Plastic Soup
Posted by Laird on Aug 23, 2008
PLASTIC
Durable, versatile, lightweight, hygienic, cheap and strong: synthetic plastic is arguably one of the most useful inventions of the last century.
It is essential in medical equipment, technology and thousands of devices which have increased our standard of living. But those very same attributes of durability and cheapness make plastic one of the most pervasive forms of waste on the planet.
Evidence of our failure to deal with plastic rubbish is everywhere, from bulging landfill sites and countryside litter in the UK to a toxic plastic “soup” swilling around the middle of the North Pacific, thousands of miles from continental land.
Island groups such as Hawaii and Midway which, by their location in the Pacific should be pristine, instead are awash with plastic, killing seabirds, turtles and other marine life.
The UN Environment Programme estimates that there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter in every square mile of ocean on Earth. Some marine scientists believe that microscopic plastic fragments in the ocean can soak up pollutants which may then get passed up the food chain into fish and, ultimately, humans.
Nationally we throw away 58 billion items - 1.5 million tonnes - of household plastic packaging a year, according to the government-funded Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap) and it’s growing annually by 2-5%. Considering that most plastics are lightweight, that’s a mind-boggling volume of rubbish, especially as it does not include non-packaging plastic waste (as government figures do not exist for this). In theory, most household plastics can be recycled but in practice, most local authorities only offer the facility to collect and recycle plastic bottles. A handful do collect all plastics but they are few and far between. Unless you’re very, very disciplined - and most of us frankly aren’t - then you’re quite likely to end up by throwing more [food] away.
These make up a third of household plastic packaging waste so even if every single bottle was recycled (currently 35% are), the majority of our plastic rubbish would still be destined for landfill or incineration.
It’s something that annoys consumers admits Paul Davidson, plastics sector manager at Wrap. “Plastics packaging waste in particular is a very visible part of the waste stream and it’s also growing.
“Ironically as we become more successful at recycling generally, what’s left in the bin tends to be just the plastic. So more and more people are looking in their bins and saying there’s just bits of plastic here why can’t I recycle them?”
The situation will improve in the next three to five years, he adds, as UK recycling plants are developed which can handle trays, tubs, pots and punnets as well as bottles. Under-packaging - worse?
Everyone has their favourite over-packaging bugbear be it the infamous shrink-wrapped coconut or bananas packaged singly on polystyrene trays. But the other extreme leads to food waste, which has a far greater environmental impact than excess plastic according to Dick Searle, chief executive of the UK Packaging Federation.
Identifying types of plastic “A lot of packaging is designed to lengthen the shelf-life of the products that are being sold so if you take it out of the packaging there’s a good chance that it will actually not last as long. “And unless you’re very, very disciplined - and most of us frankly aren’t - then you’re quite likely to end up by throwing more [food] away.”
Meat is a prime example, he says, with so-called “modified atmosphere packaging” - gas-filled supermarket packs which delay deterioration - meaning that packaged cuts last as much as two weeks longer than the same product bought from a butcher.
Plastic-free wagon
And yet we used to manage without all this plastic. In the 1950s, less than five million tonnes of plastic was produced worldwide, today it is close to 100 million tonnes. The clink of glass milk bottles on the doorstep has been replaced by the purchase of two-litre plastic bottles at the supermarket. Chocolate bars were once packaged in foil and paper; packed lunches used to consist of a homemade sarnie in some greaseproof and an apple.
But our lifestyles have changed too - we no longer shop for groceries every day, many more women go out to work and fewer meals are eaten or prepared at home. If plastic in general, and plastic packaging in particular, is all about facilitating our current way of living, will we have to return to the labour-intensive shopping patterns of previous decades.
When solarwind blog contacted a random selection of household named companies
the two stock answers we received from their customer care Depts.
1.Our large packaging gives us a larger shelf presents.
2. Our large packaging make our product harder for shop lifters to conceal
and steel our products.
Go figure!!
Our Water Footprint
Posted by Laird on Aug 21, 2008
OUR WATER FOOTPRINT
TO MAKE YOUR SELF JUST 1 CUP OF COFFEE USES
140 LITRE’S OF WATER!
(246 PINTS OR 30.75 GALLONS)
No that’s just not possible is it ???
Yes! It is if you take into account the water used in
a, water used in the growing of our coffee.
b, water used in the 1st processing from berry to coffee bean.
c, water used in the wholesale transport, labelling & packaging.
d, water used in the 2nd processing from the beans to ground or instant coffee.
e, water used in the re-packaging and labelling into the shopping product we all buy.
f, lets not forget that ¼ pint of hot water we add to convert the raw product into our morning get up & go beverage.
If you think that’s surprising! How about the fact it takes from the grass eaten to
Produce an end product of a 16oz prime steak on our plate.
A total of 8,000 litre’s of water (14,084 pints or 1,760 gallons) of fresh water,
The relation between consumption and water use
The water footprint of a nation shows the total volume of water that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the nation. Since not all goods consumed in one particular country are produced in that country, the water footprint consists of two parts: use of domestic water resources and use of water outside the borders of the country. The water footprint includes both the water withdrawn from surface and groundwater and the use of soil water (in agricultural production). Water footprint
People use lots of water for drinking, cooking and washing, but even more for producing things such as food, paper, cotton clothes, etc. The water footprint of an individual, business or nation is defined as the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual, business or nation.
The USA water footprint is 2,500 cubic meter per year per person..
This really is quite scary stuff
We have here two “Water footprint” calculators for you to use.
These are a must to add to your Favorites list.
Individual water footprint - The quick calculator
And
Individual water footprint - The in depth calculator
Put the VROOM into electric cars
Posted by Laird on Aug 15, 2008
Lotus fits speakers to electric cars to put the ‘vroom’ back into silent engines.
The green lobby loves them, celebrities drive them, and they have become Hollywood’s latest politically-correct status symbol. But hybrid cars, which use both electric and petrol engines, still have their critics to silence. The problem, according to campaigners, is that cyclists and blind pedestrians can’t hear them coming because they are so quiet.
Lotus is hoping specially designed speakers near the radiator will be able to successfully reproduce the traditional sound of a car engine
Which is why Lotus, famous for its gasguzzling supercars, is putting a bit of vroom back into hybrids. Its ideas division, which works with other manufacturers, has used a Toyota Prius to synthesise the sound of a traditional engine which is then emitted through a loudspeaker mounted near the radiator. It projects a realistic engine sound ahead of the car when it is running solely in electric mode and the sound changes depending on speed and throttle. The driver cannot hear any of the additional noise.
Concerns about an increase in accidents with electric cars seem to be supported by research. A study at the University of California found that a petrol or diesel car could be heard 36ft away but a Prius was not heard until it was 11ft from blindfolded volunteers.
In hybrid cars, batteries charge and act as a storage device to power the electric motor, usually working when the vehicle is travelling at low speed or in traffic, therefore ideal for city driving.
The petrol engine, usually a small efficient unit, then powers the car when more power is needed such as at higher speeds.
The new engine noise system is also being developed for purely electric cars, which have also come in for criticism from blind and partially sighted people due to their almost silent operation.
Mike Kimberley, chief executive officer of Group Lotus, said: ‘The increased acceptance of greener vehicles such as hybrid and electric vehicles is to be encouraged.
‘They have an important role in improving fuel economy and reducing emissions.
‘Our advanced external sound synthesis technology increases pedestrian safety, while retaining the car’s environmental benefits.
‘We hope that legislators introduce minimum noise requirements for vehicles to encourage the adoption of technologies, such as ours, which will ultimately increase pedestrian safety.’
Clive Wood, transport policy officer at the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, said: ‘Blind and partially sighted people use the noise of oncoming traffic as a cue for when it is safe to cross a road - if a ‘quiet’ hybrid electric vehicle is approaching then they will no longer have this cue and are immediately put at risk.’
Duncan Vernon, road safety manager for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: ‘We welcome innovative solutions which address this.’
Rules of thumb for sizing your solar panels
Posted by Laird on Aug 4, 2008
Rules of thumb for sizing solar panels
Whilst each solar hot water system should be designed properly, it is helpful to have a method for estimating the size of the system components. 1sqm per person - This means for each person in the household, there should be 1 square metre of flat plate solar panel area. This rule assumes a south-facing pitched roof.
50Litres/sqm - For each square metre of solar panel area, there should be around 50 Litres of hot water storage in your hot water cylinder.
Example
Lets say there a 4 people in your house. You would want 2 solar panels of 2sqm each (2m x 1m). To suit this system, there should be around 200 Litres in your hot water cylinder at least.
Solar charging on the move
Posted by Laird on Aug 1, 2008
Imagine being able to charge your cell phone, MP3 player or portable video game console while you catch some rays on the beach. This versatile and portable solar power panel can recharge the batteries on many consumer electronics, or simply power them outright. Sunlinq Folding Solar Power Panels are lightweight, flexible, weatherproof and durable CIGS (copper indium gallium diselenide) solar cells. It comes with everything you need to charge a variety of batteries and appliances. The Folding Solar Power Panel will charge or run most 12V accessories. It comes with a variety of cables that let you connect it to an automobile battery, and a cigarette-lighter-style connector that will let you charge most other electronics. Just about anything that is capable of being charged through a standard cigarette lighter adapter (CLA -car charger) can be charged by Sunlinq Folding Solar Power Panel.
