This Months Featured Advertiser is Passion for the Planet Radio...

Passion for the Planet was set up by experienced radio professionals Chantal Cooke and Kenny Stevens, with the goal of introducing an innovative format to the expanding DAB Digital Radio market.

Entertaining and informative, Passion plays your favourite songs plus great new tunes from world music artists, and a broad range of interviews and features focused on your health and environment.

There's NO programmes. NO DJs. Just the planet's biggest issues and the planet's best music. Choose Passion for the Planet when you're in the mood to be intrigued and inspired!

Passion’s unique output delivers speech features in appealing short form chunks. There’s an interview every hour, from serious big issues to quirky alternative solutions for 21st century challenges …

Find out how to listen on line & on DAB radio:

www.passionfortheplanet.com

A Show of Inspiration for Mind Body and Spirit

Still the world’s largest source of physical, mental and spiritual enlightenment all under one roof, the 2008 London Mind Body Spirit Festival promises to be better than ever!

Now in its 32nd year, it is the longest running event of its kind worldwide and is bringing together a compelling blend of international presenters, performers and exhibitors, all focused on new ways of living in harmony with themselves, those around them and the world they live in.

Always a ground breaking and thought provoking event, there is no better place to inspire you.

Amongst the inspirational presenters this year are spiritual activist Marianne Williamson, Gongmaster Don Conreaux, Sufi master Mehmet Akyildiz, Australian Bush Essences pioneer Ian White, plus many exhibitors promoting healing, teaching and research into how to live in harmony with the environment; there will be organic juices, natural products, including fair trade musical instruments and 100% hand woven cotton garments, organic nutritional remedies and supplements and much, much more.

Plus the usual packed programme of workshops, products and talks to inspire, uplift and nourish you on your spiritual journey. This year’s festival runs from 21st to 26th May.

To win one of 3 pairs of entry tickets we've got to give away, send your name, address and daytime phone to AllThingsEco, Mind Body Spirit Ltd, 755 Fulham Road, London SW6 5UU, before May 17th. 

www.mindbodyspirit.co.uk

World Species Dying Out Like Flies Says WWF

World biodiversity has declined by almost one third in the past 35 years due mainly to habitat loss and the wildlife trade, says the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It warned that climate change would add increasingly to the wildlife woes over the next three decades.

"Biodiversity underpins the health of the planet and has a direct impact on all our lives so it is alarming that despite of an increased awareness of environmental issues we continue to see a downtrend trend," said WWF campaign head Colin Butfield. "However, there are small signs for hope and if government grasps what is left of this rapidly closing window of opportunity, we can begin to reverse this trend."

WWF's Living Planet Index tracks some 4,000 species of birds, fish, mammals, reptiles and amphibians globally. It shows that between 1970 and 2007 land-based species fell by 25 percent, marine by 28 percent and freshwater by 29 percent.

Some scientists see the loss of plants, animals and insects as the start of the sixth great species wipe out in the Earth's history, the last being in the age of the dinosaurs which disappeared 130 million years ago.

"Reduced biodiversity means millions of people face a future where food supplies are more vulnerable to pests and disease and where water is in irregular or short supply," said WWF director general James Leape. "No one can escape the impact of biodiversity loss because reduced global diversity translates quite clearly into fewer new medicines, greater vulnerability to natural disasters and greater effects from global warming."

When is a book not a book?

When it’s an ebook, download for your iPod and a video on YouTube or your smart phones.

Much of the talk at the London Book Fair this year was on the topic of convergence. That is how publishers and authors deliver their work to the multiplicity of platforms people are now using. This year sees Google Ads taking over revenue-wise from ITV advertising and the vast majority of younger people prefer interacting with their peers with the Internet or their ‘phone in preference to watching TV.

Local author and poet Tom Evans who has 30 years experience in broadcasting and internet technology decided to take the bull by the horns for his first book, 100 Years of Ermintrude, and embraced so-called convergence head-on.

So well before it was available in printed form, it was released as an ebook, then as an audio book for MP3 players and then as an interview and Jackanory-style reading for smart phones. This means readers can choose how they best enjoy the book.

This year will see the introduction of ebook readers from the likes of Sony and Apple and even Amazon themselves have introduced their own reader called Kindle. This sea change is great news for authors as the cost of getting in print reduces. People will be able to submit ebooks straight to Amazon and split revenues with them. This perhaps is not such good news for traditional publishers, the distribution chain and bookshops. The impact will be same for books sales as MP3 downloads were for sales of CD’s.

Tom is now experimenting with producing his next book called Perfect Living Now as a blog and already several vendors are introducing technology to print books on demand straight from the RSS feed of a blog.

Tom now runs monthly workshops for authors all over the country teaching them how to tap into their creative spark and how anybody can become a “published” author easily, inexpensively and overnight.

www.thebookwright.com

Ecotopia.co.uk is an ethical online supermarket for everyday products, ethical gifts, eco-friendly gadgets, fair trade and natural groceries.  Established in 2002 with assistance from the Prince's Trust, Ecotopia assists people in leading a more natural and lower impact lifestyle.

Ecotopia.co.uk is delighted to announce the launch of its new food and drink department. Now in its 6th year of operation from its Eco offices and warehouse in Gloucestershire, Ecotopia.co.uk will now supply organic, natural, ethical and fairly traded food and drink to household consumers.

The new range includes a wide selection of products from snacks & confectionery, groceries, world foods and non alcoholic drinks.

Steve Jones, Director of Ecotopia.co.uk, says: “I am very proud to be able to offer our extensive range of ethical groceries to the market. Ecotopia.co.uk has been at the forefront of ethical living for over 6 years and this move underlines the commitment from the business to produce products for our customer’s specific requirements and needs”

Both the body care and parent and child sections will grow dramatically as well. All this will coincide with a completely updated website that will be designed for ease of use and navigation, making the online purchasing experience a blissfully simple one.

www.ecotopia.co.uk

Simply Pure is a new, hypoallergenic, non biological laundry detergent which contains no perfumes or optical brighteners and so cares for even the most sensitive skin. Developed to meet the increasing demand for a truly gentle laundry detergent for parents with family members who have sensitive skin, Simply Pure performed exceptionally well in dermatological tests and sets new standards in terms of its kindness to sensitive skin.

In line with all Simply Washing products, Simply Pure is also the responsible choice for our sensitive environment. Its eco-smart credentials are second to none having been awarded the highly acclaimed EU Eco-Label licence by DEFRA and in line with its eco-smart heritage; it comes in tubs made entirely from 100% recycled plastic.

But Simply Pure differs from its traditional ‘green’ rivals in two other important ways; it works brilliantly in shifting stains and leaving washing really clean and it’s genuinely great value for money. Naturally, Simply Washing products are not tested on animals and they are proud to carry the Vegan Society logo on all their laundry and dishwash products.

Simply Pure is being launched in a 15 wash pack with an anticipated retail price of £3.29 which equates to 22p a wash. Simply Pure is available from www.simplywashing.com where home delivery is free and customers receive one FREE Simply product (laundry or dishwash) when they buy four others.

Aylsham - Norfolk’s First Plastic Bag FREE Town

Who would have suspected that the historic market town of Aylsham was a hot bed of environmental activism?  It’s not quite at the point where people hiss if you walk down the street with a plastic bag, but there is a growing movement to resign the plastic bag to the history archives, as Aylsham steps forward to be Norfolk’s first plastic bag free town.

The town has always supported an amazing range of shops and businesses, including three butchers, two farmers markets each month, a twice weekly market and a good range of places to eat and drink.  Now those businesses are coming together to take a further step forward, the banning of the plastic bag.

Saturday 3rd May is the key date, after which customers are asked to bring their own shopping bags or pay for an environmentally friendly bag with their shopping. Over 70 businesses have had the foresight to get involved with the scheme, from pharmacies to charity shops, from fish and chip shops to plant nurseries. 

Norfolk County Council have arranged for every household in the town to have the opportunity to receive a free shopping bag, which they can pickup from the Market Place on Saturday 3rd May and Saturday 17th May.  The designs of the bag were drawn by children at the Bure Valley School in Aylsham.

There will also be plastic bag amnesty bins around the town centre, where plastic bags can be placed and then sent off to be recycled.  Broadland District Council are arranging these.

Both Norfolk County Council and Broadland District Council are hoping that the experience of Aylsham becoming Plastic Bag FREE will help other towns make the transition.

www.aylshamplasticbagfree.co.uk

LoveLula.com is a stylish online organic apothecary with Soil Association certification offering savvy shoppers a one-stop shop and “gold-mine of information” for their beauty questions and needs. 

Choose from over 750 organic & natural skincare, haircare, bodycare, suncare, cosmetics, gifts and beauty products from cult brands such as Spiezia, Weleda, Badger & Trilogy and new natural beauty secrets Ila, Pai, Nvey Eco, John Masters Organics, suki and Kimberly Sayer. 

Also new to LoveLula is the Erbaviva range.

Erbaviva's exclusive line of pure products for Baby and Mummy-to-be was born to bring to the world a collection of the purest, most natural, organic skincare products available. Erbaviva commit to using only the highest quality organic ingredients and essential oils.

LoveLula.com customers can now also choose to make a carbon offset donation when they place an order for organic beauty and skincare from the online organic apothecary.

“For a 10p donation, we offset the carbon emissions generated delivering orders with an equivalent contribution to the charity Streetkidz (www.skcv.com).” says LoveLula.com founder Lula Lewis.

www.lovelula.com

Queen Honours Green Publisher

Permanent Publications, a UK publisher producing practical books, magazines and websites which enable people to reduce their carbon footprint and live more sustainable lifestyles, has won a prestigious Queen¹s Award for Enterprise in the Sustainable Development Category 2008.

The Queen's Award panel, endorsed by the Prime Minister's office, have honoured Permanent Publications because of its continuous achievement and unfettered commitment to progressing sustainability internationally.

"All the staff at Permanent Publications are passionate about providing people with information & the means to live a greener, more creative future", says Permanent Publications Chief Executive and co-founder Maddy Harland.

Andy Goldring, Chief Executive of charity, the Permaculture Association Britain, added, We have been working alongside Permanent Publications since they started in 1990. Their high quality and informative books and magazines have helped many thousands to learn about the opportunities of permaculture and sustainability.

Permanent Publications publishes practical books by critically acclaimed authors and the quarterly Permaculture Magazine - Solutions for Sustainable Living, established in 1992 with a readership of 600 people. It is now read in 77 countries both in print and online, with over 100,000 readers.

Permanent Publications is active in supporting environmental projects in their local community, as well as nationally and globally. It has been at the cutting edge of sustainable solutions for almost two decades and winning the Queen's Award for Enterprise endorses the vital necessity of their work.

www.permanent-publications.co.uk

Beat the Credit Squeeze by becoming Green
           
In these times of a tightening economy, sky high energy costs and rising food prices, UK households can weather the storm by going green – and save almost £400 a year on heating, electricity and grocery bills if they choose to live eco, says Nigel's Eco Store.

The tide is finally changing and green living is becoming synonymous with money saving while helping the planet,” says Nigel Berman, MD of Nigel's Eco Store.

"During the credit crunch, consumers can reduce their household bills by £367 if they used environmentally sound products such as Energy Saving light bulbs, a Radiator BoosterTM , EcoballsTM, an EcobuttonTM and a Standby kit,"

“A good start to cutting energy bills is to replace old fashioned light bulbs with energy saving ones – householders can reduce their annual electricity bills by around £100 and save money on buying ordinary light bulbs.”

“Householders could click themselves to even lower electricity bills by using an EcobuttonTM every time they take a break as leaving a desktop computer on while not in use wastes around £50 a year on average.

By installing a Radiator BoosterTM on top of their radiators, householders could enjoy significantly lower heating bills – by £98 a year - as well as warmer rooms.

For all these, and more energy saving ideas go to: www.nigelsecostore.com

Spirit Land - Eco Living in South Wales

For more than five years Tony Wrench and Jane Faith lived unnoticed in the Pembrokeshire National Park in South Wales. It was only when the Coast Guard flew overhead by helicopter that the solar panels on the roof of their ecological home were spotted.

In 1997 the couple moved to a farm run as a sustainable community where they built an autonomous eco-home using a mixture of natural resources (earth, wood, straw) and renewable energy sources (solar panels and wind turbines). The result is an ecological roundhouse, harmonious and perfectly integrated into the landscape.

The discovery of the roundhouse has caused a scandal in the region since the Welsh government demanded its destruction, stressing the lack of planning permission. During the long legal battle, other families have moved to the site transforming it into a unique eco settlement. The future of the roundhouse remains uncertain however; as they have only one more chance to appeal the court's decision.

Paris based photographer Andrew McLeish recently produced a project for an exhibition about the "Earth" in the South of France, and works on social, environmental and humanistic projects. He also spent several days in Wales taking photographs of ecological houses for his project, including the Roundhouse.

An exhibition of these photographs can now be seen at the Everyman Bistro, Hope Street, Liverpool, Saturday, May 10th - Monday, June 30th. 

London’s First Vegan Footwear and Accessory Shop Opens

Bourgeois Boheme, one of the UK’s most well-known online and animal-friendly fashion companies is opening London’s very first animal-friendly footwear and accessories retail outlet.

On May 17th 2008, just a couple of days ahead of UK National Vegetarian Week, Bourgeois Boheme will celebrate the official opening with an open day at the shop in Richmond, London

.

Known for its quality and stylish vegan footwear and accessories, Bourgeois Boheme is responding to customer requests for a physical retail location. Founder and Director, Alicia Lai and has found that 90% of returns from online sales relate to shoe-fitting issues.

Alicia says, “Unless you shop online, vegetarian footwear is difficult to find: it’s a dismal choice of either low-quality, cheap and environmentally-challenging shoes or Stella McCartney – gorgeous fashion no doubt, but very much beyond the pocket of many a style-conscious vegetarian/vegan.”

Visitors will be able to buy Bourgeois-Boheme’s exclusive labelled styles as well as ethically sourced products from other companies; not only footwear, but bags, wallets and belts for women and men, and cosmetics.

Alicia says, “Our shop is an extension within our office premises, it’s a humble start but it’s a first step towards our greater dream of having lush and exclusive Bourgeois Boheme boutiques in the world’s fashion capitals” www.bboheme.com

The Vegan Coast to Coast Challenge 2008

On May 24th Gemma and Ben, two Southampton vegans, are embarking on a 190 mile sponsored walk from Robin Hood’s Bay on the East coast of Britain to St. Bee’s Head on the West. The route passes through the North Yorkshire Moors, Yorkshire Dales and Lake District. Whilst it's usually completed in around 2 weeks, they are aiming to reach the end in 8 days.

They are undertaking this challenge to raise money for St. Francis Animal Welfare (registered charity number 263172), which takes in both domestic and wild animals and looks after them until they can be placed with loving homes or released back into the wild. It is their policy to never put a healthy animal down.

As the event draws nearer, to say thank you for all the support, they are now running a prize draw for everyone that sponsors them, with lots of goodies to be won!

The great prizes include a box of Hazelnut Crunch Truffles from Booja-Booja, £25 worth of organic goodies from Cooks' Delight, £15 gift voucher from  Gossypium, signed Gillian McKeith books, £20 worth of  Vegtalia  products, selection of juices from James White Drinks, 2 bottles of  Juniper Green Organic Gin and mushroom growing kit, as well as many others!

Every penny raised will go directly to St. Francis Animal Welfare and enable them to care for many sick, injured or unwanted animals in need of help.

Visit their website to find out how to sponsor a good cause: www.vegancoast2coast.co.uk

Vision and Project Design for Intercultural Creativity and Conference Centre London

Vision: Many people would agree there is a need for a spacious, inspiring centre in central London where people of all cultures, religions, races can meet to share and develop their creative work or pleasures in music, dance theatre, arts crafts and cuisine. Cities like London have become melting pots of religious and cultural plurality, yet there are very few neutral places where people can practice their creative activities. Few local community centres provide these kind of spaces for practice, studies, proper auditorium, gallery space or theatre.

Our proposal is to build this Intercultural Creativity and Conference Centre which has been specially designed to meet these diverse needs in a District where people of many cultures live.

Another important aspect of this project is that a beautiful, highly original attractive Iconic building like this will undoubtedly attract all Londoners, as well as International visitors. We are currently forming a Community Trust Company (or Foundation) to realize this proposal with a committee of delegates Voluntary workers to practically realize essential aspects like fund-raising, publicity, site negotiations, local people support and networking events.

H.R.H Prince Charles has seen the designs for this building and agreed to support its realization.  The Parliamentarians for Peace are interested in its realization as a step toward solving intercultural strife and youth street crime, especially in poorer deprived districts of London .

The design was offered to the Cultural Unit of L.O.C.O.G, the London Olympia team by Jeffery Gale its designer, as Stratford is seen as such a district. But so far nothing positive has been received from them other than expression of interests.

If you would like more information on the above please contact Sophie Christopher sustainable.ecoplanning@yahoo.com or telephone 01235 529266.

The overwhelming evidence is that climate change is the biggest, most serious, problem facing mankind we either deal with it or it will deal with us.   

Transport, both commercial and private, creates some 33 million tonnes of CO2 and other noxious gasses per year in the UK, fouling out cities and towns with pollutants and causing distress to those suffering with breathing problems. Every litre of fuel, when burned in your engine is converted into 5lbs of gas so each tankful = 225 lbs (the weight of a full grown man, of generous proportions)   Buying a new 'eco-car' may make you feel better, but it does not make much of an impact on emissions as it has created 11 -17 tonnes to make it in the first place and the disposal of your old car will create still more.      Yet we cannot suddenly stop using transport. 

Our lives and infrastructure are dependent upon it for commerce, food, health, and work.    We can, however make efforts to reduce the amount of use we make of our cars by planning journeys and minimising miles driven.    For millions who unavoidably use their cars for work, taxi and courier companies, police, heavy goods distribution, agriculture, among many other segments of transport, there is a partial answer that is available now.    It is a product new to this country, but with a twenty year unblemished history of reducing emissions and saving fuel.   

It is NOT a fuel additive, but a catalytic combustion chamber conditioner that will reduce fuel consumption by 7% - 15% and cut emissions by up to 75% in all vehicles, whether powered by petrol, diesel or bio-fuels.    No engine conversion is needed, it is simple and safe to use, and the results are guaranteed by the manufacturers.

In older vehicles it will reduce or eliminate the carbon build up on valves and inside the combustion chamber, and its use will prolong the life of the catalytic converter.    Finally the cost of this product is less than the fuel you will save so it is available to every driver and company without financial impact.

We estimate that if every vehicle in the UK were to use this,  the savings would add up to 2 billion litres of fuel and a reduction of 16 million tonnes of emissions each and every year.  A single person driving 10,000 miles per year at 35 mpg would save over 2  tonnes of emissions effortlessly. For more information visit www.hanoverbm.myffi.biz 

Erth calls all creative individuals!

What goes on in the background at Erthed arts, design and marketing consultancy is rather unique. When Erthed require an extra set of skills for project work you will find them delving into, what Erthed term “Developing Creative Communities” for “Developing Design Talent”. Traditionally low employability categories, i.e. academia, retirees, down-shifters, which allows sustainable growth through knowledge and skills use and development.

Erthed are searching for one talented individual, with or without qualification, to help them in a campaign that will propel the green business community forward. All they ask is that you have fantastic creative skills. This is a great opportunity for those wanting to get into the creative industry or to have more experience in marketing genuine green business.

Erthed work at the benefit of “Progressive Organisations”, those that have potential to create a better future. Amongst their client books is Interface Inc, the global and sustainable manufacturer chaired by one of the leading proponents of sustainability, registered charities The Vegetarian Society and Queenscourt Hospice plus the British Association of Medical Managers and RAISE Education community farming project in Devon. In review of the services Erthed provides, Georgia Soley of The Vegetarian Society commented ‘I recommend Erthed whole-heartedly’.

Working alongside organisations with the potential of creating a more sustainable future and by realising the skills within our communities, Erthed challenge typical consultancy methods making their process relevant to current needs.

If you are talented in design and want to put your skills into ‘good’ action, please get in touch for more information by contacting Lauren Reis on lauren.reis@erthed.co.uk

www.erthed.co.uk