The waste hierarchy ranking effective waste management suggests first and foremost waste needs to be prevented. This can be implemented through reducing our waste e.g. buying in bulk, other methods include using durable products. Re-using materials is also encouraged e.g. re-using bags, containers or boxes and giving items that are no longer wanted to charity shops. Recycling offered by Council’s including kerbside recycling schemes, local recycling sites as well as Household Waste Recycling Centre’s (dumps/tips) which should be used once residents reduce and reuse their waste to assist in the UK’s movement towards increasing recycling rates. Recovery of materials is a further option, including techniques such as Energy From Waste (Efw) – facilities to treat waste under controlled conditions, to reduce the volume and recover value from waste through the generation of electricity and heat (Biffa,2011). Electricity generated from a typical 300,000tpa facility would be approximately equal to the consumption in 68,000 houses (Biffa,2011). The last option is disposal, considered the least appropriate action of our waste, consisting of rubbish disposed in landfill. In 2001, the 1500 landfill sites in the UK contributed to a quarter of the UK’s methane emissions, showing the harmful impacts landfills are doing to our precious environment (Recyclenow, 2015).

The benefits of reducing, reusing and recycling our waste conserves resources, saves energy, protects the environment and most of all reduces waste to landfill hence people should continue to practice these methods and try to reach their optimum in reducing household waste if the UK is to reach its recycling rate of 50% by 2020.

References

Biffa (2011). About Energy From Waste. Available at: http://www.biffa.co.uk/waste-processing/energy-from-waste/about-energy-from-waste.html. Accessed on 12th February 2015.

DEFRA (2015). Reducing and managing Waste. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/reducing-and-managing-waste. Accessed on 12th February 2015.

Perrin, D., Barton,J., 2001. Issues associated with transforming household attitudes and opinions into materials recovery: a review of two kerbside recycling schemes. Resources, Conservation and Recycling , vol 33 (1).

Recycle now (2015). Why Recycle?. Available at: http://www.recyclenow.com/recycle/why-recycle. Accessed 12th February 2015.

A rise of more than 0.7 °C in the average surface temperature has been seen in the past 100 years and there is increasing evidence that the earth’s climate is rapidly changing in response to increased inputs of carbon dioxide (Henson,2001 IPCC,2007). Global carbon dioxide emissions have increased from  an average  6.4 ± 0.4 GtC yr^–1  in the 1990’s  to 7.2 ± 0.3 GtC yr^–1 in the period 2000 to 2005(IPCC,2007).The extent that humans are polluting our atmosphere is at a staggering four metric tonnes per person per year (Henson,2001). Therefore mitigation of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere is essential. One method which has major potential in reducing carbon dioxide emissions is soil carbon sequestration (Peterson et. al, 2013).

What is soil carbon sequestration?

Soil carbon sequestration is the process of transferring carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into soil through organic solids and storing it (Sundermeier, Reeder,Lal,n.d). It is also commonly used to describe any increase in soil organic carbon content caused by a change in land management within the soil to mitigate climate change (Powlson, et al. 2011.) At present the attainable soil carbon capacity sink is only 50-60% of its potential capacity and with the added benefits of increasing food security as well improving soil quality, soil carbon sequestration seems a viable option (Halvorson,Wienhold,Black, 2002; Lal,2004a) .  It has been predicted that this technology could offset 2000-5000 Mt C/ ^yr-1 (Cannel, 2003).

What methods improve soil carbon sequestration?

Managing agricultural land

It has been well recognised that the conversion from natural to agricultural land has resulted in a significant loss of 50% of soil organic carbon globally (Kirkby, et al. 2013).  Most of the loss in soil organic carbon to the atmosphere can be explained due to reduced inputs of organic matter, increased decomposability of crop residues and tillage effects that decrease the amount of physical protection. Therefore increasing soil organic carbon through managing agricultural land is vital to increase sequestration (Post and Kwon, 2000).

Case study- Australia

Management of land use in Australia is being adopted throughout many regions and improved management of croplands through rotations, conservation tillage and stubble retention has caused a gain of 0.2-0.3  Mg C ha ^-1 yr^-1 in comparison to conventional management, even though small it can relate to large sequestration rates  of up 60 tg CO₂ per year (Sanderman, et al. 2010).

Managing peat lands

As well as managing agricultural lands, peat lands should equally be managed due to their wide global distribution and contribution to carbon dioxide emissions. They are unique soil carbon pools made from high densities of carbon which have accumulated over many years because decomposition is suppressed by the absence of oxygen under flooded conditions (Smith,2007b; Lal,2009). However increases in anthropogenic activities such as drainage and deforestation for agricultural land has released carbon to the atmosphere and reduced carbon sequestration function  (Page, et al, 2011).

References

-          Cannel, M., 2003. Carbon sequestration and biomass offset : theoretical potential and achievable capacities globally , in Europe and the UK. Biomass and bioenergy. Vol 24 (2).

-          Halverson,A., Weinhold, B., Black,A., 2002. Tillage, nitrogen and cropping effects on soil carbon sequestration.  Soil science society of America Journal. Vol 66 p906-912.

-          Henson, R., 2001. The rough guide to Climate Change. 3^rd ed. London: Penguin Group.

-          IPCC 2007. Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

-          Kirkby,C., Richardson, A., Wade,L., Passioura, J., Batten,G., Blanchard, C., Kirkegaard. 2013.Nutrient availability limits carbon sequestration in arable soils. Soil biology and biochemistry. Vol 68 p402-409.

-          Lal, R., 2009. Agriculture and climate change: An agenda for negotiation in Copenhagen. The potential for soil carbon sequestration. [pdf]International food policy research institute. Available at : http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/focus16_05.pdf Accessed on 23rd November 2013.

-          Page, E., Morrison,R., Mallins,R., Hooijer,A., Rieley,O., Jauhianen, J., 2011. Review of peat surface greenhouse gas emissions from oil palm plantations in South East Asia . [pdf] The international council on clean transportation. Available at : http://www.theicct.org/sites/default/files/publications/ICCT_Peat-Emissions_Sept2011.pdf Accessed on 3rd December 2013

-          Peterson ,B., Knudsen, M., Hermansen,J.,Halberg, N., 2013. An approach to include soil carbon changes in life cycle assessments. Journal of cleaner production. Vol 52 p217-244.

-          Post,W., Kwon,K.,2000. Soil carbon sequestration and land use change: processes and potential. Global change biology . vol 6 p317-328.

-          Powlson, D.,Whitmore,A., Goulding,K., 2011. Soil carbon sequestration to mitigate climate change: a critical re-evaluation  to identify the true and false. European journal of soil science.  vol 62 issue 1.

-          Sanderman, J., Farquharson, ,R., Baldock,J., 2010. Soil carbon sequestration potential : A review for Australian agriculture. (pdf) National Research flagships sustainable agriculture. Available at: http://csiro.au/Portals/Publications/Research–Reports/Soil-Carbon-Sequestration-Potential-Report.aspx Accessed on 2nd December 2013.

-          Smith, P., D. Martino, Z. Cai, D. Gwary, H. Janzen, P. Kumar, B. McCarl, S. Ogle, F. O’Mara, C. Rice, B. Scholes, O. Sirotenko, 2007: Agriculture. In Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [B. Metz, O.R. Davidson, P.R. Bosch, R. Dave, L.A. Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

-          Sundermeier,A., Reeder,R.,Lal,R., n.d.Soil carbon sequestation. (pdf) Available at: http://ohioline.osu.edu/aex-fact/pdf/0510.pdf accessed on 23rd October 2013. Accessed on 8^th December 2013.

Paper

Several measures to reduce our paper consumption can be achieved by using thinner paper, efficient printing technologies, duplexing and printing on demand (Hekkert, et al.,2002)

Lighting

Lighting control integrated with daylighting control is recognised as an important useful strategy in energy efficient buildings. Installation of proper day-lighting schemes may help to reduce the electrical demand. A study in Hong Kong reported that as much as 20-30% of the electric load derived from lighting in office buildings (Li and Lam,2001). Within the UK office lights which have been left on overnight use enough energy in a year to heat a home for 5 months highlighting how significant monitoring lighting could be (Carbon Trust, 2014).

Air conditioning

Around 40% of floor space is expected to be air conditioned by 2020 which is likely to increase our contribution to carbon emissions and our energy consumption is expected to double by 2020 because of this as well. In order to try and reduce these emissions careful consideration of its use should be adopted (Carbon Trust, 2012).

-          Consideration of layout, design and operation are important as this impacts the room temperature,

-          The design and efficiency of the air conditioning plant is very important.

-          The amount of fresh air provided per person should also be considered.

Turning computers off

Profiles from 94 computers in Canada indicated that there were long periods during the night and day when computers were turned on but not being used, and it was predicted that significant energy savings could be achieved if the electricity was used efficiently. The company used stickers to remind colleagues to turn off their computers when not in use and as a result over 14% reduction in consumption over a 2 month period was achieved (Newsham and Tiller,1994).

Simple changes within the office can therefore help you to reduce greenhouse gases and reduce your carbon footprint for a cleaner and more efficient environment!

References

Carbon Trust, 2014. Climate change at work. (online). Available at: http://www.carbontrust.com/media/195259/pfl306_lighting.pdf. Accessed on 24^th August 2014.

Carbon Trust, 2012. Air conditioning. (online). Available at: http://www.carbontrust.com/media/17824/j7906_ctg005_air_conditioning_aw_interactive.pdf. Accessed on 24^th August 2014.

Counsell,T and Allwood,J.,2007. Reducing climate change gas emissions by cutting out stages in the life cycle of office paper. Resources, Conservation and  Recycling. Vol 49. P340-352.

Hekkert,M.,Reek,J.,Worrel,E.,Turkenburg,W.,2002. The impact of material efficient and end-use technologies on paper use and carbon emissions. Resources, Conservation and  Recycling. Vol 36, p241-266.

Li,D and Lam,J.,2001. Evaluation of  lighting performance in office buildings with daylight controls. Energy and Buildings. Vol 33. P793-803.

Newsham,G.R. and Tiller,D.K.,1994. The energy consumption of desktop computers: measurement and savings potential. IEEE transactions on industry applications. Vol 30 (4)

The issue of sustainable development is high on the global agenda and SUDS can help towards this movement (Butler and Parkinson, 1997). SUDS, or Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems are a sequence of water management practices and facilities designed to drain surface water in a manner that will provide a more sustainable approach than what has been the conventional practice of routing run-off through a pipe to a watercourse (SEPA,2014). There are a number of practices which can be undertaken in the movement towards more sustainable water systems:

-mitigation of accidents that may result in pollution incidents

-reduction in pollution incidents

-reduction in polluting materials

-Water harvesting

Facilities may also be constructed to help contribute to SUDS which include permeable surfaces, filter strips, swales, detention basins and wetlands for example.

Permeable surfaces

Permeable pavement systems (PPS) are suitable for a wide variety of residential, commercial and industrial applications. They can act as a technology for pollutant control contain surface run-off from areas such as roads or parking spaces where contaminated water may infiltrate into the soil (Scholz and Grabowiecki,2007).

Filter strips

Filter drains or filter trenches can be used beside roads and other impermeable surfaces, but should be avoided at busy road junctions or where rainwater can become heavily contaminated. Filter drains allow the run-off to soak away into the surrounding soil. Filter drains are filled with stones or gravel. This stone fill collects particles and helps to prevent pollutants from entering groundwater (NIEA,2014). Furthermore filter strips are easy to construct as well as having low construction costs (Susdrain, 2012).

Swales

Swales integrate stormwater management into urban structures and creates new structures such as bioretention swales (Lloyd, 2001; Kazemi,Beecham and Gibbs,2011) Bioretention swales harvest stormwater, whilst filtering it through to an engineered soil media. This wastewater can be stored for reuse or discharging downstream (Melbourne Water, 2005; Kazemi,Beecham and Gibbs,2011). Their maintenance can be incorporated into general landscape management and these systems are inexpensive as well (Susdrain, 2012).

Detention basins

Detention basins are surface storage basins or facilities that provide flow control through attenuation of stormwater runoff. They also facilitate some setting of particulate pollutants. They provide the advantages in that it can cater for a wide range of rainfall events and they are simple to design and construct. However there is little reduction in run-off volume (Susdrain,2012).

Wetlands

Wetlands are vegetated water bodies that use methods of sedimentation and filtration to provide treatment of surface water run-off. Furthermore they aid in providing high aesthetic, ecological and amenity benefits therefore potentially adding value to local properties (Susdrain, 2012).

Urban planners should therefore consider the use of SUDS in their development programs as they are able to reduce runoff volumes, enhance water quality, often provide an attractive habitat therefore producing a world in which many people have a better quality of life (Susdrain,2012).

References

Butler, D. and Parkinson,J.,1997. Towards sustainable urban drainage. Water Science and Technology. Vol 35 p53-63.

Kazemi,F., Beecham,S., Gibbs,J.,2011. Streetscape biodiversity and the role of bioretention swales in an Australian urban environment.  Landscape and Urban Planning. Vol 101, p139-148.

Lloyd, S., 2001. Water Sensitive Urban Design in the Australian Context, Synthesis of a Conference Held in 30–31 August 2000, Melbourne Australia. Melbourne, Cooperative Research Centre for Catchment Hydrology.

Melbourne Water, 2005. WSUD engineering procedures: Stormwater. CSIRO Publishing Melbourne.

NIEA,2014.Sustainable Urban Drainage systems. (online) Available at: http://www.netregs.org.uk/library_of_topics/water/sustainable_urban_drain_system/filter_strips_and_filter_drain.aspx. Accessed on 6^th July 2014.

Scholz,M.,and  Grabowiecki,P., 2007. Review of permeable paving systems. Building and the Environment. Vol 42, p3830-3836.

SEPA, 2014. Sustainable Urban Drainage systems.(online). Available at: http://www.sepa.org.uk/water/water_regulation/regimes/pollution_control/suds.aspx. Accessed on 6^th July 2014.

Susdrain.,2012. SUDS’. (online). Available at: http://www.susdrain.org/delivering-suds/using-suds/suds-components/retention_and_detention/Detention_basins.html. Accessed on 6^th July 2014.

The term ‘eco-city’ is a relatively new idea however its concept has existed for a very long time (Roseland, 1997).  In 1987 the Brundtland commission defined sustainable development as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED,1987) and these eco-cities can help towards a sustainable future. In simple terms an eco-city is an ecologically healthy city which incorporates a number of factors (Ecocity builders, 2014);

-An ecologically healthy human settlement modelled on the self-sustaining resilient structure and function of natural ecosystems and living organisms

-An entity that includes its inhabitants and their ecological impacts

- A sub system of the regional, national and world economic system

Case study

Perhaps one of the most avowedly experimental responses taken place on an urban scale in response to climate change are new low carbon cities including that of Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates whereby in 2008 the city embarked on a journey to become the world’s most sustainable city (Bulkeley et al., 2011; Madsar,2012). The city has now started a process of ‘transforming oil wealth into renewable  energy leadership’ and has set long term goals of a transition from a 20^th century carbon based economy into a 21^st century sustainable economy (Reiche,2010). Described as a living laboratory, Masdar City is designed to capture the lessons of developing new technologies  and ways of real living time. On one hand the city itself is characterised by a test bed for a carbon free-lifestyle however the city, developed by the UAE provides space to exploit and develop the clean technology sector (Bulkeley et al., 2011).

Some of the major developments of Masdar City includes the Masdar Clean Energy projects; the concentrated solar project which include Masdar City’s 1 MW rooftop installations has been one movement towards sustainability. Further plans include a 100MW photovoltaic plant as well as carbon sequestration and carbon capture projects (Masdar,2012). However Masdar City is not only focused on sustainability in the region, internationally Masdar Clean energy has developed wind farms in the Seychelles as well as renewable projects in Tonga and Afghanistan (Masdar,2012).

However even though eco-cities seem viable in a world increasingly concerned with global warming actual implementation can be hard to obtain and poses a lot of obstacles with regards to social and economic costs making these cities not as appealing as first thought.

References

Bulkeley,H., Broto,V.,Hodson,M.,Marvin,S.,2011. Cities and the Low carbon Transition. The European Financial Review.

Ecocity builders, 2014. Ecocity definition. (online) Available at: http://www.ecocitybuilders.org/why-ecocities/the-solution/ecocity-definition/. Accessed on 26^th May 2014.

Masdar,2012. Masdar City. (online) Available at: http://www.masdar.ae/en/city/detail/one-of-the-worlds-most-sustainable-communities-masdar-city-is-an-emerging-g. Accessed on 26^th May 2014.

Reiche,D.,2010. Renewable  Energy Policies in the Gulf countries: A case study of the carbon-neutral ‘Masdar City’ in Abu Dhabi. Energy policy. Vol 38 (1) p378-382.

Roseland,M.,1997. Dimensions of the eco-city. Cities.  Vol 14 (4) p197-202.

WCED,1987. Our common future. Oxford university Press, New York.

Background

Geothermal energy for electricity generation has been commercially produced since 1913(Fridlefsson,2001) It was 1904 In Larderello, Italy that Prince P.G. conti set up the first device to produce electricity from a geothermal steam well. By 1913 at the same location , a 250 KW turbo-alternator became the first power system connected to the grid(DiPippo,2008). During the last three decades the demands have increased and geothermal energy is now being used  in over 80 countries worldwide (Fridleifsson,2001). Not only is geothermal energy good for our energy-sufficiency but it has positive impacts on employment (Kammen,Kapadia,Fripp,2004).

How does geothermal energy work?

Through the year almost 50% of the sun’s energy is absorbed into the earth where it maintains a constant temperature (Geosmart Energy, 2012).

Geothermal energy derives in the interior of the earth. Decaying of radioactive material causes heat to be produced and convection and conduction move the heat round the earth. To use the geothermal energy hydrothermal systems have to be used to produce electricity or heat (Kranz,2007).

There are three main technologies in use today to produce electricity from geothermal reservoirs. Dry steam, flash and binary plants. Dry steam plants use high temperatures, vapour-dominant, hydrothermal reservoirs. The steam produced from the well passes directly  through the turbine generator unit producing electricity. In single flash power plants the mixture from the well-head is separated into different phases in a flash vessel and vapour is sent to the turbine-generator unit. The binary cycle is appropriate when the water temperature is lower than 150 C (Chamorro, et.al.2012).

Geothermal energy uses this constant renewable energy source by installing loops installed outside underground with a heat pump system. There are a number of loops including horizontal loops, vertical loops, pond or lake loops or open loops. Horizontal loops being the most common type of loop system and mostly used in rural areas, vertical loops which are mainly used in urban areas, pond/lake loops used in houses closest to water bodies and open loops where there is a high capacity of space(geosmart energy,2012)

Get a free quote for Ground source heat pumps from Energy Saving Warehouse

 Case study : Geothermal use in Iceland

The use of geothermal energy in Iceland has great potential due to the location of Iceland on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and hence Iceland is well on the way to becoming completely independent from fossil fuels (Kranz,2007).Geothermal energy  power facilities  currently generate 25% of  country’s total electricity, not only is the country now sustaining themselves but the economic growth has been substantial. In the 20^th century Iceland was one of the poorest countries  dependent on coal and peat, they now all have a very high standard of living (Orkustofnun National Energy Authority,2013).

References

-Chamorro,C.,Mondejar, M.,Ramos,R.,Segovia,J.,Martin,M.,Villamanan,M.,2012. World geothermal power production status: Energy, environmental and economic study of high enthalpy technologies. Energy vol 42.p10-18

-DiPippo R,2008. Geothermal power plants. 2nd ed. Oxford

-Fridleifsson,I.,2001. Geothermal energy for the benefit of the people. Renewable and sustainable Energy reviews vol 5 p299-312.

-Geosmart Energy, 2012. How geothermal energy works. (online) Available at: http://geosmartenergy.com/geothermal-energy/how-it-works.html accessed on : 20th Octover 2013.

-Kammen,D., Kapadia,K.,Fripp,M.,2004. Putting renewables to work: How many jobs can the clean energy industry generate? (pdf) http://community-wealth.org/sites/clone.community-wealth.org/files/downloads/paper-kammen-et-al.pdf

-Kranz,K.,2007.Geothermal energy in Iceland.(pdf). Available at: http://www.geo.tu-freiberg.de/oberseminar/os06_07/Kathrin%20Kranz.pdf

-Orkustofnun National Energy Authrority. 2013. Geothermal.(online) Available at: http://www.nea.is/geothermal/. Accessed on 20^th October 2013.

There are three significant differences between gasoline and electric cars; the gasoline engine is replaced with an electric motor, the electric motor gets it power from a controller and the controller gets it power from rechargeable batteries (Brain,2005). The electric car has proven to be beneficial to our environment for a number of reasons. The most foremost being that no carbon emissions are released from the cars and with other benefits being its compact size and silent motor shows these vehicles are almost suited to urban environments where pollution is at its peak (Funk and Rabl,1999). Driving a standard car pushes up your carbon footprint substantially, but luckily there are many easy and simple ways to track and hopefully reduce your carbon footprint.

The efficiency of the electric car is likely to be the most appealing to buyers with the ‘Tesla Roadster’ model only consuming 110 watt-hours of electricity from the battery to provide a km worth of driving (Eberhard and Tarpenning 2007). Furthermore the efficiency of electric cars can overall be estimated at 59-62% in comparison to gasoline vehicles which is very low at 17-21% (US department of energy, 2013) showing the environmental benefits these cars have.

However with all energy saving methods they come with disadvantages making the electric car seem less appealing. The cost of buying an electric car for starts off at £13,650 for the Renault zoe electric model rising up to a £87,945 for the Tesla Roadstar showing this form of new green technology may not be available to all with its financial constraints (Greencar,2013). Furthermore the driving range of most EV vehicles is limited to 100-200 miles and the recharge time necessary is approximately 4-8 hours showing the time consuming nature of these products (US department of energy, 2013). The cost of the battery has also shown to be a disadvantage as well and the density of the battery is thought to have put some buyers off. Producing the electricity means producing greenhouse gases and some scientists have described the use of electric cars as ‘pollution diverters’. Depending on the fuel type the emissions produced vary with renewables producing  0 g km⁻¹  to a coal based plant producing   155 g km⁻¹  worth of greenhouse emissions (Vliet,2011). Therefore the use of electric cars needs to be thoroughly considered before purchasing however it is clear that there is a lot of potential for the future.

Energy Saving Warehouse has lots of ideas and products that can go a long way in reducing your overall environmental impact.

Brain,M.2005. How electric cars work.(pdf). Available at: http://srinivasarao.webs.com/electric-cars.pdf accessed on: 28th July 2013.

Eberhard,M., Tarpenning, M.2007.The 21^st century electric car.(pdf) available at: http://www.fcinfo.jp/whitepaper/687.pdf accessed on: 28th July 2013.

Funk,K., Rabl.A, 1999. Electric versus conventional vehicles: social costs and benefits in France. Transportation Research. Vol 4(6)

Greencar,2013.EV models . (online). Available at: http://www.nextgreencar.com/electric-cars/available-models.php accessed on 28th July 2013.

Nichols, W. 2011.History of the electric car: nineteenth century novelty to 21^st –century style. (Guardian online). Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/electric-vision/history-of-the-electric-car. Accessed on: 28th July 2013.

Telegraph, 2009. Worlds first electric car built by Victorian inventor 1884. (telegraph online). Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5212278/Worlds-first-electric-car-built-by-Victorian-inventor-in-1884.html accessed on: 28th July 2013

Vliet,O,. Brouwer,A.,Kuramochi, T.,Broek,M.,Faaij,2011. Energy use, cost  and CO₂  emissions of electric cars. Journal of power sources.  Vol 196 (4).

US department of energy, 2013.Electric vehicles. (online) Available at: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/evtech.shtml. Accessed on: 28th July 2013.

As with any renewable energy source they come with both advantages and disadvantages.  With regards to the environmental advantages provided by biofuels, liquid biofuels can be used as additives and in some cases substitute conventional transport fuels. Bioethanol can also be easily formed from the fermentation of sugar or starch crops ( Fischer et. al , 2009). Studies have  found that substituting biofuels for gasoline can reduce greenhouse gases because biofuels sequester carbon through the growth of the feedtstock.( Searchinger et.al, 2008) Furthermore the use of biodiesel can now be produced through the vegetable fats.

Social advantages are also evident and has been predicted that the introduction of 6000 full-time construction jobs and over 2,000 jobs supplying and operating the plant will be produced from biofuels helping to boost economies (NNFCC,2011).

However disadvantages to the environment can also be an issue. Biofuel use has been suggested to compete with other provisioning services such as timber and fibre, for example the people in Indian Jatropha , plantations have been set up on communal land, displacing household needs as well as resources used to make a living (Searchinger et.al 2008).

Searchinger et.al (2008)  predicted using an agricultural model that corn based ethanol instead of producing 20%  savings nearly doubles the emissions over 30 years and increases greenhouse gases for 167 years. The model also suggested that biofuels produced from switchgrass if grown on the US corn lands, increase emissions by 50%

Water quality is being impacted through the use of biofuels. Biofuel production can affect freshwater ecosystems through over exploitation and degradation through pollution. Some people fear that biofuel expansion will also increase the water demands. One particular biofuel crop, sugarcane has been found to impact the water quality through increasing turbidity, changing the oxygen balance and increased coli levels in some river waters (Gunkel et. al. 2007.)

In conclusion it is evident that biofuels come with advantages and disadvantages to the environment, social and economic factors. These factors need to be considered for successful biofuel use to be in operation that provides more benefits than cons to the community. Therefore it can be suggested that biofuels are a relatively new type of research for use as a renewable energy source and careful consideration needs to be implemented.

Other renewable energy technologies are available and could help you reduce your environmental impact and save money on your energy bills in the future.

References ;

Cornell university n.d.,what are biofuels? Available at; http://www.greenchoices.cornell.edu/energy/biofuels/ . Accessed on 18^th July 2013.

Fisher,B. Turner, R.K,. Morling P. 2009. Defining and classifying ecosystem services for decision making. Ecology and  Economics.,  vol. 68 pp. 643–653

Gunkel,G,.Kosmol,J. Sobral,M,.Rohn, H,. Montenegro,S,.Aurelian.2007. Sugarcane industry as a source of water pollution–Case Study on the situation in Ipojuca River, Pernambuco, Brazil. Water Air Soil Pollution. vol180 .pp. 261–269

IEA, 2009. World Energy Outlook.  Edition. International Energy Agency, Paris. Available athttp://www.worldenergyoutlook.org/2009.asp.  Accessed on 18^th July 2013.

NNFCC.2011 “Advanced Biofuels: The Potential for a UK Industry, NNFCC 11-011″. Available at: http://www.nnfcc.co.uk/tools/advanced-biofuels-the-potential-for-a-uk-industry-nnfcc-11-011 accessed on : 18th July 2013..

Searchinger, T., Heimlich,R. Houghton, R. Dong, F. Elobeid, F., Fabiosa, J., Tokgoz, S., Hayes, D, Yu.T. 2008. Use of US croplands for biofuels increases greenhouse gases thorugh emissions of land-use change. Science vol 39.

The use of hydropower can often provide economic, environmental and social benefits. The economic benefits of hydropower can be considered in terms of reducing energy dependency from other sources. Other benefits include the long-life span, low operational costs, attractive long-term payback ratios, low need for support schemes and high security. Social benefits can also arise which include the introduction of infrastructure which result in considerable contributions to local and regional budgets which may also apply. Some of the environmental benefits are climate change mitigation reducing carbon dioxide levels. Furthermore it creates no air pollution or nuclear waste meaning hydropower can be considered a very good source of renewable energy (Permanent secretariat of the Alpine convention, 2011).

However there have been some negative impacts associated with hydropower generation. The most obvious factor is that there is interruption to the river continuity, disrupting aquatic wildlife. In particular fish species have been considered to be impacted the most with fish not being able to migrate upstream past impoundment dams to spawning grounds. However mitigation techniques have been found such as using upstream fish passages aided by ‘fish ladders’ or elevators or by trapping the fish upstream by truck.  Furthermore hydropower influences the water quality and flow causing low dissolved oxygen in water which is harmful to riparian buffers. Hydropower facilities impact the local environment and may compete with other uses of land further changing the ecological environments and creating conflict (Permanent secretariat of the Alpine convention, 2011). The use of hydropower in Switzerland has become particularly concerning where most rivers have become dammed to produce hydropower causing deep division between environmental organisations and utility operators (Truffer et al, 2001).

However, the production of high numbers of hydropower plants  have been seen as particularly successful in the Alpine regions , where hydropower provides 75% of  consumed electricity of which 60% is produced from storage reservoirs. The Dam of Mauvosin for example located in the south of the Swiss Alps has managed to produce 1000 GMh producing 2.5% of the total Swiss hydropower production (Schaefli et.al 2007) To make sure that hydropower is sustainable and maintained successfully, in 1999 a private non-organisation was founded to develop a broadly accepted standard of quality for Green electricity in Switzerland. The EAWAG assessment is used for certification of the Naturemade star label. Customer response shows whether the concept of greenpower can establish a new broadly accepted ecological standard (Truffer et. al, 2001). Other methods that ensure Switzerland’s hydropower is regulated is the use of International conferences such as ‘water in the alps’ as well as smaller organised conferences which take place throughout Europe where they discuss the Alps as “Europes green battery” (Barth,2012).

If you are interested in learning about any other types of renewable energy take a look at our renewable solutions.

References:

Barth, C. 2012. Sustainable hydropower- strategies for the Alpine region (pdf) Available at: http://www.alpconv.org/en/organization/groups/WGWater/waterinthealps/Documents/Vortrag%20Dr%20%20Barth%20-%20StMUG.pdf . Accessed on : 6^th June 2013

National Geographic.2013. Hydropower. (online) Available at : http://environment.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment/global-warming/hydropower-profile/ . Accessed on : 6^th june 2013

Peremenant secreatariat of the Alpine convention, 2011.  Alpine convention, platform water management in the Alps (pdf) Available at: http://www.alpconv.org/en/organization/conference/Documents/AC11_B8_1_Situation_Report_FIN_annex024_1.pdf . Accessed on 6th June 2013.

Schaefli,B. Hingray, B., Musy, A. 2007. Climate change and hydropower production in the Swiss Alps:  quantification of potential impacts and related modelling uncertainties. Hydrology earth system science. Vol 11(3) p1191-1205.

Truffer, B., Makard, J., Bratrich, C. Wehrli, B. 2001. Green electricity from alpine hydropower plants. Mountain Research and Development, Vol 21, pp. 19-24.

One way in which businesses and property owners alike can help in this campaign is by introducing loft insulation into buildings. The National insulation association (2013) claimed that more than 40% of heat is lost through loft space and walls and with 25% of this heat loss coming directly from lofts this poses issues particularly with regards to how well homes and businesses can be energy efficient. The loss of energy occurs through air being heated in the home through central heating which is less dense than the cooler air around it and therefore rises. The ceilings become heated and eventually the heat escapes through the roof. Loft insulation works by using mineral wool trapping air forming an insulating layer between the rooms and attic (Beenergysmart,2013).  Loft insulation has become an increasingly popular option to reduce energy loss in the households as well as having the benefits of saving money. The energy saving trust estimates that the cost of fitting loft insulation is £50- £350 (beenergysmart,2013) highlighting that this method is relatively cheap considering once it has been installed householders can save up to £180 per year (Which₁,2013).

Government targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% between 2008-2050  have meant that a number of schemes have been introduced(Gov.UK, 2013).Free insulation schemes were set up by the government backed scheme-carbon emissions reduction target(CERT) but soon came to a rapid end in 2012. The ECO HHCRO provided a scheme to give free insulation helping those particularly on child tax credit, receiving state pension credit or working tax (beenergysmart, 2013).  Even though free  insulation schemes cannot be offered to all this should not cause evasion from installing the insulation as companies such as British gas offer £50 off when referring someone for insulation and Sainsbury’s energy customers receiving free cavity wall and loft insulation (Which₂,2013). With the benefits of insulation helping to reduce gas and electricity bills, keeping buildings cooler in summer and warmer and winter as well as reducing noise from the outside this energy saving option seems an exceptional method to reducing our carbon foot print as well as helping cutting the cost of our bills in our austere economic climate (Loftlagger,2013).

References 

Beenergysmart, 2013. Loft insulation. (online) Available at: http://www.beenergysmart.co.uk/energy-solutions/wall-loft-insulation/loft/ accessed on 5^th May 2013.

Department of energy and climate change. 2012. The energy efficiency strategy- the energy efficiency opportunity in the UK. (pdf)  available at:  https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/65602/6927-energy-efficiency-strategy–the-energy-efficiency.pdf accessed  5^th May 2013

Gov.UK. 2013. Reducing the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050.(online) Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/reducing-the-uk-s-greenhouse-gas-emissions-by-80-by-2050/supporting-pages/carbon-budgets Accessed on : 17th May 2013.

Loftlagger,2013. Loft insulation, why bother? (online) Available at: http://www.loftinsulationgrants.org.uk/loft/insulation/Why-insulate.aspx Accessed on: 10th May 2013.

National insulation association (2013). Where does all that heat go? (online) available at: http://www.nia-uk.org/householder/index.php accessed on 5th May 2013.

Patterson,M, 1996. What is energy efficiency. Concepts, indicators and methodological issues. Energy policy. Vol 24 (5) p377-390.

Which ₁, 2013. How to buy loft insulation. (online) Available at : http://www.which.co.uk/energy/creating-an-energy-saving-home/guides/how-to-buy-loft-insulation/loft-insulation-costs-and-savings/ accessed on : 6^th may 2013.

Which ₂, 2013. Energy grants, free insulation schemes. (online) available at: http://www.which.co.uk/energy/creating-an-energy-saving-home/guides/energy-grants/free-insulation-deals/ accessed on: 17^th May 2013.