The Emergence of the Electric Van
According to current statistics, there are approximately 3,000,000 diesel vans on British roads and some 500,000 lorries. Given that the average articulated lorry, when fully laden, will offer just 8 miles to the gallon, it is hardly a surprise that lorry drivers tend to protest when fuel costs rise. It is also clear that the greatest impact of these three and a half million fuel guzzling vehicles is borne by the environment. However, whilst traditional diesel or petrol vans and lorries will continue to clock up billions of miles on British roads each year, there are more eco-friendly alternatives available.
Indeed, the Modec van was launched in 2007 having been in development for several years. Although sales are only just beginning to represent the strengths of the Modec van, the vehicle’s eco-friendly vital statistics are undeniably attractive. Whereas an average diesel van will cost around £100 to fill up, the electric Modec van costs just £5 for a full charge. Moreover, it offers none of the noise and air pollution associated with conventional vans. In fact, the Modec Van is a Zero Emission Vehicle (Zev).
In terms of range, which is one of the main reasons why many delivery companies have not switched over to commercial electric vans, the Modec van offers a respectable 100 miles on a six hour charge. Nevertheless, the real strive towards greener commercial vehicles comes in the form of Renault and Nissan’s ‘Project Better Place’, which aims to introduce an electric car battery station network by 2011. The effect of deploying such a network would be to provide a virtually infinite trade of spent batteries for fully charged replacements, which could keep heavy load vehicles on the go for thousands of miles or more.
Be Green – Not Mean!
Channel 4 have come up with twenty ways in which you can be greener, without being too mean to yourself. Many people think being ‘green’ means making sacrifices, but those plucky lot on the Channel 4 website hope to prove the doubters wrong and convert them to the ‘greener side’. All without having to give up their creature comforts! Top of the list is a real no brainer – take showers instead of baths. You use less water, you save energy and you save time! Surely, everyone should do it. Next up and a little controversial perhaps, is a home-made alternative to a dual flush toilet. Put simply, put a brick or large stone in your cistern, to save water every time you flush. (Or you can buy a water hippo for the cistern.)
In at number four, is something the washing powder companies have been advertising for quite a while – do your washing at 30ºC. Boil washes are so ‘nineties’, modern powders and liquids work well on cooler washes and you can save money and water. This great washing tip is followed nicely by number five ‘air dry your washing’. This will be a challenge as the weather turns cooler, but you can take advantage of the windy days by hanging washing out in the breeze and ultimately cut indoor drying time. Invest in a rotary drier for your garden – ultimately it will save you money on your energy bills as you do less tumble drying. (You can be even greener by not using washing powder at all – try Eco balls or soap nuts for a more eco-friendly alternative). The final tip is to collect and save rain water, which is especially good for watering plants (Most gardening stores will sell special rain collection butts – you can even get specially designed child-safe or space saving ones for smaller gardens). Let’s face it, we do get enough rainwater in this country, so we should put it to good use. For the full list, see the Channel 4 website.
Sneaky Green Uses For Everyday Things
There are many useful sources of information available that help people better understand what it takes to be eco-friendly. It is no secret that raising awareness is key to sustaining interest in environmentally friendly activities. It is hoped that the international communities of tomorrow will be able to adopt advanced technologies that virtually eliminate the carbon footprint of humanity and are able to rely solely on renewable sources of energy. However, it is argued the most critical stage of saving the planet’s environment has already passed, so what people do now is of crucial importance to future generations. Therefore, current environmental awareness tends to focus on how individual’s can reduce their own carbon footprint. Although this only addresses a small proportion of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, it is nonetheless a significant step in the right direction. Thus, it is useful for people to think of the various ways in which they can contribute towards protecting the Earth’s delicate eco-system. Whilst turning off stand-by lights and switching over to energy saving lightbulbs are common practices these days, more can be done to help achieve a greener future. Moreover, many of these steps do not involve spending vast sums of money or completely redeveloping the home.
Cy Tymony’s ‘Sneaky Green Uses for Everyday Things’ is a book that details a comprehensive list of eco-friendly practices. Available at amazon.co.uk for just under £7.00, this book includes projects such as making batteries from household items, building a solar-motor or generator and developing a recycling bin. Especially useful for raising awareness among children, this book makes an excellent eco-friendly read.
Green Education the Old School Way
In an age caught up in the drive for greener, more environmentally friendly ways to move humanity forward, many people have overlooked the possibility that earlier generations had the right idea. Of course, much of the damage caused to the Earth’s ozone layer, which essentially helps to protect organisms from the harmful effects of exposure to solar rays, arose from industrial practices and technological advances of previous generations. Indeed, whilst it is clear that the current level of carbon emissions is unacceptably high, efforts are at least being made to reverse the negative trend. However, not all such efforts need to be innovative.
In fact, various old school practices can be adopted into modern living to reduce an individual’s impact on the environment, which is given greater force when a large proportion of the population follow suit. First, there is usually little need to buy the majority of cleaning products available on the market that contain harmful chemicals and so-called greenhouse gases.
Cleaning stainless steel sinks and plugs can be achieved to great effect with white vinegar, which is excellent at removing limescale, whilst bicarbonate of soda can remove stubborn stains, paint and even acts as a chemical-free deodorant for shoes and trainers when applied dry. As an added plus, most of these household remedies are far cheaper than the commercial alternatives – so you are saving money as well as being eco-friendly.
Likewise, fresh mint leaves can deter flies, which negates the need for harmful and ultimately ineffective sprays, whilst ants can be apparently kept at bay using chalk boundary markers – they presumably dislike the chalk. (You can maixmise your eco-friendliness by buying organic mint to grow yourself). In conclusion, the presiding point remains some of the best eco-friendly products available are those already found in the home. If you’re not sure how best to use natural products to have a greener home, there are plenty of household guides to help you – from the easy and straightforward to fun, slightly tongue-in-cheek reissues of old home manuals. So it really has never been easier to be greener around the house.
Gardening – a great way to start going green
If you have a small plot of land spare, perhaps an allotment or garden, you may want to consider getting your fingers green this summer. Despite a worldwide economic downturn, the cost of living continues to rise. Indeed, many shoppers have noticed that their weekly food list is costing more than it had been when the economy was experiencing a stable inflation. Fortunately, for those who are also interested in doing their bit to ’save the planet’, financial savings can be coupled with a greener way of life.
Growing one’s own supply of vegetables, fruits and herbs may seem like a mission impossible to the uninformed, but actually it is relatively straightforward to get started. Depending on your local climate and the physical space you have available, growing your own produce can be sustainable throughout the year and offers a wide variety of fruit, vegetables and herbs. If possible, erect a greenhouse in order to stimulate
regular growth, especially in relation to produce that would not normally grow during the UK’s colder months. However, do ensure that your greenhouse is eco-friendly by using materials that do not require excessive winter heating and, for the summer, develop a capillary watering system that supplies the plants with rain water, which can be collected in an external reservoir. Also ensure that produce is grown organically – the Earthmaker compost bin could come in handy for this – and that insect repellent plants such as Sweet Woodruff are used instead of pesticides. Finally, unless you want to feed the birds, do not forget to cover your produce with sufficient netting!
And to keep all of your gardening green you can find a great selection of green and ethical seeds, plants and garden accccessories at green retailers greenfingers.com , Nigels Eco Store and Biome
Despite what certain pop stars would have everybody believe, saving the planet is not all about raising awareness at sell-out concerts. In fact, it is not even likely to be achieved by hugging trees or forming human shields in front of construction workers and their evil bulldozers. On the contrary, there is perhaps no use at all in trying to ’save the planet’ because the planet is not at risk of being destroyed. Indeed, only humanity and other living organisms that exist on the planet are likely to be harmed by the mindless actions of men and women – the planet Earth itself will survive everybody. Thus, the aim of environmentalists perhaps ought to be framed in the context of helping humanity survive in order to encourage wider support. It is argued that the key to saving humanity requires a worldwide effort that can only realistically start in one place: at home.
Everybody should recycle, waste less energy and so on, but also there are useful home improvement products on the market which can improve the environment. Certain flooring such as carpets can emit harmful toxins. Thus, it is beneficial to opt for environmentally friendly alternatives, such as cork flooring, especially suitable for kitchens, and bamboo flooring, a beautiful and natural substitute for mass-produced laminate flooring. Furthermore, when it is time to redecorate living rooms, halls and bedrooms – but not bathrooms or kitchens as these areas are prone to damp – there is no better eco-friendly solution than an eco-friendly paint, which contain far fewer toxins than standard paint and are sourced from plant oils, minerals and proteins!
Earthmaker – the Porsche Turbo of Composters?
I’m sure composting is high on your tick list for living the green life – but if you’re like me a lot goes into the top of my composter but not enough compost comes out of the bottom!
The Earthmaker is a new composter which is quite possibly the Porsche Turbo of the composting world. The Earthmaker is arguably an attractive composter which uses a three step process to turn your kitchen and garden waste into high quality compost ready for the garden.
The manufacturers say that it’s gravity not you that does all the hard work needed to turn waste into high quality compost. There’s no need for messy digging and turning over of the contents of your compost bin- just the Earthmaker three step process.
Fresh kitchen and garden waste is placed into the top chamber of the Earthmaker and it takes just a few minutes each month to move the contents from chamber to chamber – until great compost appears in the bottom chamber of the compost bin. It’s a quick and easy process and doesn’t take any physical effort – so it’s ideal for those of us with busy lives and gardeners of all ages and levels of mobility. Earthmaker is also kinder to the planet as it produces less methane than traditional anaerobic composting methods.
So far Earthmaker has had some pretty good reviews from gardeners. Following a 26 week long trial of a number of compost bins, Garden Organics said that the composter was easier to use and faster and more productive than other composters. The Earthmaker is easy to assemble as it just clicks together – so no screws bolts or long and hard to understand instructions to follow. The Earthmaker is 1.2 meters tall and 0.75 meters wide and the composter chambers have a total capacity of 466 litres.
I really like the look of this composter. I think it’s a bloke thing – I just like the combination of technology and process coming together to produce great compost. So I’d say The Earthmaker really is an earth maker and I’m off to buy one. At £139 the Earthmaker costs a bit more than your run of the mill composter but hopefully the results will be worth it.
Where can I buy the Earthmaker Composter Bin?
You can get hold of an Earthmaker at online green retailer Even Greener for £139 and take advantage of their current offer of FREE Delivery on all orders over £50.
