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Guerilla sewing
Reusable shopping bags are all the rage at the moment. But it doesn’t need to be an Anya Hindmarch to make a difference to the environment - anything that stops you taking plastic bags from the supermarket will do.
Planet Relief switched off by the BBC
Yesterday it emerged that the BBC had cancelled Planet Relief, its planned Comic Relief-style day of programming on environmental issues.
Is black the new green?
A couple of weeks ago someone told us about Blackle, an energy-saving alternative to Google. The clue is in the name - it’s Google, but with a dark interface. The idea is that it takes less energy to light up a monitor in dark shades than it does in bright ones.
Pooled resources
It’s not all bad news for alcohol when it comes to saving the planet. One Somerset town has got together with a local brewer to come up with a novel way of heating its open air swimming pool.
The fat of the land
It seems there’s no getting away from the biofuel debate. The BBC recently reported how demand for oil crops was affecting agricultural markets, and on the ‘wonder plant’ jatropha, which could soon be powering Indian cars and buses.
Are gadgets just a waste of energy?
Love them or loathe them, these days we seem to be surrounded by gadgets. The ubiquity of computers, TVs, mobile phones and MP3 players means that even the most determined Luddite is likely to find the odd example slipping through their defences.
As if by magic…a new minister appears
Some people may miss David Miliband’s laid-back presentation style, but Gordon Brown has announced a new environment secretary. Hilary Benn gets the job at an interesting time, with topics like carbon-offsetting and alternative fuels generating plenty of mainstream debate.
