Tag Archives: climate-change
Straw houses go onto UK general sales market
Houses made of straw are on sale on the open market for the first time in the UK after becoming eligible for standard mortgages. Until now the eco-homes have been the preserve of bespoke building projects and financed through specialist lenders but now a row of seven straw houses in Bristol have now become the first to secure building certification which makes them eligible for a standard mortgage. The two and three bedroom properties will each use more than seven tonnes of straw and reduce heating costs by 90% compared to the average brick house, according to Professor Pete Walker from the University of Bath who led a project to develop and test the construction method. They homes are due to be completed in April and are on sale priced between £220,000 and £240,000. ‘I think there's a lot of misconception about using straw, especially about fire resistance. As a construction material straw is a low cost and widely available product that offers real potential for ultra low carbon housing throughout the UK,’ said Walker. ‘Building with straw could be a critical point in our trajectory towards a low carbon future. The great thing about the houses is that they are affordable and in addition the energy costs will be extremely low, under £100 a year,’ he explained. The houses are currently undergoing a 10 week construction programme by developers Connolly and Callaghan in Shirehampton, Bristol. Each wall is the same thickness as a normal bale of straw, framed in timber and encased in wooden boards. In addition compressed straw board will line the walls throughout the house as a replacement for plaster board and once built, the terraced houses will be clad in brick so they will be indistinguishable from the other properties in the street. The only hint of their remarkable construction method will be a 'truth window' in each property where a section of straw wall will be visible through a window. Although these are not the first houses in the UK to be built using straw bales, they are the first to be built for any buyer on the open market. The straw design has received BM Trada's Q mark certification, meaning developers and house buyers can now insure and secure mortgages against the homes. ‘First and foremost the work has demonstrated that straw bales create safe, durable and affordable houses. They make contributions to reducing fuel poverty and make significant contributions to reducing energy bills of building occupants,’ Walker pointed out. He added that there are also wider benefits. ‘Buildings contribute around 50% of the carbon emissions in this country. Producing lower… Continue reading
£30 million more of Green Deal money announced for UK home improvements
More people in the UK will get help to improve the energy efficiency of their homes through a new release of the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund open to new applications. Up to £5,600 will be available to households in England and Wales to help with the cost of installing energy saving measures such as solid wall insulation, double glazing, boilers, cavity wall and floor insulation. Up to £30 million in vouchers will be available and details of further releases will be announced on a quarterly basis with the next release expected in February 2015. Up to £24 million will be available for solid wall insulation and up to £6 million for two measures from a list of home improvements available under the scheme. The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund launched in June and has already provided vouchers for more than 20,000 households. Through this second release of funding, domestic energy customers can now receive up to £4,000 for installing solid wall insulation, up to £1,000 for installing two measures from an approved list and up to £500 more if applying within 12 months of buying a new home. ‘This fund is a big success story for the Green Deal, helping thousands of people improve their homes so that they’re warmer, greener and cheaper to run. The best way people can cut their energy bills, this winter and every winter, is to improve their homes so that they leak less heat and use less energy,’ said Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey. ‘That’s why we’ve increased the funding available for the Green Deal to help even more people start saving money sooner,’ he added. To complete the two-stage application process, householders will need a Green Deal Advice Report (GDAR) or Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) that is less than two years old and a quote from a GDHIF registered installer or provider for work specified on the GDAR or EPC and included on the list of GDHIF approved measures. Energy and Climate Change Minister Amber Rudd said that more than three quarters of a million homes have already had energy saving improvements installed as a result of the Energy Company Obligation and Green Deal. ‘It makes sense to go even further to help more families install measures so that they see the benefits of lower bills and a warmer home for years to come,’ she added. Commenting on the availability of £30 million of new Green Deal Home Improvement Funding (GDHIF), Richard Lambert, chief executive officer of the National Landlords Association (NLA), described it as a positive step and clear evidence that the government has learned from previous mistakes that have so far held back the success of the Green Deal. ‘The NLA is particularly pleased that the Government has adapted the application process to ensure that the funds go to the owners or occupiers of a property who have the project priced up and ready to go, rather than speculators looking to use a GDHIF voucher to tout for… Continue reading
Solutions to combat hunger being discussed at forum
Solutions to combat hunger being discussed at forum Silvia Radan / 4 February 2014 Expert says sustainability and efficiency are two of the main reasons why the world needs artificially made meat. The proverbial food pill may well become a reality in the near future given the advanced technology and innovation in food production. The latest solutions to combat world hunger are being discussed during the three-day Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA), taking place in Abu Dhabi until February 5. There isn’t yet a food pill, but there is a ‘lab-burger’. One of the keynote speakers on the opening day on Monday, Dr Mark Post, Professor of Physiology at Maastrict University, presented his project, the world’s first beef burger created in a laboratory. The project became reality last summer, when the first burger was tasted by a London journalist. “She said it had good texture, but the taste could be improved,” revealed Dr. Post. The burger was made from cow cells (no animal had to be sacrificed) from the animal’s skeleton muscles. Altogether, the first ever cultured meat burger required three billion cow cells and Euro 25,000, if commercially produced, the price for the lab-burger would reach $65 per kilogram. The price is still high, but according to Dr. Post that would only be in the initial stage. Sustainability and efficiency are two of the main reasons why the world needs artificially made meat. “Meat production threatens our species! Eighteen per cent of green house gas emissions come from meat farming. If we shift from meat to vegetables, we cut pollution, gain more land and feed a lot more people. One way of doing it is for us all to become vegetarians, but we are a species who loves meat,” explained Dr Post. According to him, lab made meat would reduce the usage of land by 90 per cent, save 70 per cent energy and 90 per cent water. With the world population expected to reach nine billion by 2050, climate change is a serious threat to agriculture, food is becoming a major security issue. Particularly in dry areas, where water scarcity makes food production unreasonable, countries like Saudi Arabia or Qatar have little choice but expensive food imports. “There are a few solutions to food imports,” said Dr Frank Rijsberman, CEO of CGIAR Consortium, a global agricultural research partnership. “First, you can buy farm land somewhere else, but it will take years to get the crops growing. You can store large quantities of food, but that is very expensive. You can buy ready established agri-food lands like I’ve seen in the newspapers countries here do now; or you can invest in agricultural innovation and this is what I recommend for you! UAE should massively invest in food innovation research,” said Dr Rijsberman. Throughout the three-day forum, 160 agricultural innovations are being presented, while the exhibition running alongside has some global 150 stands showing their latest solutions to growing food. silvia@khaleejtimes.com Clean-up drive abu dhabi — Tadweer (Centre of Waste Management – Abu Dhabi) has launched a comprehensive clean-up drive targeting stockyards and farms in Al Wafia, Dharat Al Tayeb and Razeen areas located nearly 45 kilometres east of Abu Dhabi City. The campaign is in line with Tadweer’s strategy of implementing the highest hygienic standards and raising awareness about the need to preserve the environment. The campaign involves the cleaning up of collection sites of animal waste and fallen stock as well as the removal of compost leftovers. More than 50 labours and 20 vehicles were deployed for the clean-up campaign. Mubarak Al Ameri, Waste Collection Projects Department Manager at Tadweer said: “The campaign was launched a week ago and is part of Tadweer’s ongoing efforts to raise hygienic standards in Abu Dhabi’s Eastern Region and contribute to the preservation of desert environment and its development into a vibrant ecosystem.” “The clean-up drive at stockyards and farms comes as part of Tadweer’s effective action plans and ongoing campaigns to provide a clean and healthy environment within the Emirate within the strategic vision of the Abu Dhabi government, and our shared national responsibility to achieve sustainable development.” Al Wafiya, Dharat Al Tayeb and Razeen areas comprise nearly 1,150 stockyards, and throughout the year Tadweer runs various awareness initiatives and clean-up campaigns in the Eastern Region as part of its keenness to protect the health and safety of the public and support the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 which aims to create a clean and sustainable environment in the emirate. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
