If a country merely considering green its national colour doesn't make it green enough for you to want to visit it, then you may like to look at the GreenBox website. The Greenbox region is Ireland's first ecotourism destination - a beautiful, unspoilt landscape boasting unique ecosystems and areas of high conservation value - and Responsible Tourism Ltd (trading as Greenbox Ltd) is an organisation which was created in order to further develop ecotourism in the area. All the companies which offer retreats and tours in the Greenbox region must adhere to a standard known as the The European Eco-label for tourist accommodation services and camp site services (The EU Flower).

Ireland Ecotours runs two particularly interesting looking day-long tours. The Green Scene tour transports passengers round the region in an eco-friendly bio-bus powered with Pure Plant Oil, stopping on the way to teach them about the solar panels, windmills and micro hydro power used in the area. The Two Forests Mountain Biking Tour is a comprehensive tour of the region which also focuses on teaching cyclists how to adopt the most environmentally friendly practises possible whilst out biking. Cyclists are taught not to disturb wildlife, spread seeds, or churn up areas of marsh and wetland, and given a code of practise to take away with them. Alternatively, if you fancy a more spiritual approach, and err more towards the 'retreat' side of things than the 'tour' side, you might wish to investigate the breaks offered by Wilderness Therapy Sessions, The Ard Nahoo Eco Retreat Experience, or Blaney Spa and Yoga Centre.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy is keeping his pre-election pledge for a ‘green revolution’ in France. The first stage is a massive consultation exercise using an internet questionnaire and public meetings around the country. The consultation will not decide policy, but it will directly influence policy. There are of course critics of the president that are calling this a publicity stunt, but the fact is the president is doing something constructive and bringing the public into the process of reducing France’s carbon emissions. The public are basically being asked whether they want to save the planet. They are also being asked to voice their opinion on specific policies. For example, they are being asked if they would accept a 10kph speed limit reduction, given that this measure alone can save 1.8 billion tonnes of carbon emissions a year.

The results of tests conducted over a period of almost two years have confirmed that levels of bacteria and viruses in Thames river water after bouts of heavy rain exceed recommended safety levels.

Although in recent years the Thames had gained a reputation for being one of cleanest rivers in Europe, the research found that discharges of untreated sewage into the river after bad weather was putting river users including rowers, canoeists and anglers, at risk of gastro-enteritis and other water-borne infections.

A poll conducted by MTV has revealed that only 44% of British youths cite the environment as one of their key concerns. American youngsters were even less concerned, with a mere 36% of them saying it worried them. By contrast, the figures for countries in the developing world were much higher, with 75% of Indonesians, 74% of Brazilians and 71% of Mexicans saying that environmental pollution was a concern.

Related: http://shinymedia.headshift.com/cgi-bin/mtshiny/mt-tb.cgi/36951

HarperCollins - publishers of such literary treats as ‘A Long Way Gone’ by Ishmael Beah and ‘The God of Small Things’ by Arundhati Roy - has announced that it is to use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper for all its publications.

It is estimated that the wood and paper industries are contributing to mass deforestation, where every two seconds sees the loss of ancient forests that can be as big as a football pitch. The Forest Stewardship Council works to reduce this figure by working with local communities to supply sustainable wood from forests that are managed with respect for the environment, wildlife and the local population.

Josephine Cox, whose paperback “The Loner” is one of the first to be published on FSC paper, is pleased to be a part of a creative industry that is taking the environment seriously. “I’m delighted that my book is being printed on environmentally-friendly paper. I think we all need to do our bit to help the environment.”

Love film, politics and the environment? Then keep an eye out for the Groovy Movie Picture House. The world’s first solar powered, touring cinema is soon to be famous for bringing cutting edge, environmentally-focused, uncompromising, inspiring and of course creative films to all corners of the UK. This travelling cinema is often found at festivals (of the film and music variety) and is hosting this year’s Green Screen Independent Film Festival.

The Groovy Movie Picture House is powered by eight large solar panels, which turn sunlight into electricity to fuel state of the art projectors, amplifiers and lighting. On the film side of things: Groovy Movie prides itself in showing short and feature films by independent and radical, professional and non-professional film makers.

If you fancy yourself a bit of a film maker, then the guys at Groovy Movie would love to hear from you. Or, if you are more like me and just like to sit and watch, then check out the website for when and where Groovy Movie will be screening near you.

Related: Big Chill to feature pedal powered movies

With Foot and Mouth restrictions still in place in Surrey after a new case was confirmed over the weekend, a new disease has just been found in a British cow for the first time, it was reported in the Guardian. Bluetongue, which can affect cattle, sheep, goats and deer but not humans, is often fatal in sheep and can reduce milk yield in cows. As bluetongue is not prevalent in Britain, it is feared that an outbreak could cause many deaths as immunity to the disease is not widespread amongst British cattle.

When the people of Modbury announced they were going to be plastic bag free everyone nodded approvingly, but no-one really thought it would last and nobody thought that within only six months 50 other cities, towns and villages across the UK would follow suit. They include 33 boroughs in London, the islands of Mull, Arran and Guernsey, and my neighbouring town North Berwick. The seaside town, famous for it's stunning beaches and a huge colonies of seabirds, has handed out around 7,000 questionnaires to all of the town's residents to ask their opinion of the proposal to ditch free plastic bags from all local businesses. So far only 400 replies have been received but of those 98% support the idea.

[via The Guardian]

In a bizarre twist on the viability of carbon off-setting, there is now evidence that some of the schemes are causing an increase in child labour in poorer countries. In an example of such a scheme, Climate Care is paying poor and impoverished families in India to stop using diesel-powered pumps to irrigate their fields and replace them with human-powered treadles instead. One family ‘benefiting’ from Climate Care’s scheme is the Ram family. Their six year old daughter and her four young brothers now work flat out in the searing sun to pump water into their family field. Climate Care is the company that sells off-sets to British Airways customers, so they can feel better about their long-haul flights.

Over the water in the USA, major retailer Wal-Mart has launched its own brand of compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs). The low energy lightbulbs are being sold in over 3,000 of its US stores. Andy Barron, Wal-Mart General Merchandise Manager said: “The introduction of our Great Value bulbs make CFLs a more accessible option for our shoppers as we strive to sell 100 million CFLs by the end of 2007.” This brings the option of cheaper low energy lightbulbs to millions of people. If Wal-Mart takes the next step and removes high energy incandescent lightbulbs from its shelves, the amount of energy saved will be massive. This is a stark contrast to the attitude taken by some of our retailers here in the UK, mention no names, but read my previous post! It would be great if Wal-Mart introduced these CFL lightbulbs in its UK Asda stores as well.

[Via Reuters]

McDonalds, an institution more commonly known for its poor environmental policies and damage to the planet is trying to ‘green-up’ its image by using waste from its restaurants to generate power. Whether this is enough to outweigh the environmental damage McDonalds inflicts on the world is another question. The idea is for a small pilot scheme using 11 of its restaurants in Yorkshire, which if successful will be rolled out to all the other McDonald sites. Waste from the restaurants in Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley will be shipped to Veola Environmental Services who will treat the waste at its Energy Recovery facility in Sheffield.

Medway council is due to reach a final decision next month regarding proposed plans to build a new coal power station, the Kingsnorth facility. The proposals come from E.ON UK, an organisation which Greenpeace describes as 'the company that talks green but walks a decidedly murky black'. If the power station is built, it will be the first coal power station built in the UK for over 30 years.

Clearly, if this move goes ahead, it will be an environmental disaster. If you added up the carbon emissions of 24 of the world's lowest carbon dioxide emitting countries, you would reach an amount similar to what this power station will emit. Coal power stations waste two thirds of the total amount of energy they produce. The effect this facility will have on climate change could bring serious flooding to large areas of Kent.

The blurb on Bamboo Baby's website tells you all you need to know really: they "aspire to provide you with sustainable, natural, organic and eco-friendly products [with] minimal, recyclable and biodegradable packaging." Now, why can't everyone do this?

Bamboo grows well without the need for fertilisers, it is a sustainable crop as it is one of the world's fastest growing plants, it makes gorgeously soft clothes which are biodegradable, it releases more oxygen whilst growing than other plants, it is naturally anti-bacterial and the variety used for clothing is not one that pandas eat. What more could you ask for?
Well, you could ask for a fantastic range of cute baby clothes, maternity wear and washable nappies – and here it is. One of the best and most varied sites for bamboo-wear, Bamboo Baby also source organic cotton and hemp items.

Government backed cycling group Cycling England have said that by encouraging more people onto bikes we could save the taxpayer £520 million and help reduce the effects of climate change. They claim that just a 20% increase in journeys by bike would lower health costs and reduce congestion. They added if the Government were to make an annual investment of £70 million in cycling initiatives they could cut up to 54 million car journeys per year by 2012, which would reduce CO2 emissions by 35,000 tonnes.

[via The Guardian]

The Tree Council’s Seed Gathering Season starts this weekend, Sunday 23rd September and runs until 23rd October. This is a lovely Autumn activity for all the family, and is important for conservation too.

Gathering seeds now ensures the survival and continuation of all the species of trees and plants we have come to know and love in the UK. Seed Gathering season encourages everyone, especially schoolchildren and families to go for long walks in their favourite places to pick up seeds from their favourite plants. The seeds can then be used in your garden at home, at your school, to replace old hedgerows, trees that have been blown down, or planted on pieces of land which are bare.
The Woodland Trust, local Tree Wardens, Wildlife Trusts, and the Hedge Tree Campaign can all help with places to plant the seeds you find if you haven’t room in your own garden. The Good Seed Guide is a great resource for identifying the seeds and places suitable for growing them, and it’s a great way to have a walk, but with a useful aim.