September 2007

A genuinely clean and efficient energy system isn't just about technology; the decentralised approach also has profound implications for the way we view energy and its "ownership", and the way individulas relate to their communities and to businesses.

At the weekend, we held a session at 100% Design so that experienced practitioners of decentralised energy could share their experiences with businesses, architects and designers. And we took a camera along, again. Here, Juliet Davenport of Good Energy, Pete Halsall of Gallions Reach, and Ben Stimpson of Sky TV talk about their experiences of taking the low carbon road:

Great news. Woolworths have made a significant shift in their light bulbs policy and, as a result, are not longer bottom of the heap on our retailers league table.

After receiving thousands of emails and signatures from their customers (ie you) eager to see them take a lead on energy efficiency, Woolies will now be phasing out incandescent light bulbs by the end of 2010. It's not quite the 2008 date we were looking for, but never the less it's a massive improvement and they're now well ahead of many other companies such as Tesco and Waitrose. They're also cutting the price of their efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

Greenpeace scientist Dr Doug Parr speaking at the aviation fringe event

Wow! This conference is busy. For the last two days I have been running between fringe events, private meetings with ministers and - well - some parties.

So, a quick catch up on the Greenpeace conference campaign. Firstly our fringe events. On Monday we ran a large event on decentralised energy, which included a screening of our film "A Convenient Solution". The London Mayor - Ken Livingstone - spoke, as did the Energy Minister Malcolm Wickes and our very own John Sauven. It was a packed meeting which still managed to get into some of the detail on decentralised energy. If we are going to solve the climate challenge we are going to need real ambition.

Our friend and colleague Mark sadly died last month. Here, some of his colleagues remember him. Please feel free to add your thoughts by commenting at the bottom of this page.

Manchester was at the heart of the industrial revolution. Now it could take the lead in the next energy revolution. While national energy policy flounders, towns and local authorities can do an enormous amount to achieve the emissions reductions we so urgently need.

So, as part of a series of nationwide events, we're hosting an evening of discussion (and the regional launch of our film, The Convenient Solution) at Manchester City FC – soon to be the first UK sports stadium to be powered by its own 85m wind turbine.

Today Brown will deliver his first conference speech as Prime Minister, and you can't help but feel the excitement amongst Labour delegates. All the talk is about whether he will call a snap election.

Last night I was at the Social Market Foundation event and had a long chat to John Denham - the minister who notably resigned over the Iraq war in 2003. Now he is in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills. He gave me some very good reasons why Brown might want to call an election sooner rather than later - mostly to do with the amount of money in the Conservative Party war chest.

As Labour start their 2007 Conference in Bournemouth today, all the talk is of a possible General Election. Every opinion poll gives Gordon Brown a big lead. A critical polling question is ‘Who would make the best Prime Minister?’ Brown wins hands down. He scores 54 per cent compared to David Cameron on 21 per cent.

Judging from recent comments on this site, it seems there are a few people out there who still believe the myths that compact fluorescent bulbs are ugly, ungainly and undimmable.

But going green doesn't mean sacrificing good design, and CFLs can be versatile, stylish and even beautiful. We've been working with designer Jason Bruges (he of Wind to Light renown) on an installation using fully dimmable, compact fluorescent bulbs and, well, I'll let the film do the talking: