New technology could see your windows help power your house. Scientists are currently working on new solar cell technology which could see a transparent film applied to window glass so that windows can become power generators. Norwegian firm EnSol AS, who are developing the technology, have already patented the film and are hoping that it will be commercially available by 2016.

When the film is applied to glass, a small amount of light has to be absorbed in order to generate the power thus the windows would have a small tinting effect applied. However it isn’t just windows that could have the film applied – scientists have said that it would be possible to coat other materials for use in a wide range of applications.  Read more... (208 words, 1 image, estimated 50 secs reading time)

According to a new study, an underwater ridge could be the reason why a major glacier in the Antarctic is melting more quickly than ever.

A robot submarine was sent under the ice shelf at the end of the Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica to create a 3D map of the ocean underneath the ice. Scientists analysed the data collected and realised that the ice was no longer sitting on a subsea ridge that had slowed the glacier’s slide since the 1970s.  Read more... (177 words, estimated 42 secs reading time)

Researchers at technology giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) are hoping to come up with a way of creating power from dairy farms, specifically from the waste from cows.

In theory, a single cow creates enough waste every day to power the televisions in three households. A fairly large dairy farm will have around 10,000 cows and HP believes that this many cows would be able to power one of their data centres.  Read more... (252 words, 1 image, estimated 1:00 mins reading time)

Solar hot water panels are one of the most popular ‘green’ energy home products of the moment. Many new builds now feature solar panels on their roofs, whilst many current homeowners are currently contemplating whether to retrofit them to their current property. However do their green credentials and money-saving features really stack up?

Solar panels aren’t cheap – they cost thousands of pounds to install. However these costs are said to be offset by the reduced amount of energy that the household will require once they are installed – with some companies claiming that solar panels will reduce gas and electric bills by up to 70%. So although the up front cost is high, over time the solar panels should pay for themselves thanks to significantly reduced bills.  Read more... (352 words, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)

UK High Street giant Marks and Spencer has announced plans to replace glass bottles in the 25cl wine range to plastic. The move is aimed at upping their green credentials by reducing their carbon footprint.

By changing the packaging of their 25cl wine range, M&S are hoping to save around 525 tonnes of packaging a year. Plastic not only uses less energy in the manufacturing process but it is also lighter than glass and this means that carbon emissions from the transportation of the bottles should be lower.  Read more... (190 words, 1 image, estimated 46 secs reading time)

A recent enquiry has found that householders who burn their rubbish are now the main source of dioxin poisons found in the environment. Bonfires in back gardens now account for around a fifth of the cancer-causing dioxins that are being released into the atmosphere and seep into the ground.

It is believed that more people are now starting to burn their rubbish in their back gardens, along with an increase in fly-tipping incidents. This is in part thanks to the fortnightly rubbish collections, compulsory recycling schemes, and restrictive wheelie bin rules that now dog much of the country. Many householders are now burning some of their rubbish as it is a simple, easy option.  Read more... (350 words, 1 image, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)

A design flaw could mean that hundreds of wind turbines are sinking. The turbine design problem affects offshore wind turbines meaning they could be slowly sinking into the sea.

It is understood that concrete used to fix some wind turbines to their steel foundations can wear away. This erosion then causes te turbines to drop by a few inches. This fault was discovered at a wind farm in the Netherlands. Wind turbines with single cylinder foundations are the ones which are affected by this flaw.  Read more... (170 words, 1 image, estimated 41 secs reading time)

Low-energy light bulbs are known to cause a number of issues. The latest problem is that they can cause your television to change channels.

Infra-red light from modern fluorescent bulbs can be ‘mistaken’ by electrical equipment as commands from a remote and therefore items such as TVs may change channels.

Traditional light bulbs also produce infra-red however they do not flicker like energy-saving light bulbs therefore they tend not to interfere with electrical equipment.

Naturally, the easiest solution is to move either the electrical item or offending light-bulb. However moving equipment isn’t always practical and if you are deliberately trying to minimise your energy usage or up your environmental credentials, moving away from energy-saving lightbulbs is not ideal.  Read more... (123 words, 1 image, estimated 30 secs reading time)

So you want a pet but you also want to live as green a lifestyle as you can – which pet do you choose? It’s probably pretty obvious that a gerbil is going to have a smaller carbon footprint than a horse, but what about the slightly less popular pets such as budgies or snakes?

Dogs: Great companions but also meat eaters. Their waste also tends to go into plastic bags which take thousands of years in landfill before they decompose.

Cats: One of the most popular pets to have but they are meat eaters. They also tend to catch a lot of local wildlife which isn’t brilliant for the environment!  Read more... (367 words, 1 image, estimated 1:28 mins reading time)

An annual study on the UK’s beaches taken by the Marine Conservation Society has shown that the amount of plastic waste litter has risen by 121 percent over the past 15 years.

Much of the litter appears to be from tourists and visitors to the beach with just 15 percent attributed to fishing boats and smaller amounts from sewage, fly tipping and shipping. A lot of the litter found includes plastic bags, plastic bottles, food wrappers and rope. Plastic, from small shards through to plastic bags, made up around two thirds of the litter found, a much higher figure than in previous years.  Read more... (259 words, 1 image, estimated 1:02 mins reading time)