Last night, Channel 4’s Dispatches programme, The Great Green Smokescreen, took issue with the booming carbon off-setting companies, that are claiming to be taking steps towards addressing global warming. With green being the new black, companies such as Barclays, Dell, HSBC and Sky are falling over themselves to join in on the business of carbon off-setting.
Some would have us believe that paying to have a few trees planted or even just dedicating a few trees to carbon off-setting, or, funding already existing renewable energy projects, are ways to ‘tackle’ global warming. However, appearances are often deceptive and many of the so-called carbon off-setting projects don’t stand up to scrutiny.
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If you run a fleet of white vans or are a white van driver yourself you should have a good look at Smith Electric Vehicles. Their Edison van, based on a Ford Transit, is fully electric and beats a diesel from 0-30mph. Come on, that has to entice the average white van man – good for a race off the lights or nippy over-taking.
Related stories: Top 10 electric vehicles available in 2007 | Sainsbury’s deliveries go electric
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Yes, you heard me right, you can carbon offset your sprog, your driving and your flights. Allgreenthings.net offers various Carbon Clear packages. Many parents choose disposable over re-usable nappies. With a Carbon Clear package for £10, you can help to offset 650kg of greenhouse gases created by your baby’s nappy use for the first 2.5 years of life, via the planting of 7 trees. These trees will absorb: nappy manufacture, including transport to the retailer, electricity and packaging at the retailer, transportation to your home and disposal impact, including land use and methane emissions.
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The British Gas site make it greener now is currently giving away Green Survival Packs containing energy-saving lightbulbs, tips on saving energy and various other items.
I can’t really comment on whether this signals a genuine commitment to saving energy and cutting emissions or if it’s more a ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ gesture, but maybe the pack might be worth getting, if only to show British Gas how many people are concerned about this issue. It appears that you don’t have to be British Gas customer to benefit from this offer although of course, you will be sending them your contact details!
The pack is advance marketing for July’s Fete for the Future which includes a British Gas Sustainability Station as well as music, theatre and organic food.
PODs, the UK's first and only green courier, is launching this month. Using a fleet of delivery vans running on either electricity, LPG or a mix of low-sulphur Biodiesel, the Heathrow based company has invested £2 million in alternative energy vehicles. They will have three electric-powered Modec delivery vans, each with a range of 100 miles on a single charge, and another 15 vans which run on LPG.
Olympic gold medalist Linford Christie has been signed as the face of the company, I assume because they want to give the impression that they are fast, even though Linford also runs on biofuel. PODs are aiming to capture clients such as internet-based companies who rely on couriers to run their businesses.
Related stories: DHL use carbon emission free truck | Vectrix electric scooter
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If you are keen to step on the recycling path but are worried that you might trip up, get yourself a copy of Recycle – The Essential Guide (Black Dog Publishing) from Ethical Superstore. This book discusses the necessity of recycling on an individual and global scale, demonstrating what the reader as an individual can do in their own home, to make a difference.
The book kicks off with an introduction from renowned Guardian journalist, Lucy Siegle, where she discusses recycling in the the global economy and raises questions about the future of recycling.
There are thorough sections on recyclable materials, how they affect the environment, and how the each individual reader can initiate the recycling process.
These 'tree trunk' memory sticks really made me giggle. Clearly designed for the 'want to be green but not quite sure what it means' brigade, they aim to make your electricity-guzzling PC look eco-friendly.
While there's clearly nothing green about these gadgets (trees were harmed in the process, too), they are a great example of a certain trend towards greenness that's based purely on image. I can imagine the same people that bought Anya Hindmarch bags in great big polythene carriers plugging these into their wood-encased laptops and 'feeling all warm and fuzzy inside' - but not quite knowing why.
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