Green News
Today is a big day for green travel: Eurostar's first ever fully carbon-neutral journey across the to Paris has just left St Pancras station in London, and Ashley Norris is blogging the trip for us, live from the train. Read on to find out what's happening...
"The brand new station concourse is filling up, the punters are jostling towards the platform and the first Eurostar train to Paris is set to rocket out of St Pancras station in about twenty minutes time. Yet on board isn’t the usual mixture of local dignitaries, politicians in search of a photo opp and railway enthusiasts. Many of the, ahem, VIP crew for the first journey are green activists, campaigners and of course bloggers (which is where I sneaked in) here to judge for themselves the environmental credentials of Eurostar's new cross channel carbon-neutral service.
It has widely accepted for some time now that the journey between London and Paris by train produces a tenth of the carbon dioxide as one using a plane (11kg as opposed to 122 by plane). But Eurostar claims that thanks to some core changes in its service passengers can enjoy a completely carbon neutral trip."
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Green News
As Eurostar moves its HQ from Waterloo to St. Pancras, and shaves off 20 minutes' journey time to the continent, another milestone is being somewhat overlooked: it's about to complete its first ever carbon neutral journey.
The greenest Eurostar trip yet will leave London for Paris on at 11.03 on Wednesday November 14th. All journey on Eurostar from then on will be carbon neutral, at no extra cost to passengers.
Green News
Stagecoach has decided to power its Scottish buses and coaches with chip fat - hot on the heels of McDonalds doing exactly the same thing with its delivery vehicles. It sounds like a strange choice for a fuel, but used chip fat makes a good biofuel because it doesn't present the same problems regarding destruction of natural habitats or interference with the food chain which other biofuels do.
I have to admit to the fact that Stagecoach, like McDonalds, is not one of my favourite companies - if you remember the scandal involving Brian Souter donating £1m to the Scottish Schools Boards Association in order to campaign to keep Section 28 in place, you'll know why. However, while I have reservations about Stagecoach as a company after Souter's actions, I have to admit that this latest initiative is a good idea.
Related: McDonalds to turn chip fat into delivery van fuel
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Transport & travel
This bike looks pretty ordinary to me, but don't be fooled; it's the latest designer fashion accessory from Chanel.
The 'ergonomically designed' 8-speed bicycle, which incorporates the label's signature quilting and 'double-c' logo has been created as part of Chanel's spring/summer 2008 collection. It's sure to appeal to the ultra-chic 'green is the new black' set, who'll be trading in their Vogue Land Rovers for the brand new it-bikes next spring (here's hoping).
The Chanel bike hits the boutiques in time for Christmas, and will cost around £6,200.
Green Vehicles
There's nothing I'd like better than a spot of cycling right now (though possibly not in this morning's drizzle), but unfortunately my shiny new electric bike *still* hasn't arrived from Urban Mover. I ordered it in the summer time, but it's still not here, and it's probably safe to say that the summer is now well and truly over. Personal bike gripes aside, those of you lucky enough to own a bike will probably be turning your thoughts to the imminent clock change on the 28th October.
ECOutlet has done a nice post on its company blog to advertise its range of eco-friendly bike lighting. First up, their new Micro Bike Lights have been designed by the supreme Trevor "wind-up" Bayliss. One minute of winding provides 90 minutes of illumination, which should be more than enough to get you home and back. .
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Transport & travel
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.
Transport & travel
Love it or hate it - we all have to travel sometime. But now Multimap has joined forces with carbon-reducers Carbon Clear to help us keep our travel carbon footprints to a minimum.
By looking at things like mode of transport and engine size, Multimap will provide information how much CO2 each journey will use up. Travellers will also be able to compare their carbon foot print if they were to take other modes of transport.
Multimap's founder Sean Phelan, said, "We all know that driving has a negative effect on the environment. We've partnered with Carbon Clear to help raise users' awareness of the impact of driving, and also to make it easier to offset the carbon emissions of those journeys."
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