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.

Energy companies are now looking into the issue to discover how many wind turbines are affected and how badly. Should repairs need to be made to any of the turbines, they will need to be shut down whilst they are being fixed. However it is understood that the flaw is not dangerous and will not affect operational or safety issues.

The bill for fixing the affected wind turbines is unknown – partly because no-one knows yet which turbines are affected.

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The IPCC made a statement in 2007 claiming that rising temperatures were causing a larger number of natural disasters – such as hurricanes and floods. It has now emerged that the unpublished report on which they based their statement had not actually been peer-reviewed.

Worse still, the report’s author has withdrawn his claim stating that there is not enough evidence to link global warming with an increase in the number of natural disasters and has branded the use of his data as ‘completely misleading.’

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The alarming warning was issued two years ago in a highly influential report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). At the time the IPCC claimed that the report contained the latest and most detailed evidence yet of the risks of man-made climate change to the planet.

However the experts behind the claim have now admitted that their warning was not actually based on hard science and was in fact based on a telephone chat with another scientist who has since admitted that it was pure speculation.

This new piece of news is a further blow to the IPCC following the ‘Climategate’ story of last year, showing climate-change scientists at the University of East Anglia had manipulated data to produce better results to show man-made climate change.

Glacier experts are surprised that this latest revelation has taken so long to surface. Himalayan glaciers are hundreds of feet thick and it would take more than 25 years for them to melt fully – in fact the quickest melting Himalayan glacier is currently melting at around 2-3 feet per year and therefore is strongly predicted to still be around in 25 years time.

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Daizi Zheng, a student at Central Saint Martins, came up with the concept whilst studying for her final year project.

The prototype is said to run for up to four times longer than a traditional lithium battery and has the potential to be fully biodegradable.

The battery works by using enzymes to catalyse sugar in the drink. This in turn releases electricity which powers the mobile phone. As the battery dies, just water and oxygen remain.

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However officials have said that the Prince will only be permitted to fit solar panels to Clarence House if they do not compromise the look of the 180-year old property.

It is believed that it would cost around £150,000 to fit solar cells to Clarence House however the energy savings would mean that this initial cost would be recouped by 2021.

With news of the planned photo voltaic cells leaked, Prince Charles has been accused of being a hypocrite after he used a private jet to fly to last week’s Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen – a flight which will have added substantially to the Prince’s carbon footprint.

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Over 15,000 delegates and 45,000 green activists are expected to visit Copenhagen for the climate change talks along with 100 world leaders and over 5,000 journalists. The UN has confirmed that the travel arrangements (including flights, rail and bus travel) couple with the meals served will generate over 41,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the meetings. This figure is more than Afghanistan, Malawi or Sierra Leone will produce over the same time period.

The Danish government has been quick to react to the comments saying that they will plant trees and invest in green projects to offset the carbon dioxide emissions. However critics are unhappy that a conference aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions is itself causing massive emissions.

Some of the facts ‘n’ figures to do from Copenhagen include:

• 140 aeroplanes used to fly the 100 world leaders
• 900 miles of computer cable have been laid
• 41,000 tonnes of CO2 to be emitted by delegates
• £130 million: the estimated cost of the conference (the 2005 G8 summit cost £20 million)
• £54.5 million: the amount of salary delegates will receive whilst at the climate change conference

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Possible changes that mobile operators are looking into include efficiency-boosting moves such as using more renewable power sources such as solar panels, wind turbines and fuel cells. By using these environmentally friendly options, mobile companies would not only be boosting their green credentials, but would also save money by reducing operating expenses whilst also incorporating social responsibility initiatives.

Greener technology could be used in most areas in the business including base stations, RF power amplifiers and in the network architecture and topology.

Many consumers are looking for a more environmentally friendly mobile phone handset. Many people already recycle their handsets however research has shown that around 40 percent of the public would opt for an eco-friendly mobile handset if the price, features and performance were around the same as a a conventional handset.

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The Waste and Resource Action Programme (Wrap) have said that ending the current obsession with owning material goods could help reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

The idea is this: rather than buying expensive clothes and accessories that are only used a couple of times before being thrown away, people should hire expensive items such as shoes, dresses and suits instead.

This green idea doesn’t just extend to clothes either – Wrap believe that instead of buying high-end electronics such as plasma TVs, games consoles and TVs which often get replaced every few years as new technology and gadgets are brought out, we should revert back to the 1960s style rental shops and rent all our electronic equipment instead of buying.

By switching away from buying expensive items to renting them, this is supposed to help stop perfectly good items from being thrown away whilst they are still able to be used. This will then help stop unnecessary manufacturing and this in turn will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions thus helping the UK meet climate change targets.

As well as helping the environment, this idea would have the positive side effects of saving money – no need to buy expensive items that you will only use once when hiring the item for the occasion will be much cheaper – and also helping stop your house being cluttered up.

If everyone in the UK started to rent high end items instead of buying them, it is anticipated that a fifth of spending on new goods would be converted to renting; Better use of resources could then deliver around 1- percent of the CO2 reduction that UK is aiming for by 2020, a saving of around 13 million tonnes of CO2 per year.

Wrap denies that the move would harm the UK’s employment figures as most of the UK’s goods are made overseas anyway and any job losses in the manufacturing industry would be balanced out by new jobs created in the rental industry.

The watchdog are also calling for people to modify their diet to help the climate. By reducing the amount of dairy and meat products that households eat, this small change would reduce the amount of carbon emissions from livestock and therefore help stop climate change.

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Scientists used a network of ground sensors to measure how much ice covering the area and therefore how much ice was melting and running off into the ocean. The results showed that the NASA satellite data may have overestimated that amount of ice being lost in the region.

NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) estimates ice loss by measuring regional gravitational forces as the satellite passes overhead. Both ice loss and bedrock rebound (where the bedrock lifts as the ice sheet above it disappears) will contribute to the satellite readings however it is now been found that rebound figures that have been used to calculate ice loss were wrong.

At the moment, it is unclear how much the overestimation is therefore it is currently unknown as to the rate at which ice loss in Antarctica is contributing to rising sea levels. There is no dispute that there is increasing ice loss however the actual figures have yet to be calculated.

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There are plenty of jewellery cleaners on the market, but what do you choose if you are looking for green or eco-friendly jewellery products?

Before you even think about cleaning your jewellery, have a look at the condition of the stone set pieces and settings as over time these can wear down meaning cleaning may loosen them. If your jewellery needs repairs, get it repaired before you start cleaning.

Cleaning Silver Jewellery: Take a tin plate or pan and line it with tin foil. Sprinkle some baking soda onto the tin foil and place your silver jewellery on it. Pour boiling water and leave for around five minutes. Strain the water and pick out your jewellery which should now be sparkling!

You can also try making a thick paste out of baking soda and water and then applying this with a soft cloth to your silver jewellery.

Cleaning Diamonds: Diamonds are very hardy stones however they can lose some of their sparkle if they aren’t cleaned properly. Avoid anything containing chlorine. Instead, use a soft brush dipped in a mix of ammonia, detergent and water.

Cleaning Gold Jewellery: Gold jewellery can be cleaned using a mix of ammonia, detergent and water or by gently rubbing with alcohol.

Cleaning Platinum Jewellery: The same principles that are used for cleaning gold jewellery can be used to clean silver jewellery – use an ammonia mix or an alcohol mix.

If you are ever in any doubt, get a professional to clean your jewellery for you as they will be able to ensure that your pieces aren’t damaged as they are cleaned.

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