Energy saving
Grannies Inc has teamed up with energy company npower to produce a range of cosies designed to encourage our great nation to make tea in a pot rather than mugs.
The idea - of course - is to reduce the number of times we boil our kettles and hence the amount of household energy we use.
Themed to some of our favourite TV shows, various designs are available. Just pop one of these over your pot and do a little something for the environment while enjoying a cup of the good stuff.
Pictured is the 'Lancashire Hot Pot' Coronation Street cosy which is available online at granniesinc.co.uk/cosies.htm for £45. Alternatively there's a Dalek tea cosy, called Dalekjeeling of course. You can also download patterns to knit it yourself.
Via Corrieblog
Announcements
If you didn't know yet, today is the first ever Green Britain Day. Started to try and get Britain greener by the 2012 Olympics, there will be events around our fair country to raise awareness of environmental issues and to convince us to make a change.
It all kicks off with a concert at The Eden Project headlined by Paul Weller, and featuring Brit award winning Florence and the Machine. For more information on tickets visit the Eden Project website.
Visit the Team Britain website for tips and idea for getting greener, from throwing a clothes swapping party, to hosting a neighborhood lunch. For more information on the events happening today go here.
Carbon Neutral Living
Emily Cummins is an inventor with a focus on helping the environment. This wouldn't be so unique if it wasn't for the fact that she is only 21, and has been inventing since the age of four when her grandad gave her a hammer.
Starting by taking things apart and rebuilding them with her grandad - who she describes as an 'inspiration' - in his shed, Emily progressed and won a barrage of awards and competitions at school for inventions such as a toothpaste dispenser that minimises waste, which she came up with at just 15 years old. She went on to become Cosmopolitan's Ultimate Save-The-Planet Pioneer in 2008.
Currently in her 3rd year of university at Leeds, she studies part time so she can work on her inventions, and dedicate time to inspiring young people.
Emily's best known invention is the sustainable fridge, (pictured with her) which she also produced at school, and is set to change lives in the third world, as it is used to hold medicines. Emily is currently working on a second generation version that is intended for commercial use.
Emily believes that all new inventions should be green. She says "This concept - to maintain the quality while neutralising the damage to the environment - must be extended to all the other appliances we can't seem to function without such as TVs, cookers, dishwashers, computers, even cars."
"Just like Trevor Baylis's wind-up radio, the key is to creating quality green alternatives to the items which people have come to rely on."
If you think you have a great idea for a green invention, she suggests you check out N powers 'Bright Ideas competition' on their website, where you can also check out some great tips for getting more energy efficient.
Green News
Paul Ridden writes: Following a successful trial at its depot in Northampton, a Sainsbury's store car park in Gloucester is getting ready to start producing enough energy to power the store's tills. The power will be generated by the action of cars rolling over kinetic plates, which have been positioned underneath road surfaces. The impressive 30kW per hour of energy produced by the plates should be more than enough to keep the tills running.
As a car rolls over the road surface, the plates produce a sort of pumping action (similar to that used by Formula 1 racing cars to turn braking energy into speed) which then drives a generator. The store in Gloucester also benefits from rainwater recycling to flush the lavs, solar panels and the cold air from the fridges is used to keep customers cool while they pay for their goods at the checkouts.
With Tesco about to install electric car charging ports at its stores in Kensington and Vauxhall, it looks like being eco-friendly will feature heavily in future trips to the supermarket!
Energy saving
After a few uncomfortable weeks of watching TV in a hat and scarf, I recently tracked down the epic draught in my living room to the fireplace. When it's not playing host to a roaring log fire, the hearth becomes a vast, gaping chasm that lets in huge amounts of cold air.
It's crazy that we let this happen when we spend so much time making sure windows and doors are sealed up, so I was pleased to find an answer to my Siberian sitting room in the form of one of these balloon thingies.
Continue reading >>
Energy saving
With London still reeling from its encounter with that cold, white stuff yesterday and much of the UK braced for frozen conditions, keeping warm has suddenly become big on our list of priorities again.
Follow the jump for some steps you can take that should lead to a drastic reduction in your usage of electricity, gas and other fuels while you keep toasty warm. Adopting just one or two of them will make a difference...
Continue reading >>
Do It Yourself
If you're hoping to save energy in the home this year, don't forget that fridges make heat and heat takes energy. There are some useful tips here on how to get the best from your fridge without letting it suck up too much juice from the grid, but Treehugger drew my attention today to a simple way of preventing cold air escaping from the fridge while it's open.
It's a special curtain you can make for your fridge by doctoring the sort more commonly used in showers. I imagine it would be great for keeping out curious pets, too!
Related: How to make your fridge a greener place | Friday fun: turn the bloody fridge off
Grannies Inc has teamed up with energy company npower to produce a range of cosies designed to encourage our great nation to make tea in a pot rather than mugs. 
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