The word has become so corrupted as to not only be meaningless, but to actually obscure the real issues, according to a very thoughtful article provided by Doug King in The Guardian. Why the word 'sustainability' should be banned While the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) that became all the rage some time … Continue reading Concern about the overuse of ‘sustainability’
Author: Rod Janssen
United Nations having a say in Britain’s renewable energy strategy
Margareta Pagano explains in the Independent that a UN Tribunal has accused the UK government of acting illegally by not having adequate public consultation. UN ruling puts future of wind farms in Britain in jeopardy Plans for future wind farms in Britain could be in jeopardy after a United Nations legal tribunal ruled that the … Continue reading United Nations having a say in Britain’s renewable energy strategy
Fracking on the march in Europe
The Netherlands has a long history exploiting its gas fields. Now, Matt Steinglass writes in the Financial Times about the steps underway for the Netherlands to exploit its shale gas reserves. It is amazing how much attention is being given in energy debates in Europe to fracking. Let’s hope that objectives to move to a … Continue reading Fracking on the march in Europe
Climate change and managing risk
Dana Nuccitelli provides a very thought-provoking column in the Guardian about our ability to normally manage risk, but when it comes to addressing climate change, we appear to be making some big mistakes. Is climate change humanity's greatest-ever risk management failure? Humans are very good at managing risks, except when it comes to the … Continue reading Climate change and managing risk
Wind farms bring unexpected benefits to German coasts
This article by Madeline Chambers of Reuters explains some of the unexpected non-energy benefits to Germany’s North Sea coasts. It would be interesting to know what other non-energy benefits are coming from renewable energy projects. Wind farms to lure back German lobsters decimated by WW2 New wind farms off Germany's North Sea coast will … Continue reading Wind farms bring unexpected benefits to German coasts
Britain’s homes under the microscope
John Kemp, a market analyst for the Reuters news service, provides an excellent article on the dynamics of energy consumption in the housing sector in Britain. It would be good to know how this compares with other European countries. Britain's quiet home energy revolution Britain's homes are in the midst of an energy-efficiency revolution, though … Continue reading Britain’s homes under the microscope
Number of the week – 400
Kiley Kroh provides the following data in Climate Progress In terms of total solar power capacity per capita, Germany crushes every other country. At the end of 2012, it had approximately 400 MW of solar power capacity per million people, considerably more than #2 Italy at 267 MW per million people, #3 Belgium at 254 … Continue reading Number of the week – 400
Concerns about how sustainable the solar industry is
David Ferris, a journalist who writes often for Forbes, Sierra magazine and the New York Times, provided an interesting article in The Guardian about the struggle that solar manufacturers have to survive and what the impact means on sustainability. Sustainability and the solar industry Is sustainability losing momentum in the solar industry? The commitment of solar … Continue reading Concerns about how sustainable the solar industry is
Questions about the security of smart meters
John Naughton writes in The Observer about the security aspects of the roll out of smart meters through the UK. Why smart meters might not be so clever after all Smart meters will be widespread in the UK by the end of the decade, but has the government thought through the security ramifications? Those … Continue reading Questions about the security of smart meters
The impact of the new generation of smart windows
RTCC (Responding to Climate Change) assesses the important energy savings that are available from new materials that are being developed to significantly increase the efficiency of windows. Smart windows could spark energy efficiency revolution Window coating can stop around 50% of heat and 70% of visible light, generating huge energy savings A window spray … Continue reading The impact of the new generation of smart windows
