In 2007 China invested 12 billion US dollars in renewable energies (Germany invested $14 billion and the USA $10 billion) and in the same year 6.4% of the country’s total energy use came from wind power. China’s target for 2020 is to produce 15% of all its energy from renewable sources. With a market share [...]
More than 50 % of the world’s population now lives in cities. Cities cover less than 1% of the Earth’s surface, but generate 80% of the world’s CO2 emissions. Housing alone is responsible for nearly one third of the UK’s CO2 emissions and it poses a huge challenge in reducing CO2 emissions. The Larch Garden [...]
In 2002 each person in the UK generated 167kg of packaging waste per year – a lot of it is glass. In 2001 2.5 million tons of this material was taken to landfill. Currently 752,000 tons of glass are being recycled annually in the UK. Every ton of glass recycled into new items saves 315 [...]
Maize Cob Boards
Organic materials are gaining more relevance in the production of bio-plastics. Rather than growing plants solely for the production of materials, more and more waste products generated in agricultural and food production processes are used for light weight components such as structural panels. One example is Maize Cob Board, which is currently [...]
Every year the sun delivers 15,000 times more energy to the earth than is consumed by the human population. Short to midterm a lot of the solar energy is locked up in land surface, plant material and bodies of water. Solar collectors allow us to copy the principles of nature and to generate hot water [...]
Over the last decade we have seen an increasing number of automatic water taps in offices, public places such as airports, and also private homes. They help to save water as their sensor technology stops the water flow as soon as the hands are removed. The water temperature can be regulated and the waste of [...]
The holiday season is upon us and many of us will travel to see family and friends or simply go on a holiday. The transport sector is the fastest growing contributor to Europe’s energy demand and CO2 emissions. This trend is expected to continue in coming decades and air travel, which is damaging the atmosphere, [...]
Global sourcing is the standard in the construction industry: bricks might come from the Netherlands or Poland, cement from Spain, steel and marble from India, aluminium from Brazil and wood from Canada or the tropical forests in the Far East. Due to the rising cost oftransport and the growing importance of managing energy and other [...]
After the Mediterranean the Alps are the second most favoured holiday destination in Europe with 60 million visitors per year, mainly because of the skiing facilities. The impact of tourism is projected to increase as a result of greater affluence and the change in lifestyle and demographics. Tourism is still one of the fastest growing [...]