Future of Food Ethics (Jun18)
It’s eight years ago since I stepped down from the Food Ethics Council, but I still knew quite a few faces at their 20 year event, held in London this week. I was particularly intrigued by one man who had moved on from being a chef to selling goats meat.He wasn’t impressed that the goat’s […]
Eco-flat rented! (May12)
My eco-rented flat near Portobello Rd has been rented. See FT article, I wrote about it Like all properties that are being sold or let, I had to have an Energy Performance Certificate carried out. I was horrified by the first one that I had done because it was totally inaccurate – and didn’t reflect […]
FT Article written on Eco-renovating London flat (Apr12)
My article on eco-renovation was published in the House & Home section of the FT on 21st April, 2012. It’s explains how I set about greening my London flat – and the challenges I faced, despite being an eco-expert – see below for the original copy as written, followed by a pdf of what was […]
London Eco-flat near Portobello rd for rent (Apr12)
The flat is super energy-efficient, having reduced the carbon footprint by at least 59%, and it’s available to rent. Eco-features include bamboo and cork flooring, a kitchen worktop made from recycled glass bottles, a master switch for electrics, LED lighting throughout, a dedicated drying room for laundry, a home office space and a state of […]
My eco-renovated flat is available for rent (Apr12)
Eco-renovated flat – Main room – Jan12 I bought my flat, near Portobello Road, in 1986, with my sister. We shared it for the first couple of years, before she got married and moved out. We re-painted and re-carpeted it throughout but didn’t do much more than that. The kitchen was quite dated even […]
Writing for the Financial Times (Jun12)
I’ve started writing for FT House & Home. My first article, co-written with Fiona Harvey in March 2011 was about Feed in Tariffs. The second piece, published in June 2011 was ‘Eco-technologies at home – Electric Green‘ And the most recent article published on Saturday 21st April 2012, was about eco-renovating my London flat ‘It’s Not Easy Being […]
Eco-scrutiny of my Eco-renovation
My London flat must be the most rigorously scrutinised property on the planet – in terms of its eco-performance. I’ve spent the last few months researching and specifying what eco-renovations are to be done – with help from green architect Jerry Tate. But this week, just before submitting an extensive tender document to builders, I […]
Eco-building expansion (Mar11)
When Ecobuild started 5 years ago less than 200 people attended. This year they were expecting 50,000 but over 80,000 had registered before the event had even started. I’m not sure how many actually came over the 3 days, but getting there felt like being on one of those Japanese commuter trains, where they pack […]
Eco-Renovating London Flat (Jan11)
I’ve started eco-renovating my London flat. It’s been rented out since 1995 but needs sprucing up. I’ve employed architect Jerry Tate , who specialises in bringing ‘buildings and nature closer together’. In this case it means lots of insulation, inspirational energy and water-saving ideas and including as much recycled materials as possible. I’ll be up-dating my […]
Eco-renovation – starting with windows (Nov10)
I have a flat in London that’s been rented out for years. But I’ve recently started some renovation work, which I’ll be reporting on over the next few months. The first job has been repairing the windows. They rattled and in some places had large gaps, which let the air in and the heat out […]
We need more Bedzeds (Nov09)
Bedzed – Beddington Zero Energy Design William Steel, Generation Green Think Tank member Did you know that cats give off about 10 watts of heat and dogs about 15 watts. I suspect that a friend of mine with a Great Dane gets as much heat from his as a human though – roughly […]
Food waste for fuel in London and beyond… (May09)
I had an early start to get to London for the start of a workshop on AD – anaerobic digestion. It might be a bit weird but it’s a subject I’m rather passionate about. AD is essentially like composting in an enclosed system. It can be used to treat food waste, farm waste, sewage sludge […]