Transition Island Blog

SWOT Analysis - usually a business tool - is showing the economy could turn on new jobs created in the renewable energy and efficiency sectors.

Scotland is on the brink of a green jobs revolution with 50,000 posts expected to be created in the next decade, careers experts claim.

Wind analysts, turbine technicians and heat-pump installers will all be needed to cope with the renewable energy rush, according to Careers Scotland, which has started a new campaign to raise awareness of the growing green industry.

They say the number of jobs in fields such as recycling, conservation and renewables is set to rocket in the next ten years. Already there are an estimated 80,000 jobs in the renewable fields that did not previously exist, with another 50,000 predicted over the next decade. Read more…

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Radical CO2 reduction targets and urgent switchover to renewables energy sources is NASA’s opinion.

In a new report released today (12/5/08), James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, said that the EU and its international partners must urgently rethink targets for cutting CO2.

Fears we have grossly underestimated the scale of the problem are emerging.

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A Renault-Nissan alliance is likely to invest $500 million to $1 billion in developing swappable-battery electric cars.

In Israel, most of its oil comes from Russia, so the country is very aware of its oil-dependency.

Research shows that two thirds of the public have a positive opinion of electric cars.1.2 million households own cars and 210,000 (over 5%) would consider purchasing an electric car.

Moshe Kaplinsky, CEO of Better Place Israel, said “We are not operating in a climate of indifference. The Israeli public is interested in what we are doing”.

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Transition Island will be at the Robin Hill Garden Show 26 & 27 April.

You can find out how green is your garden?

Report from Sue Lupton, Isle of Wight County Press

Visitors to the show are invited to visit a straw-bale house to learn from the experts how they can make their homes and gardens greener.

Dave and Vav Simon, of Aldermoor Earthworks, and a team of environmentally minded volunteers are creating a demonstration that is designed to inspire people to try green techniques at home.

Aldermoor Earthworks runs weekend workshops on country skills, ecological issues and green topics. Dave and Vav active campaigners on ecological issues and leading lights in Transition Island, a group that encourages people to take action on problems like climate change

Dave said: “In the past two years, show has been mainly about flowers and the organisers approached us because they wanted to extend it by encouraging people to ask `How green is my garden?’

“They invited us to do something about energy efficiency in the house and garden. What we want to do is to demonstrate how you can build a shed or lean-to with straw bales. You can collect water off it in water butts - that is called rain water harvesting. You can use the harvested water in the garden or to flush the toilet.

“We will also show how you can use water from the kitchen sink for watering the garden. People think that detergents will be a problem but plants are survivors, used to filtering out impurities.

“We wanted to demonstrate principles that might get people thinking, so they go home and try out some of the systems.

“This project fits in with the whole Eco-Island movement, which also ties in with what Transition Island is trying to do. Climate change is a long-term problem, while peak oil (the rising price of oil) is likely to affect us all in a matter of years. We believe there is a lot people can do themselves, but the problem is we are all addicted to the easy life. It is not easy to do without modern conveniences.

“We want people to understand these issues and apply them to their own homes and gardens. It is about getting people talking and thinking and doing, rather than waiting for the government to take the initiative.”

There are better ways to make biofuels than cutting down forests to plant palm oil trees.

Actually, there are many, many ways.
All you need is a relatively concentrated source of carbon and some new technology…

And the technology is constantly being improved. 

The newest breakthrough involves cellulose being rapidly heated in the presence of solid catalysts, and then rapidly cooled to create a liquid that contains many of the compounds found in gasoline.

The entire process was completed in under two minutes using relatively moderate amounts of heat. The liquid can be further treated to form the remaining fuel components or can be used “as is” for a high octane gasoline blend. Once in production, this should all take much less energy to make than ethanol, giving it a smaller carbon footprint and making it cheaper to produce.

Meanwhile other sources of carbon include:

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The first hydrogen-powered plane has been successfully tested by a pilot.

The small, propeller-driven craft, made three short flights in Spain. It was powered by hydrogen fuel cells, which produce only heat and water as exhaust products.

Although hydrogen-powered planes had been flown before, they have been remote-controlled. This is the first with a human payload - a safety statement as well as a venture into exploring its handling.

These advances could lead to a new generation of greener aircraft.

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Osborne Middle school  has received a new award as the first Climate Champion School.

First in the World!

Today (Friday 4/4/08) Dame Ellen MacArthur presented this Award, which sprang from inspiration in local company Vestas, the world’s leading supplier of wind power solutions. They are challenging schools to achieve three targets.

Firstly, to install sustainable energy equipment. Osborne Middle got a PhotoVoltaic (PV) panel via a grant from Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream, matched with the same from the Low Carbon Buildings programme.

Second, they raised enough funds to install a PV panel on the roof of a school in India. That school is in a village which has no electricity at all. The PV electricity will give them lighting this year, and then power computers next year.

Third, they have jointly developed (with Vestas) a lesson on Climate Change and Sustainability, which will be presented at both schools.

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Also nice about this is that whole thing helps the FairTrade Agreement that Ben and Jerrys have with their workforce in the Vanilla plantation in India. And more, the PV cells were installed by a local Island company Engenius.

opinion

Vav Simon, leader of Transition Island said “I am amazed that the Island is so forward-thinking about these things. This is a great initiative, and it is wonderful that an Island school has got the first Award. Also, it is very pleasing that the new Climate Change and Sustainability lesson plan was developed here.”

action

Get your school involved!

A Japanese man has created a wave-powered boat.

To test it, he has set out from Hawaii for Japan, hoping to complete the 7,000 km (4,400 mile) journey using only the power of the waves beneath his boat.

The catamaran-like boat, the Suntory Mermaid II, has two wings in front. These convert the energy from waves into a movement similar to a dolphin’s kicks, making it the world’s first boat to be powered by the vertical motion of waves.

harnessing waves

“Twenty years ago while sailing, an accident broke my main mast which actually fell in the sea,” the white-haired Horie said. “The boat kept rocking and I thought how great it would be to actually harness the power of those waves to push the boat forward.”

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On 1st February 2008, the Isle of Eigg Electrification Project will switch on for the first time, allowing power generated from renewable energy sources around the island to be supplied to all residents, through the new island wide high voltage distribution network. 

mixed system 

The system will generate over 95% of the islands annual energy demand through a combination of Hydro Electric, Wind Power and Solar Energy, which is believed to be the first time that anyone has successfully integrated these three renewable energy sources. 

To ensure that constant power can be provided, a battery storage system has been designed which will compensate for short periods of up to 24 hours, where energy from renewable sources is not available.  Two 80kW diesel generators have also been installed to provide emergency back-up and to supplement the supply should the output from the renewable sources be lower than the demand. 

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A new report on the role of renewable energy in house-building recommends the Government should speed things up.

Renewables are essential to meet zero carbon standards in new homes. The current timescale of the government’s policy on ensuring all new homes are zero carbon from 2016 could drive a market for onsite renewable energy worth £2.13bn pa from that time.

But it would create very little demand before that, concludes a report from the Renewables Advisory Board, which advises the government on renewable energy issues.

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