100 years today (26 October 1918) Cecil Chubb, a Wiltshire barrister and landowner, and his wife, Mary, gave Stonehenge to the nation. Saving the monument from who knows what damage and desecration to the stones and the surrounding land is a public spirited gesture to be celebrated. But even under government control, Stonehenge is not… Continue reading
Browsing Category Environment
Butter or margarine? How to spread breakfast’s carbon footprint
Margarine better for global warming potential than butter – new study I wrote the following article in 2016. Since then I came across this study – “Comparative life cycle assessment of margarine and butter consumed in the UK, Germany and France”. It dates from 2010, but was published earlier in 2018. It concludes that margarine… Continue reading →
The new Autostrada del Sole – how the sun might transform motoring in the ’20s
Could Lightyear, a solar power and electric car become the vehicle of choice in the 2020s? How a Dutch start-up is blazing the path towards low emission motoring. In 2010 I wrote about the launch of the first mainstream all-electric car in the UK. The Nissan Leaf has sold well since then, but it and… Continue reading →
Exit cuckoo, pursued by climate change?
‘The cuckoo then, on every tree, Mocks married men; for thus sings he, “Cuckoo; Cuckoo, cuckoo!” O, word of fear, Unpleasing to a married ear!’ (When Daisies Pied and… Continue reading →
Bulldog breeds Co2-free plastic for men’s skin care products
Discarded plastic is unsightly, but it is Co2-heavy too. And this is a point which has not been made so much in the flurry of announcements, from the government down, on the subject in early 2018. While we grapple with eliminating plastic altogether, we might at least start making it from something sustainable. I look… Continue reading →
Climate charity 10:10 calls for new buildings to have solar panels as standard
The climate action charity 10:10 has launched a campaign to persuade the government that all suitable new buildings should have solar panels fitted as standard. In a tweet it argues: “If every new home came with built-in solar panels, we’d increase our capacity to produce clean solar power by 50% in just seven years. British… Continue reading →