Pete Smith @ May 11, 2008 # 4 Comments
There’s been much rejoicing and back-slapping recently in the London Borough of Merton, satellite state of the People’s Republic of Suburbia. The Wimbledon Park area of Merton is set to be the first part of London to go plastic bag free with the launch of Sustainable Merton’s Bags for Better Lives initiative. As part of [...]
Pete Smith @ May 9, 2008 # One Comment
May 18-23 2008 is Walk to School Week. The Walk to School campaign asks parents, pupils and teachers to think about their journey to and from school and the many benefits of making it on foot. Walk to School is promoted jointly by ACTTravelwise and Living Streets, and is now in its 13th year, with [...]
Pete Smith @ April 21, 2008 # One Comment
Photo: zappers Plastic’s been getting a pretty bad press for quite a while now. Bloggers like my erstwhile colleague Matt over at The Coffee House (‘The Dead Zone – plastic fcuktastic‘) have been covering the problem comprehensively, and quite right too. There can’t be too many people left who aren’t at least aware that plastic [...]
Pete Smith @ April 20, 2008 # One Comment
Today, Tuesday April 22nd, is Earth Day, an annual event that was founded in 1970 and has grown into an international celebration of our collective commitment to building a safer, healthier and prosperous world for all of us, starting in the communities where we live. There are many ways to get involved and no action [...]
Pete Smith @ April 17, 2008 # No Comment Yet
Here in the London Borough of Bromley, de facto capital of the People’s Republic of Suburbia, the environmental bush telegraph is throbbing. Change Alley has received a personal invitation from the local branch of Friends of the Earth (FoE), printed on “rescued, redundant office letterhead paper”. Tony Juniper, retiring Executive Director of FoE, is coming [...]
Pete Smith @ April 15, 2008 # No Comment Yet
We came home from our Easter break to find that the offspring had taken delivery of a sturdy parcel from the Mayor of London, addressed to me personally. “DIY Planet Repairs” it says on the box, “Will you help with the repairs?”. Inside, there’s a collection of prezzies from Mayor Ken himself: A china mug [...]
Pete Smith @ March 28, 2008 # One Comment
Tomorrow, Saturday 29th March at 8:00 PM, 24 cities around the world will participate in Earth Hour 2008. Earth Hour is the highlight of a major campaign to encourage businesses, communities and individuals to take simple steps to cut their emissions on an ongoing basis. It is about simple changes that will collectively make a [...]
Pete Smith @ December 7, 2007 # 2 Comments
Last month The Coffee House drew your attention to the Worst EU Lobbying and Greenwash Awards 2007. The winners were announced at a festive awards ceremony in the Witloof Cellar in Brussels on 4 December 2007. Winner of the Worst EU Lobbying Award 2007 BMW, Daimler and Porsche – nominated together in the worst EU [...]
Pete Smith @ December 6, 2007 # One Comment
The use of “bland and ineffectual promotional language” puts organic food at risk of becoming “just another commercial brand”, concludes a study by the Open University’s Centre for Research in Education and Educational technology (CREET). Their report ‘The Discourse of Organic Food Promotion: language, intentions and effects‘ says that retailers and campaigners are failing to [...]
Pete Smith @ November 30, 2007 # 2 Comments
Last week the government launched its consultation into plans for a third runway and sixth terminal at London Heathrow. Greenpeace has been in touch with The Coffee House, asking us to support their ‘Stop Heathrow Expansion’ campaign. As in most issues nowadays, the prime arguments against the expansion are climate change and economics. To quote [...]
