London authority gets serious about CO2
Haringey Council has become the first local authority in the UK to pledge to cut its carbon emissions by 40 percent over the next decade. The authority made the pledge to reduce its environmental impact as part of the FoE Get Serious About CO2 campaign.
Councillor Claire Kober, Haringey Council leader, explained that the borough wants to be the greenest area in London. "Before doing this I wanted to check exactly what this would mean and whether we could realistically meet that target. I now believe we can."
Haringey Council
Scarecrows go green
SolarUK has developed what's believed to be the UK's first solar powered 'bird dispersal system', otherwise known as a scarecrow. The electronic Worzel Gummidge uses natural bird distress calls to prompt birds to move on. Powering the unit by using solar panels means it can be independent of external power supplies and also a 'low carbon', money-saving solution.
http://www.solaruk.com/
UK wasting millions by not recycling
The UK is losing out on more than £650 million by throwing away rubbish rather than increasing recycling, research from Friends of the Earth (FoE) has found. In its report,Gone to waste: The valuable resources that European countries bury and burn study, the environmental group claims that approximately 24 million tonnes of recyclable goods are being incinerated or sent to landfill. Flanders in Belgium was singled out as recycling twice as much in percentage terms as the UK.
Cost of going green: £7,000 for each Scottish home
According to a new report, it will cost £16 billion to make homes in Scotland energy- efficient over the next decade - around £7000 per home. The figure comes as finance secretary John Swinney announced a £2 million pilot loans scheme to help pay for home- efficiency measures, including interest free loans of between £500 and £10,000. The cash is aimed at helping to cut carbon emissions from homes by 42 per cent by 2020.


It's Friday, so we'll let you off the hook if you want to go off and read something that isn't about saving the planet for a change this afternoon. Just don't go getting any ideas about driving great big SUVs, flying in planes or doing your shopping in Primark...we'll NEVER forgive you.
As 2007 draws to a close, Shiny Media's fashion and lifestyle blogs are giving something back to the blogging community by compiling a list of the ultimate top 100 blogs. The definitive list will be published before the new year, but for now, here are the Top Ten green and ethical blogs as chosen by the Hippyshopper team. Enjoy!
New Yorkers aren't generally known for their 'greenness', but like everywhere else on the planet there are people who live in the city but who don't necessarily subscribe to it's wasteful ways. Colin Beavan is one such citizen. He is a writer who has begun an experiment where he and his family will attempt to live in the centre of NYC without making any net impact on the environment. He believes that if we rely on 'country bumpkins' to save the world we will all be doomed, as most of the world's populations live in cities. The experiment started at the end of November 2006 and will last for one year. The whole thing is being documented in the highly amusing and inspiring
Lemons are our friends, and so are the people at
Welcome to the 87th edition of
From: Green graffiti - It's all in the mossage