It looks a bit like an armadillo, but it's actually a solar powered motorbike by Spanish company SunRed. The idea, which won a prize for innovation at the Barcelona Motor show, is that when the bike is parked the large fold-out solar panels will cover the vehicle and the rays will charge up the bike's battery. It will have a range of around 13 miles and a top speed of 30mph, so not exactly one for a blast down the coast at the weekend, but ideal for city use. This is a concept model, but the company are planning a prototype soon, so watch this space!

[via treehugger.com]

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The battle lines are being drawn on the Greek island of Skyros. The battle has started. The residents of this little island have taken a stand against the developers of one of the world’s largest wind farms. With pressure mounting from the EU for Greece to increase its renewable energy production, the local population will have little chance of stopping the proposed wind farm. The EU is offering millions of Euros in grants to the developers and the potential profit margins are incredibly high, making it even harder for the local people to fight against the wind farm. There will be 100 wind turbines, new access roads and supply line cables on the uninhabited side of the island. Uninhabited by humans that is, the area is home to the wild horses of Skyros and to many species of birds.

[Via The Independent]

If you’ve been wondering what that biodiesel option was at your local petrol station but wasn’t sure if it was for you, here’s a brief breakdown of what it is. Biodiesel is a diesel equivalent renewable fuel that can be manufactured from algae, vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled restaurant greases and can be used in unmodified diesel engine vehicles – clever eh? It is also biodegradable and non-toxic. However, there has been concern over where the source plant matter used to produce the fuel comes from. Farming for fuel can have huge environmental effects and also impact the food markets.

How does it save CO2 emissions: Burning biodiesel is not much different in pollution terms to burning petrolium-based diesel. However, since it is produced from plants, carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere is absorbed by photosynthesis when the plants grow. Therefore, biodiesel’s overall CO2 emission are about 60% less when compared to producing and processing petroleum-based diesel. Most of the carbon dioxide emitted when burning biodiesel is simply recycling that which was absorbed by producing plant growth, so the net production of greenhouse gases is smaller.

[via wikipedia]

Related stories: The true cost of biofuels | Biofuels would create greedy cars and hungary people

It's an age old dilemma for green folk...whether or not to send out greetings cards for birthdays, Christmas etc. The Friendly Greetings Company makes the decision easier by producing cards which don't leave a whacking great boot print on the environment. They have a large selection of cards, for all occasions, and the styles range from original watercolour designs to wacky cartoon cards. They are all printed using vegetable oil-based inks, recycled board, and printed on presses run on renewable energy. Prices range from 90p to £1.20 or you can buy a multi-pack of 32 cards (one from each of their everyday range) which will see you through the year, at least, for £30 plus p&p.

Related: Sheep Poo Paper Christmas Sheepy Cards | Rescued paper pads from Sukie

This week UK farmer's role in the production of renewable energy was given a high profile boost with the release of an 'Energy White Paper', which has been hailed as the most fundamental review of the UK's energy policy yet. The document outlines how the government plan to deal with our future energy needs, and it highlights the crucial role our farmers will have in the production of bio-fuel crops and small-scale biomass heat and power production.

If we think that biogas is only practical for India then we should think again. Carrigbryne Farmhouse Cheese officially produces the best cheese in Ireland - their St Killian won gold in the World Cheese Awards and they came top in the Best Irish Cheese category.

Related stories: Organic cheese | Green chronicle recipes

A good pair of socks are essential when you're a serious walker. They need to protect your feet and keep them warm and dry in winter, but cool in summer. It's also important that the company making your socks respect the environment where their product is used, and Fox River certainly do. Not only do they use Ingeo or organic merano wool in their Good Earth Collection, they also run a state of the art mill which is a model for 'green' businesses in the US. There are around 17 pairs of socks in their Good Earth Collection, for men and women, in various colours and designs. Prices range from US$9.49 to US$15.49 per pair.

Related: Unitika's Corn Based Fashion | El Alto ethical outdoor gear | Patagonia recycles rivals

The smell of BBQs are making their way back for the summer (solar BBQs of course). Why not ditch those floppy paper plates or indestructible plastics and dine in eco-style? Made of 100% organically grown bamboo these plates are an environmentally friendly alternative to flimsy paper plates. This innovative range of semi-disposable dining was recognized by Fortune Magazine as Best Product Design. They definitely look natural and are FDA approved food-safe. What’s also good about these is that they are designed to biodegrade in 4-6 months. Package of eight 9" plates from £8 available from heals.co.uk

Related stories: Bamboo carbon | Branch biodegradable plates

One of the UK's leading recording studios The Premises, used by the likes of Bloc Party and Frans Ferdinand, have just opened a new studio which is entirely powered by photovoltaic (PV) panels. The company had to move from their old studios and the new building had a huge flat roof, which they felt was perfect for installing solar panels. They took an audit of the amount of electricity they used in a typical year in the old building and from that they calculated the number of panels needed.

A new cutting edge, eco friendly, visitor centre has opened in the heart of the North York Moors. Dalby Forest visitor centre, a Forestry Commission property, has been constructed in natural materials and is the centrepiece of a £4.3m regeneration project. It's main aim is to show how modern construction can be 'green' with the use of sustainable and local materials.

Amongst it's features are rain flush toilets, a wind turbine, solar panels and a counter made from old mobile phones, yoghurt pots and wellies! A woodfuel burner, which uses wood from the local sawmill, ensures the building is heated with renewable materials. In addition to the usual events the centre also offers it's visitors the opportunity to learn about the environment and the use of natural resources.

Related: More acts sign up for 2007 Forest Tour | Green building store | Milestone Eco Design recycled kitchens

I love popping the bubbles on plastic excelsior as much as the next chick, but I do always feel a tad guilty that I'm not folding it up like I'm some kind of eco-Martha Stewart intending to reuse it at some later date. Popping it is too enjoyable! And now, with Bio-Bubble, I can pop in peace, since it's made of OBP: Oxo-biodegradable plastic, which is converted by micro-organisms into harmless water. It doesn't just turn into tinier pieces of plastic, it actually gets eaten. Now that's a kind of plastic even George Carlin might have something nice to say about. [GT]

Bio-Bubble

Related stories: Topa verpakking 'clever' packing products | Eco Reuse Labels | Recycled aluminum foil from Natural Collection

Would you trade a red clay roof for a shiny black one - if it saved you £1250 a month in mains charges?  California homeowners are outfitting their houses with solar panels, getting free power, and pocketing profits from the excess.  One house was using $2500 per month - “I have a whole bunch of fountains and water features and stuff like that,” Felton said - but since spending about £125,000 on a solar system and getting £70,000 back in tax refunds, his accountant estimates he's saved about £250,000.  While California is ideal for generating tons of power, it also demands more because of the year-round need for air-conditioning, so plating a house in Wales with solar is still worth investigating.  [GT]

Plugging Into the Sun

Related stories: DIY Solar Lighting From Baker Environmental | Solar Tube Skylights | DIY Solar - even in Wales!

This year we saw solar panels hit the high street (and your clothes) and the Nano-matching black Solio from Better Energy Systems. The Solio is a first class gadget charger (to the point where Clinton gave them to delegates at his climate change summit) but this year my favourite solar charger is the Sunlinq, which rolls up like a tiny sleeping bag so you can easily carry it around as power for any gadget you like.  Comes in sheets of 6.5, 12 or 24 panels at about half a kilo per, starting at £85.  (Or you can DIY your own panels.)  [GT]

Original stories: Sharp brings solar panels to Curry's | Back in black - the Solio solar charger | Ethical celebrity sighting: Clinton gives out Solio | 2006 roundup #32: From the Solio to the TREAD | Sunlinq Folding Solar Power Panel | DIY Solar - even in Wales! | Solar Powered Trackable Clothing

Everybody is planting trees to sequester carbon now: Carbonfund.org would plant one for being linked to; Ecoist plants one every time you buy a bag from them; you can click a Swedish site to save old growth forest there, and so forth.  There's even the Tree-Athalon, where you run 5 kilometers and then plant a tree.  Most notable, there's Treeflight, where you pay £10 extra to have Treeflight offset the carbon from your air travel.  But near the end of the year came a serious and disturbing question: does planting trees really work to offset carbon?  A new study showed it has a good chance of actually making things worse, because it traps heat.  Unsurprisingly, the best solution, as usual, is to stop being bad in the first place.  [GT]

Original stories: Planting trees may do more harm than good | Ecoist: the bag so nice we blogged it twice | Tuesday ecoblog roundup: Tree-athalon, National Eisteddfod, more | Click to save Swedish old growth forest | Make it a Treeflight

I reviewed the Green Cone a few months ago, but basically, it's a solar-powered (in the simplest and lowest-tech sense: it uses black plastic to make the sun get hotter so it reduces the contents into compost more efficiently) cone that you dump any kind of food into.  Dairy, meat, the regular, it doesn't matter.  It does have to be buried partway in the ground, though, so it's not for urbanites (but I'll revisit electric composters later).  The Can-o-worms takes this a step further, being a stack of five worm habitats that you layer organic waste into.  By the time you've laid on the last habitat, the bottom one is full of compost ready to be emptied, and the process continues.  Again, no mains power involved; they both use natural principles that've existed since either the Big Bang or "let there be light" (or your personal equivalent).  [GT]

Original stories: Review: Green Cone solar-powered composter | Can-o-worms