Ordinary voters rarely get the opportunity to vote for change. Lifestyle-altering decisions such as the ban on smoking across the UK, and the compulsory charge for plastic bags in Wales (October 2011) are taken by governments without reference to the electorate. The best we can do is to vote for a party with a radical… Continue reading
Browsing Category Environment
“Do you want sustainability with that?” – How a humble chippie went green
While we wait for governments and big business to take the necessary big initiatives on climate change and sustainability that are really going to move us forward in this worrying area, some small businesses are just getting on with it. Add them all up, and the significance of these individual actions is still tiny…. Continue reading →
Building underway on world’s first high-rise (17 floor) greenhouse in a city
At this moment our fridge, fruit bowl and vegetable basket contains the produce of many nations. Plenty of healthy eating grown (mainly) under plastic in southern Spain and shipped to the UK in lorries. Other produce comes from even further afield, some of it even by air. What if much of that food could be… Continue reading →
African safari camps switch to solar power
To switch an entire tourist operation over to solar energy in one go is quite an achievement. But Wilderness Safaris are beginning to make a habit of it. This spring Mombo camp in Botswana became the latest in the company’s portfolio to become entirely solar powered. Wilderness invested US $860 000 in replacing diesel-powered generators… Continue reading →
Cars you don’t see so often at the petrol pump
Petrol prices have risen again in the UK. Campaigners call on the government not to raise duty, but surprisingly little is said about switching to higher mileage models. I’ve been looking at Volvo, who have a good reputation in this regard. The new Volvo V40 gives fuel consumption of 78.5 mpg. —— In the 1980s we… Continue reading →
Pollock: from humble discard to top spot on the menu
In an average day out and about, how often do you make ethical decisions? You care for the homeless, so shouldn’t you buy that Big Issue? And why not stop for that chugger (street fundraiser), who only wants to persuade you to make a direct debit to some extremely good cause? It’s time for a… Continue reading →