http://www.ecojam.org Latest discussions daily 1 2008-05-10T15:36:31Z http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/251473934/817611053 Ethical Property have offices available to rent now on Colston Street, BS1 & Brunswick Square, BS2.  The Colston Street Centre plays host to a number of green and ethical creatives. The Unitarian Chapel on Brunswick Square has both an individual office units & a large meeting space - perfect for group sessions & creative activities.     Ethical Property own and manage centres which bring charities, co-operatives, community and campaign groups together under one roof where they can share skills and ideas. Those in our centres benefit from reasonable rents, flexible tenancy terms and great office space.      We run 4 centres in central Bristol, and take care of all the boring bits in a fair and straightforward way, while allowing more than 40 local organisations to focus on what they do best.  For information on office space or room hire ring Anna on 0845 458 3853 or email info@ethicalproperty.co.uk .       No publisher kesty 2010-03-10T16:47:00Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/528597569/5791192 Bristol’s Ecojam.org has just celebrated its first year since its official launch. We made Ecojam.org for you so we would like to hear how you think we can make it better in the future to meet your needs. We really appreciate your support and would be very grateful if you would give us less than 10 minutes of your time to answer a few questions. To be entered into our prize draw to win a copy of the latest book in the fantastic 'Fragile Earth' series, published by Sawday's Publishing, complete the survey and leave your contact details at the end. Thanks, Ecojam Team No publisher eleanorrendell 2010-03-03T14:57:31Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/326502517/237541276 Biofuel plant application Development Control Meeting webcast watch live now! or in archive at the end of the week   www.bristol.gov.uk/webcast Planning application 09/03235/F Former Columbian Chemicals (Sevalco) Severn Road Avonmouth Bristol BS11 0YU Redevelopment of part of existing industrial site for a Bio-fuel, renewable energy plant together with ancillary access roads, parking facilities and landscaping. If you use twitter use #brsbio to comment follow us at www.twitter.com/askbristol   No publisher AnnaMcD 2010-02-24T14:56:48Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/924044554/930492597 Hi all,  I'm currently for schools as a support worker and looking for some one who can come and hold a work shop in making a pizza oven. It's a really exciting project as we're greening our out door space and once the oven's built, it can be combined with Home Ec classes, with herbs we've grown! There are funds available to pay the workshop holder, so if you know how to make one and can come and lead a groups of kids with support, please do contact me.  07806 554750 With thanks,  Shona  No publisher ShonaM 2010-01-28T18:31:27Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/39110457/459471091 Have a look at the videos here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfWaUBoRaHU Also get involved in the debate about ideas for a new layout for Bristol city centre to help incorporate bus rapid transit at www.askbristol.wordpress.com Sign up for the email bulletin to keep up to date with how to have your say on local decisions. Best wishes, Anna No publisher AnnaMcD 2010-01-29T11:01:42Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/360061609/815237703 WOW Bonnie, you have got off to a flying start heh! Thanks for your response. I will give you a ring in a few days. Best Emily No publisher emilynics 2010-01-22T16:18:29Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/924044553/752655029 Dammit! Ok, so the embed thing didn't work like I'd hoped, but the link is good. Watch it. PN No publisher philn 2010-01-18T20:43:50Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/924044553/752655028 A resource based economy advocates a departure from our profit-driven, monetary economy (no more money) to one where Earth's resources are shared, equally, by all it's inhabitants. Is this purely the misty eyed dream of a select number of idealists or, looking at the global financial and political picture, a very real alternative? What are the realities of achieving such an overhaul? What are the realities when we get there? Could it really be a society in which we would want to live?  There are many critics of this kind of theory, citing basic human greed and corruption as the main barrier to a utopia of this scale ever being realised who are dismissive of such an idea. Rather than go into the lenghty theories and debate myself, I shall leave you in the capable hands of a man at the bleeding edge of thought in this area: American social engineer/futurist and founder of The Venus Project, Jacque Fresco. This is part 1 of 6 of a lecture he gave in London in October and makes for interesting viewing. Is a theory like this actually workable? Is it desirable? I just hope the embedded thing works! Phil Nelms <object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_R9q-NO6BBc&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_R9q-NO6BBc&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object> No publisher philn 2010-01-18T20:42:12Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/360061609/860842457 Hey Emily...I'm new to Bristol. Perhaps too new?? I've only been here since 1st December - my boyfriend and I moved down from London because I got a job with the Soil Association.  As I haven't been here long I haven't had time to put into action all my plans to for getting a social life...however I do feel pretty in the loop. Before I came down I was tipped off to join the Bristol Permaculture Group's mailing list and I have also joined the Transition Bristol list. This means I have a fair idea of lots of good things going on - even if I haven't been to any YET! I also joined the Freeconomy forum and EcoJam and befriended anyone I could on Facebook with Bristol connections! And we bought the Self-Sufficientish Bible which is useful anyway but has also encouraged us to keep an eye out for the recommendations given for Bristolians. I'm lucky to live off Whiteladies Road where Transition Redland (who I will be getting to know soon I hope) run a farmers market. Their webpage also filled me in on other things in the area - like their orchard. There are also good shops - like Wild Oats and Sheepdrove Farm Shop nearby. There was an organic grocers but they are just closing :(  The council's webpages were useful in working out about recycling and food waste collection - although they keep changing their collection days. They did mixed colletion in my area of London and although they are still kind of mixed here it's good they expect you to seperate stuff out. But they aren't very good on plastics and tetra paks. It's good to have food waste collection, though I hope to get a wormery, or compost bin soon. Transport in Bristol is pretty crap - there is loads of traffic, and the buses are slow, unreliable and expensive compared to London. But there are enough of them to get you most places. And of course Bristol is small enough to walk most places centrally - I can walk to work which is great. I have got a bike but haven't used it here yet - partly because of the killer hills, partly because I haven't felt the need, and partly because people say the traffic here is a bit unforgiving to cyclists - as it probably is everywhere. I'm a wuss. Working for the Soil Association has also helped me meet like minded people. Lots of people go to the Wednesday Farmers Market at St Nics, I go every week - it's a really great market, but I wish there was a bit more Organic veg and meat around. Someone at work went on a Hobbs House bakery course and gave me some sour dough starter, so that was grand too. Through my job I'm going to be meeting lots of interesting people - Green Capital Momentum group, Stoke Park CSA and Story CSAs, the FCFCG and City Farms, and Council officers involved in developing parks and green spaces. When we came down looking for a flat we went to Bordeaux Quay a couple of times, which I knew about through a Making Local Food Work conference in Bristol. Yummy! We also explored Gloucester Road where there are other great shops. In fact, before coming down, to plan where we might like to live, I made a Google Map of all the cool places we knew about - all the good food shops and all the places to pick up City Car Club cars if we join, plus post offices, cinemas, theatres etc I can share it with you if you like :) Ramble ramble. Get in touch if you'd like to talk more. Bonnie 07816858053 No publisher Anythingrows 2010-01-17T10:42:40Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/360061610/755268911 Anaerobic Digestion (AD) is a hot topic in the UK at the moment, driven by the rising cost landfill & energy, but also by increasingly tight environmental legislation. Interest is particularly active in micro & community scale AD as farms seek to cut costs and increase income, but also for rural communities as they move towards self-sufficiency. The Cornwall Agrifood Council recently commissioned research into suitable technology for AD on farms. The initial brief included CHP (combined heat & power), a cost of less than £3,000 per kW of capacity & target generation capacity of 50kW. Consultation with farmers added further design criteria, such as operation at ambient temperature (10-15 deg. C), simplicity of operation, low time input and no change to farm routines. The project looked at 3 designs: Covered slurry lagoon. Capacity 1000 m³ and depth of 3m. Cover made of neoprene. Gas was drawn off and compressed before running through a CHP plant. Calculated additional benefits for farms in NVZs as capture & diversion of clean rainwater reduced the need for storage capacity. This was given as £19/m³ of capacity reduction. Flexible reaction tanks. These were made of 50mm neoprene, designed to hold the slurry. Unproven technology at the time. The gas was used as above. The system was more expensive to install, but more easy to manage as the temperature and nutrient levels could be easily adjusted. Fast liquid digestor. Proven technology at the time. Solids separated from the liquid before digestion. Faster than 1 & 2 because the bacteria doesn't need to break the solids down, so has a cycle time of 36 – 48 hours. Needed constant monitoring as the pH tended to move quickly and kill the bacteria. Plants that run solely on cattle slurry don't return investment well because of relatively low COD (chemical oxygen demand) levels. For comparison, slurry gives 25 m³ of gas per wet tonne, animal fats 250 m³ & grain 700 m³. Farmers needed to add silage to increase gas production and only then achieved a 4 year pay-back on investment. Installed cost came in over budget. UK legislation allows farmers to vent methane from slurry pits direct to atmosphere, with no controls. However it's an irony that an environmental permit is needed to capture the methane and use it to generate power, thereby reducing the potential for global warming. The cost and complexity of permitting in the UK is likely to make most farm-scale plants unattractive. Planning permission for permanently sited plant isn't needed if farmers are using their own wastes, as there is no “change of use” of the land. Planning permission is needed if commercial wastes are brought in and co-digested with the slurry, to generate income and to make the plant more productive. There are no UK health & safety regulations that specifically cover the generation and use of bio-gas, but farmers would be wise to comply with the Dangerous Substances & Explosive Atmospheres Regs (DSEAR) 2002. More on this research can be found at the link below: - http://www.cornwallac.org/news/index.php#NewstudyintoLowCost,%27lowtech%27AnaerobicDigestion There are several commercial designs available for packaged micro & community scale AD and I'd value the Group's experience of the pros & cons of the different processes & on if & how projects can be made to be economically viable. http://www.theenvironmentdepartment.com No publisher richardporter 2010-01-15T10:34:25Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/283003981/88848936 Great to see video content on the ecojam site. More please. Content wise with this one, I'll need to think on it some more - economics perceived as the largest and best win-win system worries me - surely its Earth. She has her own rules. No publisher emilynics 2010-01-14T11:14:18Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/283003981/88848935 Talk by Paul Romer No publisher admin 2010-01-13T16:49:47Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/360061609/498378909 I'm looking for a story of someone who has come to Bristol recently, within the last two years, with an interest in sustainability, environmental issues and general good community living. How have you found it? Is Bristol the UK's Green Capital? If you went looking for like minded souls was it easy enough? If you have a story to tell, or you know someone who has, please contact me, emily@brightcanopy.co.uk. Your story may feature in an upcoming book about good living in Bristol. Many thanks Emily No publisher emilynics 2010-01-11T17:01:53Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/148748926/280459137 I'm afraid you haven't convinced me, largely because CW is based on the assumption of economic growth.  You see this as inevitable and even desireable.  The use of offsetting and the generation of carbon credits is part of this financially conservative view of the world which has made a way forward impossible at Copenhagen.  The use of carbon credits is not "incidental", even though CW is not a carbon trading business.  The credits are an intregal part of this rather convoluted scheme. The scheme is about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and at the same time tackling poverty.  Unfortunately I don't see how either is achieved. Economic growth cannot happen without increasing supplies of energy.  Renewables can only fractionally replace fossil fuels.  There is never likely to be energy available that comes anywhere near the vast efficiency of fossil fuels.  As fossil fuel use is progressively reduced, either in a planned or unplanned way, economic growth will become virtually impossible.  CW does not appear to have evidence that windpower in India will now replace any coal, rather than being used as an additional energy as long as coal lasts.  The fact that this energy is fed into the national grid also means that it will be used primarlly for the benefit of industry and better-off consumers. There is no reason to believe that emissions will be reduced overall. Economic growth is not the answer to poverty either, but rather increases the wealth gap between rich and poor.  In terms of making clean energy available, local micro-generation with appropriate technology would be an infinately more empowering and sustainable method.  Without of course involving carbon credits.  Tackling endemic poverty through charities rather than structural changes is a difficult area - some can do brilliant work particularly if focused on a defined problem, but some can and do go horribly wrong (Bob Geldoff). Promoting energy efficiency in the UK is laudable, but many other organisations and individuals manage to do this without involving carbon credits.  In fact I would respectfully suggest that this is where CW should concentrate their contribution - where emissions are about x5 those of the average Indian.  Perhaps a drive to reduce energy use in Bristol, with any savings made available to poor communities in the majority world to use as they see fit.   Our ecological life support services are under increasing stress.  Even if we were all living at the level of the poorest people, there would barely be enough for us all.  And this is without the expected continuing population increase and resource depletion.  Rather than concentrate on reducing emissions where they are currently low, and trying to improve material security without redistribution from rich to poor, perhaps the focus should be more on helping the rich to drastically lower their carbon emissions and their use of resources.. After all this is what failed at COP 15.     No publisher josou 2009-12-19T21:53:29Z Comment http://www.ecojam.org/interact/discussion/bristol-sustainability-network/general-discussion/688738301/743421223 "Some commentators are unconvinced that rising greenhouse gas emissions are the cause of modern-day warming. Either they say the world is not actually getting warmer or that a new treaty would hurt economic growth and well-being. So what are their arguments, and how are they countered by scientists who assert that greenhouse gases, produced by human activity, are the cause of modern-day climate change" BBC have put a FAO together. Good for directing confused friends who are hearing mixed messages about climate change: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8376286.stm No publisher mattfortnam 2009-12-17T15:25:26Z Comment