My Climate Change Garden

Save the rain

24. January 2012

The UK is set for some heavy downpours over the next few days which is good news for gardeners – my water butt is almost empty and the ground is very hard. The Environment Agency have been very concerned about the water supply situation and issued this update just a few weeks ago. http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Leisure/31_Drought_management_briefing_12_Jan_12.pdf Its easy [...]

Thames Water tackles drought threat

12. January 2012

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Lack of rain in Southern England continues to be a problem and Thames Water today launched a campaign to try to prevent a serious drought this year.It aims to make residents near the River Lee north of London and the River Darent to the south use water wisely. The company said last year’s “exceptionally dry weather” means the threat of [...]

UK faces water rationing in 2012

26. November 2011

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Firms providing water to around half the population said that some of the driest weather on record over the last year has left stocks seriously depleted.With temperatures still unseasonably mild, families are being urged to save water over the coming months as Britain faces the first winter drought in nearly a decade. Thames Water and [...]

Bonfire night brings precious white rain

4. November 2011

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Bonfire night brings precious white rain

Looks like wellies and waterproofs for bonfire night celebrations this weekend with the Met Office predicting heavy downpours. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/se/london_forecast_weather.html With all the fun of the fireworks it is easy to forget that rain could be one of our most precious commodities in the future.Population growth, climate change, drought conditions and the restriction of sufficiently large fresh [...]

7 billion world population v water usage

28. October 2011

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The UN is set to announce that the population of the planet has now reached seven billion people. But will this number continue to rise in future years – and if so, what could this mean http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-15445092 Water use has been growing at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century, [...]

Water butt season

18. October 2011

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The government is pushing ahead with plans to make every home have a water metre. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/water-meters-could-be-made-compulsory-in-all-british-homes-2198448.html The quickest way to keep your water bills down is to fit a water butt and store the huge amounts of rain that usually falls on UK gardens during the winter . The best way to maximise rainwater collection into [...]

House sales affected by rainwater?

17. September 2011

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If you want to make your house more attractive to buyers in the current market then try this idea: INSTALL A RAIN-WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM According to a UK survey, sponsored by Save the Rain a significant proportion of homeowners (1 in 3) would be more likely to buy a house if a rainwater harvesting system [...]

Where can I buy water butts?

10. September 2011

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Severe gales and floodng expected to hit parts of the UK in the next 48 hours as hurricane Katia makes its way across the Atlantic. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/sep/10/britain-braces-itself-for-storms-and-floods Time to make sure you can capture some of the expected heavy rainfall by installing a water butt. You can buy water butts everywhere now – on line, in garden [...]

Weather and climate – the difference?

8. September 2011

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The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere “behaves” over relatively long periods of time. When we talk about climate change, we talk about changes in long-term averages of daily weather.Here are [...]