#insulatebritain — Public Fediverse posts

This is why insulation matters. I've got no AC, and yet, in this heat, my home is quite comfortable. Most people in the UK aren't so fortunate. #InsulateBritain

This is why insulation matters. I've got no AC, and yet, in this heat, my home is quite comfortable. Most people in the UK aren't so fortunate. #InsulateBritain

This is why insulation matters. I've got no AC, and yet, in this heat, my home is quite comfortable. Most people in the UK aren't so fortunate. #InsulateBritain

This is why insulation matters. I've got no AC, and yet, in this heat, my home is quite comfortable. Most people in the UK aren't so fortunate. #InsulateBritain

This is why insulation matters. I've got no AC, and yet, in this heat, my home is quite comfortable. Most people in the UK aren't so fortunate. #InsulateBritain

When Mike Graham Tried to Grow Concrete, the Internet Did the Rest

Dear Cherubs, a radio interview about home insulation somehow turned into a live demonstration of how fast a debate can fall through the floorboards. Cameron Ford, an Insulate Britain spokesperson and carpenter, went on talkRADIO to talk about the campaign’s push to insulate homes, and Mike Graham seemed determined to turn the whole thing into a quiz night for facts that had already packed their bags.

THE SETUP

Ford made a very ordinary point: timber is renewable because trees can be regrown, while concrete is a manufactured material with a heavy carbon footprint. The Independent reported that Graham pushed back, asked whether cutting trees could ever be sustainable, and then reached the now-legendary answer that you can grow concrete — which is a sentence so wrong it deserves a parking ticket.

The clip then went quiet for several seconds, Ford stayed on air, and Graham ended the interview with a breezy “See you Cameron, cheerio.” At that point the silence was not awkward so much as structural. According to the Guardian, this was happening against the backdrop of a wider Insulate Britain campaign, and the group said 146 members had been arrested 690 times by that point.

THE COMEBACK

Graham later tried to save the situation on Jeremy Kyle’s show, reportedly saying concrete “expands” as it sets. The Independent said he doubled down, which is a polite way of saying he kept digging after the shovel had already left the chat.

To be fair, the science lane is more interesting than the punchline. Ingenia and the University of Bath have both reported on self-healing concrete research, including bacteria that can help produce limestone and seal cracks, while Science Focus has covered experimental “living concrete” using sand, gel and bacteria. That is a real field of research; it is just not a magical tree-to-concrete pipeline, and it is certainly not the same thing as saying a bag of cement photosynthesises in the dark.

So the viral magic here was not really about construction materials at all. It was about tone, timing, and one very public refusal to let a carpenter finish a thought. For the genre of public-argument trainwreck, thisclaimer.com is a decent tab to keep open; for everyone else, the clip remains a tidy reminder that confidence and correctness are not the same material, even if someone on live radio really wishes they were.

Sources list —
The Independent — https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/insulate-britain-concrete-trees-b1945549.html
The Independent TV — https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/talkradio-host-mike-graham-claims-concrete-grows-after-insulate-britain-controversy-b2183123.html
The Guardian — https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/27/insulate-britain-protests-arrests-group-defies-injunctions
Ingenia — https://www.ingenia.org.uk/articles/self-healing-concrete/
University of Bath — https://www.bath.ac.uk/case-studies/using-bacteria-to-create-spontaneous-self-healing-concrete/
Science Focus — https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/environmentally-friendly-living-concrete-capable-of-self-healing
thisclaimer.com — https://thisclaimer.com/
Wikimedia Commons (image source) — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cement_mixer_side.jpg

When Mike Graham Tried to Grow Concrete, the Internet Did the Rest

Dear Cherubs, a radio interview about home insulation somehow turned into a live demonstration of how fast a debate can fall through the floorboards. Cameron Ford, an Insulate Britain spokesperson and carpenter, went on talkRADIO to talk about the campaign’s push to insulate homes, and Mike Graham seemed determined to turn the whole thing into a quiz night for facts that had already packed their bags.

THE SETUP

Ford made a very ordinary point: timber is renewable because trees can be regrown, while concrete is a manufactured material with a heavy carbon footprint. The Independent reported that Graham pushed back, asked whether cutting trees could ever be sustainable, and then reached the now-legendary answer that you can grow concrete — which is a sentence so wrong it deserves a parking ticket.

The clip then went quiet for several seconds, Ford stayed on air, and Graham ended the interview with a breezy “See you Cameron, cheerio.” At that point the silence was not awkward so much as structural. According to the Guardian, this was happening against the backdrop of a wider Insulate Britain campaign, and the group said 146 members had been arrested 690 times by that point.

THE COMEBACK

Graham later tried to save the situation on Jeremy Kyle’s show, reportedly saying concrete “expands” as it sets. The Independent said he doubled down, which is a polite way of saying he kept digging after the shovel had already left the chat.

To be fair, the science lane is more interesting than the punchline. Ingenia and the University of Bath have both reported on self-healing concrete research, including bacteria that can help produce limestone and seal cracks, while Science Focus has covered experimental “living concrete” using sand, gel and bacteria. That is a real field of research; it is just not a magical tree-to-concrete pipeline, and it is certainly not the same thing as saying a bag of cement photosynthesises in the dark.

So the viral magic here was not really about construction materials at all. It was about tone, timing, and one very public refusal to let a carpenter finish a thought. For the genre of public-argument trainwreck, thisclaimer.com is a decent tab to keep open; for everyone else, the clip remains a tidy reminder that confidence and correctness are not the same material, even if someone on live radio really wishes they were.

Sources list —
The Independent — https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/insulate-britain-concrete-trees-b1945549.html
The Independent TV — https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/talkradio-host-mike-graham-claims-concrete-grows-after-insulate-britain-controversy-b2183123.html
The Guardian — https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/27/insulate-britain-protests-arrests-group-defies-injunctions
Ingenia — https://www.ingenia.org.uk/articles/self-healing-concrete/
University of Bath — https://www.bath.ac.uk/case-studies/using-bacteria-to-create-spontaneous-self-healing-concrete/
Science Focus — https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/environmentally-friendly-living-concrete-capable-of-self-healing
thisclaimer.com — https://thisclaimer.com/
Wikimedia Commons (image source) — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cement_mixer_side.jpg

When Mike Graham Tried to Grow Concrete, the Internet Did the Rest

Dear Cherubs, a radio interview about home insulation somehow turned into a live demonstration of how fast a debate can fall through the floorboards. Cameron Ford, an Insulate Britain spokesperson and carpenter, went on talkRADIO to talk about the campaign’s push to insulate homes, and Mike Graham seemed determined to turn the whole thing into a quiz night for facts that had already packed their bags.

THE SETUP

Ford made a very ordinary point: timber is renewable because trees can be regrown, while concrete is a manufactured material with a heavy carbon footprint. The Independent reported that Graham pushed back, asked whether cutting trees could ever be sustainable, and then reached the now-legendary answer that you can grow concrete — which is a sentence so wrong it deserves a parking ticket.

The clip then went quiet for several seconds, Ford stayed on air, and Graham ended the interview with a breezy “See you Cameron, cheerio.” At that point the silence was not awkward so much as structural. According to the Guardian, this was happening against the backdrop of a wider Insulate Britain campaign, and the group said 146 members had been arrested 690 times by that point.

THE COMEBACK

Graham later tried to save the situation on Jeremy Kyle’s show, reportedly saying concrete “expands” as it sets. The Independent said he doubled down, which is a polite way of saying he kept digging after the shovel had already left the chat.

To be fair, the science lane is more interesting than the punchline. Ingenia and the University of Bath have both reported on self-healing concrete research, including bacteria that can help produce limestone and seal cracks, while Science Focus has covered experimental “living concrete” using sand, gel and bacteria. That is a real field of research; it is just not a magical tree-to-concrete pipeline, and it is certainly not the same thing as saying a bag of cement photosynthesises in the dark.

So the viral magic here was not really about construction materials at all. It was about tone, timing, and one very public refusal to let a carpenter finish a thought. For the genre of public-argument trainwreck, thisclaimer.com is a decent tab to keep open; for everyone else, the clip remains a tidy reminder that confidence and correctness are not the same material, even if someone on live radio really wishes they were.

Sources list —
The Independent — https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/insulate-britain-concrete-trees-b1945549.html
The Independent TV — https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/talkradio-host-mike-graham-claims-concrete-grows-after-insulate-britain-controversy-b2183123.html
The Guardian — https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/27/insulate-britain-protests-arrests-group-defies-injunctions
Ingenia — https://www.ingenia.org.uk/articles/self-healing-concrete/
University of Bath — https://www.bath.ac.uk/case-studies/using-bacteria-to-create-spontaneous-self-healing-concrete/
Science Focus — https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/environmentally-friendly-living-concrete-capable-of-self-healing
thisclaimer.com — https://thisclaimer.com/
Wikimedia Commons (image source) — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cement_mixer_side.jpg

When Mike Graham Tried to Grow Concrete, the Internet Did the Rest

Dear Cherubs, a radio interview about home insulation somehow turned into a live demonstration of how fast a debate can fall through the floorboards. Cameron Ford, an Insulate Britain spokesperson and carpenter, went on talkRADIO to talk about the campaign’s push to insulate homes, and Mike Graham seemed determined to turn the whole thing into a quiz night for facts that had already packed their bags.

THE SETUP

Ford made a very ordinary point: timber is renewable because trees can be regrown, while concrete is a manufactured material with a heavy carbon footprint. The Independent reported that Graham pushed back, asked whether cutting trees could ever be sustainable, and then reached the now-legendary answer that you can grow concrete — which is a sentence so wrong it deserves a parking ticket.

The clip then went quiet for several seconds, Ford stayed on air, and Graham ended the interview with a breezy “See you Cameron, cheerio.” At that point the silence was not awkward so much as structural. According to the Guardian, this was happening against the backdrop of a wider Insulate Britain campaign, and the group said 146 members had been arrested 690 times by that point.

THE COMEBACK

Graham later tried to save the situation on Jeremy Kyle’s show, reportedly saying concrete “expands” as it sets. The Independent said he doubled down, which is a polite way of saying he kept digging after the shovel had already left the chat.

To be fair, the science lane is more interesting than the punchline. Ingenia and the University of Bath have both reported on self-healing concrete research, including bacteria that can help produce limestone and seal cracks, while Science Focus has covered experimental “living concrete” using sand, gel and bacteria. That is a real field of research; it is just not a magical tree-to-concrete pipeline, and it is certainly not the same thing as saying a bag of cement photosynthesises in the dark.

So the viral magic here was not really about construction materials at all. It was about tone, timing, and one very public refusal to let a carpenter finish a thought. For the genre of public-argument trainwreck, thisclaimer.com is a decent tab to keep open; for everyone else, the clip remains a tidy reminder that confidence and correctness are not the same material, even if someone on live radio really wishes they were.

Sources list —
The Independent — https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/insulate-britain-concrete-trees-b1945549.html
The Independent TV — https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/talkradio-host-mike-graham-claims-concrete-grows-after-insulate-britain-controversy-b2183123.html
The Guardian — https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/27/insulate-britain-protests-arrests-group-defies-injunctions
Ingenia — https://www.ingenia.org.uk/articles/self-healing-concrete/
University of Bath — https://www.bath.ac.uk/case-studies/using-bacteria-to-create-spontaneous-self-healing-concrete/
Science Focus — https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/environmentally-friendly-living-concrete-capable-of-self-healing
thisclaimer.com — https://thisclaimer.com/
Wikimedia Commons (image source) — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cement_mixer_side.jpg

When Mike Graham Tried to Grow Concrete, the Internet Did the Rest

Dear Cherubs, a radio interview about home insulation somehow turned into a live demonstration of how fast a debate can fall through the floorboards. Cameron Ford, an Insulate Britain spokesperson and carpenter, went on talkRADIO to talk about the campaign’s push to insulate homes, and Mike Graham seemed determined to turn the whole thing into a quiz night for facts that had already packed their bags.

THE SETUP

Ford made a very ordinary point: timber is renewable because trees can be regrown, while concrete is a manufactured material with a heavy carbon footprint. The Independent reported that Graham pushed back, asked whether cutting trees could ever be sustainable, and then reached the now-legendary answer that you can grow concrete — which is a sentence so wrong it deserves a parking ticket.

The clip then went quiet for several seconds, Ford stayed on air, and Graham ended the interview with a breezy “See you Cameron, cheerio.” At that point the silence was not awkward so much as structural. According to the Guardian, this was happening against the backdrop of a wider Insulate Britain campaign, and the group said 146 members had been arrested 690 times by that point.

THE COMEBACK

Graham later tried to save the situation on Jeremy Kyle’s show, reportedly saying concrete “expands” as it sets. The Independent said he doubled down, which is a polite way of saying he kept digging after the shovel had already left the chat.

To be fair, the science lane is more interesting than the punchline. Ingenia and the University of Bath have both reported on self-healing concrete research, including bacteria that can help produce limestone and seal cracks, while Science Focus has covered experimental “living concrete” using sand, gel and bacteria. That is a real field of research; it is just not a magical tree-to-concrete pipeline, and it is certainly not the same thing as saying a bag of cement photosynthesises in the dark.

So the viral magic here was not really about construction materials at all. It was about tone, timing, and one very public refusal to let a carpenter finish a thought. For the genre of public-argument trainwreck, thisclaimer.com is a decent tab to keep open; for everyone else, the clip remains a tidy reminder that confidence and correctness are not the same material, even if someone on live radio really wishes they were.

Sources list —
The Independent — https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/insulate-britain-concrete-trees-b1945549.html
The Independent TV — https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/talkradio-host-mike-graham-claims-concrete-grows-after-insulate-britain-controversy-b2183123.html
The Guardian — https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/27/insulate-britain-protests-arrests-group-defies-injunctions
Ingenia — https://www.ingenia.org.uk/articles/self-healing-concrete/
University of Bath — https://www.bath.ac.uk/case-studies/using-bacteria-to-create-spontaneous-self-healing-concrete/
Science Focus — https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/environmentally-friendly-living-concrete-capable-of-self-healing
thisclaimer.com — https://thisclaimer.com/
Wikimedia Commons (image source) — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cement_mixer_side.jpg

@cedric
"Areeba Hamid, the co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said Starmer had “caved like a house of cards in the wind”."
Who'd want to be the leader - but buck stops with them. Ghastly reprisal of Cameron 'dropping the green crap'; who can measure impact of the #insulatebritain response?

@cedric
"Areeba Hamid, the co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said Starmer had “caved like a house of cards in the wind”."
Who'd want to be the leader - but buck stops with them. Ghastly reprisal of Cameron 'dropping the green crap'; who can measure impact of the #insulatebritain response?

@cedric
"Areeba Hamid, the co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said Starmer had “caved like a house of cards in the wind”."
Who'd want to be the leader - but buck stops with them. Ghastly reprisal of Cameron 'dropping the green crap'; who can measure impact of the #insulatebritain response?

@cedric
"Areeba Hamid, the co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said Starmer had “caved like a house of cards in the wind”."
Who'd want to be the leader - but buck stops with them. Ghastly reprisal of Cameron 'dropping the green crap'; who can measure impact of the #insulatebritain response?

@cedric
"Areeba Hamid, the co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, said Starmer had “caved like a house of cards in the wind”."
Who'd want to be the leader - but buck stops with them. Ghastly reprisal of Cameron 'dropping the green crap'; who can measure impact of the #insulatebritain response?

“How To Start a Revolution in 2026”

by Roger Hallam in Savage Minds on Substack

[Note: #Hallam is an environmental activist known for having co-founded #ExtinctionRebellion, #JustStopOil, #InsulateBritain, the cooperative federation organisation #RadicalRoutes, & the political party #BurningPink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Hallam_(activist)]

@uk_politics
@thegreenparty

“Ordinary People Can Run Society—But Only if We Build the Structures to Let Them”

https://open.substack.com/pub/savageminds/p/how-to-start-a-revolution-in-2026

#Press #UK #Revolution #Rupture

“How To Start a Revolution in 2026”

by Roger Hallam in Savage Minds on Substack

[Note: #Hallam is an environmental activist known for having co-founded #ExtinctionRebellion, #JustStopOil, #InsulateBritain, the cooperative federation organisation #RadicalRoutes, & the political party #BurningPink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Hallam_(activist)]

@uk_politics
@thegreenparty

“Ordinary People Can Run Society—But Only if We Build the Structures to Let Them”

https://open.substack.com/pub/savageminds/p/how-to-start-a-revolution-in-2026

#Press #UK #Revolution #Rupture

“How To Start a Revolution in 2026”

by Roger Hallam in Savage Minds on Substack

[Note: #Hallam is an environmental activist known for having co-founded #ExtinctionRebellion, #JustStopOil, #InsulateBritain, the cooperative federation organisation #RadicalRoutes, & the political party #BurningPink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Hallam_(activist)]

@uk_politics
@thegreenparty

“Ordinary People Can Run Society—But Only if We Build the Structures to Let Them”

https://open.substack.com/pub/savageminds/p/how-to-start-a-revolution-in-2026

#Press #UK #Revolution #Rupture

“How To Start a Revolution in 2026”

by Roger Hallam in Savage Minds on Substack

[Note: #Hallam is an environmental activist known for having co-founded #ExtinctionRebellion, #JustStopOil, #InsulateBritain, the cooperative federation organisation #RadicalRoutes, & the political party #BurningPink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Hallam_(activist)]

@uk_politics
@thegreenparty

“Ordinary People Can Run Society—But Only if We Build the Structures to Let Them”

https://open.substack.com/pub/savageminds/p/how-to-start-a-revolution-in-2026

#Press #UK #Revolution #Rupture

“How To Start a Revolution in 2026”

by Roger Hallam in Savage Minds on Substack

[Note: #Hallam is an environmental activist known for having co-founded #ExtinctionRebellion, #JustStopOil, #InsulateBritain, the cooperative federation organisation #RadicalRoutes, & the political party #BurningPink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Hallam_(activist)]

@uk_politics
@thegreenparty

“Ordinary People Can Run Society—But Only if We Build the Structures to Let Them”

https://open.substack.com/pub/savageminds/p/how-to-start-a-revolution-in-2026

#Press #UK #Revolution #Rupture

"This is one aspect of what campaigners call “process as punishment”, an approach that now dominates the treatment of protest groups. Even if you are never convicted of a crime, your life is made hell if you dare, visibly and publicly, to dissent." -- @georgemonbiot.bsky.social

I can verify from the experience of close personal friends that this is true.

#UKPol
#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PalestineAction

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/07/palestine-action-hunger-strikers-government?CMP=share_btn_url

"This is one aspect of what campaigners call “process as punishment”, an approach that now dominates the treatment of protest groups. Even if you are never convicted of a crime, your life is made hell if you dare, visibly and publicly, to dissent." -- @georgemonbiot.bsky.social

I can verify from the experience of close personal friends that this is true.

#UKPol
#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PalestineAction

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/07/palestine-action-hunger-strikers-government?CMP=share_btn_url

"This is one aspect of what campaigners call “process as punishment”, an approach that now dominates the treatment of protest groups. Even if you are never convicted of a crime, your life is made hell if you dare, visibly and publicly, to dissent." -- @georgemonbiot.bsky.social

I can verify from the experience of close personal friends that this is true.

#UKPol
#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PalestineAction

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/07/palestine-action-hunger-strikers-government?CMP=share_btn_url

"This is one aspect of what campaigners call “process as punishment”, an approach that now dominates the treatment of protest groups. Even if you are never convicted of a crime, your life is made hell if you dare, visibly and publicly, to dissent." -- @georgemonbiot.bsky.social

I can verify from the experience of close personal friends that this is true.

#UKPol
#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PalestineAction

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/07/palestine-action-hunger-strikers-government?CMP=share_btn_url

"This is one aspect of what campaigners call “process as punishment”, an approach that now dominates the treatment of protest groups. Even if you are never convicted of a crime, your life is made hell if you dare, visibly and publicly, to dissent." -- @georgemonbiot.bsky.social

I can verify from the experience of close personal friends that this is true.

#UKPol
#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PalestineAction

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/07/palestine-action-hunger-strikers-government?CMP=share_btn_url

@johannes_lehmann @Ruth_Mottram

My house in Cambridge was built with walls two bricks wide, in a two parallel, one across pattern. No cavity, and no insulation. Had coal-burning fireplaces at every room (unused but leaking cold air) and radiators heated form a gas furnace. Energy rating E.

We added 10 cm of a dense modern material to the walls, mostly wood pulp as far as I know, and changed the windows to double or triple glass panel. And replaced the heating with an air-source heat pump. Energy rating A+.

This should be done for easily more than half of all homes in the UK.
https://albert.rierol.net/tell/20221008_insulation.html

If, around 1900, all the effort, money, and thought that went into mining and transporting all that coal had gone into building houses with cavity walls and thicker windows, all of this mess would have been averted. Alas, a few fat cats wouldn't have become rich. Tragic. Time for the rich to pay it back.

#InsulateBritain #insulation

@johannes_lehmann @Ruth_Mottram

My house in Cambridge was built with walls two bricks wide, in a two parallel, one across pattern. No cavity, and no insulation. Had coal-burning fireplaces at every room (unused but leaking cold air) and radiators heated form a gas furnace. Energy rating E.

We added 10 cm of a dense modern material to the walls, mostly wood pulp as far as I know, and changed the windows to double or triple glass panel. And replaced the heating with an air-source heat pump. Energy rating A+.

This should be done for easily more than half of all homes in the UK.
https://albert.rierol.net/tell/20221008_insulation.html

If, around 1900, all the effort, money, and thought that went into mining and transporting all that coal had gone into building houses with cavity walls and thicker windows, all of this mess would have been averted. Alas, a few fat cats wouldn't have become rich. Tragic. Time for the rich to pay it back.

#InsulateBritain #insulation

@johannes_lehmann @Ruth_Mottram

My house in Cambridge was built with walls two bricks wide, in a two parallel, one across pattern. No cavity, and no insulation. Had coal-burning fireplaces at every room (unused but leaking cold air) and radiators heated form a gas furnace. Energy rating E.

We added 10 cm of a dense modern material to the walls, mostly wood pulp as far as I know, and changed the windows to double or triple glass panel. And replaced the heating with an air-source heat pump. Energy rating A+.

This should be done for easily more than half of all homes in the UK.
https://albert.rierol.net/tell/20221008_insulation.html

If, around 1900, all the effort, money, and thought that went into mining and transporting all that coal had gone into building houses with cavity walls and thicker windows, all of this mess would have been averted. Alas, a few fat cats wouldn't have become rich. Tragic. Time for the rich to pay it back.

#InsulateBritain #insulation

@johannes_lehmann @Ruth_Mottram

My house in Cambridge was built with walls two bricks wide, in a two parallel, one across pattern. No cavity, and no insulation. Had coal-burning fireplaces at every room (unused but leaking cold air) and radiators heated form a gas furnace. Energy rating E.

We added 10 cm of a dense modern material to the walls, mostly wood pulp as far as I know, and changed the windows to double or triple glass panel. And replaced the heating with an air-source heat pump. Energy rating A+.

This should be done for easily more than half of all homes in the UK.
https://albert.rierol.net/tell/20221008_insulation.html

If, around 1900, all the effort, money, and thought that went into mining and transporting all that coal had gone into building houses with cavity walls and thicker windows, all of this mess would have been averted. Alas, a few fat cats wouldn't have become rich. Tragic. Time for the rich to pay it back.

#InsulateBritain #insulation

@johannes_lehmann @Ruth_Mottram

My house in Cambridge was built with walls two bricks wide, in a two parallel, one across pattern. No cavity, and no insulation. Had coal-burning fireplaces at every room (unused but leaking cold air) and radiators heated form a gas furnace. Energy rating E.

We added 10 cm of a dense modern material to the walls, mostly wood pulp as far as I know, and changed the windows to double or triple glass panel. And replaced the heating with an air-source heat pump. Energy rating A+.

This should be done for easily more than half of all homes in the UK.
https://albert.rierol.net/tell/20221008_insulation.html

If, around 1900, all the effort, money, and thought that went into mining and transporting all that coal had gone into building houses with cavity walls and thicker windows, all of this mess would have been averted. Alas, a few fat cats wouldn't have become rich. Tragic. Time for the rich to pay it back.

#InsulateBritain #insulation

@Ruth_Mottram

"Homes in England had a median Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) score of 68 and homes in Wales had a median EPC score of 67, according to records from the 10 years up to March 2024; both scores are in band D."

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/energyefficiencyofhousinginenglandandwales/2024

The UK government is so broke, or short-sighted, or both, that it's only considering a policy of bringing houses up to band C:

"This chapter discusses findings on energy efficiency ratings and heating systems and how this differs by tenure. It then goes on to discuss insulation measures in dwellings, smart meters by tenure and subjective overheating, then finishes with the average cost of improving dwellings to an energy efficiency rating band C."

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/chapters-for-english-housing-survey-2023-to-2024-headline-findings-on-housing-quality-and-energy-efficiency/chapter-2-energy-efficiency

Bear in mind that any house with an insulation less than in the A band is going to pay a lot in heating and cooling. A lot. It's like a tax on the poor, or a punishment: to endure cold winters and hot summers.

#UK #EnergyRating #insulation #InsulateBritain

@Ruth_Mottram

"Homes in England had a median Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) score of 68 and homes in Wales had a median EPC score of 67, according to records from the 10 years up to March 2024; both scores are in band D."

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/energyefficiencyofhousinginenglandandwales/2024

The UK government is so broke, or short-sighted, or both, that it's only considering a policy of bringing houses up to band C:

"This chapter discusses findings on energy efficiency ratings and heating systems and how this differs by tenure. It then goes on to discuss insulation measures in dwellings, smart meters by tenure and subjective overheating, then finishes with the average cost of improving dwellings to an energy efficiency rating band C."

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/chapters-for-english-housing-survey-2023-to-2024-headline-findings-on-housing-quality-and-energy-efficiency/chapter-2-energy-efficiency

Bear in mind that any house with an insulation less than in the A band is going to pay a lot in heating and cooling. A lot. It's like a tax on the poor, or a punishment: to endure cold winters and hot summers.

#UK #EnergyRating #insulation #InsulateBritain

@Ruth_Mottram

"Homes in England had a median Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) score of 68 and homes in Wales had a median EPC score of 67, according to records from the 10 years up to March 2024; both scores are in band D."

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/energyefficiencyofhousinginenglandandwales/2024

The UK government is so broke, or short-sighted, or both, that it's only considering a policy of bringing houses up to band C:

"This chapter discusses findings on energy efficiency ratings and heating systems and how this differs by tenure. It then goes on to discuss insulation measures in dwellings, smart meters by tenure and subjective overheating, then finishes with the average cost of improving dwellings to an energy efficiency rating band C."

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/chapters-for-english-housing-survey-2023-to-2024-headline-findings-on-housing-quality-and-energy-efficiency/chapter-2-energy-efficiency

Bear in mind that any house with an insulation less than in the A band is going to pay a lot in heating and cooling. A lot. It's like a tax on the poor, or a punishment: to endure cold winters and hot summers.

#UK #EnergyRating #insulation #InsulateBritain

@Ruth_Mottram

"Homes in England had a median Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) score of 68 and homes in Wales had a median EPC score of 67, according to records from the 10 years up to March 2024; both scores are in band D."

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/energyefficiencyofhousinginenglandandwales/2024

The UK government is so broke, or short-sighted, or both, that it's only considering a policy of bringing houses up to band C:

"This chapter discusses findings on energy efficiency ratings and heating systems and how this differs by tenure. It then goes on to discuss insulation measures in dwellings, smart meters by tenure and subjective overheating, then finishes with the average cost of improving dwellings to an energy efficiency rating band C."

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/chapters-for-english-housing-survey-2023-to-2024-headline-findings-on-housing-quality-and-energy-efficiency/chapter-2-energy-efficiency

Bear in mind that any house with an insulation less than in the A band is going to pay a lot in heating and cooling. A lot. It's like a tax on the poor, or a punishment: to endure cold winters and hot summers.

#UK #EnergyRating #insulation #InsulateBritain

@Ruth_Mottram

"Homes in England had a median Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) score of 68 and homes in Wales had a median EPC score of 67, according to records from the 10 years up to March 2024; both scores are in band D."

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/articles/energyefficiencyofhousinginenglandandwales/2024

The UK government is so broke, or short-sighted, or both, that it's only considering a policy of bringing houses up to band C:

"This chapter discusses findings on energy efficiency ratings and heating systems and how this differs by tenure. It then goes on to discuss insulation measures in dwellings, smart meters by tenure and subjective overheating, then finishes with the average cost of improving dwellings to an energy efficiency rating band C."

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/chapters-for-english-housing-survey-2023-to-2024-headline-findings-on-housing-quality-and-energy-efficiency/chapter-2-energy-efficiency

Bear in mind that any house with an insulation less than in the A band is going to pay a lot in heating and cooling. A lot. It's like a tax on the poor, or a punishment: to endure cold winters and hot summers.

#UK #EnergyRating #insulation #InsulateBritain

Extinction Rebellion may have gone quiet, but climate protest will come roaring back | Oliver Haynes https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/20/extinction-rebellion-climate-protest-law #ExtinctionRebellion #InsulateBritain #Climatecrisis #JustStopOil #Environment #Protest #UKnews

Extinction Rebellion may have gone quiet, but climate protest will come roaring back | Oliver Haynes https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/20/extinction-rebellion-climate-protest-law #ExtinctionRebellion #InsulateBritain #Climatecrisis #JustStopOil #Environment #Protest #UKnews

Extinction Rebellion may have gone quiet, but climate protest will come roaring back | Oliver Haynes https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/may/20/extinction-rebellion-climate-protest-law #ExtinctionRebellion #InsulateBritain #Climatecrisis #JustStopOil #Environment #Protest #UKnews

"Oligarchs and corporations on both sides of the Atlantic want to stamp out any threat to their interests. In the US, this effort has been led by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. In the UK, the commissioner for countering extremism, Robin Simcox, appointed by the Conservative government, but who remains in post until July, previously worked at … the Heritage Foundation" -- George Monbiot

#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PolyCrisis
#Protest

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/protest-britain-activists-quaker-meeting-house

"Oligarchs and corporations on both sides of the Atlantic want to stamp out any threat to their interests. In the US, this effort has been led by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. In the UK, the commissioner for countering extremism, Robin Simcox, appointed by the Conservative government, but who remains in post until July, previously worked at … the Heritage Foundation" -- George Monbiot

#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PolyCrisis
#Protest

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/protest-britain-activists-quaker-meeting-house

"Oligarchs and corporations on both sides of the Atlantic want to stamp out any threat to their interests. In the US, this effort has been led by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. In the UK, the commissioner for countering extremism, Robin Simcox, appointed by the Conservative government, but who remains in post until July, previously worked at … the Heritage Foundation" -- George Monbiot

#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PolyCrisis
#Protest

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/protest-britain-activists-quaker-meeting-house

"Oligarchs and corporations on both sides of the Atlantic want to stamp out any threat to their interests. In the US, this effort has been led by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. In the UK, the commissioner for countering extremism, Robin Simcox, appointed by the Conservative government, but who remains in post until July, previously worked at … the Heritage Foundation" -- George Monbiot

#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PolyCrisis
#Protest

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/protest-britain-activists-quaker-meeting-house

"Oligarchs and corporations on both sides of the Atlantic want to stamp out any threat to their interests. In the US, this effort has been led by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. In the UK, the commissioner for countering extremism, Robin Simcox, appointed by the Conservative government, but who remains in post until July, previously worked at … the Heritage Foundation" -- George Monbiot

#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PolyCrisis
#Protest

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/protest-britain-activists-quaker-meeting-house

"Last year [UK police] sent over 1,000 officers from 39 forces, spending £3m, to shut down a climate camp and arrest 24 people, on the grounds that they might have been planning to occupy a road outside a power station. At the same time, they fail even to investigate serious organised crime, citing insufficient resources" -- George Monbiot

#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PolyCrisis
#Protest

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/protest-britain-activists-quaker-meeting-house

"Last year [UK police] sent over 1,000 officers from 39 forces, spending £3m, to shut down a climate camp and arrest 24 people, on the grounds that they might have been planning to occupy a road outside a power station. At the same time, they fail even to investigate serious organised crime, citing insufficient resources" -- George Monbiot

#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PolyCrisis
#Protest

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/protest-britain-activists-quaker-meeting-house

"Last year [UK police] sent over 1,000 officers from 39 forces, spending £3m, to shut down a climate camp and arrest 24 people, on the grounds that they might have been planning to occupy a road outside a power station. At the same time, they fail even to investigate serious organised crime, citing insufficient resources" -- George Monbiot

#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PolyCrisis
#Protest

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/protest-britain-activists-quaker-meeting-house

"Last year [UK police] sent over 1,000 officers from 39 forces, spending £3m, to shut down a climate camp and arrest 24 people, on the grounds that they might have been planning to occupy a road outside a power station. At the same time, they fail even to investigate serious organised crime, citing insufficient resources" -- George Monbiot

#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PolyCrisis
#Protest

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/protest-britain-activists-quaker-meeting-house

"Last year [UK police] sent over 1,000 officers from 39 forces, spending £3m, to shut down a climate camp and arrest 24 people, on the grounds that they might have been planning to occupy a road outside a power station. At the same time, they fail even to investigate serious organised crime, citing insufficient resources" -- George Monbiot

#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PolyCrisis
#Protest

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/protest-britain-activists-quaker-meeting-house

"Keir #Starmer’s team might not look or sound like Donald Trump’s, but its policies on protest and dissent are chillingly similar. So is the reason: coordinated global lobbying by the rich and powerful, fronted by rightwing junktanks" -- George Monbiot

#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PolyCrisis
#Protest

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/protest-britain-activists-quaker-meeting-house

"Keir #Starmer’s team might not look or sound like Donald Trump’s, but its policies on protest and dissent are chillingly similar. So is the reason: coordinated global lobbying by the rich and powerful, fronted by rightwing junktanks" -- George Monbiot

#ExtinctionRebellion
#InsulateBritain
#PolyCrisis
#Protest

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/03/protest-britain-activists-quaker-meeting-house