Month of June, 2008

China has a growing population. A fifth of the planet's people live there. 52000MW of solar PV panels are installed there. That's equivalent to 52 power station's worth. Or 39.4 Watts per person. The UK currently has 140MW of solar installed....that's 2.3 Watts per person.

The International Energy Agency yesterday reported that petrol and diesel sales were down by 20% over the year since last June. Car-sharing is now at 250,000 registered people and the AA reports that 66% of its members have cut back their journeys. Meanwhile over the pond, GM is permanently shutting down four of its truck and SUV production lines. Also, the CIBC predicts that there will be a mass exodus from private cars in the next few years.

It’s amazing how inspirational the idea of doing it yourself can be…

Portugal is just about to commission Europe's largest solar panel array (the size of a small town). It will power 30,000 homes. Next on the list for them is the largest on shore wind farm and the largest wave power development (next year). Portugal now generates 20.5% of its power from renewable sources. Sweden is best in Europe with 38.9%. And the UK....1.3%. Hmmmmm guess who has the most access to nuclear, oil and gas....  

Shropshire Green Drinks will be taking place at Cromwells on Dogpole from 8.00pm onwards. Green Drinks is a regular event, held on the first Wednesday of every month at Cromwells. This popular event provides a great opportunity for anyone working in the environmental sector or simply interested in environmental issues to get together and socialise in a friendly and informal environment. If you would like any further information on this event please contact Nancy Davies at MEA (email nancy@mea.org.uk)

It’s amazing how inspirational the idea of doing it yourself can be… A few weeks ago I went to an open house event where people who’d eco-renovated their houses with energy saving kit got to show it off to the public. One guy had given his house the full DIY treatment and had actually built his own wind turbine and solar hot water system and was using them to power the tv and wash the dishes. Fantastic!

We have just sent out a pack of our Eco Vehicles Top Trumps to each of the three thousand secondary schools in the UK, and we have already had the first response back...

I visted the branch of Homebase the other day. It has always struck me that the CO2 footprint of the lighting department alone must be massive in one of their stores. I took my usual cursory tour to tut and chunter under my breath (and also check out the range of low CFLs on sale). Imagine the untold surprise when I discovered that every single light bulb in every single fitting was a low energy type. Brilliant.

It has been a busy month for the Light Fantastic trailer (and the Carbon Forum staff); Wednesday 25th June saw us roll up outside the offices of Bridgnorth District Council where we met many of the council staff and one or two members of the Bridgnorth Police. During the course of the day we gave out 300 high efficiency light bulbs and 160 powerdowns which together will deliver lifetime savings of just over 44 tonnes of CO2 and £36,646. 

We took the Light Fantastic Trailer to Charter Day in Ruyton XI Towns on the 21st of June. This year it is the 700th anniversary of the original Charter in 1308, and so the day had a mediaeval theme with mediaeval entertainments and lots of people in costume, including us! 

As you might expect, we were very busy on World Environment Day. We had our Light Fantastic Stall in the Square in Shrewsbury and carbon footprinting in two areas in Wolverhampton.

Shrewsbury was very busy with over 1400 low energy light bulbs given away. In Wolverhampton we were stationed on Bilston High Street and in the Wulfrun Centre.