Bath Green News

Sorry the Digest is late – technical problems. But without furher ado,
this week: bus subsidies, Britain’s biggest emitters, plastic soup, eel
power and much more... 

TAKEN FOR A RIDE?
Bath and North East Somerset Council is to
plough nearly £1 million into subsidising bus services in the Bath area
next year. The letters at the bottom of the Chronicle’s story make
interesting reading. For the record, in the six months to 30 September
2008 FirstGroup made an operating profit of £128.5 million.
http://tinyurl.com/5esnst

TURBINE TUSSLE
The less-than-universally-popular local entrepreneur Andy Ridings is
facing fierce opposition to his plans to install a wind turbine at his
Waste Recycling@Bath site at Odd Down. Meanwhile, the group opposed to
Ridings’ business at the old Fullers Earth site wants to create an
environment park there.
http://tinyurl.com/5gxzk4

OFFICIAL: PEAK OIL IS JUST TWENTY YEARS AWAY
The International Energy Authority has admitted for the first time that world oil supplies will peak in just 20 years’ time.
http://tinyurl.com/6k8a3w

DEFORESTATION AGREEMENT HOPE
World leaders have finally got round to talking about curbing
deforestation. Frightening fact of the week: Indonesia's deforestation
emissions are so big they make the country the third-biggest carbon
emitter after China and the US.
http://tinyurl.com/67v8cf

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST EMITTERS
Check out this interesting map by environmentalist group Sandbag of the
UK’s top one hundred CO2 polluters covered by the EU Emissions Trading
Scheme. Power stations, oil refineries and cement works dominate the
map – and according to Sandbag, their trading scheme permits don’t
nearly cover their actual emissions.
http://tinyurl.com/64zt33

SUE ’EM!
Thanks to more scientific certainty, ordinary people battered by
storms, heatwaves and flooding could soon be queuing at the courts to
sue the companies they blame for global warming.
http://tinyurl.com/66xqc5

CARTOONISTS TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE
The world’s cartoonists have been taking on climate change in a unique
competition. Click on the link below the winning picture and you can
see more entries, some of them extremely powerful.
http://tinyurl.com/6ge59d

PLASTIC MONSTER ON LOOSE IN PACIFIC
A soup of plastic waste twice the size of the US is floating in the
Pacific. Oceanic flotsam expert Curtis Ebbesmeyer says it “moves around
like a big animal without a leash", belching confetti onto Hawaiian
beaches. Nice.
http://tinyurl.com/49azd3

NEW SCIENTIST TOP 10
From “Climate change: The next ten years” to “What is your dinner doing
to the climate?”, New Scientist lists its top 10 best features on
environmental science of 2008.
http://tinyurl.com/6neuxm

GREENWASH OF THE WEEK
Have we got an utterly shameless advert for you this week! Step forward
the American Petroleum Institute. Apparently oil and natural gas are
the future...
http://tinyurl.com/5555rg

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
You know that electric eels produce – err – electricity? Well, scientists at Yale have remembered this too.
http://tinyurl.com/6clm7r

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite.
Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This
digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe
visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

greenbath.org is sponsored by Ace Energy, your local renewable energy experts. Call 01225 729005 to find out how you could cut your carbon footprint and save money.

This week: folding paper markets, Welsh wind, energy myths rubbished and sniffer dogs in space…

PAPER CUT
Councils up and down the country are being hit by a crash in waste markets. In Somerset 31 of 117 paper banks have been scrapped after prices slumped to just a £1 a ton.
http://tinyurl.com/6z4rlb

Across the border, though, Bath & North East Somerset council has promised “we have secure markets for all the materials that we collect and that everything is and will continue to be recycled”. Click on the link below and you can find out where it all goes. Did you know for instance that magnets separate our cans and aerosols into steel and aluminium? Nor did we.
http://tinyurl.com/69g36f

UNIVERSITY A DEGREE GREENER  
Bath University has saved enough energy over two years to power 500 homes. It’s all part of the Our Big Energy Challenge push to reduce the footprint of Bath’s main public sector bodies.
http://tinyurl.com/62gh68
http://www.bigenergychallenge.org/

STICK AND BIKE?
The council wants to launch a cycle hire system for Bath – and it sees pushing through schemes like the contentious Bus Rapid Transit route as necessary if the plan is to work. Not unreasonable? The Liberal Democrats have called it  "tantamount to blackmailing residents". (We promise not to bring you another BRT route story again until it is absolutely necessary.)
http://tinyurl.com/5orngo

EVERY LITTLE HELPS
A 100-year-old village store in Peasedown St John has closed. In a complete coincidence, a new Tesco store opened there last year. Lucky, eh?
http://tinyurl.com/6cz8ay

WELSH WIND FARM GETS GREEN LIGHT
News from further afield. From Wales in fact, where the go ahead has been given for one of the largest wind farms in the world. (Exciting stuff, but check the less than impressive “Graphics of what the wind farm could look like”. The big arrow is hilarious.)
http://tinyurl.com/6q6jug

WHY NEW RUNWAYS ARE THE WRONG WAY
Aviation is the fastest-growing source of CO2 pollution: by 2050, the Government estimates that flying will be responsible for 35 per cent of emissions. That is what we need to remember about the Stansted protests, writes the Evening Standard’s eco columnist Andrew Neather.
http://tinyurl.com/5w3gr4

ENERGY MYTHS EXPLODED
Chris Goodall, author of Ten Technologies to Save the Planet, rubbishes ten energy myths. A really interesting piece, it gives you the chance to pinch your nose and say in your best nerdy voice: “Actually, during some periods earlier this year the wind provided almost 40 per cent of Spanish power.”
http://tinyurl.com/6cnzez

OPEN-CAST SEASON
Some estimates suggest that more than 400 Appalachian mountain tops have been blasted apart in a horrifying quest for coal in the US. Will Obama put a stop to it? A film by the BBC’s David Shukman here…
http://tinyurl.com/5z83un

NASA TO LAUNCH CARBON SNIFFER-DOG
Accurate measurements of carbon sinks and sources are crucial to future policy. Enter a new satellite, the Orbital Carbon Observatory, set to launch early next year. "We will uncover all kinds of patterns and cycles in carbon dioxide that people never thought existed. It will be just like when the first ozone measurements were made," says project scientist Dr Chip Miller.
http://tinyurl.com/5dahgq

GREENWASH OF THE WEEK
The Guardian’s Fred Pearce examines the slippery term ‘water neutral’. Coca Cola has been claiming that it is going water neutral by offsetting its water use. Unfortunately this involves emptying the wells of Indian villages and "replenishing" that water somewhere else.
http://tinyurl.com/5dl5ya

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
Hay, it’s a grass phone! It’s cut above normal mobiles, whose cases will take about a zillion years to decompose. So you’ll be able to bury bad news.
http://tinyurl.com/6ztwv3

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite. Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

greenbath.org is sponsored by Ace Energy, your local renewable energy experts. Call 01225 729005 to find out how you could cut your carbon footprint and save money.

This week: a new green fund for the third sector, Britain’s greenest woman, how to slash our emissions in six easy steps and a possibly marvellous fish-inspired turbine...

APPLE TREE SPONSORSHIP CHRISTMAS PRESENTS
How about giving someone a Broadlands OrchardShare apple tree sponsorship for Christmas? If you’re interested, cut and paste the  form at the very bottom of the Digest and send it with £10 per tree sponsored, to: Treasurer, 41 St Johns Road, Lower Weston, BATH, BA1 3BW before Thursday 18th December. Cheques payable to "Broadlands Orchard Share”.

NEW GREEN FUND FOR THIRD SECTOR
Environment secretary Hilary Benn has launched a £6 million Greener Living Fund to help charitable and voluntary organisations support and develop environmental projects.
http://tinyurl.com/5er6d6

ALL CHANGE AT GREEN PARK STATION
The Chronicle has more on the demise of Envolve (a story we broke some weeks ago). “We have sought to continue the work of Envolve even if we cannot continue the organisational structure,” the chair of Envolve’s trustees Cate Le Grice-Mack says.
http://tinyurl.com/5t2ubq

SECONDARY SCHOOL TRANSPORT MEETING
The Campaign to Improve Home-School Transport in Bath and North East Somerset is urging people to turn up for a public meeting on the council’s review of secondary school transport. It takes place on Monday 8 December at 5.30pm in the Banqueting Room in the Guildhall. Checkout greenbath.org for other forthcoming events.
http://tinyurl.com/56lan6

MAILSTROM
New Labour is “recruiting” our kids and turning them into “pint-sized Eco-Nazis” and “child spies”, rages the Daily Mail’s Brendan O'Neill. He vents much of his climate change denying spleen on James Russell’s marvellous book ‘How To Turn Your Children Green’, from our friends Bristol publishers Tangent Books. Check out the reader comments at the bottom. Hilarious.
http://tinyurl.com/5a7o5k
How To Turn Your Parents Green:
http://tinyurl.com/5bhkqo

GREEN BATH THEATRE GROUP
A heads-up about Bath’s burgeoning sustainable theatre company Kilter, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to ”engage local communities in issues surrounding the environment, social justice and English heritage”. They are currently devising “a theatrical exploration of the future of food” which they plan to put on at the Bath Organic Group allotment plot. To find out more about Kilter and what they do, check out their website at:
http://www.kiltertheatre.org/

DOOM WATCH
In news from further afield, a new fracture in the Wilkins Ice Shelf could lead to a sheet of ice half the size of Scotland breaking away from Antarctica.
http://tinyurl.com/5oqx97

Meanwhile, researchers have come up with a way to predict the rate at which ice shelves break apart into icebergs, a key step in the process by which climate change drives sea levels.
http://tinyurl.com/5fnrdk

SIX SIMPLE WAYS TO SLASH EMISSIONS
Interesting this. The Guardian’s environment editor says the new emissions targets of the Government’s Committee on Climate Change are nowhere near bold enough. Monbiot then outlines his own series of practical emissions-fighting measures that, he says, “require no economic or technological miracles” and which “could be enacted almost immediately”. How much of the Monbiot's Manifesto do you support?
http://tinyurl.com/5s9ngm

BORIS THE ECO WARRIOR?
The Mayor of London is relaunching himself as a green champion.
http://tinyurl.com/5j8ecy

However, he is now under fire for axing the planned western extension of the London congestion charge.
http://tinyurl.com/646l4z

BRITAIN’S GREENEST WOMAN?
Meet Joan Pick, a 67-year-old self-styled “energy economist” who hasn’t set foot in a motorised vehicle since 1973.
http://tinyurl.com/5prjx7

GREENWASH OF THE WEEK
Canadian environmental groups have filed a complaint against Nestlé for an advert that takes greenwash to dizzying new heights. Making other, almost bizarre claims, the ad said Nestlé Pure Life bottled water is “the most environmentally responsible consumer product in the world”. The mind boggles.
http://tinyurl.com/6c9rrm

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
A revolutionary fish-inspired turbine that can harness energy from very slow-moving waters could provide enough power for the entire world, scientists claim.
http://tinyurl.com/6nxkuo

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite and Madeline Kelly.
Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This
digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe
visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

greenbath.org is sponsored by Ace Energy, your local renewable energy experts. Call 01225 729005 to find out how you could cut your carbon footprint and save money.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Christmas Gift Apple Tree Sponsorship
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This week: local transport in the spotlight, shed-sized power stations, brown clouds and graveyards…

NEW BUS POWERS FOR COUNCILS
The Government is giving councils powers to control bus routes and fares where there is a "clear public interest".
http://tinyurl.com/6mhprq

GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY
Don Foster has blasted a New Year inflation-busting hike in First Great Western’s train fares, laying the blame firmly at the door of the Government. "It’s about time ministers showed the same consideration to train passengers as they have shown to motorists."
http://tinyurl.com/6p5p3r

BUS ROUTE ON TRACK
Meanwhile, a bid to force a review of the planned Newbridge rapid transit bus route has been headed off.
http://tinyurl.com/66qyz2

BUY NOTHING DAY
Saturday November 29 is Buy Nothing Day, a 24-hour hiatus from consumerism. To mark the occasion, a group of Bristol UWE students are organizing a Free Shop in Broadmead (11am-4pm, between the Galleries and Cabot Circus). Don’t forget that the Bath Free Shop is held on the 2nd Saturday of every month on Stall Street.

SEX TOYS FOR RECYCLING STOLEN
Desperate thieves have stolen six boxes of used sex toys awaiting recycling from Bath-based adult toy company Lovehoney. Police are launching a probe. (Sorry.)
http://tinyurl.com/5cofob

HUGE WAVE FARM OFF CORNWALL
Moving swiftly on, the South West Regional Development Agency is financing the construction of the world’s largest wave energy farm, 10 miles off the north coast of Cornwall.
http://tinyurl.com/5lzunq

ENVIRONMENT WATCHDOG URGES GREEN STIMULUS
The chairman of the Environment Agency has called on the Government to be as “swift and bold” with its reaction to the climate crisis as it has been with the financial crisis.
http://tinyurl.com/6f789e

CO2 SEQUESTRATION HOPE
Locking carbon emissions underground is not easy – but a team of scientists are about to test a method that might actually work.
http://tinyurl.com/62crnl

INDIA ANGER OVER BROWN CLOUDS REPORT
India is angry that the developing world is being blamed for a thick brown cloud of soot particles and chemicals stretching from the Persian Gulf to Asia.
http://tinyurl.com/5t4pcg

MINI NUKE POWER STATIONS
£13m shed-sized, lorry deliverable nuclear power plants able to power 20,000 homes could be on sale within five years…
http://tinyurl.com/5fqwh4

GREENWASH OF THE WEEK
Great bit of junk mail through the greenbath.org office door this week: a promotional leaflet from makingitgreen.co.uk, suppliers of  “alternative” inkjet printers and toners. The advert’s fine claims started with “Slash your printing budget by 80%!” and “Choose the environmentally friendly solution!” And then they spoiled it by adding: “Free 7" portable TV when you spend over £300!” Very green.

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
A sun-soaked Barcelona cemetery now doubles as a solar farm that generates  enough power for 60 homes. A great idea considering the grave situation…
http://tinyurl.com/5evmzy

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite and Madeline Kelly.
Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This
digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe
visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

greenbath.org is sponsored by Ace Energy, your local renewable energy experts. Call 01225 729005 to find out how you could cut your carbon footprint and save money.

This week: Jelly balls, Tesco, nature’s heroes and eco gyms…

BUSINESS FOOTPRINT PROJECT LAUNCHED
After 12 months of planning, last week saw the launch of the joint Bath University/Federation of Small Businesses/B&NES Council Carbon Footprint Project. The project will see 45 small businesses in B&NES measure their present carbon footprint and then to implement carbon footprint reducing measures over a period of 3 years. A PhD student is being selected by the University, who will measure, record and track all data and results as part of his PhD work. Individual solutions are being tailored for each participating business with the help of the technical and environmental management faculties of the University. The Carbon Trust is also participating to identify grants, funding and support schemes. greenbath.org publishers Faragher Jones are one of the participating companies.
Bath FSB chairman Angela Ladd said: “The benefit to the businesses will lie in the reduction of their carbon footprint and thus of their overheads. The benefit to the FSB lies in gaining knowledge, which, ultimately, will be rolled out to all our members in the UK."

TESCO GETS A TOE IN
Tesco has finally managed to open its controversial store on Bathwick Hill. The new manager says: “We hope that Tesco will become a key part of the local community." Which is exactly what we are afraid of.
http://tinyurl.com/6jehlu

WANT A GREEN JOB DONE?
Well done to Corsham printers Park Lane Press, who have scooped two awards for their environmentally friendly practices.
http://tinyurl.com/5r38p

GROW YOUR OWN
Carol Klein, Gardeners' World presenter and author of Grow Your Own, Fresh Food from Tiny Spaces and Cook Your Own Veg, will be talking on veg growing at The Guildhall on Thursday 27 November at 7.00 pm.  Tickets are £6, available in advance from The Treasurer, 33 Arundel Road, Bath, BA1 6EF (send an SAE and cheque payable to B&NES Allotments Association, 01225 332246). Any remaining tickets will be available on the door. For news of other local green events, visit greenbath.org.

HARDWIRED TO IGNORE CATASTROPHE
Humans don’t give a fig about global warming because we are psychologically wired to ignore it as an "abstract and seemingly remote" threat. The cure, say sociologists: scare tactics.
http://tinyurl.com/5lh4k8

SIGN OF THE TIMES
Office equipment company Rioch has leased a solar- and wind-powered billboard in Times Square. Hardly sustainable? Maybe, but at least the company says it is “just fine” about possible blackouts.
http://tinyurl.com/63e7qj

DOOM WATCH
Scientists have unveiled the first direct evidence that massive floods deep below Antarctica's ice cover are accelerating the flow of glaciers into the sea…
http://tinyurl.com/58kqtj

FAMOUS FIVE
Five experts will gather in London tomorrow to argue a case for the world's most invaluable species from a shortlist of five: primates, bats, bees, fungi and plankton. The Telegraph assesses the runners and riders.
http://tinyurl.com/5dlnjq

JELLY BALLS EAT CO2
"Jelly balls" – creatures not unlike jellyfish – could be part of the Earth's weaponry for slowing warming…
http://tinyurl.com/6xw4s5

GREENWASH OF THE WEEK
Cambridge students have been protesting at the presence of greenwashers like Shell at their careers fair.
http://tinyurl.com/5cp5hj

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
A gym in Portland, Oregon is hooking up the energy generated by its exercise bikes.  Simple yet beautiful.
http://tinyurl.com/6mdr7j

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite and Madeline Kelly.
Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This
digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe
visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

greenbath.org is sponsored by Ace Energy, your local renewable energy experts. Call 01225 729005 to find out how you could cut your carbon footprint and save money.

This Week: The sad decline of Envolve, getting B&NES to sign up for new powers, US election fallout, eco-burgers and tamed tornados…

END OF ERA AS ENVOLVE WOUND UP
Bath sustainability partnership Envolve, who began life on George Street as the Bath Environment Centre, has been wound up. The Ethical Property Company is to take over the management of Green Park Station from Envolve, marking the end of an era.
Most of Envolve's services will continue, but have been taken over by different agencies in a massive restructuring program. Envolve's Education Team for example, has been taken over by another company, Resource Futures, who are based in Bristol at the CREATE Centre. The Education Team staff, Jane Talbot, Chris Townsend and Sue Cameron will still be based at Green Park Station. Envolve’s director Chris Head has joined Community Action, who work with Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils to improve public services to people in rural areas.
The Ethical Property Company has a great deal of experience in managing property in an ethical and sustainable way and told greenbath that they hoped to hold sustainability events at Green park Station while keeping its essential nature unchanged.

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES ACT CAMPAIGN
Transition Bath wants B&NES to sign up to the Sustainable Communities Act. The 2007 Act allows councils to make social, economic or environmental proposals to the Government rather than having proposals imposed on them – but to use the radical new bottom-up powers councils must first opt in. You can download a letter urging your councillor to get behind the act here.

BRISTOL TOP OF SUSTAINABLE LEAGUE     
Bristol has topped a green league table of Britain’s twenty largest cities. It has more work to do on transport, though. According to Helen Clarkson, director of the sustainable development organisation Forum of the Future: "People said public transport was a joke and a lot of people would much rather cycle because of the price of bus fares and the congestion.”
http://tinyurl.com/6rp2sr

POUND STRETCHER
A possible stocking filler for you: the story of Bristol’s Kath Kelly, who made it her mission to survive on a quid a day for year. An inspirational tale, comprehensive directory of organisations and websites and practical guide that will get you blackberry picking and more, ‘How I Lived a Year on Just a Pound a Day’ is published by Redcliffe Press priced £6.99.

BARRAGE LECTURE
Neil Crumpton of FoE Cymru and the Department of Energy's Seven Tidal Study Environmental Assessment steering group is presenting a lecture on the controversial Severn Barrage project at 7.30pm on Tuesday 25th November at the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 16 Queen Square. FoE Cymru prefer offshore lagoons...

FUNGI FORAY
Do you know your Beefsteak Fungus from your Shaggy Scale Cap? Well there’s a great chance to find out on the morning of Sunday 16 November, when local mycologist Justin Smith leads a Fungi Foray in Carrs Woodland in Twerton. To book your place, telephone Miriam on 01225 477612. More details on greenbath.org’s packed events pages…

RECESSION WATCH: UK TRAFFIC DOWN
In ews from further afield, traffic on Britain's roads is decreasing significantly for the first time since the three-day week of the early 1970s.
http://tinyurl.com/59hyd6

LONDON GARDENING TO GO THROUGH ROOF
Londoners will be encouraged to turn flat roofs into vegetable plots under plans unveiled by Boris Johnson.
http://tinyurl.com/6f9nuw

US ELECTION  
Not content to rest on his laurels as head of one of the most anti-environmental and pro-industry administrations in recent US history, in one of the last acts of his presidency George Bush is posed to relax regulations on uranium mining, mountaintop coalmining and air pollution in some of his country’s most pristine regions. Sniff! We’ll miss you, Dubbya!
http://tinyurl.com/64e2qv

Seven of 12 congressmen known as the "Dirty Dozen" for consistently voting against clean energy and conservation lost their seats in the election, leaving US environmentalists hoping Obama will bring their country into the "international fold".
http://tinyurl.com/5mj54c

Sounding a note of caution, the Telegraph’s environment editor Charles Clover warns that Obama’s task is daunting given that half of America’s voters “seem to have some doubts that man-made global warming exists”.
http://tinyurl.com/5snq4d

GREENWASH OF THE WEEK
In a bizarre new race to attract environmentally conscious customers, American chain stores are about to roll out scores of ready-designed ‘eco-outlets’. McDonalds are especially pleased with their low-flow toilets and urinals, which use less water without “the usual clogging”.
http://tinyurl.com/6aapck

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
We love this one. Canadian engineer Louis Michaud reckons his bonkers “atmospheric vortex engine” can create mile-high, 100mph tornados and make them spin indefinitely, generating a cheap, virtually limitless source of energy. Nothing can possibly go wrong.
http://tinyurl.com/6mapaj

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite and Madeline Kelly.
Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This
digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe
visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

greenbath.org is sponsored by Ace Energy, your local renewable energy experts. Call 01225 729005 to find out how you could cut your carbon footprint and save money.

This week: First Great Western go cap in hand to the Government, the temple of one million beer bottles, bees in trouble and sewage…

FROM POVERTY TO POWER
Duncan Green, head of research at Oxfam GB, is presenting a talk about the messages of Oxfam's new book "From Poverty to Power" on Friday 31st October in room 3E3.5 at the University of Bath. The book looks at the causes and effects of poverty and inequality and at what can be achieved by ordinary people through organised action. Don't forget that you can keep up with all that's green that's going on locally on greenbath.org's unrivalled events pages.

FIRST GREAT WESTERN WANT BAILOUT
Under-fire train operator First Great Western wants to renegotiate the terns of its £1.1bn contract, claiming the Government has saddled it with "substantial service level cuts".
http://tinyurl.com/6ly6ah

PARK & RIDE EXPANSION
A planned expansion of park and ride services around Bath will take 2,500 cars off the city’s roads, the Council says.
http://tinyurl.com/5hl3

DOOM WATCH: LIFEBOAT BRITAIN…
Meanwhile, in slightly less good news, arch eco-pessimist James Lovelock has predicted that Britain will become a lifeboat nation for refugees from a drowning Europe. For good measure the cheery scientist added: "Trying to stop global warming is almost a certain waste of time.”
http://tinyurl.com/5ksfur

ZEN AND THE ART OF ENVIRONMENTALISM
This is happier – Let's raise a toast to the Thai monks who have built a Buddhist temple using a million recycled beer bottles…
http://tinyurl.com/5dyx4m

INSULATION OBLIGATIONS
How do you persuade private landlords to put in insulation when they don't pay the energy bills? Camden Council's Eco Champion thinks he has a cunning plan…
http://tinyurl.com/5a3gha

ECO-TOWN PLANS IN RUBBLE
Officials maintain the programme is still "on track" but a report from the Department for Communities and Local Government has concluded that only "one or two" of the 15 shortlisted projects are viable.
http://tinyurl.com/674f85

OIL FIELDS IN DECLINE
Output from the world’s oilfields is declining faster than previously thought.
http://tinyurl.com/6nqoa4

Meanwhile, though the oil party will soon be over, there have been renewed calls for a windfall tax after BP posted record profits of £6.4bn.
http://tinyurl.com/68wckf

DON'T BET ON CORAL
A Taiwanese research project has warned that that CO2 emissions could kill off coral ecosystems worldwide by 2100.
http://tinyurl.com/5vj8s2

GREENWASH OF THE WEEK
This bizarre ad from HSBC is utter codswallop of the smelliest order.
http://tinyurl.com/5s4lbo

BEES NOT SO BUSY
Climate change and a blood sucking mite are together killing off the honey bee (without which humanity is doomed within four years, of course). Autumnwatch's Kate Humble reports…
http://tinyurl.com/6gwvdr

IS THAT CONFETTI RECYCLED?
Ethical singletons rejoice! Perhaps. There is now an online dating service where you can find your perfect vegan-eco warrior-green consumer partner. If that thought scares you, Ethicalsingles.com lets you define the areas of activism you're interested in – so if it's not your thing you won't have to face a mountain of mung beans on your first date...

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
Researchers from Oregon State University have come up with a more energy-efficient and cost-effective way to make the hydrogen fuel – in sewage tanks. And as if that wasn’t enough, the process also cleans the water…
http://tinyurl.com/4bxwoe

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite.
Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This
digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe
visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

greenbath.org is sponsored by Ace Energy, your local renewable energy experts. Call 01225 729005 to find out how you could cut your carbon footprint and save money.

This week: The dirty history of oil, green presidents, the benefits of recession, and tree power…

ENERGY QUESTION TIME
The Stop Climate Chaos coalition is bringing an Energy Question Time to Bristol. Bryony Holden, CEO of the SW Regional Assembly, will host a panel that includes Steve Webb (Liberal Democrat MP - North Avon), Robert Key (Conservative MP - Salisbury), Anne Snelgrove (Labour MP - Swindon), Tim Jones of the World Development Movement and RSPB CEO Graham Wynne.
Anyone is invited to come along armed with some suitably challenging questions about climate change, energy and the future for people and wildlife. Doors open at the Conference Hall, Bristol City Council House, College Green at 6.30pm for a 7.30pm start. You can register for a free place in advance by calling Steven Roddy on 01767 680 551 or by emailing campaigns@rspd.org.uk.

ROB NEWMAN'S HISTORY OF OIL
Transition Bath's film club is showing the cult hit 'Rob Newman's History of Oil' upstairs at the Rummer on Thursday 6 November (7.30 pm start). A mix of stand up, sketches and short films, it picks at some home truths about the West's attempts at controlling Middle Eastern oil, the War on Terror and the looming energy crisis. Transition's film season continues on the 3rd Monday and 1st Thursday of every month.

DOOM WATCH: CLIMATE CHANGE "FASTER, STRONGER, SOONER"
Meanwhile, global warming is accelerating faster than predicted, a WWF report involving nearly 4,000 scientists from more than 150 countries has warned. Arctic summer ice could be gone in five years – a tipping point that will pave the way for extreme cyclones, drought and a sea level rise of half a meter by the end of the century. But eveything's all right apart from that.
http://tinyurl.com/6jpnpj

DENIAL OVER ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF RECESSION
Consuming less is the single biggest thing you can do to save carbon emissions, but our governments are in denial, writes Tim Jackson, professor of sustainable development at the University of Surrey.
http://tinyurl.com/45hc69

WORRIED ABOUT YOUR SAVINGS? THEN SWITCH TO AN ETHICAL BANK
Tell your evil bank where to go today – the ethical banking sector in the UK is not only surviving the economic mess, it's doing rather well out of it.
http://tinyurl.com/63n3qo

MILLIBAND PONDERS LEAKY HOMES
As Britain pledges to cut CO2 emissions by 80 per cent by 2020, the new Energy and Climate Change Secretary is examining incentives to get us to sort our drafty houses. Brrr!
http://tinyurl.com/6ffv6c

WHISTLING IN THE WIND
The government's goal of wind generating a third of our electricity within 12 years is in danger of looking like mere spin without a huge amount of extra cash.
http://tinyurl.com/6fcy4f

HOW GREEN WILL THE NEXT PRESIDENT BE?
The New York Times looks at the credentials of McCain and Obama.
http://tinyurl.com/6xb4ox

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
Wood you believe it, the US forestry Service is planning to harness the electricity produced naturally by trees to create a fire alarm system.
http://tinyurl.com/5xc6zc

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite. Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

greenbath.org is sponsored by Ace Energy, your local renewable energy experts. Call 01225 729005 to find out how you could cut your carbon footprint and save money.

+++++++JOB ADVERTISEMENT+++++++++

Temporary Advertising Sales Executive

Wanted to join small team in central Bath. Eleven week contract from
November 1st selling advertising space on Fairtrade Directories. Basic
salary + commission. Flexible working arrangements (jobshare, working
from home) considered. Suit keen, ethically-minded person with
experience and enthusiasm. All leads provided. Send an application
letter and cv to Steve Faragher, FaragherJones, 3 Monmouth Place, Bath
BA1 2AT or steve@faragherjones.com

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This week: Green Bath, water footprints, perspective on the banking crisis and underwater golf…

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Horticulturalist, environmentalist, naturalist, television presenter and author Professor Chris Baines will be talking on "Food for Thought: The Role of Green Spaces in a Sustainable Community and Liveable City" at 7.00 pm, Friday 17 October at the Guildhall (entrance £6). Best known as a wildlife gardening champion, in 1985 Baines built the first wildlife garden allowed at the Chelsea Flower Show. A member of B&NES' Urban Regeneration Panel, he works as an adviser for several large companies and is currently involved in such regeneration projects as the 2012 Olympic Park and the Thames Gateway.

ICE SEMINARS AT UNIVERSITY
The next seminar staged by Bath University's International Centre for the Environment (ICE) is on "What role for water footprints in reducing risk to business, government, communities and the environment". It is presented by Dr David Tickner, freshwater campaigner at WWF-UK, and takes place on Tuesday 28 October at the University of Bath, 8 West 3.22 from 4.30 pm to 5.45 pm. Keep an eye on the greenbath.org's events pages for all future ICE seminars. They run twice monthly and have so far covered such diverse topics as Psychology and Personal Carbon Trading, Clean Energy Materials, and Hydrogen Storage. ICE is an across disciplinary centre within the University that works with other centres in the UK and worldwide to promote environmental research and education.

LONDON ROAD POLLUTION CHECKS
As B&NES warns of increased congestion, a new air quality monitoring station is to be installed on London Road.
http://tinyurl.com/47man3

ST ANDREWS DROWNED BY 2050
Further afield, the 'Home of Golf' could sink into the sea by 2050, St Andrews Sustainability Institute has warned.
http://tinyurl.com/42f6gq

Meanwhile, the National Trust has warned that some of our most precious stretches of coast are threatened by rising water. Brownsea Island, the Devon boathouse featured in Agatha Christie's "Dead Man's Folly" and St Michael's Mount harbour and causeway are on the endangered list.
http://tinyurl.com/4wf6jp

BAIL-OUT WATCH: FOREST LOSS DWARFS BANK CRISIS
The global economy is losing more money from the disappearance of forests than through the current banking crisis, according to an EU-commissioned study.
http://tinyurl.com/3kowca

ALGAE BREAKTHROUGH HOPE
The Dutch are successfully growing algae in 'tubes'. It might mean that this possible biofuel source which also eats CO2 voraciously as it grows could be grown on land that is unusable for farming.
http://tinyurl.com/3veq2p

NEW CO2 SATELLITE MAP
US researchers have published the first global maps of CO2 distribution and movement in the atmosphere, painting a fascinating picture of how "what's produced in one place will travel elsewhere"…
http://tinyurl.com/4kbcvn

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
It's been touted as a solution to urban India's traffic woes, chronic pollution and fossil fuel dependence, as well as an escape from backbreaking human toil. Enter the solar-powered rickshaw…
http://tinyurl.com/5xqe6z

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite and Madeline Kelly. Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

greenbath.org is sponsored by Ace Energy, your local renewable energy experts. Call 01225 729005 to find out how you could cut your carbon footprint and save money.

+++++++JOB ADVERTISEMENT+++++++++

Temporary Advertising Sales Executive

Wanted to join small team in central Bath. Eleven week contract from November 1st selling advertising space on Fairtrade Directories. Basic salary + commission. Flexible working arrangements (jobshare, working from home) considered. Suit keen, ethically-minded person with experience and enthusiasm. All leads provided. Send an application letter and cv to Steve Faragher, FaragherJones, 3 Monmouth Place, Bath BA1 2AT or steve@faragherjones.com

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This week: Bath in transition, Starbucks wassting water, whingeing car makers and hydrogen-powered motorbikes filling up in Birmingham…

LARKHALL, BATHFORD EMBRACE TRANSITION
The Transition Towns movement is beginning to grip Bath in an exciting way. First we had Transition Bath and now both Larkhall and now Bathford are to start their own groups as well.
Larkhall Saves the Planet, who have been active a while, are now officially called Transition Larkhall and are drawing up a draft constitution– an important step that will allow them to apply for funding for projects. They have already formed Food and Waste groups, while their Energy Group is looking at the feasibility of a wind farm on Charlcombe Down in conjunction with Transition Bath. Exciting stuff! To receive their e-newsletter, email larkhallsavestheplanet@googlemail.com.
Meanwhile, Bathford have also set off down the Transition road with the Bathford Transition Initiative. They are currently setting up a register of villagers who have too much fruit – and of people who would be willing to help gather it in return for a share of the harvest. If you would like to join in, call Emma Jackson on 858388 and leave your name, address and landline number.
Last but not least, B&NES sustainability manager Jane Wildblood will be speaking at Transition Bath Forum at Widcombe Social Club at 7pm on Tuesday, 14 October. It's a great opportunity to put suggestions to Jane about how the Council can help residents take transition forward.

CROWTHER AT TRADE JUSTICE QUESTION TIME
Keynsham Fairtrade Group are organising a Trade Justice Question Time on Thursday 9th October at the British Legion, Charlton Road, Keynsham at 7.30pm. On the panel will be the sure-to-be-inspirational Bruce Crowther, the founder of the Fairtrade Town movement. A self-proclaimed Fairtrade obsessive, before Bruce started work for the Fairtrade Foundation he was an activist with Oxfam in Garstang, Lancashire. As a result of Bruce's work, in November 2001 Garstang declared itself the world's first Fairtrade Town and twinned itself with the cocoa farming community of New Koforidua in Ghana.

CASH FOR GREEN UNI PROJECTS
Two green projects at the University of Bath have landed funding from the Government's Technology Strategy Board. Its Department of Mechanical Engineering have been awarded £510,000 for its fuel efficiency project the Low Carbon Vehicle Innovation Platform. Meanwhile, the Centre for Innovative Construction has been awarded £257,000 to develop the 'BaleHaus' project, which uses straw bale wall panels to build load-bearing walls for houses...

The 'TESCO Two' who hit the headlines this week for recycling plastic just so they could earn air miles are in good and very middle class company as a survey carried out by the University of Exeter has revealed. "I recycle 100% of what I can, there's not one piece of paper goes in my bin, so that makes me feel less guilty about flying as much as I do," says one respondent.
Survey story:
http://tinyurl.com/4e6ccp
The TESCO Two story:
http://tinyurl.com/4akxap

ICE WATCH: THE 'DEADLY DOZEN' DISEASES THAT WILL GET WORSE UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE
Bird flu, cholera, Ebola, plague and tuberculosis are just a few of the diseases likely to spread and get worse as a result of climate change, according to a report released yesterday by the Wildlife Conservation Society
http://tinyurl.com/3vzeob

STARBUCKS A DRAIN ON RESOURCES
Investigation by the Sun has revealed that corporate coffee chain Starbucks has a policy of keeping a tap running non-stop in each its 10,000 outlets worldwide, wasting 23.4 million litres of water a day.
http://tinyurl.com/45sx6e

GOOGLE'S TRILLION DOLLAR PLAN TO SAVE WORLD
The online search giant has said it will use its reach to lobby for an ultra-radical alternative energy plan. It'll cost us zillions, of course – but so does bailing out the banks…
http://tinyurl.com/4t8pbc

BAIL-OUT WATCH: CAR SUBSIDY CHOKER
After standing deliberately in the way of greener transport, whining car makers are now demanding subsidies to help them go green.
http://tinyurl.com/3rz3eo

DUTCH IN HOT WATER
In a poetic turn of events, the Dutch city of Heerlen has found a way to convert abandoned coalmines into a source of renewable geothermal power.
http://tinyurl.com/3oatad

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
The world's first hydrogen-powered motorbike has been unveiled by scientists at Loughborough University. It looks really smart, too. What's more, now Birmingham University has opened the first hydrogen filling station in England, Loughborough can stop refuel for a refuel in Brum…
BBC bike film:
http://tinyurl.com/4k2nlj
BBC filling station film:
http://tinyurl.com/3hbzaa

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite and Madeline Kelly. Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News. greenbath.org is sponsored by Ace Energy, your local renewable energy experts. Call 01225 729005 to find out how you could cut your carbon footprint and save money.

 

+++JOB ADVERTISEMENT++++++++++++++++++
Temporary Advertising Sales Executive

Wanted to join small team in central Bath. Eleven week contract from November 1st selling advertising space on Fairtrade Directories. Basic salary + commission. Flexible working arrangements (jobshare, working from home) considered. Suit keen, ethically-minded person with experience and enthusiasm. All leads provided. Send an application letter and cv to Steve Faragher, FaragherJones, 3 Monmouth Place, Bath BA1 2AT or steve@faragherjones.com

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This week: Zero Waste packed lunches, bats, Bath congestion to worsen, Banson brandishes the cash, bad news on emissions, plus more bats…

ST SAVOURS CHILDREN SHOW HOW TO DO ZERO WASTE WEEK
It's Zero Waste Week in B&NES, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Bristol and hundreds of groups having been coming up with inventive ways of cutting out the crap they throw away.
Children at St Saviours School in Larkhall kicked off their week by bringing in Zero Waste packed lunches with refilled drinks bottles and not a single bit of cling film in sight. Head Teacher Ed Harker told us: "The day was a triumph, with a reduction in non-reusable/recyclable waste from 5 carrier bags to 1!" St Saviours is also aiming to achieve Eco-schools status this year, and Ed told us: "So far we’ve audited the school for environmental impact, created an action plan to address nine key areas and started to carry out various actions beginning with installing ‘Green Johanna’ compost bins to process shredded office waste, children’s fruit snack waste and our school kitchen waste."
We wish the school good luck with all that and we'll bring you more news on how they're doing in the near future.

BATH BAT WALK
Part of Avon Biodiversity Partnership's 'Wild Waters' programme celebrating our coasts and waterways, a guided riverside Bat Walk is being on Tuesday 7 October 7-9pm, setting off from Morrisons supermarket. You must book your place in advance but that's easy - just call Miriam Woolnough on 01225 477612.

BATH ACTIVIST NETWORK FIGHT SUPERMARKET EXPANSIONS
Local environmental, anti-corporate, anti-war (and much more) campaigners Bath Activist Network is welcoming anyone to join their new campaign to resist supermarket expansion and create viable alternatives in and around Bath. Email bathactivistnet@yahoo.co.uk for more details. You can find details about the Bath Activist Network's regular meeting on greenbath.org's events pages.

FAIR TRADE "LOUNGE" IN ABBEY SQUARE
The Trade Furniture Company are sponsoring a Fare Trade ‘Feel Good’ Lounge to raise the profile of Fairtrade and fairly-traded goods available in the city. It's in Kingston Parade (that's the Abbey Square to the rest of us) on Friday, 10 October from 10am to 4pm. You will indeed be able to lounge in fair trade furniture and our friends from the Bath Fairtrade Network will of course be there.

PIGS IN SPACE
All 100 of King Bladud's Pigs – which will sold on the evening of the Friday 31 October at the Assembly Rooms – will be on show at a Farewell to the Pigs weekend next to the Royal Crescent in Royal Victoria Park on October 18 and 19.

BATH CONGESTION TO WORSEN
As we reported last week, Bath's traffic congestion is the fifth worse in the country. And now a new website launched by the Council – www.bathnes.gov.uk/stopgridlock – is warning that rush hour traffic is set to increase by 14% in just ten years. Cough! Splutter!

WHAT GREEN CAR?
Talking of filthy cars, are you looking to swap yours for one that's greener? As part of your research you could do worse than visit an independent website we've discovered called WhatGreenCar.com. It rates and lets you search by CO2 emissions all 18,000 petrol, diesel, LPG & hybrid cars in the UK.
http://www.whatgreencar.com

FLYING IN THE FACE OF REASON
Leaked documents show that civil servants are trying to 'kill the essence' of the EU's renewable energy targets by lobbying to exclude aviation…
http://tinyurl.com/48ehuw

ICE WATCH: GREENHOUSE GASES RISING FASTER THAN EVER
Hey! Everyone! Forget Wall Street for a moment – CO2 emissions have grown four times faster since 2000 than they did in 1990s.
http://tinyurl.com/48l92t

$3 BILLION BRANSON PLAN
Despite the credit crunch, Richard Branson is pledging three billion dollars to invest in schemes to develop new renewable energy technologies. Perhaps, if he used small enough denominations, he could try sticking all the notes together to form a great shield that could shade us from the sun…
http://tinyurl.com/ptukf

BATTY IDEA
A really distasteful invention for you – a US spy plane. But wait! It runs off a lithium battery recharged by wind, solar power and even vibrations. And maybe it will be used for peaceful purposes, too. Ha hah! Huhh…
http://tinyurl.com/48tc4x

TARTAN TIDAL POWER
Plans are underway to plant underwater turbines in Pentland Firth, Scotland's 'Saudi Arabia of tidal power.' Tides in Pentland Firth alone are thought to generate enough energy to supply a third of Scotland's power.
http://tinyurl.com/3w3qpw

TOAD FALL
Half of Europe's amphibian species may be gone by 2050—including the common English toad—if habitats continue to shrink and global temperatures to rise.
http://tinyurl.com/3qn34u

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
London-based designer Miroslav Miljevic unveils his latest project: a solar-powered… bicycle? You peddle to harvest the sun's rays, then switch on the Cycle Sol's small motor to get a free ride.
http://tinyurl.com/4nazke

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite and Madeline Kelly. Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News. greenbath.org is sponsored by Ace Energy, your local renewable energy experts. Call 01225 729005 to find out how you could cut your carbon footprint and save money.

This Week: Methane in the Arctic, zero carbon in Denmark, geopolitics in Greenland, and absolutely fabulous news from Culverhay School and Bath City Farm…

GREEN MONEY FOR CITY FARM AND CULVERHAY
Bath City Farm have been awarded £30,000 from the EDF Green Fund for a renewable energy system, insulation and lighting controls along with a special educational suite for monitoring their energy performance and carbon reduction. The Farm is now awaiting a decision from the Big Lottery on funding to match the offer made by EDF.
Meanwhile, Culverhay School have also been awarded a grant from EDF for £13,000 as match funding for a 6kW wind turbine and educational monitoring suite and are pursuing match funding from the Low Carbon Buildings Programme. We’ll bring you more news on both these exciting initiatives as we get it.

WILD FOOD FORAGING COURSE
Selfsufficientish.com have been offering day courses in foraging in the Bristol area. The next one is on Saturday, 10 October. It sets off from St Werburgh's City Farm Café and runs from 10am-4pm. The course highlights the many edible and medicinal plants growing right under our noses. If you want to go along, be sure to book in advance. You can find all the details on greenbath.org’s events pages.

BATH FIFTH WORST CONGESTION IN COUNTRY
According to the Government traffic and fuel price information website KeepMoving.co.uk, Bath is the 5th most congested constituency in the country. Cardiff North fares even worse, coming in fourth, while Bristol West and Bristol East (also second in the table for the number of accidents) follow us in sixth and seventh respectively. London & Westminster is the seat that tops the table. The site is also interesting for showing what transport issues are raised by local MPs. Apparently our Don has currently asked the DoT 1,056 questions since May 2001. Website here:
http://tinyurl.com/4xfuo8

COUNCIL BUGGED BY LITTER
The Council has dumped 21 tonnes of rubbish near the Abbey in a stunt to show what litterbugs can do to the city in just five days. “Arm the street cleaners,” one letter to the Chronicle suggests.
http://tinyurl.com/3ps8tk

ICE WATCH: ARCTIC CO2 TIME-BOMB REACHING ZERO HOUR…
And this is what it's all about, folks. It's finally happening: scientists are warning that millions of tons of methane – 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide –are beginning bubbling to the surface as the Arctic's permafrost melts…
http://tinyurl.com/3n4tdy

CONFERENCE WATCH: HUTTON SPEECH BLASTED BY ECO GROUPS
Business Secretary John Hutton has told Labour at Manchester: "No coal plus no nuclear equals no lights." His remarks haven't gone unchallenged. "John Hutton somehow manages to sound like a cross between Arthur Scargill and Margaret Thatcher circa 1985," Greenpeace executive director John Sauven fired back.
http://tinyurl.com/3ld2xa

CHANGING CLIMATE, CHANGING GREENLAND
Retreating ice could offer Greenland its long-sought independence from Denmark.
http://tinyurl.com/4yre9z

IT CAN BE DONE, APPARENTLY
A Danish island has cut its carbon footprint by a remarkable 140 per cent…
http://tinyurl.com/4wmsm5

GREENWASH OF THE WEEK
Following pressure from campaigners, Shell has pulled out of its sponsorship of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year show at the Natural History Museum…
http://tinyurl.com/3zsd92

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
Engineers at the University of Sunderland have developed a hydrogen-powered Nissan Almera that emits just water…
http://tinyurl.com/3ta29k

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite. Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News. greenbath.org is supported by local ethical publishers Faragher Jones.

This Week: Poo, belching, algae, mud and – luckily – a revolving door…

BETTER BATH TACKLES PUBLIC SPACE
The next session of the Better Bath Forum turns its gaze from economics to the need for a "radical rethink" of transportation in Bath to "rebalance movement within the centre in favour of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport". It is the last of the pilot programme of four meetings. Afterwards they will be taking stock of the progress of the Forum and deciding whether and how it should continue.
http://www.betterbath.org.uk

CORE IT'S AUTUMN
It's harvesting time at Broadland's Orchardshare, check out the greenbath events listings for how to get involved and get yourself a free bag of apples in the process. Legal scrumping...

ORGANIC FORTNIGHT: CRUNCH SQUEEZING ORGANICS
Sales of organic foods have fallen 19 per cent since the beginning of
the year as consumers respond to the pressures of a credit crunch – and
some farmers are turning their back on organic farming.
http://tinyurl.com/67buaq

FOOD WASTE PLANTS COULD BE ROLLED OUT
A host of new biowaste plants in towns and cities across England could be built after the success of a pilot scheme in Ludlow.
http://tinyurl.com/6n22ck

ANOTHER CRAP STORY
The sewer systems we use today are rubbish. That's the lesson of the C. K. Choi building, which uses just 500 litres of water per day. A similarly-sized conventional building uses an average of 7,000 litres of water a day.
http://tinyurl.com/69xsmx

GREEN MINISTER INSULTS GREENS
Oh dear. Northern Ireland's Environment minister Sammy Wilson has managed to get environmentalists' hackles up by condemning their views as "hysterical pseudo-religion".
http://tinyurl.com/5fmcbx

LET THEM EAT HAY
Encourage the world's 1.5 billion cattle to eat more hay and straw and they could belch 20 per cent less methane…
http://tinyurl.com/66agrw

OUTING ENVIRONMENTALLY UNFRIENDLY FOOD
Prof Tim Lang – the man who coined the term "food miles" – wants the Government to introduce food labelling that would show clearly a product's impact on the environment.
http://tinyurl.com/6qstqe

ICE WATCH: OOPS, WE’VE BROKEN THE ARCTIC AGAIN
A 19-square-mile, 4,500-year-old ice shelf is now adrift in the Arctic. And no, it won't somehow magically "grow back".
http://tinyurl.com/5m66yp

MUD, MUD, NITROGENOUS MUD
Too much nitrogen and water clouds and is overrun with foul-smelling algae blooms that can cause toxic “dead zones”. Scientists call this process eutrophication. And guess what happens when permafrost melts and releases its cargo of carbon – and nitrogen? Meet Anne Giblin, the biologist looking for evidence of 'nitrogen cancer' in the Arctic's mud…
http://tinyurl.com/6yldl3

HOW MUCH WILL SEA LEVELS RISE?
One meter? Twenty feet? Scientists are struggling with this one. But some things can be fairly accurately estimated. Like the number of people who would be affected by a one-meter sea level rise: 100 million - mainly in Asia.
http://tinyurl.com/5m43hb

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
It's a revolving door. But not just any revolving door…
http://tinyurl.com/6rd7gs

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite.
Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News. greenbath.org is supported by local ethical publishers Faragher Jones.

BetterBath gives people in Bath the chance to have their say on important local issues. Our October meeting will discuss:

Transforming the public spaces in Bath - the Council's Public Realm & Movement Strategy

 - This is your chance to ask:

 - Is it time for a radical redesign?

 - Should the city centre be pedestrianised?

 - Is the Council's new strategy right?

How should people in Bath get involved?

Rhodri Samuel from the B&NES Major Projects Team will outline the main elements of the Public Realm & Movement Strategy. People at the meeting will have their say. Colin Skellett, Chairman of Wessex Water and of the B&NES Initiative, will chair the discussion and summarise the key points emerging.

All are welcome. St Michael's Church, Broad Street, Bath BA1 5LJ. Doors open 18.00, when tea and coffee will be available, for an 18.30 start. More details on www.betterbath.org.uk or ring 01225 427497.

WORST BUS DEFENDS PRICE RISES
The cost of catching a bus in Bath has gone up again. Private monopoly FirstGroup have defended the decision, despite having bought millions of barrels of its fuel in advance. The Chronicle story does not mention the monopoly word. Nor does it mention the fact that councils have the powers to subsidise bus fares. Read the comments if you wish to be enlightened.
http://tinyurl.com/5csnwq

BRISTOL PRESSURE COOKER SCHEME
The Government is channeling £30 million into a pioneering gas clasification-pyrolysis "pressure cooker" scheme at Avonmouth to treat up to 30,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste produced by Bristol city council. The system is supposed to produce only low emissions. According to Defra: "It is all long term stuff. The whole point of it is that we learn from it."
http://tinyurl.com/69kk34

BRISTOL INCINERATOR A BURNING ISSUE
Meanwhile, though B&NES has officially opted to scrap the idea, the other three members of the West of England Partnership – Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils – are still considering the idea of an incinerator to deal with rubbish. The Minority-led Labour Bristol City Council, though, reliant on Tory votes, is divided on the issue.
http://tinyurl.com/5ks36x

HOW NOT TO RUN OUT OF PUFF
One of the main problems with wind power is no wind. But what if you store it…
http://tinyurl.com/6ad4k9

GREENWASH OF THE WEEK
Greenpeace's new website to expose the ludicrous claims made by environmentally unfriendly corporations is worth a look. Check out the ads page at the link below.
http://tinyurl.com/5anjw5

SUPERMARKET EEK
The sponsors of the Best Green Packaging category of this year's Green Awards for Creativity in Sustainability is… (wait for it to come round) that bastion of no metal and plastic-wrapped goods, Asda. Hurrah! That is creative. If not sustainable.
http://tinyurl.com/6lw6aj

PLASTIC CATS AND DOGS
Talking of packaging, BBC blogger Christine Jeavans has kept an audit of her family's plastic waste in a month. And yes, it amounted to a not particularly small mountain.
http://tinyurl.com/5bt7gq

ZERO PLASTIC
How much plastic can we save in Zero Waste Week? With Bath & North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Councils joining this time, it's going to be the biggest one yet.
http://tinyurl.com/5wwcmn

LOCAL T-SHIRT & SON DONE GOOD
it's good to see the print trade sit up and take notice of Europe's only organically-certified t-shirt printer, pioneering Westbury firm T-Shirt and Sons. They used to be based in Bath, y'know.
http://tinyurl.com/5mpxcu

CLOUDED THINKING
Creating fake clouds are among ideas to save the planet in Royal Society papers.
http://tinyurl.com/6f9kln

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
Solar-powered bus shelters are popping up all over Miami. But as Eco-Geek point out, what will the vandals make of them?
http://tinyurl.com/58yozm

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite.
Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This
digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe
visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one,
and subscribe to Bath Green News. greenbath.org is supported by local
ethical publishers Faragher Jones.

We'll be back by next week, though!

This week: Birds and wasps, dead zones and a giant windscreen…

TWO TUNNELS TALKS
Progress on the Two Tunnels Greenway (TTG) has slowed after talks between the Council, the TTG and National Cycle Network builders Sustrans identified a number of issues. The Digest understands that sticking points include Sustrans' request that the council acts as ‘Client’ for the project with the potential associated risk; the Council's financial contribution, which had been understood to be £400k over four years; and possible future maintenance and running costs. A meeting between the three parties was held on 17 July to clarify matters, but the council's position will now not be known until after a Council Cabinet meeting to be held on 5 September.

CRACKDOWN ON BATH CYCLISTS
Meanwhile, cyclists in Bath who break road laws have been warned they face £30 fixed penalty fines after police recorded a sharp increase in offences. Surely, though, more provisions for cyclists, like safe cycle lanes, would both get them off the pavements and encourage more motorists out of their cars and onto two wheels.
http://tinyurl.com/6zkxaw

BRAZIL LAUNCHES FOREST FUND
Brazil is seeking to raise £11bn in donations from foreign Governments by 2021 to conserve and sustainably develop the Amazon. It won't, though, be standing for any interference in its policies.
http://tinyurl.com/5lotng

DEAD ZONE THREAT TO SEA CREATURES
Ooops. The oceans are running out of oxygen…
http://tinyurl.com/5jsh7a

BIRDS AVOID WARMING'S STING
Climate change has caused UK birds to lay their eggs early – but the clever little tit family have found an alternative food source in the form of gallwasp eggs.
http://tinyurl.com/56jbdx

GREENWASH OF THE WEEK: SHELL AD PULLED
A Shell advert in the Financial Times that suggested exploiting Canada's oil sands is sustainable has been slammed as "misleading" by the Advertising Standards Authority.
http://tinyurl.com/6fn6tn

US CHAINS STORES IN PANEL DECISION
American supermarkets have come up with the bright idea of turning their flat roof space over to solar panelling. Good idea, eh? How much flat roofing is there over here? Acres and acres!
http://tinyurl.com/56vcma

PINTS FOR PRODUCE
A village pub in Norfolk is letting punters barter home-grown produce that would look good on their menu for pints. Says manager Cloe Wasey: "Someone will say, 'That rabbit tasted great' and we say, 'Here, meet the person who shot it.'"
http://tinyurl.com/67eduw

I'LL TAKE THAT RAINFOREST PLEASE
Yachts, jets, football teams? Such accessories are so last century for a new breed of superrich 'green philanthropists'. What they want now are ecosystems. Take ski and sporting goods mogul Johan Eliasch. He's just bought 400,000 acres in the Brazilian Amazon.
http://tinyurl.com/5agetc

US HAS WIND BEHIND IT
America could produce 150 gigawatts of wind power by 2020 – enough to displace about 180 coal plants. That would be still be only half, though of it's target of 20 percent wind power target. Put your money in turbines…
http://tinyurl.com/6z9w3z

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
A German scientist has installed a giant windscreen on the Rhone glacier in Switzerland to try to stop it from melting…
http://tinyurl.com/5m5kfj

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite. Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This digest appears every Monday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News. greenbath.org is supported by local ethical publishers Faragher Jones.

This week: Secret bases beneath the Greenland icecap, more warming, more meting ice and, if that wasn't enough, acid seas. But at least someone's come up with the bright idea of making concrete out of CO2

TRANSITION FORUM
Transition Bath are starting a monthly forum on the second Tuesday of the month (the next one is Tuesday 9 September) at Widcombe Social Club. Go along and you'll find out about TB’s exciting autumn plans. Since its inception TB has sprouted in all sorts of directions. They now have active Transport, Food, Information, Raising Awareness, Research, Energy, Book and Waste groups. Their new film season, which starts starting on 15 September with “The 11th Hour”, happens on the 3rd Monday and 1st Thursday of each month at 7.30pm upstairs at the Rummer.
http://transitionbath.org.uk/

BATH TOP OF THE COMPOST HEAP
The council‘s fortnightly Garden Waste and Cardboard Collection service has broken its record for the amount of compost collected in a week – 940 tonnes (the equivalent, some clever council bod has worked out, to nearly one-hundred and twenty double-decker buses). Over 9,000 Recycle Now subsidised compost bins have been sold in B&NES since January 2006. If you haven't got yours yet you can call 0845 077 0757 or visit:
http://www.recyclenow.com/compost

FOUR DEGREE HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE
In case you missed the headlines, Defra's chief adviser Professor Bob Watson (who was, incidentally, removed at George Bush's behest from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for being too vocal) is warning us we should prepare for a catastrophic temperature increase of 4C. Painting a frightening picture of a desiccating world, the Guardian's Mark Lynas spells out why the world should listen to him.
http://tinyurl.com/63b9lk

ICE WATCH: NO ICE ARCTIC ICE IN FIVE YEARS.
It really is grim up north. The record loss of Arctic ice in 2007 is set to be followed by another record-breaking retreat this year – despite a cold winter. Worse, some scientists fear the region is fast approaching a tipping point that could see nearly the entire Arctic ice-free during the summer as early as 2013. Yikes.
http://tinyurl.com/68rvdh

NOT A LOT OF ALLOTMENTS
It's National Allotment Week – and more than 100,000 people can't get one, says the National Allotment Gardens Trust.
http://tinyurl.com/62hjrv

THE LINGO OF CHANGE
Greenland, already suffering from real and damaging effects of warming (even the reindeer turn up late these days), is in the middle of an unpleasant crash course in a new language: "Climate-Speak". Key phrases include "Just a few years ago...", "I've never seen that before..." and "Well usually, but now I don't know…". Soon we may all be speaking it.
http://tinyurl.com/6nl7jq

ACID REIGNS
Rising CO2 levels mean our oceans - the planet's biggest carbon sink – haven't been as acidic in 20 million years. Further acidification could spell the collapse of the oceanic food chainand the death of coral. Oh yes. And the oceans could lose their magic ability to soak up CO2…
http://tinyurl.com/6nl7jq

GREENWASH OF THE WEEK
Sick bags out: it's a Ford advert featuring Kertmit singing his hit tune "It 'aint easy being green"…
http://tinyurl.com/5g6as5

GREEN THINKING
During the Cold War the Danes and the Americans started building a massive secret under-ice base under the Greenland ice cap. The work was abandoned when they released that ice flows - but this first deep drilling into the Greenland ice cap unlocked a view of humans impact on the climate from 130,000 years ago. More on this and other fascinating stuff in a book round-up by Tim Flannery, author of The Weather Makers.
http://tinyurl.com/6ysdf7

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
Cement is dirty. Making one ton of it releases roughly an equal amount of CO2 into the air. But now a new California-based company plans to make cement – using the CO2 generated by from gas and coal stations.
http://tinyurl.com/5r3m85

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite.
Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This
digest appears every Monday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe
visit greenbath.org/og,
create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath
Green News. greenbath.org is supported by local ethical publishers Faragher Jones.

This week: A cheap and sensible way to fight warming, worthless climate change bills, a lot of soot and Johnny Depp's $3 million 'eco' island…

SOMERSET UK'S FIRST TRANSITION LOCAL AUTHORITY
In a landmark decision that backs completely the Transition Towns model of community-lead sustainable development, Somerset County Council has voted unanimously to become the UK’s first Transition Local Authority.
In its minutes on the decision, the council says it "fully endorses the Transition Town Movement and subscribes to the principles and ethos of the organisation’s goals to reduce dependence on fuel oil and create more sustainable communities" and that it "commits to providing support and assistance to all towns in Somerset that wish to join this initiative to help them achieve the goals they set for themselves
as local communities". The council would also "undertake a review of its budgets and services to achieve a reduction in dependence on fuel oil".
Well done Somerset, which should celebrate over a jug of cider. The Transition Culture website has more details of the vote here:
http://tinyurl.com/5gyedp

STOPPING DEFORESTATION A CHEAP WAY TO FIGHT WARMING
Good news of the week. If wealthy nations were willing to pay just $1 billion annually to landowners in developing nations to not to cut down wide swaths of forested land to make way for agricultural uses, it could global carbon emissions by between two and 10 percent, according to new research. Time for someone to get their wallet out?
http://tinyurl.com/5b44wz

CLIMATE BILL "WORTHLESS"
Rigged statistics and emissions trading will render a joke the 'radical' targets in Labour's climate change bill and ensure that future governments will have no legal incentive to change their energy policies, writes George Monbiot. The bill is all right apart from that, though.
http://tinyurl.com/5c6jr5

CLEAN DEVELOPMENT FUND ANOTHER COMPLETE JOKE
The Kyoto Protocol`s Clean Development Mechanism is handing out billions of dollars for destructive dams and fossil fuel projects and failing sustainability projects in developing countries, says the anti-dam organisation International Rivers.
http://tinyurl.com/6s7xgy

SCRAPING THE BARREL
Plans to tap North America's shale and tar-sand oil reserves could increase atmospheric CO2 levels by up to 15 percent, the WWF says. Land populated by indigenous communities is already being ravaged by mining work that can be seen from space.
http://tinyurl.com/6ptsw2

Meanwhile, as the rush to drill in the Arctic gathers obscene pace, the WWF is warning that we don't have the technology to deal with a major spill in a remote, icy environments.
http://tinyurl.com/5nwb7c

WETLANDS NOT SO WET ANYMORE
Climate scientists are drawing up an action plan to protect the world's wetlands. Drying up fast because of warming, they store up to 20 per cent of terrestrial carbon.
http://tinyurl.com/5qfdal

BEIJING SHUTDOWN
Much of industrial Beijing will grind to halt as Chinese authorities frantically ramp up measures to battle the smog. Some endurance events may yet be cancelled. But they are the boring ones, right?
http://tinyurl.com/57f5ax

THE DIRTY TRUTH ABOUT SOOT
The already poor image of soot has been further blackened by new research on its impact on warming.
http://tinyurl.com/5wc4g5

GREENWASH OF THE WEEK: DEPP'S $3M 'ECO' ISLAND
Johnny Depp is installing a swanky hydrogen-solar generator to power his home on his $3m private Caribbean island. All right for some, eh? No wonder we never see him in Bath. But anyway, as Hank Green of Ecogeek points out, the system "seems vastly inefficient".
http://tinyurl.com/55z8sa

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
The big ugly propellers of traditional wind turbines take up a lot of room. Enter the new Wind Spire, which, because its blades spin vertically, can fit in your garden. Almost. Film here:
http://tinyurl.com/5uclj3

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite. Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This digest appears every Monday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News. greenbath.org is supported by local ethical publishers Faragher Jones.

This week: Burnt pigs, canny Scots, cross bishops, dratted boilers and cows with packpacks…

BATH CHARITY SHIPS 2,500 MORE REFURBISHED BIKES TO GAMBIA
Bikes for Africa, a programme run by Bath charity Jole Rider, has just packed up its eighth container of 2,500 bikes ready to be delivered to three secondary schools in The Gambia.
http://tinyurl.com/5bdqxj
Bikes for Africa website:
http://www.jole1000.org/bikes4africa.html

BATH PUPILS GROW THEIR OWN
Residents in Larkhall have teamed up with pupils at St Mark's School to convert an empty plot of school land into a vegetable patch.
http://tinyurl.com/5m4zur

PIG ATTACK
Vandals have set fire to one of the most coveted of Bladud's Pigs. The pig on Julian Road Green was once covered in wood shavings to make it look hairy.
http://tinyurl.com/57ga7t

CANNY SCOTS BUILD EUROPE'S BIGGEST WIND FARM
The 152-turbine South Lanarkshire development is said to make it “virtually certain” that Scotland will meet its target of generating 31 per cent of the country's energy from renewables by 2011 and 50 per cent by 2020.
http://tinyurl.com/55dxd6

PAPER MILL BUILDS BIOMASS PLANT
Also in Scotland, a £100m biomass heat and electricity power station is to be built at a paper mill. The 45-megawatt facility will generate enough electricity to light a city the size of Dundee.
http://tinyurl.com/6gxpgb

BEIJING BREATHES EASY
Beijingers are enjoying the benefits of traffic restrictions and factory closures designed to turn the smoggy Chinese capital into a pollution-free venue for the Olympics. "Its great today there are far fewer cars on the road and the air quality is so nice. This is good for the children," says 20-year old Wang Yanna
http://tinyurl.com/6nccxl

TUTU ATTACKS BUSINESS FLIGHTS
Calling on the on ordinary people in rich countries to act as global citizens, not as isolated consumers, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has taken a swipe at unnecessary business flights.
http://tinyurl.com/62cbya

US STUDY: HYDROGEN POWER STILL IN FIRST GEAR
Hydrogen vehicles are not likely to be cost competitive until after 2020 but by 2050 they could account for 80 percent of all traffic in the car-loving USA.
http://tinyurl.com/5929c5

NUCLEAR BILL RISES
The credibility of the nuclear industry has taken a blow after the estimated cost of cleaning up Britain's atomic waste was raised by a further £10bn. "In just three years the estimated cost for dealing with our nuclear legacy has risen by over £20bn," observes Greenpeace's senior nuclear campaigner, Ben Ayliffe
http://tinyurl.com/5d5djr

WATER CONUNDRUM FOR MID EAST AND AFRICA
The people of Middle East and North Africa face a choice between growing more crops to feed an expanding population or preserving their already scant supply of water.
http://tinyurl.com/5gu7uz

BRITAIN TOP OF EU ILLEGAL WOOD TABLE
Britain imports more illegal timber than almost any other country in Europe, a WWF report claims.
http://tinyurl.com/68th95

BOILER WOES
Neil McCormick frets about eco-friendly condensing boilers: "That doesn't look like it was put in by a plumber, mate. It looks like it was put in by a mad scientist." He poked about for a bit, told me it wasn't worth fixing and charged me £120.
http://tinyurl.com/6gsffq

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
Argentine scientists are testing out plastic backpacks the capture a cow’s gassy expulsions… Cow flatulence makes up over 30% of Argentina’s greenhouse emissions.
http://tinyurl.com/5n59au

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite.
Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This
digest appears every Monday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe
visit greenbath.org/og,
create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath
Green News. greenbath.org is supported by local ethical publishers Faragher Jones.

A warm welcome to our new subscribers who signed up at the launch of the B&NES Green Companion on Saturday at St Michael's. It was a great day – especially for those who arrived early enough to get their free windup radio-torch!
But without further ado, this week: Flying pigs, nuclear Britain, why climate change could give us kidney stones, coal protestors invading power plants, a short history of biofuels and, as always, much, much more. Plus: The night club powered by its dance floor…

BLADUD'S PIGS HAVE FLOWN
In a great boost for the two Tunnels Greenway Project, all one hundred of King Bladud’s Pigs around Bath have been sponsored. Not confined to the city centre, the pigs have found their way as far and wide as Widcombe, Weston, Peasedown St John and Turleigh. As well as established artists, Bath schools and youth groups have painted pigs too. Jazzer Jamie Cullum is one of the 100 people and organisations to have sponsored one.
The pigs will be sold at a gala auction on the evening of Friday 31st October at the Assembly Rooms. If you are interested in snaffling one up, visit the website and you can check out every one of the pigs. Still better, you can download a map and visit them where they are now. The pigs will be on display until the end of September.
www.kingbladudspigs.org

PERCY COMMUNITY CENTRE AIM TO GO GREEN
The Percy Community Centre on New King Street has applied for cash from the Low Carbon Buildings Programme to fit a solar photovoltaic system to power its heating and hot water. Bath City Farm is also hoping to install photovoltaics thanks to the Programme, Phase 2 of which offers grants for the microgeneration technologies for charity and public sector buildings. We'll bring you more news on both projects as it happens. To find out more about the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, visit:
http://www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/

TIMEBANK PEOPLE'S MARKET UPDATE
Twerton Timebank People's Market will be held every Wednesday from 30th July, from 11.30am to 3.30pm at the Time Bank, 86 High Street, Twerton. If you are a gardener and have surplus produce, you can bring it to the market and exchange it. Produce can also be "bought' for Time Bank time credits. For further information, you can call the Time Bank on 01225 442813.

THROW LESS FOOD AWAY, WIN FIFTY QUID
Forget for a moment Gordon Brown's food waste lecture before he sat down for a 13-course feast with the G8. B&NES Council have joined forces with the national "Love Food Hate Waste" campaign to ask residents to make a pledge to cut down on the stuff they bin. If you do make a pledge you will be eligible for a prize draw to win a £50 food voucher. Which is nice. Entry details here:
http://tinyurl.com/6zr35n

G8: WARMING DEAL GETS CHILLY RECEPTION
The G8 HAS agreed to cut CO2 emissions 50 per cent by 2050. Friends of the Earth has blasted the deal as "wholly inadequate", while developing countries want rich nations to cut their own emissions by up to 95 per cent by 2050.
http://tinyurl.com/6eettm

The eco-imperialist West is using green issues to try to stigmatise and browbeat the Chinese, argues James Woudhuysen, Professor of Forecasting and Innovation at De Montfort University, Leicester.
http://tinyurl.com/67c2tq

BRITAIN GOES NUCLEAR
The Government is to fast-track the building of at least eight nuclear power stations and will set "no upper limit" on the number of plants that will be built. Hinkley Point, Oldbury and Berkeley could get new reactors.
http://tinyurl.com/64bw9k

FORESTS THREATENED BY BIGGEST LAND GRAB IN HISTORY
Demand for land to grow food, fuel crops and wood is set to outstrip supply, threatening rainforests and the rights of the people who live in them.
http://tinyurl.com/687jvb

NIGER DELTA: "CRY FOR CHEAP OIL IS CRUDE AND DEADLY"
As Gordon Brown offers the Nigerian government aid in suppressing rebel activity in the deprived but oil-rich Niger Delta, journalist Johann Hari paints a picture of a people who suffering because of the demand for cheap oil. "While the lifeblood of twenty-first century techno-life is pumped from their land, they live in the Stone Age."
http://tinyurl.com/6jmerq

COAL PROTESTORS TO INVADE PLANT
Green activists are vowing to force their way into one of Britain's biggest power stations next month .
http://tinyurl.com/6bzby3

SOLAR POWER PRODUCING WINDOWS
Scientists have produced a dye that can turn windows into solar power generators.
http://tinyurl.com/66guss

COAL POLLUTION AFFECTS CHILDREN'S MOTOR SKILLS
A new study has found that children born after the closure of a coal-burning plant in China had 60 percent fewer developmental problems
http://tinyurl.com/637lmn

GLOBAL WARMING WILL GIVE US KIDNEY STONES
More of us are likely to suffer from kidney stones in the coming years as a result of global warming, according to researchers at the University of Texas.
http://tinyurl.com/6b6t9l

ZERO WASTE TOLERANCE IN JAPAN
The bin men never come to Kamikatsu, a town on Shikoku Island in South-East Japan. The BBC asked Kamikatsu council if it bothered them that locals were fed up having to separate their waste into 34 different categories. Their answer was simple: No.
http://tinyurl.com/69ae74

ICE WATCH: HANGING BY A THREAD
Scientists are warning that an Antarctic ice shelf the size of Northern Ireland is on the verge of disintegration, even though it is now the middle of the southern hemisphere's winter.
http://tinyurl.com/5n2lhe

Meanwhile, Russian scientists are evacuating a research station built on an Arctic ice floe because global warming has melted the ice to a fraction of its original size.
http://tinyurl.com/67pwue

BRITAIN'S OLDEST TREES TO GET PROTECTION
Talking of lists, a list of 20,000 of Britain's oldest, most precious trees is being compiled in an attempt to protect them. On the list is the Fortingall Yew in Perthshire. Up to 5,000 years old, it is believed to be the oldest living organism in Europe, after Margaret Thatcher.
http://tinyurl.com/639p25

BIOFUELS A "CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY"
Giving a fascinating overview, Christopher Booker and Richard North – authors of the book "How Scares Are Costing Us The Earth" – chart the history of biofuels from a perceived magic bullet to a terror that is driving up world food prices and which is disturbing huge quantities of carbon dioxide locked in the soil.
http://tinyurl.com/5q8nh3

2008 STATE OF THE FUTURE REPORT
A massive new international report drawing on contributions from 2,500 experts around the world says that in five years the Arctic could be ice-free in summer, that 850 coal-fired power stations that are planned to go into operation across the US, China and India over the next four years, and that nuclear power cannot do the job of replacing fossil fuels. And apparently terrorists will soon get hold of a nuclear weapon.
http://tinyurl.com/6q3dfj

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
An eco-nightclub has opened in Kings Cross in London. Based on an established based on a principle called piezoelectricity, Club Surya's crystal-laden dance floor helps power the place when enough people bop up and down on it.
http://tinyurl.com/5kk67o

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite. Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This digest appears every Monday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News. greenbath.org is supported by local ethical publishers Faragher Jones.

This week… Dirty gold, a big gaffe by the G8 and how WALL•E the robot has kicked up an environmental storm. Plus… Is Boris Johnson threatening to undermine years of good work? And Sir David Attenborough explains in a short film how there is "little doubt" about the cause of global warming…

TIME BANK MARKET FOR TWERTON
Twerton's brilliant community Time Bank will soon have its own local produce market every Wednesday, where you will be able to trade your own produce and buy others' for Time Bank credits or cash donations. Based on Twerton High Street and part of a national network, the Time Bank links local people so they can help each other out by sharing their time and skills. To find out more, visit:
http://www.envolve.co.uk/projects/timebankplus
The UK website:
http://www.timebanking.org/

BORIS IN "REVERSE" OVER CARS?
As London mayor Boris Johnson scraps Ken Livingstone's plans for a £25-a-day congestion charge for the most polluting cars – and pays £400,000 to Porsche for the cost of their legal battle against the charge – former chair of the Green party Jenny Jones fears it is the beginning of a regressive agenda.
http://tinyurl.com/6yrvv2

DAM GLOBAL WARMING
A huge ice dam on Argentina's Perito Moreno glacier will break apart for the first time in the southern hemisphere winter, likely as a result of global warming, scientists and environmentalist say. The BBC has the pictures…
http://tinyurl.com/5e6rnn

G8 EAT BANQUET BEFORE FOOD TALKS
After Gordon Brown told us to cut out food waste, he and his fellow leaders at the G8 summit tucked into an eight-course dinner before food crisis talks.
http://tinyurl.com/64b9zz

LAND EROSION THREATENS 1.5 BILLION
As leaders tucked into their caviar, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has been warning that a quarter of the world's population could starve because of land erosion.
http://tinyurl.com/5tvjxe
This map illustrates the shocking extent of the problem…
http://tinyurl.com/58hbfa

Meanwhile, preparations for an African 'wall of trees' to slow down the southwards march of the Sahara get underway.
http://tinyurl.com/5jfe3a

GREEN MOSQUE FOR MANCHESTER
Environmentally conscious Muslims have created Manchester’s first eco-mosque.
http://tinyurl.com/6r2qcp

WALL•E A WALLY?
WALL•E, Hollywood's latest animated movie, is attracting criticism from the right and the eco lobby.
http://tinyurl.com/6ejlnf

DIRTY BRITAIN
As the Government has been boasting that it has been falling, the UK's true contribution to global warming has been rising rapidly. Oops.
http://tinyurl.com/6zw5mf

DIRTY OLYMPICS
Pollution around the Olympic stadium in Beijing could be five times worse than levels deemed safe by the World Health Organisation. Haile Gebrselassie was right to pull out of the marathon.
http://tinyurl.com/5kct7p

TIGER HOPES BURNING FEINT
The tiger population of India, which once stood at more than 100,00, could be as low as 1,300. Now two wild tigers are the first hopes in a relocation experiment that has not been tried for over 70 years.
http://tinyurl.com/6ltvoj

US CONSERVATIONISTS PESSIMISTIC ABOUT MASS EXTINCTIONS
Can all species be saved? "If you think too much about it, it sends you into despair," says Pat Parenteau, an environmental law professor at the University of Vermont.
http://tinyurl.com/54vns7

G8 leaders may complain of tightening finances, but our children will not thank us for giving them a comfortable childhood now, at the expense of life itself, argues carbon consultant Dave Hampton on the architecture website, BDonline.
http://tinyurl.com/6zhjhl

ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GREEN
Per unit of output, gold mining may well be the most destructive industry, says Payal Sampay, a director of the NoDirtyGold campaign launched by Oxfam.
http http://tinyurl.com/6d2vqk

DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: THE TRUTH ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE
In a short film, Sir Dave answers that old chestnut: Is global warming natural or is caused by human activity?
http://tinyurl.com/5z38g2

GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
Engineers are experimenting with innovative systems that capture and recycle energy from heat generated by human bodies packed into train stations and solar energy absorbed by roads…
http://tinyurl.com/5d7qql

This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite. Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This digest appears every Monday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one, and subscribe to Bath Green News. greenbath.org is supported by local ethical publishers Faragher Jones.

Anyone interested in environmental issues is welcome!

Stimulating socialising and networking with environmentally minded people in the area, upstairs at The Rummer, overlooking pultney Weir, Grand Parade from 8.30pm.

<http://www.therummerbath.co.uk/>, <http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=ba2+4an&ie=UTF8&ll=51.38204,-2.359464&spn=0.011491,0.021844&z=15>

This month there will be a short talk about the *National Camp for Climate Action* which will be