thegreenguy

Test-driving the NICE Mega City ('I am the electric-powered law!')

Yesterday I drove an electric car I've had my eye on for a while: the G-Wiz-rivalling NICE Mega City. It's not as fast or maneuverable as Judge Dredd's steed in Mega City One, but I like it. The good stuff: it has better interior fittings than the G-Wiz (seats, dash, everything!), more head space (I'm only 5ft 9in but hit my head on the G-Wiz's roof) and loads of boot space (almost enough for two extra seats). Most importantly, it's fun to drive. Think golf buggy, milk float or go-kart. 

Me looking dorky on tomorrow's MTV Flux Go Green Day

Yes, that's me looking like a plonker on the left. It's a grab from tomorrow's Go Green day on MTV Flux, which, as well as me giving energy-saving tips and flashing green gadgets, also features top ethical fashion shop Junky Styling and David Miliband - yes, the environment secretary - doling out eco advice and picking their top tunes. You can watch preview clips on Flux's site here. The day stops kicks off tomorrow on Sky and Virgin Media at 9am.

Green.tv hits big screen with BT Vision

Couple of interesting tit-bits from an industry schmooze last night with eco broadband channel, Green.tv. First up, the channel's joining BT's Virgin Media and Sky rival, BT Vision, around Septemberish, meaning you can watch enviro films in all their broadcast quality glory rather than lo-fi web streaming. Also, the channel mentioned it's actually being more successful as a podcaster than web channel at the mo - a quarter of the top UK science podcasts on iTunes are from Green.tv.

Stuff delves into sustainable stuff

I've written a two page feature on eco gadgets for this month's Stuff magazine, which is out now. If you dig your green tech, you'll find a Canadian tent that's powered by solar, a recycled laptop bag and some peeks at future energy-saving gizmos coming our way. The issue's got a DVD mounted on the front and details of two neat Specialized bikes inside, so it's pretty fine value at £3.90.

Wind turbine with a view

Yesterday I was lucky enough to stand at the top of a wind turbine (see shabby cam-phone pic, right). If you've never been to Norfolk, it's home to one of only three turbines in the world that Joe Public can climb up. My reason for being up the megawatt class Swaffham One turbine was to check out the plans for six new ones that Ecotricity's planning to build in the town. The proposals are on show at the Ecotech centre until 20th March; the town's residents have until 20th May to have their say. The new wind siblings are likely to get a green light. When locals were polled by the council five years back, 90 per cent voted in favour of wind. None of the new turbines have viewing platforms but the climb got me thinking: in an age when  a big ferris wheel like the London Eye counts as a tourist attraction, why not turn more turbines into tourist destinations? Many are in spectacular landscapes, and you'd dispell myths about turbines into the bargain.

Green gadgets grow up

If you fancy reading an intro to green gadgets - they're not an oxymoron, honest - I wrote a piece about them at the weekend for new Digital Life section of the Daily Telegraph. As well as some eco tech history,there's a spot about the WEEE law that finally arrived in the UK this year. It means electronics companies need to have companies lined up by March to collect your old gadgets - and actually offer you a recycling service starting July 1st. There's more gov info here. In the Telegraph piece, I've also listed some of my favourite eco gizmos, including DIY Kyoto's Wattson, photographed here by Toby Summerskill.

Sky offers journos tips for a 'low carbon 07'

I got to meet some of the green world's great and good last night at a London bash by Sky to teach journos why green's so hot right now. And, of course, what Sky's doing on that front. The night's eco experts were the Beeb's Penney Poyzer, The Ecologist's Pat Thomas and Matilda Lee, UCL's Mark Maslin and - in a flattering gesture - myself as the 'technology energy-saving man' AKA 'the lad with the bike panniers and solar bags.' I've included some info on the tips/gadgets I mentioned after the click-through.

Why big wind's flying, but home turbines have hit a stormy patch

I've written a piece about wind power in today's Guardian. Just in case the article's taken the wrong way, I'd like to stress that I'm hugely in favour of wind power, but from what I've heard and read, home turbines just aren't yet ready for primetime - and pretending they are could have disastrous consequences. Have any thegreenguy readers got a home turbine? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience of it. I would pledge this is my last Xmas post, but I've clearly broken my promise on that already. Photo: Stuart Yeates

27 ways to green your home this winter

I'm moving home in January - ah, how my Scotland-based friends at New Consumer laughed at the joke that is the English housing system - and am jammy enough to be buying a house. Which, as well as a cat, means a huge eco project. My plan is to make it as green as Donnacadh McCarthy's virtually zero carbon home and Penney Poyzer's incredibly trendy Nottingham eco home. To that end, I've started re-reading a list of green suppliers that I wrote about for Inside Out magazine earlier this year; hopefully it'll be of some use to you too. Click through for the list. [photo from Green Roof]

Goodbye Glowbrick, hello Sun Jar

Meet the modern incarnation of that early 2005 favourite, the Glow Brick. Awesome as the brick was - it featured a bulb in an acrylic cube that charged up through the day by sunlight and lit up at night - I could never understand why such a 'green gadget' used an embarrassingly old skool incandescent bulb. Well, the Sun Jar, left, rectifies that, using a small solar PV cell and a super efficient LED to glow softly after dusk falls. The jar's £20 - same price as the Glow Brick - from Firebox.