This week: sausages, airships and "Bin Laden a green campaigner" shock...
TRANSITION BATH: WHERE DO WE SEE IT GOING?
On Monday 22 February from 7.15pm in the back room of the Bell on Walcot Street, Transition Bath are holding a public meeting to review what they have achieved so far and to plot a way forward. It sounds like a good idea to have a think about what they are trying to do and it presents a great opportunity to get involved if you haven't already. Green Bath News will be along; hope to see some of you there.
http://transitionbath.org
STAYCATIONERS LIKE BATH'S SKYLINE WALK
The National Trust has revealed that the six-mile Bath Skyline Walk has topped a table of the most frequently downloaded walks from its website. The Trust puts a rapid increase in the number of people using its walks down to last year's recession-inspired 'staycation' trend.
http://tinyurl.com/walk-on-walk-on
CONSERVATION BODIES' NO TO URBAN EXTENSION PROPOSALS
In their response to the Core Strategy Consultation, both English Heritage and Bath Preservation Trust have blasted B&NES' urban extension proposals You can download PDFs of their responses here...
http://tinyurl.com/urban-worriers
PUBLIC WORKSHOP: COMMUNITY RENEWABLE ENERGY WORKSHOP
"Incorporating Low Carbon elements into your Local Plan" is the subject of a workshop open to the public to be held at the Guildhall on Saturday 13 February (11am-4pm). It will explore how communities can include energy efficiency and domestic or community-scale renewable energy projects in their development plans. For more information, or to register, email planning_policy@bathnes.gov.uk or call 01225 477548.
BIOMASS GRANTS
The Department of Energy and Climate Change has made a further £4 million available under the Bio-energy Capital Grants scheme, which helps businesses and community organisations such as schools and hospitals with the cost of buying and installing biomass boilers. Grants of up to £500,000 pay for up to 40 per cent of the difference in cost between a biomass boiler and its fossil fuel alternative. Applications for this round of funding must be made by 31 March 2010.
http://bioenergycapitalgrants.org.uk
ENGINEERS: "ECO BLING" ON INEFFICIENT BUILDINGS IS USELESS
News from further afield. Wind turbines and solar panels on poorly designed buildings are a waste of energy, says the Royal Academy of Engineering.
http://tinyurl.com/bling-bashed
"MISLEADING" FEED-IN TARIFFS BLASTED
Meanwhile, the Academy’s visiting professor in building engineering physics Doug King says that the Government's new feed-in tariffs for home energy generation won't work for most people. "Many of us will be better off investing in energy savings at home or in a large scale renewable energy scheme through a co-operative or commercial venture.”
http://tinyurl.com/timid-tariffs
SURVEY: TOP CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATES DON'T CARE ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE
A poll of 141 Tory candidates in winnable seats has revealed that "reducing Britain's carbon footprint" is for them the lowest of 19 possible priorities for a Cameron government.
http://tinyurl.com/tory-climate-revolt
BLIZZARD OF CRITICISM ENGULFS "GREEN" WINTER OLYMPIC BID
The German Alpine Association is threatening to boycott the joint bid by Munich and Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the 2018 Winter Olympics unless it becomes more environmentally friendly.
http://tinyurl.com/bid-slips-up
GREENWASH O0F THE WEEK
Russian president Vladimir Putin isn't everyone's idea of a green hero – which is just as well, because he's no such thing, it turns out. In a publicity stunt last summer, brave Vlad descended to the bottom of Siberia's Lake Baikal – the largest body of fresh water in the world – in a mini-submarine to declare it "ecologically clean". Now he has not only reopened a polluting paper mill on its shores but raided the offices of a Russian environmental group opposed to it.
http://tinyurl.com/bad-vlad
GREENWASH OF THE WEEK 2
Criticising George W Bush for not ratifying the Kyoto Protocol and castigating America and big industry for causing climate change, arch nutter Osama Bin Laden has called for a boycott of the American dollar. Phew. With him on our side we can all sleep soundly in our beds at night.
http://tinyurl.com/bin-laden-bull
WALLS: DON'T ASK US WHERE OUT PORK COMES FROM
Walls and Richmond are resisting calls for country of origin labeling on its sausage packaging. Walls owner Kerry Foods said their stance was "not about Kerry’s making more money or anything like that" – while claiming it would "add costs"...
http://tinyurl.com/walls-porkies
GARSTANG FORGETS FAIRTRADE
Garstang Town Council has been branded "shameful" after it snubbed a request to incorporate a Fairtrade logo on its letter headed paper to mark the 10th anniversary of Garstang's status as the world's first Fairtrade town. Oops.
http://tinyurl.com/garstang-gaffe
GREEN INVENTION OF THE WHEEL
The brainchild of British designers, the Aircruise, a “Clipper in the Clouds”, is an airship that runs on solar energy and a hydrogen fuel cell system. It looks lovely – but can this luxurious concept possibly be sustainable? No.
http://tinyurl.com/clipper-in-the-skies
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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