Green In The Media 1st March - 7th March

I thought long and hard about whether to include what should be the comedy event of the year this week - Nigel Farage trying to convince us that climate change is hokum. I eventually decided to include it, with the warning that you should ensure there is something near at hand to throw at the telly.

Monday 1st March

Food Fights
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 20:00 to 20:30
Second of two programmes in which Bill Law investigates the causes and consequences of the great global land grab, as richer nations and multinational corporations acquire vast tracts of land in developing countries. Bill weighs up the pros and cons of Indonesia's palm oil revolution. The country leads the world in palm oil production and the world is hungry for it; check any food label and as likely as not palm oil will turn up as one of the ingredients. Low-cost, high-yield palm oil has transformed Indonesia creating wealth and a new middle class. But in the process, it has carved up huge swathes of rainforest.

Costing the Earth
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 21:00 to 21:30 (Also Thu 1330)
The Big Clean Up.
The shambolic rejuvenation of Corby's steelworks may have put an end to the boom in building on brownfield sites. Alice Roberts investigates.

Off the Page
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 23:00 to 23:30
How's My Driving?.
Having a driving licence used to be proof you had grown up and could move about on your own; now, it is almost a guilty pleasure. Dominic Arkwright borrowed a car to get to the studio to meet entrepreneur Alison Larkman (who walked), broadcaster Chris Serle (on his motor scooter) and actor Patrick Field (bike, train and bike) to consider the point of driving in the 21st century.

Future of Food
On: BBC 1
Time: 02:10 to 03:10
George Alagiah travels the world to reveal a growing global food crisis. With food riots on three continents recently, and unprecedented competition for food due to population growth and changing diets, there is a looming problem. George joins a Masai chief among the skeletons of cattle he has lost to climate change, and the English farmer who tells him why food production in the UK is also hit. He investigates what is wrong with people's diets and talks to top nutritionist Susan Jebb, DEFRA minister Hilary Benn and Nobel laureate Rajendra Pachauri to uncover what the future holds for our food.
(Signed)

Tuesday 2nd March

Home Planet
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 15:00 to 15:30
Richard Daniel and the team discuss listeners' questions about the natural world and our impact on it.

Last of the Honeybees
On: more4
Time: 22:00 to 23:30
Jeremy Simmons' moving film about the plight of honeybees throughout the world but from a very human angle. Through the stories of three American beekeepers; Nicole Ulibarri from Montana, Eric Mills from Carolina and Matt Hutchens from Washington State, Simmons follows their efforts to make the epic journey with their hives to the biggest event on the beekeepers' calendar - the pollination of the almond groves of California. But in common with many of the world's apiarists, the three are suffering from unexplained colony collapse disorder which results in devastating consequences not just for the bees but for the beekeepers whose livelihoods are at stake. The film hints at the global consequences of CCD continuing unchecked: the possibility that the crops, fruit and flowers that humanity rely will not be pollinated and will die out.

Thursday 4th March

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1530, 2030, 0130, Sun 0630)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

The Political Slot
On: Channel 4
Time: 19:55 to 20:00
Nigel Farage MEP, UKIP spokesperson, discusses what he says is global warming madness.

Saturday 6th March

The End of the Line
On: Channel 4
Time: 19:15 to 21:00
Rupert Murray's acclaimed film examines the consequences of unchecked, unregulated sea fishing across the globe. It is not a film about what might happen; it is a film about what has happened. The collapse of the cod population saw the end of 40,000 jobs; the bluefin tuna is being hunted to extinction; it takes five kilos of anchovies to produce one fish farmed salmon. And while there are some positive signs, with Walmart and McDonalds both selling fish from sustainable sources, some outlets still sell endangered species. But the final chilling conclusion is that unless more radical steps are taken globally, including the reduction of overfishing, it will take just 50 years for the world's oceans to be all fished out.

Sunday 7th March

Countryfile
On: BBC 1
Time: 18:00 to 19:00
John Craven investigates why culling certain species of animals can help to conserve others, and asks if the costs outweigh the benefits. James Wong looks at the future of food production and examines whether vertical farming - growing food on walls - could help feed our cities.


Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

The Week In Green Numbers

31%

- adults in the UK who think climate change is definitely a reality, down from 44% last year #

350

- dead animals stored in the freezers at Sellafield #

80%

- proportion of it's energy that Australia gets from coal #

985 square miles

- size of an iceberg which has broken off from Antarctica and may disrupt ocean currents for years to come #

8

- number of plastic bottles it takes to make Brazil's new recycled football kit #

HST2 Shunted Into The Sidings

Photo by nicksarebi Can you spot the mistake?

Sadly I have a funny feeling that this was inevitable - the government have decided that they can't afford the HST2 programme any more.

These were the much-hyped high-speed trains which were to replace the ageing 125 and 225 fleet used on Intercity services in Britain. The idea was that rather than having just one rail company commit to having them designed and built, the government would take on that commitment and spread the risk, with the train operating companies leasing however many they needed. They even had Hitachi lined up to design and build the trains, before getting cold feet.

The government are blaming current debt levels, of course. Here was me thinking that one way to reduce the debt and create jobs would be to invest in the future.

Another factor, according to the government, is a slowdown in the growth of passenger numbers. While I can't deny there has been a slowdown - I see it with my own eyes - the fact is passenger numbers are still growing.

We need the trains to be started now, otherwise in ten years time we'll be crying at the lack of capacity on a fleet which is falling apart more than it is at the minute. Our European cousins can see that - why can't we?

Nazi Seagulls From Hell Turn Radioactive

Here's a story to chill the heart of every right-thinking person. It seems that seagulls near the Sellafield Nuclear Plant have taken to bathing in the ponds which hold plutonium and other nuclear waste from the plant.

The reporter who wrote the story for The Times doesn't seem to have asked Sellafield why they don't just, y'know, cover the ponds. If they want to keep them exposed to the elements then a wire mesh should suffice to keep the seagulls out of the water.

But it's not the fact that those seagulls may be spreading nuclear contamination around the country that worries me. Because I've realised something else.

I've seen enough films to know that exposure to radiation can only go one of two ways. It either turns you into a superhero, or a supervillain.

Not for nothing are they known as Nazi Seagulls From Hell. Now that they are breeding superpowers amongst their flock, it is only a matter of time before they unleash the forces of hell upon the world.

Radioactive Nazi Seagulls From Hell. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Locals Want Cockenzie Closed

There's a carrot that is dangled in front of us every time a major investment is announced - jobs for the locals.

But what if the locals don't want the jobs? What if the locals have looked at the equation and decided that they'd rather have their health?

Well, if you're Scottish Power and you're in that situation then you start using the stick and talking about the lights going out.

They've used both approaches in East Lothian but after a public meeting about the future of Cockenzie power station it became clear that the locals simply don't want it on their skyline any more.

Scottish Power wanted to extend the life of the coal-fired plant beyond it's 2015 shut-down date. Then they proposed changing it to a Gas-fired power station, or installing Carbon Capture & Storage on it.

The locals, though, just want rid of it. As one councillor says:

"We are not convinced by their argument concerning emissions, the lack of electricity if it is closed down and the promise of further jobs for local people.

“Emissions and noise will continue to be a problem for the community, coupled with the fact that carbon capture is still really in its infancy.

“This area continues to have high instances of lung problems, and heart illness is higher than the national average. Something is causing this anomaly."

Of course the locals might not be heard when it comes to the choice of closing the dirtiest power station in Europe, but they seem to have decided that they'd rather have a higher quality of life than this behemoth in their midst.

Hansen On What Governments Can Do About Climate Change

I'm about halfway through James Hansen's latest book Storms of My Grandchildren, in which he details the last 10 years of fighting to get his voice heard above the climate change deniers in the Bush administration.

Some of their tactics have become well-known over the years, but other tactics were completely new to me - like taking over NASA's press department and delaying the dates of press releases to suit their own political ends, or suggesting that if he gives a certain lecture then he'll be in breach of his government contract.

To his credit, Hansen isn't slow to detail his own shortcomings, in particular how he palmed off a lot of media interviews to his colleagues or how he found it almost impossible to write for a non-scientific public.

He's got better at the media handling and getting his point across over the years, and here he is answering questions from Newsweek readers:

How To Deal With Climate Change Deniers

We've all fantasised about doing this. Haven't we?

No?

Just me, then. I'll make a mental note to control my Incredible Hulk tendencies

Green In The Media 22nd February - 28th February

The issue of non-sustainable palm oil hits the mainstream this week with a Panorama investigation.

Monday 22nd February

Food Fights
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 20:00 to 20:30
Two-part series in which Bill Law investigates the causes and consequences of the great global land grab, as richer nations and multinational corporations acquire vast tracts of land in developing countries. Big corporations and countries are eyeing up Africa for mega agricultural development. Critics call it the new land grab, but Africa can benefit from the expertise, infrastructure and equity that such developments bring - if the terms are right. Bill Law visits Kenya to weigh up the pros and cons of agricultural super projects in a country wrestling with food insecurity.

Panorama
On: BBC 1
Time: 20:30 to 21:00 (Also Thu 0025, Sun 2030 on BBC News)
Dying for a Biscuit.
If consumers knew that buying their favourite chocolate bar contributed to the extinction of the orangutan and fuelled global warming, would they still treat themselves? The UK consumes huge amounts of palm oil, an ingredient found in scores of products including biscuits, fish fingers, cosmetics and toiletries. Reporter Raphael Rowe journeys into the rainforest of Borneo, where he uncovers evidence of palm oil companies cutting down trees illegally and developing plantations on protected land.

Costing the Earth
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 21:00 to 21:30 (Also Thu 1330)
Greening Fido.
According to researchers, a large dog could have a bigger carbon footprint than a 4x4. Is it really time to ditch the dog? Alice Roberts finds out.

Thursday 25th February

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 team of ministers.

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1530, 2030, 0130, Sat 2030, Sun 0630)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

The Political Slot
On: Channel 4
Time: 19:55 to 20:00
The Green Party.
The Green Party Leader Caroline Lucas MEP addresses issues of fairness.

Saturday 27th February

Our World
On: BBC News
Time: 05:30 to 06:00 (Also 1430, 0330, Sun 1030, 1430, 2330)
The Rise of the Sceptics.
Nick Bryant reports from Australia on how climate change scepticism there is on the rise, with a political backlash following December 2009's conference in Copenhagen.


Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

The Week In Green Numbers

17.5 million hectares

- total land required to grow biofuels to meet the EU's 10% target #

24,000

- people killed by air pollution in the UK every year #

40,000 m³

- nuclear waste generated in Europe every year #

30%

- Norway's emissions target for 2020 #

$2.2 trillion

- cost of the combined environmental damage of the world's 3,000 biggest companies #

15%

- drop in the numbers of UK residents travelling abroad in 2009 #

3.5 million tonnes

- CO₂ emissions that Drax power station said it would reduce, but has now reneged on the deal #

Hard Shoulder Gets Cold Shoulder

This was just going to be one of those throwaway figures I blog on a Saturday - £2 billion.

But the more I've thought about it today, the more my ire has risen.

£2 billion - that's a lot of money. The UK government says they're going to "invest" that amount to reduce congestion.

So what wonderful public transport scheme will they put all that dosh into?

Lengthening trains for those long suffering commuters? £2 billion buys a lot of extra coaches.

How about providing more subsidised buses for those communities who have been cut off since bus deregulation? £2 billion can buy you a lot of extra buses.

Or maybe they've decided that the Edinburgh Tram scheme is such a success they're going to replicate it in every major city in the country? No, okay, scratch that one.

£2 billion could provide an awful lot of dedicated cycle paths and bike lanes.

Of course, you'd be wrong to think that this government would consider putting £2 billion into public transport. No, what they're going to do to ease congestion is...widen the motorways by allowing cars to drive on the hard shoulder. And apparently, in order to do this, they need to line the pockets of the various privatised highways agencies with £2 billion.

Quite what they're going to do when the hard shoulder becomes congested, as it inevitably will, they haven't quite thought through. But you can bet your bottom dollar that public transport won't be mentioned.

Scottish Recycling On The Up

Recycling rates in Scotland have risen yet again, with a moving average across the country of 35.9%. As Waste Aware Scotland says, we're edging ever closer to the Government's target of 40%

In fact, 18 of the 32 local authorities exceeded the 40%. Top of the table is Clackmannanshire with 45.2%, while Glasgow as ever brings up the rear with 20.3%.

Here's the full list (I've colour-coded them according to being above or below the Government target), and you can find the detailed figures here:

Aberdeen 25.0%

Aberdeenshire 34.2%
Angus 39.1%
Argyll & Bute 40.1%
Clackmannanshire 45.2%

Dumfries & Galloway 36.8%
Dundee 38.4%
East Ayrshire 43.1%
East Dunbartonshire 35.1%
East Lothian 39.6%

East Renfrewshire 36.6%
Edinburgh 30.7%
Eilean Siar 21.9%
Falkirk 41.3%
Fife 44.4%

Glasgow 20.3%
Highland 34.1%
Inverclyde 29.4%
Midlothian 40.3%
Moray 44.1%

North Ayrshire 38.7%
North Lanarkshire 42.9%
Orkney 29.3%
Perth & Kinross 40.6%
Renfrewshire 32.5%

Scottish Borders 37.3%
Shetland Islands 21.1%
South Ayrshire 44.4%
South Lanarkshire 38.3%
Stirling 42.4%

West Dunbartonshire 31.5%
West Lothian 42.7%

Don't Trust Trump

The Donald was in the news a couple of times yesterday.

Firstly, his "vision" for the Menie Links Apocalypse, or as he'd have it, "the world's greatest golf course", was published.

To call it a detailed masterplan is a bit of a misnomer. It's a picture from the perspective of the International Space Station with small dots on it where he's going to build houses. Interestingly, the houses that he doesn't own and wants to be demolished aren't anywhere to be seen:

The second Trump news from yesterday was his weighing into the climate change debate in America by demanding that the Nobel Committee take back Al Gore's award because it snowed during winter.

Can you imagine what kind of life lessons his children must have learned by growing up with this guy? Wonder no more - he told his sons never to trust him:

Is It Safe To Breathe Today?

Have you ever wondered what the air quality is like in your home town? Or how about the water quality in that Spanish resort you've just shelled out a fortune to visit next summer?

The European Environment Agency have a tool to tell you just that. Called Eye On Earth, it allows you to see air and water quality reports from around Europe. Not only that, you can also rate the air and water qualities yourself.

Here are today's results for Edinburgh (less than an hour ago as I write this post), showing that the EEA have given it a rating of "Very Good". Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide and Particulate Matter are all low. However, the site users themselves have only rated it "Good".

Being me, I decided to go hunting for the worst air pollution in Europe. I thought the Eastern Bloc countries would be a good bet, but surprisingly they were not too bad. The worst I could find was Hamburg in Germany, which was only rated "Good" by the EEA.

There's also a facility to get updated air and water quality reports sent to your mobile phone, which I guess would be handy if you're into water sports.

Alien Concept Lands In Aberdeen Station

After 13 years working on the railway, there's one question that I only ever answer with the same stock phrase. I'll admit that the answer has some shock value, but it's really the only way you can answer the question. And it usually kills any conversation stone dead.

The question is: "Why are there no bins in the station?"

My answer is: "Because that's where the IRA used to put their bombs".

The reaction differs depending on age and nationality. Most British people shrug their shoulders, say a quick "Oh, right" and walk away. Most Americans stand and stare at you saying nothing.

It's absolutely true though - you won't find a bin in any large station in the UK - except, for some bizarre reason, Dundee. Perhaps British Rail thought the IRA would be doing them a favour if they blew up Dundee station.

So imagine my surprise on Saturday night in Aberdeen when I spotted a large blue bin in the middle of the station concourse. Closer inspection revealed it to be one of these newspaper recycling bins (this one is actually in Shepherd's Bush, London):

Photo by markhillary

Except there's a problem. The Aberdeen one doesn't have the large sign over it, and like I said, you won't find a normal bin anywhere in the station. So the newspaper recycling bin was filled with anything other than newspapers. Pizza boxes, kebab wrappers, fag packets, used tissues, you name it. In fact, anything that could fit through the large letterbox-shaped hole in the top of the bin.

You would think the shape of the hole would give the good citizens of Aberdeen a clue as to what the bin is actually for.

Green In The Media 15th February - 21st February

It's mostly the usual suspects this week.

Monday 15th February

Room for Improvement
On: more4
Time: 09:45 to 10:15
Angus and Dave visit Sawbridgeworth with Charlotte and Paul Pritchard, who want to extend the kitchen of their modern house in an eco-friendly way on a budget of £10,000. Angus takes them to a 17th-century cottage with a modern extension under the back garden full of environmentally friendly ideas that they could copy.

Costing the Earth
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 21:00 to 21:30 (Also Thu 1330)
Protecting the Past.
Alice Roberts investigates the threats posed to our great historic sites by climate change. Is there anything we can do to save the most vulnerable properties from extreme weather and regular flooding?

Thursday 18th February

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00 (Also 1530, 2030, 0130, Sat 2030, Sun 0630, 2330)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

The Material World
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 16:30 to 17:00
In October 2005, a European scientific satellite lifted off on a Russian rocket to perform crucial measurements on the effects of global warming on polar ice. Just a few minutes later, CryoSat crashed in the Arctic. Now, reborn, rebuilt and renewed, CryoSat-2 is on the launch pad. Its chief scientist, Professor Duncan Wingham of UCL, joins Quentin Cooper to discuss the hazards and frustrations of space missions and why this one is crucial to our understanding of climate change. The question of whether global climate change is causing the polar ice caps to shrink is one of the most hotly debated environmental issues of our time. By monitoring precise changes in the thickness of the polar ice sheets and floating sea ice, CryoSat-2 aims to answer this question. It will use radar to measure the extent and thickness of ice around both poles and to see how it is changing.

Sunday 21st February

Countryfile
On: BBC 1
Time: 18:00 to 19:00
John Craven investigates the effectiveness of domestic energy-generating devices such as solar panels and wind turbines.

Revenge of the Bin Men
On: more4
Time: 22:10 to 23:15
It used to be so simple: you put out your rubbish and the bin men took it away. Not any more. 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.


Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

The Week In Green Numbers

£13

- current price of a tonne of carbon #

£88

- price that the UK parliament says would be economic for investment in green technologies #

2,000

- varieties of aubergine which are grown in India #

900 miles

- distance that a group of Galapagos sea lions have moved to find warmer waters #

32,000 tonnes

- CO₂ emissions of the National Trust. They have plans to reduce it by 50% in 10 years #

You Say It's All The Sun? There's An App For That...

One of my favourite websites is Skeptical Science, which has been debunking the claims of climate change skeptics since time immemorial...or at least what feels like time immemorial!

Each post is laden with facts and figures while their RSS feed keeps you up to date on the latest cuts and thrusts in the fight to win over the general public.

Unfortunately my memory isn't that great. If you're like me, you can remember the general gist of an argument but can't quickly recall the facts and figures to back it up. If only there was something you could whip out of your pocket...

That would be the Skeptical Science iPhone App then. You can browse the Top 10 most used skeptic arguments, distinguish it by 3 categories ("It's not happening", "It's not us", "It's not bad") and come up with the facts to soundly debunk your erstwhile persecutor.

You can find the link to the App on their website, and from the comments I understand that an Android version may be on the cards (yay!)

Shh...Was That A Bang Or A Swoosh?

Photo by the russians are here

As objections to wind farms go, this is a doozy.

The Ministry of Defence has decided that it will object to any proposal for a wind farm within 31 miles of Eskdalemuir in the Scottish Borders. The reason? They need to hear nuclear explosions elsewhere in the world.

Eskdalemuir hosts their seismological listening station.

The 31 miles takes in a huge chunk of the Borders region and extends almost onto Edinburgh's doorstep, effectively making this whole area off-limits to wind turbines.

But something puzzles me. If the wind turbines are that seismologically noisy, then why hasn't the MoD objected to other infrastructure works in the area, like new roads and the Borders railway? Surely there should be a blanket ban on lorries entering the 31-mile exclusion zone?

Not for the first time where the MoD's objections are concerned, I smell a rat.

New EU Organic Logo Unveiled

You might recall at the start of last month that the EU was urging people to vote for a new logo. It was to be the standard design used across Europe to denote that prepackaged food was organic.

The design I thought was the best was also the winner of the vote, with a whopping 63%. Expect to see it on packaging from this summer:

But what of the other Organic labels that currently reside on food packaging? I know that the Soil Association were none too happy about this process. As I said in my original post, who will now bother to get certified by the Soil Association when they can just stick the EU label on their packaging? And there's also that old perennial - should air-freighted food be labelled as organic? The EU thinks yes, but food from outside the Union can apply the label voluntarily.

Will consumers trust the checks and balances?

Reusing, Hi-Tech Style

For the last couple of years, I've been bulk-buying various things over the internet. I've got 5 litre bottles of washing up liquid, fabric conditioner and washing liquid stashed around the flat ready to get dispensed into smaller bottles.

It saves on plastic, plus there's the satisfaction of pumping another bottle full of washing up liquid (yes, I know I could pour it, but where's the thrill in that?)

An Asda store in Govan is getting in on the act too. Customers can reuse containers by pumping fabric conditioner into old bottles, at the aisle.

Welcome to the peak oil 21st Century -  your Granny would recognise it!

See here for the full story http://www.wasteawarescotland.org.uk/html/newsArticle.asp?NewsID=1174 

French To Invest In Scottish Waves?

I can't exactly say I'm waiting with baited breath for this announcement, but apparently the Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has something to say about investment in renewable energy today.

He's been touting himself in France to some of the energy companies there, trying to persuade them to invest in wave and tidal power in Scotland.

Having missed the boat on the development and manufacture of wind turbines in the late 90s/early noughties, the Scottish Government is at least trying to make sure that wave and tidal don't slip through our fingers.

I'm not entirely happy that someone as high up the food chain as Salmond has to go glad-handing to foreign companies, but the reality is we're only a wee country and we need the money to come in, so why not send in the big hitters?

And besides, I'm sure he'll find somewhere in Paris to have a decent meal.

Green In The Media 8th February - 14th February

I'd hate to see the state of Jimmy Doherty's farm - he's never there, he's always on the bloody telly! This time he's investigating supermarkets and world food movement, which will be completely unlike the last time he investigated supermarkets or indeed world food.

Monday 8th February

The Food Programme
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 16:00 to 16:30
Seeds.
Sheila Dillon asks if seed legislation is inhibiting farmers' and growers' ability to adapt to climate change.

Costing the Earth
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 21:00 to 21:30 (Also Thu 1330)
Keep on Trucking.
While aviation is often seen as the climate change villain, the transport of freight by road and ship is often ignored. Shipping is a far bigger polluter and seems unlikely to benefit from the investment in technology which airlines have planned. Could there be a way to cut down emissions from freight transport? Tom Heap finds out just how much pollution is being shifted needlessly around the place by hitching a lift with a 25-year-old Londoner, who was named the UK's Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2009. His business, Shiply.com, is a bit like eBay, but for shipping your stuff. The business has been going for just over a year and has already saved over 1.6 million kg of CO2 by making use of spare capacities. On a larger scale Eddie Stobart's is Britain's best known haulier. The company recently made moves into rail freight but questions remain on how many of our deliveries can be made by rail.

Wednesday 10th February

Crop to Shop: Jimmy's Supermarket Secrets
On: BBC 1
Time: 19:30 to 20:30
Our supermarket shelves groan with fresh food from around the world. Farmer Jimmy Doherty explores the global logistics that bring these crops to a shop near you. He meets the people who grow our food and make this global conveyor belt work. He uncovers the science and technology that keeps food fresh for weeks or months without decay. Does it make any sense to transport fresh fruit and vegetables for thousands of miles by air and by sea, just so we can eat our favourite foods all year long?

Thursday 11th February

One Planet
On: BBC World Service Radio
Time: 10:32 to 11:00(Also 1530, 2030, 0130, Sun 0630)
One Planet looks at how we use our planet.

The Report
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 20:00 to 20:30
Business leaders say they face unfair competition following the collapse of the Copenhagen climate summit. Europe is pushing ahead with tighter controls on greenhouse gases, in stark contrast to the US, China and India. Simon Cox investigates why the summit failed and assesses the impact on industry in the UK.

Out of this World
On: BBC Radio Four
Time: 21:00 to 21:30
Scientists are warning that our planet is fast running out of many essential materials. Dwindling reserves of platinum, copper and phosphorous could create crises in the electronics, medical and farming worlds. There are fears that competition between countries for remaining deposits will result in 'resource wars'. Materials scientist Mark Miodownik finds out how serious the situation has become and asks what scientists, politicians and economists can do to secure the earth's resources for future generations.

Saturday 13th February

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 14th February

Countryfile
On: BBC 1
Time: 18:00 to 19:00
John Craven investigates the massive growth in offshore windfarms.


Excerpts taken from DigiGuide - the world's best TV guide available from http://www.getdigiguide.com/?p=1&r=20818
Copyright (c) GipsyMedia Limited.

The Week In Green Numbers

€11 million

- loss by Ryanair last quarter #

30 minutes

- amount of time I spent laughing at that

4 million tonnes

- Tesco's CO₂ emissions per year #

27

- nuclear reactors in the US which are leaking radioactive Tritium into the gorundwater #

€13 billion

- money invested in wind energy in the European Union last year #

Rethinking My Tetra Pak Hatred

Photo by Iwan Gabovitch

I've always despised Tetra Paks. Hated them with a vengeance. Those plasticky boxes that are becoming more and more ubiquitous as food manufacturers ditch their good old tins and jars and bottles. I've even been "shouted" at in the comments section by a woman from Tetra Pak itself over my refusal to see them as green.

Well okay, maybe my hatred of them was a bit over the top. I can see good in them, particularly when it comes to reducing weight when shipping. But they're nigh on impossible to recycle in this country, unless you want to go to the trouble and expense of posting them to England so they can be shipped to Sweden.

And that just sounds crazy.

So imagine my surprise to have my head turned by an article in this month's Ecologist newsletter. (Only available to subscribers at present, unfortunately).

They take a long hard look at Tetra Paks and report the astonishing - to me at least - results of some Life Cycle Analyses.

Even when Tetra Paks are sent to landfill, they still use less energy during their entire life than metal tins, glass jars or plastic pouches!

In fact, tin cans emit 120% more CO₂ emissions than Tetra Paks, and glass jars emit 150% more over their lifecycle.

This is basically the same stuff that Shouty Tetra Pak Lady was trying to tell me many moons ago. I didn't believe her since she worked for Tetra Pak and I've seen enough greenwashing in my time.

But now that I've read the results of independent studies, I'm going to embrace them wholeheartedly. If only we could recycle them properly - Tetra Pak claims that Edinburgh recycle them, but Edinburgh refuse to name them - only saying they take "drinks cartons". Does that mean Tetra Paks??

A Climate Change Tour Of Cold Places

Ever wonder why Greenland is called Greenland? How long Antarctica has been a continent?

The US National Snow And Ice Data Center have released a new Google Earth tour entitled A Climate Change Tour Of Cold Places, which uses video, audio and photos to show the changes to the Earth's cold regions caused by climate change.

You can download the tour from their website, but remember you'll need Google Earth to see it.

Cue The Sexy Voiceover...

Photo by Chris Sherlock via Wikimedia Commons

This is not just yet another bloody hotel in Edinburgh, this is an upscale, boutique, "arts hotel" in Edinburgh.

I've made my feelings on Edinburgh's planners, and their lack of imagination, known in the past. Every time a piece of land or development becomes available, they all shout "Hotel!" as if they were playing a rather manic game of Monopoly.

But aha, what have we here with the old Royal High School building? It's an "Arts Hotel!" Well, I guess it shows imagination, in the title if in nothing else. In order to be an Arts Hotel then it has to have a public gallery - but there's no indication how big that public gallery has to be. The cynical part of me suspects that the hotel developers will stick a Lowry print in the lobby and invite people to ooh and aah over it.

The Royal High School has been empty for 40 years now, and it could be so much more. Why don't they go the whole hog and make it an art gallery? Or Jeff's idea of a school (although the council can't fund the current schools), or use it as a community space or a library or a Museum Of Edinburgh.

Anything but yet another bloody hotel.

Thank You

Woot! I've come second in the Scottish Roundup Blog Awards in the Top 5 Nature or Green Blogs category.

I'd like to thank everyone who voted fo...

Yo Despairing! Ah'ma gonna let you finish, but first I gotta say that Greener Leith deserved this more than you. Their website is awesome, man. Bet you wish you still lived in Leith, huh?

Left Hand, Meet Right Hand

Image by cowrin via Flickr

Courtesy of yesterday's Sunday Herald, we have this rather bizarre situation.

The Scottish Government are about to finish a consultation on home-based micro-renewables, with the idea being to remove the need for planning applications if you want to fit a wind turbine to your house or other methods of renewable energy.

To my mind, the should never have been part of the planning process in the first place - small turbines take up about the same amount of room as a TV aerial and no one objects to them (although I'm old enough to remember when satellite dishes were subject to planning approval*).

But the fact that they do have to go through the local government bureaucracy means that they're incredibly rare. I've only seen one "in the wild", and that's on a gable-end terraced house in Arbroath - and that's before you even get in to the hurdles of whether the area will provide enough wind to make the turbine worthwhile.

So yes, take micro-renewables out of the planning process. But I mentioned a bizarre situation. This first consultation only lets you install them 100 metres from your house! A second consultation will be immediately launched to do away with the 100 metre rule from the first consultation.

Quite why the first consultation went ahead with the 100 metre rule in it isn't exactly clear in the article. The government says it was to meet deadlines in it's own legislation, but that doesn't answer why it included the rule, or why they couldn't consult on the two proposals side by side.

On the other hand, this is a government bureaucracy we're talking about.

*I think I'm right in saying satellite dishes needed planning permission, but I'm now doubting myself