Fridays are designed for feeling good - long lunches, shopping on the internet and other warm and fuzzy activities. And here's one you can integrate into your Actual Working Day. Everyclick donates to a charity every time you use them to search the internet. The searches themselves are powered by Ask.com, so you won't be downgrading to a sub-standard service, and you can even pick what charity gets your contribution. It works through advertising, so the money that the search engine would normally receive from clients every time their advert is displayed or clicked through, is instead donated to charity.
Wugging (web use giving) takes advantage of that fact that whilst most people would like to give more to charity, they just don't find the time when it's not integrated into their day-to-day life. So what are you waiting for? Get charitable.
There seem to be lots of events and celebrations on this weekend, the Autumn Equinox, but one which will be pleasure to observe is British Food Fortnight, 22nd September – 7th October. It started in 2002 as a response to the Foot and Mouth crisis but has gone from strength to strength since then as people realised the benefits of seasonal and regional produce – and just how much variety Britain has to offer, without using up those food miles.
British Food Fortnight encourages us all to seek out our local specialities, to get to know local butchers, greengrocers and farmer's markets, to eat seasonally and to learn what is in season at any particular time, to grow your own fruit and vegetables, to go to local pick-your-own farms, and to sample local beers.
A week ago, a few intrepid denizens of Shiny Towers agreed to make green pledges towards a year of Living Generously. Just seven days in, I decided to check in on Stuart, Susi and, of course, myself, and update you on our progress. Here, Stuart tells us of his battle with Barnet council over their confusing recycling schedule, Susi makes friends with the low-battery sign, and I forgo my favourite form of stress relief, all for the sake of the planet. Follow the jump for all our reports, but let's start with Susi...
Susi pledged not to leave any gadgets plugged in or charging for longer than necessary -- a tough call for a tech journalist. She told me: "I’m so pleased with myself! I’ve unplugged all the stuff I don’t use by my bed, and I only charge my phone every other day. I’m trying not to panic when I see the red bars on my mobile, which is a Big Step!"
I bet you’d never thought of sewing as a subversive or a sociable act, but this is the very nub of the idea of Morsbagging, which tags itself as sociable, guerilla, bagging.
The idea is to start little groups, called ‘pods’ who get together with old scraps of fabric, a bottle of wine and have a fun evening sewing bags. Once you have enough bags, you distribute them free in local supermarkets, thus replacing the need for plastic bags. While doing so, you also try to educate shoppers about the dangers to wildlife of old plastic bags and urge them to re-use the morsbags instead of using up new plastic carriers.
UK-based website A year of living generously is an online experiment based on a shared hunch that looking after this planet and its people is what we are all here for and that if many of us can make small changes in our everyday choices then over time we can make a big difference for everyone. To this end, readers are invited to change their actions for the good of the planet, and embark on a year of living generously.
The actions range from one-off pledges like becoming a blood donor to more regular lifestyle changes like not over-filling your kettle. And we at Shiny Media have decided to set our own goals, and chart our progress here to see how we get on. Here's what the Shiny staff have decided to do:
'Gadget Queen' Susi Weaser Editor of Shiny Shiny has set herself a huge challenge as a technology journalist: she's going to unplug all gadgets she's not using, avoid over-charging her phone and never leave it charging overnight.
It is something probably every environmentally-aware person has struggled with – exactly which ethical and green option should take priority? Food miles or fair trade? Carbon reduction or organic? Now the Co-operative supermarket group is to actually ask its members and shoppers what they think, as well as clarifying some options which, although at first sight seem to be ethically sound, may have unforeseen negative repercussions.
Paul Monaghan is the Co-op’s Head of Ethics and has designed the survey to be given to members and consumers. So strongly does he feel on this subject that he has actually directly criticised some rival firms for their ‘lazy thinking’. He is keen to clarify the Co-op’s stance: “The drive to reduce 'food miles' and reduce carbon dioxide could have real social impacts on third world growers as supply chains are redirected more locally. The carbon produced by Kenyan roses is a fifth of that used to grow Dutch roses because of the heating and lighting.”
Land Roots is an exciting venture aimed at creating a common ownership of land in a kind of ‘eco-timeshare’ whereby everyone who is part of the collective has rights and responsibilities towards the stewardship of the land. A community of people keen to live in environmentally-sound and sustainable ways would live on the land, producing as much as they could of their own and learning traditional ways of building and husbandry. Money would be earnt by offering workshops in these skills and in running Gatherings for music, art, crafts, healing and seasonal enjoyment.
Fridays are designed for feeling good - long lunches, shopping on the internet and other warm and fuzzy activities. And here's one you can integrate into your Actual Working Day. Everyclick donates to a charity every time you use them to search the internet. The searches themselves are powered by Ask.com, so you won't be downgrading to a sub-standard service, and you can even pick what charity gets your contribution. It works through advertising, so the money that the search engine would normally receive from clients every time their advert is displayed or clicked through, is instead donated to charity.
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There seem to be lots of events and celebrations on this weekend, the Autumn Equinox, but one which will be pleasure to observe is 
Susi pledged not to leave any gadgets plugged in or charging for longer than necessary -- a tough call for a tech journalist. She told me: "I’m so pleased with myself! I’ve unplugged all the stuff I don’t use by my bed, and I only charge my phone every other day. I’m trying not to panic when I see the red bars on my mobile, which is a Big Step!"
It is something probably every environmentally-aware person has struggled with – exactly which ethical and green option should take priority? Food miles or fair trade? Carbon reduction or organic? Now the Co-operative supermarket group is to actually ask its members and shoppers what they think, as well as clarifying some options which, although at first sight seem to be ethically sound, may have unforeseen negative repercussions. 
