The Week In Green Numbers

$32.3 billion

- money that BP has put aside to cover the cost of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill #

25 million

- number of midges in just one hectare of land in some parts of Scotland #

2,150 trillion kilojoules

- amount of energy in the food wasted in the US each year #

£5,000

- grant you can get from the government towards the cost of an electric car from 2011 #

10% - 40%

- drop in sales at BP filling stations in America #

David Mitchell On Trains

David Mitchell tackles the UK's privatised nationalised mutualised subsidised railway network:



(As always, if you're viewing this post via email or some RSS readers, you may have to come visit the blog to see the video)

On Direct Action

Photo by Random McRandomhead

You'll have seen on the news yesterday and in some of today's papers that Greenpeace managed to close down a few BP petrol stations in London.

I've mentioned before that I have some problems with using direct action. It has its place, of course, and I can see nothing wrong with making a point by closing a few filling stations.

But there is sometimes a gulf (if you'll pardon that term!) between what the protesters hope their actions will achieve, and what the public actually perceives, and it's that gulf which bothers me.

Iain Dale expresses his frustration at the protesters, but that is mild compared to the vitriol directed at Greenpeace on BBC Radio Five Live yesterday morning. During an interview and phone-in, one poor protester had to listen to caller after caller haranguing her to the point where one member of the public said that he hoped the protesters would be imprisoned and the keys thrown away.

Had the public who phoned in been personally inconvenienced? No. Had they listened to Greenpeace's message? No. So what causes the kind of mentality that says no one should ever protest (unless it's a pro-fox-hunting demo!) even though they have no personal involvement?

Probably the same kind of mentality that a colleague of mine has, who used his Facebook status to inform the world that Ian Tomlinson's death during the G20 protests last year was "Darwinism". Or the commenter on that Iain Dale article who says of Greenpeace:

"...do they need the French to remind them, again, of their place in society?"

If I'm not mistaken, that's a call for Greenpeace activists to be murdered, and I hope Iain Dale will take the appropriate action and delete the comment.

There are some nasty people in the world with nasty opinions, and no amount of direct action will change their mind. However, hopefully the protesters yesterday will have made some decent people think for a moment, and consider where they fill up their car in the future.

Plugged In

It was Fintry that started it.

They realised that instead of the normal knee-jerk reaction of opposing a wind farm on their doorstep, they could actually make it work for the community. So they leased a turbine and sat back to reap the rewards.

And those rewards have been substantial for the villagers - an income of £200,000 in the first two years which paid to have homes insulated and other renewable energy devices looked at.

Now communities up and down Scotland are looking at Fintry's example and wondering if it can work for them. The recently announced Portobello turbine would provide funds for the locals in the same way that Gigha's wind turbines do.

But they're nothing compared to the six schemes in the Western Isles which were yesterday given permission to connect to the National Grid. They could bring in an eye-watering £2.5 million a year into the local economy.

In these tight times when local councils are scaling back services and the UK government is laughing at anyone unlucky enough not to have a trust fund, a community has to embrace the opportunities that these schemes can bring.

When Size Matters

Photo by Andy S-D

Have you seen the new offshore wind turbine design in today's Guardian? Instead of the usual three blades on a tall tower, it has two large wings that rotate at the base, supposedly inspired by a spinning sycamore leaf. (That's not it above, by the way!)

My first thought was "cool!". My second thought was "How many of them can you fit side by side?"

And therein lies the rub. If we're ever going to get to the point where offshore and onshore wind turbines are challenging the big carbon-belching concrete box on the coastline, then we have to not only scale them up, but use every available space that we can afford to.

This doesn't mean I'd like the whole country and it's coastline carpeted with turbines. But we have to make the best use we possibly can of the areas we designate to house them.

And I'm afraid that means that the cool sycamore turbine will have to be nudged out in favour of the majestic standard design. Until something cool with a smaller footprint comes along...

Green In The Media 26th July - 1st August

With bluefin tuna on the brink of extinction, there's a welcome repeat for Rupert Murray's documentary End Of The Line on Tuesday.


Tuesday 27th July

Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the natural world and our impact on it.

The Test of Time
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 21:45 to 21:58
Scientists look back to their ancient forebears and examine how much of that early knowledge still stands the test of time. Prof Graeme Maidment explores the earliest methods of surviving a hot climate. Does ancient Egypt hold the key to an urgent modern need for sustainable cooling? He goes to an unlikely place to find out: Bluewater shopping centre, just off the M25.

End of the Line
On: more4
Time: 22:00 to 23:50 (Also 0050)
The True Stories strand, which showcases the best international feature documentaries, presents Rupert Murray's acclaimed film which examines the consequences of unchecked, unregulated sea fishing across the globe. It is not a film about what might happen, it is a film about what has happened. The collapse of the cod population saw the end of 40,000 jobs; the bluefin tuna is being hunted to extinction; it takes five kilos of anchovies to produce one fish farmed salmon. And while there are some positive signs, with Walmart and McDonalds both selling fish from sustainable sources, some outlets still sell endangered species. But the final chilling conclusion is that unless more radical steps are taken globally, including the reduction of overfishing, it will take just 50 years for the world's ocean's to be all fished out.

Wednesday 28th July

Frontiers
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 21:00 to 21:30
Carbon Detectives.
Richard Hollingham meets the researchers who are trying to develop a network of tracking stations that can monitor greenhouse emissions, using a suite of chemical fingerprints. They have already shown that one key gas is on the increase, when national reports said it was being controlled. And, although much of the expertise is in Britain, the UK government is deliberately dragging its heels, some say, in supporting the network.

Thursday 29th July

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1530, 2030, 0130, Sun 0630)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.


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

The Week In Green Numbers

3 billion gallons

- amount of fresh water which is to be exported from Alaska to India each year #

$1 billion

- profit made by Goldman Sachs by betting on the price of food #

377,000 km²

- size of an algae bloom in the Baltic Sea #

5,000 - 6,000 km²

- expected size of Amazon deforestation in the last year, down dramatically #

£29 million

- money that the SDC said they could save the UK government by reducing emissions. Instead, the government axed the SDC and saved only £4 million #

Vote Blue, Go To Hell Greens

Jonathon Porrit

Remember the old Conservative slogan 'Vote Blue, Go Green'?

Perhaps it should really have been 'Vote Blue, Go To Hell Greens'.

The new government which promised us would be the "greenest ever" has decided to scrap the Sustainable Development Commission.

The reason of course is money - the SDC cost us a whopping great £4 million a year. And for that money, they had come up with a plan to save the government £29 million by reducing carbon emissions and water wastage.

But their big crime in the eyes of the government was to be tinged with a hint of green, so they had to go. Jonathon Porrit, a former head of the SDC, takes apart Caroline Spelman's reasons for the axeing.

As he says:

So let’s not beat around the bush: their justification for getting rid of the SDC is transparently vacuous, if not downright dishonest. This is an ideological decision – in other words, a decision driven by dogma not by evidence-based, rational analysis.

The Story Of Cosmetics

Here's Annie Leonard's latest video, The Story Of Cosmetics:



And while we're on the subject, if anyone knows of an effective and "green" anti-perspirant rather than deodorant, I'd love to hear about it!

Ticket Machines Or Staff: Which Do You Prefer?

Photo by thejonoakley

They were supposed to be easier and simpler.

A couple of years ago, the train companies decided to "simplify" the UK's range of rail tickets. Out went the old Saver, SuperSaver, Apex and a whole host of much-loved gobbledegook fares that took a railwayman (or woman) years to master.

In came just three ticket types: Advance, Off-Peak and Anytime. Simple, right?

But then the "mission creep" started. Something called a Super Off-Peak appeared. Then there were Anytime tickets but only on specific train companies. You could buy Advance tickets on the day. Hell, you don't even need a ticket - just show me a bar code on your mobile phone!

It's no wonder that the passengers got confused, and it's no wonder that they are wary of the ticket machines in the stations, as Passenger Focus has discovered. Unless you know exactly what you're after, then there's always a feeling that you're going to be paying over the odds in a way that you wouldn't if you spoke to someone in the ticket office, or on the train.

I saved a guy £5 today on his Glasgow to Edinburgh return, by selling him two singles instead. He was delighted, and my company actually made more money than they would have done*. But he wouldn't have made that saving by using the ticket machines in the station. They would have churned out exactly what he asked for - a full-price open return fare.

And therein lies the crux - as much as we live in a hi-tech world and can be plugged in 24/7 with all manner of knowledge at our fingertips, we still want those small human interactions during the day to ensure we're getting the best service and that we're not being taken for a ride by the machines.


*it's a long and confusing explanation!

Government Scraps Green Bank Idea

The story came to me, bizarrely, from the News Of The World.

What was I doing reading the News Of The World? Last night my colleague, sitting next to me in the Newcastle mess room, finished reading his Andy McNab book, dipped into his bag, and pulled out the first Twilight book.

I quickly grabbed the discarded NoTW to try and hide us both from the shame and embarrassment.

But anyway, back to the news it actually contained: the government has scrapped the proposed Green Investment Bank.

This was actually one of those proposals which appeared in every party's manifesto during the recent election campaign. The idea was that funds would be available to invest in renewable technologies and energy schemes around the country. And it was a good idea.

The UK government has now decided to scrap the bank and use the money for bringing down the deficit instead. The uncharitable might even suggest that they'll use the money to bring down the tax bills of their friends instead.

We've now had almost two months of short-sighted cuts after short-sighted cuts after short-sighted cuts.

I can't remember who said it on Question Time (it may even have been Caroline Lucas a couple of weeks ago), that although the cuts themselves are galling, it's the glee with which the government is doing it that really sticks in the throat.

During the actual election campaign, an economist said that whichever party got into power this year would be so unpopular that they would find themselves out of power for a generation afterwards. We can only hope, but how much damage is the coalition going to do in the meantime?

Green In The Media 19th - 25th July

The highlight of the week is most definitely The Cove, the documentary which has been kicking up a huge stink in Japan as they are confronted by the reality of what they do to marine mammals, and the reaction from the rest of the world to that.

Tuesday 20th July

Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the natural world and our impact on it.

The Cove
On: more4
Time: 22:00 to 00:00 (Also 0105)
The True Stories strand, presents Louis Psihovos' Oscar-winning documentary which shows in chilling detail the illicit slaughter of dolphins at Taijia, a rural Japanese cove. With the help of Richard O'Barry, a former dolphin trainer for the programme Flipper who has since recanted and become the mammal's strongest ally, the pair are faced by bureaucratic obduracy, police surveillance and attacks by the fishermen. Forced to film undercover and underwater, they use Industrial Light and Magic's latest technology to capture the heartrending massacres.

Happy Tuesdays
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 23:00 to 23:30
Five-part series showcasing new comedy voices. Angelos Epithemiou's Big Issue. Burger van owner and panellist on BBC2's Shooting Stars Angelos Epithemiou examines the thorny topic that is The Environment. He is aided by two guests: Kate Schofield from GreenPeace and an environmental activist called Toadstool. The cast includes Renton Skinner, Rufus Jones, Katherine Jakeways, Sanjeev Kohli, Tom Verrall and Katy Wix.

Thursday 22nd July

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1530, 2030, 0130, Sun 0630)
Mike Williams explores the asbestos industry in India.


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

The Week In Green Numbers

2.7 miles²

- size of part of a Greenland glacier that broke up overnight #

3,200

- number of tigers left in the wild #

432 MW

- the amount of electricity that Spain receives from solar energy #

37%

- Small and Medium size businesses doing "little or nothing" to reduce their carbon emissions #

30 - 250 miles

- movement northwards of coldwater fish species in UK waters #

30 years

- how long Hudson Bay polar bears have left before extinction #

100 million tonnes

- freight carried annually on UK railways #

Mercury - We Can Dream, Can't We?

File this one under "if only"...

A designer has come up with the Mercury - a non-existent train to run on the non-existent rails of the High Speed 2 from London to Infinity and Beyond. Or Birmingham.

priestmangoode do have form, though. It was they who designed Virgin's Pendolino.

So what does the Mercury have to offer?

It's a double-decker with a 1st Class "lounge", individual pods to have business meetings, and a big sexy nose at the front.

Which all looks well and good, but it doesn't offer the railway companies enough opportunity for that all-important profit.

So in reality, the seats will be crushed together and people will be packed in like cattle, dreaming of a train with wide open spaces and sofas to sit on...

You can see the concept video of the Mercury over on priestmangoode's website.

Are The Scottish Greens Getting Played?

Photo by the Scottish Government

I was thinking a bit more about the Scottish Government's axing of the home renewable energy grants this afternoon, thanks to some letters in the Herald.

Is it possible that the Scottish Greens are being played by the SNP government?

Over the last couple of years, the Greens have punched above their weight when budget time comes around. Playing the voting numbers game, the SNP need the Greens to get the budget passed by parliament, so the Greens are virtually guaranteed to get an item into the budget - unless the negotiations go tits up and the government is almost brought down.

So it was with the budget in mind that I thought again about the grant scheme. Are the SNP playing the long game?

If they axe the grants now, they can offer them back to the Greens in January's budget.

It means they don't have to find "additional" funding for something else that the Greens would desire, they can announce it as a brand new scheme and therefore look like they are investing, and they will appear pragmatic and consensual just a couple of months before the May 2011 elections.

It's a win all-round for the SNP, and a massive slap in the face for the Greens.

Or like all good nutjobs, am I seeing a conspiracy where there is none, and really the SNP are just crap when it comes to the environment?

An Ecosystem In Meltdown

I guess it's a question of who you trust.

Do you trust the independent experts who say that the Firth of Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland, has been so heavily fished that the ecosystem is in "meltdown", that the environment has been "degraded", and that the area was being exploited "unsustainably"?

Or do you trust the spokesman from the Scottish Fisherman's Federation who calls the independent report "lightweight sensationalism...unworthy and inaccurate" and "destructive to the industry"?

I tell you what is more destructive to the industry - thinking that if you just shut the experts up and pretend like nothing is wrong then you can carry on with your unsustainable practices and everything will be hunky-dory.

Sometimes, the vested interests don't see how to act in the best interests.


Incidentally, I took the picture above when I was on Shetland last year, and loved it so much that it was my desktop wallpaper for around nine months.

UnF--k The Gulf

From the folks at a new website called UnF--kTheGulf.com comes this video, explaining that they want to raise money for oil spill clean-up groups.

It contains a wee bit of swearing. Just a wee bit. Honestly, you'll hardly notice it...

Oil Spill Charity "F-Bomb-A-Thon" from UnF--kTheGulf.com on Vimeo.

Government Energy Grants Axed

Photo by Jeremy Levine Design

And once again, the Scottish Government drop the pretence of being in any way "green" and show us that they just don't have a clue.

According to yesterday's Scotland on Sunday, the government are to stop their Energy Saving Grants which give home owners up to £4,000 to install renewable energy schemes.

Because there's no critical mass in the industry yet, a lot of home renewable systems like solar panels are still slightly outwith the reach of ordinary people, with long pay-back periods (even with the new feed-in tariffs).

The grants helped people a lot, reducing that pay-back period and stimulating the industry.

So it's nonsensical for the government to remove these grants, with the possibility that they may strangle the home renewables companies close to birth.

Not everyone has an ideological reason for installing a solar panel or wind turbine, a lot of people look at the pay-back. And if the lack of grant means the numbers don't add up, then they won't install the system.

And that leads to more greenhouse gases as they stick with the Caveman Technologies of setting fire to rocks.

It's incredibly short-sighted, but what more do you expect from a government with this track record?

In fact, I'm beginning to suspect that it's deliberate. The SNP were bounced into the 42% by 2020 commitment, but their actions since seem to suggest they're in a huff about it and are doing everything in their power to make sure we don't make it.

Green In The Media 12th-18th July

Saturday sees the premiere of "climate change comedy" film Beyond The Pole. On Dave. I'm not expecting big things, especially as it seemed like only last month it was released in the cinema.

Tuesday 13th July

Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the natural world and our impact on it.

Wednesday 14th July

Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 18:30 to 19:00
Passion, polemic, wit and vigour from satirist Jeremy Hardy. Jeremy is joined by Paul B Davies and Pauline McLynn to examine faith via the medium of St Paul, climate change and The Flintstones.

Thursday 15th July

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1530, 2030, 0130, Sun 0630)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

Saturday 17th July

Beyond the Pole
On: Dave
Time: 22:00 to 23:50
Comedy about a carbon neutral, organic and vegetarian expedition to the North Pole. Brian and Mark attempt to save the world from global warming and get in the Guiness Book of Records.


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

The Week In Green Numbers

$3.56 billion

- what the oil spill has cost BP so far #

⅕

- amount of timber coming into the EU which is from illegal sources #

8 years

- how long Britain has left before all it's landfill sites are full #

3 minutes

- how quick a new "superfast" charger can charge your electric car battery to 50% #

£500

- amount that park authorities want to fine anyone camping "wild" on the shores of Loch Lomond, even although it is legal #

David Mitchell Takes A Bullet For Climate Change

I saw this video this afternoon, had a laugh at it, and thought that I might post it on here:



And then a (very) wee stooshie erupted on Twitter:

So just who is the guy who has decided that David Mitchell has ruined his entire career by posting the video, and we should never watch him again?

Step forward our old pal James Delingpole, the guy who last week laughed at the entire population of the Isle of Eigg.

He really is a prick.

If You Build It, They Will Come

Laurencekirk Station, before restoration. Photo by David Francis via Wikimedia Commons

I've said it before, and I've been proven right on more than one occasion: transport "consultants" know nothing!

Time and again their estimates on passenger numbers have been proven woefully inadequate. Whether it's the reopening of the Alloa line or the new(ish) station at Dalgety Bay, they have always seriously underestimated how many people will want to use the railway and the effect it will have on the local area (when Dalgety Bay reopened in the late 90's, house prices doubled).

The know-all consultants have been caught out again - Laurencekirk Station, between Montrose and Stonehaven on the East Coast Main Line, was reopened in May last year with an estimate of 36,000 passengers per year using the facilities.

In fact, 64,000 people used the station in it's first year.

When it comes to the railway, if you build it they will come.

(Incidentally, if you want to see what the station looks like after restoration, then have a look at this photo)

Government Confirms East Coast Pullout From Glasgow

Photo of Glasgow Central Station by easylocum

And so it came to pass...the news that was mooted last November has been confirmed by the government, that East Coast are to stop running most of their direct trains between Glasgow and London.

After nationalising the train operator last December, the Department for Transport has scaled back their commitments to what was in the actual franchise, ridding East Coast of the "enhancements" which GNER and then National Express had tacked on.

My own employer is being lined up to take over some of the services, which is good news for me personally, but I can't help feeling a sadness at any loss of service.

The minutiae of all the ins and outs of how the railway is supposed to be run and how it actually is will be lost on the general public - all they see is a (highly used) train service being taken away from them.

And no doubt there will be some members of the public who hear the publicity about this and think that they can no longer go to London by train, so will automatically look at planes next time.

The much-faster Virgin West Coast service will always be there.

Edinburgh Bus Tracker Goes Google

Photo by circle1939

You wait ages for the app to arrive...

The My Bus Edinburgh application has been available for the iPhone for a couple of months, and now it's finally gone google.

Edinburgh residents with an Android phone can scan the QR code below or search on the Android Market to download the app.

It integrates with Google Maps so that you can see any bus stops without having to know the code for your chosen stop. In fact, you're not limited to just one stop - you can add a number of them to your "Favourites" list to stop any faffing about at the point when you actually need the app.

As for the accuracy of the App, I can't verify it yet. When I got to the stop at the top of Waverley Steps on my way home last night, there was a bus just pulling up.

And that's another wonderful thing about Edinburgh's buses - you're never all that far away from one!

CalMac Looking At "Hybrid" Ferries

Photo by Donald MacLeod

According to yesterday's Scotland on Sunday, the Scottish ferry company Caledonian MacBrayne want to buy some hybrid ferries.

The ships would be battery and diesel powered, saving around 20% of a normal ferry's carbon emissions. They also talk about recharging the batteries overnight using wind power.

I liked this quote from the Chief Executive Guy Platten in the article:

"We are focused on building for the future, so have to make sure we build sustainable ferries, which also contribute to the Scottish Government's targets on cutting climate change emissions."

Ferry companies now had to develop a different mindset about the design of ships, he added.

Or, they could follow the idiotic lead of Northlink Ferries, and just turn off an engine or two!

Green In The Media 5th - 11th July

Can you hear the echo echo echo?

Thursday 8th July

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1530, 2030, 0130, Sat 2030, Sun 0630)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

Saturday 10th July

Eco Solutions
On: CNN
Time: 23:30 to 00:00
Eco Solutions gives the viewer a unique peek into the situations that plague our planet and proposes real solutions to help us understand why we should make a change.


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

The Week In Green Numbers

369

- farms in the UK which still suffer restrictions due to fallout from Chernobyl #

1,600

- number of ducks killed by a Canadian Tar Sands company #

2024

- date by which "dirty" coal plants throughout Europe must close under a new agreement #

8.6%

- decrease in UK greenhouse gas emissions in 2009 #

26%

- decrease in UK greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels #

How Will Climate Change Impact The Railway?

It's not often I get to praise Network Rail, but they've disclosed that they're now looking at parts of the network with an eye on climate change.

They want to assess the impact of more variable weather on the vulnerable areas of the network like older bridges, landslip-prone areas and low-lying rails.

Forward thinking? Network Rail?? It doesn't always happen, so kudos to them for having the balls to do this.

On the other hand, a cynic could wonder why their engineers haven't been keeping an eye on these places anyway?

Personally, I think you haven't lived until you've taken a train ride along the Dawlish sea wall during a storm, something that may happen more often. It looks quite sedate in the video below (the trains start 40 seconds in), but when you're on board it is pant-shittingly scary.