Incineration? (EfW?) Autoclave? Mechanical and biological treament? Anerobic Digestion? Centralised Infrastructure or Modular/ local systems?

Text taken from email recieved from Andrew Mason, Chief Environmental Services Officer.

Please note: I cannot attach the letter/ questionnaire- contact me to get a copy. I forwarded it with the email giving the link to this post.

Leeds City Council is looking to work with a private company to develop new treatment facilities for waste that is not sorted for recycling. This will enable us to minimise environmental damage and recover the maximum value from the rubbish that would otherwise be buried in the ground.

We are now consulting about what the most important things are that we should consider when we decide how to deal with rubbish that is not sorted for recycling in order to choose the right treatment solution for Leeds and have attached a letter here (CONTACT: jon.holland@leedsvoice.org.uk to get a copy).

Please return your response to leeds.waste@leeds.gov.uk by 5pm on 15th June 2008.

Biofuels (Agrofuels)- The false solution

Recieved via LUU Green Action email list.

There will be an anti agrofuels (biofuels) demo on May 2nd at 3pm at a location in Leeds as part of the May Day of Action on technofixes and false capitalist solutions.

The simple message is 'food not fuel' and 'greenwash/false solutions' so be creative with banners and placards

We hope to have street theatre with a cardboard car being fed food! plenty of banners and publicity and some hilarious 'greenwashing' action.

You can find out more in person at the climate camp yorkshire neighbourhood meeting on the 30th, or be at WHSmith at leeds train station at 2pm on May 2nd where there will be someone to meet you.

Climate Change Bill Week of Action- please get involved.

Text taken from Stop Climate Chaos Leeds circular emails.

Saturday 5^th April, 11am

Climate Bill Week of Action Demonstration

This week, April 1-5, is a week of action on climate change. Campaigners across the country are taking action to publicise the importance of including international aviation emissions in the Climate Change Bill.

Friends of the Earth Leeds group will now be holding a lobby/photo stunt on Briggate in Leeds of Saturday 5th April - If you're free please pop along, the more people that turn up, the bigger the effect!

The details are as follows...

We'll be meeting outside the Leeds church institute (www.leedschurchinstitute.org/) in Leeds city centre at 11am on Saturday morning.

We'll sort ourselves out, take the photos, hopefully with the press in tow, and it will all be done by noon! Please bring banners/leaflets/action cards, etc.

For more information contact James McKay on 07968854696 or email j.mckay690@btinternet.com

FoE have the mask, and the planes, and I am more than happy to dress up in a dark suit and red tie to play Gordon, unless anyone else is very keen! I will also be bringing things to hand out to the public, if we have lots of people, and a digital camera, so we can take our own photos.

The more the merrier!

All the best,James

Tell Gordon and David to make the Climate Change Bill Count

With your help and support we won at getting the government to concede on annual milestones – one of our top 3 changes to the Climate Change Bill! So that’s one down and two to go – and there’s still time to see our two remaining changes made to the bill, which are…

- an increase in the emissions reductions target to at least 80% by 2050

- the inclusion of the UK’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions.

Go to http://www.icount.org.uk/personal_actions/459.asp

(To check who your MP is go www.theyworkforyou.com and type in your postcode)

On a related theme:

Wednesday 9^th April – Climate Chaos Café

Leeds/Bradford Airport expansion (Leeds/Bradford Airport Campaign)

The Common Place, 23-25 Wharf Street, LS1 7ED. Climate Chaos Cafe is all about discussion, information, food, chat and action on climate change in friendly and informal surroundings. We open at 6.45pm, with then about an hour of talk/open discussion from 7pm with a cheap, delicious (vegan) meal.

For more about what is currently happening on local action on climate change see:
http://www.leedstidal.org/sccleeds/sccnewspage.php

Grants for installing microgeneration/ renewable energy

Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Phase 2
Phase 2 of the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP2) supports the installation of microgeneration technologies for organisations in the UK public and not-for-profit sectors. Grants are available for the purchase and installation of: solar thermal hot water, solar photovoltaics, wind turbines, ground source heat pumps, automated wood pellet stoves and wood fuelled boiler systems. The LCBP grants are managed by Building Research Establishment Ltd (BRE) on behalf of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR).

For details please visit: www.governmentfunding.org.uk
In the search area type ’Low Carbon Buildings Programme: Phase 2’ and scroll down for the details

New Nuclear Power- Is there a rationale?

Here is what I posted before on nuclear power presented in a much more dispassionate way- hopefully I will not have to remove the post this time. If you disagree or agree with anything on the blog and feel the need to comment please email me and use the 'comment' feature to publisicse your comment against the appropriate story.

The government decided to build more nuclear power stations last week. The have recently changed the planning system to allow nuclear plants to be 'sped through' the planning process- this means less opportunities for people to influence planning decisions.

What we want:
- Affordable energy
- Less greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution
- Secure supply

Clearing up the debate:
- many argue the 'energy gap' being filled by nuclear until 2030ish (20% of electricity) could be filled by improving efficiency and significant and meaningful (i.e. massive and necessary) investment in renewables and cleaner fossil fuel technologies.
- research shows that even 10 new reactors would cut the UK's carbon emissions by only about 4% some time after 2025- Greenpeace. Renewables, energy efficiency and carbon sequestration are what we should be focusing on for climate change.
- although the government has promised this generation of reactors won't be subject to the same massive subsidies as the previous generation- if companies go bust the taxpayer will pick up the bill.
- nuclear power requires uranium that must be imported, so if there are problems with supply it will effect energy production, therefore it is limited in improving security of supply.
- the waste issue. It's currently hanging around and building up- there is NO solution to dealing with radioactive waste- it can't be made safe, only wrapped in multiple layers of materials and left in storage.
- the risk of terrorist attack.
- there is only a very small probability of reactors going 'pop' but it is misleading to say nuclear is 'low risk' because if one or more did go 'pop' then the consequences could be severe.
Risk= (probability of ocurrence) X (losses per occurence). It is like the 'sword of damocles' there is a low risk that it'll fall on his head but if it does then he's done for.

Decentralised energy is the future- it is more efficient and adaptable. Further investment in nuclear locks us into the centralised system where more energy is wasted in transmission before it even reaches the user. It will also send out the wrong message on the potential for renewables, cleaner use of fossil fuels, CHP and energy efficiency.

If you have been convinced that new nuclear stations are desirable then I'd like to hear what points led you to that conclusion so that I can re-examine my views and this post.

Nuclear power

The government have announced they will be allowing a new generation of nuclear power.

I have removed my previous post as it was based on my opinions. I will add a more objective objective post on this topic shortly.

Thanks.

Yorkshire and Humber Microgeneration Conference & Awards 2008 - 6 March 2008 - Sheffield

Microgeneration Yorkshire have confirmed the date of the 2008 Y&H Microgeneration Conference and Awards which are to take place at the Holiday Inn Royal Victoria Hotel in Sheffield on Thursday 6 March 2008.

for full details on the awards (including details for how to submit an application for an award) and details of the conference please see Microgeneration Yorkshire's website or click below to be taken directly to the conference page: http://www.my-energy.org.uk/MY/THE2008REGIONALMICROGENERATIONCONFERNCEANDAWARDS-sig.nsf?OpenDatabase