Last night’s mayoral hustings at BRLSI was packed, we had to open a second room to hold all the audience who had come to see the mayoral candidates for the West of England Combined Authority explain their future policy – with a focus on what they would do to make Bath and the region more […]
It’s not easy being a sustainable consumer
Members of Transition Bath welcomed a PhD researcher, Cristina Longo, to their ranks in the period up to 2014. Cristina was conducting research into the practice of sustainable consumption: everyday spending being guided by concern for planetary sustainability. In her discussions with us, the individual dilemmas were more obvious than the solutions, to the extent […]
Would fining parents £130 for dropping their kids off at school by car be a good idea in Bath?
Two primary schools in Hackney are running a trial by fining parents £130 for dropping their kids off at school by car, in an effort to cut pollution and make walking and cycling to school safer. This policy has been implemented despite 70% of parents opposing it. We were wondering whether such an approach would […]
Commuting to work by bicycle or walking reduces your risk of dying from any cause by 41%, the incidence of cancer by 45% and heart disease by 46% compared with commuting by car or public transport
A paper in this month’s British Medical Journal and reported on the BBC website suggest that those commuting to work by cycling or walking are significantly more healthy than those who commute by public transport or by car. The report suggests that it is much easier to build commuting by walking or cycle into our lives as […]
Ultrasonic clothes drier uses 70% less energy
An article on the BBC website today on a new type of clothes drier which is 3 time quicker and uses 70% less energy caught our eye. Clothes driers on average consume more than 10% of a household’s electricity (394kWh /year (£60) from an average annual house electricity consumption of 3,638kWh/year (£545) Source: Powering the […]
Would the proposed A36-A46 Link Road reduce pollution in B&NES?
Background Both our current MP Ben Howlett and B&NES are pushing for a link road to be built between the A36 and A46 across Bathampton Meadows. One of their justifications for this project is a reduction in pollution and congestion in central Bath. We were curious whether this claim could be justified? It is almost […]
B&NES area carbon emissions and electricity consumption statistics: carbon emissions drop 23% in 10 years
This is a brief update to our previous analysis of B&NES’s carbon emissions from 2014; carbon emissions and electricity consumption continue to drop in the B&NES Local Authority area. Carbon Emissions According to government statistics carbon emissions dropped from 1102 kt CO2 in 2005 to 850 kt CO2 in 2015 a drop of 23%: The […]
Energy Sparks website launched (Transition Bath Schools’ Energy Education Programme)
Transition Bath have been working with Bath: Hacked (a not-for-profit group promoting Open Data) on a website as part of an energy education program we are running with schools this year, and our new website have recently gone live: http://www.energysparks.uk/ . The website makes public electricity and gas smart meter data and integrates a gaming engine to […]
150 fold increase in renewable energy capacity in B&NES in last 6 years
According to an article written by Pete Capener, CEO of Bath & West Community Energy (BWCE), the renewable energy capacity in B&NES based on data from Ofgem has increased from 150kW to 22MW in B&NES between 2010 and 2016, a 150 fold increase. The current production is enough to provide electricity for 5.600 local homes, […]
Should B&NES change transport policy focus from road and car parking building towards reducing the 31,000 local car journeys in Bath each day?
Adam Reynolds, chair of CycleBath and member of the Transition Bath Transport Group is trying to change the mindset of the Council away from a focus on road and car park building towards encouraging Bathonian’s to walk, cycle and use public transport. As he points out there are 31,000 local car journeys and 4,500 school […]