Britain Set To Enact Excellent Insulation Regulation for Buildings

Today's Telegraph has this bit of news about a plan in Britain to tax homes which are not properly insulated: Link. This is something that this blog wholly endorses - homes that are not properly insulated invariably become energy-wasters when either heating or airconditioning are used. This is a measure that would deter this kind of unintended wastage. And, of course, most countries offer tax breaks for making homes more energy-efficient. There's no reason to sit back and warm one's cushions if one's home is energy inefficient / old / in need of upgrades. Way to go, Britain!

British Company Invents a Washing Machine that Uses Almost No Water

The Telegraph has this very interesting piece on a British company, Xeros Ltd, that has invented a washing machine that uses almost no water to wash clothes: Link. Corresponding to the heavily reduced water consumption is a proportionate reduction in the use of detergent and electricity. I would like to see one of these machines, and, if they go on sale in the USA, to buy one as a replacement for the Braun at home.

The manufacturer, Xeros, has a nice website at: Link Is an Indian company going to jump and license this tech? I hope someone does . . .

A Vastly Better Option Than to Try to Bury CO2

The Telegraph, easily among my favorite newspapers, has this excellent piece about a Dutch farmer who is buying CO2 from an ammonia plant near his farm to grow aubergines better: Link This is an excellent idea and it could be used over whatever plant someone might want to grow in a controlled environment. I can think of flowers for the perfume sector, herbs and a lot more. I also think this is a lot better than some of the clownish ideas that are being thrown out to try to store CO2 underground in either natural or man-made caverns. Let's hope that the idea catches on across the world. This is channeling carbon back into living organisms - where it is meant to be - instead of storing it in risky places from where it might leak out and cause potential disasters.

I can think of several ammonia plants in India attached to refineries etc which could do this if the plant owners aka the Government of India decided to do something technologically creative.

Eco Friendly Luxury Property in the UK

This blog has always been a supporter of environmentally friendly homes - mega mansions too - as it believes that these have an aspirational value that could make a difference to smaller homes by imitation. If people imitate business tycoons and folm personalities' looks, they are also likely to imitate their living quarters to whatever extent they can afford to. This is a simple concept that sells clothes and shoes, perfumes and cars and it could also sell energy efficient homes.

Cut to this incredibly beautiful project in the UK on a farm as described in detail in http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/greenproperty/6105693/Eco-houses-down-on-the-eco-farm.htmlThe architect's detailed description of a huge home that uses less energy drawn from the grid than a two room apartment ought to set off celebrity architects and designers to compete for similarly efficient structures elsewhere in the world. Hopefully, this is exactly what will happen. In the meantime, will an Indian billionaire (or at least a multi-millionaire) please buy this property as it is on sale? Or a wealthy PAkistani businessman? Or someone else from the region . . . My hat will be off to you if you do, as you would be setting a most magnificent example for the region and for the world.

The Telegraph on China's Taking the Lead in Green Energy

I like this article in "The Telegraph," a Conservative British newspaper, a lot: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/6077374/China-powers-ahead-as-it-seizes-the-green-energy-crown-from-Europe.html As visitors here know, I like to check out articles in the mainstream media and discuss them here more than I do the blogs that I subscribe to, because the MSM has a wider reach as far as its message is concerned, though blogs are often more passionate about the subject of green energy, and they are also much faster in looking at developments in the field. However, there is a popular misconception among Renewable Energy supporters that Conservatives are not always in favor of RE. Earlier views suggested that religious groups were opposed to the idea, until churches in the USA, Muslim groups in several countries and Sikh and Hindu religious leaders in India all began to push hard on environmental issues and on urging their followers to look at RE. This Telegraph article is particularly interesting because it not only looks at the idea of grid parity, it also looks at dumping practices by the Chinese in selling solar panels to Europe and at the whole business as a profitable enterprise, not as some ideological aim.

This particular piece also throws out the idea of competing - a very good thing in my opinion - with the Chinese as far as RE is concerned. While the USA slowly moves towards this sector pushed by hard-nosed businesspeople who have now turned green entrepreneurs, Europe has been ahead of the game for some time. Germany has several advanced solar panel manufacturers, the Scandinavians and the Germans have both been building wind turbines for sale all over the world, and the Spaniards and Portuguese have been busy harnessing the sun and the wind over their countries as the British work on harnessing the energy of the sea. Now, the Europeans have a wealthy competitor who may not always play by the rules, in China. This is still fine, I think, because the more solar panels the Chinese sell, the less fossil fuels are going to be used. In the long term, the Europeans are also certain to respond by raising the stakes from a technological standpoint - they do have some of the world's top universities and engineering brains. Count on them to look at raising the efficiency of their offerings in this area in order to beat the Chinese. For a long time, supporters of that biggest celebration of the harnessing of fossil fuel, Formula 1 racing, used to argue thyat competition improved the breed. Now, that is happening on a much larger scale and with a much wider scope, in the area of Renewable Energy. This blog is happily celebrating!

India Hits Back Over Western Demands That it Cut its Emissions

It was bound to happen - constant harangues on several talk radio shows and on Fox television against India and China on emissions were expected to bring a tit for tat statement and here it is: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/5977599/India-attacks-British-and-Western-hypocrites-over-cutting-emissions.html As someone who lived just overlooking the Vadapalani Bus Terminus at Gowri Chitra Gardens, I have a somewhat different take on this, however. Let us not kid ourselves - India's air is filthy. And if a "better lifestyle" is what India is aspiring to, then that should include cleaner air and water. It does not make sense if Indians can buy Rolls Royces or Bentleys and if they have to breathe in filth the moment they step out of them and no longer have air filtered through carbon filters available to them. There is also the matter of health, and when I last checked, that was also a lifestyle issue - recent reports suggest that as many as 70% of Kolkata residents may have lung infections of some kind. The percentages in other cities should be similar.

While this is not going to be easy under any circumstances, I do think that India would be able to do both - work towards implementing more Renewable Energy projects (especially solar power) and advance towards a better lifestyle for Indians at the same time. Fossil fuel resources are currently held by a few nations that have been fortunate to have them located on their territory. And these are running out. Countries like India have access to abundant sunlight and they need to focus on this as a resource and develop a model that works in this context. It is not an impossible task. Some positive steps are being taken in this direction, no doubt. I wish that there would be more, and that they would be taken faster.

Let us not forget that a full 50% of all the money that India earns goes towards paying for fuel. All of this could, technically, be available for other "lifestyle" projects if it were not sent out of the country to pay for coal and crude oil.