The law of conservation of energy states that energy can not be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another. So how can we conserve enough energy for our growing demands without damaging the environment?

There are so many arguments amongst environmentalists, Government, scientists and energy companies about what energy source will be the answer to all of our problems that it’s really hard for Jo Public to know what the best solution is.

The categories will include:

1. Fossil fuels
2. Nuclear
3. Wind
4. Solar
5. Hydro and Tidal Wave
6. Geothermal
7. Biofuels and Biomass
8. Kinetic energy

I will aim to write at least one post a week, though my apologies now if I get a bit behind.

It would be good to use the posts to have discussions with you all with respect to what you think about the energy solutions and how realistic it is for our energy needs to be met via that source.

Two scientists are proposing a concept for removing carbon dioxide from the air and turning it back into gasoline.  They call their idea Green Freedom.  The air would be blown over a liquid solution of potassium carbonate, the CO2 would be extracted and subjected to a chemical reaction that would turn it into fuel.  Sounds simple enough.  And is it actually doable?  Yes!  So why hasn’t anyone done it yet?  Because apparently it takes a ton of energy to produce, preferably a huge nuclear power plant!

The article goes on to evaluate and compare all alternative fuels we are looking into nowadays - hydrogen, biofuels, and electric cars.  They all have their pros and cons; but here’s a paragraph I found really interesting:

Gasoline, it turns out, is an almost ideal fuel (except that it produces 19.4 pounds of carbon dioxide per gallon). It is easily transported, and it generates more energy per volume than most alternatives. If it can be made out of carbon dioxide in the air, the Los Alamos concept may mean there is little reason to switch, after all. The concept can also be adapted for jet fuel; for jetliners, neither hydrogen nor batteries seem plausible alternatives.

Gas is the most perfect fuel!?!  If this idea can actually come true, we could have the perfect close-loop cycle: gas to CO2 back to gas.

Here’s the link to the full article written by Kenneth Chang on 2.19.08 at the New York Times.

One of the latest innovations from these guys is the greentomatokit, which they very kindly sent me to try out. The first thing that struck me as our postman handed me the parcel was that the packaging itself is biodegradable - It even explains, saying that excess packaging is bad for the planet and that’s why they chose this potato starch covering. Nice one guys! I’ve ordered stuff from various suppliers of environmentally friendly products and too often been disappointed by the excessive use of bubble wrap and polystyrene (yuk!).

This starter kit is for those wanting to go green at home but don’t know where to start and straight away I’m thinking what a great house-warming (hmmm… or house-cooling?) gift this would make. It contains all the essentials covering the major areas to make change in your home:

• Heating = Radiator panels & room temperature thermometer
• Electricity = Energy saving light bulbs & ‘turn it off’ stickers
• Water = A ‘Save a Flush’
• Waste = ‘No junk mail’ ‘don’t forget your bag’ & ‘recycling’ stickers

Plus it all comes in a giant cotton bag (much bigger than the regular tote style ones) to re-use for shopping and cut out the nasty plastic variety - I have a bag addiction so naturally I love this.

I have to say though that aside from all these goodies my favourite part of the kit is the sheet that explains why each item will help green up your home and how much carbon or water you can save when you use them. For me this is the most important item because this kit isn’t for an already enthusiastic greeny it’s for those who need a nudge in the green direction. We can’t expect people to make any kind of a change to such a personal part of their lives (their home) without explaining why it benefits them as well as the planet.

OK, so how do you get one of these kits? Well, you can go straight over to the greentomato website and hit ‘buy’ or you can sign up to the GGG Newsletter and get a special discount coming up for newsletter subscribers only! The first GGG newsletter comes out Friday 8th February so make sure you’re signed up before then where you’ll receive full details of the offer.

In the meantime mosey on over to the greentomato website anyway and check out what they’re doing.

To learn more about the thinking behind the greentomatokit and the measurable benefits it can help you make in the greentomato’s January 2008 press release.

The government has given their response to a petition on floodlighting I signed a while ago. The petition requested a ban on uneccessary floodlighting and asked the government to lead by example and reduce the lighting on their own buildings.

You can read the whole response at the 10 Downing Street e-petition site but the straight answer is that they do not intend to bring in a policy which bans floodlighting.

They say that “good practice” is to use various types of lower energy lighting but importantly they do not suggest making even this the law. Why not???

My favourite statement throughout their whole response is “Effects of reducing lighting levels or turning lights off vary from case to case”. Surely reducing lighting levels or turning lights off will reduce energy in every case!

They then state that safety should be a consideration (and balanced against financial and environmental cost) and I wouldn’t argue with that. So, let’s not necessarily have a blanket policy to ban floodlighting altogether but consider the use of it more carefully - I’m sure that alone would cause great reduction in energy waste and light pollution.

I strongly feel that this is an issue which shouldn’t be brushed off in the way it was in this government response. So, if you feel that light pollution needs to be tackled join me in signing a couple more petitions:

Make it illegal to leave lighting and electrical devices on in any establishment whilst the building is vacant or outside of working hours

Save energy consumption by reducing streetlight usage

Switching off a light is one of the easiest things to do so why is it so difficult to make it happen?

In response Matt Feldman, who runs the Carbon Neutral Digest blog, kindly offered to provide us with some clarification on the types of carbon offsetting packages that are available and the benefits and downfalls of some of them.

Much of Matt’s work on the Carbon Neutral Digest involves reviewing offset providers and so I jumped at the chance of having someone with more experience on the subject share their knowledge with us.

Matt’s article, ‘Choosing a Carbon Offset Provider‘ can be read over at Green Guys Global. Enjoy!

It took a year to complete but it’s done, and very few people know about it.  The city uses soy oil bought from producers in the Midwest and produces a fuel called B20.  20% biofuel and 80% petroleum, the goal was to cut carbon emissions to 20% below 1990 levels by 2012.

Mayor Newsom also has a new project called SFGreasecycle.  The program collects grease and oil at no charge.  Instead of going down our drains and clogging up our systems they are being turned into fuel!

Over in the US they have taken a huge step forward with school transport. The programme, led by the non-profit organisation Advanced Energy, is planned to revolutionise the school bus market. Starting with 19 hybrid buses in several states this year and the most recent going to Texas the programme will eventually be rolled out country-wide.

The buses are primarily run on diesel and also have an electric motor. The ‘plug in’ technology that they use means the batteries can be re-charged overnight and therefore more energy taken from them whilst the bus is being driven. Electricity is relatively inexpensive so as well as creating less pollution they can, in the long term, save money for schools too. If the buses were charged on renewable energy then they would be even greener!

For a more detailed explanation of how it all works visit the technical pages of the Hybrid School Bus website.

Learning about these school buses got me thinking about public transport in general. Here in Nottingham a car park, which was demolished in January 2006 and re-built, recently opened in the middle of the city. The lovely people of Nottingham had lived without the car park for nearly two years and nothing disastrous happened so I can’t help but ask why bother re-building it at all? The Nottingham City Council website boasts that the new Trinity Car Park has 120 more spaces than the old one, a special shopper tariff and “high lighting standards”. Surely this is encouraging even more visitors to drive right into the heart of the city and I dread to think how much electricity the lighting is going to use!

I think that Nottingham City Council could take the lead from Texas and other participating states and consider spending money on our public transport system instead of new ways to invite more cars. The re-build of Trinity Car Park was part of £100 million development in the city - I wonder how many hybrid City Transport buses could have been commissioned for the same price…

Nottingham Bus image is from FreeFoto.com

It is not lost on me that the car maker that is accused of killing the electric car is at the forefront of bringing it back :)!

The Chevrolet Volt is a battery powered, electric vehicle that uses a gas engine to create additional electricity to extend its range.  It uses what General Motors is calling the E-Flex system.  E for electricity and Flex for the many ways you can generate it.  The electricity to operate the Volt can come from a number of sources:  natural gas, biofuels, hydroelectric, wind, solar, and of course regular gas.  “The beauty of our E-Flex strategy is that is allows us to package various propulsion systems into the same space depending on what energy is available locally,” said Larry Burns, GM’s vice president of Research and Development and Strategic Planning.

This car is quite futuristic looking and most of my fellow green bloggers seem quite excited about it at events!  I on the other hand am very excited about the hydrogen fuel cells set to debut in 2010 (provided we can get the necessary infrastructure needed, such as fueling stations).  To see why read my environmental column at Bellaonline.com.

I had the chance to view what is still a concept car up close and it is a long way from the EV1 they produced in 1996, what a difference a decade can make!  The good news is they are committed to bringing this one to the public and for good this time.  Chevy realizes people really do want cars that can get 75 miles/kg despite what oil companies may say!  (snark)

If Chevy makes good (and it would be a huge embarassment if they don’t) on their promise then the combination of hydrogen fuel cell propulsion with a lithium-ion battery can provide up to 300 miles of petroleum and emission free electric driving!  Now this would be a “volt” to the transportation industry for sure!

(Target release date for the Volt is November 2010 and gm-volt.com is keeping a waitlist for the vehicle which is up to 6000!)

I can’t find more information on this, but the Edinburgh World Heritage Trust has given a grant to Changeworks, our local environmental organisation (who have been very helpful with my attempts to green the office) to make the Georgian New Town houses more energy efficient. Good news for those living there (not every resident is rich, there are lots of rented flats there), Edinburgh may have lots of stunning old buildings but they are hard to heat and run efficiently.