU environment ministers were meeting in Dublin to discuss nuclear energy. The answer. No thanks.
Well, their solution to global warming had better be a good one. Meanwhile anti-nuclear European nations continue to use nuclear generated electricity through the European grid inter-connectors. Maybe a special hypocrisy tax is required.
AFP - Nuclear energy 'not the solution to global warming'
Well, their solution to global warming had better be a good one. Meanwhile anti-nuclear European nations continue to use nuclear generated electricity through the European grid inter-connectors. Maybe a special hypocrisy tax is required.
AFP - Nuclear energy 'not the solution to global warming'
Been a warm few days
I've been outside extending the potato patch and planting more seed potatoes. The onion sets I produced last year, and planted a few weeks ago, have now sprouted new growth. Only time will tell if they produce onions or go straight to seed.
I have plenty of onion seeds germinating in my mini-propagators so I'm hopeful for a few hundred onions this year. This will be a year of doing simple things and getting it right. With the polytunnel gone I am limited to what I can grow so there will be no messing around with exotic seed. We can forget pak choi and the like.
The warm weather is about to come to an end for a few days so I'll need to get some firewood from the shed. Not only does lighting the stove dry out the damp and stop my fingers freezing to this keyboard but it also allows me to place propagators next to the stove for its heat to help germinate seeds.
This is a photo of my tiny woodshed. The previous owners used it as a tiny donkey prison. I expect to be moving on to a larger parcel of land later this year so I never got round to building a better (and non-north facing!) shed.
I noticed a lot of cracked paint on my rowing boat. That will have to be repainted in a few weeks time when I am sure of some warm and dry weather. The sea provides me with seaweed, driftwood, the magic big blue barrels, and plastic tubs for growing saplings in. A boat allows me to visit various beaches and bring back the sea's generous bounty.
I have plenty of onion seeds germinating in my mini-propagators so I'm hopeful for a few hundred onions this year. This will be a year of doing simple things and getting it right. With the polytunnel gone I am limited to what I can grow so there will be no messing around with exotic seed. We can forget pak choi and the like.
The warm weather is about to come to an end for a few days so I'll need to get some firewood from the shed. Not only does lighting the stove dry out the damp and stop my fingers freezing to this keyboard but it also allows me to place propagators next to the stove for its heat to help germinate seeds.
This is a photo of my tiny woodshed. The previous owners used it as a tiny donkey prison. I expect to be moving on to a larger parcel of land later this year so I never got round to building a better (and non-north facing!) shed.I noticed a lot of cracked paint on my rowing boat. That will have to be repainted in a few weeks time when I am sure of some warm and dry weather. The sea provides me with seaweed, driftwood, the magic big blue barrels, and plastic tubs for growing saplings in. A boat allows me to visit various beaches and bring back the sea's generous bounty.
Local Irish news
So the other other 99.9% of you can ignore this nonsense. There is a thread amongst these news articles. That thread is greed and a lack of foresight.
Some wrong doing amongst Kerry politicians here. The re-zoning of land owned by a local politician so more tar and concrete can be dumped upon it. I don't think the Boyos of Kerry understand that the reason why people holiday here is because of the lack of development. Our tourists come here to see wilderness. They can go elsewhere to gawk at the 21st century.
RTÉ - Killarney councillors attending hearing
A general election is due in the not too distant future. I won't be voting. It only encourages the fools. Self-serving, corrupt, no goods, one and all.
In the following news article we have a Progressive Democrat (I'm sure there's a contradiction in that party name somewhere) accuses anyone who doesn't vote for the current coalition as not wanting constant economic growth and a 100% tarring and concreting of the nation. Another reason not to vote for the fools.
Sustainability means one day there will come a time when development is zero. Get used to it suit wearers!
RTÉ - PDs unveil candidates for 'crucial' election
Housing is a problem in Ireland too, but not as this article will have you believe. There are plenty of empty houses throughout the country. People have to decide whether they want sustainable rural communities or not. Any country that depends on tourism for an industry is frankly not a 1st world country.
Get people out of the cities and back onto the land. Wrestle control of empty houses from property speculators. There was no point in my grandfather fighting alongside others for our independence if all we are going to do is sell our nation back to foreigners.
RTÉ - Conference on future housing needs
The Minister for the Environment and some of his EU counterparts are meeting to discuss the future of nuclear power. Do they want it and can they survive without it? I think we have to use all resources available to us. Carbon emissions are more important than negligible radioactive problems.
We have no oil, dwindling peat and less gas. We need shiploads of uranium from our cousins in Australia. Also, an end to rural tourism development so that we turn the land over to bio-mass production instead. It's all very well having tourists but they are going to be sitting around in dark hotels if there is no energy for them.
RTÉ - Roche hosting nuclear talks in Dublin
Some wrong doing amongst Kerry politicians here. The re-zoning of land owned by a local politician so more tar and concrete can be dumped upon it. I don't think the Boyos of Kerry understand that the reason why people holiday here is because of the lack of development. Our tourists come here to see wilderness. They can go elsewhere to gawk at the 21st century.
RTÉ - Killarney councillors attending hearing
A general election is due in the not too distant future. I won't be voting. It only encourages the fools. Self-serving, corrupt, no goods, one and all.
In the following news article we have a Progressive Democrat (I'm sure there's a contradiction in that party name somewhere) accuses anyone who doesn't vote for the current coalition as not wanting constant economic growth and a 100% tarring and concreting of the nation. Another reason not to vote for the fools.
Sustainability means one day there will come a time when development is zero. Get used to it suit wearers!
RTÉ - PDs unveil candidates for 'crucial' election
Housing is a problem in Ireland too, but not as this article will have you believe. There are plenty of empty houses throughout the country. People have to decide whether they want sustainable rural communities or not. Any country that depends on tourism for an industry is frankly not a 1st world country.
Get people out of the cities and back onto the land. Wrestle control of empty houses from property speculators. There was no point in my grandfather fighting alongside others for our independence if all we are going to do is sell our nation back to foreigners.
RTÉ - Conference on future housing needs
The Minister for the Environment and some of his EU counterparts are meeting to discuss the future of nuclear power. Do they want it and can they survive without it? I think we have to use all resources available to us. Carbon emissions are more important than negligible radioactive problems.
We have no oil, dwindling peat and less gas. We need shiploads of uranium from our cousins in Australia. Also, an end to rural tourism development so that we turn the land over to bio-mass production instead. It's all very well having tourists but they are going to be sitting around in dark hotels if there is no energy for them.
RTÉ - Roche hosting nuclear talks in Dublin
Growing potatoes in tyres
Potatoes are easy to grow and can be grown almost anywhere. The only important aspect with potato growing is earthing up because the potatoes develop above the seed potato.
If you grow potatoes in open soil then you need to build up a mound of earth around the plant as it grows. When growing potatoes in tyres or containers the earthing-up process is aided by the containment.
There follows a description of an experiment in potato growing in tyres.
1) In this photo we see a piece of cleared earth with cardboard placed on top of the soil to keep the weeds down.
2) The tyre is fully filled with compost. Make sure that the inside of the tyre rim is filled too so that there is plenty of compost for the tubers to grow in. Press a seed potato into the compost to a depth of four inches or so. Cover the seed with compost and then water.
3) When the plant has grown to about 10 inches (25 cms) tall place a second tyre over the first and earth up, again making sure that the rim is filled too.
4) Three or four tyres will be needed for the plant to fully develop and yield a good crop of potatoes. You don't need to earth up with your best compost, almost anything will do. I use compost that hasn't yet fully rotted down, grass clippings, weeds that have been semi-rotted in a black plastic bag, old tea bags. Earthing up uses a lot of matter and you will soon use up compost that could be used elsewhere.
At harvest time just kick over the tyres and separate them to reveal the crop. Make sure all the compost (including any stuck in the rims) is removed to where it can be used to grow a different crop the following season. Use new compost to grow next year's potatoes.
Problems
During this experiment some problems were noted.
Potato growing comparisons - includes container growing of potatoes
Storing potatoes - what to do with your potato harvest
Stop spending money you idiots! - how not to grow potatoes in containers
Growing potatoes in cardboard boxes - a bio-degradeable alternative to container growing
Let us know
Have you tried growing potatoes in tyres or other containers?
What are your thoughts and ideas?
Do add your comments below, which are always read and answered to.
If you grow potatoes in open soil then you need to build up a mound of earth around the plant as it grows. When growing potatoes in tyres or containers the earthing-up process is aided by the containment.
There follows a description of an experiment in potato growing in tyres.
1) In this photo we see a piece of cleared earth with cardboard placed on top of the soil to keep the weeds down.
2) The tyre is fully filled with compost. Make sure that the inside of the tyre rim is filled too so that there is plenty of compost for the tubers to grow in. Press a seed potato into the compost to a depth of four inches or so. Cover the seed with compost and then water.
3) When the plant has grown to about 10 inches (25 cms) tall place a second tyre over the first and earth up, again making sure that the rim is filled too.
4) Three or four tyres will be needed for the plant to fully develop and yield a good crop of potatoes. You don't need to earth up with your best compost, almost anything will do. I use compost that hasn't yet fully rotted down, grass clippings, weeds that have been semi-rotted in a black plastic bag, old tea bags. Earthing up uses a lot of matter and you will soon use up compost that could be used elsewhere.At harvest time just kick over the tyres and separate them to reveal the crop. Make sure all the compost (including any stuck in the rims) is removed to where it can be used to grow a different crop the following season. Use new compost to grow next year's potatoes.
Problems
During this experiment some problems were noted.
- Ordinary car tyres are quite small and make gaining access to the plant stems difficult. Often, stems are damaged when rearranging stems following earthing-up.
- There is much written about contamination from the materials used to construct tyres. Toxic heavy metals are used in tyre manufacture and may leech into the soil. One idea is to just use tyres as a holder, for a plastic sack, in which the potatoes grow. However, that would leave less room for the plant as the inside of the tyre rims are not being utilised.
- Overall, car tyres are probably too small for potato growing. A larger container, such as a 55-gallon blue plastic barrel cut in half (with drainage holes drilled in the bottom), is probably better suited to the task.
Potato growing comparisons - includes container growing of potatoes
Storing potatoes - what to do with your potato harvest
Stop spending money you idiots! - how not to grow potatoes in containers
Growing potatoes in cardboard boxes - a bio-degradeable alternative to container growing
Let us know
Have you tried growing potatoes in tyres or other containers?
What are your thoughts and ideas?
Do add your comments below, which are always read and answered to.
Collecting firewood
I spent part of the day in the woods gathering up boughs that had fallen from trees during the many storms over the winter. Many trees have been uprooted and are precariously propping themselves up against other trees.
This part of Ireland has a mild climate so there are many non-native trees here. I found lots of eucalyptus tree boughs. Eucalyptus is a native of Australia and was imported by Anglo-Irish landlords so that they could boast about the exotic trees they had on their estates. The trees outlived the regime. My hands still smell of Eucalyptus oil.
I shall head back into the woods tomorrow and bring over a tonne of wood back with me. It's time to start collecting and seasoning next winter's firewood. With a large enough wood it is often only a matter of collecting fallen deadwood rather than actually cutting whole trees down.
This part of Ireland has a mild climate so there are many non-native trees here. I found lots of eucalyptus tree boughs. Eucalyptus is a native of Australia and was imported by Anglo-Irish landlords so that they could boast about the exotic trees they had on their estates. The trees outlived the regime. My hands still smell of Eucalyptus oil.
I shall head back into the woods tomorrow and bring over a tonne of wood back with me. It's time to start collecting and seasoning next winter's firewood. With a large enough wood it is often only a matter of collecting fallen deadwood rather than actually cutting whole trees down.
Bertie gets serious
An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis, said "his Government's priority over the last five years had been to break the link between economic growth and environmental damage."
Pull the other one. I haven't seen so much damage as I have in South Kerry with all the hotels, holiday homes and other blots on the landscape that have been built during the last few months. Yes, months! I really believe that the Irish government is praying for global warming so that it can become the new Spain with a hotel ever 100 yards along the whole of the Irish coast.
Bertie then went on to announce five initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and waste. Not one of them involved keeping his mouth shut.
He said, "Meeting Ireland's Kyoto targets would require major policy shifts and changes from each individual." In other words, we're out of ideas so what do you think we should be doing?
Plans are afoot for all government carbon emissions to be offset with greenhouse reducing projects. Does that include all the mansions in the sticks our ministers have?
Also that the public service was moving towards using energy efficient light bulbs by the end of the year. Notice the words "moving towards" like Ireland is moving towards competition in the domestic electricity market so that currently we still have a choice of one.
RTÉ - Taoiseach focuses on environment at Ard Fheis
Pull the other one. I haven't seen so much damage as I have in South Kerry with all the hotels, holiday homes and other blots on the landscape that have been built during the last few months. Yes, months! I really believe that the Irish government is praying for global warming so that it can become the new Spain with a hotel ever 100 yards along the whole of the Irish coast.
Bertie then went on to announce five initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and waste. Not one of them involved keeping his mouth shut.
He said, "Meeting Ireland's Kyoto targets would require major policy shifts and changes from each individual." In other words, we're out of ideas so what do you think we should be doing?
Plans are afoot for all government carbon emissions to be offset with greenhouse reducing projects. Does that include all the mansions in the sticks our ministers have?
Also that the public service was moving towards using energy efficient light bulbs by the end of the year. Notice the words "moving towards" like Ireland is moving towards competition in the domestic electricity market so that currently we still have a choice of one.
RTÉ - Taoiseach focuses on environment at Ard Fheis
I knew it all along
It's official. London is full of sh*t. A 20 mile long and 30 feet wide interceptor tunnel is to be built to assist the capital's ailing Victorian sewers.
What I don't understand is why they are using it for rainwater too. If the UK government is thinking of green ideas at the moment then surely rainwater capture must be one of them. Why contaminate rainwater by rendering immediately useless in this fashion?
All Londoners should be banned from using hose pipes and everyone should have rainwater butts. All bathwater to be saved and used in the garden or in toilet cisterns. Then an enormous project like this tunnel might not be needed.
The Guardian - Tunnel costing £2bn to bail out London will push up water bills
What I don't understand is why they are using it for rainwater too. If the UK government is thinking of green ideas at the moment then surely rainwater capture must be one of them. Why contaminate rainwater by rendering immediately useless in this fashion?
All Londoners should be banned from using hose pipes and everyone should have rainwater butts. All bathwater to be saved and used in the garden or in toilet cisterns. Then an enormous project like this tunnel might not be needed.
The Guardian - Tunnel costing £2bn to bail out London will push up water bills
Flatulent cows
Is it April Fool's Day already? It can't be. I've played some pretty awful pranks on my parents over the years. I like to think of them as Victorians stuck in the 1950s. Not exactly with it.
From faking my arrest and imprisonment to inducing them to live in darkness for a day because "the electricity supplier told us the water was too wet to use due to recent floods". I'm a bad boy!
No, looks like this story is for real.
The Guardian - Pill stops cow burps and helps save the planet
From faking my arrest and imprisonment to inducing them to live in darkness for a day because "the electricity supplier told us the water was too wet to use due to recent floods". I'm a bad boy!
No, looks like this story is for real.
The Guardian - Pill stops cow burps and helps save the planet
More evil corporate activity
I'm not a beer drinker. Real cider (hard cider to you Americans) is my favoured drink. I can sense sulphur over a mile away so you can keep your Weakbow and Dudpecker. Though beer and pubs are not for me I feel for the people who have to suffer corporate greed instead of their chosen lifestyle.
The Guardian - Last orders
The Guardian - Last orders
Time to move?
It might be wise for coastal dwellers to sell now rather than face the prospect of negative equity. People just don't like buying properties when they can see damp. Especially if it is sloshing around in metre high puddles.
Reuters - Antarctic melting may be speeding up
Reuters - Antarctic melting may be speeding up
North Sea conundrum
With North Sea oil in decline the UK government loses the cash cow that taxing oil from UK rigs provides. That puts a large crimp on any social projects the UK government wishes to carry out on its overpopulated land.The tax on oil is enormous and prevents oil companies from getting at the harder to get and more expensive oil. It's a catch 22 situation. Tax at the current rate and oil exploration diminishes. Lower the tax rate and more oil can be brought up but with reduced revenue for the government. It's a shame they flogged off over half the oil at $10 a barrel.
The Guardian - 'Brown playing games on oil'
Nuclear power in Ireland?
With no oil reserves, peat in decline and new gas finds hardly able to keep up with demand, Ireland needs to start thinking about new ways of generating electricity.
Wind turbines are not the only answer. We are lucky in that Ireland has an Atlantic coastline but the wind doesn't always blow. Minimal hydro-electric and pumped storage generated power won't keep up with demand either.
General Secretary David Begg of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is the first Irishman to publicly acknowledge what I have said before on this blog. Irish electricity is already tainted with UK nuclear power due to the various European inter-connectors.
No European nation is an island when it comes to their national grid. There are no national grids anymore just a Europe wide grid. So, if a proportion of Irish electricity is already provided by nuclear power stations then why not build our own?
RTÉ - Unions call for nuclear energy debate
Wind turbines are not the only answer. We are lucky in that Ireland has an Atlantic coastline but the wind doesn't always blow. Minimal hydro-electric and pumped storage generated power won't keep up with demand either.
General Secretary David Begg of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is the first Irishman to publicly acknowledge what I have said before on this blog. Irish electricity is already tainted with UK nuclear power due to the various European inter-connectors.
No European nation is an island when it comes to their national grid. There are no national grids anymore just a Europe wide grid. So, if a proportion of Irish electricity is already provided by nuclear power stations then why not build our own?
RTÉ - Unions call for nuclear energy debate
If only all companies did this
Google is to offer bicycles to its employees. If every company did this then the whole world can knock pedestrians off the pavement and run red lights.
Recently, Google announced that it was installing solar panels on the roof of its HQ. Not its server farm though, that would probably need something more substantial to power it.
Sorry, I find it hard to be nice about corporations.
The Guardian - Google staff get on their bikes
Recently, Google announced that it was installing solar panels on the roof of its HQ. Not its server farm though, that would probably need something more substantial to power it.
Sorry, I find it hard to be nice about corporations.
The Guardian - Google staff get on their bikes
There's hope
It's heart warming to see news from Africa that people are trying to protect the environment from monoculture. Usually we only ever see the apathetic or gun-toting warriors in the media.
BBC - Uganda MPs angry at forest plan
BBC - Uganda MPs angry at forest plan
It's the humans, stupid!
The earth has warmed and cooled many times during its life. It has never warmed as quickly as it is now. Global warming is caused by human activity. Now, let's do something about it.
Reuters - Meteorologists say sure humans cause climate change
Reuters - Meteorologists say sure humans cause climate change
The greening of Brown
The UK finance minister Gordon Brown has put forward various green measures in his budget. He announced tax incentives for energy efficient cars and homes. Fuel hungry cars are to have their road tax doubled whereas fuel efficient cars are to have their tax halved.
He claimed that his measures have reduced the UK's carbon output by 6 million tonnes per year. However, he rejected calls for VAT on airline tickets. Home owners will be offered grants to insulate their homes and micro-generate electricity.
Too little, too late?
Gordon Brown also announced a reduction in income tax so no doubt the population will spend the extra money in their pockets on dumping 6 million more tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere.
The Guardian - Brown goes green to steal Tory thunder
BBC - Cars bear brunt of green taxation
He claimed that his measures have reduced the UK's carbon output by 6 million tonnes per year. However, he rejected calls for VAT on airline tickets. Home owners will be offered grants to insulate their homes and micro-generate electricity.
Too little, too late?
Gordon Brown also announced a reduction in income tax so no doubt the population will spend the extra money in their pockets on dumping 6 million more tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere.
The Guardian - Brown goes green to steal Tory thunder
BBC - Cars bear brunt of green taxation
Hydrogen isn't there yet
BMW have done more than any motor company to utilise hydrogen as a source of energy for its cars. Rather than the expensive fuel cells that many companies are using to power electric cars, BMW is attempting to adapt an existing car to use hydrogen in its internal combustion engine.
There are many obstacles that need to be surmounted. Hydrogen is a gas that needs to cooled and compressed before you can get enough into a tank to power a car over any worthwhile distance. The molecules of hydrogen gas are also small enough to escape containment. It will also embrittle metals causing failure. Obstacles indeed.
Reuters - Hydrogen cars face technological hurdles: experts
There are many obstacles that need to be surmounted. Hydrogen is a gas that needs to cooled and compressed before you can get enough into a tank to power a car over any worthwhile distance. The molecules of hydrogen gas are also small enough to escape containment. It will also embrittle metals causing failure. Obstacles indeed.
Reuters - Hydrogen cars face technological hurdles: experts
Ireland to be 'the renewable research and development capital of the world'
The Progressive Democratic party propose a 'Renewable Venture Capital Scheme' to help Irish businesses develop renewable energy resources that will reduce Ireland's dependence on imported resources.
The EU is currently discussing where the 20% Europe wide renewable energy is to be generated. We can expect a glut of wind farms in Ireland after the hotel and bungalow building boom collapses.
RTÉ - PDs propose energy funding scheme
The EU is currently discussing where the 20% Europe wide renewable energy is to be generated. We can expect a glut of wind farms in Ireland after the hotel and bungalow building boom collapses.
RTÉ - PDs propose energy funding scheme
A temporary halt to the growing season
The current cold snap (-5C outside) means there is nothing to do outdoors but collect wood and burn it in the stove. I had a walk around the acre to look at all the trees I planted last year. The willow and alder are already producing catkins.
I went in to the woodshed and chose some well seasoned 10-inch diameter pine logs and split them for the fire. One split log and bits of waste building timber will keep the fire going for half an hour. My office desk is in the stove room so it's nice and comfortable in there.
The only planting I'm doing at the moment is of onion and leek seed in my mini-propagators. I have a row of propagators next to the stove where it stays warm enough 24 hours a day for the seed to germinate. After the seedlings break the surface of the compost the propagators are moved to a south facing windowsill in another room.
The cold days also see me sitting next to the fire doing a little reading. At the moment I am reading Collapse (How societies choose to fail or survive) and will review it at a later date. I am also planning for the rest of the year. Some goals are to make a downdraught gasifier for running an engine and learning to build with cob.
I went in to the woodshed and chose some well seasoned 10-inch diameter pine logs and split them for the fire. One split log and bits of waste building timber will keep the fire going for half an hour. My office desk is in the stove room so it's nice and comfortable in there.
The only planting I'm doing at the moment is of onion and leek seed in my mini-propagators. I have a row of propagators next to the stove where it stays warm enough 24 hours a day for the seed to germinate. After the seedlings break the surface of the compost the propagators are moved to a south facing windowsill in another room.The cold days also see me sitting next to the fire doing a little reading. At the moment I am reading Collapse (How societies choose to fail or survive) and will review it at a later date. I am also planning for the rest of the year. Some goals are to make a downdraught gasifier for running an engine and learning to build with cob.
The Humanure Handbook
The Humanure Handbook is the complete guide to treating human waste. That is to say, taking responsibility for what comes out of your own backside, rather than dumping it on somebody else.Flushing a toilet with drinking water and expecting someone else to clean up your mess sounds privative, if you think about it carefully.
The third edition of the handbook is available free online and can be viewed at http://www.weblife.org/humanure/
If you want to buy the original then it can purchased at Amazon.com in the US or Amazon.co.uk in the UK.
Flush toilets that use fresh drinking water are a great waste. I am currently alleviating my problem by saving urine for the compost heap and flushing the toilet of faeces with rainwater. I have a makeshift composting toilet for when the weather is such that my private parts aren't freeze welded to my thigh!
Guzzle gas? Guzzle this!
This Wednesday's UK finance budget may see increased tax on less fuel efficient cars. As I have said previously "To tax is to burden" and the best way to green the planet is to stop people from doing what you don't want them to by giving them a financial burden. The burden will clean up after their mess and hopefully stop them from doing it again. A decrease in demand for 'dirty' products will stop businesses producing them.
BBC - Budget 'to hit gas guzzlers hard'
UK motor tax - The cost of vehicle tax for cars, motorcycles, light goods vehicles and trade licences
BBC - Budget 'to hit gas guzzlers hard'
UK motor tax - The cost of vehicle tax for cars, motorcycles, light goods vehicles and trade licences
5 million more UK homes
For God's sake, build up and not out. That green stuff is for growing food on and you'll need all that you can grow in the years to come.
The UK government only ever sees one side of the coin, the global warming side but never the sustainable development side.
The Guardian - Britain likely to need 5m new homes by 2027
The UK government only ever sees one side of the coin, the global warming side but never the sustainable development side.
The Guardian - Britain likely to need 5m new homes by 2027
Storing potatoes
The ecopunk was asked, "...how long can potatoes be kept before they lose any taste and nutrition?? .... I've had some in a sack in a cool and dark cupboard for nearly a month now, there starting to feel a tad soft, are they still all right to eat?"We have a few soft potatoes ourselves and they are fine to eat. So long as they are not green then they are edible. Potatoes are a member of the Deadly Nightshade family and green means poison.
- Potatoes need to be stored in a dark place to prevent them from turning green.
- The storage needs to be cold but not damp, which will stop the potatoes from sprouting.
A potato would much rather be in the ground, growing into a new potato plant. Storing a potato indoors doesn't stop the potato wanting to grow. Storage must slow down this growing process so that you have time to eat the potato.
- A potato will start to sprout "eyes", which are new plant stems seeking sunlight. Eyes can simply be rubbed off and the potato treated as normal for the purpose of cooking.
- White powdery mould might be seen on the skins. Peeling will solve that problem. So long as the mould is not coming from within then the potato can be eaten.
So long as the storage is cold and dark then it doesn't really matter how you store the potatoes so long as it cold, dark, not damp and free of pests like rats, mice and slugs.
- The best way to store potatoes is in a hessian (aka burlap) sack. Such a sack will allow the potatoes to breath and prevent them from going mouldy.
- Ideally potatoes like a cold humid place. Ireland is ideal, if you can get it.
Others ways of storing potatoes include
- Cardboard boxes are fine though potatoes at the bottom of the box might not get as much breathing space as they would in a sack.
- Potato clamps (a ground store made of hay and earth) to store potatoes
- Just leave them in the ground where they are growing.
If you have rats where you live then they might dig out a few potatoes. If potatoes are left in the ground for too long then you are increasing the chance of slugs happening upon them. Frost too, will damage potatoes.
Cutting the plant off, above the soil, and leaving the potatoes under the ground until the end of November shouldn't do them any harm. We at ecopunk are always finding lost potatoes growing happily the following year so they are very resilient.
Potatoes grown by ecopunk are dug up in September and kept in sacks until required for the table.
One February, most of our potatoes at the top of our sacks had developed 3-inch eyes so these were rubbed off and those potatoes put in the kitchen for eating that week. Obviously there was stray light getting into the sack. A large cardboard box was found and put over the sacks to shelter the sacks from sunlight.
Often, we put potatoes into the fridge, a very cold and dark place. We have heard others say that the fridge promotes the conversion of starch into sugar so the potatoes taste a little sweet. We have not noticed this. Besides, we only use the fridge for storing potatoes that will be eaten within the next few weeks so we don't think it matters too much
Needless to say, supermarket potatoes are not grown to last. You won't buy a bag of supermarket potatoes and still be eating them 6 months later. Grow your own. You get the precise potato variety you want to eat and we are all fussy about which potatoes we like.
Other potato growing articles
Potato growing comparisons - includes container growing of potatoes
Growing potatoes in tyres - everything you need to know
Let us know
Do you have potato storage tips?
Share them with us in the comment section below. Your comments are always read and answered to.
Ham, leek and potato bake with cheese and mustard
I was rummaging around the vegetable store deciding what to eat. There is not much choice when you are greeted by a mountain of potatoes so I needed to do something different. Here is a recipe I made up after I didn't fancy eating chipped potatoes yet again!
Floury potatoes peeled, sliced and boiled until done.
A couple of leeks, sliced down the middle and then cut up into inch long lengths
Some ham chopped up into pieces.
Stir fry the leeks and ham in olive oil until done.
Add potatoes and a bit more olive oil.
Two big dollops of Dijon mustard. Mix up everything so that it is all coated in mustard.
Put everything into a baking dish.
Grate some cheddar cheese over the top.
Put in the oven to bake for 15 minutes (at your favourite temperature) until the cheese is melted.
Tuck in!
Floury potatoes peeled, sliced and boiled until done.
A couple of leeks, sliced down the middle and then cut up into inch long lengths
Some ham chopped up into pieces.
Stir fry the leeks and ham in olive oil until done.
Add potatoes and a bit more olive oil.
Two big dollops of Dijon mustard. Mix up everything so that it is all coated in mustard.
Put everything into a baking dish.
Grate some cheddar cheese over the top.
Put in the oven to bake for 15 minutes (at your favourite temperature) until the cheese is melted.
Tuck in!
Labels for low carbon goods
The UK government is introducing a labelling system for products that tell you exactly how much carbon was created during the production of the product. Though a single product is hardly likely to produce more than a few grammes of carbon and I can't see people totalling up over the course of a year.
My idea is for a more simple red or green label that would say, "Over the year all the products in this range, produced by this company, produce X tonnes of carbon." Then the customer can simply choose green label products instead of the wasteful red label goods.
However, I can't help worrying how much such a scheme costs in money and energy. Wouldn't it just be better to say to companies, "This is how much carbon you can use. If you go over then you will paying a carbon tax or off to gaol if you are way over your limit."
How much money and energy is wasted on low-carbon conferences, debates, and law making? Politicians jetting all over the world to sign agreements when all they should be doing is looking after their own backyards and agreeing over the phone.
Expecting consumers to choose between goods based on the amount of carbon produced is not much different to the choice between organic and industrially produced food. The customer either cares enough to pay more or they don't. And low-carbon goods well be more expensive if they have to pay for procedures to prove their green pedigree or have to use new processes that produce less carbon.
There's money in this game for everyone!
BBC - Labels reveal goods' carbon cost
My idea is for a more simple red or green label that would say, "Over the year all the products in this range, produced by this company, produce X tonnes of carbon." Then the customer can simply choose green label products instead of the wasteful red label goods.
However, I can't help worrying how much such a scheme costs in money and energy. Wouldn't it just be better to say to companies, "This is how much carbon you can use. If you go over then you will paying a carbon tax or off to gaol if you are way over your limit."
How much money and energy is wasted on low-carbon conferences, debates, and law making? Politicians jetting all over the world to sign agreements when all they should be doing is looking after their own backyards and agreeing over the phone.
Expecting consumers to choose between goods based on the amount of carbon produced is not much different to the choice between organic and industrially produced food. The customer either cares enough to pay more or they don't. And low-carbon goods well be more expensive if they have to pay for procedures to prove their green pedigree or have to use new processes that produce less carbon.
There's money in this game for everyone!
BBC - Labels reveal goods' carbon cost
Adapt to survive
The UK government (and hopefully the Irish governmental poodle will follow a few months later) wants to lead the way by providing practical measures to allow people to adapt to climate change and a greener lifestyle.Measures include power companies leasing micro-generation equipment to householders to produce renewable energy. This will lower their bills without having to buy solar panels or wind turbines.
Reuters - Britain aims to lead on adapting to climate change
Waste not, want not
A report shows that a third of UK food ends up in the bin. Other than peelings, very little food goes into our compost heap. Excess food is reheated the following day. Curries, chiles and roast chickens last for three days. At the end of the feast all that is left is a chicken carcass and that goes into the wood stove.
Now wonder the UK has a big urban rat problem with a rodent feast sitting on every doorstep. Part of the problem is global food. Supermarket food is so cheap that it is a throwaway item like any gadget bought in an electrical shop. "That looks nice. It'll make a change so I'll buy it." A few days later when it's past its sell-by date. "Don't fancy it now." And in the bin it goes.
Food grown here has been nurtured from seed. The idea of throwing away vegetables, after putting so much effort into growing them, is unmentionable. Proper storage means that vegetables last longer. Potatoes dug up last September are stored in sacks, kept away from the light and warmth, are still providing wholesome meals. Leeks are still in the ground where they have been growing for almost a year. They are pulled out as and when needed.
Finally, the real problem is with ready meals. They are wasteful in plastic and cardboard packaging. Vegetables grow with packaging already on them. So long as they are stored correctly then that biodegradable packaging is all they need.
By relying on more food fresh straight from the ground or root store or freshly slaughtered meat, and buying it only when needed, you reduce waste down to the minimum. Some of our less hardy vegetables are also parboiled and frozen. The correct amount are taken out and cooked with nothing wasted. There can be no excuses for waste.
BBC - Homes 'dumping a third of food'
Now wonder the UK has a big urban rat problem with a rodent feast sitting on every doorstep. Part of the problem is global food. Supermarket food is so cheap that it is a throwaway item like any gadget bought in an electrical shop. "That looks nice. It'll make a change so I'll buy it." A few days later when it's past its sell-by date. "Don't fancy it now." And in the bin it goes.
Food grown here has been nurtured from seed. The idea of throwing away vegetables, after putting so much effort into growing them, is unmentionable. Proper storage means that vegetables last longer. Potatoes dug up last September are stored in sacks, kept away from the light and warmth, are still providing wholesome meals. Leeks are still in the ground where they have been growing for almost a year. They are pulled out as and when needed.
Finally, the real problem is with ready meals. They are wasteful in plastic and cardboard packaging. Vegetables grow with packaging already on them. So long as they are stored correctly then that biodegradable packaging is all they need.
By relying on more food fresh straight from the ground or root store or freshly slaughtered meat, and buying it only when needed, you reduce waste down to the minimum. Some of our less hardy vegetables are also parboiled and frozen. The correct amount are taken out and cooked with nothing wasted. There can be no excuses for waste.
BBC - Homes 'dumping a third of food'
Warmest winter in 125 years
This winter has been the warmest since records began 125 years ago. The trend is pointing upwards so expect records to be broken year after year. The temperature rise is in part due to greenhouse gas emissions.
As a grower I am expected to be pleased that my growing season is longer. I am not pleased at the thought of a lack of rainfall during the growing season and too much rain when the season is over. Nor am I pleased about having to combat the new pests that will happen upon this warmer island.
BBC - Winter warmth breaks all records
As a grower I am expected to be pleased that my growing season is longer. I am not pleased at the thought of a lack of rainfall during the growing season and too much rain when the season is over. Nor am I pleased about having to combat the new pests that will happen upon this warmer island.
BBC - Winter warmth breaks all records
I'm a dimwit
This article in the Daily Mail amuses me. For those who have never heard of the paper it is a bastion of... Well, something or other. It is read by the kind of people who have their heads stuck in the sand with regards to everything. And that includes my poor old dad.
The article tries to rubbish ethical/green living by attacking the humble Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL). Apparently they flicker 50 times a second because the mains supply runs at 50 hertz. This flickering will give you a headache and make reading impossible. Well, in that case incandescent light bulbs flicker at 50Hz too. Not that you'd notice. The human eye can't discern flickering at that rate. If you see a light flickering it's because your house has faulty wiring. Get it fixed!
The article goes on to say that turning CFLs on and off too much decreases their longevity. You are best leaving them on 24/7 but that would use more electricity than normal use of an incandescent light. Nonsense! Some of the bulbs here. In fact, the one that I am using now to see my keyboard has been in 5 different houses with me over a 10 year period. Still going strong!
Back to the flickering. Because CFLs 'flicker' they are like mini-stroboscopes. In industrial applications machines might 'appear to freeze' thus causing accidents. Well, if the machine was doing its stuff at 50 cycles a second then yes it might appear to have frozen. But then so would any incandescent light running on a 50 Hz system. Some people!
These damned CFLs also take as much as 1 second to warm up to operating temperature. During which time they appear dimmer. Well, if you can't wait for 1 second then please see a doctor about your attention deficit disorder.
About the only thing I agree with in the article is the fact that they are more expensive to manufacture on a unit by unit basis. You must always take into account the total cost of ownership. However, the 10 euros or whatever I paid 10 years ago for this CFL has more than paid for itself with regards to bills and energy saved.
The most amusing part of the article was reading the comments. Typical new jerk Daily Mail readers. 'The sooner we get out of the EU the better.' and 'The real problem is, I don't like this Government so these bulbs are automatically rubbish.'
Daily Mail - Dimwits: Why 'green' lightbulbs aren't the answer to global warming
The article tries to rubbish ethical/green living by attacking the humble Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL). Apparently they flicker 50 times a second because the mains supply runs at 50 hertz. This flickering will give you a headache and make reading impossible. Well, in that case incandescent light bulbs flicker at 50Hz too. Not that you'd notice. The human eye can't discern flickering at that rate. If you see a light flickering it's because your house has faulty wiring. Get it fixed!
The article goes on to say that turning CFLs on and off too much decreases their longevity. You are best leaving them on 24/7 but that would use more electricity than normal use of an incandescent light. Nonsense! Some of the bulbs here. In fact, the one that I am using now to see my keyboard has been in 5 different houses with me over a 10 year period. Still going strong!
Back to the flickering. Because CFLs 'flicker' they are like mini-stroboscopes. In industrial applications machines might 'appear to freeze' thus causing accidents. Well, if the machine was doing its stuff at 50 cycles a second then yes it might appear to have frozen. But then so would any incandescent light running on a 50 Hz system. Some people!
These damned CFLs also take as much as 1 second to warm up to operating temperature. During which time they appear dimmer. Well, if you can't wait for 1 second then please see a doctor about your attention deficit disorder.
About the only thing I agree with in the article is the fact that they are more expensive to manufacture on a unit by unit basis. You must always take into account the total cost of ownership. However, the 10 euros or whatever I paid 10 years ago for this CFL has more than paid for itself with regards to bills and energy saved.
The most amusing part of the article was reading the comments. Typical new jerk Daily Mail readers. 'The sooner we get out of the EU the better.' and 'The real problem is, I don't like this Government so these bulbs are automatically rubbish.'
Daily Mail - Dimwits: Why 'green' lightbulbs aren't the answer to global warming
You think it's crowded now?
To those who think that Europe's problems are merely demographic and have nothing to do with climate change or lack of resources. Our problems are not that we don't breed enough, it's that others have no problem with wanting children and they're heading this way. The Guardian carries an article by James Lovelock about how climate change will force millions to be displaced.
Desertification has long affected Africa and we see the consequences of that in the boat loads of people turning up in Europe everyday. However, southern Europe itself is turning into a desert. Southern Spain is arid with water supply a real problem. In the southern hemisphere Australian farmers haven't seen any proper rainfall for years and many are giving up farming.
Global warming will see sea levels rising as the polar caps melt, forcing people away from disappearing coastlines. The deserts will expand away from the equatorial region and send millions of people scurrying north and south to what is left of the world's temperate regions.
The Guardian - We should be scared stiff
Desertification has long affected Africa and we see the consequences of that in the boat loads of people turning up in Europe everyday. However, southern Europe itself is turning into a desert. Southern Spain is arid with water supply a real problem. In the southern hemisphere Australian farmers haven't seen any proper rainfall for years and many are giving up farming.
Global warming will see sea levels rising as the polar caps melt, forcing people away from disappearing coastlines. The deserts will expand away from the equatorial region and send millions of people scurrying north and south to what is left of the world's temperate regions.
The Guardian - We should be scared stiff
Seed potatoes in
I planted 50 seed potatoes (Cara variety) in a deep bed today. The deep bed was created using the no-dig method. A ten feet by 4 feet area of grass was mown, covered with cardboard to keep the weeds down. The cardboard was then covered with a 50/50 mix of horse manure and compost.
The seed potatoes were spaced at 6 inches between each seed and 1 foot in from the side of the bed. A covering of 4 inches of soil was put over the seeds.
The plants should be poking through the soil in a few weeks and then I shall start earthing up with semi-rotted compost. Potatoes are not fussy and will grown in anything. Indeed, potato plants are spouting up all over my compost heap from discarded potatoes and peelings from last year.
I noticed that a new plant can sprout from quite a small piece of potato peeling. There really is no need to waste a whole seed potato to grow just a single plant. I normally halve my seeds but after seeing plants grow from peelings I might try quartered seeds.
A blight free season to you all!
The seed potatoes were spaced at 6 inches between each seed and 1 foot in from the side of the bed. A covering of 4 inches of soil was put over the seeds.
The plants should be poking through the soil in a few weeks and then I shall start earthing up with semi-rotted compost. Potatoes are not fussy and will grown in anything. Indeed, potato plants are spouting up all over my compost heap from discarded potatoes and peelings from last year.
I noticed that a new plant can sprout from quite a small piece of potato peeling. There really is no need to waste a whole seed potato to grow just a single plant. I normally halve my seeds but after seeing plants grow from peelings I might try quartered seeds.
A blight free season to you all!
A good reason why you should shop for local food
A terrifying news article about supermarkets. Little more than slavery puts global food on your plate. Only these slaves don't live in Africa or Asia. They live amongst us in Europe. Enjoy your meal.
The Guardian - Cheap - but not so cheerful?
The Guardian - Cheap - but not so cheerful?
GM crops causing liver and kidney damage
Of course, all crops are genetically modified. Most are selectively bred by generations of farmers. The process of cultivation has taken a few thousand years to genetically modify food to our tastes. We too have evolved along with our crops. Our genes have mutated to permit us to drink milk or eat wheat.
Modern commercial modification of genes takes a lot less time. The crops are grown in test fields where wind can scatter seed far and wide. Cross pollination can occur. Animals can feed upon the modified crop. It's tampering with nature at too fast a rate. It is done for no other reason than to wring the last cent of profit out of a market for the benefit of shareholders. It must stop.
Reuters - GMO corn causes liver, kidney problems in rats: study
Modern commercial modification of genes takes a lot less time. The crops are grown in test fields where wind can scatter seed far and wide. Cross pollination can occur. Animals can feed upon the modified crop. It's tampering with nature at too fast a rate. It is done for no other reason than to wring the last cent of profit out of a market for the benefit of shareholders. It must stop.
Reuters - GMO corn causes liver, kidney problems in rats: study
It's Not Easy Being Green - new series on BBC2
A new series of It's Not Easy Being Green is to begin on Thursday 22nd March at 8:30pm on BBC2. The series will be of eight weekly programmes.I saw the first programme in the series just now on one of the BBC interactive pages. It was on BBCi channel 2 (12441V transponder) on my Free To Air Satellite system. It is on a loop so it should still be viewable now.
It shows the three males (Dick, James and the other fella) travelling the country getting involved in other peoples' green projects.
The first programme showed a family building an oak timber frame mansion that will set them back £750,000. I can think of better ways to green your life instead of spending that amount of money but I guess that's their choice.
And another family in a more modest house wanted to grow vegetables for their son who has allergy problems with most processed foods. The Strawbridges helped them set up a grey water system for watering their vegetable garden and also set up them up with an allotment.
Being on BBC interactive there were plenty of questions for you to answer with your remote about your green lifestyle.
Ireland to produce 33% green electricity
With Saint Patrick's Day only four days away everything round here takes on a greenish tinge. Be it the coming of spring or bunting in the village, things are looking greener. Now, the Irish government wants 33% of the nation's electricity generation to be green too by the year 2020.
Ireland is a massive net importer of energy with no oil reserves of its own. The peat fired power stations will gradually shut down as Ireland's peat runs out over the next 20 years. Nuclear power generation is banned. However, through the various European electricity inter-connectors you can be sure that a few of those electrons flowing down your wires came from UK and French nuclear power stations.
Currently 8% of Irish electricity generated comes from green sources. Namely a few hydro plants such as in the Shannon estuary and the wind farms sprouting up all along the west coast. Renewable energy based electricity generation is up 1.2% on a year ago. The government wants double that increase every year until 2020. A tall order indeed.
I have exchanged e-mails in the past with Minister Noel Dempsey and found agreement in many areas. However, I never received a reply with regards to micro-generation. There are thousands of people along the west coast that could be grid-tied and contributing to Ireland's energy needs.
Domestic electricity customers still have no choice but to get their electricity from the Electricity Supply Board (ESB). The ESB is only grudgingly moving to an EU demanded open market. Unfortunately politics and business in Ireland are one and the same with many of Ireland's politicians 'holding down two jobs'. You can be sure that the ESB will be slow to react to Ireland's future generation needs whilst keeping an eye on its investors business interests.
Reuters - Ireland sets 33 pct green electricity goal by 2020
Ireland is a massive net importer of energy with no oil reserves of its own. The peat fired power stations will gradually shut down as Ireland's peat runs out over the next 20 years. Nuclear power generation is banned. However, through the various European electricity inter-connectors you can be sure that a few of those electrons flowing down your wires came from UK and French nuclear power stations.
Currently 8% of Irish electricity generated comes from green sources. Namely a few hydro plants such as in the Shannon estuary and the wind farms sprouting up all along the west coast. Renewable energy based electricity generation is up 1.2% on a year ago. The government wants double that increase every year until 2020. A tall order indeed.
I have exchanged e-mails in the past with Minister Noel Dempsey and found agreement in many areas. However, I never received a reply with regards to micro-generation. There are thousands of people along the west coast that could be grid-tied and contributing to Ireland's energy needs.
Domestic electricity customers still have no choice but to get their electricity from the Electricity Supply Board (ESB). The ESB is only grudgingly moving to an EU demanded open market. Unfortunately politics and business in Ireland are one and the same with many of Ireland's politicians 'holding down two jobs'. You can be sure that the ESB will be slow to react to Ireland's future generation needs whilst keeping an eye on its investors business interests.
Reuters - Ireland sets 33 pct green electricity goal by 2020
The greening of business
Companies will go green, if there's a handsome profit in it. European light bulb manufacturers Philips and Osram are lobbying governments to promote the switch to compact fluorescent lights (CFLs).No doubt the wholesale scrapping of incandescent light bulbs and the different pricing regime of CFLs will create a handsome windfall for the manufacturers.
Does anyone do anything for altruism these days?
Still, it's a start. So long as nobody is profiteering from the switch to energy efficient lights then it can only be a good thing.
Reuters - European businesses go green fast
Climate change bill for UK
The UK government is to put forward a bill that aims to reduce carbon emissions by 60% by 2050. How that is to be achieved without population reduction and a sustainable economy is yet to be seen.Every 5 years a carbon budget will be set for the country as a hole to adhere to. All new houses in the UK are to be carbon neutral by 2016. Energy saving light bulbs (CFLs) are to be 'encouraged'. The EU intend making CFLs compulsory, which is a better idea.
It is hoped that the bill will create a legal framework that will push the UK towards a low-carbon economy that uses more renewable energy sources where possible.
BBC - Climate bill set to be unveiled
Feels like spring
Sunny day so I spent the afternoon planting onion sets and carrots in the vegetable garden. Last year I produced my own onion sets. I planted onion seed (Ailsa Craig variety) last June and dug them up in September. The sets consist of small bulbs about 1/3 of an inch (8mm) across. I have no idea if they will grow into onions, go straight to seed or just die. I'll keep you posted. Over the next few weeks I shall gradually plant the bulk of my onion, carrot, shallot and leek requirement.
My seed potatoes (Cara variety) are chitting nicely on the window sill. I should have a few to plant before the customary Saint Patrick's Day on Saturday. Apparently all potatoes are supposed to go in on that day. However, seeing as Patrick was Welsh and Saint Patrick's Day was invented by the English as a recruitment drive to get Irishmen into their army then I think we can assume that anything goes. I'll be planting them from now until mid April.
The last of my willow cuttings were planted today. I also delivered 50 cuttings to a farmer friend nearby so he'll be planting some too. In return he will give me seeds from his eucalyptus trees, which do well in the climate here.
My seed potatoes (Cara variety) are chitting nicely on the window sill. I should have a few to plant before the customary Saint Patrick's Day on Saturday. Apparently all potatoes are supposed to go in on that day. However, seeing as Patrick was Welsh and Saint Patrick's Day was invented by the English as a recruitment drive to get Irishmen into their army then I think we can assume that anything goes. I'll be planting them from now until mid April.
The last of my willow cuttings were planted today. I also delivered 50 cuttings to a farmer friend nearby so he'll be planting some too. In return he will give me seeds from his eucalyptus trees, which do well in the climate here.
Stocking up on a scooter
I put the scooter to the test today and rode 12 miles to the local town to stock up. The scooter has a space under the seat for goods and I took a rucksack too.
In all I bought a lettuce, 2 bottles of coke (sorry, still can't kick it), 16 chicken burgers, a packet of chiles, some herbs, 2 large cartons of yoghurt, a tub of gravy granules, 6 packs of turkey mince, 4 packs of bacon, 2 packs of sausages, ham, 12 burger buns, 3 packets of biscuits, 12 eggs and a packet of carrot seeds.
My rucksack was a little heavy so I wouldn't mind a rack or two to hold things and maybe a scooter trailer as well. I've always preferred two wheels to four. However, a car is needed for pulling the big trailer and the boat trailer but it's never a first choice mode of transport for me.
It's been 6 weeks since I bought the scooter and I use it twice a week. I have only refuelled once and that cost 5 euros. A very economical way to travel. I see so much more on a scooter than I do in a car. The journey is more leisurely and I can pull in and let the cars go by.
In all I bought a lettuce, 2 bottles of coke (sorry, still can't kick it), 16 chicken burgers, a packet of chiles, some herbs, 2 large cartons of yoghurt, a tub of gravy granules, 6 packs of turkey mince, 4 packs of bacon, 2 packs of sausages, ham, 12 burger buns, 3 packets of biscuits, 12 eggs and a packet of carrot seeds.
My rucksack was a little heavy so I wouldn't mind a rack or two to hold things and maybe a scooter trailer as well. I've always preferred two wheels to four. However, a car is needed for pulling the big trailer and the boat trailer but it's never a first choice mode of transport for me.
It's been 6 weeks since I bought the scooter and I use it twice a week. I have only refuelled once and that cost 5 euros. A very economical way to travel. I see so much more on a scooter than I do in a car. The journey is more leisurely and I can pull in and let the cars go by.
The Trap on BBC2 tonight
As I have long argued, we don't live in a democracy. So long as money is involved, it will never happen. There are those who like to tell me how lucky I am to live here and not Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan or any other place where our soldiers are "nation building".
DOCUMENTARY: The Trap - What Happened to Our Dreams of Freedom
On: BBC 2 - 9PM
What does freedom actually mean today? This series of films by BAFTA-winning producer Adam Curtis argues that our freedom is a limited kind of freedom. It shows how a simplistic model of human beings as self-seeking, almost robotic, creatures led to today's idea of freedom. This model was apparently derived from techniques developed by nuclear strategists during the Cold War. Genetic biologists, anthropologists, radical psychiatrists and free market economists took it further until it became a new system of invisible control.
Review - The Guardian
DOCUMENTARY: The Trap - What Happened to Our Dreams of Freedom
On: BBC 2 - 9PM
What does freedom actually mean today? This series of films by BAFTA-winning producer Adam Curtis argues that our freedom is a limited kind of freedom. It shows how a simplistic model of human beings as self-seeking, almost robotic, creatures led to today's idea of freedom. This model was apparently derived from techniques developed by nuclear strategists during the Cold War. Genetic biologists, anthropologists, radical psychiatrists and free market economists took it further until it became a new system of invisible control.
Review - The Guardian
The EU goes green
So, the EU member nations have agreed to cut carbon emissions by 20%, produce a fifth of its energy from renewable energy and ban incandescent light bulbs by 2009.Now, here are my problems with that. It all comes to nothing if the EU persists with an unsustainable economic system. One that insists on year-on-year economic growth. An economy that will grow to produce more carbon than ever before so that the 20% cut will never happen.
So long as politicians and businessmen (who are often one and the same) walk together along the road to disaster then nothing will ever be achieved. A politicians' career is a walk along a tightrope of fear. Fear of being unelectable. Our politicians are also wealthy people who enjoy doing nothing more than being wealthy.
A politician will never rock the corporate boat that steams along with greed and exploitation fuelling its boilers. The voters (once of farming stock) have been cleared away from the countryside and forced to live money grabbing lifestyles in urban areas. The businessmen exploit both politicians and voters.
Instead of producing food, the once farmers now live in cities. These once farmers have to produce ethereal objects that nobody really needs but have to be produced to provide gainful employment. If they are not gainfully employed then they vote out whoever is in power. Therefore the politicians have to keep urbanites happy at all times.
The businessmen have to provide these jobs for the once farmers and they wield power over the politicians who are desperate for these jobs to be created. And there you have the vicious triangle of capital. Resource and energy intensive destruction of the planet that has to constantly expand or die.
That's why setting limits to energy usage will never work. When I studies physics I learnt about the laws of thermodynamics. I know that energy can't be created from nowhere and I know that perpetual motion machines will never exist.
Our politicians, on the other hand, must believe in everything that I know to be false. They appear to believe in infinite material growth with a finite amount of energy. They want an infinite number of migrants to enter the EU to pay the pensions of those workers who have just retired. Maybe science has moved on and I have lost track but I'm pretty sure that an infinite population wishing infinite materials require infinite resources and infinite energy on a FINITE planet in a FINITE universe.
Tony Blair, little Bertie, George W., Angela Merkel, can any of you square that circle for me?
The Guardian - Europe sets benchmark for tackling climate change
Aftermath
After a two-day battering from the wind I spent the day clearing up outside and splitting wood for the stove. It's still quite cold at the moment. Cloudless nights make it very cold and clouds in the daytime keeps the sun rays at bay.
The willow cuttings I planted two weeks ago are now growing. A further reduction in size of my carbon footprint. That was aided too by last Sunday's 11-hour power cut. I used the gasifier stove to heat water on that day.
I am quite pleased with this winter's achievements. There is a little oil left in the tank but I won't be replenishing it. I have heated the downstairs sufficiently with the wood stove and heated water with the gasifier.
By insulating and sealing the house I have rid us of draughts and excessive moisture from the outside. This has resulted in a warmer house with a lot less moisture in the air. Humidity is typically between 60 and 65% rather than over 75% as it was. The pesky psocids are not to be seen anywhere now.
The partition separating the staircase and ground floor keeps heat from the stove downstairs. The upstairs is abandoned during the winters months. Nothing is stored there so there is nothing to go damp.
As far as winter heat is concerned, self-sufficiency has been attained. Summer heat is a different matter. Hot water will be needed by I don't fancy firing up the gasifier too often. I shall have to work on a solar water heater to pre-heat water with the gasifier as back up.
The willow cuttings I planted two weeks ago are now growing. A further reduction in size of my carbon footprint. That was aided too by last Sunday's 11-hour power cut. I used the gasifier stove to heat water on that day.
I am quite pleased with this winter's achievements. There is a little oil left in the tank but I won't be replenishing it. I have heated the downstairs sufficiently with the wood stove and heated water with the gasifier.
By insulating and sealing the house I have rid us of draughts and excessive moisture from the outside. This has resulted in a warmer house with a lot less moisture in the air. Humidity is typically between 60 and 65% rather than over 75% as it was. The pesky psocids are not to be seen anywhere now.
The partition separating the staircase and ground floor keeps heat from the stove downstairs. The upstairs is abandoned during the winters months. Nothing is stored there so there is nothing to go damp.
As far as winter heat is concerned, self-sufficiency has been attained. Summer heat is a different matter. Hot water will be needed by I don't fancy firing up the gasifier too often. I shall have to work on a solar water heater to pre-heat water with the gasifier as back up.
The decline of UK oil and the nation to follow?
UK oil deposits are now past peak and each year shows less and less oil being extracted from the UK's North Sea oil rigs. This results in less taxes being taken by the treasury and less money for the Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) to spend.
With the population of the UK many tens of millions higher than it can sustain we can expect life to become more grim for its population. The NHS (National Health Service) will buckle without government revenue. Its armed forces serving all over the world at the behest of the United States will suffer too.
No wonder English politicians use scare tactics to frighten the Scottish from leaving the union. Scottish oil wells and now its growing expanding wind farms are essential to keep the lights on in England.
The UK is now a net importer of gas and oil. Its oil wealth squandered when oil was less than $10 a barrel. A nation in decline?
The Business - UK oil in deficit as Browns North Sea taxes bite
The Daily Reckoning - North Sea Oil's Rapid Decline
Optimum Population Trust
With the population of the UK many tens of millions higher than it can sustain we can expect life to become more grim for its population. The NHS (National Health Service) will buckle without government revenue. Its armed forces serving all over the world at the behest of the United States will suffer too.
No wonder English politicians use scare tactics to frighten the Scottish from leaving the union. Scottish oil wells and now its growing expanding wind farms are essential to keep the lights on in England.
The UK is now a net importer of gas and oil. Its oil wealth squandered when oil was less than $10 a barrel. A nation in decline?
The Business - UK oil in deficit as Browns North Sea taxes bite
The Daily Reckoning - North Sea Oil's Rapid Decline
Optimum Population Trust
The futility of carbon off-setting
Just finished watching 'Go Green or Else' on the BBC. One segment showed the reporter stomping on his carbon footprint by visiting Jamaica to explain carbon off-setting. The point was that he wanted to convince poor people to use less energy so that he could use more back home. The reporter then made a tour of a Jamaican slum handing out compact fluorescent light bulbs so that the inhabitants used less electricity.
So what is the problem with that? Well, to be honest it is no better than imperialism and slavery. By off-setting your carbon use you prevent others from using fossil fuels and keep a significant proportion of the planet deprived.
Is it not the right for every individual on the planet to better themselves? Who are westerners to decide who can develop their society and who can't? The more poor countries that develop and prosper the fewer places there will be to send your carbon-offsets to anyway. I can't see the Chinese or Indian governments allowing its people to be prevented from prospering.
So, let's stop this carbon-offsetting nonsense. The best way to help everyone is if we in the west cut our carbon emissions and permit the developing world to raise its emissions through sustainable development. But above all we need to reduce the population of the world so that we can all live affluently and sustainably.
So what is the problem with that? Well, to be honest it is no better than imperialism and slavery. By off-setting your carbon use you prevent others from using fossil fuels and keep a significant proportion of the planet deprived.
Is it not the right for every individual on the planet to better themselves? Who are westerners to decide who can develop their society and who can't? The more poor countries that develop and prosper the fewer places there will be to send your carbon-offsets to anyway. I can't see the Chinese or Indian governments allowing its people to be prevented from prospering.
So, let's stop this carbon-offsetting nonsense. The best way to help everyone is if we in the west cut our carbon emissions and permit the developing world to raise its emissions through sustainable development. But above all we need to reduce the population of the world so that we can all live affluently and sustainably.
Go green or else
Panorama, a current affairs programme on BBC1, will tonight show one of its reporters and his family going green for one whole year. Must have been awful for the poor things.
I'm sure that wanting a career in an office at the BBC is a sure sign that you don't want to live a green lifestyle.
Panorama - Go Green or Else - BBC1, 8:30pm
I'm sure that wanting a career in an office at the BBC is a sure sign that you don't want to live a green lifestyle.
Panorama - Go Green or Else - BBC1, 8:30pm
Reduce, reuse and recycle
The Guardian newspaper is asking for people to send in their ideas for reusing items that would normally get thrown away. I sent in my idea for mini-propagators.
Don't get upset when you read that the alternative to using a plastic pot to make a doll is to throw it in the bin. Townies!
The Guardian - The reusable suspects
Don't get upset when you read that the alternative to using a plastic pot to make a doll is to throw it in the bin. Townies!
The Guardian - The reusable suspects
Vegetable growing - What not to do #6926
As usual I make a mess of seed sowing. Seed for big onions needs to be planted in September of the previous year. Did I remember that? No.
I have seedlings popping up now but they won't produce the big bulbs I'm used to. I'll have to sow hundreds of seeds and hope the small bulbs provide all the onion I need.
A lot of onion is eaten here. Curries, pastas, chile con carne and stews are staple meals. An onion a day keeps... well, just about anyone away.
I have seedlings popping up now but they won't produce the big bulbs I'm used to. I'll have to sow hundreds of seeds and hope the small bulbs provide all the onion I need.
A lot of onion is eaten here. Curries, pastas, chile con carne and stews are staple meals. An onion a day keeps... well, just about anyone away.
Expecting hell to visit tomorrow
We can expect 80mph gusts tomorrow as a storm is brewing off the coast. Today's task will be to tie everything down outside. Well, I will when the hail stones stop falling.
Are all greens hypocrites?
The furore over Al Gore's carbon footprint continues. It is an argument pointed at any green campaigner. "Are you still jetting around the world telling us not to jet around the world?"
The Guardian - Green talk but no green walk?
The Guardian - Green talk but no green walk?
No snow in Tokyo
For the first time in 131 years Tokyo has had no winter snow. Of course, it has nothing to do with global warming, which doesn't exist.
BBC - Snowless winter first for Tokyo
BBC - Snowless winter first for Tokyo
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