Category: Uncategorized

Thousands more households could be in fuel poverty by Christmas

Up to 300,000 have fallen into difficulties over winter, while scheme to cut energy costs could take 30 years to succeed
Share40

inShare.7
Email

Hilary Osborne

The Guardian, Monday 17 December 2012

Rising energy prices have added about 7% to annual fuel bills in recent weeks. Photograph: Alamy

About 300,000 more households could be in fuel poverty by Christmas, according to reports published on Monday, which warn that a government scheme to improve the energy efficiency of homes could take 30 years to succeed and add to energy prices in the meantime.

The reports are being published as the energy secretary, Ed Davey, attends a summit with electricity and gas company bosses, regulators and consumer groups to discuss rising energy prices and how the industry serves its customers. At the Fair Energy Summit, organised by Policy Review Intelligence, Davey will meet the heads of British Gas, E.ON and Co-operative Energy.

Spiralling energy prices have added about 7% to average annual fuel bills recently. More pain is due in the new year, when price increases announced by E.ON take effect.

Estimates suggest that for every 1% increase in energy prices, about 40,000 households are pushed into fuel poverty – defined as when consumers spend more than 10% of their income on heating.

The Fuel Poverty Advisory Group (FPAG) said 300,000 more homes had fallen into difficulty this winter and millions could follow without urgent government action. Its annual report said government moves to reduce the impact of environmental costs on industrial energy users were unfair to domestic customers, who are facing rising costs associated with green measures.

It claims that over the next 15 years about £63bn will be added to consumer energy bills through the carbon floor price and EU emissions trading system, on top of other price increases.

Derek Lickorish, the FPAG chairman, said: “A toxic cocktail of rising wholesale prices, the high cost of energy reforms and cuts in incomes for many households, means fuel poverty levels are set to sky-rocket without radical action.

“Time is running out for the government to fuel poverty proof the homes of those on the lowest incomes.”

A report by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) said measures to help fuel poor households could backfire.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO), designed to cut bills of poor households by forcing suppliers to fit solid wall insulation, offer energy efficient boilers and other energy-saving measures, could add up to £116 to the average bill and push families that did not receive support further into fuel poverty. It said that while there were 2.7m fuel poor households in England alone, it expected the measure to help between 125,000 and 250,000 households out of fuel poverty by 2023.

The ECO will run alongside the Green Deal, which is designed to encourage homeowners to make their properties more energy efficient by allowing them to spread the cost of installing measures such as loft insulation and draught-proofing.

Will Straw, associate director at IPPR, said: “The government’s ambition with the new Energy Company Obligation is the right one. Improving the energy efficiency of Britain’s housing stock is the most cost-effective way to tackle fuel poverty and bring down carbon emissions.

“Nonetheless, ECO, working alongside the Green Deal, will barely scratch the surface of Britain’s fuel poverty problem and may not deliver what is needed for emissions reductions.”

Timetable troubles ease with bus tracker

Date December 17, 2012 87 reading now
Read later

Jacob Saulwick

Transport Reporter

View more articles from Jacob Saulwick

Follow Jacob on TwitterEmail Jacob

inShare.
Pin It
Email article
Print
Reprints & permissions

.

Progress … bus passengers will soon be able to use apps on their mobile phones to find out how far away their next bus is. Photo: Ryan Osland

Sydney bus passengers will soon be able to access mobile phone apps that let them know how far away their next bus is.

The three apps should be available from this week, pending approval from app stores, and will provide real-time tracking of bus movements across Sydney.

The release of the apps follows a government effort to make public transport data more widely available to developers. The apps were built following a workshop last month with developers and Transport for NSW officials.

”Having real-time information is a game-changer when it comes to public transport,” the Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, said.

Advertisement

”With these apps, customers will be able to plan ahead not just by looking at the timetable, but see where buses are on their routes.”

Initially, the apps will only provide real-time tracking of government-owned State Transit buses in the CBD, the eastern suburbs, inner west, southern suburbs, north west, northern beaches and lower north shore.

The government hopes to make real-time information available for Sydney’s private buses, but a long-delayed program of fitting them with GPS that will also help give them priority at traffic lights is not due to be finished until mid-2013.

The three apps are called TripView, Arrivo Sydney and TripGo. Arrivo is available only on Android phones, while TripView and TripGo are available on iPhones and Android. TripGo is free, while TripView and Arrivo cost about $3 for a full version, but do have lite versions.

”Some of the apps will alert customers to the next bus arriving at the most convenient stop, give an estimated walk time, guide them directly to the street location, provide real-time alerts, live maps and comparisons of similar transport options by cost, convenience and emissions,” Ms Berejiklian said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/smartphone-apps/timetable-troubles-ease-with-bus-tracker-20121216-2bhkv.html#ixzz2FG30GYpX

Flinders Island has a plan to be powered exclusively by renewable energy.

The plan, for three or four wind turbines and a mini hydro storage system would cost up to $25 million.

A privately-run turbine is currently producing 25 per cent of the island’s energy.

Flinders Island Council general manager Raoul Harper says residents want to make that 100 per cent.

“Being in the top five wind resource areas on the planet the concept of continuing to burn diesel to power the island does seem absurd really.”

Mr Harper argues in the long run the project would be cost effective because the government would no longer need to pay Hydro Tasmania $3 million a year to supply diesel.
The council is seeking Federal Government funding through its new renewable energy agency.

7 States Sue EPA Over Methane from Oil and Gas Drilling

Tags:Environmental Protection Agency, greenhouse gas emissions, methane

inShare.

Seven states in the northeastern part of the United States have officially announced plans to sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its alleged violations of the Clean Air Act in failing to address and limit methane emissions resulting from drilling for natural resources like oil and gas.

In a press release issued earlier this week, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman outlined the complaint, which focuses on methane emissions from resource-heavy states like Pennsylvania and Virginia. Joined by Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont, the state of New York is leading the cause, demanding that the EPA take immediate action to reduce methane emissions that threaten to increase the already troubling effects of anthropogenic climate change. (Read More: U.S. Oil Production Surges to Highest Level in 15 Years)

For its part, the EPA has already announced new rules to be implemented in 2015 that would require firms drilling for gas and oil to install new equipment and enforce new rules that would limit the amount of methane added to the atmosphere. Regarding this complaint, the EPA has promised a response; with a 60-day notice of the seven-state coalition’s intention to sue currently on the books, the agency will have to do so quickly in order to avoid a potentially messy lawsuit.

While the complaint in question references only those methane emission that result from the oil and gas industry, the largest source of that greenhouse gas in the United States in accounting for 37 percent of all emissions, the trend towards focusing on methane could lead to the EPA forcing new rules on the raising of livestock, which accounts for 21 percent, and landfills, which account for 16 percent. (Read more: Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions — Facts and Figures)

Overall, methane is responsible for just 3.8 percent of total greenhouse gas emission in the U.S., with carbon dioxide ranking as the greatest threat.

Accurate, Expert Analysis. Get the Inside
Scoop Before It’s News. And it’s 100% Free.

Subscribe Now

One response to 7 States Sue EPA Over Methane from Oil and Gas Drilling

By Steve Last on December 14, 2012 at 2:08 pm

It makes fascinating reading for me to read that a number of States are planning: ” to sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its alleged violations of the Clean Air Act in failing to address and limit methane emissions resulting from drilling for natural resources like oil and gas”. I presume that the emissions are due to a lack of suitable regulations to make the drilling companies flare off the gas that is produced during drilling, rather than allowing it to escape to the atmosphere? It does seem negligent to allow such escapes as I don’t think that flare off this gas would be particularly hard to do, nor expensive in the scheme of things.

[link] [reply]

Ten now feared dead from Cyclone Evan

MICHELLE COOKE

Last updated 14:37 15/12/2012

Share

Samoa Meteorological Service

WILD WEATHER: Cyclone Evan crossing Samoa. It is now headed for Fiji.

South Pacific
Drowning victim ‘a true gentleman’Apia slammed as cyclone hits SamoaMother of bride and friend drown in RarotongaTropical cyclone heading to SamoaFiji deeply fragmented, report saysSimpson’s producer buys Sea Shepherd a boatFiji dictator to keep tight control on constitutionAustralian teen dies during ‘schoolies’ partyFiji removes Queen from bank notesBody found on Tonga drugs yacht identified

Ads by Google

Watch Full Episodeswww.TelevisionFanatic.com
Turn Your Computer into a TV! Watch Full TV Episodes w Free App
.

UP TO 10 people in Samoa are feared to have been left dead in the wake of Cyclone Evan.

Samoan authorities today confirmed that three people are confirmed dead following the mass flooding which hit the islands on Thursday.

Another seven are still missing; including several children.

The New Zealand Government has sent its condolences to the people of Samoa, as well as arranging an aid package for the island nation.

“Our heartfelt condolences go out to the people of Samoa as they begin to come to terms with the loss of life and damage caused,’’ Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said.

“At the request of the Samoan Government, New Zealand will provide P3 Orion to undertake aerial surveillance and environmental health assessment expertise.

“We have also made available $50,000 to assist with the on-the-ground response.’’

McCully said an initial assessment suggested there had been damage to outlying buildings, critical infrastructure and power lines, with flooding, many fallen trees and power outages.

CYCLONE EVAN HEADS TO FIJI

As Samoa starts picking up the pieces in the wake of Cyclone Evan, Fiji is preparing to face the full force of the storm, due to hit the country tomorrow afternoon.

The cyclone is heading for Fiji’s second-largest island, Vanua Levu, Taveuni and nearby smaller islands including the Northern Lau group, fijivillage.com reported.

A strong wind warning and damaging heavy swells warning were in effect for these islands. The cyclone was expected to reach average winds of 165 kilometres per hour but they could go as high as 230 kilometres.

The cyclone was expected to reach Fiji tomorrow afternoon.

Fiji’s government authorities had asked the public to begin preparing for Tropical Cyclone Evan and not leave it to the last minute.

Ad Feedback

Extreme weather more persuasive on climate change than scientists

AP poll shows that events like superstorm Sandy are succeeding with climate sceptics where scientists have been failing
Share71

inShare.5
Email

Suzanne Goldenberg US environment correspondent

guardian.co.uk, Friday 14 December 2012 16.52 GMT

Homes left in the wake of superstorm Sandy in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. Photograph: Mike Groll/AP

As one of the Marx brothers famously said: who do you believe, me or your own eyes?

Climate sceptics, it turns out, are much more likely to believe direct evidence of a changing climate in the form of extreme weather events than they do scientists, when it comes to global warming.

A poll released on Friday by the Associated Press-GfK found rising concern about climate change among Americans in general, with 80% citing it as a serious problem for the US, up from 73% in 2009. Belief and worry about climate change were rising faster still among people who do tend not to trust scientists on the environment.

Some of the doubters said in follow-up interviews that they were persuaded by personal experience: such as record temperatures, flooding of New York City subway tunnels, and news of sea ice melt in the Arctic and extreme drought in the mid-west.

About 78% of respondents overall believed in climate change, a slight rise from AP’s last poll in 2009. The result was in line with other recent polls.

Among climate doubters, however, 61% now say temperatures have been rising over the past century, a substantial rise from 2009 when only 47% believed in climate change.

The change was not among the hard core of climate deniers, but in the next tier of climate doubters, AP reported. About 1 in 3 of the people surveyed fell into that category. “Events are helping these people see what scientists thought they had been seeing all along,” Jon Krosnick, a Stanford University psychologist who studies attitudes to climate change and consulted on the poll, told the news agency.

The AP-GfK poll was conducted between 29 November and 3 December by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cellphone interviews with 1,002 adults across the country. Results for the full sample have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points; the margin of error is larger for subgroups.