Going Green Podcast, Video blog and Daily News

  How long do solar PV inverters really last? If solar panels are the tortoises of the renewables world (slow, steady, 25+ years), the inverter is the hare: brilliant at its job, but far more likely to need replacing along the way. Typical real-world lifespan (domestic systems): String (central) inverters: about 10–15 years is the common expectation. Hybrid inverters (solar + battery): often 10–15 years , but battery cycling and higher workload can pull that down if the system is worked hard. Microinverters (one per panel): often quoted at 15–25 years , and manufacturers commonly back them with much longer warranties. A useful rule of thumb from the PV world is: plan on replacing a string inverter once during the “life of the panels.” One study notes inverters are “typically said” to have ~15-year life expectancy—roughly half the typical module performance warranty period. Why inverters don’t last as long as panels Panels are mostly passive. Inverters are bus...

 Why is fly tipping on the increase? Fly-tipping is rising for a messy mix of money, convenience, weak deterrence, and organised waste crime — and the latest England figures show it’s not a small uptick. What the latest numbers suggest (England) Local authorities dealt with around 1.26 million fly-tipping incidents in 2024/25 , up about 9% on 2023/24, with highways (roads/pavements) the most common location and “ small van load ” a very common size category. So: a lot of it is day-to-day household waste and small-scale dumping , not just “industrial villains in hi-vis”. Why it’s increasing 1) It’s often a “fee-avoidance” crime Disposing of waste properly can cost time, effort, and (sometimes) money — so fly-tipping becomes the illegal shortcut. Defra explicitly notes that fly-tipping is often driven by avoiding disposal costs . 2) “Man with a van” scams (rogue waste carriers) A big driver is people paying a cheap, unlicensed collector who then dumps it. Residents think t...

  Plastic production has doubled in 20 years… and it’s gearing up to double again If you ever needed proof that humans can commit to a long-term relationship, look no further than our devotion to plastic. We’ve doubled global plastic production over the last 20 years, and many projections suggest we’re on track to do it again. That isn’t just “a bit more packaging”. That’s a full-speed industrial snowball: more extraction, more manufacturing, more waste, more microplastics, more emissions — and more cost pushed onto councils, communities, beaches, rivers, and ultimately… us. Why is plastic still rising when we all “know better”? Because plastic is cheap for the producer , not cheap for society. Packaging and convenience still dominate: “single-use” is basically the business model. Petrochemicals are a growth engine for fossil fuel companies as other oil uses face pressure; petrochemicals are widely highlighted as a major driver of future oil demand growth. Recycling ...

  Water in the Desert: pulling drinking water out of “nothing” (with chemistry doing the heavy lifting) If you’ve ever stood in a desert and thought, “Lovely view. Shame about the whole ‘no water’ situation,” you’re not alone. The air does contain water vapour — even when it feels bone-dry — but grabbing it efficiently has always been the tricky bit. Enter Prof Omar Yaghi (University of California, Berkeley), the 2025 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, recognised for pioneering metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) — super-porous, molecular “scaffolds” built using reticular chemistry . In plain English: you design a material like LEGO at the molecular level, choosing the bits and connectors so it ends up full of tiny, tunable pores that can selectively trap molecules. So how does it harvest water? Yaghi’s approach uses these engineered porous materials to adsorb moisture from air (think: water sticking to internal surfaces), then release it when gently warmed. His company Atoco say...

  Atmospheric CO₂ hits 430 ppm: the “number on the dashboard” keeps creeping up If you want a single number that tells you how our planet’s “engine” is running, atmospheric CO₂ is it. And this week, the Mauna Loa Observatory readings nudged around 430 parts per million (ppm) — with NOAA reporting daily averages in mid-February 2026 that include 430.47 ppm (and other days hovering just under 430). First, a quick translation: ppm means how many CO₂ molecules there are per million molecules of dry air . So yes, it’s a trace gas — and yes, it still matters enormously. Now for the bit that always trips people up: CO₂ doesn’t rise in a straight line day-by-day. It does the classic “sawtooth” pattern (the Keeling Curve) because the Northern Hemisphere breathes in and out through the seasons — plants draw CO₂ down in spring/summer and it rises again in autumn/winter. NOAA’s charts show how those daily numbers roll up into weekly and monthly trends using “background” air (i.e., not ri...

  When the Weather Goes Bonkers, Why Are We “Unbolting” the Rules? The climate is doing that thing where it politely taps us on the shoulder… with a flying wheelie bin. Floods, heatwaves, droughts, storms — pick your flavour of “extreme”, and the menu keeps expanding. And yet, at the exact moment nature is demonstrating why guardrails matter, the voices calling for environmental rules to be rolled back have somehow become louder, better funded, and more influential. Part of it is timing. When budgets are tight and people are fed up with delays, “cut red tape” sounds like a miracle cure. Housing targets? Infrastructure? Farming competitiveness? All real pressures. In the UK, planning reform and “regulatory burden” have become headline priorities, with government openly focused on reducing complexity and speeding decisions. But here’s the catch: environmental rules often get blamed for problems that are actually caused by under-resourced regulators, muddled processes, or years of...

  Food recycling — compost bin or local recycling? Food waste is the most avoidable thing in the bin… and somehow the most determined to go slimy by Tuesday. So if you’ve got peelings, tea bags, leftovers and a suspicious half-cucumber, what’s greener: chucking it in your home compost bin, or using your council’s food-waste recycling? The best answer is: both — but for different types of food waste. Option A: Home composting (the “turn it into black gold” route) Best for: Raw fruit and veg peelings Egg shells Tea bags / coffee grounds (check the bag material) Cardboard/paper “browns” (torn up) Garden waste (grass, leaves, prunings) Why it’s good You keep nutrients at home and improve your soil. You cut the weight (and smell) in your general bin. It’s genuinely one of the simplest “circular economy” wins. WRAP and Recycle Now both push home composting as a practical waste-prevention step. The catch (literally): pests Most standard home compost ...

  Mud, Misery, and the Mighty Wellie: how UK farmers are coping with the very wet weather If your garden currently resembles a duck sanctuary, spare a thought for the people trying to earn a living on soil that’s behaving like a sponge in a bath. The Met Office has been pretty clear: this winter has felt exceptionally wet in many parts of the UK, with repeated spells of rain and very few proper dry breaks. Some weather stations have logged runs of around 40 consecutive wet days since late December. What “very wet” actually does to a farm (beyond ruining everyone’s trousers) 1) You can’t work land you can’t get on. Waterlogged fields mean tractors sink, ruts form, and soil gets compacted (which makes drainage and yields worse later). That delays ploughing, drilling, planting, fertiliser applications, and spraying—basically, the whole “growing food” bit. Scottish crop advisers have noted that field work has been “frustratingly delayed” by waterlogged soils this month. 2) Crop...

  Electric cars vs petrol cars: is the EV really cleaner from cradle to grave? An electric car is almost always better for climate pollution over its lifetime in the UK — but it’s not “zero impact”, and some of the pollution simply moves (from the tailpipe to the supply chain and the power station). Let’s take the whole “cradle-to-grave” journey: making the parts, building the car, driving it, and end-of-life . 1) Making the car: EVs start with a bigger “carbon backpack” EVs are usually more polluting to manufacture than petrol/diesel cars because the battery is energy-intensive to produce. A recent EU life-cycle analysis found BEVs had ~40% higher production emissions than petrol cars (mainly the battery). So yes — if you only look at the factory gate, critics get a point. But… 2) Driving the car: in the UK, EVs win fast on emissions Once you start driving, the maths flips — because EVs are much more energy-efficient, and the UK grid is far cleaner than burning petr...

PFAS “Forever Chemicals” in UK Drinking Water What’s actually being done – and is it enough?  PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are often called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down naturally. They’ve been used for decades in firefighting foams, non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, food packaging and industrial processes. The problem? They persist in soil and water, build up in living organisms, and some are linked to cancer, immune suppression and developmental problems. So what is the UK actually doing about PFAS in drinking water? 1️⃣ Regulation – Where Does the UK Stand? Unlike the 🇺🇸 United States , which recently introduced strict federal limits on certain PFAS, the UK does not yet have a specific legally binding maximum limit for individual PFAS in drinking water. Instead: The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) sets guidance values. Water companies must monitor PFAS under risk-based assessments. A provisional “tiered” guidance s...

 The EU Warns: Prepare for 3°C of Global Heating The EU’s independent scientific advisory body, the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change , has urged European governments to prepare for the possibility of 3°C of global warming . That’s not a target. It’s a warning. Despite the goals of the European Union and the global commitments under the Paris Agreement to limit warming to well below 2°C — ideally 1.5°C — current global policies put us on a trajectory closer to 2.5–3°C by the end of the century . The advisory message is clear: Hope for the best. Plan for the worst. What Does 3°C Actually Mean? Three degrees may not sound dramatic. After all, the UK can swing 10°C in a single day. But 3°C is a global average . That means: 🔥 Far more frequent and intense heatwaves 🌊 Accelerating sea-level rise 🌾 Crop failures and food price shocks 💧 Water shortages and drought stress 🌲 Forest dieback and biodiversity loss 🏥 Severe public health ...