How can design help reduce our energy consumption?

The Design Council's latest newsletter has a feature on how design can reduce energy use.

check it out here:
How can design help reduce our energy consumption?

Nearly half of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions come from energy we use every day - at home and when we travel. We know we should be reducing our energy consumption to save money (if not the planet) - but where, and how, to begin?

The average household produces 6 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. But that doesn’t mean very much to most people: what does a tonne of carbon dioxide even look like?

Can design help us visualise what we are spending, and wasting, on energy? Could design help us to uncover new ways we can reduce our carbon footprints? And what role can design have in making energy saving not only user-friendly, but also desirable?

Religious Green

Apparently, the Vatican has just received a donation that will offset it's carbon emissions.

Vatican Penance: Forgive Us Our Carbon Output

TISZAKESZI, Hungary — This summer the cardinals at the Vatican accepted an unusual donation from a Hungarian start-up called Klimafa: The company said it would plant trees to restore an ancient forest on a denuded stretch of land by the Tisza River to offset the Vatican’s carbon emissions.

The trees, on a 37-acre tract of land that will be renamed the Vatican climate forest, will in theory absorb as much carbon dioxide as the Vatican will produce in 2007: driving cars, heating offices, lighting St. Peter’s Basilica at night.


The New York Times has the full story.