Cut-off proposed for historic rights of way claims

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Natural England has called for 2026 to become the cut-off date for historic rights of way to be recorded on the official definitive map.

If adopted, the deadline would bring an end to farmers and landowners facing claims that ancient rights of way should be reinstated on their property.

The NFU and CLA have welcomed the decision, which was put forward in a report by Natural England's Stakeholder Working Group, but both organizations have called on the government to make clear how it intends to implement the recommendation.

The 2026 cut-off date for recording rights of way created before 1 January 1949 was passed in the 2000 Countryside Rights of Way Act but has yet to be brought into force. The Act also stated that pre-1949 rights unclaimed by this deadline would be extinguished, said CLA president William Worsley.

"Natural England's acceptance of the Stakeholder Working Group's recommendations is no more than a backing of Parliament's will that an end to uncertainty on this issue is necessary," he said. "But we are very pleased the end is in sight, even though it may still be some way off," he said.

NFU president Peter Kendall said the proposals marked an end to claims coming "out of the blue" which were based on historical evidence and had no place in a modern farming business. "Any opportunity to avoid conflicts between Rights of Way and current land use will mean farmers and growers are able to focus on the primary task at hand - namely producing food and managing their land," he said. "It could also see an end to the current situation where applications for Rights of Way, which are supported by poor evidence, can end up blighting a property for many years."

I must say that I find this a very worrying aspect and one that will do away with a great many “rights of way” that could and should be opened up, once again, for their intended purpose, namely to serve as footpaths and other routes linking villages and towns.

Such “rights of way”, instead of being done away with, should be turned into a network of routes that could then enable people to, maybe, once again, use their feet or their cycles to get from village to village instead of clogging up the roads with unnecessary vehicular traffic.

Alas, once again, it would seem, the government under Labour has decreed in its wisdom that roads are more important than other paths and that landowners should have the right to do away with the ancient rights of the population.

The more we see of New Labour the more the Tories look left of center and almost the party of the working class.

The old fighters of the Labour movement would turn in their graves if they could but see what Blair and Brown have made out of the party they founded with blood.

© 2010

Survival vs Sustainable Living

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Survival was the buzzword in some quarters for a fair number of years leading up too Y2K and people imagined a variety events to be triggered by the the Millennium Bug and other such things – that never happened – and predicted the end of the world as we know it, described by the acronym TEOTWAKI.

The idea of “Survival” started in the 1970s with the book entitled “The Survival Handbook” by Michael Allaby and coauthored Monika Hanbury Tenison, John Seymour and Hugh Sharman.

“The Survival Handbook” really dealt with a kind of “back to the land” issues and self-sufficiency than the military-style “survival” and survival after a collapse of society, etc., envisaged by those that came after and especially here amongst right-wing Christians and fundamentalists in the USA.

In other words, “The Survival Handbook” and the notion of “survival” in those very early years was about sustainability and self-reliance and self-sufficiency much more and many of those old publications, articles and ideas from those early days are as valid today as then as regards to the sustainability issues that we are talking about today with regards to preventing and environmental catastrophe.

The later survival notions and the idea of survival of the Survivalists was surviving and living – of a sort – though not necessary all that comfortable (let's remember than some thought of living in caves again dressing in buckskin and fur) – after a TEOTWAKI event.

In their mind likely event that those people then were planning and prepping for to survive were anything from environmental devastation through natural forces, over collapse of society through this and other events, to a nuclear exchange between the USA and the then USSR.

It was – and with some still is – all about survival after a collapse of everything and with everything, infrastructure, for instance, destroyed, their preps include anything from toilet paper and bottled water to guns and bullets.

But is that really how any of us would want to have to carry on?

Our greatest threat with regards to just such a collapse event is our economy going south, due to oil and gas running out.

When the lights go out the proverbial is going to hit the fan for sure, and still presently most people all over the globe continue as is, consuming as if there be a competition going on as who can consume most.

This collapse is going to be inevitable if we do not change the way we live and this is where sustainability comes in.

We want to live, don't we, rather than just survive and still enjoy the good things of today, may be even better one, like computers, the Internet, etc. and this can be done if we out real sustainability on the agenda.

Real sustainability will require the use of old methods and old ways being brought back in but linked with modern and ever evolving technologies. It also may, nay will, require a new approach to community and work, to farming and forestry, etc. And this must be started now and not just when the events start happening or after.

Some people have made the move to a more sustainable life already and some quite a while ago by moving into “green” communes while others never needed to start this transition as thjey have always been there, like the Amish, for instance.

Eco communities by their very nature are small and must be kept small; 68 homes advises, Stuart W. Rose, PhD., the author of “Sustainability”.

While this is great for developing a real true community I wonder how this will house everyone and also especially as to how this can be translated to work in towns and cities.

It should and must be made to work also in such urban settings if sustainable living and fulfillment of living in such a setting is to be achieved.

Survival, in its very term just is surviving but this is not what we should be aiming at; a fulfilled sustainable life and -living should and must be that target.

Sustainable living takes some aspects of what was under “survival” with a lot more. The old “Survival Handbook” by Michael Allaby, already mentioned, is a start as to ideas, as are those ideas found in other books that basically followed “The Survival Handbook”. Books that sort of finalize the idea to a high degree and hone them, among others, are “Sustainability” by Stuart W. Rose, PhD., though they really just compliment the older ones from the 1970s and 1980s.

In many ways for real sustainable living we will all have to take a trip “back to the future” in that we have to travel back in time, to some degree, in order to get to the future and have one in that we must bring back some of the old ways with new aspects.

This is not Luddite-ism, as not one want to throw off and away – bar maybe one or two – the modern achievements that are beneficial and useful, such as computers and the Internet, etc.

Sustainability and sustainable living does not mean having to abandon what we have; all we have to do is make it really efficient and get rid of some things are are not beneficial, such as the polluting oil-burning motorcar.

The aim is to create a new way of life and living, a way that is sustainable and in tune with Mother Earth, and not to abandon everything and go back to living in caves, tepees, or in sod huts.

Technology is not the enemy if applied properly; rather the opposite, and while some things will have to change such as how we live and work, modern technology, together with old ways, will be the answer.

Sustainable living is not a “head for the hills” solution, as often advocated by survivalists and not one of “bugging out”, unless absolutely necessary, but a totally different one.

Sustainable living must be equally possible, promoted and advocated in towns and cities, especially in cities, as it is there where most people live, and not just in rural areas in “retreats”.

Sustainable living and -life has one prerequisite though, I believe, and that is one that is very unpopular with many people. This prerequisite in question is population control on a national and worldwide level. This means limiting the size of a family to no more than two children, regardless of sex. A controversial proposal, I know, but one that must be given more than serious consideration.

The current level of worldwide population growth is unsustainable and if we do not act voluntarily Mother Earth will, undoubtedly, do it or us, and Her methods will be rather more severe and arbitrary.

The other big issue as regards to being able to continue to live and thrive on this Planet is the issue of pollution.

It way be worth noting that I say “pollution” and not “CO2 emissions”, for pollution encompasses so much more and pollution is doing serious harm to all life on Mother Earth, including human life.

Pollution takes many forms and not just the form of emissions from cars, etc. It is, in fact, all that which we dump onto the Planet, from the smoke we pump out into the air from burning fossil fuels, from the poisons that gets into our watercourses and the sea, etc.

Sustainable Living in comparison to what was and still is called Survival and Survival Living by the so-called survivalists is superior.

With survival as seen by the survivalists and similar persons it was and is preparation to survive primarily man-made events, initially this was a nuclear exchange between the the two superpowers and alliances, the USA and USSR, NATO and the Warsaw Treaty Organization.

What we are looking at and for with Sustainable Living is to avert an environmental catastrophe and to live comfortably. We are, in fact, trying to, if at all possible, avert a catastrophe rather.

Some of the skills of survival will be of use but I do not think that guns and bullets will save the day but skills and knowledge.

With the serious possibility and probability of Peak Oil being upon us soon or having arrived already we must change over to Sustainable Living anyway, whether we want to or not.

So, let's do it...

© 2010

Sustainability; The How, Why and Wherefore

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Sustainability will have to be solved by a large number of small, 'grassroots', efforts ... each contributing an evolving larger solution for mankind. It cannot be crated on a large scale with specs dictated and enforced from above, form government. The solutions must come from the people.

Sustainability must be brought about though for all and everywhere for we cannot continue to live as we do and have done for the last number of centuries.

Whether we may have already reached Peak Oil and tipped Peak Oil even or whether we may not as yet have done so, is irrelevant to a large extend as we will be, if we have not already, reaching this point soon and then the time will come that we run out of oil.

To continue burning oil in cars, homes, industry and power stations is a huge folly and it must cease. The same is true for coal and that for the same as well as different reasons. Oil is too valuable to be burned while coal is just too dirty; both, however, are running out.

Scientists have warned in the late 1890s that we should not base our economies on fossil fuel, with coal still primarily in the forefront then, and that because of their finite character, as well as regards to pollution. Alas, the powers that be did not heed such warnings.

Uranium for the nuclear option is rather finite as well and that in addition to that there is the problem with the radioactive waste and what to do with it.

In order to make real sustainability reality we not only need to look at renewable energy sources but also and especially at how we use electricity, for instance, and especially at the kind of electricity that we do use, that is to say voltage and type.

Today most of our homes could, basically, be run on 12volt DC and it is easy to generate the needed wattage with wind and photo-voltaics, for instance, for individual homes.

The problem is that our infrastructure is all geared to 110/220/240volt AC and that and the general attitude needs changing.

Electricity must also be generated once again close to where it is being consumed and not hundreds of miles away and the kind of electricity generated needs changing.

Consider lighting in the home and home office, as an example. All could be accomplished with 12volt DC LED lighting, strip or the kind of lights used in automobiles. Laptops and most other such equipment, as well as radios, etc., all can and will work with 12volt DC directly or via slight conversion, mostly downwards – in most cases.

In light of the above, therefore, there is very little need to continue to generate electricity in the voltages of tens and thousands of kilovolts as is being done presently, and also the production of alternate current is so wasteful, and this is especially true as to voltage loss in transmission lines.

Sustainability is something that applies to other aspects too. In fact, every aspect of our lives as individuals and families, as corporate entities and government, etc. must be scrutinized with the lens of sustainability an this includes everything from how we live and where; how we get about; how, where and what we work; how our food is grown, etc. thus analyzing our environmental impact in all aspects.

This is an ongoing process...

© 2010

Glass jars for cloches

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Got a lot of glass jars but don't know what to do with them?

If you buy a lot of stuff that comes in glass jars – and quite a lot of stuff that I buy does – and you grow food in your garden then use the jars, if big enough, as small cloches. After all cloches in the old days were nothing by glass bells put over the plants.

Smaller jars can be used to bring on seedlings on the windowsills for instance in small plug pots.

There is no need to waste this valuable resource by sending it to the recycling center – unless they pay you good money for it – and then make cloches from plastic sheeting and some kind of frame or even buy small cloches to go over individual plants.

In addition to glass jars for cloches, as long as you are not expecting too much of high winds, plastic soda bottles, with their bottoms cut off, and also plastic milk jugs, regardless of them being opaque, can be used as covers for plants to protects them from frost and keep them warmer.

Waste not want not! Still as valid today as when I was a child.

Copyright © 2010

Research Suggests Frequent Fires Could Help Forest Ecosystems

What? No? Honest? Yet another study was required to find out what the ancients knew ages ago...

by Michael Smith (Veshengro), RFA, EcoFor

About half of the overstory trees were killed in the B&B Complex fire in 2003 near Canyon Creek in the central Oregon Cascade Range, yet a high level of tree survival and vegetation rapidly recovered. This type of burning and re-growth is typical of fires in the Pacific Northwest. And, and that we must not forget, has always also been a tool of proper forest management, and not just in the Pacific Northwest. It is about time that we, so-called modern man, took a serious look at the handbook of the ancient ones.

One of those days scientists will be capable of inventing the wheel. What you mean it has been invented already? That will hardly matter to them as long as they can conduct a multimillion study to conclude that the wheel is a good idea and works.

Let's face it, it too the British government a five million GBP study to “discover” that waste wood can be burned. No? Honest? Wood burns? Who would have thought?

Then a ten million GBP study to – fasten seat belt – “discover” ( that d-word again) that inland waterways and canals can be used for the transportation of freight. Good G-d! What do they think they were invented for? It was not pleasure boating, that's for sure.

Research has suggested that global warming will change wildfire patterns and cause a leap in the number of forest fires in the Pacific Northwest, though that is also rather hotly debated. But there might just be a silver lining in those billowing clouds of smoke.

In a recent interview with ScienceDaily.com, John Bailey, an associate professor in the Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management at Oregon State University, discussed the beneficial role that fire plays in managing and enriching forest ecosystems.

Forest fires are key to long-term forest management, Bailey said: Forests historically had more fire across much of Oregon, and they would love to have more today. Burning is a natural ecosystem process and generally helps restore forest ecosystems. It is ironic that we spend so much money to stop fire, because we should learn to see fire as more of a partner and not always an enemy.

Forest fires are an efficient, natural way for a forest to rid itself of dead or dying plant matter. And the decomposed organic matter enriches the soil with minerals that help new plants sprout up quickly.

Bailey said further that even the worst case scenario of climate change-related fires may not be as bad for forests as one might assume, since forests have historically seen more fires than they experience today. And the huge cost of trying to prevent fires is unnecessary in many cases, Bailey added.

Right now we are spending billions of dollars to prevent something that is going to happen sooner or later, whether we try to stop it or not, and something that can assist us in sound land management. It may always make sense to put out some fires when they threaten communities, or in other select circumstances. But periodic fire has always been a part of our forests, and we need to accept it as such, sort of like how we plan for and accept a very wet winter that comes along now and then, he said.

They all seem to treat it as something just discovered but the American Indians knew that centuries ago and managed both forests and range with controlled burning and even the US Forest Service did controlled burning well into the third part of the last century. Until, that is, misguided and misinformed environmentalists ordered them to stop the practice as it was, so they claimed, “bad for the wildlife”.

Much in the same way as it was bad for the wildlife to remove the forest debris such as crowns left over from logging and such like. Both with create a forest fire ladder and also a hazard as far as forest diseases are concerned.

I have worked in forestry and related since childhood, and even was involved in it during my military career, if one might wish to call it thus, and when I was a youngster a “clean forest policy” was in operation and we had more wildlife and healthier trees then then now. Maybe that should tell us something.

The British Forestry Commission seems to have woken up to the fact that every professional forester has known for ages; the danger from wood being left to decay on the forest floor, and are now talking of banning the practice of, for instance, habitat piles. About time too. But all seems to get discovered only after lengthy and expensive scientific studies while they could have asked the old guys for much less.

Oh well! Jobs for the boys, yet again, methinks.

© 2010

RenewableUK launches consumer guide to wind turbine installation

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

New small wind turbine installation guide for businesses and homeowners launched

RenewableUK, the country’s leading renewable energy trade association, has today announced the publication of a consumer guide aimed at helping individuals and businesses looking to install their own wind turbine. Launching the guide at its annual International Small Wind Conference 2010 (ISWC 2010), in Glasgow, RenewableUK urged consumers to take advantage of the government’s new feed-in tariffs, but highlighted the need for the sector to be granted its long awaited General Permission Development Order (GPDO).

According to RenewableUK, feed-in tariffs launched at the beginning of this month provide the financial incentive necessary for the potential of small wind to be fully realised in the UK. Consumers installing a small wind system will be able to reduce their energy bills and earn an income from supplying the grid, whilst reducing their carbon footprint. A GPDO for the small wind sector would remove the need for planning permission approval.

Such an order was supposed to be given some time back, also, as far as I understand, because this is ordered by the European Union. But, again and again, planning consent is denied to people wishing to put up small wind turbines. This must change and it must become the norm that one can put up turbines without the need of getting permission, period.

The publication of the guide, Generate Your Own Power, coincides with recent announcement of record growth for the UK small wind sector. Figures reveal a 25% increase in market growth and the deployment of 14,000 small wind system units between 2005 and 2009. The UK is now the largest market in Europe and the second largest in the world for small wind systems, demonstrating a growing appetite in this country for renewable forms of energy.

Between 2005 and 2009, as indicated, 14,000 wind system units deployed have been deployed in Britain which, in my opinion, is far too few to make any real difference, though RenewableUK predicts major sector growth from feed-in-tariffs.

Should that be the selling point though, the feed in tariff. I should think not. The selling point for small wind turbines should be an off-grid independence, as and where wanted.

Speaking from ISWC 2010, Alex Murley, Head of Small Systems at RenewableUK, said: “More and more people are waking up to the financial and environmental benefits of small wind installation. This is an exciting trend for the industry that will be spurred on by the new feed-in tariffs. We urge any new government to take another step forward with the introduction of a GPDO for small wind, which will allow the true carbon-cutting potential of this sector to be realized. If you have access to a windy location then now is the perfect time to be considering a small wind installation and our new guide has all the information you need to get the process started.”

RenewableUK’s consumer guide has been designed to educate people about small wind systems, explain the different wind turbine options available and provide the necessary information for those wishing to start the installation process.

The guide is available as a download from http://www.renewable-uk.com/.

What the renewables world and people in general need to come to understand is that we could fulfil most of our individual electricity needs, for homes especially, from using efficient small wind turbines, and 12V DC alternators to charge some deep-cycle marine batteries for back up.

Generating 240V AC is not a very efficient way and nor do we, in all honesty, need that voltage and power any more today. The guide from RenewableUK, sadly, does not touch this subject and truth either.

Turbines for 12V DC production for home use can also me made at home by most DIYers without much of a problem and the most efficient ones appear to be the ones that look like the old windmills of the American West and especially vertical-axis turbines.

© 2010

£280million for councils to protect frontline services and strengthen local economies

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

A pot of £280million is being given to councils so they can continue to improve services from crucial skills and jobs programmes to arts facilities for young people to town centre regeneration projects, announced Local Government Minister Rosie Winterton on March 31, 2010.

For example Waltham Forest will invest some of their £1.8million grant to help fund their National Skills Academy for Construction which aims to train over 5,000 residents from some of the UK's most deprived wards. In Durham £5.4million will fund projects to strengthen broadband access, support vulnerable groups most at risk from recession, youth work projects and a site for developing green projects. In Rotherham some of their £2.9million grant will go into town centre projects to get more people coming to the town including extending free parking and a new arts centre.

Almost 90 councils across the country have earned the funding for making a range of service improvements on specific targets over three years including:

• reducing the number of children killed in road traffic accidents in Enfield

• reducing the number of people on Incapacity Benefit in Hertfordshire

• establishing new Healthy Schools programmes in Nottingham City

• increasing the number of adults qualified to NVQ Level 2 in Durham

• increasing recycling by schools and public sector sites in Hampshire

Ministers are determined that local people get the high quality services they are entitled to and that local councils are central to delivering them. The Government will support successful councils with these grants to invest in current local priorities so they can continue to protect frontline services, build their local economy and create jobs in a tighter financial climate.

Rosie Winterton said that she is giving councils a further £280million to deliver better local services, drive regeneration and create economic renewal in their areas.

Maybe one should remind the minister that it is not her money that she is given away and having termed it that government is allocating said sum of money would have been a better phraseology.

“Strong elected local authorities are key to meeting the challenges we face today,” the Minister said, and continued, “As local leaders councils know their areas and its unique challenges best and with the continued Government support being made available today they can meet local priorities from care, to libraries, to youth services - that matter most to their residents.

“There is no doubt that councils will have tough choices ahead as finances become tighter, but that is no reason to lower their sights on delivering service quality people rightly value. To help we've cut targets, reduced the red tape burden and freed more funding from ring-fencing so councils can focus on the services local people need in their area.”

Since 1997 councils have had a 45 per cent real increase in government funding and will receive an average 4 per cent core funding increase in April. The recently announced funding comes on top of that and local authorities need to ensure they are providing value for money by protecting the frontline services that matter most to their areas.

The last Budget, the last one before the general election, set out how local public services can propose radical changes to improve services in their area, increase efficiency and develop new local outcome targets for local people. This goes beyond individual authorities and amounts to a significant and collective shift in the way that all public services work from health and social care to policing and children's services.

The recent funding is based on targets met over three years, from reducing carbon emissions, supporting business, and tackling anti-social behaviour that are set out in their Local Area Agreements. Performance Reward Grant is paid in the financial year after the Agreement finishes.

The government behaves, once again, as if it is money that it has earned from somewhere that it is giving away but it is not. It is money that the council tax payers and other tax payers, you and I, if you live in the UK, have paid and from which our local services should be paid.

However, unlike with most of our EU counterparts, local taxes do not stay local but go to central government first where it is then decided what amount of money goes back to any particular area. A total unfair system and it is time that we adopted the same system as is used in the majority of other EU countries where taxes are raised and used in the local area.

© 2010

Extensions to offshore zones prove sector strength

The Crown Estate announces 2 gigawatts (GW) of extensions to offshore Round 1 and Round 2 sites

RenewableUK, the country’s leading renewable energy trade association, endorsed today’s announcement by The Crown Estate on extending Round 1 and Round 2 offshore wind farm sites as further evidence of the viability and strength of the UK’s pioneering offshore wind programme. The Crown Estate awarded an additional 2GW of sites, sufficient to power 2 million homes on an annual basis, to seven existing offshore wind farms.

Peter Madigan, RenewableUK’s Head of Offshore Renewables, said: ‘The extensions of Round 1 and 2 sites follow on the heels of successful commissioning and operation of seven wind farms over the last four to five years. The announcement is entirely driven by developer interest and provides emphatic evidence of offshore wind viability and growth. The projects are proven to deliver, so it makes sense to scale them up.’

Out of the seven sites involved, five will be granted an extension of project area, while two will have more capacity added within the existing project boundaries. Industry experts believe that extending area or capacity of offshore wind farms will enable wind farm developers to deliver economies of scale both in terms of project delivery and in terms of operation and maintenance costs.

‘The UK now has 40GW+ of offshore wind projects at various stages of development, and has established itself as world leader with over 1GW installed. When fully built out, this potential will supply a full third of our nation’s electricity, or more than 130 terawatt hours per annum. Since the beginning of the year we have seen investment totalling £0.5 billion, from some of the world’s best-known companies, backing this project. The zone extensions show the offshore revolution is well under way,’ commented Madigan.

Source: RenewableUK

Leading Low Carbon Economy Solutions showcase in Bath, UK

Cleantech start-ups are gathering at the University of Bath ’s Low Carbon Start Up Fest on Friday 14th May to present to potential investors, partners, and fellow entrepreneurs.

May 11 2010 - Bath: Cleantech start-ups are gathering at the University of Bath ’s Low Carbon Start Up Fest on Friday 14th May to present to potential investors, partners, and fellow entrepreneurs. Companies presenting include:

• Adinfa developers of the InSite suite of software which enables data centre owners, operators and managers to cut costs, cut carbon emissions and optimise efficiencies by monitoring and managing the power consumed by their data centres.

• Carbon Voyage a unified web application that allows users to compare transport options (cost and environmental impact), book their travel and manage their financial and environmental costs through the one portal. The application will also optimise the use of transport assets by finding opportunities to fill empty journeys, share trips and help customers move onto low carbon transport alternatives.

• New Earth Energy which is targeting the production of syngas from waste-derived feedstocks with high biomass content using emerging Advanced Thermal Conversion (ATC) technologies. The associated production of renewable electricity will use proven spark ignition reciprocating engine technology. New Earth Energy will benefit from the production of a ‘ready to use’ feedstock produced by sister company New Earth Solutions from locally sourced waste streams using mechanical biological treatment (MBT) technologies developed and operated by New Earth Solutions.

• Spiralite's pre-insulated non metal ducting - spiral, flat oval and round square as well as plenums, grille boxes and sound attenuators - is a new and innovative product that has a unique set of properties that meet the most demanding strength, safety and environmental requirements of the the H&V industry. Spiralite is up to 86% lighter than traditional steel ductwork with lagging, and is significantly more energy efficient and fully sustainable.

• TwentyNinety Photovoltaic Balance of Systems Technology. TwentyNinety has developed a low cost wireless technology which offers improved performance and increased safety for arrays of photovoltaic (PV) modules. The company's hardware and software solution provides module level control, offering unique management, control and safety benefits for the manufacturer, the installer and the end user.

• Xsilon is developing a novel powerline technology aimed specifically at Home Energy Management. Xsilon's IECON chip measures the energy used by an individual appliance and signals this to a smart meter or home energy controller through the existing mains wiring. Additionally, it enables the smart meter to control each appliance to reduce energy consumption or as part of a smart tariffing scheme.

• Zenex's technology centres on the improvement of the design of heating systems using gas boilers with the objective of reducing CO2 emissions, gas usage, water consumption and users' gas bills. The Zenex GasSaver is an efficient secondary condenser and thermal store and saves some 20% of the gas used by a new 'condensing;' boiler. It recovers the heat wasted commonly seen in the plumes of hot moist vapour which issue from boiler flues.

Simon Bond, Director of University of Bath’s Innovation Centre which is responsible for the event, said: “The challenge of climate change has unleashed a wave of high-growth potential technology start-ups looking to address new ways of generating sustainable energy and exploit better ways to make energy go further. The Low Carbon Start-Up Fest is an exciting opportunity to showcase ventures from this sector each looking to raise between £250k and £5m in the next 12 months.”

Low Carbon Start-up Fest is on Friday 14 May 2010. Registration and coffee from 9am Presentations from 9.30am to 12.30pm, followed by lunch and networking. Delegate places can also be booked via www.lowcarbonsouthwest.co.uk

The Low Carbon South West network has been established by the University of Bath to build an active community in this sector and establish impactful links between companies and universities. Low Carbon South West makes it easier for companies, entrepreneurs, investors and researchers to meet and exchange ideas and opportunities.

Source: NeonDrum Ltd.

When the oil runs out!

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Dependent on who you want to believe we have either already reached Peak Oil, are not far from it or have still a long way to go.

Whatever, the truth remains that oil and other fossil fuels, that is to say coal and natural gas, are finite resources and are not far from being depleted, at least the easily exploitable deposits.

Some experts, in fact, claim that we are basically well over Peak Oil by now and even the explorations planned for the Falkland Islands, aka Islas Malvinas, will not make the slightest difference, as far as our ability to have cheap transport fuel and heating oil is concerned.

Are you able to continue to drive a car when gas will be at US$15 or US$20 a gallon? I do not think so, and palm oil based bio-diesel and bio-ethanol will not help either.

The time of the internal combustion engine is coming definitely to an end and so will be the world and life as we know it, presently.

But industry and governments are not prepared to tell you that, unpalatable, to some, truth.

While this truth may be hard to swallow for some the fact remains that we will have to change our ways, especially as to personal travel and also other aspects.

The end of cheap oil, and of oil in general, will also mean a lack of aviation gas, or none at all, even, which is commercial kerosene and hence an end to cheap air travel.

As I have said, our way of life is going to change and that rather drastically and dramatically.

Many people try to tell you different and especially that politicians, regardless of country, but do not believe them. Instead prepare for what is going to come to pass.

Change to our way of life is now inevitable and it is better to fully prepare for this before it hits us; and the time for preparing for it is NOW!

Let us consider all the things that are dependent on (cheap) oil and how we can adapt.

Transportation

This is personal and goods and this is where things will end up to real different and we better start envisioning horse and cart again too. I am rather serious in that respect and also about that we will need to look at reusing the old canals of the country and also the inland waterways, if need to, be used with small barges of old even, including them to be drawn again by horses along the towpaths.

Life as we know it definitely is going top change when the oil is gone or has become so expensive that is has become unaffordable to the most of us.

This will affect all of our transport needs and for personal transport we may, nay will, have to go back to walking and cycling and if we can horses, unless there will be electric cars that ordinary people can afford.

So, I personally think that the bike and walking will be the only option for many of us, because the horse will not be the option for most of us, as keeping a horse will not be possible due to lack of space and money. I mean, come on, where do you keep horse when you live in an apartment block. Unless, that would be, that any such blocks of flats would have stable attached to them.

In rural settings this will be different, as regards using horses, and horses and carts, no doubt, and horses there may, indeed, be then in use again for personal transportation again when the oil is going or has gone.

We better start getting our heads around this now and prepare for this.

It would also be good if we changed the way that we travel now and would do more walking and cycling. The Planet and your body and health will thank you for it.

© 2010