Something odd has happened in the past few weeks. I've found myself being told all about this brand new concept of "thrifting, crafting and recycling" and it's all thanks to India Knight and her book, The Thrift Book: Live Well and Spend Less (as well as her column in the Times). People who had previously enjoyed a mental zoneout whenever I starting harping on about re-using and making do, are now telling me all about it as though it's a shiny new idea - a trend that's sweeping the nation. And thanks to the Credit Crunch, it may well be just that.
But, while many people are just waking up to this notion that our society is a little too throwaway, there are still many people who have a big mental shift ahead. And I'm not talking about people who habitually burn baby seals, I'm talking about people who already consider themselves fairly eco-conscious.
Continue reading >>
Duncan at our gadget-y neighbour site Tech Digest has taken a look at the claims made by the makers of Carbon Hero - a device intended to record a person's carbon usage by monitoring their mobile phone signal - and weighed them up. He's not too impressed:
Carbon footprints are difficult. They've received a lot of attention in the press, and they're firmly stamped (no pun intended) on the public psyche, but they're not actually very accurate. Given the complexity of power generation in modern life, it's something that's incredibly difficult to calculate, and very easy to underestimate.
This device, the Carbon Hero, was designed by an art graduate named Andreas Zachariah. It tracks your phone signal, and if you're moving at train-ish speed, on a train track, then it assumes you're on a train, works out the distance you travel, and gives you a number for your carbon footprint. Simple, right? Well, there's about a billion things wrong with the idea.
Continue reading >>
Emily Tan writes: In an effort to channel the burning energy that fueled the women's suffrage movement into saving the planet, Oxfam has launched the Sisters on the Planet. In a series of moving short films, Oxfam argues that while climate change is a problem shouldered by all, it's the women who are hit hardest by it.
The films show the tale of Martina, who with her sisters in Uganda must walk further each day to gather water, and of Sahena in Bangladesh who, along with the women in her village are responsible for the safety of the community during the annual floods. Oxfam's stance is that women should be the ones therefore to spearhead the movement to rescue our environment by lobbying, petitioning and leading the way to "living greener".
Continue reading >>
One of my biggest eco-sins has got to be my attachment to facial cleansing wipes. I've never been much of a cleanse, tone and moisturise kind of girl, and prefer to get the whole tiresome procedure over with in one wipe.
But it was pointed out to me recently that this isn't very green of me, and I should really consider other options. And I adimt that my first thought was of just how unlikly I was to start getting out bottles of organic cleanser and freshly laundered flannels after a big night out. Call me lazy (I am) but remembering to open the bag and rub the wipes across my face a couple of times after a few drinks already feels like enough of a struggle. Fortunately, I've found a solution! Read on to find out more.
Related: The greener alternative to cotton wool
Continue reading >>
Zara Rabinowicz Writes...
As a writer for tech site Shiny Shinyit seems like almost every day I have an email pop into my inbox with a header screaming ‘ECO FRIENDLY’ or ‘GREEN GADGET’ and if I’m really unlucky it will say both in Comic Sans. The thing is whilst I applaud this green save our planet initiative I have to wonder at whether half these gadgets actually help. I mean rechargeable batteries and wind up radios are all very well, but when you think about how much it costs to design, create, and mass produce, oh, and package too, you start to worry about just how eco you are being.
A recent press event recently lauded a new gadget as ‘the greatest alternative to paper ever!’ declaring that this sat nav like system would mean you could store all your holiday info and maps on one little device, getting rid of the need for piste maps forever. Sounds laudable- what’s the price of this creation? A whopping £1500.
Continue reading >>
As the world's favourite eco-bogeyman declares himself the saviour of the planet, Gareth Kane asks if we can take the new Green George Bush seriously.
In a speech last Friday that must have sent all green-thinking people into paroxysms of rage, US President George Bush gave the world an elementary explanation of the science of global warming. Speaking to the assembled representatives of the 16 biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, he refused mandatory limits and put his faith in technology to deliver targets.
Now it would be easy for me to launch into a withering critique of the POUSA, accusing him of rank hypocrisy and gall, but there are a few things to take into consider. When Bush speaks, he's never speaking to the global environmentally literate citizen, or to other world leaders. Rather he's talking to a particular section of the American electorate and he knows what they like to hear. They want him to keep it simple, sound as if he is in control, and reassure them it won't hit them in the pocket. Of course he also has to cover his backside after 15 years of US denial and make it sound as if the science of climate change has only just come to maturity, but I suspect this is a secondary consideration.
Continue reading >>
As cities, towns and islands across the UK phase out plastic bags, Gareth Kane asks if this is the start of something bigger.
Today is recycling day chez Kane, but when I went to the big box of carrier bags under the sink to protect the newspapers from the rain, the cupboard was bare. Cue mad dash around the house trying to prise bags from all their favourite illicit hidey-holes before the big blue truck arrived (there are few more depressing feelings than having to bring your recycling back in again). Maybe, I thought as I pounded the stairs for the fifth time, the plastic bag is truly an endangered species.
The refusal of the UK Government to put an Irish-style tax on single use carrier bags has long been a complaint of the environmental movement, but, according to the Guardian, citizens across the country are taking matters into their own hands. The Devonshire town of Modbury was famously the first to phase out carriers with a voluntary agreement among shopkeepers, followed by the 'bag ladies' of Hebden Bridge. Now everyone from London to the smallest hamlet seem to be getting in on the act. Mull, Arran and Guernsey are racing to be the first plastic bag-free island in the world.
Continue reading >>
digg this | del.icio.us this
| 
Stumble It!
