Basking in a green glow

I was going to let it wash over me, but seeing a global PR campaign at work can be a scary thing.

IKEA to Sell Solar Panels, "Smart" Meters

This has to be the nth article on the topic I have seen today, from Sydney to Seattle.

Now, on balance, fair enough. However this also comes on the day I am reminded about the last home eco outing that has proven 'interesting', namely wind turbines.

So my envIROI meter is twitching again.

I just hope the company, and those who will buy from it, have and/or will do their homework very carefully before leaping.

I have but scratched the surface on the solar industry and its potential to me as a consumer, but one thing I already know is the first few 'toys' I bought were a variety of panel that are good for a few yeast tops. Not so good for pocket of planet.

Worth bearing in mind as you wheel your trolley down the aisle and see a tantalising display that might not work out as well as you bargained. It has happened before, and I was one who almost made a rash decision in a B&Q with a windmill that looked so shiny and worthy.

Not saying it might not bring affordable options to the masses and be done right, but just be aware.

ps: Smart meters are OK, I guess, but I haven't looked at ours in an age. What I do use, a lot, is the wireless standby remote.

I stand, on terra firma, corrected

At least, so it would seem.

I have in the past been, if not a critic, then at the very least a tad dubious about some of the green noises being made around sending a bunch of rich tourists up to space for a Kodak moment atop a column of greenhouse gasses.

Virgin Galactic is one giant leap for the well-heeled

'Incidentally, the carbon dioxide emissions of a passenger on a spaceflight will be roughly 60pc of those of a passenger on a regular London-New York flight, with Galactic working with engine manufacturers Pratt & Whitney towards eventually flying the aircraft on renewable jet fuel.'

Renewable jet fuel? That's a new one on me.

Anyway, see... in fact, it is saving the planet. Says so in the brochu... Telegraph.

Now, who'dathunk?

Recyclers are cashing in on the fortune in your bin

Times - NEW - Local councils find that it's waste not, want not with rubbish

Times - NEW - Rubbish is fast becoming the new gold as cost of raw materials rises

WRAP - NEW - Barriers to recycling at home - Worth bearing the above in mind as you read this

Well, that worked well. Not.

I will not be adding my comment on the original blog. Enough has been said already. But...

On a planet 4C hotter, all we can prepare for is extinction

What... as in: 'this is an ex-Dodo. It is no more'?

Now, being that I hope soon to swap 20 degrees for 30 odd and the slim chance of getting a swim in some warm water, and that's double the increase in that headline....

Ah, headlines. I wonder if they get paid by the number on who clicked it. I did. How could I not?

Thing is, while there may be some smart insights into preparedness in there, I could not get past the idiocy of the headline.

Oh... and guess what? There's a book.

Just saw that. I will now be adding my comment.

BBC - NEW - Extinction 'by man not climate' - The Lord giveth... some other bloke slaughter away. So, it seems, by coincidence, that man is again the cause of all possibly natural ills. Subtle.

Let's go fly a kite

An, interesting, and potentially exciting notion.

High-Flying Kites Could Produce Enough Energy for a City

However, I have to pose them a question, beyond the safety issue (what goes up...):

What's not to like?

However, I have to wonder about the reliability factors.

Like Charlie Brown, my efforts at getting a kite up, staying up and back down (if it got too gusty) have never been that successful. And certain involved a lot of kidpower on the ground.

So if (as it surely might) the wind drops, what is the proposed procedure to get the generating mechanism back up again?

Greenbang - Kite power takes flight