Rail, coach and ferry operators cashing in

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Rail, coach and ferry operators have raised their prices in the wake of the volcanic ash disruption to air traffic; up to double the ordinary ticket price.

AS soon as something like that happens, it would seem, the worse comes out in the money grabbers in those industries, and they will fleece the traveling public as much as possible.

Having so many sitting ducks as they have now with people stranded in European holiday destination where they have been for the Easter vacation unable to get back home those mercenaries have found a way of really cashing in.

In a radio interview on Sunday morning on BBC Radio 4 an executive of Sea France was quite proud of the fact that prices are now double of what they were before the ash crisis and his excuse was “but we have had to put on more crew and more vessels”. Yes, and? Would not the fact that all those people need to travel be enough if they'd just pay the ordinary rate?

It is the same as when the fuel companies put up prices as soon as the wholesale price increases but, when the prices fall they take ages to pass the savings back on to the customers, if ever.

Alternatively the oil companies simply keep vessels anchored at sea fully laden, thus creating a shortage and being able to maintain the price at the pumps.

Honesty and integrity seems to be something sorely lacking in most branches of business.

The Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned rail, coach or ferry operators against trying to exploit passengers desperate to find alternative methods of travel. But, as can be seen, they care nothing about what the Prime Minister says nor what anyone else says. To them this is a god-sent opportunity to make extra money.

Airlines are presently pushing to be able to conduct test flights as to whether the ash would affect them. KLM and Air France, by the afternoon of Sunday, April 17, 2010, claim to have conducted successful tests and want to start flying again immediately.

In my view this is going to put lives at risk for all the companies are thinking about is the money that they are losing while the planes are grounded.

True that we are having problems with imports when the heavies, the freighters cannot fly, and also some fruit and veg come in the holds of passenger planes, and that both airlines and processors are getting in financial straights and the supermarkets have empty shelves – proving yet again that we need to seriously look at food security – but the ash from the volcano could end up bringing a plane or two down despite the successful tests. What then?

It is all being done in the name of profit. We must consider serious change in the way we live.

© 2010

National Real Bread Maker Week

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

May 1st to May 9th, 2010 is National Real Bread Maker Week in Britain. So why not get involved and get baking your own bread?

There are an estimated 10 million unused bread machines in British homes. They are languishing in kitchen cupboards, storage boxes, larders, and other such places, unloved and often never even used ones. Is you home to one of them?

If so, the first ever National Real Bread Maker Week is the time to dig it out and use it to bake Real Bread or pass it on to someone who will.

A bread machine allows anyone who might not otherwise bake at home to seize control and make genuinely fresh, genuinely good value Real Bread with ingredients of their choice.

I have only recently acquired a bread machine from Lidl's, the discount store company from Germany, found in many places now, thankfully, in Britain too.

Instead of paying nigh on £100 as some makers charge this machine was not even £30 and I would not want to ever be without one now again.

Years ago I used to bake my own bread – had more time and more space in the kitchen then – doing everything by hand and then baking the bread in the oven. Due to lack of time and space I gave that up and used to buy bread at bakeries, on the high street and instore at Sainsbury's but it was not really the way I liked my bread.

Then, when the opportunity arose and Lidl had a machine at such a great price I jumped to it and it is just great. You do start on a bit of a learning curve because the rates given in the manual, for instance, may not always be 100% for the flour you may be using.

I have found that, for instance, the quantity for the powdered yeast (the only type suitable for the machines) of 3/4 of a packet, is not enough to allow the bread made with 500g of flour (mixture of stoneground wholemeal and wholegrain) to rise enough and the amount of water of 350ml is just a tad too much.

You will have to employ a little trial and error, for all machines are different, but my rule of thumb is about 500g of flour (measured in this case in a Lidl large Bockwurst glass jar), the requirement is 340ml water, a tsp of salt and same of sugar, and 1 sachet of yeast, plus a chunk of butter. Don't use margarine as it will not work the same. You can use some olive oil though; a couple of table spoons full.

The bread machine allows me to put all the ingredients in, turn the machine on and then – basically – forget about the bread until the signal sounds telling me that is is done; a little over 3 1/2 hours later. This allows me to get on with what I want and need to do while at the same time creating some great tasting bread that is not full of flour improver and other chemicals, such as preservatives.

True, bread made in this way dos not keep as long as does some store bought bread but then again, it will not have a chance either. Everyone just will want to eat it and you will have to bake some more.

However, in a bread bin, using some food keeper bags from Lakeland, the bread will remain good for several days; by the end of which you will have finished it anyway.

© 2010

GE Announces Major European Offshore Wind Expansion

GE Announces Major European Offshore Wind Expansion with a Planned €340 Million Investment for Manufacturing, Engineering and Service Facilities in Four Countries

Plan Focused on GE’s Next Generation 4-megawatt Direct Drive Wind Turbine and Promising Offshore Wind Sector

BRUSSELS, Belgium: GE (NYSE: GE) March 25, 2010 announced plans to invest approximately €340 million to develop or expand its wind turbine manufacturing, engineering and service facilities in four European countries – the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden and Germany – signaling GE’s deep commitment to the promising European offshore wind sector.

“Offshore wind will play a vital role in meeting the growing global demand for cleaner, renewable energy and has a bright future here in Europe,” said Ferdinando (Nani) Beccalli-Falco, president and CEO of GE International. “These investments will position us to help develop Europe’s vast, untapped offshore wind resources, while also creating new jobs for both GE and our suppliers.”

At the core of GE’s European expansion plans is the development of GE’s next generation wind turbine, a 4-megawatt machine designed specifically for offshore deployment. As the largest wind turbine in GE’s fleet, it will incorporate advanced drive train and control technologies gained through GE’s acquisition of ScanWind. The 4-megawatt wind turbine will feature GE’s innovative technology that eliminates the need for gearboxes. This technology is already being demonstrated at a test site in Hundhammerfjellet, Norway, where the first ScanWind direct drive unit has been operating for more than five years.

“GE’s proven reliability on more than 13,500 land units coupled with ScanWind’s proven offshore, gearless design enables us to provide our customers the reliable solutions necessary for the offshore wind industry,” said Victor Abate, vice president—renewable energy for GE Power & Water. “These announcements lay the foundation for us to begin scaling our offshore business, technology and supply chain locally in Europe where we see the greatest growth opportunity.”

The European Wind Energy Association expects that Europe’s offshore wind sector will grow more than 70% in 2010, with continued growth forecast over the next several years. If all of the offshore wind projects currently in development are completed, they could produce 10% of the European Union’s total electricity while avoiding 200 million tons of CO2 emissions each year. Overall, offshore wind is expected to make a major contribution in helping the European Union reach its goal to have 20% of its energy produced from renewable resources by the year 2020.

Key elements of GE’s European expansion announcement include:

Norway

GE will add to its existing presence in Norway with plans to create a new Offshore Technology Development Center in Oslo and will expand its advanced demonstration unit production and service facilities in Verdal. GE also has joined the Nowitech Research Center in Norway to participate in joint research projects on offshore wind topics. Norway is the planned site for the testing and demonstration of the first 4-megawatt wind turbines offshore. This will result in approximately 100 jobs and a €75 million investment related to GE’s offshore wind business in Norway by 2016.

Sweden

In Sweden, GE also will expand its current offshore wind facilities by developing a Conceptual and Systems Design Center in Karlstad, Sweden. A technology demonstration unit is planned to be installed in Gothenburg harbor, and GE also will join the Chalmers Wind Energy Center in Gothenburg. This will result in approximately 50 jobs and a €50 million investment related to GE’s offshore wind business in Sweden by 2016.

Germany

A new engineering center in Hamburg will feature product development, application engineering and advanced technology. GE also plans to expand its resources at its existing wind turbine manufacturing facility in Salzbergen, as well as the GE Global Research Center in Munich. This will result in approximately 100 jobs and a €105 million investment related to GE’s offshore wind business in Germany by 2016.

United Kingdom

GE plans to establish its offshore wind turbine manufacturing in the United Kingdom. In addition, GE will locate application and service engineering resources in the country and will bring partners and suppliers of towers, blades, nacelles and other offshore wind components to the manufacturing facility. The plan will result in up to €110 million investment related to GE’s offshore wind business in the United Kingdom and could ultimately deliver nearly 2,000 jobs by 2020. This investment will follow the successful outcome of the U.K. government’s infrastructure competition, aimed at supporting the development of renewable energy in the United Kingdom.

GE is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that's built to meet essential world needs. From energy, water, transportation and health to access to money and information, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide.

GE serves the energy sector by developing and deploying technology that helps make efficient use of natural resources. With 60,000 global employees and 2009 revenues of $37 billion, GE Energy www.ge.com/energy is one of the world’s leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies. The businesses that comprise GE Energy—GE Power & Water, GE Energy Services and GE Oil & Gas—work together to provide integrated product and service solutions in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels.

For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.ge.com. GE is imagination at work.

Source: Masto Public Relations

Borneo Natives Win Class Action Suit Against Malaysian Oil Palm Giant

Controversial IOI group loses 12-year legal battle as Sarawak court declares its land leases "null and void"

MIRI, SARAWAK/MALAYSIA, April 2010: More than twelve years after going to court, the Kayan native community of Long Teran Kanan on the Tinjar river in the Malaysian part of Borneo have won an important legal battle against the Sarawak state government and IOI Pelita, a subsidiary of the controversial Malaysian oil palm producer IOI.

In a judgement delivered earlier this week, the Miri High Court declared the land leases used by IOI "null and void" as they had been issued by the Sarawak state government in an illegal and unconstitutional way. According to the Borneo Resources Institute Malaysia (BRIMAS), the court granted Long Teran Kanan headman Lah Anyie and his community compensation for the damage done by IOI to
their land. The case had been handled by Miri-based lawyer Harrison Ngau.

Last December, a BBC News investigation had uncovered that vast tracts of former rainforest were being bulldozed in the disputed IOI operations area and had found "a scene of absolute devastation: a vast scar on the landscape". Local landowners had complained that their paddy fields and fruit trees had been destroyed by the company.

Court decision discredits Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)

The Court decision also discredits the so-called Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) which, according to IOI, had found in a probe that the company "had acted responsibly for the management of land in Sarawak". IOI, a palm oil producer serving markets in 65 countries, is a leading RSPO member. Last month, a Friends of the Earths report presented evidence that IOI was responsible for large-scale illegal and unsustainable activities in the Indonesian part of Borneo.

The Bruno Manser Fund welcomes the Miri High Court decision and expects IOI to stop its jungle clearance activities and move out of the disputed lands in the Tinjar region with immediate effect.

Source: Bruno Manser Fund

Closed airspace over UK could leave country short of fruit and vegetables

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Air freight problems arising from ash cloud over Europe could leave supermarkets short of perishable products within days. The ban on flights through UK-controlled airspace could cause shortages in supermarkets with tightly controlled supply chains.

According to sources, Britain's supermarkets could soon run short of perishable goods, including exotic fruits and Kenyan roses, as the ongoing ban on air travel in UK airspace brought the country's largest perishable air freight handling center to a standstill today.

Parcel delivery firms are also suffering because of the flight ban, which is estimated to be costing the global airline industry more than $200m (£130m) per day.

All the major supermarkets have insisted that their shelves were still well-stocked but gaps could start appearing on shelves if normal service is not resumed soon at British airports. Some of the pre-packaged fruit that appears on the shelves is prepared, cut and packaged overseas and then flown into the UK, predominantly into Heathrow. Aside from saying all is well presently, some supermarkets have actually had to concede that a small proportion of their supplies has been affected already and if the airspace remains closed for any longer they expect it to get worse.

Britain imports about 90% of its fruit and 60% of its vegetables and while the vast majority of this comes by sea – Fair Trade bananas from the West Indies, for instance, are regularly delivered to Southampton and Portsmouth – some of the more exotic produce in Britain's shops come by air.

Some supermarkets have announces that a small proportion of their supplies has been affected and if the airspace remains closed for any longer they expect it to get worse.

The Meteorological Office has said that it expects that the airspace, though being opened again from – probably – 7am on Saturday, April, 16, 2010, it could get closed again by the beginning of next week, as more ash from the volcano is on its way to the UK.

Those problems that we are experiencing with this ash cloud from the volcano in Iceland shows, once again, that we are too dependent on – one – foreign imports and – two – on air freight and air traffic, and also that the supermarkets have to really think about their supplies and supply chain.

© 2010

On Earth Day: Stop Junk Mail and keep trees in the forests

41pounds.org Keeps Trees at Work Protecting a Healthy Climate

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

FERNDALE, MI, April 2010: The danger of dramatic climate change underlines the need for each of us to find sensible ways we can contribute to keeping the planet healthy. One simple step is to say ”NO” to unwanted junk mail. The nonprofit 41pounds.org service stops your paper junk mail – and keeps more trees in the
forest providing oxygen for us to breathe and absorbing carbon to cool the planet.

“The celebration of Earth Day takes on greater urgency as we learn more about climate change,” says 41pounds.org co-founder Sander DeVries. “Each of us can make changes that improve our daily lives AND improve the planet’s health – like stopping the daily deluge of junk mail that ravages the forests and clutters your home.”

With 41pounds.org, you can reduce household clutter and protect a healthy climate.

• More than 100 million trees are destroyed each year to create junk mail.

• The world’s temperate forests absorb 2 billion tons of carbon annually to help keep the planet cool and healthy.

• Junk mail produces more greenhouse gas emissions than 9 million cars.

• The average adult spends 70 hours a year dealing with junk mail.

Named for the amount of junk mail that the average American adult receives every year, 41pounds.org stops household junk mail by contacting dozens of direct mail companies to remove you from their marketing lists.

41pounds.org helps the environment two ways – first, by stopping your junk mail and second, by giving money to effective environmental organizations such as Trees for the Future, American Forests, Audubon Society chapters, Ecocycle, Carbonfund.org, Outward Bound and others.

The service covers everyone in your household for five years and costs $41, including a $15 donation to the environmental or community organization you choose.

“We thank 41pounds.org for being a great partner and providing a simple solution for people to reduce their junk mail and their climate impact,” said Eric Carlson, President, Carbonfund.org.

Three brothers – Sander DeVries, Tim Pfannes and Shane Pfannes – started 41pounds.org in 2006 as a community service. 41pounds.org has stopped more than 10 million pounds of junk mail and donated more than $250,000 to nonprofit organizations.

To sign up or learn more, go to www.41pounds.org

It is such a shame that such as scheme just cannot, it would seem, work in Britain, as it is here the Royal Mail that actually distributes junk mail by way of paid advertising. That is to say that the mail service fills up our letterboxes with stuff that we have not asked for an is not even addressed to us directly. It if says “To the Householder” we'll already be lucky.

Trying to stop this is nigh impossible and when asking the postal service itself they just say that their carriers have a duty to deliver this to the households.

I have no problem with government information being sent in such a way but advertising for cruises, for solar panels, for hearing aids, etc., I do not need and want.

Lucky that in some countries there, at least, seems to be a way to, to some degree, to stop this deluge of spam mail.

© 2010

Brother Garden Labellers – Product Review

Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Labelling specialist Brother has a perfect range of label printers for amateur and professional gardeners alike.

From labelling seed trays, seedlings and plants, to organizing the garden shed and greenhouse, a label printer is an excellent addition to any horticulturalist's inventory.

Brother UK provided me with two different labellers for test and review and we will be looking at those below:

The first one is the:

GL-200

This printer is a hard wearing labeller and its labels can resist rain, humidity, heat, frost and fading. This model even allows users to change the label design for that extra creative touch.

Other features include:

• 3.5, 6, 9, and 12mm labels

• ABC keyboard

• Quick time and date print

• Easy to read 12 character, one line LCD screen

• Convenient built in label cutter

This is a very easy to use label printer of the P-touch range of Brother's products and one that is ideal for the amateur as well as the professional gardener.

It has comes in a very suitable color, namely green, and has rubber pads on each side to make it easier for the user to hold the unit.

Being hand held makes this labeller suitable also for the use – on the move – in the greenhouse or the potting shed, but it is equally suited to be used indoors in the office.

The next labeller on test and for review is the:

PT-2700

Printing both inside and outside can be challenging for the horticulturalist. This versatile printer, the PT-2700, can handle complex print jobs such as barcodes (if someone could just explain to me how to create and generate a barcode) pricing labels, and call also incorporate sales messages or growing instructions.

Other features include:

• 3.5, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24mm size labels

• Familiar QWERTY keyboard layout

• Easy to read large 16 character, 2 line LCD screen

• Vary designs with 10 printing and 17 frame styles

• Choice of 8 fonts and print sizes

• Conveniently built-in automatic cutter

• Peace on mind with 3 year warranty

In addition to this the labeller can be used in conjunction with a computer with the appropriate software, which comes supplied, and USB cable (also included). Users of Windows VISTA will have to download software and drivers from site as CD does not include those. This is not a problem, however, and it works well with the computer.

What one could use very much though, for the computer software, as for general use one is provided, is a manual. The non-expert will be presented with somewhat of a learning curve here.

While still being suitable, no doubt, for the amateur this printer is more something for the professional horticulturalist and horticulture business, as well as other aligned industries, as well as general business use.

Originally launched in 1989, Brother's dedicated garden labelling range has become popular with both amateur and professional gardeners thanks to its compact design and ultra durable label tapes.

The TZ tape has been tested to the extreme to create labels that are water, fade, frost, chemical and scruff resistant – making them ideal for use in the horticultural environment.

The labels come in a variety of colors including white text on black background, to create professional looking display labels for shows and competitions.

I have been making use of both of those printers for the creation of labels for my plug plants and seedlings for use in my food growing garden at home.

For more information on any of the label printer range visit www.brother.co.uk.

© 2010

Living for Free

Dumpster Diving – and Squatting, maybe

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The idea of stepping out and leaving everything behind like Katharine Hibbert, author of “Free: Adventures on the margins of a wasteful society”, did is definitely not something for the fainthearted and not for everyone.

That does not say that, even while keeping a job or being self-employed, whatever the case may be, and living in a home that you own or rent, you cannot adopt some of the ways and practices of this “marginal” living.

There are ways, I am sure, in which you can imitate and emulate the author of “Free”, even if going the whole hog may not be up your alley. It would not be up mine either, I hasten to add.

You do not have to go the “whole hog” but you can still implement a fair number of those ideas without dropping out and living in a squat.

Even living an otherwise more or less ordinary life in a home you own or that you rent many of what those that live an alternative lifestyle do can be made use.

In the 1970s and 1980s it was fashionable for younger people to furnish their homes with furniture from dumpsters and by making use of many other things discarded with which to furnish your home and many a car seat became an easy chair, for instance.

Also in decades before this tine and during it this was standard practice and desks were made, for instance, from orange crates, then still real nice wood, and doors.

This was, in fact, a great way to make use of those things that otherwise would be sent into the waste stream and would, inevitably, end up in landfill sites, and those desks were real good.

The truth is that I wish that I'd still have mine from those days. It was better and sturdier than many of the ones that I have had after that and have today.

There are a multitude of ways that you can employ to lessen your impact on Mother Earth and your wallet, and you do not – necessarily – have to live in a squat to do it.

Freeganism, where possible, is not, nor should it be, the exclusive domain of squatters and living in a home you own or rent should not exclude you from participation in this environmentally beneficial activity.

During the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, nigh on every student's home was furnished from things salvaged from dumpsters and reused or upcycled.

Car seats became easy chairs, milk crates seats, pallets to beds, etc., and this is still possible today in a home that you own or rent as much as in a squat.

Let's see whether we cannot change things this way and really make a difference by challenging consumerism.

Copyright © 2010

Take back the Tap

Tap water instead of bottled

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Bottled water is a scourge of the Planet in both the over-exploitation of water resources and also as regards to the plastic bottle and no “biodegradable” or “compostable” claims will make any difference in that department either.

Our love affair, for a great majority, with bottled water stems from the false belief, created by the bottled water makers, that bottled water is healthier and better than tap water as regards to cleanliness and taste. However, all of this is false, in 99.9% of all cases.

Public water, that is to say, TAP, mas much higher and more stringent quality tests attached than does bottled water and this is something that the proponents of this commodity that is bottled water fail to tell us, the people out there.

Bottled water – often falsely referred to as mineral water, by both consumers and the industry – is no more healthy than is municipal tap water and in many cases the water in those bottles, in fact, is from municipal public sources; in other words it is nothing but tap water and that includes the bottled waters made by Pepsi and Coca Cola.

So it nothing but tap water in many instances and they charge how much for that product that in general costs a cent or less per liter and is free at public drinking fountains?

And while they use tap water themselves and often it is not even filtered they will still try to tell us that bottled water is better than tap. How do they come conclude that?

We must be out of our minds to pay such amount of money for bottled water which is either no better than tap water or just simply tap water; something that we can get basically for free very little from our taps at home or even for free when from public drinking fountains.

It is amazing what demand and needs advertising can create.

By extreme clever ways the industry really made people believe that tap water is unsafe and bad for us and that bottled water be better for us and that municipal water. This was and is a lie of the highest order, but one that is still being perpetuated by those very same companies.

In most places there is absolutely nothing wrong with the water that comes out of the tap and in 99% of all cases tap water undergoes more tests and more stringent tests than does any bottled water. In the majority of all taste tests most people preferred tap over bottled.

So why do so many people still buy bottled water? It is a waste of money and harmful to Mother Earth. Let's make it tap instead of bottle and do some good for the Planet.

© 2010

Verbatim to deliver a better user experience in commercial and domestic LED lighting

Egham, UK, April 2010: Verbatim, a Mitsubishi Chemical company, will use advanced materials technology to deliver commercial and domestic LED lighting that gives users more control over quality of light. The company is expecting to market lamps with a near-daylight color rendering index (CRI) of 98 during 2011.

Verbatim LED lighting, sometimes known as solid state lighting, will be available in wholesale and retail outlets throughout Europe by the end of 2010. Initially, the company plans to sell lamps with many of the most common shapes and base fittings including A-lamps, candle lamps and directional MR16s, with a choice of E14, E27, GU5.3 and GU10 bases to follow later. The products will be suitable for direct replacement of incandescent and halogen lamps. Typical energy savings will be 80%, compared with conventional lighting, and the products will have much longer life of around 35,000 hours, equivalent to 15 years at 10 hours per day, depending on operating conditions.

The first family of lamps will be based on a blue light-emitting chip LED technology. They will be competitively priced, available in cool and warm white, and have a typical color rendering index (CRI) similar to that of other products currently in the market. The next generation of lamps, planned for 2011, will use a violet light emitting chip with red, green and blue phosphors. These products, also in warm white, will offer further improvements in CRI with a typical average value of 98. This is very close to natural light. Verbatim’s parent company, Mitsubishi Chemical, manufactures both phosphors and LED chips and has decades of experience in these technologies.

The company is working with partners to develop complete lighting solutions that include fixtures and electronic control of both brightness and color rendering through simple, user-friendly interfaces.

Gary Milner, President, Verbatim EUMEA: “However energy-conscious they are, people will not buy lighting that compromises the quality of their work or home environments. Our goal is to provide competitive low energy lighting that is indistinguishable from incandescent lighting in terms of color rendering, where that is the consumer preference. We’ll also develop a family of tunable products that make lighting adaptable to suit the mood that users want to create.”

Verbatim’s businesses in Europe/Middle East/Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific are wholly owned subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Kagaku Media Co., Ltd. MKM’s parent company, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation is one of the largest chemical companies in Japan.

From its foundation in 1969, Verbatim has shaped the development of data storage technology from floppy disks to CDs, DVDs and high definition Blu-ray discs. In addition to its global leadership in optical media, Verbatim offers a wide range of external hard drives, flash memory cards and USB drives, SSDs, and computer accessories.

Verbatim is now entering the LED lighting and organic LED (OLED) markets with innovative technologies and products designed to provide a better lighting experience for consumers, coupled with low power consumption and long life.

For more information, please visit www.verbatimLED.eu

Source: TechnoPR Limited

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Full Disclosure Statement: The GREEN (LIVING) REVIEW received no compensation for any component of this article.