Blog

Earth Hour 2010

Anna Guyer | 26.03.10

Earth Hour is such a fantastic project for raising awareness about climate change and protecting the planet.

We're participating -- it's Saturday, 27 March at 8:30PM. I hope you'll consider it too.

From the Earth Hour web site:

You can support Earth Hour by:

1. Turning off your lights at 8.30PM on March 27
2. Showing your support and adding yourself to our world map
3. Adding Earth Hour widgets, logos and banners to your blog or website to help us spread the word. You could even be our Earth Hour Online Supporter of the Day.
4. Talking about Earth Hour in your social network by updating your Facebook status, grabbing a Twibbon, tweeting about your support, and more
5. Get together with your friends and family, by hosting an Earth Hour party or holding your own candlelit affair
6. Rally your local council or community group to run an Earth Hour event for your community
7. Encourage your employer and workmates to take part in Earth Hour and make energy savings every day
8. Make an Earth Hour Lantern as a symbol of hope for the future
9. Be creative! Find a new way to mark Earth Hour and let us know all about it!

And here's a great video that shows how countries around the world are involved. Beautiful!
 

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Weekly Greenhouse Round-Up

Sally Hill | 02.07.10

This post from Martin Wright at Forum for the Future, written amidst the climate science controversy in the press earlier this year, hit the nail on the head:

If Climate Change Didn't Exist Would We Have to Invent It?

The essence of the article, highlighted in the cartoon below, is that the changes required to adapt to climate change need to take place whether it is real or not.

The adjustments needed to address climate change are also necessary to reduce our toll on resources, stabilise the condition of the planet, and they're not actually so bad for our quality of life either.

Here are the links we loved this week:

Scotland's Big Tent Festival Adds Summer School to Promote Green Living
The weekend-long celebration of green and sustainable lifestyles launches new skills workshop
(Treehugger)

You Ask, They Answer: Slow Food UK
Q&A with the British wing of the Slow Food movement
(The Guardian)

Zero Carbonista: Wind Car Update
The latest from Zero Carbonista's wind car, racing in the Bridgestone Eco Rally
(Zero Carbonista)

Government Commission Urges Rapid Setting Up of Green Investment Bank
New UK Green Investment Bank to support low-carbon infrastructure ecological projects
(The Guardian)

Bridgestone Eco Rally 2010 to Showcase Cutting-Edge Car Design
Sustainable transport in action, a showcase of cutting-edge and super-fast eco cars
(The Telegraph)

Are Blue Bike Lanes Better Than Black?
Recent Guardian study shows that drivers give less room to cyclists when there is a painted bike lane
(Treehugger)

Sales of Small Wind Turbines Up, Even in Soft Housing Market
More people are turning to wind power: lower risk and less cost, what's not to like?
(CleanTechnica)

Organic Farming's Balanced Ecosystems Naturally Control Pests Better Than Monoculture
In case you needed another reason to favour organic farming over chemical agriculture
(Treehugger)

Eco Rally
The official site for the sustainable vehicle event

Book of Green
New Book of Green resources for your life, plus there's a great contest to win eco prizes

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sustainability, forum for the future, renewable energy, eco rally, climate change, biodiversity, book of green, links, green investment, festival

Can you be an environmentalist—and fly?

Anna Guyer | 20.07.10

The writer and documentary filmmaker Pamela Nowicka recently wrote on flying and the impact that it has - and it got me thinking: how can we justify flying when we begin to understand the impact it has? Pamela wrote:

"I researched flying and its climate change impacts for my just completed half hour documentary, 'Climate Change? No Thanks'.

Average carbon footprint of a person in the UK is 10 tonnes. A long haul fight emits approx 1.2 tonnes of climate change (CC) gases per person. The CC impact of this is about three times as much as CO2 alone because of the altitude and mixture of gases released. See also in George Monbiot's 'Heat'. Flying is of concern as it is one of the fastest growing CC sectors.

Read more

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pollution, environment, climate change, flying, carbon, air travel, climate change no thanks, environmentalists

Greenhouse Weekly Round-Up

Sally Hill | 13.08.10

Episode 1: Creamy Eggs With Thyme -- powered by eHow.com

eHow has launched a new series called 'Grow Cook Eat' which demonstrates organic garden-to-table cooking. The video above walks you through how to make creamy eggs with thyme. Mmmmmm.

Speaking of delicious, naturally-grown food, things are gearing up for the 2010 Bristol Organic Food Festival who launched their new website this week. The festival boasts cooking demos by a host of celebrity chefs, The Food Market, the Kids Taste Experience Tent, a Sheep Show, and lots of surprises to entertain families and food lovers.

A new initiative called 'Carbon Calculated' provides software solutions for carbon and greenhouse gas management. It's an independent, free, open platform that aggregates carbon and green house gas emissions for "everything in the world", including passenger transport, raw materials and consumer goods. Definitely worth a look.

Energy secretary Chris Huhne lifted the ban on the sale of surplus electricity, giving local councils the lead in 'green energy revolution'. 

Here are the links we loved this week:

Read more

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organic food festival, eco hero, organic, anna shepard, climate change, george monbiot, chris huhne, richard leyland, yurt, carbon calculated

Greenhouse Weekly Round-Up

Sally Hill | 20.08.10

One hundred days into the coalition leadership, Richard Black has analysed the UK government's claim to be the greenest-ever government and asks: if the government says it's green, how has it been measured?

How does this 'greenest-ever' claim weight indicators of success or failure such as a reduction in carbon emissions, or a rise in the extinction rate of farmland birds? With the decision not to back a third runway at Heathrow, but also to close the Sustainable Development Commission.

There was also an interesting discussion on the Guardian blog about the Government's willingness to demote the importance of the environment in favour of spending cuts and political expediency. Leo Hickman argued that the current cuts are in a long line of policies that are seeing short-termism failing the environment.

Here are the links we loved this week:

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climate change, biodiversity, government, coalition, meat, global warming, uk, extinction, greenest-ever, population

Greenhouse Weekly Roundup

Sally Hill | 01.10.10

The mini-movie 'No Pressure' is the latest from the clever campaigners at 10:10. While the film is a bit gory, it will definitely have a wide reach and a high impact, which is great news.

Here are the links we loved this week:

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solar, climate change, carbon reduction commitment, london design festival, 10:10, solar plane, crc, tent london, new economics foundation

ECO HERO: JAMES SUTTON

Greta Jonyniate | 10.11.11

James Sutton is the founder of the revolutionary non-profit organisation pioneering the bloomtrigger project; a simple, affordable and creative way for people to protect rainforest. Bloomtrigger is a social enterprise developing a new visual model of online fundraising to enable individuals, businesses and primary school children to help protect their own part of the rainforest. The bloomtrigger project works in partnership with the CREES foundation a charity empowering forestry communities in the Peruvian Amazon to sustainably manage their forest land. Ultimately the bloomtrigger project aims to protect 1 million hectares of the rainforest worldwide.

Read more

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climate change, deforestation, reforestation

Coffee Climate Crisis - a new campaign from Cafedirect

Richard Lemmer | 13.05.12

Quality coffee supplies are at risk as smallholder farmers struggle to cope with climate change.

More than three-quarters of all coffee in the world is produced by smallholder farmers, many of whom earn their living growing coffee on tiny patches of land in developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. And already the impacts of climate change have been devastating, leaving them struggling to cope with a host of critical issues, including flooding, drought, pests and crop diseases.

So today we are launching a campaign, Climate Coffee Crisis, to highlight the need for action and to share the inspiring story of how a co-operative of more than 6,000 farmers in Peru are pioneering new ways to adapt and respond to climate change. Cafedirect has released a report and video that explains the amazing story.

As Cafedirect buy's direct from the smallholder farmers, they hear first hand about the conditions the farmers are facing, so over the last six years they have helped to set up the foundations for a ground-breaking project that has enabled the farmers adapt to climate change through reforestation which has been
funded through carbon trading. It’s the first project of its kind anywhere in the world.

But there are 25 million coffee farming families in 60 countries around the world, so much more needs to be done. The story in the report is just one example of many.

If we don’t all act now, we will all be left counting the cost. Coffee will become more expensive, its quality will decline, and it may even become harder to get hold off. It doesn’t bear thinking about.
We don’t want to have to imagine a world without coffee.

It’s so important that everyone who is passionate about coffee does their bit, not just coffee brands, supermarkets and cafés, but also the most important people of all – coffee lovers!

You really can make a huge difference by buying responsible brands that they know are investing in the future of smallholder coffee farmers and therefore the future of our daily cup of coffee.

Help us to spread the word:
• Read the amazing report.
• Watch the video
• Tweet with the campaign hashtag - #coffeeclimatecrisis
• Become a Friend of Cafedirect

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climate change, cafedirect, carbon trading, coffee

Beacons: Stories for our not so distant future

HJ Fantaskis | 05.03.13

Beacons: Stories for our not so distant future edited by Gregory Norminton, will launch this week on Thursday 7 March, during Climate Week.

We were given a preview copy of the anthology which includes twenty-one original short stories from some of the UK's most celebrated writers, including Joanne Harris, A.L. Kennedy, Toby Litt, and Alasdair Gray.

Beacon's Editor, author Gregory Norminton, told us, 'Beacons is a charity book looking to respond to the complexities of our ecological crisis through fiction.'

Beacons was years in the making, but thanks to the dogged persistence of Gregory and Mike Robinson (previously Chair of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland who planted the earliest seed for the book in his mind), a host of eminent contributing authors, the perfect venue for a briefing weekend, and a progressive publisher were secured.

Talking to Gregory about Beacons, he said that from its origins, 'Mike and I knew that we wanted to produce a collection of original and provocative stories, but also to stimulate a discussion about what role, if any, story-telling has to play in our adaptation to the consequences of abrupt climate change.'

The short stories take us from Joanne Harris' techno-dystopia, to soldiers paroling the ravaged Welsh landscapes in Jem Poster's Visitation, to Clare Dudman's imaginings of the artist's place in a world where once rural areas are now deserts, to Toby Litt discussion of self and otherness through the gloopy analogy of the Knickerbocker Glory (really.) to many other weird and wonderful imaginings of our not too distant future. 

Gregory's approach to the global problem of climate change is necessarily blunt. When discussing the brief with fellow writers, he said he quickly realised, 'we have to stop kidding ourselves that everything is going to be alright. It isn't. Global warming and resource depletion are already with us, even in the cushioned West.'

'It is crucial that we find ways to communicate in the language and format that enables an emotional response and a deeper understanding of the facts around climate change and the impact on our planet.  Give someone facts and figures and they are likely to run a mile. Appeal to their imagination through stories that are compelling and intriguing and we are begin to reach a new level of engagement.   Expressive arts – whether painting, poetry, writing, or drama – are fundamental to our society and connects people to a narrative that is fundamental to our future,' says Anna at Greenhouse.

It a very special book and we heartily congratulate Gregory Norminton, the contributing authors, and the team instrumental in publishing Beacons, for their ambitious and stimulating book. 

Beacons will be officially published on Thursday (7th March) as part of Climate Week 2013. The occasion will be marked by an event at the Manchester Literature Festival. You can pre-order a copy of the today from One World Publications. All royalties of Beacons will go to the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition.

Here's an excerpt from Gregory's introduction to Beacons:

“The book you hold in your hands is the slow-grown fruit of our efforts – and the efforts of scientific advisers, community activists and, above all, the writers who have given of their time and talent. Every story was written specially for this collection. In making their contributions, the writers have had to find ways of approaching a seemingly forbidding brief.

How do we write fiction about the ecological crisis without lapsing into cliché? Is it possible to do so without becoming hectoring or portentous? We must tell the truth but is that done best when, in Emily Dickinson’s words, we tell it slant? How, indeed, can prose fiction, which is rooted in psychology and social drama, encompass planetary change?

“For global warming is a predicament, not a story. Narrative only comes into our response to that predicament. Yet the truth of the crisis almost defies comprehension. The scientists, working their way through the scepticism of their systems, give us their best guesses on our likely fate – and we shy away from their findings.”

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climate change, social change, gregory normington, arts, behaviour change, beacons, public engagement