Green light: Future food, European supergrid and spectacular humpbacks

Future of food At a major farming conference in Oxford, the government called for Britain to grow more food and embrace GM, while the Tories proposed an ombudsman to keep supermarkets in check. Felicty Lawrence looked at the government's plans in detail - she welcomed the realisation that we need greater food resilience, but warned of "omissions and fudges". • Britain must launch GM food revolution, says chief scientist • Defra's joined-up thinking recognises the fragility of UK food production • Britain must grow more sustainable food, says Benn • Grow your own food revolution plans to seed unused land • Will the Tories tackle supermarkets? Renewables power forward The dream of a renewable energy "supergrid" connecting wind turbines, solar panels and hydro drams around the North sea stepped closer this week as nine countries formally backed the plan. In the UK, meanwhile, a new round of bidding is about to get under way for huge offshore wind farms, while engineers attacked claims of a green jobs revolution and warned Britain is "missing the boat". • Sun, wind and wave-powered: Europe unites to build renewable 'supergrid' • Gordon Brown to launch £100bn wind energy programme • Business savages Darling claim that Labour supports green jobs Climate denial in 2010 Writing on environmentguardian.co.uk this week, Rajendra Pachauri, the chair of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, warned of a surge in climate change sceptism in 2010 and dismissed suggestions that he is personally profiting from policies to tackle global warming. • Climate change scepticism will increase hardship for poor: IPCC chief • Comment: Climate change has no time for delay or denial • Rajendra Pachauri audio: 'Things have been stalled in Copenhagen' Green living and 10:10 Start the new year in green style with a slew of 10:10 carbon-cutting tips, and learn more about trading in your old boiler and recycling batteries on the high street. • Is Google Powermeter the future of home energy monitoring? • New EU regulations for battery disposal • Boiler scrappage scheme launched • 10:10 fashion: Can I give up buying clothes for a year? • 10:10 food: How to green your eating habits • 10:10 travel: Low-carbon holidays for 2010 Multimedia Take a look back through our best wildlife photos from 2009, and enjoy some spectacular sights from the new year too: from humpback whales in a feeding frenzy to giant pandas. • In pictures: Giant pandas go to Shanghai for the World Expo • In pictures: Humpback whales feeding in Alaska • Video: Sea Shepherd boat damaged by Japanese security vessel • Satellite eye on Earth: December 2009 • The best of the week in wildlife 2009 Online community With the snow outside, the jury was split this week on wood-burning stoves: whether they are effective, worth the effort, and how eco-friendly they really are. On Twitter Newbloke wrote "I'll admit to an almost-obsession with them. Love 'em to bits." On site ExPatJon thought they were "great to put on in the evening but you definitely need radiators too." On Twitter LizHove challenged that, saying "we don't have central heating, but then we live in a small 2 bed house. The wood stove in the evening will heat the rooms." MsDimple commented "Where are we going to get all those slow-growing hardwood trees to burn if everyone starts using wood heaters?" • The truth about woodburning stoves ...And finally Ever wished for home-grown eggs and an alternative to a cat? Watch Lucy Siegle as she delivers the lowdown on keeping chickens at home. • Ask Lucy: Keeping urban chickens