Carbon con

Work has restarted on the groundbreaking "green" homes project at Hanham Hall on the outskirts of Bristol... Developer Barratt Homes won the contract to build the pioneering one, two, three, four and five-bed homes which are expected to set the construction industry's benchmark for "green" living... so they meet the new 2016 Zero Carbon Building Regulation standards...(full story)

Thing is that the houses, whilst having many interesting features, won’t actually be zero carbon. Now, you'd think that 'zero carbon' is pretty clear cut - but what the Govt have done is change the definition of 'zero carbon' to make the standard easier to meet!! (See here and here for some of the past debate).

HCA head of area David Warburton said: "It has been our long-held ambition to deliver an exemplar, energy efficient community at Hanham Hall, which local people will be proud to live in.

"This is now one of two projects of its kind in the country. It is great news that local people will soon see evidence of the bold vision for the project coming to life when work progresses on the delivery of a fantastic new modern and sustainable community at Hanham Hall."

I certainly want to see truly sustainable homes being built but they won’t be if they are not zero carbon. And when I read comments like the one above I also wonder whether they have given much thought to social sustainability, including making homes affordable and having a decent mixed community and facilities etc? Economic, social and environmental factors must work together for proper sustainability to be achieved.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_neutrality

Eco-inevitability

On the desirability, necessity and inevitability of sustainable living. The images in this screencast are from Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED), Brenda and Robert Vale's autonomous, off-grid house (the first built in the UK) and Hockerton Housing Project.

Carbon Centre

At last! More serious attention is being given to the accurate measurement of carbon emissions. One might well ask why it's taken so long when our society has been committed  since the late 1980s - in words at least - to sustainable development. Sustainable carbon emissions are the number one performance measure within sustainable development...

A new UK facility aimed at improving measurement of carbon emissions and boosting development of clean technology is due to open. The Centre for Carbon Measurement will be based at the National Physical Laboratory in south-west London. It will raise accuracy of climate data, support better emissions monitoring to ensure a fair carbon market, and verify claims made about low-carbon products...more

Climate and carbon

This week is Climate Week. I'm all in favour of raising awareness of climate change and the need for urgent action on a significant scale though I find that many of these sort of initiatives provide more opportunities for greenwash and greenspeak than real, concerted green action. I note that significant contributors to climate change such as Tesco, EDF, H&M...are sponsors of the week!!! I have serious doubts about the policies of Govt, councils and business on carbon reduction and climate change - they are too small scale and too slow and so dont match best science. We are missing out on good, sustainable economic development as a result too. Many approaches dont show joined up thinking eg more products are being marked with their carbon footprint but shoppers dont have any information to tell them what is too high or too low a footprint and there is no requirement for them to stay within a carbon budget in any case. Anyhow, here's a screencast I've made giving an essential guide to carbon footprinting - call it one of  my contributions to the week:

Zero Carbon Britain Day Saturday July 16th

...There are, in fact, a lot of things we can do to reduce our emissions. A list of what you can do is too long for this post but I would suggest insulating your house, unplug things that arent needed, cut flying. Get a more efficient car, boiler, light bulbs, fridge etc. Use a shower not a bath, uses less water and less energy to warm the water. Choose local food and services Eat more vegetables, and be more choosy about meat, chicken has less emissions than beef, the smaller animals are better...

Green Reading: Zero Carbon Britain Day Saturday July 16th



More here http://www.zerocarbonbritain.com/

Living a one tonne life: update on research

Update on this research received: Could a ‘One Tonne Life’ Make it Possible for Households to Reduce CO2 Emissions to a Level That Would Avoid Climate Change?



· Transport emissions drop more than 90%



· CO2emissions produced in the home halved



· Food carbon emissions reduced 84% by going vegan



· Manufacturing of house and goods prevents ‘One Tonne’



Stockholm, Sweden; Monday, 13thJune 2011: “One Tonne Life”, a collaboration project between A-hus, Vattenfall, Volvo Cars and other partners has shown that households could reduce their carbon output from 7.3 tonnes per person to a stable 2.5 tonnes per person, living a comfortable everyday life. Furthermore, more extensive changes prove that it is possible to get this figure down to just 1.5, a level that could help us become carbon neutral and avoid serious climate change according to ‘A One Tonne Future’.



In January 2011, Swedish family, the Lindells, embarked on this six month groundbreaking project to find out if they could reduce their carbon emissions to hit this important target. They were helped in a variety of ways, not least with a climate-smart house featuring solar cells on the roof that were used to recharge the electric car parked in the driveway. The family – father Nils, mother Alicia and children Hannah and Jonathan – undertook this inspiring journey which involved moving to a new, climate smart house and examining each of their everyday habits to find out where they could reduce or, indeed, eliminate their carbon emissions.



The family report that with their energy smart house, appliances, energy meter and electric vehicle, reducing their emissions to 2.5 tonnes did not require any major compromise in their everyday lifestyles. After that, however, things got tougher and living at the 1.5 tonne level was a tough compromise.



The family made most progress in transport and electricity consumption. Emissions from transport dropped by more than 90%, mainly due to the family’s Volvo C30 Electric being recharged with electricity from hydro-power. The family’s house, built by A-hus, produces its own electricity and,with supplementary renewable electricity from hydro-power, carbon dioxide emissions from purchased electricity reduced to almost zero. All told, carbon dioxide emissions from the family’s home were more than halved compared to their emissions level in their previous home.



The family also made immense progress through their eating habits. By meal planning and being more informed about the food we eat, varying the choice of meat and eating more vegetables, it is possible for people to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Towards the end of the trial period, the Lindells ate only vegetarian dishes, and dairy produce was replaced with soya and oat-based alternatives.



In order to reduce their emissions still further, in the final 1.5-tonne week the family reduced the size of their home by closing off one room. They went without TV, shopping and eating out. However, their “rucksack” of 900 kilograms stopped them from reaching the one tonne target. This “rucksack” consists of the CO² emissions that take place when various products are manufactured, such as the house, solar panels, car, furniture and clothes. However, they demonstrated that it is possible to get very close to one tonne, however it does involve a change in lifestyle and the information to make the right changes.



Key features of the One Tonne house



The wooden “One Tonne Life” house has triple-layer walls with exceptional insulation, minimal air leakage and low-energy windows and doors. Through its solar photovoltaic system the house is a net producer of energy. All electricity not consumed by the family was fed into the national grid or used to recharge the electric car. The family’s Volvo C30 Electric emits no carbon dioxide at all when recharged with renewable electricity.



Household appliances account for up to half of a normal household’s total energy consumption, the house is equipped with the latest energy saving appliances from Siemens. To help track progress the Family had an ‘Energy Watch’ system that registers the power usage and compiles data for analysis. This allows consumption to be followed in real time or over a selected time period and learn how their personal habits influence electricity consumption. Experts from the Chalmers University of Technology followed the family in order to ensure a reliable calculation of the family’s carbon dioxide emissions. Methodology can be found here.



Further information and access to the project’s Flickr and Youtube account can be found here http://onetonnelife.com

One Tonne Life

One Tonne Life

Is it possible to live a One Tonne Life today?
One tonne of carbon dioxide per person and year is a major challenge bearing in mind that the global average today is about seven tonnes.
However, house specialists A-hus, power supplier Vattenfall and Volvo Cars believe that with the right know-how, the right technology and confident, consistent behaviour it is possible for the test family to approach the one-tonne target figure without departing significantly from its regular lifestyle or standard of living.
Much of the technology and the solutions the family will use are already available to the general public or will be in the near future. The necessary preconditions are there – right now!

According to The Independent 'Three Swedish companies are looking for an 'average' family to live in Stockholm for six months and reduce their environmental impact.' Click the link to find out more.

A SOLAR and pedal-powered party takes place at Bristol's Create Centre on Saturday.

A SOLAR and pedal-powered party takes place at Bristol's Create Centre on Saturday.

The theme of the 'Saturday Sun-day' party is low-carbon living, and there will be a whole host of free hands-on activities, workshops and demos to get people thinking about greener living and help them to 'reduce the use'.

Bristol City Council leader, Councillor Barbara Janke, said: "To make sure we meet our ambitions to be the UK's Green Capital, we need to inspire Bristol people in their communities to make changes to the way they live their lives.

"I hope the event will help people to understand more and find creative ways of signing up to a greener lifestyle."

Children can crawl inside an enormous inflatable 'Explorer Dome' to find out all about earth. They'll also have the chance to make a solar-powered boat, create a recycled mural, and decorate their bikes with the help of local artists, ready for September's Bristol Cycle Carnival.

Story sessions and craft activities will be run throughout the day in Create's brand new library space.
Bristol City Football Club will be supporting the event and sending along a player to sign autographs and take part in some footie fun in the afternoon.

Bite-sized eco-home workshops will offer practical advice on insulating your home, choosing renewable energy and monitoring energy use.

There will also be live music and food and drink.

The Saturday Sun-day is from 10am to 5pm at Create, Smeaton Road, Spike Island, Bristol. Entry is free. To find out more, visit www.createbristol.org.

Tackling the triple crises: recession; climate change; rising inequality

Tackling climate change has long been a key campaigning issue for the Green Party. I have received tens of emails on it during this election campaign (see below). I've been working on this issue, both politically and through my employment, since 1982/3! I will be debating this and other related matters with other candidates at the hustings organised by Greenpeace tonight at the City Academy, Russell Town Avenue, 7.30pm.

My party is committed to a set of economic, social and environmental policies designed to cut carbon emissions by 10% per year (eg insulating all homes free of charge, massive investment in public transport and renewable energy...). We have a £44 billion investment package - the Green New Deal - designed to tackle the triple crises: recession; climate change; rising inequality. I have been working to illustrate the quality of life, wellbeing and food, job and energy security benefits of green policies that tackle climate change for many years. http://www.onlygreen.org.uk/

I will continue to work, as I have for decades before this election, for the establishment of a fair and sustainable society ie one that has health and wellbeing as the measure of progress in place of ‘growth’ and which reconciles the economic and social with our environment such that we can
all lead decent lives now and on into the future.

____________________________________________________

>Dear Mr Vowles,
>
>I live in your constituency, and I am writing to let you know that my
>vote will be strongly influenced by which candidates speak up publicly on
>climate change.
>
>MPs elected at this general election will have the responsibility to
>drive the low carbon economic recovery that Britain needs. With proper
>political leadership, Britain can upgrade its outdated energy and
>transport infrastructure and housing stock, keep consumer bills down and
>create tens of thousands of sustainable jobs.
>
>So, I plan to vote for action on climate change, so that I get an MP who
>will champion the opportunities presented by a transformation to a low
>carbon economy.
>
>As a supporter of Greenpeace, I'm aware that tens of thousands of people,
>many of whom are supporters of RSPB, WWF, Oxfam and Christian Aid and
>other organisations, want to see candidates show commitment to action on
>climate change during their election campaign. As a result I will be
>paying close attention to which candidates speak up on this issue.
>
>Every constituency can benefit from action on climate change, and can
>achieve energy efficient homes and businesses, a growth in jobs and
>skills and a more competitive local economy. Many constituencies can
>benefit from the growing offshore wind power industry as competition
>mounts to secure long term supply chain jobs in different parts of the
>country.
>
>All the major political party leaders have said they support action on
>climate change and a more efficient low carbon economy. Do you plan to
>outline how you aim reap the benefits of a low carbon recovery this
>constituency? Will you make a public statement about your commitment to
>tackling climate change?
>
>Please let me know how you plan to ensure that at least 15% of all energy
>comes from renewable sources by 2020, and how you will ensure that our
>constituency benefits from a transition to a low carbon economy.
>
>Yours sincerely,

Friend of the Earth

Many thanks to Friends of the Earth for all its efforts over many years on a wide range of issues. They have given great leadership. I'll continue to do my best to take part in and support their work (including signing their pledge, below) by advocating a sustainable society ie one that reconciles the economic, social and environmental. The Green New Deal, a £45 billion investment plan, would be a great start down this path.

I PLEDGE TO SUPPORT

· Policy 1: A local carbon budget for every local authority: that caps CO2 in the local area in line with the scientific demands for emissions cuts and local circumstances; and enough money and technical support to enable councils to do their bit to tackle climate change.

· Policy 2: Sufficient investment in switching to a low carbon economy to: achieve a reduction in UK greenhouse gas emission of 42 per cent by 2020; create jobs and boost the recovery; and eliminate fuel poverty.

· Policy 3: An international deal on cutting emissions where those responsible make the deepest cuts first, and developing countries are supported to grow in a low carbon way.

· Policy 4: A new law which will tackle the major greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation caused by the UK’s dependence on imported feeds for livestock - and which will support better UK farming and domestic feed production.

The Liberal Democrats: just what do they stand for??

Watching Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg on The Politics Show this weekend I was disappointed that he was not challenged on the [lack of] consistency and conviction behind Lib Dem policies and action. There’s no shortage of examples:

*Economic policy
Nick Clegg says he wants a fair society BUT has recently stressed his admiration for monetarist, ‘no such thing as society’ Margaret Thatcher! This presumeably will help his work for savage cuts in public services.

The LibDems [so-called] “green tax switch” promises to “cut income tax and switch to green taxes on pollution instead” BUT no serious Green would contemplate this. We need income taxation to pay for schools, hospitals, public services… So-called green tax revenue in place of income taxation means keeping the pollution going, to keep the revenue coming in, so that we don’t then have less money for schools, hospitals, public services…

*Democratic reform policy
Nationally say they want voters to have the power to sack MPs through a recall system BUT in Bristol Lib Dems opposed a Green motion to introduce recall locally.

*Transport policy
Norman Baker has said a LibDem government would stop spending on road building BUT his colleagues in Lancashire support the Lancaster Northern bypass.

Lib Dems wanted a moratorium on road building BUT then wholeartedly supported the Newbury bypass, the Batheaston bypass, the M74 extension in Scotland…

They favour congestion charging nationally BUT are against it in Edinburgh, Manchester and York.

Lib Dem MP Norman Baker has [rightly] complained that British rail passengers pay the highest fares in Europe BUT then he said the LibDems would improve matters by freezing UK rail fares - at the highest level in Europe!

Lib Dems opposed the expansion of Heathrow BUT have been happy to expand Birmingham, Carlisle, Exeter, Liverpool and Norwich airports – and enthused about Manchester airport’s second runway (except Lib Dems in Stockport, under the flightpath!).

*Waste management policy
LibDems in Sheffield argued for a new incinerator BUT in Hull fought against an incinerator. They stopped incineration in Bristol BUT have supported incinerator projects in Exeter, Plymouth and Barnstaple, and also in Essex.

*Energy policy
Say they want a zero carbon economy by 2050 BUT have opposed windfarm proposals in Cornwall, Cumbria, Devon and Worcestershire and in Lewisham the they voted against a Green Party budget package to insulate 25,000 homes for free. (They have until this year opposed Bristol Green Cllr Charlie Bolton’s budget amendments allocating more money for insulation.)

They say the environment is at the ‘heart of everything’ they do BUT the party is built on flip flopping opportunism not ecological principles. This explains their lack of joined up (systems) thinking, the root of all truly Green politics.

One Planet Knowle?

At the first meeting of the Knowle West Team on 29 Sept, which I attended both as a local resident and to represent Knowle’s Transition group Sustainable Knowle, I was concerned that the term sustainability was pretty freely used eg featuring prominently in consultants Urban Initiatives own draft vision statement, but that no sustainability benchmarks, indicators, measures, assessment processes...were discussed. I made a note to raise the issue at the meeting but did not get the chance, thus this note.

It strikes me that sustainability is at the heart of the vision and objectives drawn up by Knowle West’s residents*, who have a broad-based and inclusive definition of land and development value, compared with the narrow, purely financial, view on the value of land and development expressed by someone else at the meeting on the 29th. [*See this Bristol City Council page on Knowle West Regeneration].

I brought this issue up at the Knowle West Residents Planning Group meeting on 6 Oct and said I would circulate some thoughts on sustainability benchmarks. I think the following principles are excellent as a sustainability guide to residents, campaigners, designers, architects, planners, developers – and there are some very good practical projects that are based upon them…

One Planet Living is a ‘global initiative based on 10 principles of sustainability developed by BioRegional and WWF’.

‘The ten principles of one planet living are a framework to help us enjoy a high quality of life within a fair share of the earth's resources:

*

Zero Carbon
Making buildings more energy efficient and delivering all energy with renewable technologies.

*

Zero Waste
Reducing waste arisings, reusing where possible, and ultimately sending zero waste to landfill.

*

Sustainable Transport
Encouraging low carbon modes of transport to reduce emissions, reducing the need to travel.

*

Sustainable Materials
Using sustainable products that have a low embodied energy.

*

Local and Sustainable Food
Choosing low impact, local, seasonal and organic diets and reducing food waste.

*

Sustainable Water
Using water more efficiently in buildings and in the products we buy; tackling local flooding and water course pollution.

*

Natural Habitats and Wildlife
Protecting and expanding old habitats and creating new space for wildlife.

*

Culture and Heritage
Reviving local identity and wisdom; support for, and participation in, the arts.

*

Equity, Fair Trade and Local Economy
Inclusive, empowering workplaces with equitable pay; support for local communities and fair trade.

*

Health and Happiness
Encouraging active, sociable, meaningful lives to promote good health and well being.’
*
More details on the above, including an expansion on what the 10 principles are all about here. Several practical examples of projects, at various levels, such as: BedZed UK; One Brighton; One Gallions, Thames Gateway; One Planet Sutton; RuralZED, can be found here.

The building products supplier Kingspan sponsored ‘Lighthouse’ demonstration zero carbon project at the Building Research Establishment (pictured), the work of Mount Pleasant Ecological Park and the principles developed at the Eden Project may or may not be fully realisable in practice, as yet, but they can certainly be used to inform our sustainable decision making, design and construction.

See http://zerokarb.com/projects.asp for more examples of zero carbon home designs and here
http://www.forumforthefuture.org.uk/greenfutures/articles/Green_House_Effect70 for debate/discussion on green homes.

Bristol Schumacher Conference 2009: From the ashes of the crash - Rebuilding with the new economics

Received this from the Schumacher Society:

Following on from the success of last year's Bristol Schumacher Conference, LESS IS MORE Can We Really Live Better By Consuming Less? chaired byJonathon Porritt, this year we are partnering with the New Economics Foundation (nef) and keeping a similar format - three lectures and 2x four workshops.

The Conference will take place at the Council House on Saturday 17 October 2009 - some details are below.

It is advisable to book in advance as last year was sold out before the day.

We would be most grateful if you could forward this email and attached leaflet to any contacts you think might be interested.

FFI or to book tickets:
www.schumacher.org.uk
Tel 0117 903 1081

We do hope you will join us for an inspiring day of lectures and workshopswith such leading edge speakers on such a timely subject.

Laura Hamilton
Schumacher Society marketing volunteer
-------------------------------
The Schumacher Society
The Create Environment Centre
Smeaton Road
Bristol
BS1 6XN
Tel: 0117 9031081
admin@schumacher.org.uk
www.schumacher.org.uk

******************************
Bristol Schumacher Conference 2009

FROM THE ASHES OF THE CRASH - Rebuilding with the new economics
Saturday 17 October 2009 Council House, Bristol, BS1 5TR

CHAIR Stewart Wallis - nef Executive Director

LECTURES

Dr. Jayati Ghosh - Professor of Economics, New Delhi
THE MARKET THAT FAILED

Andrew Simms - nef Policy Director
THE TERRIBLE FREEDOM BEFORE DUSK

Stacy Mitchell - Researcher with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, USA
A NEW DEAL FOR LOCAL ECONOMIES

WORKSHOPS

a. David Boyle (editor, Radical Economics)
Reinventing money

b.. John Christensen (Tax Justice Network uk)
The attack on democracy: tax havens as the engines of chaos

c. Liz Cox (nef) & Ciaran Mundy (Transition Bristol)
Transition to a low carbon high well being future

d. Nick Robins (HSBC), James Vaccaro (Triodos) & Mark Mansley (Rathbone Greenbank Investments)
Investing in a low carbon economy

Guest Artist Rory McLeod

****************

The Schumacher Society in partnership with nef (new economics foundation)
Sponsors Rathbone Greenbank Investments & Triodos Bank
FFI & tickets
www.schumacher.org.uk
Tel 0117 903 1081

How green is the proposed new Bristol City stadium design?

Saw this Evening Post report about how the proposed new Bristol City football stadium would be 'sunk into the ground' to minimise impacts. Subject to the full details, which I've yet to see, this is likely to be a good aspect of its design as visual intrusion, noise pollution and possibly light pollution would be cut. I made an enquiry to find out more via Trimedia (ashtonvale@trimediauk.com) who are dealing with a lot of the consultation/PR for BCFC and I was told the stadium would be sunk 3 metres into the ground. They also sent me further design information, which I'm looking over, and I sent the email request below for asking about a wide range of green design features/principles:

____________________________________________________
Thanks for this - I'll look over the attached information asap. I'd be grateful if you could establish which of the following you feel are a part of the BCFC new stadium plans:

*abiding by the concept of compensation for loss of green space in the green belt;

* a thorough ecological assessment of the whole area, at various times of the year;

*walking, cycling and light rail transport links;

*an unobtrusive external colour;

*use of ecological footprinting to measure impacts;

*permanently protected nature reserves around the stadium, designed to maximise biodiversity;

*aiming to be a carbon neutral stadium;

*avoiding any 'sprawl' in design;

*being an example of sustainable design (see examples below) - promoting sustainable economic activity, the latest energy efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable transport technologies.
Examples of football clubs who have used or attempted to use green principles, designs and technologies (this would fit well with Bristol's green capital ambitions and compensate to a degree for the loss of green space):

Dartford FC – living grass roof, solar electricity and heating, rainwater collection and low noise and light pollution design.

Ipswich Town – carbon neutral scheme.

Renewables in football clubs information.

Middlesborough – solar roof and wind turbines project.

Man City – community involvement, transport and waste initiatives (wind turbines were planned but sadly now abandoned).

Many thanks for your help.

Yours sincerely
Glenn Vowles

Corn starch bag introduction: poor environmental decision making

Councillor Gary Hopkins introduction of corn starch plastic bags free to all households that want them is a waste of £100,000 per year of our council taxes and is poor environmental decision making. I sympathise with many of the sentiments expressed by letter writers Bernard Seward, Ambrose Porter and Malcolm Leslie (Feedback: Corn Starch Bags, Post, April 28).

It makes little economic sense to have the council bearing the cost of introducing a manufactured bio-plastic bag into a recycling system where the vast majority of Bristol's public are already managing perfectly well wrapping their food waste in a free, otherwise waste, product. They use newspaper, other waste paper or empty cereal packets etc.

Its makes little environmental sense either, as the bags increase the total environmental impact of the recycling system itself. Even if the bags in isolation are carbon neutral, the farming of the corn to get the starch and the manufacturing and transport of the bags certainly are not. Additionally, land used to grow corn for the bags is land that could be growing food for people! Land may even be cleared to grow the corn, at a cost to wildlife.

Its worrying that environmental decisions like this aren't approached rationally ie by gathering full information and assessing it before deciding. Greens have persistently requested that data on total bag environmental impact should be gathered before their possible introduction. No attempt was made at getting even broad estimates. Poor and incorrect responses were given to questions. One council official claimed, with no supporting evidence whatsoever, that because the bags were made from biomass (material from living origins) they were carbon neutral -mahogany doors are made from biomass but no-one would suggest that its carbon neutral to cut down and process rainforest trees to get them!!

The idea of the bags is to get more people recycling food scraps, cutting council waste costs and cutting environmental impacts. However, since the total environmental impact of bag introduction has not been established we will not be able to calculate whether any environmental gains made from increased recycling fully compensate for the environmental cost of making the bags. Even if they did its a very inefficient and expensive way to cut impacts - £100,000 per year more for energy saving, getting people out of cars and onto bikes or getting people to grow some of their own food, can easily be shown as far better options. Less chance of 'green' publicity and kudos for Cllr Hopkins with these options perhaps?? Or is this all much more about saving money alone??

Sustainability and tomorrows Budget

Three excellent posts on the blog of Sustainable Development Commission Chairman Jonathon Porritt. All relate closely to tomorrow's budget and I recommend looking over each of them:

Government and the low carbon economy

Sustainability on the political agenda

Prosperity without growth

Zero Carbon Future

Nice accurate, brief and concise video on how to build a zero carbon future, cutting imported energy, becoming much less wasteful, investing in renewable energy massively, from the Centre for Alternative Technology.

Zero Carbon Britain from Zero Carbon Britain on Vimeo.

'Green' consultants fly off to plant some trees!!

This story in todays local paper ('Bristol Airport security detects toothpaste but not live bullets', Post, 13 March) raises the very serious issue of airport security, which must be got right of course. However, the fact that 'Four staff at green consultancy Carbon Managers were setting off for a tree-planting trip in Scotland from Bristol Airport...' is also most noteworthy to say the least! What are carbon managers doing flying like this?

These people should surely recognise that there is no substitute for reducing emissions at source. Its hardly taking all practical steps to reduce carbon emissions if they are flying off to Scotland is it! But that is what the best advice says should be done before considering carbon offsetting, which is what these 'four staff' would probably say they have done with their emissions from the flight.

Even at the offsetting stage one has to be very careful indeed about the scheme chosen because there are some very dodgy ones out there - you just can't 'magic away' our climate problems by handing over some dosh to a consultancy. If the solution was that easy the problem would have been solved years ago!!

Gordon Brown in Bristol: Yet more words with no actions to match!!

The PMs words:

Gordon Brown's speech at Filton College in Bristol on Saturday strongly emphasised the key importance of green development to get us out of recession. The new Labour policy document to accompany his speech calls for us '"to lead the world in building the low carbon society with a low carbon economy". Many economists are of course advocating a green economy as the best way out of our economic troubles.


The PMs actions:

Our country has to date invested only $2.1 bn (£1.5bn) in green economic stimulus, compared $7.2bn in France, $13.8bn in Germany and a massive $221.3bn in China! Just 6 per cent of Britain's stimulus packages is spent on such green developments as energy efficiency, renewable sources and public transport (its 13 per cent in Germany, 21 per cent in France, 38 per cent in China and 81 per cent in South Korea).The figures, published in the report 'A Climate for Recovery' a major study of green stimulii around the world by HSBC Bank show up Britain as seriously lagging behind other countries.

Conclusion:

Gordon Brown's current behaviour of not matching his words with actions continues perfectly consistently. Whatever the colour of the Govt all we've had about building a green economy and society is warm words - that's why we are where we are now with entwined environmental and economic crisis.

Further information:

The Independent

How my MP avoids answering my recent questions on this issue (here and here).

Our carbon footprints

Climate change is a serious and urgent issue (report on the latest science here). Carbon emitted faster than it is absorbed is causing it. Thus the rising focus on carbon footprints as an indicator of environmental impact. We can both assess the scale of the problem and then monitor progress towards target low emission levels. The average personal carbon footprint in the UK is currently 12 tonnes per year (in the USA its 20 tonnes). A key provision of the UK’s Climate Change Act 2008 is a cut in emissions of at least 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. To achieve sustainable UK emissions, allowing for rising population, we are talking about between 1 and 2 tonnes per person each year.

Its not just carbon in the form of carbon dioxide emitted when fossil fuels are burned that is counted. All emissions that add to the greenhouse effect and cause climate change are converted to their carbon dioxide equivalent and expressed in tonnes or kilograms of this gas (a footprint in tonnes may seem odd but that’s because the name is drawn from the ecological footprint). Gases converted to their carbon dioxide equivalent include methane, nitrogen oxides, various hydrocarbons.

Carbon emissions arise through fuel use for heating, lighting and transport. These are direct and we have reasonable control over them. Emissions also arise less directly because they are embedded in the products and services we use, from the production and disposal ends of their lifecycle. Its harder to have control over these though of course we can alter the type and number of products and services we consume.

Picture a system boundary around a city, a person, a house, factories, offices, a country, group of countries – the carbon footprint of each can be assessed. A boundary can be drawn around various products, say beef or cars, and the carbon footprint of the product’s lifecycle assessed. Organisations want to know their carbon footprint for energy and/or environmental management purposes, prioritising and quantifying effective, efficient and economic action. Growing numbers use the data in corporate social responsibility reports, responses to customer and investor requests. Organisations as diverse as Ipswich Town Football Club and Marks and Spencer have carbon neutral policies. Carbon footprint figures are appearing on a range of products, including Walkers crisps, Innocent Drinks smoothies and Boots shampoo…to enable informed consumer choices.

The carbon footprint concept is itself inevitably a simplification of reality. The computer models used to calculate footprints are further inevitable simplifications. This is both a plus and a minus of course. As with all measurement and calculation, care and preparation is needed when establishing and reporting figures. Independent verification may often be appropriate. Caution and checks are needed to ensure fair comparisons. Footprint standards are bringing methods closer together, making data more consistent and comparable.

Carbon footprints relate to one key environmental impact - climate change – and according to the Global Footprinting Network amount to half the ecological footprint (and not all types of environmental impact can be converted to the land area ecological footprints establish). This is a very significant proportion of the ecological footprint and so it is essential to establish it. However, we must not forget the other ways we are breaching environmental limits as measured by: overfishing; socio-economic effects; deforestation; species extinction; our water footprint; the spread of monocultures; deaths due to toxic pollution; quality of life reduction from noise and visual impacts, and more.

Sustainability is a whole system phenomenon. Types of impact are interrelated. If we don’t take a whole system approach to finding solutions our actions may be ineffective or cause further damage through effects we did not intend or anticipate. The dash for biofuels provides a timely lesson for us. Carbon footprinting is an excellent tool for awareness raising, getting a sense of the overall scale of the problem and progress made toward reduction targets but we must combine it with other measures and make good judgements on how problems interlink.

Further information: UN, Defra, carbon calculator, Marks and Spencer policy,

Walkers Crisps carbon footprint, corporate social responsibility.