This week: Green driving lessons, rip-off vending machines, war over water, leeky roofs, DIY solar thermal, Boris Johnson and much more...
FIRST GREAT WESTERN TICKET MACHINES RIP-OFF
The rail company has been been charging passengers peak fares for off-peak journeys. Apparently it was a mistake.
http://tinyurl.com/ticket-travesty
CUTS THREATEN SEVERN BARRAGE
The future of the project now depends on economics rather than ecologics...
http://tinyurl.com/barrage-barrier
TWO TUNNELS OPEN DAY
The Two Tunnels group is to hold an open day on Saturday 17 July to give members of the public a final chance walk the mile-long tunnel before it is transformed into a part of the Greenway. Walks will start every half hour between 10am and 4pm at the Tucking Mill (southern) end of the tunnel. For more information, including directions, visit www.twotunnels.org.uk.
B&NES DRIVERS GET GREEN DRIVING LESSONS
It's hoped that the training can shave 10 per cent off the council's fuel bills...
http://tinyurl.com/green-driving-lessons
NILE TENSIONS COULD HERALD FIRST WAR OVER WATER
Green news from further afield. Anger and acrimony is growing among the states that lie along Africa's greatest river. "This is serious," says Henriette Ndombe, executive director of the intergovernmental forum the Nile Basin Initiative. "This could be the beginning of a conflict."
http://tinyurl.com/nile-flashpoint
GREAT BIG 500FT WIND TURBINES HEADED FOR BRITISH SEAS
They'll have 30 tonne blades, they will dwarf the London Eye and the first is earmarked for Dogger Bank, off the north-east coast.
http://tinyurl.com/wind-giants
US POLICIANS QUERSTION 2,000 MILE TAR SANDS PIPELINE
"This poses a direct threat to America's heartland," said one member of the House of Representatives, fifty of whom have sent an open letter to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.
http://tinyurl.com/no-tar-very-much
PARTS SHORTAGE FOR SOLAR PV PANELS
"Inverters" are little boxes that convert the energy from sunlight into electricity – and Britain has been hit by of a global shortage of them.
http://tinyurl.com/solar-shortage
SUPERMARKET GROWING VEG ON ITS ROOF
A Budgens in Crouch End, North London has transformed its flat roof into an organic vegetable garden. The plan is to sell the produce from the 450sqm plot in the shop below at not-for-profit prices.
http://tinyurl.com/leeky-roof
BP PROTESTORS HIT TATE PARTY WITH MOLASSES ATTACK
"How dare you! How dare you! Get him! Get him!" exclaimed one outraged partygoer.
http://tinyurl.com/tate-message
ISLE OF EIGG WINDS 'GREEN OSCAR'
Thanks to measures including 'owl meters', which only allow 5kw of energy to be used at any one time, household emissions on the Inner Hebridean island now average 4.45 tonnes per year compared to a national average of 9.2 tonnes.
http://tinyurl.com/eco-eiggers
GREENWASH OF THE WEEK
Boris Johnson has been accused of being a closet climate change denier. Says the former head of the London Climate Change Agency: "Boris cannot publicly talk down climate change because he has a legal obligation."
http://tinyurl.com/boriswash
GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
How to make a solar water heater from plastic bottles...
http://tinyurl.com/DIY-solar-thermal
VOLUNTEER WEB ADMINISTRATOR REQUIRED
Greenbath needs a volunteer to help administer the website. The site is currently running Drupal to administer all the groups. We need someone to help administer the site, moderate users and discussions, write faqs and help to drive the site forward. We reckon that 1-2 hours a week from someone with an idea of what they are doing, or a willingness to learn would make the site much easier to use.Greenbath is a free service offered to campaigning groups in the Bath & North East Somerset area to manage their email and subscriber lists and publicise their events. It was created with seeding money from Bath & North East Somerset Council and is now maintained by local publishersFaragher Jones out of the goodness of their hearts. If you're interested email Steve Faragher at steve@faragherjones.com. This is a great opportunity to grow and administer a community website that really does some good.
The weekly Green Bath News digest is compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite. Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one and subscribe to Bath Green News.
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