Energy

This month shops in the UK will begin to phase out traditional tungsten bulbs as part of a government plan to replace them completely by 2011 and save 5m tonnes of carbon emissions a year. However the current crop of low energy light bulbs are coming under criticism for causing skin complaints and migraines, releasing Mercury into the environment on disposal and not being as energy efficient as new LED equivalents.

Subsidies paid to electricity generators through users bills are generating profits for the companies without translating into many new turbines.

Three years ago, winter was not a good time of year for residents at Hoathly Hill in West Sussex. A community founded in 1972 on the principles of Rudolf Steiner, many of Hoathly Hill’s residents enjoyed the sense of quiet self-sufficiency that living on a smallholding in Sussex’s High Weald gave them.

Parliament has recommended it, Sainsbury’s has tried it and Tesco is doing it, but what is the future for sustainable transport along the UK’s inland waterways?

Rachel Clode tests out an electric bike, and finds a new best friend

The United States is reported to be behind moves to drop tough targets for greenhouse gas emissions cuts, according to Reuters.

The Government should push ahead with nuclear power and GM technology, according to the UK’s chief scientist.

The Government has given the go-ahead for the biggest biomass plant in the world to be built on the South coast of Wales.

The UK will aim to meet all its electricity needs from low carbon sources, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday.

Russia was facing up to a ten-year clean-up operation after a major oil spill in the Black Sea region.

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has upheld a complaint by Friends of the Earth against Shell over the oil company's claims that it uses its waste CO2 to grow flowers.

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has upheld a complaint by Friends of the Earth against Shell over the oil company's claims that it uses its waste CO2 to grow flowers.

Concerns are growing as awareness of the carbon footprint of IT equipment grows.

Using the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria for long-term nuclear waste disposal could be illegal, a leading academic has said.

Every year, each square metre of the UK receives between 900 and 1200 kWh of solar radiation. Capturing just some of this energy could make a significant contribution to fulfilling our energy requirements.