thegreenguy

Electric cars and 10,000+ offshore turines to make Britain carbon zero?

I've just returned from a media briefing on how the UK can get down to zero carbon by 2027. Yep, forget the gov's 60 per cent cuts by 2050: the Centre for Alternative Technology reckons we can get to zero CO2 emissions in two decades. To argue the case, it's put out a 120 page report - ZeroCarbonBritain - suggesting the entire nation switches to electric cars such as the Tesla on the left and act as a giant decentralised battery for tens of thousands of wind turbines. It's all a bit far fetched politically - the report is more a theoretical proof of concept that as an island we can greenly feed and power ourselves without any international support - but makes for an interesting talking point and aspiration. Sadly, you have to pay £15 to read the full report, which is oddly only available in print. 25th July update: the full report's online here as a PDF.

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.

Top 10 green home upgrades

Should you get solar? Is it really worth switching to energy-saving bulbs? They're just two of the questions I tried to answer last week in an article for the Indy's nice little green living supplement on Wednesday. It's not in their online archives, so I've reprinted the best eco upgrades for your home after the click-through. [photo: TaranRampersad]

Solar energy is hot stuff

I've been blathering in The Guardian today about how solar energy's suddenly become cool and hip. There's mention of the brilliant Serpentine SolarShuttle (pictured), solar-powered gadgets, words from Graham Hill of Treehugger, plus a small taster of how much money installing solar panels could save you. [pictured credit: Broko-Lee]

Fairylights, the eco edition

Alongside Van Gogh's Sunflowers and the Trainspotting poster, fairylights were a decorating essential in my student days (97-2000, sob). Fortunately, I've just discovered the grown-up alterantive: solar-powered cyrstal balls. Instead of having a daft mains plug dangling off the end, you can hang 'em anywhere there's sun and they won't cost a penny to run. They switch on automatically where darkness falls, should last for 6 hours and cost £20 at Maplins. Just don't mention the ugly solar panel that goes on the end of the wire. [via Style Will Save Us]

Related stories:
Solar chargers brighten the high street

Tech start-up lights way with solar house no

I know some people aren't mad on solar-powered house numbers. Me, I think they're a great practical idea - delivery men, mates and taxi drivers will all be thankful - and another symbolic gesture of the fact that solar works. This new one from IMT looks gorgeous, especially compared to this ugly US one, but there's one hitch. Incredibly, it maxes out at single digits, making it good for micro cul-de-sacs, the lucky few who live at the start of a road and not much else. Unless you buy a pair. The material, aluminium, is relatively eco-friendly, too, and the price tag's cheap -  the silver version will set you back £16 and black costs £17. It's on sale at IMT's shop.

Today's ethical web picks

Natural Nursery sale is go - complete with this half-price pirate t-shirt that I wish they sold in adult sizes. There are a load of other organic cotton baby odds and ends discounted, too

Sony pledges to axe emissions - I'm a week late on this but it's still good news that the world's trendiest gadget maker is improving energy efficiency at its factories worldwide and switching to gas and renewable power

Solar-powered web designers - I've been meaning to link to this gang for ages. Its green credentials are awesome but - judging from its own pseudo Geocities-circa-1996 site - I'm not so sure about the design creds

Currys in 'high street solar panels' shocker!

Some sunny news from Sharp and Currys today: the pair have joined forces to flog solar panels on the high street. Or, more precisely, the streets of Fulham, Croydon and West Thurrock; if you live oop north near the Wrexham factory that makes 'em, you're stuffed for the time being. An average system for a 3-bed like the one pictured should cost £6000 after grant, slash your electricity bill in half and stop two tonnes of CO2 heading to the atmosphere every year. You can't actually fondle the panels in-store, but you can chat with Currys' Sharp-trained staff, so they should know their onions. And their 25 year-guaranteed polycrystalline panels. 01/08/06 update: click through for a pic of the Currys' solar set-up

Fun with sun: the solar house number

This one's as mad, unnecessary and fun as it sounds. It's your house number, in LED lights at night, powered by a solar panel during the day. Genius. Fortunately, it's not as colossal as the picture suggests, measuring 12.25 inches wide by 4.75 tall.

Sharp 'LumiWall': solar gets hip and translucent

Imagine a conservatory roof that looks like shaded glass by day, but by evening is transformed into a patchwork quilt of gentle white LED lights. Well, it - Sharp's LumiWall (far left) - is coming your way, and it's powered entirely by thin-film solar panels inside the glass. So you could even use the stuff for glass in an off-grid geodisic dome in the middle of your garden. If that pushes your buttons.