Anya Hindmarch can design as many bags as she wants – it’s not going to solve the problems caused by plastic bags until people start using them to put their shopping in instead of using them as status symbols or trying to flog them on eBay. The whole ‘not a plastic bag’ story has left me frothing with barely-contained green rage, so I was happy to read a truly positive story in the Independent yesterday; the town of Modbury in Devon has banished plastic bags.
Louise Penman's stories:
If you find yourself in need of a holiday but short of cash (or time), it can be easier to book a cheap flight and hotel than to consider the costs – to the local economy as well as environment – of your holiday.
The responsible tourism awards, run by th and Responsible Travel, are hoping to change that
It seems like it’s just going to keep on getting brighter outside, and if you’re looking stylish but unusual way to shield yourself from the sun you might want to check out iWood’s range of wooden sunglasses.
This has to be the most environmentally-friendly way of cooking your food this summer. The Solar Grill from Tammock Trading uses a flexible mirror to focus sun beams onto the specially-designed barbecue cup, quickly cooking food without the need for fuel or fire
Spam is annoying, but at least it only takes a click of the mouse to banish all those once-in-a-lifetime business opportunities, investment ideas and dodgy health products to the dustbin forever. Junk mail – the kind that falls onto your doormat every morning – is a different story.
I probably get about 90% of my news from online sources – whether that’s by reading newspapers online or by browsing other news sites and blogs. I like reading when I’m travelling though, and when I’ve forgotten to bring a…
I know I go on about train travel a lot, but I really would love to see more people swap cars for public transport – and for public transport to be good enough for everyone to be able to afford to use it to get everywhere, but that may be more of a pipe dream…
With that in mind, I thought I’d let you know about the latest offer from GNER: £5 single tickets between Leeds and London when you book online. They’re releasing 12000 tickets a week over the next three weeks and you need to book a month before you want to travel:
Book now for travel between 21 May and 6 July 2007.
Book from 19 April for travel between 21 May and 13 July 2007.
Book from 26 April for travel between 21 May and 20 July 2007.
Related: How to get cheap(er) train fares across Britain | More transport and travel
It seems that caring about the environment is very much in fashion right now. Not only has Elle magazine brought out a green issue, but now Vanity Fair are in on the act too with their May ‘Green Issue’.
Vanity Fair uses the issue to identify its top environmentalists – including members of Musicians United for Safe Energy such as Alanis Morisette; fashion model Summer Rayne Oakes who promotes fair trade clothing through her own thinktank and consulting company; and Leonardo DiCaprio, who shares the front cover with famous German polar bear Knut.
Opinions differ on exactly how quickly we will reach peak oil and how life will change once that happens, but many agree that the world will be a very different place in 30 – 50 years, and if we want to be able to adapt, we need to start planning now.
Transition towns are doing just that – these are towns that have made the decision to plan collectively for the end of cheap oil and to work together to make their communities more sustainable. At the moment there are nine transition towns around the country, along with one village. Bristol is the first transition city, and Brixton has signed up as an area of London.
Transition culture certainly seems like an idea whose time has come – even David Miliband has spoken of the need to move to a post-oil economy.
Bringing together whole towns to work collectively means that solutions can be more imaginative and wider-reaching than if each individual tries to live more sustainably on their own.
If you’d like to get your town, city or area involved but don’t know where to start, the transition towns team have put together a handy list: 10 First Steps for a Transition Town Initiative
Beekeeping has a reputation as a rural pastime, something you can only do if you have fields and woodland to play with. In fact, according to North London Beekeepers, urban bees can make more honey than their rural counterparts, thanks to the large variety of plants available in towns and cities – a London beekeeper can expect to collect an average honey crop of 70 plus lbs of honey, compared with about 30 lbs per hive in the country.
While the professionals do stress that you shouldn’t just rush into beekeeping it is an increasingly popular pastime, and there is plenty of help out there for those of you who are tempted by the thought of making your own honey.
If you’re interested in finding out more, the best bet is to contact your local branch of the British Beekeeper’s Association, who can offer advice and often run courses. There are still spaces available on the London Beekeeper’s Association ‘Taste of Beekeeping course in June
The BBKA also recommend Ted Hooper’s book ’Guide to Bees and Honey’ as a good starting point for learning about bees at home.
Related: Pollinating Bee Log from Natural Collection | News: Decline in haymaking bad news for the bumble bee
