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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environment, climate change, earth hour

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

Weekly Greenhouse Updates | Share +
eco rally, renewable energy, climate change, sustainability, biodiversity, book of green, links, green investment, festival, cycling

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

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:

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Weekly Greenhouse Updates | Share +
organic food festival, eco hero, organic, anna shepard, climate change, george monbiot, richard leyland, chris huhne, 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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Environment Weekly Greenhouse Updates | Share +
climate change, biodiversity, government, coalition, meat, global warming, uk, greenest-ever, extinction, 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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Weekly Greenhouse Updates | Share +
climate change, solar, carbon reduction commitment, solar plane, 10:10, crc, london design festival, new economics foundation, tent london

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, carbon trading, cafedirect, coffee