Author: Dominic Donaldson Title: Engineering Consultants Face Low Carbon Facts Article: According to the news it is set to be a busy time for engineering consultants thanks to Government proposals to introduce low carbon power stations, transport and manufacturing to Britain. This comes after the G8 summit proposals were branded as unattainable. The general consensus is that low carbon technology needs to be implemented immediately, even if the targets that were set are unlikely to be met by the technologies in place at present.

Engineering consultants are currently working on plans to build clean coal power stations that use a carbon sequestering system to mitigate carbon dioxide released through burning fossil fuels. The clean coal solution has not been popular with environmental activists, and it was openly opposed at a recent film premier where Ed Miliband was present.

An actor who stars in an environmental drama documentary about the world as it will be should we not heed the advice of environmental consultants declared that he will return his OBE to the queen if the Labour government go ahead with proposals to introduce four clean coal power stations. This comes in the run up to the Copenhagen agreement due to take place later this year.

Whilst it is recognised that the Government should take action as soon as possible to meet targets set through the Kyoto Protocol regarding carbon emissions, it has been proposed that the rate at which low carbon technology is developing is too slow. In the meantime therefore it is more productive to implement something rather than nothing.

It seems that the problem facing engineering consultants is the so called ‘valley of death’, which is the area that lies between concept and commercial implementation. There are many technologies that have been developed that will provide energy from sustainable sources, but the downfall is making such technology economically viable as an effective solution to commercial production.

At present clean coal technology has been proved to be good enough to meet the energy demands of Britain, and has delivered reasonable mitigation measures for the carbon that will be released. Although engineering consultants have a lot to offer individuals and companies on a small scale, coming up with the right sustainable technology to provide enough energy for the whole country is not so easy.

It is believed that setting achievable targets or getting projects off the ground that offer a better solution than what we have at present is better than doing nothing at all. It is hoped that engineering consultants can then buy themselves a little more time to improve the technologies that are in development at present. Dom Donaldson is a environmental expert.
Find out more about Engineering Consultants and the services available at URS Corp. Syndication Source: ThoughtSearch.com

Author: Daniel Millions Title: Life Cycle of the Flower Article: Flowers, also called blooms or blossoms, is the reproductive organs of the plant. The basic function of a flower is to precipitate the blending of the male sperm with female ovum to produce seeds and propagate the species. The basic process starts with pollination, which in turn causes fertilization, and this leads to the formation of the seeds. There are various ways that a plant causes dispersal of it’s seeds. It can spread it’s seeds by wind or like the blackberry plant and spread it’s seeds by use of birds and animals.

Seeds are the next generation, or offspring, and are the primary means by which a species ensures it’s continuation. The production of many tiny flowers on a single plant is called inflorescence. Besides being the reproductive organs of flowering plants, flowers have been used by humans all across the world to beautify their surroundings and as a source of food.

Every flower has a specific design which helps the transfer of it’s pollen in the most efficient way possible. Some types of flowers are self pollinated, such as various types of sativas, while others require pollination by insects. Plants, such as many types of mints or clover, attract and use bees, bats, birds, etc. to transfer pollen from one flower to another.

Most flowers have glands called nectaries on various parts that attract insects such as bees. Some flowers have patterns referred to as nectar guides, that help insects like butterflies where to look for the sweet nectar. Flowers can also draw pollinators to them by using scent and color. And some flowers use a clever mimicry to draw pollinators to them. Many types of orchids produce flowers that look like a female bee in their coloration, scent, and their shape to draw the male bees to them.

A huge array of flower species are also specialized in their particular shape to have an arrangement of the stamens to make sure that the pollen grains are transferred to the bodies of the insect when it lands looking for what attracted it in the first place. By the insect’s constant pursuit of the pollen, nectar, etc. from many different flowers of the same species, the insect transfers pollen to the various stigmas of each flower with that single minded precision to all of the flowers it lands on.

There are many flowers that spread pollen from one flower to the next by the use of wind. Many of the examples that use this method include Birch trees, Ragweed, Dandelions, Milkweed, etc. These plants have no real need to attract insects or other creatures to pollinate them and therefore tend to not have bright and showy flowers.

The male and female flowers are on the same plant with the male flowers having several long filaments ending in the stamens, and the female flowers having the long feathery stigmas. The pollen of entomophilous flowers, (flowers that need pollinators), have the tendency to be large-grained, rather sticky, and rich in necessary proteins, the anemophilous flower, (flowers that need no pollinators), pollen has tiny grains, is very light, non-sticky, and has little or no nutritional value to insects or other creatures.

Flowers are a beautiful and necessary part of our world. They can calm our minds and sooth our souls in an increasingly hectic age. Plant a garden and enjoy the natural beauty of flowers! Online Florists that Send Flowers to Thailand Syndication Source: ThoughtSearch.com

Author: Jesse Whitehead Title: Seven Household Tasks You Can Easily Outsource Article: Most of us work hard all week long on the job, only to come home to a boatload of work on the weekends. It seems it’s all work-all the time, with little or no time for play. If you would like to have some extra time to do things that you want to do, rather than have to do, then do what many businesses do – outsource your work to someone else.

Outsource the chores you hate to do, or those that drain your energy. You will improve quality of life. You will have more free and leisure time. You will have more time and energy to focus on the things you really want to do.

Here are some typical household tasks that you can outsource:

1. Altering clothes. Hemming pants and skirts, letting out or taking in clothes that do not fit quite right, sewing on buttons, etc.

2. Laundry. You can hire someone to come in to your home one day a weed to do laundry, or you can take your clothes to a drop-off laundry service.

3. Ironing. Even if you decide to launder your own clothes, you may consider hiring someone to iron your clothes, especially if you have many clothes that need to be ironed such as business suits, dress shirts and blouses, skirts, etc.

4. Yard work. This can take up a huge amount of time on the weekends if you have a large lawn to mow or a large landscape area filled with shrubs, flowerbeds, roses, trees and so forth. For some people, doing yard work, mowing the lawn, tending the flowers etc, is a way to relieve stress and relax; but for many others it’s just another chore that they would rather they didn’t have to do. If you don’t want to do yard work then hire a lawn maintenance service.

5. House Cleaning. Dusting, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, toilets, showers etc., are tedious and time-consuming tasks that must be done regularly if you want to have a clean home. Hire a cleaning service to take that job off your plate and free up your spare time for something else.

6. Home repairs. If you’re not very handy with doing repairs and maintenance around the house, hire a handy man to do it for you.

7. Personal Tasks. Hire a part-time personal assistant to help you with things like paying bills, balancing checking accounts, keeping the books etc.

In conclusion, this list is by no means all-inclusive, but is intended to give you ideas of tasks that you can successfully outsource. “Get a life” and free up your time for things you really want to do. The amount of time you free up may more than make up for the money you spend on outsourcing household tasks. Jesse Whitehead enjoys writing articles on a variety of subjects. One of his latest interests is in satellite phone rentals. For more information on how to rent a satellite phone, visit SatellitePhone-Rental.com Syndication Source: ThoughtSearch.com

Author: Aydan Corkern Title: Have You Ever Heard Of An Underwater Fire Or Flood Article: You might not be as connected with the news of the world if you have never heard of the tunnel that runs underneath the English Channel that connects the United Kingdom with France. This remarkable tunnel allows a railway to run in the tunnel through the ocean water. It is referred to as the Eurotunnel or The Chunnel and is 50.5 kilometres or 31.4 miles long. The only underwater tunnel that is this long or longer is the Seikan Tunnel in Japan.

The tunnel began operating in 1994, but was thought about and planned long before that. Many obstacles and financial barriers had to be overcome before it was finally made a reality. The railway services in the tunnel can carry passengers and vehicles to the other side, but it is also used to transport other kinds of freight. It is a lot like any other railway line only it is underwater. For those who do not like closes places or have a terrible fear of water, it might not be their most ideal way to travel.

When this tunnel was finally completed and open for business, predictions for the number of people and freight that were expected to use it did not turn out to be as large as though after all. It does run regularly though and the usage has been enough to keep it open and running. Even the Queen of England herself made a run through the tunnel when it first opened as did President Mitterand of France.

There have supposedly only been two fire incidents in the tunnel and both of these were involving freight of some kind. The first fire was thought to be arson of a heavy goods vehicle shuttle wagon. It damaged an area of the tunnel and full operation was not restored until about six months later. No one was seriously hurt in this fire event.

More recently on September 11th, 2008 a very memorable day for all Americans, the tunnel had another fire. This time it was supposedly caused by a chemical lorry that caught on fire on a freight carrying vehicle train that was headed for the United Kingdom. There were no deaths reported due to this fire incident either, but people were injured and reportedly had breathing difficulties. The tunnel was completely closed down at that time.

It took almost two days to completely get the fire out this second time and at this point it is thought to have been an accident. It is said that approximately 26,000 people per day use the tunnel to travel between England and France. It makes you wonder how safe it is to travel in this tunnel in the even of a flooding or fire incident. It just goes to prove that a flood and a fire really can take place underwater, but when it happens on land each and everday it is probably no riskier than traveling any other way. Aydan Corkern is a writer of many topics, visit some of her sites, like
Miami Water Damage Restoration and Chicago Water Damage Restoration. Syndication Source: ThoughtSearch.com

Author: Karl Hopkins Title: Get Ready For Energy Performance Certificates Article: From October 2008 landlords offering property for rent will be required by law to provide prospective tenants with an Energy Performance Certificate for their property.

The certificates (EPCs) will have to be provided free either when (or before) any written information about the property is provided to prospective tenants or a viewing is conducted. They will not have to be provided if the landlord believes the prospective tenant is unlikely to have sufficient funds to rent the property or is not genuinely interested in renting, or the landlord is unlikely to be prepared to rent the property to the prospective tenant.

A new certificate will not be required on each let since, in the case of rental property, EPCs will be valid for 10 years.

The requirement is being introduced to comply with the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) which applies to all property, including rented property. This became law in 2003 and allowed until January 2009 for full implementation so as to provide time for sufficient numbers of energy assessor to be trained.

The Directive’s requirements have been introduced into English and Welsh law along with the controversial Home Information Pack regulations that require sellers to produce packs providing information about their title, local searched, plus an EPC. The full requirements are included in the Home Information Pack (No 2) Regulations 2007 and the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007.

In Scotland, the Single Survey, the equivalent to HIPS, also includes an energy report requirement.

So far as energy performance is concerned, the regulations require an EPC when a building is constructed, sold or rented out. When included in a HIP related to a property sale, the EPC should be no more than 12 months old when the property is first marketed. In other circumstances EPCs have a 10 year life.

HIP requirements have already come into force so far as three and four bedroom properties are concerned. And EPCs will be required for all new builds from 6 April 2008, and for all rentals as from 1 October 2008.

In Scotland EPCs for rental properties will be required by January 2009.

By 2009, all buildings in the UK that are constructed, sold or rented out will have to have an Energy Performance Certificate. In the case of larger public buildings a ‘Display Energy Certificate’ will have to be on show.

There are a number of different permitted assessment methods, their use depending upon the type of building being assessed. Dwellings will usually be assessed using the ‘Reduced Data Standard Assessment Procedure’ (RdSAP), an industry agreed standard that allows some data to be inferred.

Its use involves inspectors collecting standard information on the type of property and construction, the property dimensions including room sizes, types of windows, room and water heating systems and controls, plus other details such as wall, loft and water tank insulation. Agreed reference coefficients are then applied to arrive at an energy rating.

EPCs for dwellings will rate the energy performance of buildings (not the appliances within them) on a scale of ‘A’ to ‘G’ – where ‘A’ is the most efficient, and ‘G’ the least. This will be displayed graphically in a similar way as present energy labelling on white goods such as fridges and washing machines.

Two ratings will be shown: an overall energy efficiency rating, and an environmental impact rating in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – the higher the rating, the less impact on the environment.

The idea is that because EPCs will be prepared using standard methods with standard assumptions, it will be possible to make comparisons of the energy efficiency of buildings. The Government argues that in the case of rental properties, high rating will be more desirable and will impact on the marketability of properties – and hence ultimately on rent levels.

EPCs will always be accompanied by a recommendation report including a list of measures (such as low and zero carbon generating systems) that would improve the energy rating of the building and an indication of the rating that could potentially be reached should these recommendations be implemented.

It suggested each year an estimated 2.5m plus homes will require an EPC.

ECPs may only be produced by authorised Domestic Energy Assessors (DEAs) who have been able to demonstrate appropriate qualifications or competence.

At least one DEA trainer is claiming, that besides benefiting from flexible working hours, qualified assessors will be able to earn up to 100,000 pounds per year.

According to the Government, buildings are responsible for almost 50 per cent of all energy consumed in the UK and over a quarter of CO2 emissions, while forecasts suggest a large proportion of current buildings will still be in use in 2050.

An initial survey of EPC results found that on average four bedroom homes were being rated ‘E’. ‘This could potentially rise to a “C” if consumers undertake measures recommended in the certificates, such as loft and cavity wall insulation’, claimed the Government.

The top five recommendations given by assessors for improving energy efficiency have been: cavity wall insulation, changing to low energy lighting, putting thermostatic valves on radiators, loft insulation, and double glazing.

The Government said the price of an energy performance certificate will be set by the market and it expects the cost to vary according to the size, type and location of the property. However, it is predicting that the cost of a stand alone EPC for an ‘average’ home is approximately 100 pounds. This seems to be borne out by prices currently being quoted by providers.

The Government also suggests that the time taken to perform an energy assessment will be ‘about the same time as performing a housing valuation report’.

Landlords wishing to make energy saving improvements to their properties either before or after obtaining an EPC are offered some help from the Government.

The Landlord’s Energy Saving Allowance, originally introduced in April 2004, now covers loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, solid wall insulation, draught proofing, hot water system insulation, and floor insulation.

Expenditure on these items would otherwise be treated as capital expenditure – which means it could not be deducted from rental income to arrive at a taxable item. However, the LESA allows up to 1,500 pounds per property spend on such items as a straight deduction from rental profits.

The allowance is to run until 2015. The ‘per property’ rule (rather than the former ‘per building’ restriction means that for a house converted into three flats an allowance of 4,500 pounds can be claimed. However, the allowance is not available for holiday lets or resident landlords. For further information on energy performance certificates visit Residential Landlord the premier, and complete information website for landlords and property investors with UK buy to let rental property investments.

http://www.residentiallandlord.co.uk Syndication Source: ThoughtSearch.com