Here's a conversation I had recently in the pub, which had me banging my head off the bar:
Me: "Another pint of 80 please, and you can just re-use this glass"
Barman: "I can't"
Me: "You can't re-use the glass?"
Barman: "No"
Me: "Why not?"
Barman: "Health and Safety"
Me: "But I'm the only one who has used it!"
Barman: "Still, can't do it"
Me: "So you have to wash each glass after it's been used just once?"
Barman: "Do you want the f*cking pint or not?"
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Any Which Way
The governor of Perth Prison has weighed into the debate about the frankly unbelievable decision to build an incinerator in the centre of the town, right next door to the prison.
The incinerator was given planning permission a couple of years ago, but detailed plans are only now coming to light, and they include a 260 foot chimney.
Quite what the local authority was thinking is anyone's guess - although I would imagine they heard the words "money" and "waste solution" and immediately signed on the dotted line without thinking it through.
Those opposed to the incinerator will be heartened by the intervention of the prison governor. Her objections to the plant come from a different direction from the environmental ones - that the incinerator may facilitate escapes from the jail, it will make throwing things like drugs into the prison grounds easier, and that noise from the plant 24 hours a day will drive the prisoners bananas and lead to indiscipline.
Maybe she will succeed in this approach in a way that other residents can't. After all, if there's one thing councillors hate it is being seen as responsible for crime.
The incinerator was given planning permission a couple of years ago, but detailed plans are only now coming to light, and they include a 260 foot chimney.
Quite what the local authority was thinking is anyone's guess - although I would imagine they heard the words "money" and "waste solution" and immediately signed on the dotted line without thinking it through.
Those opposed to the incinerator will be heartened by the intervention of the prison governor. Her objections to the plant come from a different direction from the environmental ones - that the incinerator may facilitate escapes from the jail, it will make throwing things like drugs into the prison grounds easier, and that noise from the plant 24 hours a day will drive the prisoners bananas and lead to indiscipline.
Maybe she will succeed in this approach in a way that other residents can't. After all, if there's one thing councillors hate it is being seen as responsible for crime.
Monday, July 27, 2009
A Confession
I'm hanging my head in shame here.
Yesterday, for the first time in my adult life, I knowingly and deliberately used a tumble dryer.
I know, I'm highly embarrassed about it.
I say knowingly and deliberately, because when I first moved into this flat I didn't realise that the washing machine was a combination one with a tumble dryer as well. I was highly surprised and shocked to discover my first load of washing was warm and dry!
So what prompted me to commit such a blatant eco-crime when I've got a perfectly good drying rack? Well, today I'm off on holiday and I desperately needed towels. And towels take days to dry indoors.
There are people who say they can't live without their tumble dryer. Personally, I'm the opposite: my conscience doesn't allow me to live with one.
Incidentally, because of the holiday blogging will be light this week. I've scheduled a few posts so you don't miss me too much, but don't expect me to bring you back a stick of rock!
Yesterday, for the first time in my adult life, I knowingly and deliberately used a tumble dryer.
I know, I'm highly embarrassed about it.
I say knowingly and deliberately, because when I first moved into this flat I didn't realise that the washing machine was a combination one with a tumble dryer as well. I was highly surprised and shocked to discover my first load of washing was warm and dry!
So what prompted me to commit such a blatant eco-crime when I've got a perfectly good drying rack? Well, today I'm off on holiday and I desperately needed towels. And towels take days to dry indoors.
There are people who say they can't live without their tumble dryer. Personally, I'm the opposite: my conscience doesn't allow me to live with one.
Incidentally, because of the holiday blogging will be light this week. I've scheduled a few posts so you don't miss me too much, but don't expect me to bring you back a stick of rock!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Green In The Media 27th July - 2nd August
This week's Book At Bedtime looks interesting, The Rapture by Liz Jensen. Most reviewers on Amazon
give it four or five stars
Monday 27th July
Serious Ocean
On: BBC 2
Time: 10:35 to 11:05 (Every day this week)
Series in which eight young adventurers go to extremes to help the planet. The Ocean Eight take part in their final marine project, helping scientists dart dolphins to take flesh samples. They then sail to the world's most southerly glacier outside Antarctica, which they survey for the first time to check on global warming. Climbing onto the huge glacier and leaping over dangerous crevasses is a terrifying experience for some of the adventurers.
Open Gardens
On: BBC 2
Time: 12:00 to 12:30
Nant Y Bedd and Jeffcot Road.
Series which follows people's attempts to have their gardens accepted into the National Gardens Scheme. Ian and Sue Mabberly live in the Welsh mountains and are passionate about sustainable organic gardening, but will the steep site prove too much of a health and safety nightmare for the NGS?
Who Killed the Honey Bee?
On: BBC 4
Time: 19:30 to 20:30
With an affliction dubbed colony collapse disorder wiping out bees worldwide, Martha Kearney explores the terrifying implications of their possible extinction and the loss of their most vital service to nature, pollination, without which global food production would collapse. The threat to keepers, farmers and our food supply is acute and growing, and yet the cause of this 'Marie Celeste syndrome' that causes bees to flee their hives remains a mystery.
Book at Bedtime
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 22:45 to 23:00 (Every night this week)
The Rapture
Denise Black reads from Liz Jensen's eco-thriller. In a merciless summer of biblical heat and destructive winds, Gabrielle Fox's main concern is a personal one: to rebuild her career as a psychologist after a shattering car accident. But when she is assigned Bethany Krall, one of the most dangerous teenagers in the country, she begins to fear she has made a terrible mistake. Raised on a diet of evangelistic hellfire, Bethany is violent, delusional, cruelly intuitive and insistent that she can foresee natural disasters - a claim which Gabrielle interprets as a symptom of doomsday delusion. But when catastrophes begin to occur on the very dates Bethany has predicted, and a brilliant, gentle physicist enters the equation, the apocalyptic puzzle intensifies and the stakes multiply. Is the self-proclaimed Nostradamus of the psych ward the ultimate manipulator, or could she be the harbinger of imminent global cataclysm on a scale never seen before? And what can love mean in 'interesting times'? A haunting story of human passion and burning faith set against an adventure of tectonic proportions, The Rapture is an electrifying psychological thriller that explores the dark extremes of mankind's self-destruction in a world on the brink.
Tuesday 28th July
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
On: FIVER
Time: 06:00 to 06:45
Ellen goes green for her latest show, dishing out environmentally-friendly delights for her audience.
Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the world we inhabit and our interaction with it, from astronomy to geology, biology to environmental science.
Wednesday 29th July
In Living Memory
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 11:00 to 11:30
Contemporary history series. Chris Ledgard tells the story of the battle to extract Dorset's oil, after geologists discovered the biggest offshore oilfield in western Europe there in the late 1970s. The oilmen were faced with the dilemma of how to open up a major oilfield around the Isle of Purbeck and Poole Harbour, one of the most important and protected stretches of landscape in the British Isles. But BP was determined to do so and, after a long battle to persuade people that it could drill for oil without destroying the environment, its plans were passed.
Thursday 30th July
One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.
Open Country
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:02 to 15:27
Helen Mark reports on new peace proposals to resolve the long-running battle between fishermen and conservationists over the wildlife-rich waters of the Firth of Lorne on the west coast of Scotland. She joins local wildlife biologist Tessa McGregor for a boat trip around the Firth, meeting fishermen, farmers and naturalists, all of whom are anxious to reach a balance that preserves livelihoods without further threatening this precarious natural environment. Scallop dredging is currently banned in the Firth, much to the displeasure of local fishermen who have to sail further and into more dangerous waters to bring home a profitable catch. The Scottish government looks set to reverse the ban, but local divers tell Helen that such a move would devastate the sea bed and the aquatic life that depends on it.
Sunday 2nd August
Country Tracks
On: BBC 1
Time: 11:00 to 12:00
Peak District Industry.
Ben Fogle goes on a journey through the Peak District in search of the area's industrial heritage. Starting at Bugsworth Basin, one of Britain's few remaining canal interchanges, he travels on to Kinder Scout, scene of the famous 1932 mass trespass. He cycles over the remains of Tin Town, a village built for the navvies constructing the Derwent and Howden reservoirs, tries his hand as a shepherd, and meets the eco-protesters who successfully campaigned to save ancient woodland from a quarry.
The Estuary
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 14:45 to 15:00
Peter France narrates an extraordinary story of life on the Wash as the tides and the seasons change, set against a backdrop of sounds recorded on location by Chris Watson. How might climate change and rising sea levels affect this wild, desolate and beautiful landscape?
Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.
give it four or five starsMonday 27th July
Serious Ocean
On: BBC 2
Time: 10:35 to 11:05 (Every day this week)
Series in which eight young adventurers go to extremes to help the planet. The Ocean Eight take part in their final marine project, helping scientists dart dolphins to take flesh samples. They then sail to the world's most southerly glacier outside Antarctica, which they survey for the first time to check on global warming. Climbing onto the huge glacier and leaping over dangerous crevasses is a terrifying experience for some of the adventurers.
Open Gardens
On: BBC 2
Time: 12:00 to 12:30
Nant Y Bedd and Jeffcot Road.
Series which follows people's attempts to have their gardens accepted into the National Gardens Scheme. Ian and Sue Mabberly live in the Welsh mountains and are passionate about sustainable organic gardening, but will the steep site prove too much of a health and safety nightmare for the NGS?
Who Killed the Honey Bee?
On: BBC 4
Time: 19:30 to 20:30
With an affliction dubbed colony collapse disorder wiping out bees worldwide, Martha Kearney explores the terrifying implications of their possible extinction and the loss of their most vital service to nature, pollination, without which global food production would collapse. The threat to keepers, farmers and our food supply is acute and growing, and yet the cause of this 'Marie Celeste syndrome' that causes bees to flee their hives remains a mystery.
Book at Bedtime
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 22:45 to 23:00 (Every night this week)
The Rapture
Denise Black reads from Liz Jensen's eco-thriller. In a merciless summer of biblical heat and destructive winds, Gabrielle Fox's main concern is a personal one: to rebuild her career as a psychologist after a shattering car accident. But when she is assigned Bethany Krall, one of the most dangerous teenagers in the country, she begins to fear she has made a terrible mistake. Raised on a diet of evangelistic hellfire, Bethany is violent, delusional, cruelly intuitive and insistent that she can foresee natural disasters - a claim which Gabrielle interprets as a symptom of doomsday delusion. But when catastrophes begin to occur on the very dates Bethany has predicted, and a brilliant, gentle physicist enters the equation, the apocalyptic puzzle intensifies and the stakes multiply. Is the self-proclaimed Nostradamus of the psych ward the ultimate manipulator, or could she be the harbinger of imminent global cataclysm on a scale never seen before? And what can love mean in 'interesting times'? A haunting story of human passion and burning faith set against an adventure of tectonic proportions, The Rapture is an electrifying psychological thriller that explores the dark extremes of mankind's self-destruction in a world on the brink.
Tuesday 28th July
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
On: FIVER
Time: 06:00 to 06:45
Ellen goes green for her latest show, dishing out environmentally-friendly delights for her audience.
Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the world we inhabit and our interaction with it, from astronomy to geology, biology to environmental science.
Wednesday 29th July
In Living Memory
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 11:00 to 11:30
Contemporary history series. Chris Ledgard tells the story of the battle to extract Dorset's oil, after geologists discovered the biggest offshore oilfield in western Europe there in the late 1970s. The oilmen were faced with the dilemma of how to open up a major oilfield around the Isle of Purbeck and Poole Harbour, one of the most important and protected stretches of landscape in the British Isles. But BP was determined to do so and, after a long battle to persuade people that it could drill for oil without destroying the environment, its plans were passed.
Thursday 30th July
One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.
Open Country
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:02 to 15:27
Helen Mark reports on new peace proposals to resolve the long-running battle between fishermen and conservationists over the wildlife-rich waters of the Firth of Lorne on the west coast of Scotland. She joins local wildlife biologist Tessa McGregor for a boat trip around the Firth, meeting fishermen, farmers and naturalists, all of whom are anxious to reach a balance that preserves livelihoods without further threatening this precarious natural environment. Scallop dredging is currently banned in the Firth, much to the displeasure of local fishermen who have to sail further and into more dangerous waters to bring home a profitable catch. The Scottish government looks set to reverse the ban, but local divers tell Helen that such a move would devastate the sea bed and the aquatic life that depends on it.
Sunday 2nd August
Country Tracks
On: BBC 1
Time: 11:00 to 12:00
Peak District Industry.
Ben Fogle goes on a journey through the Peak District in search of the area's industrial heritage. Starting at Bugsworth Basin, one of Britain's few remaining canal interchanges, he travels on to Kinder Scout, scene of the famous 1932 mass trespass. He cycles over the remains of Tin Town, a village built for the navvies constructing the Derwent and Howden reservoirs, tries his hand as a shepherd, and meets the eco-protesters who successfully campaigned to save ancient woodland from a quarry.
The Estuary
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 14:45 to 15:00
Peter France narrates an extraordinary story of life on the Wash as the tides and the seasons change, set against a backdrop of sounds recorded on location by Chris Watson. How might climate change and rising sea levels affect this wild, desolate and beautiful landscape?
Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The Week In Green Numbers
25%
- the amount of US oil projected to be imported from West Africa by 2015
1400
- tons of "recycled" medical waste which 2 British companies illegally exported to Brazil
200kg
- size of the jellyfish causing havoc in the Yellow Sea. They get sucked into the pumps which take seawater to cool Japan's nuclear reactors
32%
- amount of the British railway network which is electrified
100%
- amount of the Swiss railway network which is electrified
Friday, July 24, 2009
Nazi Seagulls From Hell: RSPB Become The Home Guard!
On Herring Gulls:
even though the numbers of gulls seem to be growing in towns, overall numbers in the UK have plummeted by around 70 per cent since 1970.I was born in 1971. Coincidence?
"some of the intolerance is irrational and these birds should not be demonised"....said someone who has never been attacked by one!
Actually, there's a bit of seriousness behind my joking. Herring gulls seem to be declining in the wild but few seem to be asking why.
Why are they moving into urban areas and away from fishing in the seas? Could it be our overfishing has decimated their food sources? Could it be our stewardship of the countryside has decimated their natural habitats?
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The Wire
The UK government has announced that they will electrify the railway between London and Swansea. And about time too, every railwayman cries. But what about the rest of the country?
Scotland in particular is incredibly lacking in electrified lines. once you're away from the West and East Coast Main Lines, and the Glasgow suburbs, then there is nothing. Not one mile of electric wire hanging overhead.
If the Scottish Government is serious about high-speed trains running between Scotland's major cities (and they're not serious - it gets mentioned in debates as a nice thing to have in the future) then electrification is a must.
Here's the BBC report on how efficient a diesel train (in this case an HST) is to an electric:
(If you're reading this via an RSS reader or email, you may have to click here to visit the blog to see the video content)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Through And Through
I have in the past joked with Robin of A Little Greener Every Day about Americans making everything in their life easily accessible from a car seat. It was originally prompted by a story of hers in which she disclosed that she used a Drive-Thru bank.
Last night, I was going to bed when the host on the radio mentioned in passing that he had visited a drive-thru tree in the US.
A Drive-Thru Tree??? I h
ad a wee chuckle to myself at the thought, convinced that the guy on the radio was joking but filing it in my memory banks to investigate this morning.And blow me, he was telling the truth. In fact, there appears to be more than one! Because hey, why walk in the park when you can just drive right through it - quite literally!
Do a google image search for drive-thru trees, and then sit open-mouthed at the computer for a minute.
It'll only take a minute, because any longer than that and you start to think that it looks normal...
Oh, and if you can't get to America to experience what it is like to drive through a tree, here's a YouTube video for you:
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Bully Tactics Aren't Working Any More
There was a time when an announcement about an airline cutting routes or flights would have sent the government into spasm and business leaders into cries of anguish. Whole government departments would be tasked to preventing the airline from removing it's planes from British soil. There seemed to be an equation that the more planes took off and landed here, then the better it was for the economy as a whole.
Even if most of the passengers were in transit and didn't set foot outside of Heathrow.
Today, Ryanair announced that Stansted Airport in London was too expensive so it was cutting the number of planes it keeps there and the number of flights from there.
It seems to have been met by a collective shrug.
The reality is, every man and his dog knows that some routes, and even some airlines, are unsustainable at the moment, and that doesn't appear to be changing any time soon.
Someone just needs to tell the airlines that they can no longer bully both passengers and governments into giving them what they want all the time.
Their time is passing.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Brightening Up My Day
Photo by andronicusmax
So how did The Guardian do? Has their campaigning made a difference in Network Rail's thinking? Go here to find out.
And what about me? Have my guerrila tactics paid off? Are my coworkers beginning to get the message?
Well, I can report that the other morning one of my colleagues walked into the messroom and made straight for the air conditioner. And switched it on. At 5.30am. When it was raining.
Her excuse when I challenged her? "It gets a wee bit hot in here later."
Sunday, July 19, 2009
The Only Way Is Up. Baby.
Businesses would soon get the message, perhaps in a way that no other regulations or boycotts can.
It seems that is exactly what has happened to Glasgow City Council. Organisers of an 80s music festival had wanted to use Richmond Park in the city, but when their insurers found out how contaminated the land was they forced the festival to relocate out of Glasgow.
So Glasgow loses out on the revenue that the festivalgoers would bring. Their response?
Er, none. The park is still open to the public.
Green In The Media 20th July - 26th July
It's all about the radio again this week...
Monday 20th July
The Food Programme
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 16:00 to 16:30
Watercress.
Watercress has been dubbed a 'superfood' in the media. But is there anything special about it or is it all just marketing hype? Sheila Dillon visits Vitacress Salads Ltd in Hampshire, Europe's leading grower of watercress and the world's biggest producer of organic watercress. For several years, it has funded medical research into the potential health benefits of watercress. Sheila finds out why they did this, how much they spent and what they found out. She asks if the science is credible or if it is all just a clever marketing ploy to boost sales.
Tuesday 21st July
Rough Guide to...
On: FIVER
Time: 08:55 to 09:25 (Also 1400)
Eco Escapes.
Julia Bradbury and Toby Amies investigate eco-friendly holidays, with Toby journeying to a Berber retreat in Morocco that is helpful to its indigenous community. Julia, meanwhile, goes west to Nicaragua, where part of her break involves helping to preserve the region's rainforest.
Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the world we inhabit and our interaction with it, from astronomy to geology, biology to environmental science.
Thursday 23rd July
One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.
Saturday 25th July
Open Country
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 06:07 to 06:30
Helen Mark reports on new peace proposals to resolve the long-running battle between fishermen and conservationists over the wildlife-rich waters of the Firth of Lorne on the west coast of Scotland. She joins local wildlife biologist Tessa McGregor for a boat trip around the Firth, meeting fishermen, farmers and naturalists, all of whom are anxious to reach a balance that preserves livelihoods without further threatening this precarious natural environment. Scallop dredging is currently banned in the Firth, much to the displeasure of local fishermen who have to sail further and into more dangerous waters to bring home a profitable catch. The Scottish government looks set to reverse the ban, but local divers tell Helen that such a move would devastate the sea bed and the aquatic life that depends on it.
Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
The Week In Green Numbers
5.4%
- fall in passenger numbers at Scottish airports for June 2009, compared to June 2008
660 million
- estimated number of people who will be affected by climate-related disasters by 2030
93
- number of applications for wind farms in England in the last 3 years
35
- number that were approved
54%
- people opposed to the Trident nuclear weapons replacement
2.6 billion
- slices of bread thrown away by Britons every year
49.4%
- reduction in the number of plastic bags given out by supermarkets in the last 3 years in Scotland
2
- age of Suitably Despairing today. Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me...
Friday, July 17, 2009
Beanz Meanz Bollockz
I snaffle them up.
It's only when I get home that I realise that they're not from Scotland at all. They have "Produce of Egypt" stamped on them.
D'oh!
Which just goes to show that even the most cynical, greenwash-savvy of us gets hoodwinked sometimes. Or maybe I'm just an idiot!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Don't You Love It When A Plan Comes Together?
Photo by Andrew Dunn via Wikimedia CommonsIn the main, it's welcome. It doesn't do everything I would want, and it does some things I don't want. Plus, there's a sodding great "Coming Soon" sign over the railway section.
But in the main, it's the start of a snowball. The quicker we get started, and the more we do, the less frightening decarbonising will seem to the general population. So it is to be welcome.
Unfortunately, it's purely coincidence that on the same day the M4 Relief Road was scrapped. It would have been a powerful statement of intent if the plans were ripped up because they would have contributed too many emissions.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Talking Trash
Edinburgh's binmen (are there any binwomen?) have been on a work-to-rule for the last couple of weeks, with rubbish piling up in the streets waiting to be collected.
I've said before that I think, at the best of times, Edinburgh is an incredibly dirty city. I think there's three factors: a population who think it's ok to just dump rubbish at their feet, combined with a wind which will lift trash out of a bin if it's not nailed down. Oh, and the Nazi Seagulls From Hell tearing binbags apart.
If tourists were walking the streets first thing in the morning it would be embarrassing, although I guess you could say the same for any major town or city. Thankfully, the binmen usually get the job done before the throngs arrive in the city centre. Until now.
The one thing the "strike" does highlight is just how much crap we discard, for someone else to clean up and put away out of our sight. Maybe seeing bins overflowing like this one in Princes Street the other morning will make people stop and think about how much they're throwing away.
I've said before that I think, at the best of times, Edinburgh is an incredibly dirty city. I think there's three factors: a population who think it's ok to just dump rubbish at their feet, combined with a wind which will lift trash out of a bin if it's not nailed down. Oh, and the Nazi Seagulls From Hell tearing binbags apart.
If tourists were walking the streets first thing in the morning it would be embarrassing, although I guess you could say the same for any major town or city. Thankfully, the binmen usually get the job done before the throngs arrive in the city centre. Until now.
The one thing the "strike" does highlight is just how much crap we discard, for someone else to clean up and put away out of our sight. Maybe seeing bins overflowing like this one in Princes Street the other morning will make people stop and think about how much they're throwing away.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Green Energy A Go-Go
Friends Of The Earth Scotland and WWF Scotland have commissioned a new report from energy analysts which looked at 5 future scenarios for the country, and discovered that it was feasible that Scotland could be run entirely on renewable energy by 2030.
In fact, one of the scenarios has Scotland producing 143% of it's energy needs from renewables!
I'm sceptical enough to know that 143% is perhaps out of our reach - there's no political or business will there to do it - but even the "business as usual" model which sees us hitting government targets (ha!) will see renewables making up 68% of Scotland's generating capacity.
We just have to get on with it.
You can read the report summary in pdf form here or the full report here.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Bowing To The Bleeding Obvious
Sometimes, something becomes so painfully obvious that even the government can't ignore it.
Germany's "feed-in tariffs" system, which sees householders paid for producing electricity, has been the superior model for encouraging household renewable schemes for a number of years now. The UK government has always resisted, I suspect because the civil servants want to protect the monopoly of the energy companies. I mean, if anyone could produce their own electricity for the National Grid then there would be chaos, wouldn't there?
But it stands to reason that if an energy company can charge a householder for using electricity, then the reverse is true: that householder should be paid for providing power to the energy company.
The UK government has finally conceded that point this week, which will hopefully see a rise in the number of household renewable schemes as the pay-back times are slashed.
It should also be a lesson in taking best practice from anywhere else in the world, instead of sticking with crap proprietary ideas.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Green In The Media 13th July - 19th July
Just what are we eating? The BBC tries to find out on Tuesday evening, although I suspect some of it may make you choke on your burger.
Tuesday 14th July
Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the world we inhabit and our interaction with it, from astronomy to geology, biology to environmental science.
What's Really in our Food?
On: BBC 1
Time: 21:00 to 22:00
Food is the most important thing we buy, but can we trust what we are eating? Reporters Tom Heap and Simon Boazman set off on a mission to find out, revealing the tricks of food labelling and uncovering the murky world of food fraud.
Wednesday 15th July
The Wednesday Documentary
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 09:06 to 09:30
The Greening of The Deserts.
Some experts now argue that some deserts could get greener. Ayisha Yahya explores the arguments in Mali.
Thursday 16th July
One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.
Sunday 19th July
The Food Programme
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 12:32 to 12:57
Watercress.
Watercress has been dubbed a 'superfood' in the media. But is there anything special about it or is it all just marketing hype? Sheila Dillon visits Vitacress Salads Ltd in Hampshire, Europe's leading grower of watercress and the world's biggest producer of organic watercress. For several years, it has funded medical research into the potential health benefits of watercress. Sheila finds out why they did this, how much they spent and what they found out. She asks if the science is credible or if it is all just a clever marketing ploy to boost sales.
Britain's Embarrassing Emissions
On: BBC 3
Time: 00:45 to 01:40
Rebecca Wilcox has an embarrassing problem - her carbon dioxide emissions - but she's ready to do something about them. But does everyone else feel the same way about theirs, and are the energy and aviation companies as green as they seem or are the boys in big business full of hot air? In this documentary, Becca is on a mission to find out who cares about the environment and who has been 'greenwashing'.
Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
The Week In Green Numbers
69%
- number of people who say they will continue to cut back on organic food after the recession
57%
- number of people willing to pay more for local food, in the same survey
20 years
- remaining life expectancy of the Great Barrier Reef
$4.5 billion
- what the Great Barrier Reef is worth to the Australian economy
10 million years
- length of time it took corals to return after the Permian extinction
42%
- amount that Arctic sea ice has thinned in the last 4 years
9%
- fall in the sales of bottled water in the UK in 2008
£7,191
- cost of the energy wasted by the Houses of Parliament every year
5%
- amount of water needed for a vertical farm compared to a conventional one
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Bird Brained
When I moved into this flat last September, one of the first things I noticed was that there was a bird's nest in the tree outside, about 20 feet from my living room window. With the leaves falling from the tree last autumn, the nest became pretty exposed and I wondered if it would survive the winter, and also what type of bird had made it.
Survive it did, to the extent I wondered if it was cemented in place! Surely the wonderful creature who had built this architectural marvel would be a joy to watch during the spring. I highly anticipated being fascinated as I waited for mum and dad to make an appearance.
And waited. And waited.
By the end of June I had given up hope. Spring was over and to my limited knowledge so was breeding season. My exotic species of bird had obviously - if you'll excuse the phrase - flown the nest, never to return.
Then three days ago, I heard some wing flapping. Two birds were coming and going, checking out the nest and tidying it up. Last night, I noticed that they were taking it in turns to sit in the nest and I caught glimpses of an egg when they changed positions.
So what wonderful creatures have become my neighbours? What glorious species has kept me waiting three quarter of the year to catch a glimpse of them? Here's a photo of one on the nest, to give you a clue:
Do you give up?
It's a sodding pigeon. What's so bloody exotic about that??
Still, it'll be interesting watching them over the next month as they rear their chicks.
Survive it did, to the extent I wondered if it was cemented in place! Surely the wonderful creature who had built this architectural marvel would be a joy to watch during the spring. I highly anticipated being fascinated as I waited for mum and dad to make an appearance.
And waited. And waited.
By the end of June I had given up hope. Spring was over and to my limited knowledge so was breeding season. My exotic species of bird had obviously - if you'll excuse the phrase - flown the nest, never to return.
Then three days ago, I heard some wing flapping. Two birds were coming and going, checking out the nest and tidying it up. Last night, I noticed that they were taking it in turns to sit in the nest and I caught glimpses of an egg when they changed positions.
So what wonderful creatures have become my neighbours? What glorious species has kept me waiting three quarter of the year to catch a glimpse of them? Here's a photo of one on the nest, to give you a clue:
It's a sodding pigeon. What's so bloody exotic about that??
Still, it'll be interesting watching them over the next month as they rear their chicks.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
New Plastic Recycling Plant "Soon"
This can't come soon enough.
Scotland is to get a dedicated plastics recycling factory, handling all the plastic waste which is at the moment sent to Asia or England. It should be built within the year.
I'm wondering why there isn't one here already, though?
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
The One That Got Away
I've let it slip over the years on here that I don't much like seagulls, although I've nothing against other birds. In fact, they can be quite beautiful and entertaining to watch.
What I haven't divulged is my hatred of fish. All fish!
I know exactly where this comes from, too. My best friend all through my school years, Alan, kept piranhas. I guess I was about 10 years old the first time I saw them being fed. Alan's dad dug some worms up from the garden, and then invited me to watch them being torn asunder in a feeding frenzy. As a 10 year old boy, it should have been the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Instead, I was horrified.
It left me with a lifelong queasiness around fish. I can't eat a fish if it looks like a fish, I have to have it mushed up. Which, for a 38 year old man, is quite pathetic really. I watched the "deep ocean" episode of Planet Earth from behind a cushion (although funnily enough, I'm entirely happy watching Jaws). I think the dead fish on display in the local fishmongers window are staring at me personally.
In 2001, I was in Australia for a month on holiday. My friend suggested I should go on a trip to the Great Barrier Reef. It would be a shame to go all that way and not see it, was the argument. Of course, in my mind all I could think of was the millions of fish that would be attacking me as I swam amongst the reef! I didn't care how brightly coloured and exotic they were, I wasn't having them nibbling at my toes.
So I didn't go.
Now, though, I'm regretting that decision. It was perhaps my only chance to see the Great Barrier Reef, since it only has about twenty years of life left. It's death should shame the human race. Even the wimpy ones who are scared of fish.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Retreat In An Orderly Fashion
One of the best-known effects of climate change is the rise in sea levels, as land-based ice melts at the poles.
Of course, that means if you happen to live on the coastline then your coat is on a shoogly peg (as my granny used to say). If the sea doesn't wash away the house directly, then it will erode the land your house is standing on.
Here in the UK there is a mish-mash of policies to deal with this. In some places, the authorities have adopted a policy of non-interference - the sea can take whatever it can get, and bad luck to anything or anyone in it's way. In other areas, a small fortune is being spent on sea defences to try and save the threatened communities.
In New South Wales, Australia, the Green Party runs Byron Bay Council. They've managed to pass a law of "planned retreat" from the sea, abandoning places that become uninhabitable due to the rising water.
Even if that means the houses that will be demolished are in the multi-million dollar bracket.
Of course, residents are now planning legal action. But do they really have a "basic right of being able to protect their homes", as they claim? Or should they face the inevitable and move inland? What's the point of living somewhere that is surrounded by huge walls and is continually threatened by the next storm surge?
Surely the measures they want to take to protect their homes will detract from the beauty that makes them want to live in the area in the first place?
Of course, that means if you happen to live on the coastline then your coat is on a shoogly peg (as my granny used to say). If the sea doesn't wash away the house directly, then it will erode the land your house is standing on.
Here in the UK there is a mish-mash of policies to deal with this. In some places, the authorities have adopted a policy of non-interference - the sea can take whatever it can get, and bad luck to anything or anyone in it's way. In other areas, a small fortune is being spent on sea defences to try and save the threatened communities.
In New South Wales, Australia, the Green Party runs Byron Bay Council. They've managed to pass a law of "planned retreat" from the sea, abandoning places that become uninhabitable due to the rising water.
Even if that means the houses that will be demolished are in the multi-million dollar bracket.
Of course, residents are now planning legal action. But do they really have a "basic right of being able to protect their homes", as they claim? Or should they face the inevitable and move inland? What's the point of living somewhere that is surrounded by huge walls and is continually threatened by the next storm surge?
Surely the measures they want to take to protect their homes will detract from the beauty that makes them want to live in the area in the first place?
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Oh Deer
It continually amazes me that some people think a food becomes a "luxury" or "must-have" item just because it comes from a certain country.
Why is New Zealand butter better than, say, German? Why is Danish bacon better than Irish? Why is Scottish Salmon better than Norwegian?
The marketing of these products as far superior to the others goes back decades, to the extent that they've now entered the collective conscience. We no longer question the fact that Argentinian beef is best, we just know it.
For Food Miles campaigners, this presents a tricky problem. You could appeal to someone's sense of patriotism, but if they have already primed their tastebuds to dismiss the non-French champagne as disgusting then there's nothing will persuade them otherwise.
But there's a flip-side here. What if the product that is being imported into the country isn't "superior"? What if it's only being imported because your own country is exporting too much?
Huh?
Apparently, Scotland exports around a third of the venison produced annually. And then has to import venison from New Zealand to meet demand at home.
A 5 year old child could see the unsustainable madness in that.
Why is New Zealand butter better than, say, German? Why is Danish bacon better than Irish? Why is Scottish Salmon better than Norwegian?
The marketing of these products as far superior to the others goes back decades, to the extent that they've now entered the collective conscience. We no longer question the fact that Argentinian beef is best, we just know it.
For Food Miles campaigners, this presents a tricky problem. You could appeal to someone's sense of patriotism, but if they have already primed their tastebuds to dismiss the non-French champagne as disgusting then there's nothing will persuade them otherwise.
But there's a flip-side here. What if the product that is being imported into the country isn't "superior"? What if it's only being imported because your own country is exporting too much?
Huh?
Apparently, Scotland exports around a third of the venison produced annually. And then has to import venison from New Zealand to meet demand at home.
A 5 year old child could see the unsustainable madness in that.
Green In The Media 6th July - 12th July
Wednesday sees the not-so-bonnie Prince Charlie giving a lecture on the planet's future, and a documentary on BBC Three about carbon emissions. Knowing BBC Three, it'll descend into fart jokes.
Monday 6th July
Analysis
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 20:30 to 21:00 (Also Sun 2130)
Inspiring Green Innovation.
Tim Harford, The Undercover Economist, examines the different ways to inspire the creators and inventors who will lead the way in the fight against global warming.
Panorama
On: BBC 1
Time: 20:30 to 21:00
What Ever Happened to People Power?.
Current affairs. When we want to fight plans to build a waste dump in our back yard, we take to the streets in protest. But what if that results in the police filming and searching us, noting down our car registrations and keeping our details on file for up to seven years? Panorama asks if police tactics aimed at preventing troublemakers taking over demonstrations are eroding the freedom to protest for all but the most hardened activists.
Tuesday 7th July
Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the world we inhabit and our interaction with it, from astronomy to geology, biology to environmental science.
Wednesday 8th July
The Wednesday Documentary
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 09:06 to 09:30
The Greening of The Deserts.
Some experts now argue that some deserts could get greener. Ayisha Yahya explores the arguments in Mali.
Britain's Embarrassing Emissions
On: BBC 3
Time: 21:00 to 22:00 (Also 0245, Thu 0215)
Rebecca Wilcox has an embarrassing problem - her carbon dioxide emissions - but she's ready to do something about them. But does everyone else feel the same way about theirs, and are the energy and aviation companies as green as they seem or are the boys in big business full of hot air? In this documentary, Becca is on a mission to find out who cares about the environment and who has been 'greenwashing'.
The Richard Dimbleby Lecture 2009
On: BBC 1
Time: 22:35 to 23:20
Facing The Future.
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales gives The Richard Dimbleby Lecture from St James's Palace in London. The heir to the throne has become well-known for identifying key issues ahead of mainstream public thinking, such as encouraging organic food production or emphasising the importance of inter-faith dialogue. In this lecture, he sets out some of the serious challenges which the world faces, and explores how some of these issues could be tackled in the years ahead.
Thursday 9th July
One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130, Sat 2030)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.
Live Energy and Climate Change Questions
On: BBC Parliament
Time: 10:30 to 11:30 (Also 0100)
Live coverage of questions in the House of Commons to Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband and his ministerial team.
Saturday 11th July
Our World
On: BBC News
Time: 05:30 to 06:00 (Also 1430, 0330, Sun 1030, 1430, 2330)
End of the Boom.
Mining is one of the mainstays of the Australian economy, but that may be changing. Nick Bryant looks at whether the closure of a major nickel mine signals the end of Australia's mining boom.
Eco Solutions
On: CNN
Time: 23:30 to 00:00
Eco Solutions gives the viewer a unique peek into the situations that plague our planet and proposes real solutions to help us understand why we should make a change.
Sunday 12th July
Revenge of The Bin Men
On: more4
Time: 22:00 to 23:10
It used to be so simple: you put out your rubbish and the bin men took it away. Not any more. War has broken out between the people who are putting out too much rubbish and the councils whose job it is to dispose of it all. As landfill space runs out and the government increases recycling targets, town halls across the country are getting tough about recycling, fly-tipping and litter. They're tracking down bin delinquents and making them pay. And the public are fighting back. This Cutting Edge film follows the men and women on both sides of the battle, from the Hampshire resident determined to stop his local council introducing smaller bins, to the woman employed by Peterborough council to teach people the right and wrong way to use their bins and the bin men, stuck in the middle, between the new regulations and the public.
Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.
Monday 6th July
Analysis
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 20:30 to 21:00 (Also Sun 2130)
Inspiring Green Innovation.
Tim Harford, The Undercover Economist, examines the different ways to inspire the creators and inventors who will lead the way in the fight against global warming.
Panorama
On: BBC 1
Time: 20:30 to 21:00
What Ever Happened to People Power?.
Current affairs. When we want to fight plans to build a waste dump in our back yard, we take to the streets in protest. But what if that results in the police filming and searching us, noting down our car registrations and keeping our details on file for up to seven years? Panorama asks if police tactics aimed at preventing troublemakers taking over demonstrations are eroding the freedom to protest for all but the most hardened activists.
Tuesday 7th July
Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the world we inhabit and our interaction with it, from astronomy to geology, biology to environmental science.
Wednesday 8th July
The Wednesday Documentary
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 09:06 to 09:30
The Greening of The Deserts.
Some experts now argue that some deserts could get greener. Ayisha Yahya explores the arguments in Mali.
Britain's Embarrassing Emissions
On: BBC 3
Time: 21:00 to 22:00 (Also 0245, Thu 0215)
Rebecca Wilcox has an embarrassing problem - her carbon dioxide emissions - but she's ready to do something about them. But does everyone else feel the same way about theirs, and are the energy and aviation companies as green as they seem or are the boys in big business full of hot air? In this documentary, Becca is on a mission to find out who cares about the environment and who has been 'greenwashing'.
The Richard Dimbleby Lecture 2009
On: BBC 1
Time: 22:35 to 23:20
Facing The Future.
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales gives The Richard Dimbleby Lecture from St James's Palace in London. The heir to the throne has become well-known for identifying key issues ahead of mainstream public thinking, such as encouraging organic food production or emphasising the importance of inter-faith dialogue. In this lecture, he sets out some of the serious challenges which the world faces, and explores how some of these issues could be tackled in the years ahead.
Thursday 9th July
One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1630, 2030, 0130, Sat 2030)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.
Live Energy and Climate Change Questions
On: BBC Parliament
Time: 10:30 to 11:30 (Also 0100)
Live coverage of questions in the House of Commons to Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband and his ministerial team.
Saturday 11th July
Our World
On: BBC News
Time: 05:30 to 06:00 (Also 1430, 0330, Sun 1030, 1430, 2330)
End of the Boom.
Mining is one of the mainstays of the Australian economy, but that may be changing. Nick Bryant looks at whether the closure of a major nickel mine signals the end of Australia's mining boom.
Eco Solutions
On: CNN
Time: 23:30 to 00:00
Eco Solutions gives the viewer a unique peek into the situations that plague our planet and proposes real solutions to help us understand why we should make a change.
Sunday 12th July
Revenge of The Bin Men
On: more4
Time: 22:00 to 23:10
It used to be so simple: you put out your rubbish and the bin men took it away. Not any more. War has broken out between the people who are putting out too much rubbish and the councils whose job it is to dispose of it all. As landfill space runs out and the government increases recycling targets, town halls across the country are getting tough about recycling, fly-tipping and litter. They're tracking down bin delinquents and making them pay. And the public are fighting back. This Cutting Edge film follows the men and women on both sides of the battle, from the Hampshire resident determined to stop his local council introducing smaller bins, to the woman employed by Peterborough council to teach people the right and wrong way to use their bins and the bin men, stuck in the middle, between the new regulations and the public.
Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
The Week In Green Numbers
41.5 grams
- net carbon emissions of a cup of tea
83 billion
- number of barrels of oil that could be accessed if the Arctic ice melted
€119 Billion
- planned spend on high-speed railway infrastructure in Spain by 2020
200 mph
- speed of the water as it hits the turbine at Glendoe Hydro Power Station near Loch Ness
90 million
- number of mobile phones lying unused in British homes
Friday, July 03, 2009
Mary Had A Little Lamb
Scotland's sheep are shrinking!
Apparently it's a weird side effect of climate change - reverse natural selection.
Normally, the bigger the sheep, the better it will survive a harsh winter.
Except, Scotland's winters aren't that harsh any more. So the sheep don't have to be so big.
I love this quote at the end of the BBC article:
"But it's too early to say if, in 100 years, we will have chihuahuas herding pocket-sized sheep."
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Perhaps Not
The Queen is in town today, speaking at the 10th Anniversary of the Scottish Parliament.
Holyrood Palace, her residence in Edinburgh, is across the road from the Parliament.
I watched on the TV open-mouthed as she got into a car for the 100 yard journey. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one astounded. Commentating for BBC Scotland, Glenn Campbell said:
"Perhaps it's not the most environmentally friendly way to travel"Indeed.
Consequences Lead To Consequences
There was a report in The Times yesterday which demonstrates dramatically how our short-term thinking has long-term consequences.
The monsoon in India is late this year, due to climate change. This, as The Times says, is "causing havoc" with temperatures hitting 49C. The result is crop damage, deaths and water and power shortages.
The natural human reaction to such temperatures is to seek shelter, but the power shortages mean 12 hour blackouts. So instead of staying indoors, people are choosing to sleep in their cars, with the engines running for the air conditioning. That's thousands of car engines running overnight, causing more pollution, causing climate change, causing the monsoons to fail.
A vicious circle.
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