Zerocarbonista

About the blog

Filed under: Misc — dale April 1, 2008 @ 9:52 am

This blog is about answers to the big questions – how will we keep the lights on, what kind of cars will we drive (will we drive?) and how will we feed ourselves – in a post oil world, and a world where we can’t afford to keep burning things and throwing things away.

It’s about ideas and policies, innovation and change, engineering our way out of this mess we’re in – it’s about the next Industrial Revolution and the journey to a low impact lifestyle, Zero carbon living if you like.

It’s a place to comment on the news, to share ideas, get feedback – all that kind of stuff. I hope it will become a forum where these things that need to be talked about, get talked about and through that get acted on.

8 Comments »

  1. After one visit to the Ecotricity website I decided to become a customer. I feel empowered that I can choose a company that is green at heart. It is direct action. In this vein, I have an idea for your ideas box: How about making it possible for people to invest in a share of a wind turbine? What better way of giving something back to the planet than leaving a share of a turbine in your will?

    Comment by Roger Sheldon — April 23, 2008 @ 6:55 pm

  2. Is there any hydrogen manufactured on a UK Ecotricity wind power site..or any plans to do this…

    Comment by Gerry321 — April 25, 2008 @ 10:55 am

  3. @Roger Sheldon – Glad to have you with us Roger, appreciate your support. Giving people the chance to own a piece of a windmill is a good idea. Not as easy as it sounds, but far from impossible. Something we hope to get to before long – it’s on our list. Cheers.

    @Gerry 321 – No Hydrogen projects yet but we’re in discussion with a couple of pilot schemes to see if we can help them with their wind energy. Personally I’m not sure that Hydrogen should have a big role to play as an energy source, but I’m for exploring all avenues – the solution we’re ultimately looking for will be like a jigsaw puzzle, where even small parts are important.

    Comment by dale — May 2, 2008 @ 8:13 am

  4. Dale - why do Ecotricity NOT make more of an effort to engage in education at your turbine sites ? One of the things that always amazes me is what little people actually know about turbines and how many myths there are out there, myths that are often ‘picked - up’ on because there is nobody dispelling them !! They see turbines as something in the distance and very rarely get ‘up close and personal’ with the turbines. When they do get close enough and are provided with a little more info (just a few key stats) they often change their minds about turbines completely and turn from potentially ‘anti’ to ‘pro’. I work at the GreenPark turbine and facilitate educational visits to the visitors centre and i feel that given just an average hours worth of education most people are happy to (using a BWEA phrase) ‘embrace wind’. Do Ecotricity have any plans to help facilitate such education in future ? CHEERS - Ian Gough

    Comment by Ian — May 2, 2008 @ 5:25 pm

  5. @ Ian
    Hi Ian, I think we probably do make rather more of an effort than you know. For example we’ve been running the Ecotech Centre in Norfolk for the last year, having saved it from bankruptcy and a large part of the work being done there is the hosting of school visits. We built a turbine in the backyard there and added to it a viewing platform so that people can climb the turbine and see things from the very top. It’s a massive enhancement to the visit to be able to get this close. That people like turbines better once they’ve seen one is a truth we’re more than familiar with – it’s why we build turbines where people live and where they can see them, and it’s why we built the turbine at Green Park – enabling the school visits that you do. We’re currently working on some key stage information packs and trialling other works through the Ecotech centre before we roll out nationally. Hope that helps.

    Comment by dale — May 6, 2008 @ 8:48 am

  6. I like what you and your company is doing. I like the ideas behind it, and the drive is not for profits. Take care of your country first. Then please, please, please come over to the U.S., set up shop in the Midwest, (Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, preferably Nebraska though.) where there is basically a constant wind tunnel, and get us off the expensive grids powered by gas and coal, hundreds of miles away.

    There is plenty of farmland around where I am, and since the farmers and the rest of Nebraska got screwed over in the corn/ethanol plant and fuel deal, I am sure the kickbacks you and your company offer would be welcome with open arms after some education about wind.

    Sorry, I don’t mean to sound like a desperate nut job, but I am sick of paying high prices for things that I shouldn’t have to, because that is the way it has been for the last 100 years or more, and I don’t have the resources to do but small green innovations very locally.

    Thanks, and I have your blog bookmarked.

    Comment by Darkshine — May 29, 2008 @ 7:34 am

  7. @ Darkshine – Hi Darkshine, thanks for your post and support. We’d like to set up in the US someday not too far away, there’s much that could be done there and we think there’s something we could bring to the party. So maybe coming to a state near you one day soon. Cheers.

    Comment by dale — June 10, 2008 @ 10:53 am

  8. Hiya all…

    I just thought I would let you know that we have upgraded the blog and have enabled ‘gravatars’ - all you need to do is sign up at the gravatars site (it’s free), add a pic and whenever you comment on this blog (or any other one that supports gravatars) it ‘automagically’ puts your pic up!

    Aren’t gravatars brilliant! ;-)

    Comment by paul — June 27, 2008 @ 2:57 pm

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