Help me in my Jedi training as I confront Volkswagen's threats to Planet Earth http://www.vwdarkside.com/en/jedi/adrian-hollister-729
Not too scientific this entry, but found a discussion at work in our sustainability forums asking " I've been looking for information about whether it really is more economical to use a slow-cooker than an electric oven or cooker."
The Leaf dubbed ‘the world’s first affordable, full production’ family, electric car has been available to order in the UK since September, with its first customers waiting until March 2011 for delivery. Two such customers have finally got their cars, read the full article.
Christmas has come and gone and give or take we have been good with our recycling. We've not used anything we haven't needed to use and we have reused everything we can (amazing how present boxes can be turned into play kitchens, dens and a whole bunch of other things for the kids). This year I also separated the different types of waste when presents were opened - largely wrapping paper, cardboard and plastic bits.
The cold may be endangering for some, annoying for others, great fun for kids and the rest of us; but there is a clear advantage of all this snow. Go along a row of houses and you can see which ones don't have any insulation. Seriously try looking up at the roof line and follow the levels of insulation. I am surprise quite how many are snow free - melted due to heat loss from the house. Heading from Newbury to Reading on the train was amazingly interesting. Terrace houses work especially well for this little game as there is always one in a long row of them with a snow free brown roof. So go outside and look at your roof - white usually means you have good insulation (or no heating!), partially or fully melted snow shows how much of your household heat is heading out through your roof. A few quid spend now on insulation will add significant benefits to your heating costs and will do your bit for the environment and the sustainability of our fuel sources. Check your local energy companies for insulation offers.
I've been using shredded paper for the chickens nesting box, it's freely available (with all the darn junk mail) and people pop it around when they come. It composts well (especially when covered with chicken poo) and works well when covered with anti-mite type powers. I've just been given a rather big bag of dried hemp 'chippings' so decided to switch over to using it. So do the chickens like hemp bedding?
I seem to have a feather pecking problem with the chickens. Looks like the solitary black rock is being picked on by the ex-bat chickens. Might have to either isolate the ex-bats or find another plan B as I don't like the look of a poor ole black rock with feathers missing on the back of her neck. I do wonder if the pecking behaviour is inherent for birds that have been brought up in small busy cages with little free space.
Animal Aid have exposed the abuse of animals in their before their slaughter. The Guardian has good coverage of the abuse and a rather sickening video. I've seen a lot of 'we must tighten up laws' on twitter around this issue, but the real thing we must do is tighten up our morals. These people should not be compelled in any way to want to do these things, and I'm certain consumers would not want a product with 'we treat animals with great cruelty' stamped on the box.
I gave the willow a good trim over the weekend and with the help of a friends shredder reduced the massive volume of cuttings into big bags of willow chippings. I know willow burns well when dried, so it can start the drying process in the chicken pen. Their scratching and digging through it should also help the drying process. 
Recently brought up in the press again is the use of plastic in tea bags. Modern tea bags from the big brands use between 10-30% plastic in their bags. This, of course, is not compostable and won't bio-degrade quickly in your compost bin. Twinings, PG, Lipton and Tetley appear to be some of those brands who have been identified as using plastic in their tea bags. Given the very high price most people pay for tea and coffee in canteens and cafe's, shouldn't we be getting the best product available? Should we be worried by any chemical leaked from the plastic when immersing this plastic in boiling water?
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