Another one for the growing portfolio of solar-powered cars: the Squad Mobility City Car is a tiny vehicle for cities that can draw 20km of range each day from its own solar panels.
Also on the topic of solar, Octopus have thrown their weight behind a scheme to build solar farms in Morocco and cable it under the sea to Britain. Using solar power from the Sahara has been kicking around as an idea for decades, so it’s interesting to see someone pick it up and put some serious finance behind it.
The government’s new Boiler Upgrade Scheme opens for applications this week, for home-owners looking for a grant to get a heat pump. If you’ve looked into it, let me know. I’d like to be able to tell a few stories about low carbon heating.
A short video of the Indian billionaire Ratan Tata went viral this week. He was filmed turning up at a hotel, with no entourage or bodyguards, in an electric version of the Tata Nano. At launch, the Nano was known as the world’s cheapest car. Would love to see some other billionaires take an interest in electric cars for ordinary people rather than for the rich.
I haven’t written specifically about a windfall tax on energy companies yet, but I support what looks like an increasingly obvious thing to do. 38 Degrees have a petition you can sign.
My laptop is nine years old and I’m hanging on for the decade, but my wife needs a new one. Has anyone come across Acer’s Aspire Vero? It’s made from post-consumer recycled plastic and is designed for easy opening and repair.
Guest post: Debt and the climate crisis – a perfect storm
A guest post from the Jubilee Debt Campaign to mark their rebrand to Debt Justice this week. We all know the climate crisis is here, it is devastating people’s lives now and urgent action must be taken. But we won’t get very far unless we also address harmful debt in lower income countries. Debt might…
Can we trust aviation industry promises?
It went away for a while during the turmoil of Covid lockdown, but Luton’s airport expansion plans are back and going strong. When I ask about the environmental impact, I know exactly what answer I’ll get: details of all the things they’re doing to make ground operations low carbon. The planes? Not their problem. It’s…
The luxury of a temperate climate
I don’t know what the weather is like where you are today. I have just cycled back across town in the rain, and it looks like the sun is about to come again. It’s a cool 13 degrees C or so in Luton. Taken from the live picture at World Weather Online, here’s the state…
The Earthbound Report 