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The potential of increasing a home's value by improving its energy efficiency appears not yet reflected in the U.S.......
The article below addresses the deforestation for palm oil plantation and the environmental havoc wrought.
From: Editor, ClickGreen, More from this Affiliate
Published June 17, 2013 08:49 AM
Energy saving measures boost house prices, new research reveals
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From: Rhett Butler
Published June 18, 2013 08:58 AM
For an average home in the country, improving its EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) from band G to E, or from band D to B, could mean adding more than £16,000 ($25,000 USD) to the sale price of the property.
In the North East, improved energy efficiency from band G to E could increase this value by over £25,000 ($39,000 USD) and the average home in the North West could see £23,000 ($36,000 USD) added to its value. In the South West the value increases by £16,300.
The research, released today by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), takes into account over 300,000 property sales in England between 1995 and 2011 and is the most comprehensive research in this area to date.
It indicates that energy efficiency is now a key factor influencing the sale price of most residential dwellings in England.
Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker said: "We have long known the benefits of making energy saving improvements to the home, but this study is real evidence of the huge potential rewards.
"Not only can energy efficient improvements help protect you against rising energy prices, but they can also add real value to your property. This Coalition is committed to helping hardworking families with the cost of living. The Green Deal is designed to do exactly that.
"The Green Deal is helping more people make these types of home improvements, reducing high upfront costs and letting people pay for some the cost through the savings on their bills. The Green Deal is a great option for anyone wanting to improve the look, feel and potentially the value of their home."
Kevin McCloud, broadcaster and co-founder of the Grand Designs Future Living home retrofit company, said: "There are some 26 million homes in Britain, most of them about as well insulated as a rabbit hutch, and they need immediate help to be made less wasteful.
"This timely report tells us what we suspected all along: that people really value the well-insulated, energy-efficient home; that modest investment in measures to make our homes more comfortable , healthier and cheaper-to-run really pays off.
"The Green Deal is now maturing into a helpful way of financing a lot of the retrofit solutions around. Homeowners can now start to make these changes, alleviate the burden of high energy bills and improve the value of their prime asset."
Continue reading at ClickGreen.
Energy efficiency image via Shutterstock.
Singapore chokes on haze from deforestation fires
Singapore and Malaysian officials have asked Indonesia to take "urgent measures" to address forest fires in Sumatra that are sending choking haze northward, reports AFP.
Singapore's air pollution index is at the worst level since 2006, when Sumatra last experienced severe fires. The city-state's Pollutant Standards Index on Monday topped 150, well above the "unhealthy" threshold of 100, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA) web site.
"NEA has alerted the Indonesian Ministry of Environment on the haze situation experienced in Singapore, and urged the Indonesian authorities to look into urgent measures to mitigate the transboundary haze occurrence," said the agency in a statement. "NEA will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide further updates when necessary."
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak complained about the fires on his Facebook page: "The haze situation in Malaysia is going to worsen in the coming days with winds carrying smoke from hot spots in Sumatra."
But Indonesian officials attempted to deflect some of the blame for the fires, which are typically used by companies to clear forests and peatlands for oil palm plantations. Many of these companies are owned by firms based in Singapore and Malaysia.
"We hope the governments of Malaysia and Singapore will tell their investors to adopt proper measures so we can solve this problem together," said Hadi Daryanto, the second-in-command at Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry.
Forest fires and haze have become an annual problem in the region over the past 30 years as vast swathes of forest have been degraded by logging and converted to plantations. While the use of fire for land-clearing is illegal, the practice in nonetheless widespread, with satellites picking up hundreds of hotspots in a daily basis during the dry season, which typically runs through October.
Haze in the region has been associated with a number of ills, including increased incidence of respiratory problems. Severe haze can affect transportation networks, navigation, and tourism. The cost of the 1997-1998 haze — triggered by large-scale fires across Sumatra and Borneo that were exacerbated by dry El Nino conditions — was estimated in the billions of dollars to regional economies.
In response to the 1997-1998 crisis, ASEAN members set up the Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution, which called for collective action to tackle forest fires. Yet Indonesia never ratified the agreement and other members have been slow to enact reforms that would hinder conversion of forests for plantation development.
Continue reading at MONGABAY.COM.
Forest fire image via Shutterstock.
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