Energy Look Outs is expanding

The Energy Look Outs initiative is working on collaborating with other similar groups concerned about public resource use.

We are getting reports through from open doors to overheated public spaces, which no doubt reflect many more numbers of people who notice this kind of waste but do not report it. We want to use these reports to truly engage with businesses and public bodies to enable them to develop true sustainability policies, or where they already exist, to fully implement them at the front line.

Because members of the public who report such issues often do not get a positive response to their concerns, Energy Look Out is helping with the process of engagement.

Over the next 2 months we will be making clearer links with other local organisations to share resources and make reportage generally easier and more productive for everyone. Chris Hull

Photo from An Open and Shut Case on This Low Carbon Life, Transition Themes Week #11.

For further info contact chrishull@phonecoop.coop

RELATED EVENT: Green Buildings in Norfolk – Open Days - 24/5 September

With energy prices on the rise, there is no better time to think about energy saving home improvements. Basic measures such as loft and cavity wall insulation, draughtproofing, secondary glazing and rainwater collection will be within most household budgets, while renewable energy systems and whole house refurbishments require a bigger investment.

These guided tours allow you to meet homeowners that have already done the research, completed the work and are living with the results. The tours give you the chance to see materials and technologies in a real-life setting. You can study fuel bills, ask questions, discuss costs, read manufacturer manuals and get useful trade recommendations. You’ll find the homeowners will be completely honest with you about what works and what doesn’t; their advice is impartial and thousands of visitors to our Open Days have already benefited from their knowledge and experience.

As ever, there are a wide range of homes taking part, throughout the county. Terraced houses, farmhouses, bungalows, cottages, barn conversions and off-grid smallholdings are all featured. You can see examples of solid wall insulation, wood burners, cob and straw bale building, as well as many types of renewable energy technologies in action. We’ve also included a few pioneering business premises and community buildings for those looking to invest in other areas of their life.

The Green Buildings in Norfolk – Open Days event is in its 5th year and was the first ‘open eco-homes’ event in the UK. From LED lighting to natural swimming ponds, local timber shacks to Bavarian kit homes, air source heat pumps to wood pellet boilers, there really is something for everyone. James Frost

You can view all this year's buildings and book a tour on line from the CPRE website

Photo: Honingham Earth Sheltered Social Housing Scheme, Honingham

STOP PRESS! Keep a look out next week for our Buildings in Transition Week on the TN blog, introduced by Chris Hull whose NR2 house is on this year's tour. Don't miss!

FILM: Gasland - 4 May

There will be a showing of the film "Gasland” (directed by Josh Fox) Wednesday 4 May, 6:00 pm, jointly organised by the School of Environmental Sciences and Cinema City. After the showing, our panel of experts, Dr. Kevin Hiscock, Dr. Alan Bond, Dr. Victor Bense and Dr. Nikolai Pedentchouk will be discussing issues highlighted in the film in what we hope will be a lively debate. Tickets are available from the cinema, and Orange Wednesdays will apply!

The film follows the stories of real people affected by shale gas exploration in the USA. Shale gas is an unconventional energy source where gas is released from the shales by a process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of the shale itself. This industry has rapidly expanded within the last ten years in the USA although seemingly with major consequences for both the environment and health of local people. These effects arise as both the gas released, and the chemicals used in the fracturing process may contaminate local aquifers, rivers and surrounding land. With the UK Government currently considering its approach to allowing this industry into the UK and the first fracking experiments occurring earlier this month, this is a highly topical environmental/earth science related film.

For more information: http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Cinema_City/film/Gasland/ or please contact me on : S.Loveless@uea.ac.uk

Further reading on the blog: Fracking Hell and Other Apocalypses - The Energy Story

Zero Carbon Concert - 27 November

Climate campaigners have organised a zero carbon world concert on the eve of the next UN climate summit to demonstrate that a zero carbon world is both achievable and fun. The concert will consist of a number of events all over the world – in England, Wales, Holland, Italy, Poland, Sierra Leone, China, Australia and the USA.

The summit begins on 29 November and there will be an event in Norwich on 27 November featuring Vic Salter, Pedalo, Ruth Gordon and Jimmy and the Magic Shoe in the St Thomas Church Hall, Earlham Rd. It will be acoustic so that it causes no carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, people will be encouraged to travel to the event without emitting carbon. They are asked to walk, cycle, or use public transport instead of driving – unless they have an electric car powered by green electricity, or a diesel vehicle using waste vegetable oil. Also, the venue will be unheated - we've asked them to turn off the gas central heating - so dress accordingly!

N.B. Norwich Critical Mass Bike Ride is on Friday 26th, NOT Saturday 27th as stated in error on some Zero Carbon Concert posters. Concert organisers apologise for this error.

Tickets are £2 in advance (from Chris Keene, 01603 614535, 07801 250982 chris.keene@tiscali.co.uk) or £3 on the door. You can have a look at the website for the zero carbon world concert for a zero carbon world at http://www.zerocarbonconcert.org/

The Oil Crunch

"The Oil Crunch - A wake-up call for the UK economy" is the second report of the UK Industry Taskforce on Peak Oil & Energy Security. This Taskforce is a self-appointed group of 6 companies - Arup, Foster and Partners, Scottish and Southern Energy, Solarcentury, Stagecoach Group and Virgin Group (www.peakoiltaskforce.net).

The report argues that an "oil crunch" will occur within 5 years. Whereas we failed to prepare for the credit crunch, we do have time to prepare for the oil crunch: "we must plan for a world in which oil prices are likely to be both higher and more volatile and where oil price shocks have the potential to destabilise economic, political and social activity."

The report gives a good explanation of what peak oil is and why it is likely to happen. An expert opinion from Chris Skrebowski compares new oil projects coming on stream with declining output from existing production. He suggests that oil prices will continue to rise gradually until about 2014, alongside a recovering economy. Around 2014 the world's increasing demand for oil will exceed supply: prices will spike as they did in 2008, pushing the world back into recession. Thereafter oil production will continue to decline, with the economy repeating this "downwards oscillation".

Dr Robert Falkner of the LSE considers the impact of this supply crunch on the British economy. He believes that the oil crunch is unlikely to have a "catastrophic" impact on the UK in the next 5-10 years. But he does agree that the transport sector, in particular, will be hit hard by rising fuel prices and the lack of any viable alternatives. This in turn will disrupt the just-in-time distribution we rely on for our food, and will also disrupt other businesses. "Continued dependence on oil...will cost the UK economy dearly."

Finally the authors make a number of policy recommendations. These include a shift from private to public transport as well as to electric vehicles; policies to protect disadvantaged people from rising food and heating prices; and a shift to renewable electricity generation, while recognising that this can not happen quickly enough to offset the imminent energy crunch.

The most positive aspects of the Oil Crunch report is the press coverage it has attracted - due in part to Richard Branson's celebrity status. All the quality UK papers ran prominent stories, and even the Wall Street Journal covered it. My issue with it is its lack of radicalism. It comes from the business world, and it seems to suggest that life will continue pretty much on its current trajectory, provided we can deal with some significant obstacles. Next month I'll review another report that reaches very different conclusions.

Picture: Tully speaking at EAFL's second End of Oil Conference, UEA, March 2006

NEWS: Solar Energy - New PVs on offer!

Transition Norwich have a great opportunity to work directly with Solar Century - a reputable company set up by Jeremy Leggett of peak oil fame - to bulk purchase at a discount the latest PV technology for domestic solar electricity and utilising the Goverment feed in tarriff ( FIT) which starts on April 1st. The introduction of the FIT completely changes the arithmatic on payback periods for PV, making it more like 10 years to the previous 25 or 30 years.

The scheme, which is being offered to different Transition initiatives in the UK, goes like this: if a minimum of 20 households within TN 'sign up' Solar Century calculate that on an 'average' U.K. house, with the system they install, and the current government payment for energy 'exported' (under the FIT) by the PVs paid at 41.3P per unit, there would be a payback for each household of about a £1,000 per year. This is assuming that 50% of the generated electricity is used by the household, and the other 50% is exported. This proportion will obviously vary according to your own particular circumstances and current useage. In addition there is a third party ownership option under this new scheme, suitable for those who cannot afford to buy the equipment for themselves. Under this option, householders would pay a small upfront amount, and gain the savings from energy generated and used themselves - the FIT payments would go to the third party. Ownership would be transferred to the householder after 25 years. (Chris Hull/Core Group)

If you are interested in taking part in this scheme, please fill out the surveymonkey here now! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/solar. This does not commit you to the scheme. The more householders we get signing up, the more discount we will get on the purchase. If you have any questions please ring Chris Hull ( 01603 664928)

Energy and Buildings Group

The Energy / Buildings Group brings together the former Energy group with the Buildings aspect of the old Buildings/Housing Group.

A number of projects are under consideration, such as helping a group of volunteer householders who are willing to spend £5-10K on improving their properties and reporting on their progress (like ‘It’s Not Easy Being Green’) to share lessons; community based power generation; carbon offsetting for businesses; providing citizens with a template to help reduce energy; a Norwich Blackout Day to raise awareness about energy consumption.

One of the latest ideas of the Buildings and Energy group of Transition Norwich was to carry out an audit of the lights being left on in shops and offices around the city long after anyone was using them. As part of a programme looking at climate change issues both in an international context and at more local level action, the BBC politics show filmed a report on this project on the evening of 11th November.

Maria Price and Mark Crutchley from the group were interviewed by the show's presenter in Norwich, and filmed looking at the lighting in various city centre shops.

Click here to view / join the Energy and Buildings email discussion group (Google Group)