Eco Worrier - Times Online - WBLG

Chilling out is not that cool

Q: Air-conditioning is bliss in this weather. Is it really that bad for the environment?

Bliss, you say. Others might prefer energy- guzzling, planet-warming or maybe bone-chilling. If you ask me, air-conditioning conspires with employers to keep us attached to our desks instead of schlepping home early when our keyboards start to melt.

Yes, it stops the sweat on stifling summer days (who hasn’t crept into an air-conditioned shop now and again for an icy moment?) but, according to the magazine Energy in Buildings and Industry, it also adds 50 per cent to the energy costs of a building. In cars, it increases fuel consumption by 10 to 14 per cent.

Carrying out a personal energy review

Whatever you think about nuclear energy, few people would venture that it is a magic bullet poised to solve our energy problems. Even our nuclear-friendly Prime Minister, who today has given the green light to the building of new plants, recognizes the need for an open-minded approach to other methods of generation. He has outlined plans for carbon-free technologies to make up 10 per cent of our electricity supply by 2010.

But while politicians bicker over our country’s energy strategy, what role do we play - other than gasping at ever rising bills? On the letters page in The Times last week, a number of professionals demanded greater public engagement in the issue, calling for a public debate. “The issue is of such widespread national and international importance…that any decisions should only be taken on the basis of a national referendum,” they said. Fat chance of that, I fear. But we can all play a part in the debate by registering - and improving - our own impact on energy consumption. 

Flower power

Although the first cosmetics ever produced undoubtedly came from wild flowers and herbs, the relationship between plants and products is fast disappearing. It seems almost quaint to imagine that there might be plant remains in our beloved pots of gloop.