AFTER weeks of sunshine, nature reminded us of her power on Sunday, and with a vengeance. York streets were turned into rivers, sink holes appeared in Scotland, but once again we failed to harness all this energy.

We might soon, though. A Government report has named the Ouse as one of 40 rivers in England that could potentially heat homes by using revolutionary, carbon-free technology that draws energy from waterways.

We’ve never thought of the Ouse as a particularly warm place, but this is an intriguing proposal and, as with any green initiative, it deserves to be fully explored.

Best of all the system could reduce household bills by 20 per cent. As long it doesn’t come with eyesores, this could be the kind of approach we’ve been waiting for.