energy use: 1/21 of 21

The A to Z of retrofitting

Chloe Barrow

27th March, 2012

Cutting emissions at home doesn’t just help the planet; it saves you money too. Chloe Barrow explains how to get started more...

Home retrofit experiment shows low carbon living for real people

Charlotte Sankey

24th January, 2012

A single mother, three teenagers and an East London terrace offer a living piece of research on retrofitting designed for real-time living more...

Carbon offsetting version two: a greener way to travel?

Valentina Jovanovski

12th May

Carbon offsetting isn't perfect but Much Better Adventures’ partnership with environmental charity, the Converging World, has produced an initiative that just might work more...

UK gas fracking boom 'may be dirtier than coal'

Tom Levitt

13th April, 2011

As well as local outrage over 'fracking' drilling there is new evidence its greenhouse gas footprint may be higher than that of coal. Tom Levitt reports from the centre of this potential gas boom near Blackpool more...

Tesco and B&Q join interest in 'Green Deal' to insulate homes

Mark Jansen

10th January, 2011

The UK government plans to get companies to pay to insulate energy inefficient homes - recovering the money from savings on the householder's energy bill more...

PassivHaus construction: the future of UK housebuilding?

Laura Sevier

22nd October, 2010

German design, British location, tropical climate. Super-efficient PassivHaus construction makes for warmer homes and lower energy bills. So why aren't we all building this way? more...

Sue's son Yeshaya helping put in the Ecobatt insulation

Turning our Victorian terrace into an ecohome: part five

Sue Wheat

14th October, 2010

Research over, it's crunch time in Sue's house, as materials are delivered, builders are educated in new eco techniques and wall insulation is fitted more...

Greening my office: I got them to switch the heating off!

Sylvia Sunshine

9th July, 2010

Sylvia scores her first eco success - persuading her sceptical boss that heating an unoccupied portion of the office is a terrible waste of resources more...

Turning our Victorian terrace into an ecohome: part one

Sue Wheat

29th April, 2010

One family's journey to turn a draughty, turn-of-the-century terrace into a snug paragon of eco efficiency more...

Cutting carbon through people-powered innovation

Ecologist

21st January, 2010

NESTA's Big Green Challenge inspired community groups to come up with innovative ways to reduce carbon emissions. Along the way, it has proved that change really can come from a grassroots level more...

Silhouette of oil pumpjacks in a setting sun

10 resources for tackling climate change

Ecologist

19th June, 2009

They're two of the most important issues of our time. These resources will give you the science, some solutions and a good dose of inspiration to act now more...

Low-tech retrofit experiment could transform social housing

Eifion Rees

8th July, 2009

The Greening-the-Box initiative aims to demonstrate that retrofitting can transform hard-to-heat housing association and council properties into models of low-tech sustainability and fuel efficiency - with almost zero heating more...

energy use: 1/21 of 21

Home truths - low-carbon materials key to greener dwellings

James Hulme

1st June 2009

Forget complex, high-end technologies – basic truths and natural, low-carbon materials hold the key to sustainable and truly energy-efficient homes, argues James Hulme more...

Urban Composting

The Ecologist

1st February, 2005

Imagine you could turn 30 per cent of your household waste, at no cost, into high-quality compost for your plants, while also reducing toxic emissions from incinerator plants...
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Visionaries: George Marshall

Ecologist

1st April 2009

George Marshall didn’t feel like a visionary at the time. His was an idea born of frustration, and he had no idea where it would lead him. more...

Alternate current, intelligent current

Mark Anslow

1st April, 2009

Instead of spikes in demand and coal-fired solutions, fridges and washing machines may soon be available that can regulate their own energy usage. more...

Problems with renewables - land wars

Paul Kingsnorth

1st April, 2008

Renewables good, fossil fuels bad... unless, of course, renewables begin to take up more and more land in order to meet our energy needs. Paul Kingsnorth adds fuel to a tricky debate. more...

Power On - Nuclear Power

Jon Hughes and Mark Anslow

1st November, 2007

Even among green campaigners, nuclear energy is quietly gaining ground as a potential solution to the impending energy crisis. However several issues – particularly those of raw materials, cost and waste – remain unaddressed within the mainstream of opinion.
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