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For today's nuggets of news we've got eggs cooking in our green kitchens, not to mention hybrid plug-ins from Volvo and some shady news about carcinogens in organics.
Volvo working on plug-in hybrids
Plug-in hybrids just got a welcome jolt in the arm. Volvo is making a Sweden-based fleet of ten plug-in hybrids that can be recharged directly from a mains wall socket (like the hacked plug-in Priuses). The company will start by developing hybrids first -- where an electric motor supports the combustion engine -- before introducing the plug-in hybrids in the future.
Green Eggs
James Seddon, a budding local inventor from Staines, has come up with an inspired energy-saving idea which won him the LIFE-IC award at the E.ON Energy Lab competition -- a nationwide talent search to find Britain's next big energy-saving innovations. James' winning entry was an energy-efficient egg cooking device called Eggxactly that can cook an egg without boiling any water, in just seven minutes. We think that is pretty eggtastic -- don't you?
Cut your Carbon
We're happy to announce that as part of Cut your Carbon -- a three-year campaign to cut carbon emissions -- the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) has launched an innovative competition with the chance to win a share of £2.5m of public funding. Budding eco entrepreneurs will compete for EEDA match funding of up to £200,000 for projects that apply fresh thinking to cutting carbon emissions. Groups taking part will also be able to measure their carbon footprint to see the success of their actions. So get your thinking cap on.
Organic products found to contain a carcinogen
We weren't so happy to hear that a newly released study commissioned by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has found 1,4-Dioxane, a carcinogenic contaminant, to be present in some leading 'natural' and 'organic' personal care products. JASON Pure Natural & Organic and Nature's Gate Organics were among the culprits found to contain a chemical which provides mildness to harsh ingredients and requires the use of the cancer-causing petrochemical Ethylene Oxide, which in turn generates 1,4-Dioxane as a by-product. We hasten to add that none of these products is certified under the USDA National Organic Program -- so always check your labels before buying.
'Green Kitchens' from Whirlpool
Whirlpool is helping us to be more 'green' in the kitchen with the announcement of its first 'Green kitchen' concept. The concept says it takes its model from the cycle of nature, and promises to cut water and energy use by up to 70 per cent on a bog-standard kitchen.
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