Solar News

When Buildings attack! the solar death ray has been around for centuries as is shown at combobulate.com and yet architects designed a building which they knew might have a slight 'ignition' problem, shall we call it!

BLDGBLOG: Las Vegas Death Ray

Las Vegas Death Ray

All that focused sunlight could be put to better use than combusting plastic cups and hair... instead providing the heat for the Vdara Hotel itself via a system of solar collectors.

In other Solar related news, the generation of electricity via photovoltaic cells has long been the least efficient form of micro generation around, however a new type of solar panel could replace the inefficient PC cell capturing lost heat and the scifi sounding Exiton Particles... Go to IO9.com for the hard science, Exciting? no... Exiton!

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Carbon Footprint Calculators

So... having attempted to figure out my carbon footprint using a couple of calculators, I find myself disappointed and frustrated. I figured it was worth which of the available calculators was the most accurate and let me take into account some of the less obvious thing that i do in my life to reduce my carbon footprint.

I have to start from a point at which I know that I need at least 2 planets to survive, but the calculators I have used to figure this out are a blunt instrument. I want a more precise measure.

DirectGov - Act On CO2 Calculator - very pretty this one but really slow (there is an html version), it was the first calculator that I used. To do it right you need to have some of your gas and electricity bills on hand... my score? my carbon footprint, which is 7.07 tonnes per annum. this is quite close to my original WWF calculator result

WWF Footprint Calculator - this is the one favoured by Dick Strawbridge of "its not easy being green" i have to say i'm not a fan of it. its too simplistic for my tastes. My result on this one is 2.52 planets Equating to an Ecological Footprint of 4.54 hectares, leaving my carbon footprint, which is 9.91 tonnes per annum. this is an increase from the last time I did this one (see my first post). This is a quick one though so if you are in a rush and want a quick idea of how much you are killing the planet... this one is for you

The UK Carbon Footprint Project - aha... google's getting in on the act. so the google calculator adds itself as a new page onto your google homepage, which is a nice touch with various eco-centric google gadgets. the calculating process is even quicker than the wwf calculator. The result, however, muddy's the waters a bit. According to Google my carbon footprint is 3.69 tonnes which I can only assume is somewhat erroneous, because that would my planetary target less than one planet!! in which case I have done enough and I need do no more!!
So I guess the google calculator is for those of us who are in a rush, but need to feel good about the planet. I have to say I don't quite trust this result though.

Carbon Footprint - Carbon Footprint Calculator - Ok this is a bit more like it. Well in a bad way anyway. This is a fairly utilitarian calculator which is pretty quick to use and seems accurate. The bad news (For me anyway) is in the results. This one says my carbon footprint is 8.57 tonnes. This then seems to hit the mean.

At the end of this process, what have I learnt? not a lot. These things are only as good as the information put in. The Google calculator stood out as the one with the most erroneous result. Despite its speed i prefferred the direct.gov calculator which, whilst slow, allowed me to be more specific in most areas.

A Green perspective

In my opinion, whether or not climate change is happening is irrelevant. The Earth has survived much larger changes than the subtle shift of a few degrees. The point, is that the Human Race is not living in balance with its resources. Western civilisation is consuming the planet around it with a greed which is shocking. The emerging economies - China, India etc. are infected with a similar burgeoning avarice.

The greed which affects us is the cause of all our ills. If the oil is running out it is because we insist on driving cars, and because the car and oil companies will not let us use anything else. If the world economy is collapsing it is because a number of intensly greedy people kept acquiring more money than they could ever use in one hundred lifetimes.

So I can recycle all I can, I can put as much insulation in my house as I can afford (I would put more in... money allowing), I can cycle to work (which I don't do nearly enough). In my work in the construction industry I have a chance to influence other peoples choices regarding constuction materials and opportunities to improve their homes. But does this all really make a difference? is this blog my last attempt to convince myself that I can make a difference?

My answer is this... I don't think it really makes a difference that I will not be able to change the minds of thousands of people and companies who's greed and desire for 'Growth' will consume them. What matters to me is that I leave as light a footprint on this planet as I can. I should not consume more resources than I need. When I last checked my carbon footprint WWF Footprint Calculator, it was a vast 2.09 planets. This equates to an ecological footprint of 3.77 hectares, and a carbon footprint of 7.84 tonnes per annum. However, I have done this in the past and achieved a lower value of 1.6 planets. So carbon calculators are a blunt instrument to be frank. The only way to satisfy my conscience is to carefully inspect every area of my life and ask myself "can i do more?" Its a case of 'Physician heal thyself' If I can do that then maybe others will do the same.

This blog then is a starting point, a place for me to collect my thoughts, find new ways and new ideas. I need a green perspective.