August 2006
Calculate your carbon output (29 August 2006)
At the World Land Trust you can buy 'offsets' to balance your carbon output. You calculate the amount of carbon you produce then make a donation that enables them to fund biodiversity projects that offset it. Part of the site...
Using drink bottles to save toilet water (25 August 2006)
I know you can read the title of the post two ways so to clarify - I mean save toilet water as in reduce usage of rather than as in collect. That wouldn't be nice. I had bit of a...
How would you spend the US federal budget? (25 August 2006)
I saw an ad on City Hippy's website linked to a Ben & Jerry's page that intrigued me. Ben & Jerry's American Pie campaign aims to redistribute US federal budget from the military to better care and services for children....
Al Gore - green hero or vain villain? (23 August 2006)
Al Gore has been on the receiving end of both good and bad press recently, especially in blogs. On the one hand there is scepticism that he really is a green evangalist and some believe he is merely jumpng on...
McDonalds Hummer promotion (22 August 2006)
Never one to worry too much about the impact they have, McDonalds has run a promotion in the US giving away toy Hummer vehicles - the hugely inefficient cars made by General Motors for the army and Hollywood stars. In...
Smog to cause more deaths in Canada (21 August 2006)
Saskboy highlights reports in Canada that unless something changes, smog is likely to lead to more deaths in the future. No surprise there. He outlines some suggestions for resolving this. 1. By 2009 car manufacturers should be building 1 in...
Biodiesel - what vehicle? (20 August 2006)
Before undertaking the potentially dangerous task of telling my wife I want to sell her Audi TT and buy a cheap truck to run on biodiesel, I wanted to check what can actually run on it. I was under the...
Dinner from the garden (20 August 2006)
After picking a small crop from the garden the other evening I made myself dinner with all homegrown vegetables. I stir-fried the onion, added chopped carrot and green beans and chucked in halved tomatoes. I added some white wine, pepper...
Home-grown harvest (17 August 2006)
I'm starting to get a regular little crop from the vegetable patch now. I picked the sole surviving carrot from the 3 lines I planted and it's a beauty. Typical man, I couldn't resist the urge to measure it. Seven...
Wind Weekend 26-28 August (16 August 2006)
Bank holiday weekend is Wind Weekend, when a number of wind farms across the UK open up for visitors. Over 6,000 people visited wind farms during Wind Weekend last year and Embrace the Revolution has details of the participating wind...
Biodiesel Expo - 18 October (16 August 2006)
I've alway been amazed that there seems to be an expo, conference or exhibition for pretty much every subject imaginable. So after the disappointment of the Make a Difference exhibition being cancelled, Im glad I've found the Biodiesel Expo. This...
Hummer or Harley - which is worse? (14 August 2006)
Not that I am ever planning on driving either as I'm neither a Hollywood star nor a middle-aged accountant. Darren Barefoot posed the question as the Harleys are interrupting his ipod listening pleasure. So far the Harley is coming out...
From an Audi TT to a... (14 August 2006)
So far, all the changes I've been making to the family lifestyle have been small and relatively unintrusive. But I've been thinking about my first big change. At the moment we drive an Audi A3 and an Audi TT. Both...
You’ll be shocked what you’re waste energy on (13 August 2006)
I watched the BBC’s ‘Are we changing planet earth’ programme a couple of months ago. It gave a good summary of the global warming situation for the mass audience. The core of the programme was the very persuasive chart showing...
Freecycle your stuff (12 August 2006)
As I've started getting more interested in how I can make my lifestyle more sustainable, I've come across whole communities I never knew existed. One of these is the Freecycle community. It's a non-profit organisation of local groups who give...
I like the Croydon rhinocycle (11 August 2006)
The damage being done to the environment is a very serious matter. But sometinmes the best way to communicate that to people not involved is to do something rather silly. The Croydon Greens blog has pictures of their rhinocycle -...
Starting the vegetable patch (10 August 2006)
I’ve never had the patience for gardening. I do projects – digging stuff up, filling in big holes, clearing our drainage ditch, that sort of thing. My wife however, will happily spend the afternoon planting, feeding, weeding and pruning....
Recharging your batteries (10 August 2006)
Although we’ve always used rechargeable batteries in our cameras, we’ve rarely used them elsewhere around the house. With two small children we have a lot of gadgets and we get through batteries quickly when they keep leaving toys on overnight....
Planning permission is the advantage for nuclear ( 9 August 2006)
I had an interesting debate with a friend the other day. Following the government’s energy review we were debating why nuclear power is so acceptable to the government. His argument was that it’s down to the NIMBY’s. No-one wants...
A great 're-use' Saturday morning ( 6 August 2006)
When reading this, bear in mind our normal Saturday morning doesn't involve anything green unless it's the tinge of my skin after a heavy night out. But this Saturday we were unusually good. My wife went off to a...
An environmental plan for the family – part 1 ( 5 August 2006)
A lot of the changes I have started making came from my little bible – Go Make a Difference. This simple book is perfect for those wanting to make changes but unclear where to start. It lists 500 ways...
The first environmental car insurance ( 4 August 2006)
There are many things to buy that I imagine could do with an environmentally-friendly version, but I have to admit car insurance wasn't the first to spring to mind. However, I noticed a full-page ad in my Sunday paper...
Big Green Gathering on now ( 3 August 2006)
I've never been much of one for big outdoor festivals -paying £50 a day to stand half a mile from the stage, sleep in a muddy field and eat over-priced fast food. But I quite like the idea of the...
Blair and Arnie sidestep Bush on environment ( 2 August 2006)
George W Bush - the scourge of environmentalists worldwide - must be a little upset with his friend Tony Blair this week. Bush has refused to commit to stretching emissions reductions. Tony Blair has had no joy in persuading him...
Solar panels available at Currys ( 1 August 2006)
The BBC reports today that Currys - the electrical retailer - is piloting the sale of solar panels in three of it's UK stores. The panels sell for about £1,000 and Currys will do a free home assessment to...
Welcome to the Environment blog ( 1 August 2006)
Welcome to Real Life News’ second blog - all about the environment. At first glance, it’s completely unrelated to our first blog – football – but their common theme is that I’m interested in both and I’ve wanted to...
