Communities

The freedom and tranquil bliss of canal networks are attracting young people to take up a transient life on the water. With a comfortable, live-on-board narrowboats averaging between £20,000-£30,000, its clear life afloat is cost effective. And it’s a global trend, everywhere from Silicon Valley to Northern Europe. Nowhere is it more true than the center of world finance, London, England.
A report from Swiss Bank UBS says London is “less affordable for locals who wanted to buy than any city except Hong Kong” https://www.theguardian.com/money/2015/oct/29/london-house-prices-most-overvalued-world-ubs. Foreign investment and enticing buy-to-let schemes have made it near impossible for young Londoners to even contemplate owning their own home in the future.
Walking along the Regent’s Canal between Haggerston and Islington, it is easy to see what attracts people onto the water. The life of houseboat residents is idyllic. Moorhens, swans and mallards drift alongside the porthole of your bedroom and as the sun sets on the bow of the boat, the bars and restaurants that line the canal are just outside your front door.
Its a sustainable life on the canals. Residents are well stocked up with firewood for their wood-burners and a stalwart part of the top deck is the 25kg bag of coal. Water buts for excess water are used as storage on most boats. The main supply of water is procured from pumping stations along the canal. Similarly, waste is disposed of at sewage stations. Many houseboat residents have large sacks of compost and soil in order to grow small vegetables and herbs on the roof of the boat. Whilst passing by one delightful canal boat one mile from Angel I was welcomed by the face of Jeremy Corbyn. The inhabitants of this particular boat had planted a Support Corbyn poster outside their vessel. There is a sense that the younger members of the canal community are a left leaning group who were seeking to define their own water based sub-culture. A warming sight whilst strolling along the towpath were two men, back from work, enjoying the evening on the water. They had speakers set out on deck, a crate of beers, and a PlayStation linked up in front of them proving you can still get hold of all the home comforts you desire.
I spoke to Daisy, a 27 year old Londoner who will be moving onto her houseboat in early February 2016. Having spent her early twenties moving from rented flats in east to west London and a brief stint in a woodland commune in Surrey, the housing crises in the capital caused her to consider narrowboat living. When she came into some inheritance, the first thing that came into her head was to buy a canal boat and with her boyfriend’s carpenter expertise they set about renovating there £30,000 boat over the course of a year. Solar panels are fixed onto the roof and will …

The Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium in Australia has started to showcase solar cells made with a 3D printer.

According to Fiona Scholes, senior examination researcher at CSIRO they print them onto plastic in much the same way they print their plastic banknotes. She also said that joining their solar oriented boards is as straightforward as associating a battery. It’s exceptionally cheap. The path in which it looks and works is very distinctive to ordinary silicon housetop solar based.

She even said that they might want to enhance the effectiveness of solar boards; they have to create sun powered inks to produce more vitality from daylight. She confirmed that they are certain they can push the innovation further in the years to come.

The gathering, comprising of researchers from the CSIRO, the University of Melbourne and Monash University have been taking a shot at the innovation for more than seven years and have made sense of an approach to inexpensively print the boards onto plastic, including advanced cells and tablets, empowering self charging gadgets. They are likewise ready to print straightforwardly on to dividers and windows utilizing a hazy sun powered film and case that they can line a high rise with boards, making it absolutely electrically independent.

However, the mass production and distribution of printed solar cells is not without its obstacles. While the panels are inexpensive to produce, an industrial printer requires a substantial capital investment to acquire. The printed panels can be vulnerable to moisture and may lead to lead contamination if broken. Companies such as Kyung-In Synthetic are testing new coatings for the cells to alleviate these problems. A cooperative system in which community members contribute resources and maintain democratic management of the venture may ensure sufficient start-up capital as well as the establishment of a strong local distribution network. Despite the challenges, printed solar cells are a powerful anti-poverty tool and represent a major step towards a 100 percent renewable energy economy.…