Green News
As recently as a decade ago, saying you were 'pro nuclear' was on a par with admitting to a fondness for killing kittens. But attitudes towards the controversial fuel have recently changed dramatically in the green world, with some high profile activists and scientists 'coming out' as being in favour of nuclear power, viewing it as the only way to fulfil the world's energy needs within advised C02 emissions targets. In the meantime, green protesters have turned their attention to opposing and exposing the evils of coal.
Does the fact that these experts have changed their minds so starkly affect your view on its use as a fuel, or do the dangers posed by nuclear; the problems with waste storage and the potential for catastrope outweight its undeniable use as a 'clean' fuel for you?
Poll after the jump.
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Green News
Emma Thompson has become the most vocal celeb-campaigner against the proposed and approved expansion of Heathrow, supporting Greenpeace in their Airplot scheme, which encouraged opponents of the plans to buy plots of land near the development site.
Thompson has spoken out against the plans, making the very reasonable point that any government claiming to have the planet's best interests at heart is somewhat hypocritical to allow such a polluting scheme to go ahead. But it's not Thompson herself who's being branded a hypocrite; not only by Geoff Hoon who one might expect to have a problem with the actress's position, but by fellow environmentalists as well...
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One of the best things you can do for the planet is ensure that your home is heated as efficiently as possible. Central heating accounts for a massive proportion of your carbon footprint, so the more you do to reduce it, the bigger an impact you'll make.
The simplest way to do this is to cut down on how much heating you actually use. But that isn't always easy as the winter weather sets in. And this is where renewable energy packages start to look seriously attractive. But what about the cost?
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Green News
One of the interesting things about the credit crunch is not the ways it changes people's behaviour, but the ways it doesn't. Let's look back to a year ago, when we were all rolling in money. If you can remember that far back, you'll recall that it was considered far more 'normal' to buy expensive coffee on the way in to work than it is now - and that's no real surprise. Expensive coffee is something we can all live without.
But there are some things that haven't changed: expenses that we still justify, whether we can really 'afford' them or not. And according to a source of mine at a major UK supermarket chain, the one are that customers are still prepared to shell out is 'welfare food'; free range meat, poultry and dairy products in particular.
Related: Enjoy an alternative Christmas dinner | Would you buy battery again?
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Green News
An eco-friendly tumble dryer sounds like my idea of a dream gadget, ever since I found out the horrible truth of how much energy a standard dryer guzzles up. I did know about spin dryers, which rely on gravity to work their drying magic, but having mangled one garment too many using a spin dryer at college, was not convinced by them. So what could possibly power an eco-friendly tumble dryer?
The answer, apparently, is gas...
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Last year we did the whole real vs. artificial trees debate to death, and I'm sure it'll soon be raging once again. But I've recently heard about a third option that could throw open the argument once again, or possibly even solve it: it's the idea of renting a Christmas tree.
So far, I'm only aware of one, solitary farm offering such a scheme: Heeley City Farm in Sheffield. The scheme allows you to collect a tree at the beginning of the festive season, then when twelfth night rolls around, instead of planting it in the garden or gifting it to the bin men, you return it to the farm where it'll be well looked after for another year, ready to do its Christmassy service for another family next December.
Related: Grow your own Christmas tree | Hippyshopper guide to Christmas trees | Alternative green Christmas tree
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Whether it's the state of the planet or your wallet that's concerning you more, heating your home with electricity or gas accounts for a hefty amount of fuel usage, and depending on your lifestyle, may well be the largest single contributor to your carbon footprint. So it's no wonder that many are looking to alternative heating strategies for what may be a hard and frugal winter. But just how green are those alternatives, really?
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