Pete Smith @ May 22, 2008 # No Comment Yet
It’s that time again, and the Chelsea Flower Show, “the ultimate event in the gardening year”, is in full swing. The show, flagship event of the Royal Horticultural Society, is being loudly promoted as the ‘greenest’ ever. Mind you, they seem to say that every year. They’re certainly placing a great deal of emphasis on [...]
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 @ 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 @ February 5, 2008 # No Comment Yet
It’s funny how words’ meanings can change over time. I was browsing idly through our bookshelves the other day, when I came across an interesting little volume called ‘The Survivalists’. Nothing to do with Jerry Ahern‘s interminable macho saga, Patrick Rivers’ 1975 book is a serious review of the ‘alternative’ environmental movement in the mid [...]
Pete Smith @ December 24, 2007 # No Comment Yet
Wherever you look, you’ll read something about “How To Have A Greener Christmas”. Helpful suggestions such as reducing packaging, buying locally and using low energy tree lights are really just the usual anti-climate change propaganda dressed up with a sprig of holly and some tinsel. Valid though these seasonal hints and tips may be, they’re [...]
Pete Smith @ December 8, 2007 # 7 Comments
As a student of the Open University, I receive a quarterly copy of the magazine Sesame, “reaching the OU community worldwide”. The Winter 2007 edition flopped through my letter box the other day, snugly wrapped in a plastic bag. Now I’m not usually one to complain, but this struck me as a remarkable waste of [...]
Pete Smith @ November 28, 2007 # No Comment Yet
The environmental propaganda machine continues to rumble forward on ‘The Archers’, BBC Radio 4′s venerable soap opera and green information channel. Tuesday’s episode featured an earnest discussion of anaerobic digesters on farms, turning animal muck into methane and generating electricity for sale back to the grid. According to jet-setting career agriculturist Debbie Aldridge, calling home [...]
Pete Smith @ November 23, 2007 # One Comment
Well, not quite all. Here in sunny Bromley, capital of the People’s Republic of Suburbia, a trial scheme to compost kitchen waste is being hailed as a roaring success. 6000 homes in six neighbourhoods of the London Borough have been selected to take part in the six-month scheme which began in September. Participants in the [...]
Pete Smith @ November 12, 2007 # 6 Comments
The Environment Agency has just published the Winter 2007 edition of its quarterly bulletin ‘Your Environment’. In the plastic wrapper (“made from bioegradable material and will decompose in landfill”. Oh joy!) I also discovered a supplement called ‘Your Environment Extra’. The EA has gathered together a team of 25 experts (most of whom I’m ashamed [...]
Pete Smith @ September 10, 2007 # 3 Comments
September 14-16: Clean Up the World Weekend 2007 Clean Up the World Weekend is an annual campaign supported by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The campaign encourages individuals and communities to clean up, repair and conserve the environment. Organizers estimate 35 million people from more than 120 countries will take part, in activities ranging [...]
