A quick tour of the news
In case you missed some of these...
Display Energy Certificate on Eland House = F
Eland House proved less green than the Natural History Museum, a 128-year-old building with single-skin brick walls, drafty single-glazed windows and exhibits that require constant heating and lighting.
Green government offices emerge as least energy-efficient | Environment | The Guardian
Tenant's guide to Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)
The CLG today released its tenant's guide to Energy Performance Certificates (pdf).
The Telegraph hates Home Information Packs
This is the view of the Telegraph:
Home Information Packs (Hips) have come to symbolise much that is wrong with this Government.
Check out all those comments too!
High time to scrap Hips - Telegraph
HIPs expedite buying process
Two press releases from two different companies (one via AHIPP), each with different conclusions!
Mortgage Introducer reports LMS as claiming that transactions - from offer to exchange - have reduced by seven days on average, thanks to the Home Information Pack.
Meanwhile, AHIPP cites "research" conducted by MyHomeInformationPack which claims to show, "that the time taken from instruction to exchange of contracts has fallen from 52 days a year ago to just 39 days in July of this year."
Which works out at 13 days!
HIPs - reduce stress & speed up the process | Association of Home Information Pack Providers
On a more serious note...
Last two energy companies fall into line
Npower said prices for gas customers would increase by an average 26%, with prices for electricity customers up by 14%, both with immediate effect.
Scottish Power followed a few hours later by announcing it would increase gas prices by an average 34% and electricity prices by 9% from Monday.
The firms have 11.8 million customers between them.
Consumers hit by gas and electricity price rises - The Independent
Russia may strangle oil-flows to the West
Reports have begun to circulate in Moscow that Russian oil companies are under orders from the Kremlin to prepare for a supply cut to Germany and Poland through the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline. It is believed that executives from lead-producer LUKoil have been put on weekend alert.
"They have been told to be ready to cut off supplies as soon as Monday," claimed a high-level business source, speaking to The Daily Telegraph. Any move would be timed to coincide with an emergency EU summit in Brussels, where possible sanctions against Russia are on the agenda.
Russia may cut off oil flow to the West - Telegraph
I don't know what to make of the Georgia situation - apart from it's clearly bad for those in the region.
For some reason, I hear my Gran telling me how sudden the second world war seemed to erupt. I remember her saying she - "they" - was aware of Hitler's rise to power and the distant rumblings of trouble, but then from seemingly nothing, all hell broke loose.
Let's hope history doesn't repeat itself.
Canada exerts authority on Arctic waterways
Why is this relevant here?
'Cos they believe, along with Russia, Norway, America et al, that a load of oil exists there.
Canada is extending its jurisdiction over icy Arctic waters to 200 nautical miles off its coast, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday while on his seventh trip to Canada's northern frontier.
AFP: Canada asserts control of Arctic waters
The Prime Minister continued: "Whether it is the thawing of the Northwest Passage or the suspected resource riches under the Arctic seabed, more and more countries are taking an interest in the waterways of the Canadian Arctic"
They are now intending to demand all ships register with Canadian authorities before passing through its Northwest Passage.
Falklands
In a further re-carving of the world, Britain is reported to be lodging a claim for extending territorial rights around the southern Atlantic island of Ascension as part of a growing battle for control of oil and gas reserves under the seabed, as well as a a similar claim around the Falkland Islands, which I'm sure will please the Argentinians no end!
The last three items, should they go tits-up, could easily entail much higher oil prices, quick-time!
The DEA Podcast goes international!
In case you're not hooked-up with the podcast RSS feed, today I uploaded an interesting podcast with John McKenna of American Home Inspection, discussing how they do things over there.
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Reply #1 on : Sun August 31, 2008, 12:09:44