Four simple actions

I wrote an article, "We need a plan that adds up", for The Guardian and publicservice.co.uk. For the Grauniad I also created a new graphic which I thought I would show here.

Four simple actions that make significant energy savings, and one that doesn't.
The left-hand column shows five contributors to the average energy consumption of a typical reasonably-affluent Guardian reader. The right-hand column shows the reduced consumption, post-action.
Any comments? Would the figure work better if I put the phone charger in the middle instead of at the bottom of the list?

Man on radio

BBC Radio 4 has a programme called More or Less, all about numbers. On 24 April 2009 the programme opened with a conversation between me and Tim Harford, talking about energy numbers. Tim likes the book (in fact he likes it so much that he gets its name wrong!) After me, he talks to a lady from the Sustainable Development Commission who graciously dismisses my book for being full of big equations and too technical. Or something. Can anyone understand what she's on about?
If you are quick, you can listen to the podcast.
I also wrote an article for the BBC website, 'Saving the planet by numbers'.

Hot Air Oscars nomination: A Clean Use for Australian Coal

Australian Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, is hereby nominated for the Hot Air Oscar for highest-impact use of the words 'clean', 'ultra-clean', and 'low emissions'.


"This technology unlocks energy from Australia's significant stranded and uneconomic coal reserves."
"Technologies that convert coal and gas to ultra-clean diesel and jet fuel have the potential to replace Australia's declining oil reserves."
"The Australian Government is encouraging the development of coal-to-liquids in Australia through its election commitment to use the $500 million National Low Emissions Coal Fund to support projects generating minimal carbon emissions which utilise our extensive coal resources."


In a nutshell, they're investing government money in turning uneconomic coal that would otherwise have been left in the ground into CO₂ in the atmosphere. Brilliant! Icebergs all round!

Thanks to Alexander Ac for the nomination.

Man holding bulb

On youtube, there is a new video, arranged by the University of Cambridge, featuring someone not unrelated to me, holding a lightbulb and talking about energy plans. Hope you enjoy it! It took three days of filming to make it.

[In case the youtube video goes missing, here is the University's 'Cambridge Ideas' page.]

Every little hurts - Hot Air Oscars

There is
a superb article on Greenwash by Ed Gillespie.

Buy eco-lights, get free air miles.

Wow, Tesco has to be a strong contender for the Hot Air Oscar for best consumer-engagement