Welcome to our Eco News section... Environmental, green and ethical - news from our listed companies, plus topical national & international articles from around the globe ........ January 2008
Tonic's winter sale is now on!
Tonic is an independent ethical clothing label created for people who want high quality clothing with sound ethical sourcing and great designs.
They offer bold, original designs on sweatshop-free ethically sourced, fairly traded and organic cotton men's and women's printed t-shirts and bags and embroidered polo shirts and hoodies.
You can now get huge savings on all their ethically sourced and organic cotton clothing and bags.
If you join the Tonic e-mailing list before Friday 15th February then you can enter their competition to win your favourite item from the Tonic range!
To join the list and enter the competition simply email: favourite@wearetonic.co.uk and tell them what's your favourite item in the Tonic online shop.
The first five entrants chosen at random on Friday 15th February will each win their favourite item!
Tonic mailing list members receive a free occasional email newsletter featuring exclusive discount vouchers, competitions and the latest Tonic news.
You can easily unsubscribe at any time and your email address will never be passed to anyone else.
All prices include delivery to any address worldwide.
Gushing British Gas to be Harnessed for Clean Power
Britain could soon harness the flow of high pressure gas from fields into the national pipeline network to generate carbon-free electricity, after the government confirmed its support for the clean energy.
The method, which uses the surge of gas into the network to drive turbines and make electricity, had been facing possible exclusion as part of an overhaul of Britain's Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme to support clean energy.
The geopressure technology's main backer in Britain, 2oc, is working with network operator National Grid to generate up to a gigawatt of power in this way by 2010, equivalent to the output of a large nuclear power station.
The method, which uses the surge of gas into the network to drive turbines and make electricity, had been facing possible exclusion as part of an overhaul of Britain's Renewables Obligation (RO) scheme to support clean energy.
But the government said on Friday (18.1.08) the technology would continue to get support as it tries to boost Britain's tiny renewable energy sector to meet tough European Union targets.
"Geopressure has the potential to be a low-carbon energy source which will help the UK in meeting its ambitious targets to cut carbon emissions," energy minister Malcolm Wicks said in a statement.
Al Gore's The Inconvenient Truth has been hailed as a revolution in the climate change debate, but it looks like he was way behind the times.
Back in 1958 an educational film called The Unchained Goddess was made (that's now 50 years ago!) about the dangers of carbon dioxide emissions. It's prescient stuff, and involved the talents of Frank Capra and Mel Blanc. Many thanks to www.greenpeace.org.uk for finding this clip!
GreenWashing Index
An American company called EnviroMedia Social Marketing have created an interactive forum that allows consumers to submit and evaluate real advertisements worldwide that are making environmental claims.
The intent of their Web site is to:
- Help consumers become more savvy about evaluating environmental
- Hold businesses accountable to their environmental marketing claims
- Stimulate the market and demand for sustainable business practices that truly reduce the impact on the environment
You'll need to register if you want to submit ads, and there's also an RSS feed to keep you updated with new entries.
The integrity of today’s green ads range from outstanding to outrageous. Ultimately the aim is that companies environmental marketing claims will be truly authentic.
YHA is ready to welcome the first guests to its brand new £1.78million Youth Hostel in the East Midlands. The ultra-modern YHA National Forest – next to the Conkers visitor attraction - is packed with eco-friendly features and offers more than 70 beds.
“This is a very exciting time for YHA, especially as it marks the culmination of five years of planning and hard work,” says YHA Sales and Marketing Director Alan Hopley. “The result is a fantastic new facility that will cater perfectly for school groups and families who are looking to visit Conkers and the many other attractions in this area.”
YHA National Forest is in Moira, close to the Leicestershire and Staffordshire borders and is the culmination of a major fundraising effort. “This great new facility fulfils our objectives of providing high quality overnight accommodation, welcoming groups to the Forest and showing how the use of timber in construction and wood for heat are both sustainable and practical.
‘Green’ features at YHA National Forest include:
*A wood-fuelled boiler, using sustainable wood chips sourced locally in the Forest *Water heated by solar panels. *Roof overhangs creating pleasant shaded veranda spaces, and preventing overheating through the windows. *Internal shutters that insulate against extremes of heat and cold. *Vents at the top of the building providing in-built ventilation and removing any need for air-conditioning. *Underground tanks holding rain captured for ‘greywater use’ i.e. flushing the loos. *Spray taps and showers, not baths, to reduce water consumption.
The accommodation is built to a VisitBritain four-star standard and comes in 23 two, three and four-bedded, en suite rooms. There is also a coffee bar, games room, bar and restaurant serving freshly-cooked local food.
Accommodation rates range from £14.95 per person per night or from £11.50 for under 18s. www.yha.org
Passion for the Planet gets close to nature this January.
Chantal Cooke travels to West Jutland in Denmark for a series of features about the wildlife of the area and why its attracting bird and nature watchers from around the world. Find out about the birds of the Wadden Sea, seal watching along the Danish coast, the beaver reintroduction programme at the Klosterheden forest, why re-flooding the Skjern River Delta has made it a haven for wildlife, and the best place to see thousands of migrating geese flying with the full moon.
Back in the UK Passion is looking at the similarities between the RSPB’s plans for Wallasea in Essex and the Sjkern River Delta project, top tips for first time nature watchers, the best places to watch birds in the UK, and the role that nature holidays can play in conservation research.
And as we’re all bound to have put on a few pounds over Christmas, Passion for the Planet’s fitness experts Zana Morris and Zach Wright put us through our paces and help us shed the inches. Plus the fight to save the worlds rarest Zebra, why the fumar is Madagascar’s most important animal, should horse racing be banned, are biofules the answer to our energy needs, and a new scheme that gets lawyers talking to each other to save their clients money!
Passion for the Planet - no preaching, no chanting, no tips on knitting your own muesli, just interesting stuff going on around the world, to make it a better world, plus the planet’s best music. Passion for the Planet broadcasts on DAB Radio in London and across the south of England and is also available via the Internet; www.passionfortheplanet.com
Zero Carbon Homes
Hockerton Housing Project will be running a workshop on 24th January to help you understand more about the new challenge of zero carbon housing and to develop with HHP, and others on the workshop, plans for achieving practical solutions.
Find out what really works, and what is simply 'greenwash'. Feel the heat from a zero heated building and find out if microgeneration really works.
Delegates will gain an overview of government targets for zero carbon homes based on the Code for Sustainable Home; an understanding of the impact of these targets for future development and what are the key principals for delivery of zero carbon homes; an appreciation of the realistic practicalities of achieving zero carbon housing; and an insight into what it is really like to live in zero carbon homes and to live sustainably.
This event will be of particular interest to developers, self-builders, landowners, architects, buildings services engineers, and other building professionals. For details on how to book go to: www.hockertonhousingproject.org.uk
The Woodland Trust has a Card Recycling scheme - help them reach their 2008 target of recycling 100 million cards to plant 24,000 trees. Recycle your cards from 2-31 January in any mainland WHSmith store, Tesco supermarket, TK Maxx stores and M&S store. For details: www.woodland-trust.org.uk
Naturals brand Naked scores an environmental hat trick
2007 has seen the beauty industry go ‘au naturel’, with many new natural and organic propositions being introduced to the market place. Naked is a 97% naturals brand launched in 2005 and free from sulfates, parabens and petrochemicals; but not only concerned about skin, Naked has, since it’s launch, continually looked at its environmental practices too. Naked has scored a hat trick, undertaking three significant environmental initiatives to help Mother Nature:
~The introduction of 100% PCR plastic packaging, made in the UK, to over 1/3 of the Naked range.
~3 gift sets that automatically donate money to environmental causes. The three charities to benefit in 2007 where The Woodland Trust, The Rainforest Foundation and Plant Life.
The third in the series of charitable gift sets is Naked in the Meadow, £8.99, a delectable set of three sumptious creams. Each pack donates 50p
to Plantlife, helping the charity preserve approx 12m sq of wild flower reserve.
~The introduction of totally compostable secondary packaging.
Naked in the Meadow is available exclusively online at www.nakedbodycare.co.uk until March 2008 and then will be available in larger Boots stores.
Green Belt is lost in the rush for homes as 14,000 acres disappear
The Green Belt is disappearing in the rush to build new homes.
Nearly 14,000 acres - the equivalent of 80,000 football pitches - have been lost to the Green Belt in the areas under greatest pressure for new housing since Labour came to power, figures showed yesterday.
Parts of Essex, Cambridgeshire, Kent and the London suburbs are among those that have lost the greatest amount.
Countryside protected from development for decades has also been handed over to the bulldozers across the Midlands and the North.
The list of towns that have lost the greatest amount of Green Belt was made public by ministers following questions by Eric Pickles, the Tories' communities spokesman.
It showed that although the area devoted to Green Belt has remained roughly the same over the past decade, some towns have been subjected to much greater raids on the surrounding countryside.
In total the 21 worst-hit areas have lost nearly 14,000 acres since 1997.
The figures come amid deepening concern over the future of the Green Belt, which has guarded against the spread of suburbs across the countryside since the 1950s.
Mr Pickles said: "I'm not surprised nor am I shocked by these figures. The Prime Minister said over the summer that existing Green Belt land will be protected and not built on. But he has given powers to the un-elected quango, the Infrastructure Commission, to de-classify Green Belt on a whim."
For the full story, and details on Save the Green Belt - Exeter campaign visit:
E.ON is arguing for its new coal plant on the basis that it will include carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.
CCS is a means of separating out carbon dioxide when burning fossil fuels, and then dumping it - underground, at the sea bed or under the seabed. CCS isn't commercially viable; there are no commercially operating CCS plants in the world. And for all the industry's obfuscation, the new plant at Kingsnorth won't be able to capture and store carbon; it will just be ready to incorporate CCS should the technology ever become viable in the future.
Whether this will ever happen is unknowable. A UN report predicts that CCS won't be able to play any significant role for decades, and the bulk of its deployment would take place in the second half of this century - and even then only if the appropriate subsidy mechanisms and policy drivers are put in place.
Even Chancellor Alistair Darling - a supporter of coal - admits that CCS "may never work". "Yes, carbon capture and storage, if it can be developed, would help," he said. "But at this stage we cannot be certain of that. There is no commercial scale operation of CCS on power generation anywhere in the world."
So E.ON wants to build a plant that will pump out as much CO2 as thirty developing countries, year on year, in the hope that, at some unspecified point in the future, CCS technology will become viable. As Monbiot says: "We could be stuck with a new generation of coal-burning power stations, approved on the basis of a promise that never materialises, which commit us to massive emissions for 40 years."
On Thursday 22nd January the ESRC, in partnership with the University of Sheffield, is offering you a unique
opportunity to find out how the latest research into green consumerism can help your
business prosper and grow through a change in your marketing approach.
The seminar will give insight into classifications of “green” consumers to help you develop an ethical marketing strategy. You will also learn
about the different ways to motivate and harness pro-environment consumer behaviour. For info visit: www.momenta.co.uk
Climate Change:
Effective Communication Course
If you are concerned about climate change you can help other people get
active. To do that you need to be able to communicate confidently and
effectively? On Thursday 24th January (London) Talk Action are running an Effective Communication Course.
Whether you want to talk with one person, twenty, or one hundred, there are
core skills that can help you get the message across. This one day course
will help you build the skills you need to communicate climate change.
The training session helps with: Major climate change issues and difficult questions; Communicating with people in different situations: Persuading colleagues –
lobbying situations - talking to friends – working with business – addressing a large
audience; and the Key skills of communication – speaking, listening, body language, etc
Whether you
work for a local council, a business or a charity, are involved in a local organisation or are
simply keen to make a difference this course will give you the skills and knowledge you need. For more details go to: www.talkaction.org
"Oddball" Weather Events Add to Record-Breaking 2007
Last year, the heat turned on and the weather just got weirder. January 2007 was the warmest first month on record worldwide—1.53oF/0.85oC above normal. It was the first time since record-keeping began in 1880 that the globe's average temperature has been so far above the norm for any month of the year.
And as 2007 drew to a close, it was also shaping up to be the hottest year on record in the Northern Hemisphere. U.S. weather stations broke or tied 263 all-time high temperature records and England had the warmest April in 348 years of record-keeping .
It wasn't just the temperature. There were other oddball weather events. A tornado struck New York City in August. In the Middle East, an equally rare cyclone spun up in June, hitting Oman and Iran. Major U.S. lakes shrank, and Atlanta worried about its drinking water supply.
South Africa got its first significant snowfall in 25 years. And on Reunion Island, 400 miles east of Africa, nearly 155 inches of rain fell in three days —a world record for the most rain in 72 hours.
Individual weather extremes can't be attributed to global warming, scientists always say. However, "it's the run of them and the different locations" that have the mark of human-caused climate change, said top European climate expert Phil Jones, director of the climate research unit at the University of East Anglia in England.
Worst of all, scientists say, the Arctic, which serves as the world's refrigerator, dramatically warmed in 2007, shattering records for the amount of melting ice. Through the first 10 months of 2007, it was the hottest year recorded on land and the third hottest when ocean
