Quick update.
Another unit in our office building have followed our lead and begun getting their milk delivered! Myself and my tea club cohort are hoping, after some initial confusion, that no-one will nick anyone else's milk - don't fancy a milk turf war!!
Monday, June 4, 2007
Ethical Man
I brought back with me from India a newspaper cutting, from a quality daily rag called the Mumbai Mirror. It caught my eye as it was about a BBC Newsnight presenter by the name of Justin Rowlatt (link to BBC mini-site here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight
/ethical_man/default.stm)
In spring 2006, Justin was set the challenge of spending a year leading a more ethical life, with the aim of reducing his family's carbon footprint. He and his wife got rid of their car, converted to cloth nappies for their young children, switched the laundry eco-balls, started composting...His blog makes interesting reading and is full of good ideas and tips, from a man keen to 'do his bit', and to see how feasiible this would be to sustain on a long term basis. I'd recommend a browse.
The Mumbai Mirror ran a two-page spread about his efforts, predicated on his recent trip to Mumbai to see if he could encourage a local family to change their habits to more eco-frinedly ways. It has to be said that India is something of an eco disaster zone: poorly regulated urban development, ever-increasing traffic with no mitigation in terms of emmissions limits, and massive urban populations, many of whom have no access to clean water, toilets or secure housing. Recycling seems to be pretty much unheard of: in the rush to embrace Western ways (the McCulture) 'progress' seems to be all that matters, regardless on the impact on the environment/population. I know that in the West we have a litany of errors to answer to in this regard, but it seems sad that rapidly developing nations don't look at those with a view to avoiding repeating them.
So it was with much interest that I read the article. Rowlatt was tasked with given a middle class Mumbai family an 'eco makeover' to see if they could take steps to reduce theri carbon footprint. The family was similar in size and age to Rowlatt's own, and whilst they were not prepared to give up their car (high temperatures and humidity make public transport an almost unbearable experience in the summer months), they were amenable to making some changes (sadly the article doesn't go into much detail). Interestingly, Rowlatt also spent time with a different family whom the newspaper claims have zero carbon emissions: the wife, before her recent marriage, lived in one of Mumbai's many slums and the usage of public 'toilets' was extolled as something we could learn from in the West...
The Mumbai Mirror's top tips for reducing Indians' carbon footprint are resonant with those put forward here:
1. Consume only locally grown/produced food and avoid meat
2. Reduce car usage to a minimum
3. Switch to energy saving lighbulbs
4. Put your air conditioning at 25 degrees C of higher (the flip side of our 'turn your thermostat down by one degree' I guess)
5. Avoid using your tumble drier
6. Take the train to your next holiday destination
I'm not sure if the irony was realised by the printers, but immediately below these tips was an ad for a low-cost Indian airline...ha!
/ethical_man/default.stm)
In spring 2006, Justin was set the challenge of spending a year leading a more ethical life, with the aim of reducing his family's carbon footprint. He and his wife got rid of their car, converted to cloth nappies for their young children, switched the laundry eco-balls, started composting...His blog makes interesting reading and is full of good ideas and tips, from a man keen to 'do his bit', and to see how feasiible this would be to sustain on a long term basis. I'd recommend a browse.
The Mumbai Mirror ran a two-page spread about his efforts, predicated on his recent trip to Mumbai to see if he could encourage a local family to change their habits to more eco-frinedly ways. It has to be said that India is something of an eco disaster zone: poorly regulated urban development, ever-increasing traffic with no mitigation in terms of emmissions limits, and massive urban populations, many of whom have no access to clean water, toilets or secure housing. Recycling seems to be pretty much unheard of: in the rush to embrace Western ways (the McCulture) 'progress' seems to be all that matters, regardless on the impact on the environment/population. I know that in the West we have a litany of errors to answer to in this regard, but it seems sad that rapidly developing nations don't look at those with a view to avoiding repeating them.
So it was with much interest that I read the article. Rowlatt was tasked with given a middle class Mumbai family an 'eco makeover' to see if they could take steps to reduce theri carbon footprint. The family was similar in size and age to Rowlatt's own, and whilst they were not prepared to give up their car (high temperatures and humidity make public transport an almost unbearable experience in the summer months), they were amenable to making some changes (sadly the article doesn't go into much detail). Interestingly, Rowlatt also spent time with a different family whom the newspaper claims have zero carbon emissions: the wife, before her recent marriage, lived in one of Mumbai's many slums and the usage of public 'toilets' was extolled as something we could learn from in the West...
The Mumbai Mirror's top tips for reducing Indians' carbon footprint are resonant with those put forward here:
1. Consume only locally grown/produced food and avoid meat
2. Reduce car usage to a minimum
3. Switch to energy saving lighbulbs
4. Put your air conditioning at 25 degrees C of higher (the flip side of our 'turn your thermostat down by one degree' I guess)
5. Avoid using your tumble drier
6. Take the train to your next holiday destination
I'm not sure if the irony was realised by the printers, but immediately below these tips was an ad for a low-cost Indian airline...ha!
Back...!!
Hello blog fans! I'm back after too long an absence. I was in Paris with my job for a couple of weeks, then after 5 hectic days at home, went to India to visit The Travelling Macbook and Datchet Diva (links aside).
The garden is now blooming (and would be even more had not some rascal pinched two plant pots from beside our front door two nights ago - grr!) and thanks to my parents-in-law was reigned in from it's meadow-like state in time for my return home. It does now need a weed though, and the grass needs cutting again, so my aim is to do that if it stays dry on my days off this week.
I will give a compost update in due course too. It needs a good stir, and I left the lid off last week for a day or two so some rain could get in as it was all looking rather dry. The stuff at the very bottom looks to be about the right colour/consistency, so I"m hopeful...ish!
I've also, being unable to close the drawers, finally defrosted our freezer so it should be running more eco-efficiently now. Just in time for being filled with ice-cream!
The garden is now blooming (and would be even more had not some rascal pinched two plant pots from beside our front door two nights ago - grr!) and thanks to my parents-in-law was reigned in from it's meadow-like state in time for my return home. It does now need a weed though, and the grass needs cutting again, so my aim is to do that if it stays dry on my days off this week.
I will give a compost update in due course too. It needs a good stir, and I left the lid off last week for a day or two so some rain could get in as it was all looking rather dry. The stuff at the very bottom looks to be about the right colour/consistency, so I"m hopeful...ish!
I've also, being unable to close the drawers, finally defrosted our freezer so it should be running more eco-efficiently now. Just in time for being filled with ice-cream!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Going greener....abroad
I'm currently in Paris for a couple of weeks with my job (hard life, I know). I flew here (bad, but cheaper than the train which is what it unfortunately boiled down to), but am walking/using public transport to get around everywhere (good). I can now vouch for the efficacy of sterilizing tablets for cleaning my mooncup (see previous post 'One for the girls'), but am suffering from a guilt complex re recycling my rubbish!
I brought with me a gorgeous Radley shopping bag, which I'm using in the little shops near to my apartment. France has yet to fully succumb to the lure of a Tesco metro on every corner, and there are still plenty of independent shops all specialising in one or two types of produce, even in the centre of Paris. However, I'm still reliant on supermarkets for most bottled/canned products and its this packaging which is causing me angst, especially as BBC World which is beamed to my tv 24/7 is running a special series of Climate Watch progammes...
Anyway, I guess it shows how used I've become to recycling at home, which is a good thing, in that now the thought of not being able to do the same here is an anathema. I have seen some bottle banks on street corners, so will have to scope out the nearest ones. Cans are still a quandy, although I think I may have spotted a paper recycling bin on the way home from the office today...Not sure of the system in terms of bin ownership - perhaps I ought to go out under the cover of darkness!!
Paris really is beautiful at this time of year, and I guess careful waste disposal plays an important role in keeping it that way. I shall let you all know if I achieve recycling succes...!
I brought with me a gorgeous Radley shopping bag, which I'm using in the little shops near to my apartment. France has yet to fully succumb to the lure of a Tesco metro on every corner, and there are still plenty of independent shops all specialising in one or two types of produce, even in the centre of Paris. However, I'm still reliant on supermarkets for most bottled/canned products and its this packaging which is causing me angst, especially as BBC World which is beamed to my tv 24/7 is running a special series of Climate Watch progammes...
Anyway, I guess it shows how used I've become to recycling at home, which is a good thing, in that now the thought of not being able to do the same here is an anathema. I have seen some bottle banks on street corners, so will have to scope out the nearest ones. Cans are still a quandy, although I think I may have spotted a paper recycling bin on the way home from the office today...Not sure of the system in terms of bin ownership - perhaps I ought to go out under the cover of darkness!!
Paris really is beautiful at this time of year, and I guess careful waste disposal plays an important role in keeping it that way. I shall let you all know if I achieve recycling succes...!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Daily pinta - at work!
Milk and orange juice deliveries to our home are proving very successful. I still get a bit excited seeing the bottles huddled up on the doorstep twice a week! Perhaps I need to get out more....!
Anyway, the place where I work has just moved offices. Myself and a friend run the tea club, and we were forever lugging big bottles of supermarket milk to work to feed the voracious thirsts of our colleagues.
So I got thinking...and put our new office postcode into the Dairy Crest website (www.dairycrest.co.uk). Hey presto - it's on a local delivery route! So, just like I'd done for home, I wizzed off our order via the website, and 5 days later 6 pints of milk were waiting outside the main entrance when the first person got to work! It's early days yet, and it may take some tweaking to ensure the regular order meets our needs, but so far so good. An added bonus is that the tea club can pay by direct debit, so no risk of cheques left in bottles outside overnight going AWOL. And who knows, it may even make some of my colleagues explore the possibility of using their own local milkman.
Now, I wonder what the reaction would be if we introduced fair trade tea and coffee into the tea club... :-)
Anyway, the place where I work has just moved offices. Myself and a friend run the tea club, and we were forever lugging big bottles of supermarket milk to work to feed the voracious thirsts of our colleagues.
So I got thinking...and put our new office postcode into the Dairy Crest website (www.dairycrest.co.uk). Hey presto - it's on a local delivery route! So, just like I'd done for home, I wizzed off our order via the website, and 5 days later 6 pints of milk were waiting outside the main entrance when the first person got to work! It's early days yet, and it may take some tweaking to ensure the regular order meets our needs, but so far so good. An added bonus is that the tea club can pay by direct debit, so no risk of cheques left in bottles outside overnight going AWOL. And who knows, it may even make some of my colleagues explore the possibility of using their own local milkman.
Now, I wonder what the reaction would be if we introduced fair trade tea and coffee into the tea club... :-)
Kentucky Fried Chicken advert update
This is an update on my previous blog entitled Adverts (Feb 07)...
I emailed the Advertising Standards Agency last week to register my astonishment and disappointment that such a blatant endorsement of a disposable lifestyle was allowed in 2007.
This morning I received a letter from them. I'm very impressed at the speed with which they replied. Here is what they wrote:
'Thank you for your recent online complaint regarding the above advertisers [KFC]. I am sorry to hear that this has caused you concern.
I note that you object to the new KFC commercial because it does not encourage viewers to recycle the material supplied with their meal. While I appreciate your concerns regarding this matter, this commercial does not appear to have breached our Codes on the basis you suggest. While we do regulate the content of commercials, we do not regulate the creative content to this extent and do not feel that a brief shot of a child disposing of some rubbish is likely to influence consumer's [sic] methods of waste disposal. The emphasis in this instance appears to be on the fact that no washing up is required, therefore creating less work for the family, rather than an attempt to promote irresponsible behaviour.
Whilst I appreciate you maybe [sic] disappointed with our decision, please be assured that we have considered your complaint thoroughly.
Although we do not propose further action, I would like to thank you for taking the time to contact us with your concerns.'
Next stop - an email to KFC...
Watch this space!
I emailed the Advertising Standards Agency last week to register my astonishment and disappointment that such a blatant endorsement of a disposable lifestyle was allowed in 2007.
This morning I received a letter from them. I'm very impressed at the speed with which they replied. Here is what they wrote:
'Thank you for your recent online complaint regarding the above advertisers [KFC]. I am sorry to hear that this has caused you concern.
I note that you object to the new KFC commercial because it does not encourage viewers to recycle the material supplied with their meal. While I appreciate your concerns regarding this matter, this commercial does not appear to have breached our Codes on the basis you suggest. While we do regulate the content of commercials, we do not regulate the creative content to this extent and do not feel that a brief shot of a child disposing of some rubbish is likely to influence consumer's [sic] methods of waste disposal. The emphasis in this instance appears to be on the fact that no washing up is required, therefore creating less work for the family, rather than an attempt to promote irresponsible behaviour.
Whilst I appreciate you maybe [sic] disappointed with our decision, please be assured that we have considered your complaint thoroughly.
Although we do not propose further action, I would like to thank you for taking the time to contact us with your concerns.'
Next stop - an email to KFC...
Watch this space!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Plastic bags
Grrr! I hate plastic bags! I've just walked to our local swimming pool, and the wooded verge of the pavement seems to be full of them.
About a year ago, we bought some tough canvas shopping bags, albeit from our local supermarket. I think they were about £2.50 for 4, which are enough to take a week's shopping for two people. We have since accumulated some others, but our favourites are two hessian ones we bought in an eco shop in York a couple of weeks ago stamped, in huge letters, with 'Say No To Plastic Bags!'. They're fab!! See www.sharedearth.co.uk
Plastic bags are bad on so many levels:
1. most are not made from any recycled material, meaning scarce oil resources are used in their manufacture, which also requires energy
2. there are limited recycling facilities available for plastic bags (in our area anyway, although some supermarkets do take them)
3. they result in litter
4. those that end up in landfill take an age to break down, doubtless releasing all sorts of nasties into the earth/air
Some of the big supermarkets have introduced bags made from (partially) recycled material, others offer more loyalty points to those who resuse plastic bags at the checkout. But so much more could and should be done. It is so depressing to see people staggering behind their trolley, stuffed to the gunwhales with groaning plastic bags. It doesn't help that canvas bags on sale in supermarkets seem to be behind the checkouts, so that by the time people see them, and have the chance to think 'oh what a good idea', they've packed everything up and off they go, sure to forget next time. I long for the day when we will follow the Ireland and introduce a plastic bag tax - 10p each would soon encourage people to at least think twice about using so many, even if they continued to use them.
So what can we do?
1. REDUCE the number of plastic bags used:
- consider using canvas/cloth shopping bags, and get into the habit of taking them with you when you go to the shops/town - perhaps keep a couple in your car if that's how you normally travel to do your shopping, or in your hallway where you'll see them as you go out
- say no when shop assistants offer you a bag, if you can easily carry the item, or pop it into a bag you already have with you. They will sometimes look at you like you're mad, but persevere! You never know, you may encourage others to do the same!
- do you really need to put a hand of bananas, stalk of broccoli etc into a little bag at the greengrocers/supermarket? Consider just buying them 'loose' - you'll end up washing/unpeeling them before you eat them anyway and a bit of polythene will do nothing to protect against bruises whilst in transit
2. REUSE plastic bags you do take:
- as small bin liners
- to clear up after your dog
- at the shops. There's something a bit deliciously naughty about using another company's bags in a rival store, and we've even left a few behind at the checkout before as we giggled out. Childish I know, but fun!
3. RECYCLE plastic bags where possible. Tescos stores offer facilities (usually inside the store)
4. CHOOSE paper bags if you can, and then recycle/compost them
So next time you see a plastic bag caught in a tree, fluttering and fading in the breeze, seek out some funky alternatives. If we all used even a couple of cloth bags, the overall impact would be great and perhaps the staggering figure of over 240 plastic bags each person in the UK is estimated to use every year could be reduced.
Happy shopping!!
About a year ago, we bought some tough canvas shopping bags, albeit from our local supermarket. I think they were about £2.50 for 4, which are enough to take a week's shopping for two people. We have since accumulated some others, but our favourites are two hessian ones we bought in an eco shop in York a couple of weeks ago stamped, in huge letters, with 'Say No To Plastic Bags!'. They're fab!! See www.sharedearth.co.uk
Plastic bags are bad on so many levels:
1. most are not made from any recycled material, meaning scarce oil resources are used in their manufacture, which also requires energy
2. there are limited recycling facilities available for plastic bags (in our area anyway, although some supermarkets do take them)
3. they result in litter
4. those that end up in landfill take an age to break down, doubtless releasing all sorts of nasties into the earth/air
Some of the big supermarkets have introduced bags made from (partially) recycled material, others offer more loyalty points to those who resuse plastic bags at the checkout. But so much more could and should be done. It is so depressing to see people staggering behind their trolley, stuffed to the gunwhales with groaning plastic bags. It doesn't help that canvas bags on sale in supermarkets seem to be behind the checkouts, so that by the time people see them, and have the chance to think 'oh what a good idea', they've packed everything up and off they go, sure to forget next time. I long for the day when we will follow the Ireland and introduce a plastic bag tax - 10p each would soon encourage people to at least think twice about using so many, even if they continued to use them.
So what can we do?
1. REDUCE the number of plastic bags used:
- consider using canvas/cloth shopping bags, and get into the habit of taking them with you when you go to the shops/town - perhaps keep a couple in your car if that's how you normally travel to do your shopping, or in your hallway where you'll see them as you go out
- say no when shop assistants offer you a bag, if you can easily carry the item, or pop it into a bag you already have with you. They will sometimes look at you like you're mad, but persevere! You never know, you may encourage others to do the same!
- do you really need to put a hand of bananas, stalk of broccoli etc into a little bag at the greengrocers/supermarket? Consider just buying them 'loose' - you'll end up washing/unpeeling them before you eat them anyway and a bit of polythene will do nothing to protect against bruises whilst in transit
2. REUSE plastic bags you do take:
- as small bin liners
- to clear up after your dog
- at the shops. There's something a bit deliciously naughty about using another company's bags in a rival store, and we've even left a few behind at the checkout before as we giggled out. Childish I know, but fun!
3. RECYCLE plastic bags where possible. Tescos stores offer facilities (usually inside the store)
4. CHOOSE paper bags if you can, and then recycle/compost them
So next time you see a plastic bag caught in a tree, fluttering and fading in the breeze, seek out some funky alternatives. If we all used even a couple of cloth bags, the overall impact would be great and perhaps the staggering figure of over 240 plastic bags each person in the UK is estimated to use every year could be reduced.
Happy shopping!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
