Oxygenating (or 'aerating') shower heads are said to reduce the amount of water your shower uses, without hindering its performance. In our video review, Katie Lee puts an Oxygenics aerating shower to the test, direct from her bathroom: this one is available at £59 from Natural Collection.
In yesterday's Guardian a reader asked "Watching those pictures of water being pumped out of flood-stricken areas got me thinking: how much energy does it take to produce all our mains water?" It's a good question, and one that Leo Hickman answered after some serious calculations. Everyday in the UK we use 19 billion litres of tap water, and in one year the figure is seven cubic kilometres! Between 2% and 3% of the UK's electricity is used to process and 'deliver' this water to us in our homes, and this creates 0.5% of our carbon emissions. Hickman's conclusion was that a litre of water has a footprint of 0.298 grammes, and said "even if you had one very full bath - about 150 litres - every day for a year, overall it would represent just 15kg of greenhouse gas emissions. That's about what the average car produces over 80 kilometres."
Alan Simpson, labour MP for Nottingham South, has written in The Guardian that we need to learn from European countries about flood defences, particularly the Netherlands with 60% of its land actually below sea-level. The Dutch approach incorporates flood water into the design of new homes, in the shape of floating homes and allocated safe flood zones for excess water. In Germany, planning laws have been tightened to maintain a site’s current water soakaway capacity even if built on.
This morning I woke to an urgent text from my mother warning me that there were problems with the water supply in my area. Worried, I went to the website for our water supply company to read their ‘special situation report’.
It turned out that the torrential rain we've been having had overwhelmed their system and some rainwater had flooded a chlorine treatment tank and the resultant mixture had got into the supply before the system could be shut down. There was no need to panic, the water company advised, just to boil water for drinking and washing until further notice. They also advised anyone who felt ill to ring NHS Direct!
There's one unavoidable problem with low-flush lavatories that doesn't delight even the greenest among us: they, er, don't flush very well. I discovered this to my cost on a recent visit to a green restaurant which I won't name, because I really like the place, and wouldn't want to use anything as trivial as a toilet against them. But let's just say it put me off my lunch...
Anyway, the good news is that there's a new loo on the block called a 'High Efficiency Toilet' (HEC) that's not only green but flushes like a dream and it's been certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under a new program called Watersense. There's some detailed info on how they tested it here, and it sounds pretty effective to me!
With a limited supply of freshwater on board ships and submarines, seamen have over the years developed the "navy shower" to have an effective wash while saving water. As we all become more conscious of water saving in everyday life, should we all try a navy shower? Here's how to have one...
One of the country's oldest youth hostels has recently had a £130,000 face lift and is now being advertised as one of the most eco friendly places to stay in the UK. The hostel in Loch Ossian, high up on the remote Rannoch Moor, near Fort William now boasts, amongst other things, wind and solar power, composting toilets, grey water and bat friendly paint. It can only add to the feeling of being at one with nature, with the surrounding countryside erupting with spectacular Corbetts and Munros. The hostel sleeps 20, and a bed will cost you around £13.50 per night. As with most youth hostels you can also rent out the entire building for you and your closest friends. Loch Ossian will only set you back £285 for a week, which split between 20 is not a bad deal for such an idyllic location.
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In yesterday's Guardian a reader asked "Watching those pictures of water being pumped out of flood-stricken areas got me thinking: how much energy does it take to produce all our mains water?" It's a good question, and one that Leo Hickman answered after some serious calculations. Everyday in the UK we use 19 billion litres of tap water, and in one year the figure is seven cubic kilometres! Between 2% and 3% of the UK's electricity is used to process and 'deliver' this water to us in our homes, and this creates 0.5% of our carbon emissions. Hickman's conclusion was that a litre of water has a footprint of 0.298 grammes, and said "even if you had one very full bath - about 150 litres - every day for a year, overall it would represent just 15kg of greenhouse gas emissions. That's about what the average car produces over 80 kilometres."
Alan Simpson, labour MP for Nottingham South, has written in 
This morning I woke to an urgent text from my mother warning me that there were problems with the water supply in my area. Worried, I went to 
There's one unavoidable problem with low-flush lavatories that doesn't delight even the greenest among us: they, er, don't flush very well. I discovered this to my cost on a recent visit to a green restaurant which I won't name, because I really like the place, and wouldn't want to use anything as trivial as a toilet against them. But let's just say it put me off my lunch...
