My Visitor!

Well I have lived in my house for 12 years now and for the last 10 years I have not seen one hedgehog…. that is until 4 nights ago. The t’other half called me to the back door and pointed him out to me. With a squeal of delight I ran to the bottom of the garden with dog food and plate in hand. As I got nearer I slowed down as I didn’t want to scare ‘him’. he stopped and gave me a slight glare from the corner of his eye whilst I placed the plate in front of him and proceeded to empty some of the dog food on to it. I waited. He kept still for about 10 seconds and then moved in for the feast. He seemed to really enjoy it, and then carried on about his business and I went to bed happy.

The following evening, he appeared again. My youngest had already decided he was called Steve! So again we fed Steve and it was about the same time of day just as dusk approached. I took this picture of Steve the second time he visited. He filled his belly and trundled off. I posted this picture on facebook and someone said that if you see them in the day they have either been disturbed or are poorly. He looked fine and being just dusk-ish time I thought it was ok.

The third night I went to bed early so I assumed I missed him.

Then yesterday teatime.. YES TEATIME he was snuffling around the plate again! Of course I rushed down to feed him (wildlife in the garden is so important and these creatures are becoming close to endangered!) All the time resonating in my head was the ‘ if you see them in the daytime….’ comment. And it was a good few hours earlier than the previous visits. So I fed him and watched with pleasure as he snuffled, licked and chewed noisily, I even had a little stroke of him! But then he did a funny little snuffle or sneezy thing and a bit of blood came out of his nose. Unperturbed he carried on munching, however I was like ‘what shall I do?’ Well Hubby has gone to the Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone today and we had someone staying with us last night so I was quite busy. I let it go but carried on worrying. My main concern was, if Steve is a Stephanie and has babies to look after, they will die if I take her away!

Today I have been looking at info and realised just how much the hedgehog has declined in numbers this last 10 years. So having ‘done my bit’ for the bees, I am now trying to raise awareness and spread the word about hedgehogs. THEY NEED US!!

HEDGEHOG APPEAL

Please would everyone pop out a shallow dish of fresh water (never milk) every evening for hedgehogs as they are dying from dehydration.

The ground is so hard that there is no moisture for them and it will take months of persistent rain for the condition to improve. A hedgehog can travel over 3 miles every night so even if you don’t have your own hedgehog in the garden you will probably be helping those just passing through!

Please ask everyone you know, and those you don’t know, to do the same and post on your f/b and twitter pages.

You could also pop out some wet cat or dog food (not fish varieties) as well because their natural diet is hard to find again due to the hot and dry weather conditions.

Thanks!

E-volve Energy – Helping to save the world… one hedgehog at a time!

With seawaters rising…. Is this a solution?

Could we indirectly be looking at a way to reduce the deepening sea levels with this new turnaround in development? A team of US Navy research scientists, have come up with a process of turning seawater into liquid fuel. The method uses CO2 and hydrogen that has been drawn from the ocean. It then goes through a technique with a metal catalyst to produce liquid fuel.

An unmodified scale airplane, as a demonstration of it working, has been flown using seawater fuel.

The concentration of CO2 in seawater is approximately 140 times greater than it is in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and hydrogen are the two raw materials required to make hydrocarbons.

The technique depends on “an iron-based catalyst [which] has been developed that can achieve CO2 conversion levels up to 60 percent and decrease unwanted methane production in favor of longer-chain unsaturated hydrocarbons (olefins).” The technique is alleged to be the first technology of this kind with the likelihood for commercial operation.

“The predicted cost of jet fuel using these technologies is in the range of $3-$6 per gallon, and with sufficient funding and partnerships, this approach could be commercially viable within the next seven to ten years.”

E-volve Energy – Helping to save the world… one home at a time!

Co2 levels reach record levels in the atmosphere!

Last month the levels of concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere went through the roof…. Literally! The levels were the highest recorded, topping 400 parts per million (ppm) throughout the northern hemisphere for the first time.

Although I have always had a small piece of me doubt as to whether we have been solely responsible for the ‘global warming’ as everyone claims, these figures do kind of say ”Yes world, you are being abused by your inhabitants”! I mean, there are more people than there has ever been on the planet (7.2 billion and growing), and less of nature as we become ever more destructive, cutting down the rainforests and building on green belt. The knock on effect? More and more people. More homes. More destruction of land (2,100,663 hectacres of forest loss this year alone) and natural materials to make those homes. The demand for more food becomes greater, putting more pressure on supplies, which are now being grown so fast to meet demand, they are not as nutritionally loaded as they were 50 years ago.

All the hemisphere monitoring stations (northern) forming the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch network found record atmospheric CO2 concentrations during the seasonal maximum. This occurs early in the northern hemisphere spring before vegetation growth starts absorbing the CO2. And as the spring maximum values in the northern hemisphere have already crossed the 400 ppm level, the global annual average CO2 concentration is said to be ready to cross this threshold in 2015 or 2016.

The World Meteorological Organization, (WMO), say this threshold is indicative and of scientific significance and therefore reinforces documentation that using fossil fuels and other human activities are responsible for the continuing increase in heat-trapping greenhouse gases causing global warming.

WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud says  “Time is running out. If we are to preserve our planet for future generations, we need urgent action to curb new emissions of these heat trapping gases. This should serve as yet another wakeup call about the constantly rising levels of greenhouse gases which are driving climate change. ”

Whilst the Co2 in the atmosphere stays there for hundreds of years, in the oceans it is there for even longer. It was responsible for 85% of the increase in radiative forcing – the warming effect on our climate – over the decade 2002-2012.

 

Maybe all this new info is starting to change my mind about how responsible we actually are for our situation. It seems to be continually worsening, and that we can play a part in slowing it down. I doubt in our ever increasing quest for all things new and energy thirsty, that we will ever be able to reverse the problems we have caused. I do still wonder though just how much of it all is natural, and would be happening regardless of our contributions.

 

E-volve Energy – Helping to save the world… one home at a time!

I do my recycling every week like a good girl. I put my glass and cans in one box for a weekly pick up. I put my paper and grey card in a bag for a weekly pick up, and finally I put my plastic BOTTLES in a bag for weekly pick up. I say BOTTLES because the lids are NOT allowed! “But they are plastic too” we all cry, “so why not”?  well here is the reason.

Just recently you will have noticed that the green milk lids have lighted slightly? No? well have a good look and think about what colour they were before. The reason is that whilst the plastic used for milk cartons and cleaning product bottles are recyclable, there common factor is…. they are all UNCOLOURED! The uncoloured High density polyethylene (HDPE, or plastic to you and me) has replaced glass for bottles for a long time now because it is much stronger, lighter and more durable than glass, which drastically reduces the carbon footprint of transportation, and also results in next to no breakages. This is all good but there is more: it can be made into convoluted shapes, meaning we now have hollow handles better for grip, and a thin pouring lip, which means less spillage. The rectangular shape of these bottles enables them to be stored more space efficiently and dexterously, allowing more milk to be put on a wagon or in a fridge door. This makes it more convenient all round for the manufacturers, transportation companies, shops and us as the end user. You can cant ask better than that… can you?

Well actually yes! in 1995 Japan passed a law, phasing out coloured drinks bottles and lids, and now have recycling rates of 75%, compared to our target of a 30% recycled HDPE in milk bottles by 2015, I think that’s definitely worth asking for. What HDPE isn’t very good at, is releasing the dye molecules responsible for the colour of the milk bottle top. Regardless of colour, semi-skimmed green, skimmed red or full-fat blue, the dyes are all carbon based, and so blend together extremely well with the HDPE. The majority of us in the UK drink semi-skimmed, and so green milk bottle tops are most prevalent. There are over 63 million people in our country, if we push for the ban of colour we could in effect double our plastic bottle recycling. So when the elections come up take a look at who has the green issues near the top of the agenda. E-volve Energy – Helping to save the world… one home at a time!

Now this sounds GOOD!

Solar and Wind energy are great aren’t they? However one of the downsides is that they don’t power our homes when we need it the most. For example when the sun is shining, we are not likey to be using our lights, and probably not the heating either. So the energy we are generating from our solar or wind is going back to the grid and in some cases wasted all together .

Now…. wouldnt it be fab if we could store that energy? Then when the sun set and the cold night draws in, we could pull on the resourses we have generated earlier in the day, and stay warm and snuggl at no extra cost in the evening too.

The good old scientists of America have possibly come across a new technology for a battery! If it works it could store massive reserves of power. An organic chemical that is common, low cost and can be found in crude oil and living things, might just be able to fuel a flow battery, which could store the surplus power for use later.

Hypothetically, the excess power generated could be stored for later use, when the sun has set or the wind has dropped, however the the costs are exorbitant.

However Michael Aziz of Harvard University in Boston and colleagues report in Nature that they have tested what is, quite literally, a key to another one of Mother Natures well kept secrets.

This organic chemical when dissolved in water, in tests, could be used to fuel a flow battery, into which the excess power could flow when we are not using it… and then give us access to it when the elements are not in our favour, for example cooking tea in an evening.

The storage units for the flow batteries limit the amount of energy you could store, and most homes would be limited to a maximum size of battery, which hopefully with time will reduce in size (and price) making it a more liklier prospect for more people to have. This is still a new theory and testing is still going on to a larger scale to make sure that everything still works as well as on the trail sizes, and hopefully take us one step closer to making it available.

 

“The intermittent renewable storage problem is the biggest barrier to getting most of our power from the Sun and the wind. A safe and economical flow battery could play a huge role in our transition from fossil fuels to renewable electricity. I’m excited that we have a good shot at it.” said Aziz.

Heat struck hives wiped out in eco-disaster

GYMPIE region orchardists and croppers are facing a New Year environmental crisis after extreme heat wiped out millions of the bees they depend on for pollination.

Only months after Gympie region bee men led the move to recruit new beekeepers into an industry decimated by chemical and insect pests, a new crisis has emerged.

This time, the threat is a shortage of the native bees which have helped replace the vital pollination work of domestic honeybees.

Gympie apiarist Glenbo Craig yesterday warned that recent extreme heat “has impacted dramatically on native stingless bees over a wide area”.

At an individual level, some bee keepers have lost many thousands of dollars worth of native hives.

“MANY hives have been lost and others weakened.

“Reports of major losses are still flowing in, with quite a number of keepers losing over half their hives,” Gympie apiarist Glenbo Craig said yesterday.

“Operators in the native bee industry are very concerned,” he said.

Glenbo and his father Athol warned last year of the need for more bee keepers to fulfil the vital pollination role of the industry.

The emergence of a native bee pollination industry was boosted by the honeybee crisis.

They warned bee shortages would slash yields of fruit, nuts and fruit-vegetables such as zucchinis, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, tomatoes and avocadoes.

Gympie region’s increasingly significant macadamia industry is also heavily dependent on bees, including native bees, which the Craigs say work well in conjunction with honeybees to maximise pollination.

Glenbo Craig said that with hives selling for between $200 and $400 each, one stingless beekeeper in Brisbane had lost 56 out of his 70 hives.

“In Maryborough, one beekeeper lost 15 out of 20 hives.

“I’m hearing from people who’ve lost four out of five, 14 out of 24 and 10 out of 20 hives,” he said.

Local native beekeeper and educator, Chris Fuller of Kin Kin Native Bees, had a message on his business telephone yesterday that the hive selling side of his family business had no stock at the moment.

Athol and Glenbo Craig channelled their concerns into forming Valley Bees, a Gympie-based network aimed at encouraging bee keepers of all kinds.

Glenbo Craig told The Gympie Times this week that the native bee crisis would be a big item at the group’s annual general meeting, tomorrow at Kandanga Hall from 1.30pm.

“People have had big losses and we don’t want the lessons to be wasted.

“We want to collate the information from these drastic losses,” he said.

E-volve Energy – Helping to save the world… one home at a time!

DI launches novel energy-generating solar glass

Would you ? I know I would, well provided they didn’t cost the earth (because that is what we are trying to save right?). The technological future is speeding so fast towards us right now, that its already starting to look at making things possible that once we would have watched on TV and thought ”Ooo wouldn’t that be cool!”

Dubai Investments, THE largest financial company listed in the Dubai Financial market has been said to have revolutionized the technology of coloured glass to incorporate Solar Thermal Collectors, which is said to preserve more than 90% of the efficiency.  It comes in any colour (handy to co-ordinate with your home).

For the moment they will be used to provide an aesthetical appearance for the glass on façades, roof-tops and utility installations, but who knows where this will go? Maybe in the not too distant future it COULD be a window in your home!!

E-volve Energy – Helping to save the world… one home at a time!

– See more at: http://evolve-energysolutions.co.uk/energy-saving/windows-which-incorporate-solar-panels/#sthash.EcAHkDzR.dpuf

Closed-loop Shower Uses 90% Less Water!

By collecting most of the hot, soapy water that flows off of you during a ten-minute shower, Orbital Systems’ new closed-loop shower promises to reduce your water use by up to 90%, all while reducing the energy it takes to keep that water warm- by as much as 80%! All of which begs the question: is it real?

Probably.

Orbital Systems is based in Sweden, where your idea kind of has to work before they’ll let you patent it. As such, the fact that the company has earned a number of patents on the closed-loop shower is promising. To get a sense of how it works, take a look at this illustration …

… which explains where the water goes, and that it’s purified (but not how it’s purified) before heading back up through the nozzle. It’s more complicated than some water saving shower systems covered in the past, but similar, in concept, to the way showers designed used in space travel work. There, a closed-loop system is the only way to go, since astronauts are forced to reuse the same water over and over again.

The company hopes that their “space-age” technology could help dramatically reduce water use and carbon emissions in homes, at gyms, or on military bases, and hope that the potential savings their closed-loop shower system offers will help buyers overcome the mental obstacle of higher initial pricing.

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E-volve Energy – Helping to save the world… one home at a time!

Energy prices across the globe.

Keeping your house warm and lit ain’t cheap, so with energy prices higher than ever before, we take a look at locations around the world boasting the cheapest – and most eye-wateringly expensive – energy costs.

THE CHEAPEST

Bahrain: This oil-rich nation means petrol costs just 17p a litre.

Canada: Electricity here costs just a third of what it does in Britain.

China: China uses coal to make extremely cheap energy, but this is bad news for the environment.

Estonia: This part of the world boasts the EU’s lowest electricity prices – half that of Britain’s.

Orkneys: Islanders in the Orkney region of Westray reduced their energy bills by an astonishing 90% after clubbing together to buy a community wind turbine.

Scotland: Green energy taxes could be halved here thanks to plans in the pipeline by the devolved government.

Venezuela: Hate rising petrol prices? Then move to Venezuela, where it costs just 7p a litre!

USA: Controversial fracking practices have resulted in a 60% reduction in gas prices.

THE MOST EXPENSIVE

Australia: Thanks to low generating capacity, electricity costs Down Under are much higher than Britain’s.

Cyprus: Electricity prices have rocketed by 60% since 2008, marking the biggest energy cost increase in the EU.

Denmark: Electricity here costs almost twice as much as it does in Britain. Wow!

England: We all know energy is expensive in the UK, but it’s usually pricier in the north because of technical costs and transport logistics.

Germany: Despite brilliant progress in the renewable energy field, electricity in Germany costs 10% more than it does in Britain.

Norway: One of the most expensive places in the world for petrol, a litre here costs an eye-watering £1.80!

Scilly Isles: Despite EU subsidies, petrol here costs 25p a litre more than mainland Britain.

Spain: Thanks to massive budget deficits, the Spanish government has slashed energy subsidies, resulting in massive price hikes.

Turkey: Next time you’re filling your car up, spare a thought for motorists of Turkey, where petrol costs around £1.77 a litre!

Evolve Energy – Helping to save the world… one home at a time!

October Green Deal & ECO Statistics

The latest Green Deal & ECO statistics have been announced by DECC. The statistics show significant increases in installations, assessments and Green Deal Plans. These stats show the scheme which is in it’s infancy is already making excellent progress.

To date, a total of 85,177 Green Deal Assessments have been completed, with 13,967 being completed in September alone. The increase in the number of Green Deal Assessments between August and September reached 7% showing growing demand and increasing awareness of the Green Deal.

The number of Green Deal Plans has now reached 954 and 9,087 cash back vouchers have now been issued with a total value of just under £1.8 million.

To date there have been more than 244,882 measures installed under both Green Deal and ECO with more than 215,707 homes to benefit.

Under ECO 36% of installations have been for Loft Insulation, 33% for Cavity Wall Insulation, 25% for Boiler Installations and 4% for Solid Wall Insulation. £235 million has been awarded through the ECO Brokerage and the number of authorised Green Deal Providers has reached 107.