Frequently Asked Questions

Our Name

Eco means connected with the environment. Nexus means a complicated set of connections between different things. Put the two together and you get climate change, loss of biodiversity and so on.

In addition major economic changes have been taking place in the world over the past few years. Fuel prices and staple food prices doubled in 2008. For people from developing nations who spend most of their income on food this is a very big problem. These unprecedented price rises also mean that "alternative" technologies that have not been "cost effective" in the past have suddenly become so.

There is currently an eco(logical)/econ(omic) nexus. Hence the name econnexus. Apparently fortuitously this also permits us to split the word thus: e-connects-us. Actually connect and nexus are derived from the same root in Latin. For more technical information on the derivation of our name please take a look at the etymology of econnexus

Our Organization

econnexus.org.uk is a non-profit organization. We aim to enlighten people about the ecological/economic nexus, and what the Economist magazine calls "the challenges posed by the “three Fs” – food, fuel and the financial credit crunch". We also intend to help develop solutions to those challenges.

We provide information on what we as individuals can do to help alleviate these problems. We also raise funds to support research and development of "alternative" technologies to assist developing nations. The first such project is the open source Econometer.

You can find a list of useful material you can access at no charge on our resources page. You can also support econnexus.org.uk by buying something interesting from our stores.

Our Message

Developing nations, including China and India, are becoming more powerful in more than one sense of that word. Developed nations, including the United States of America, are becoming less so, in the economic and political senses of the word.

Despite the Kyoto Protocol, despite all the meetings and all the debates, global greenhouse gas emissions have increased by at least 75% since 1970, and by over 25% since 1990. In 2006 China overtook the US as the nation with the greatest emissions on the planet. If you are at all concerned about these matters, what can you do? If your nation allows it, you can vote for the candidate of your choice in your next election. The evidence suggests this won't do a whole lot of good.

We suggest you take matters into your own hands. By all means vote for the candidate who you think will best support your actions, but also take action yourself. Increase your personal energy efficiency and reduce your own energy consumption. This will allow you to save money on your bills at a time when household budgets worldwide are being stretched, to breaking point in some regions of the planet. It will also allow you to make your own small contribution to solving all sorts of other inter-related global crises.

Some authorities claim that if you live in a developed nation you can reduce your energy use by 75% without suffering any reduction in your quality of life. As an interesting side effect you will also have more money in your bank account.

In the UK road transport is responsible for about one-sixth of a typical citizen's carbon dioxide emissions, or about 1.8 tonnes per person annually. In the United States the figure rises to an average of 5.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide per head, one quarter of a larger total. The single most important contribution an individual can make, to both reducing their carbon dioxide emissions and to increasing their bank balance, is to reduce the amount of fuel they use in their cars. If you have a lot of money in the bank you could buy a hybrid. Whether you can afford a hybrid or not you can start EcoDriving™ immediately.