There are all kinds of things in Schumacher’s writings that are ripe for rediscovery. Here are just two that caught my eye in my recent re-readings as being particularly relevant: The energy connection As a young man, Schumacher studied the problems of his country’s reconstruction efforts after the First World War. Germany’s coal production was [...]
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Stop Burning our Trees – corporate lobbying in disguise?
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the bus posters I’d seen for a campaign called Stop Burning Our Trees. Among the campaign actions is a petition to ban the burning of virgin wood for electricity generation, and the petition has been promoted through a series of stunts around London. Since the campaign culminates [...]
The climate lock-in
Yesterday the International Energy Agency released their annual World Energy Outlook. Since many world governments take their cues from the agency’s figures, it’s well worth paying attention to what the IEA are saying. This year, they’re warning about a climate change lock-in. It’s not a term I’ve seen used much, but it’s a useful one. [...]
Stop burning our trees – what’s this about?
UPDATE: We’ve had a few answers to this little investigation and I’ve written a follow up post here. —————————————— Walking down the street this week in London, I was overtaken by a bus with a large advert down the side that caught my eye. It had a picture of a little pine tree with a [...]
Heating the sky
I quite like this poster from the Energy Saving Trust – a simple and sensible question in my opinion, and a design to match. The poster is part of the action pack for Energy Saving Week, which starts today. Download here, and stick one up in your workplace.
Why our energy bills are so high
Lots of news about energy prices this week. Most notably, David Cameron hosted an energy summit today, calling in the big energy companies and regulator Ofgem (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets). The government is sending somewhat conflicting messages at the moment, saying that they are determined to bring energy prices down, while simultaneously suggesting [...]
How to lower your energy bills
In my previous post, I looked at why energy prices are high, and why there’s not much anybody can do about it right now. The government has promised to tinker with the markets, and we can hope for a mild winter so we don’t have to compete on the markets for our gas supplies. In [...]
Work begins on the world’s largest solar bridge
On my way into London I cross Blackfriars Bridge, which is undergoing something of a transformation at the moment. It’s a Victorian rail bridge adjacent to Blackfriars station, and it dates back to the age of steam. When work on it is finished, it will have been brought decisively into the 21st century and will [...]
Track your energy usage with iMeasure
With the price of energy on a relentless climb, more and more people are struggling with their energy bills. Yesterday a survey came out that suggested that 28% of Britons would consider moving to a smaller house to lower their energy costs. That may be a little drastic, especially when you consider how many people [...]
How do we reverse the trend in household energy use?
In recent weeks, two of Britain’s biggest energy suppliers announced price rises for gas. The price of gas has risen by 122% since 2004, and in the process pushed one in five households into energy poverty - that is, spending 10% or more of their income on energy. Despite the rising costs of energy, we [...]
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