09/03/2010 by admin.

The average CO2 emissions for new cars in the UK in 2009 dropped by 5.4% from 158.0g/km in 2008 to just 149.5g/km.

This compares with 177.6g/km in 2001, and has been dropping every year since.

This large drop is partly thanks to the scrappage scheme. The average emissions of cars bought through the scrappage scheme so far is a low 133.3g/km, which is 26.8% less than the old, inefficient cars being scrapped.

All of this is good news. Hopefully they will keep on dropping each year in the future as well. The EU has set a target of 130g/km for new car emissions by 2015, and at this rate we should hit it.

More details, including emission rates for each year, can be found on the What Car website.

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09/03/2010 by admin.

The UK Met Office has said that it is now even clearer that it is human activities that is behind climate change, after analysing 110 research papers on the subject.

More details can be found here.

The UK Met Office section on Climate Change, which includes much more information, can be found here. 

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06/02/2010 by admin.

A Populus poll for BBC News of 1001 adults in the UK shows that the numbe of people sceptical about climate change is rising. In November 2009, 83% agreed that climate change was happening - this has dropped to 75% in February 2010.

Also, the percentage of people who think that Climate Change is mainly man-made and not natural is dropping, from 41% to 26% - more details can be found here.

Personally, I think a lot of this is due to having the coldest winter and most snow in the UK for many years. It will be interesting to see another poll in a few months time.

Also, it just shows that more education for the whole subject is needed.

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04/02/2010 by admin.

As from April, UK homeowners who install solar panels or wind turbines will be able to claim cashback on the electricity that they create.

More details can be found on the Department of Energy aand Climate Change website, and on the BBC News website.

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31/12/2009 by admin.

Just like to wish you all a very happy new year.

Looking forward to a green 2010.

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15/12/2009 by admin.

There are some very interesting world heat maps here, showing how the temperature around the world is expected to rise in 10 year steps from 1995 to 2095. It actually shows two maps for each one - the left hand side shows what happens if we do nothing - with the average global temperature rising by 4C by 2100. The map on the right shows what happens if emissions peak in 2015 then reduce, resulting in average global temperatures rising by ‘just’ 2C by 2100.

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11/12/2009 by admin.

The UK Met Office have said that carbon emissions must peak by 2020 if temperatures are to rise by no more than 2C. What is quite worrying is that even if they peak in 2020, there is still a 50% chance that the temperature rise will be above 2C. If they peak later than 2020, even just a few years later, the odds of staying below a 2C increase quickly get much worse. This shows just how urgent and serious the situation now is.

More info at BBC News.

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08/12/2009 by admin.

The World Meteorlogical Organization and the UK Met Office have said that this decade (the years since 2000) has been the warmest decade since instrumental records began in 1850. On average, this decade has been 0.18C warmer than the 1990’s, and about 0.44C above the long-term average.

Also, 2009 looks likely to be the 5th warmest year on record.

More info can be found on the BBC News website.

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27/11/2009 by admin.

With the oil crisis in the 1970s, some countries reduced their national speed limits in order to reduce the amount of oil used. Maybe it is time to do this again. This would be an easy, cost-effective method to reduce emissions, and these reductions could be realised from day one of this new policy being passed. Current speed limits around the world can be found on the Wikipedia website - I think a global limit of 60mph would be quite effective, without affecting driving times too much.

On the AA website, they say “According to the Department for Transport driving at 70mph uses up to 9% more fuel than at 60mph and up to 15% more than at 50mph. Cruising at 80mph can use up to 25% more fuel than at 70mph. “

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25/11/2009 by admin.

The UK’s Met Office has just released their Climate Science Statement which makes for some interesting reading by a very reputable source.

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18/11/2009 by admin.

According to the Global Carbon Project, carbon emissions increased by a whopping 29% between the years 2000 and 2008. If it carries on this way, average global temperatures could increase by upto 6C, much higher than the 2C increase that is often talked about.

The average person now consumes goods and services equivalent to 1.3 tonnes of carbon, compared with 1.1 tonnes in the year 2000. THE GCP says that if we want to keep the average global temperature rise to 2C, this would have to be reduced dramatically to just 0.3 tonnes by 2050.

At the moment, this looks like it is going to be hard to reach. More details on the Global Carbon Project website and the BBC News website.

I’m just surprised that this type of news does not make bigger headlines in the world’s press.

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30/10/2009 by admin.

These two websites show the CO2 levels over the last 265 years.

The first one http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/ftp/trends/co2/siple2.013 shows the levels from 1744 to 1953.

The second one http://cdiac.ornl.gov/ftp/trends/co2/maunaloa.co2  shows the levels each month from 1958 to 2008.

What is interesting is how much quicker they are going up now. In the last 10 years, they have gone up from 366 to 385 ppm, but it took one and a half centuries to increase by the same amount from 1744.

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19/10/2009 by admin.

Taslking about the upcoming Copenhagen climate talsk, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says :

“If we do not reach a deal at this time, let us be in no doubt: once the damage from unchecked emissions growth is done, no retrospective global agreement in some future period can undo that choice,” he said. “By then it will be irretrievably too late.

“So we should never allow ourselves to lose sight of the catastrophe we face if present warming trends continue.”

More info on the Guardian website.

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16/10/2009 by admin.

The Green Saving Expert website ( www.GreenSavingExpert.com ) is different to a lot of the other ‘green’ websites out there is that we do not expect everyone to have a major lifestyle change. The aim is to get as many people as possible to do some easy changes to reduce their carbon footprint. We realise that trying to force the majority to change their lives dramatically is not going to work (however worthwhile it might be). Instead, showing how easy it can be to be greener, without much effort or cost (in fact it should save people money), seems to be the way to go. If everybody followed just some of these tips, collectively we could make a huge difference. Please tell as many people about the Green Saving Expert website as possible. 

In the meantime, here are a few very easy tips that you could do today that will help :

• If driving, reduce your speed and turn off the air-conditioning
• Turn the thermostat down at home, and reduce the amount of time that the heating is on
• Turn off lights and any electrical equipment not being used
• Use the washing machine and dishwasher on lower temperatures

There are many more tips like these to be found on the main website.

Take a look at www.GreenSavingExpert.com now and let all your friends, family and colleagues know.

Together we can make a difference.

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15/10/2009 by admin.

Two related articles have come out this week.

Firstly, scientists can now map CO2 levels back 20 million years. Between 20 and 14 million years ago, CO2 levels stood at around 400 ppm - similar to the levels that we are approaching now. Back then, there was no ice caps and sea levels were 25-40 metres (80-130ft) higher than today. These high levels of CO2 were probably due to prolonged volcanic activity. Over the last few million years, CO2 levels were between 180 and 280ppm, compared to 385+ today.

More details can be found here.

Secondly, the Catlin Arctic Survey suggests that the Arctic will be ice-free in summer within 20 years, and most of this loss of ice will happen in just 10 years.

See here for more information.

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29/09/2009 by admin.

Scientists at the UK’s Met Office have warned that the average temperature could rise by 4C globally as soon as 2060, with some areas (e.g. the Arctic and parts of Africa) increasing by much more than this. Worryingly, a rise of this magnitude could affect the water supply of half the world’s population.

This is obviously a lot more than the 2C increase that is always mentioned in the media whenever they talk about Climate talks, and shows just how important and urgent the situation is now getting.

More infomation can be found on the Guardian site , the BBC News site , and the Met Office site.

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24/09/2009 by admin.

Another good article on the BBC News website showing that it is the middle-income countries are leading the way in reducing carbon emissions.

“There is a growing consensus in the scientific community that the upper boundary of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels safe for our planet is 350 parts per million (ppm). Today, as a direct result of human activities, it stands at 386 ppm.”

Read the full article here, including lots of ‘interesting’ comments from the general public.

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02/09/2009 by admin.

A new campaign, 10:10, has just be launched. It was created by Franny Amstrong (Director of the film ‘The Age of Stupid’) and wants to get individuals, schools, hospitals, businesses and organisations to cut their emissions by 10% in 2010. It has the backing of the Guardian newspaper, and already has a number of celebrities and businesses signed up, along with thousands of individuals.

More info can be found at

http://www.1010uk.org/      and

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/10-10

I can see this being a big success, but they should include more energy saving tips like those found on http://www.GreenSavingExpert.com !!

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15/07/2009 by admin.

Households and communities which contribute electricity to the National Grid will receive payments from April 2010 under a new government scheme.  You can read more here. There is no report yet indicating what the payments will be, but hopefully they will be priced sensibly to encourage more people to get involved.

The Energy Saving Trust now have a useful tool showing predicted wind speeds for your postcode, and whether a wind turbine would be viable. This tool can be found here.

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10/07/2009 by admin.

The G8 countries have set a target of trying to limit global temperature rise to 2C above 1900 levels by 2050.

They have also set targets of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, and would like world-wide emissions to be down 50% by then.

At least this is a step in the right directions, but many questions remain. How are they going to achieve these goals? Why have they only set targets over 40 years in the future, and not have any interim targets? If they wait many years before doing anything, it might be too late. Are they just choosing 2050 so that they can be seen to be doing something, without actually having to doing anything that might be politically unpopular?

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