thegreenguy - Adam Vaughan

Carnival of the Green # 146

It's my pleasure this week to play host to the one, the only, Carnival of the Green. Never heard of the Carnival? It's a great travelling circus of eco stories that hops between green blogs. Last week it landed at Neighbourhoods.org (a blog encouraging walking), this week it's here on thegreenguy, and next week it zooms off to Confessions of a Closet Environmentalist ("a struggle against the Greenwash Sea"). So, without further ado, here are this week's top posts from around the green blogosphere.

World first: National Carbon Footprint Day

The Indy's eco columnist Donnachadh McCarthy has launched a 'national day' for us all to measure our carbon footprints. It takes place on 2 October -- check out the official site for details.

Who's the carbon culprit in *your* family?

In my family, it's gotta be my parents for their short haul holidays several times a year. But it varies from family to family, as I found in an article I've written for this month's House Beautiful magazine -- it features an energy-guzzling daughter, a Dad uninspired by going green and a home-working Mum who just can't do without the heat up. The mag's out now (August issue) and asks why some family members have clown-sized carbon footprints. So -- who's the culprit in your family, and why?

Green how-to videos on SmartPlanet

It's hard to open a weekend newspaper or Stumble across the web without coming across eco tips. Fit a Hippo! Compost your food! Seal your draughts! goes the advice. Even though they're relatively simple though, just seeing these tips in text can be off-putting, so -- in the spirit of a picture telling a thousand words and a video telling a gazillion words -- I've started a series of 'Smart Tip' videos over on my day-job site, SmartPlanet. They're not strictly how-to vids (you may still need instruction manuals) but they do show you how easy basic green steps are. My favourite is this one on ensuring your compost doesn't get stinky.

Win £1,559 worth of green goodies

Eco blog Lifegoggles is running a monster giveaway of 69 different prizes, all with an eco twist. As well as a vouchers, you can win prizes from a monster array of UK and US ecotailers, including fair trade footballs, organic beauty gift boxes and a whole stack of green books. The list was so long it made my eyes spin. Well worth a look.

Swapping MR16 halogens for greener LEDs

Meet my hallway. This photo shows how we inherited it a year ago, replete with four typical IKEA halogen bulbs, each sucking up 80W every time I came home. While I swapped out the rest of the house's lighting for low energy alternatives, I procrastinated with these ones because they have those pointy MR16 fittings and I couldn't find any compatible mini-sized CFLs (what we all tend to call energy-saving bulbs). I then had a look for the other green alternative: LEDs. After some laborious searching, I ended up ordering some £4.49 ones from the ever-useful energy-saving site, REUK.

Video: why my home's 67 out of 100 on the green scale

That's me on the right, learning how infrared thermal cameras work as part of an eco audit at my house. Lex on the left is from Green Homes Concierge, a new service that the Mayor of London's offering for £200 to help you green up your home. Click on on over to SmartPlanet to watch the vid and see what your two 'centuries' of cash get you.

Insulation lessons learned: radiator foil easy, thermostatic valves tricky

As well as such hedonistic pursuits as insulating the loft, I've recently being going wild with other draught-bashing and heat-saving tricks. Here's the verdict on radiator foil (to keep the heat in) and thermostatic valves (to keep the heat from getting excessive).

My 5 minutes with Gordon Brown (plus Energy Saving Week, communities and more)

Yep, that's me to the Prime Minister's left yesterday. I'll blog about the experience in full soon via my new day job SmartPlanet, but the long-and-short is that it was a great experience. I was there with seven other people -- plus MP Joan Ruddock -- representing energy-saving communities around the UK. In a ridiculously flattering gesture, the Energy Saving Trust invited me to Downing Street to represent online green communities, so if you're a Brit and write a green blog, post in eco forums or joined a green group on Facebook, I owe you a big thank you. Incidentally, today is 'digital day' of Energy Saving Week, so if you're chatting with mates online, spread some of these tips. In the photo, from left to r ight: Joy Greasley (WI) Kai Boschman DSGI (DIXONS),Rachel Bradley B&Q, Philip Selwood CEO Energy Saving Trust, Adam Vaughan environmental journalist,PM,Joan Ruddock,Dr Martin Blake Royal Mail,Andrew Fisk Proctor and Gamble,David Shreeve C of E.

A list of top green communities (please add your own!)

In case you missed starter's orders, Energy Saving Week is underway, and this year's big theme is communities. Which is the most influential - the church? The WI? Local towns? My main green community is online: this blog, other blogs, on forums, Facebook, on my Delicious links and elsewhere. Here's a big list of links to green communities I like, after the click-through.