Eco Towns

You might well have heard in the news that the go-ahead has been given for four new "eco-towns" in England. The idea is that the four new towns will provide an extra 10,000 homes by 2016, and will "showcase environmentally-friendly living" - with charging points for electric cars, zero-carbon buildings, new public transport links, and solar and wind energy.

Full story from the Guardian here, with a nice interactive to show the locations of the four new eco-towns (and the other proposed sites that were rejected).

Is it a bird.........?

Nope - it's an artist's impression of the Wave Hub - the world's first large-scale wave farm!

The government have given the go-ahead today for this controversial project, and it is expected that the wave farm off the coast of Cornwall, which will cost £28 million and generate enough electricity for 7500 homes, will be operational by 2009.

You can read more about the project here or listen to Chris Evans' "Business Boffin" talking to one of the people behind the project. You need go here and then click on Listen Again Monday - it's about 25 minutes in.

What do you think? Is this a good idea? Or a bit mad?

Lights out for London

Lights were switched off across London for an hour last night to encourage people to conserve energy... According to this report from the BBC, if all Londoners had switched off their lights, 380 tonnes of carbon dioxide would have been saved - enough to fill the Royal Albert Hall twice! It was the first time that the lights at Piccadilly Circus had been turned off since World War II.

Wind turbines for Pride Park?

Those of you who've seen today's Derby Evening Telegraph will know all about the proposals to install upto 10 wind turbines - 400ft high - at Pride Park Business Park, at an estimated cost of £1.7m each!

Click here to go to the full story, where there are also some interesting reader comments about the plans for the turbines (which, apparently, would be "an iconic symbol of how Derby is a forward-thinking city... hmmm....).

"Nobody can claim Pride Park is beautiful... I'm in support of well-sited wind turbines."

"I'm all for it - excellent idea!"

"... a much better place to put them than the Peak District..."

"I know Pride Park's not exactly an area of architectural or historical significance, but that's no reason to put wind turbines all over it..."

WHAT DO YOU THINK??

Good idea? Or do you think that they should be "stuck out of the way on the moors of the Peak District"? Or are they a daft idea altogether??

LEAVE A COMMENT AND LET US KNOW YOUR VIEWS!