Many environmentalists are concerned about the effect of the Tata Nano on global warming. Finally on sale last week after seven months of delays, the Nano promises to be the world’s cheapest new car.

The Nano is a small, four-seater car made by Tata,the Indian tea to tech conglomerate. As India’s economy has boomed, so has demand for cars from the growing middle class. At present, only one in 8000 people in India own a car compared to 450 cars to 8000 people in developed countries. But India has population of 1 billion and is a country hungry for cars. Nobel Prize winner, R.K. Pachauri, the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said that he was ‘having nightmares’ about the Nano.

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Tackling global warming with chocolate seems an unlikely idea. In New Hampshire, a test to generate electricity using cocoa-bean shells has successfully been carried out.

This novel idea to combat climate change came about after the Swiss-owned Lindt chocolate plant in the state decided to change its operations. It makes truffles at the plant. To do so, it imports large blocks of chocolate from Europe.

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Running a fuel efficient car isn’t just about the manufacturer’s fuel consumption figures. There are many simple things that you can do to run your car as efficiently as possible. Here are ten tips:

1.Make sure that your car is serviced regularly – it’s the best way to make sure that it’s running efficiently.

2.Check the oil each week – make sure that it’s topped up with oil to the manufacturer’s specification. For example, VW’s TDI PD engines need a high-spec oil.

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Have you got a draw full of obsolete mobile phone chargers? Every different brand of phone seems to have a different design of charger. But now the phone industry has tackled the problem.

From 2012, most manufacturers (with the notable exceptions of Apple and HTC) will adopt the micro-USB standard.

This is great for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Adopting a standard charger should half the number of chargers produced every year. Standardization should save carbon emissions as an estimated 51 tonnes of chargers won’t be necessary.

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1.Consider buying a laptop and docking station instead of a new desktop – laptops are much more energy efficient.

2.Look for the Energy Star logos on any computer equipment you buy – products with the Energy Star logo must use power below set levels and go into ‘hibernation’ when switched on but not in use.

3.Get rid of computer screensavers – they consume unnecessary power.

4.Buy a photocopier that uses low melting-point inks – the lower the temperature that fuses the toner to the paper, the less power that is used.

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’1080p’. ‘Dolby’. ’100hz’ are the more usual labels that we look for when buying a flatscreen TV. But what about ‘w’ – for watts?

CNET says that the average LCD TV consumes 213 watts, whereas the average plasma one uses 350 watts. That’s a massive difference of 40 % more for the plasma.

With lower running costs and a smaller carbon footprint, go for LCD.

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Aviation is often portrayed as a villian in the battle to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases. It currently accounts for about 3% of greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union. That’s about as much as the estimates of computer equipment’s carbon footprint. So why all the fuss?

The problem with aviation is twofold. Firstly, it one of the only areas where emissions are predicted to rise. Much of the blame for this is being laid at the door of the low-cost airlines, who have made flying cheaper and more popular. The aviation sector has seen an 87% increase in carbon dioxide emissions since 1990, with an increase of as much as 25% being predicted for the future.

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To many, Britain’s canal system is merely a relic from the Victorian era. Thanks to 21st Century technology, canals are set to contribute to the reduction of global warming.

British Waterways, the public body responsible for Britain’s 2,200 mile water network, have announced a deal worth £120 million ($168 million) with the Small Hydro Company to generate renewable hydro energy from the canal system. The plan is generate 210,000 megawatts of electricity annually from 25 sites. It’s hoped to have the first site up and running by next year.

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It sounds such a simple idea. Take the carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power stations, store them underground and prevent global warming. The trouble is, it’s not as simple as that.

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has got politicians excited. It’s based on technology already used in the oil industry. Energy companies pump carbon dioxide into oil reservoirs so that they can raise the pressure and extract more oil and gas.

Once the oil or gas have been extracted, the companies haven’t, in the main, been too worried about what happens to the carbon dioxide afterwards. However, now some of them are testing to see whether the carbon dioxide remains underground.

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Buying the most efficient electrical white goods is easy in the UK. Each product has an energy rating group from A to G, with a traffic light colour code. A’s green and the best, whilst G is red and the worst. Cars use a similar system as well.

But do such rating systems tell the whole story? They don’t consider the total carbon dioxide emissions related to the manufacture and distribution of the product, only its efficiency in use.

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