HERO
WE MIGHT be cursed with the wrong kind of leaves and the wrong kind of snow, but boy, have we got good wind. And not just any old wind — we’ve got top-notch wind, the kind that is just right for keeping wind turbines ticking over. British wind is so good, in fact, that it leaves our European neighbours breathless with envy, yet somewhat bemused as to why we don’t make better use of it, reports Green Futures (Jan/Feb). This revelation comes from the Environmental Change Institute at Oxford University, whose researchers have been monitoring UK wind, hourly, in 66 locations, since 1970.
VILLAIN
ENVIOUS of our wind they may be, but it’s unlikely that neighbouring countries are casting jealous glances at our Japanese knotweed. Eradicating the rampant plant is a problem for brownfield land developers, says Regeneration & Renewal (Jan 13) and nationwide removal will cost £1.56 billion. But help is on the way. A community group in Lancashire, the Offshoots Permaculture Project, has invented a system that vacuums the plant up and puts it through a machine that “renders it inert”. The invention isn’t ready yet, but developers are excited. “We would welcome any solution,” one says.