The handbag which can charge your mobile

Nicknamed the Power Purse, the clutch uses solar panels to harness the sun’s rays, and convert them into electricity.

The power is transmitted to a USB port inside, allowing women to charge their electronic gadgets while on the move.

Joe Hynek, a mechanical engineering student, designed the bag during a competition at Iowa State University in the US and it has been well-received by eco-conscious followers of fashion.

The 29-year-old said: “It begins working every time the user steps outside. People are very excited because it expresses ecological and environmental themes in addition to the function provided of charging your phone and iPod.”

The black rectangular bag is patterned with laminated solar panels made of photovoltaic cells.

Power is channelled to a circuit linked to two batteries concealed in the lining of the bag, and to a USB port.

The bags needs two hours of full sunlight to charge a mobile phone battery, and can power most other small devices including cameras, BlackBerrys and personal organisers.

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Don't make the consumer pay for these inflated fuel prices

It was only last April that energy secretary John Hutton persuaded Britain's big six energy companies to double their spending on social tariffs for the fuel poor, to £100m this year. The proud boast was an extra 100,000 people would pay greatly reduced fuel bills. Then came commitments to invest in renewables and nuclear as part of a concerted drive to make Britain's energy more secure, cheaper and with a lower carbon footprint. In energy legislation, economic rationality, social justice and business-friendly policies were marching in happy union. Labour had everything under control.

Four months later and the story looks very different. Oil prices have rocketed; gas prices followed suit. Although they try to hedge against such massive price hikes, energy companies are having to increase their tariffs. Centrica has been pilloried on all sides for raising gas prices by 35 per cent; frankly, given that the price of natural gas in the wholesale markets has risen by 350 per cent in 12 months, the surprise is that the hike is so small.
If John Hutton had succeeded in taking 100,000 out of fuel poverty, gas price rises on this scale will plunge another million straight back into a grim universe in which 10 per cent of their income is dedicated to paying energy bills, the definition of fuel poverty. Suddenly the air is thick with calls for windfall taxes on energy companies, particularly as oil giants BP and Shell are reporting massive profits.

Such loot should be diverted to alleviate the conditions of approaching five million fuel-poor, runs the argument. After all, in 1997 New Labour raised some £5bn in a windfall profits tax - justified because the privatised utilities had been given away too cheaply - to fund spending on education and the New Deal. Now it should do something similarly radical and popular to head off electorally damaging increases in its voters' fuel bills. Chancellor Alistair Darling is said to be actively considering just such a move.

But as much as introducing a one-off tax on the energy companies to make a one-off payment to the fuel-poor, the government needs to address the way the entire energy market - and welfare system - is organised. To further tax Centrica, for example, whose 58 per cent tax rate is the highest in the FTSE 100, simply because the oil price has gone up is arbitrary. Is the government proposing a rebate when oil and gas prices fall?

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Beat the heat on gas bills

It's not too late to try to offset the 35 per cent price rise announced last week by British Gas, but you will have to move quickly to get the best fixed or capped price deal, writes Rosie Murray-West

Householders shocked by the record British Gas 35 per cent price jump last week are being warned by experts that they ain't seen nothing yet.

One price comparison website, energyhelpline.com, claims that gas and electricity bills could be another 40 per cent higher by the start of next year. Analysts at Eclipse Energy go further and predict a 60 per cent rise by 2010. No wonder many experts say that householders should lock into fixed and capped price deals without delay, even though some of the best were withdrawn last week.
Before British Gas raised its prices by 35 per cent for gas and 9.4 per cent for electricity - meaning that dual-fuel customers will pay 25 per cent more - EDF Energy had already increased gas prices by 22 per cent and electricity prices by 17 per cent. Other suppliers are expected to do the same.

"These were the first, but everyone else is expected to follow suit within two weeks," says Mark Todd of energyhelpline.com. "There is also likely to be another rise of 20 per cent in January or February - it is very grim news."

By switching off your electrical equipment rather than leaving the red standby light blinking, you could reduce your electricity bill by up to 8 per cent a year. And turning your thermostat down by 1C will cut heating bills by up to 10 per cent.

Other measures include draught-proofing your home, while insulating the hot-water tank should cut £20 off your annual bill, says British Gas. Replacing all your conventional incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient versions will save you about £45 a year for a typical three-bedroom property.

Those receiving certain state benefits (for example, pension credit) can claim up to £4,000 under the Government's Warm Front scheme to make their home more energy-efficient. These grants can pay for installing loft insulation, central heating, a new boiler and cavity wall insulation.

To check your eligibility, go to warmfront.co.uk or call the Energy Efficiency Advice Centre on 0800 512 012. Other contacts include energywatch.org.uk (tel 08459 06 07 08); uswitch.com (0800 404 7908); moneysupermarket.com (0845 345 5708); energyhelpline.com/cashback (0800 074 0745). See sust-it.net to find out which appliances are the most energy-efficient.

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China's 'rapid renewables surge'

China's rapid investment in low carbon technologies has catapulted the nation up the global renewable energy rankings, a report shows.
The Climate Group study said China invested $12bn (£6bn) in renewables during 2007, second only to Germany.
However, it was expected to top the table by the end of 2009, it added.
The findings have been published as China faces criticism over its air quality ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games, which begin on 8 August.
The report, China's Clean Revolution, brings together the latest data on the country's burgeoning renewables sector in one publication.
Co-author Changhua Wu, The Climate Group's China director, said the rapid rise in investment was, in part, the result of the government realising that the western model of industrialisation was unsustainable.
"China has been experiencing similar problems during its industrial revolution that western nations saw during their period of rapid growth - pollution, environmental damage and resource depletion," she told BBC News.
It has the world's largest hydroelectricity capacity since the controversial Three Gorges project began producing electricity, and the fifth largest fleet of wind turbines on the planet.

Although its installed capacity of photovoltaic (PV) panels is still relatively low, it is already a leading manufacturer of solar panels.
Ms Wu explained that the rapid growth of the sector was being driven by both government and business.
"In order to really drive towards a low carbon economy, policy incentives are crucial; but it is not always the case," she said.
"The wind sector's fast growth was mainly a result of domestic policies, because the government offered incentives to developments so that private and public sector entrepreneurs would jump on it.
"But the solar PV sector benefitted mainly from the international market, such as demand from the US and EU.
"Even today, the policy incentives are still not there, yet it still has grown to the level it is now."

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