Typhoons? In Glasgow??

I have to admit to laughing out loud at this one. Glasgow Science Centre have installed a wind turbine. This YouTube video highlights some of the advantages of it...but had me in stitches by proclaiming it to be "typhoon-proof".

I'm quite sure it does exactly as the manufacturer claims, but in my experience the only typhoons in Glasgow were from the after-effects of my granny's soup!

Blame It On Fat People

When I was heading to bed last night, there was a discussion on Five Live about fat people, and whether we should blame them for climate change.

The programme was prompted by a new article in The Lancet that says that the planet's 400 million obese people cause more environmental damage than the rest of the population. They're the least likely to walk or cycle anywhere, the least likely to take public transport and they require more fuel to transport them. They consume more food, thereby not only depleting the food sources for the rest of the population but also using more fuel to ship that food around the world.

Since fuel for transport and agriculture accounts for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions, the conclusion is that slimming the population will also help in the battle against global warming. Plus, if we blame it on the fat people and then run away, they'll never catch us!

Photo by Colros

September 14th, 2001

It's my own stupid fault for volunteering to do overtime - I'm near the end of what seems like a very long week at work, with three 11 hour shifts in the mix. Hence the lack of posts during the last two days.

I'm not that badly off, though. At least I'm only on the train for a maximum four hours at a time. Courtesy of the Skype Nomad, here's a guy who does my job on the Indian Pacific Railway, which stretches across Australia from Perth to Sydney. The journey takes three nights through some of the most inhospitable desert on the planet. So what happens when someone sends you a message to say World War Three has started and you won't get any more news for a couple of days...

350

I've been seeing references to something called 350.org around the internet in the last few weeks, including comments on Suitably Despairing from La Marguerite, so I finally decided to go and see what it was all about.



It's a new movement which wants to get the world talking about the number 350. Why? That's what some scientists say we need to reduce carbon dioxide in our atmosphere to in order to "stabilise" the climate - 350 parts per million.

Unfortunately, the political community seems to be resolved around trying to hold the atmospheric CO2 level at 450-550 ppm. It'll be tough to get them to rethink those levels, and to restrain their industries even further than they have been proposing. Even tougher since the CO2 levels in the atmosphere are already 387ppm!

350.org will be relaunching their site in mid-June, and are asking people to send them photos of how they are spreading the number 350 around the world. It has the potential to be a massive viral campaign.

Old Is The New New

I've just spent the last two days re-training on some rolling stock that I thought I would never have to work again. The railway company that I work for "upgraded" to new stock six years ago and we waved goodbye to the much-loved 30-year-old High Speed Trains (HSTs). No one predicted the 40% growth in passenger numbers, though, so after struggling vainly for a few years they've admitted a sort-of defeat and will be leasing some HSTs again.

We're not the only railway company getting overwhelmed by passengers - ScotRail have announced that they will be hiring an engine and some 40-year-old coaches to take commuters from Fife into Edinburgh. Trains are much like anything else - it's easier to refurbish them and give them a polish than it is to build brand new ones.

Photo by gingertammycat

How Green Is Your Country?

National Geographic have just released the results of a new survey which they are calling the "Greendex". It measures consumption and attitudes in 14 countries around the world (why only 14?) to compare the populations of each country in their consumer behaviour and lifestyles.

I'll give you three guesses who trails in last place. Actually, no I won't, that's too easy! Did you know that over a quarter of Americans live in homes with 9 or more rooms? Whereas 96% of Brazilians live in homes with 4 or fewer rooms. And only 45% of Chinese have heating in their houses.

There's an interactive map on the Greendex webpage which gives you loads of fascinating statistics like these.

Blog Award

An award? For lil' old me?

Somehow I managed to miss this during the week. Thanks Donna!

Belt Up

Good News: I've lost 2 stones (28lbs) in the last three months.
Bad News: My trousers keep falling down.
Worse News: The girlfriend says I now have saggy boobs!

Deerd treated me to a new belt on Friday, since the one I had no longer did the job. There's nothing spectacular about the belt which she bought from Tesco - it's a bog-standard black leather belt. Except, it came with three - count them, three - pieces of plastic attached!

The first tag was to inform me that the belt was leather. Excuse my ignorance, but didn't leather goods used to have a symbol stamped on them, therefore negating the need for a plastic tag?

The second piece of plastic was a tag to tell me that the belt was reversible. Huh?

The third bit was a small plastic hanger. This was attached by other bits of plastic so that it had to be cut off, and could never be re-used (just in case I got the notion to hang all my belts in the wardrobe!) Hmm, don't belts already have a hanger on the end? It's called a buckle, and it does the job perfectly.

I should maybe check how many pieces of plastic are on a bra, ready for when she buys me one of them...

Green In The Media 12th May - 18th May

Highlight of the week looks like a Dispatches documentary about anti-aging creams. Of course, I'll never have to use them since I've been blessed with forever-young good looks.

Monday 12th May

Eco Shorts
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:45 to 08:00
A compilation of stories showing what people can do to make the world a greener place.

Dispatches
On: Channel 4
Time: 20:00 to 21:00
The Truth About Beauty Creams.
Dispatches tests some of the High Street's most popular anti- aging creams and comes up with surprising results. In the UK we now spend an estimated half a billion pounds every year on face creams that claim to make women - and men - look younger. The marketing for these creams often features scientific, hi-tech sounding ingredients, yet unlike drug companies the beauty industry does not have to publish clinical trials showing whether these creams are effective.

Tuesday 13th May

A Sunparched Country
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 09:30 to 09:45
3: Save the Soil, Save the Planet.
Caroline Holmes discovers how Australians are adapting to the reality of climate change. Farmers and scientists are looking at how old and degraded soils might be put to good use to slow down global warming.

Wednesday 14th May

Green Heroes
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:25 to 07:55
Environmental volunteers hailed for the first time at the Green Heroes Awards. We follow the winners as they work tirelessly to improve where they live and inspire others to do the same.

3 Minutes To Save The World
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:55 to 08:00
Home.
A light look at climate change, and our responsibility as energy consumers. Focusing on some of the UK's main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

The Wednesday Documentary
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:05 to 10:30 (Also 1305, 2005, 0105)
Living With Chico Mendes.
Twenty years after his assassination we look at the life of the green activist who helped to preserve the Amazon rainforest.

Dispatches
On: more4
Time: 21:00 to 22:00
The Truth About Beauty Creams.
Dispatches tests some of the High Street's most popular anti- aging creams and comes up with surprising results. In the UK we now spend an estimated half a billion pounds every year on face creams that claim to make women - and men - look younger. The marketing for these creams often features scientific, hi-tech sounding ingredients, yet unlike drug companies the beauty industry does not have to publish clinical trials showing whether these creams are effective.

Thursday 15th May

Eco Shorts
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:45 to 08:00
A compilation of stories showing what people can do to make the world a greener place.

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:30 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0030)
The Amazon Paradox.
This week One Planet focuses on the Amazon looking at the rainforest and the region.

Costing the Earth
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 21:00 to 21:30 (Also Friday at 1500)
Ecotourism is a tired concept, but so-called green holidays are becoming increasingly popular and the travel industry is using the idea to market a growing range of products of highly dubious environmental benefit. This programme challenges the notion that one's conscience can be salved by offsetting the carbon used on a flight to a turtle reserve. It also finds that it might well be better for the planet to fly to Benidorm than try camping in Wales.

Saturday 17th May

Green Heroes
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:25 to 07:55
Environmental volunteers hailed for the first time at the Green Heroes Awards. We follow the winners as they work tirelessly to improve where they live and inspire others to do the same.

3 Minutes To Save The World
On: Community Channel
Time: 07:55 to 08:00
Home.
A light look at climate change, and our responsibility as energy consumers. Focusing on some of the UK's main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.


Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

Solar Lillies (Try Saying That Three Times Fast!)

When you think of harnessing power from a river, tidal or wave-power systems spring to mind. A Glasgow-based company, though, has done some lateral thinking and is trying to persuade the city council to install some floating lily-shaped discs on the River Clyde which have solar photovoltaics on board. The energy is then pumped into the National Grid.

I've often said I think we need to come up with some innovative solutions to climate change instead of carrying on with our 20th century way of thinking, but I'm not sure about this one. It seems like a lot of hassle when it would be far easier to stick a couple of solar panels on a roof. It's not like Glasgow has a shortage of tower blocks that would be ideal for PV panels. They'd be ideal for wind turbines, too.