My Blogs are being posted on Telegraph Blogs. Please look there for the most recent editions! September 2007 onwards are exclusively on the Telegraph Blogs site.
Monday, 17 September 2007
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My Blogs are being posted on Telegraph Blogs. Please look there for the most recent editions! September 2007 onwards are exclusively on the Telegraph Blogs site.
Holiday dilemma: fly or drive? (30jul07)
My family are going to stay with friends in the South of France for our summer holiday. But how should we get there?
The car ferry: A greener option?
We’re going by ferry and by car. In theory this is greener than going by plane – that was certainly part of my thinking when I planned the trip. But I’m not so sure.
The reason for my quandary is not because I have any doubt about the significant contribution that flying makes to climate change. In fact I’m rather unimpressed with the disingenuous claims being made by airlines denying this.
Ryanair, who seem to be leading the battle, were recently made to withdraw their claim that they’d halved aircraft emissions over the past 5 years. In fact they conceded that their fuel use had actually increased eight-fold between 1998 and 2006.
What they and the other air lines are very keen to keep quiet is that scientists believe the climate change impacts of aircraft may be far greater than even their fuel consumption would indicate. It’s rather complicated but it’s estimated that if you include aircraft plumes, as well as CO2 and other pollutants from air travel, they’re responsible for between 4 and 9 per cent of the climate change impacts of human activity.
And I have another good reason for not wanting to fly. Airports. I hate them. Hordes of people, queues and hassle, hassle, hassle. And that’s before you’ve considered the ridiculous rules about what you can take and what not – I had my half full bottle of contact lens fluid confiscated because it was 120ml rather than 100ml. And last time I flew from Bristol I had to buy a plastic bag from a vending machine (it cost 50p) to put my toothpaste and moisturiser in.
So you may be asking where’s the doubt about taking the car? It’s quite simple really. If you travel by air you’re increasing the demand for flights and therefore indirectly increasing the number of planes in the air. But if you look at it another way, the plane you actually fly on is not going to stay grounded because you’re not there. And mile for mile planes are more efficient if they’re fully loaded.
But if you’re travelling by car, that’s a journey that definitely wouldn’t be happening if you were not behind the wheel. So you’re directly and immediately increasing your carbon footprint.
I did explore the idea of taking the car on the train. Unfortunately the cost of that was astronomical. But I’m going to keep tabs on the cost and compare that with going by train and hiring a car when I get there. I think that option would come out best in eco-terms – if it’s not vastly different in price, that’s what I’ll be doing next time.
Tags: France, Travel, Transport, Environment, Green issues
Happy as a pig in mud (28jul07)
The bacon tasted really good. The superior rashers accompanied seared scallops – a first course served by the Royal Oak pub in Bishopstone.
Food Ethics Council Members brave the rain
I was having dinner with fellow members of the Food Ethics Council after a trip to see Helen Browning’s happy organic pigs. It was their cousins I was eating for dinner.
It wasn’t only the bacon that was good – it was followed by marinated lamb, lemon posset, local cheeses and much tasting of other people’s puddings (for example rice pudding with apricots and Eton mess). Nothing on the menu boards mentioned organic but all the meat came from Eastbrook Farm or one of the other six or seven organic suppliers for that brand.
Helen was our hostess – she chairs the Food Ethics Council, owns the Royal Oak pub and runs Eastbrook Farm. It will be no surprise to hear that the farm visit was conducted in the rain – although luckily the farm had escaped the floods. Despite some variety of wet-weather garb (see photo) we were all smitten by the pigs who were happily rooting around in the mud – and in the case of the piglets, skipping in and out of their shelters.
We were told, by Helen, that the most important part of the farm’s philosophy is rotation. The pigs, the feed crops, the nitrogen fixing clover, as well as other livestock are all shifted on a regular basis. This is apparently key to disease prevention in organic systems. Here, the corrugated metal pig homes are lifted by JCBs and plonked down in another grassy location, whilst the rich muddy quagmire they leave behind is planted with wheat.
One of Helen's organic pigs
As we stood knee deep in Eastbrook Farm’s red clover, Helen explained why she thought some modern farming practices were completely balmy – nitrogen fertilisers for example. Commonly used by most farmers, every tonne spread on the land contributes between 4 and 5 tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere – it’s extremely energy intensive. Furthermore, the same crop is then grown on the land year after year, sucking out the nutrients and allowing pests and other diseases to spread. So yet more chemicals are needed.
These are the sort of issues we discuss at the Food Ethics Council – and more. Before learning to play cribbage over dinner, I had some pretty intensive debates about the perils of cheap food, the conflict between biofuels and food crops, as well as whether too much importance was attached to food miles rather than the impacts of food production. Whatever our ruminations, I think most of us left the table feeling extremely well-fed – and just as happy as pigs in mud (and rain).
Posted originally on Telegraph Blogs by Julia Hailes on 28 Jul 2007 at 10:34
Tags: pigs, Organic farming, helen Browning's organic pigs, Food Ethics Council, Eastbrook Farm, ethical eating
Tags: pigs, Organic farming, helen Browning's organic pigs, Food Ethics Council, Eastbrook Farm, ethical eating
Green Alliance: can politicians save us? (24jul07)
Matthew Taylor, the Chief Executive of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) whispered in my ear that he didn’t suppose I would make any jokes in my presentation because women don’t make jokes! He looked a bit surprised when I said that I was starting my speech with an anecdote about Stuart Rose, Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer, telling me that he liked my tights. OK, so that’s not exactly a joke – but it was light-hearted.
Financial adviser Giles Chitty and me at the debate
However corny his jokes, the audience responded to Matthew’s laid back approach (he said he didn’t care whether he won the debate or not). We were supposed to be jointly opposing the motion ‘Is it up to politicians to save us?’ in a debate organised by the Green Alliance. Supporting the motion was Mark Lynas, a writer and environmental activist and Phil Bloomer, campaigns and policy director at Oxfam.
Not surprisingly there was actually a significant amount of agreement between the ‘sides’, which meant there was possibly more debate about the validity of the motion than about the question.
But from my perspective a couple of points emerged. First is that leaving the environmental agenda to politicians leads people away from taking personal responsibility. So, for example, when government sets targets for a significant reduction in CO2 I think many people feel that these objectives have been achieved and there’s nothing more to be done.
The second is that changing consumer behaviour has both a direct and indirect impact. So, for example, you may make a small difference by being more energy efficient but have a larger impact in demonstrating to both business and government that you support green measures.
Perhaps I was biased but when the audience voted at the end by raising their hands, there seemed to be an increase in those opposing the motion. Matthew’s jokes won the day!
Tags: Politicians, Environment, Matthew Taylor, Green Alliance, Mark Lynas, Phil Bloomer, personal responsibility
What is a green building? (19jul07)
I’m not convinced that the Government’s goal of zero carbon buildings is a good one. For a start it only applies to new buildings. And wouldn’t it be better to invest in significantly reducing carbon emissions in a huge number of houses rather than going the whole way in a very few? Achieving the final 5-10% of carbon reduction will be the most costly and difficult bit (by the law of diminishing returns)
State of the art green show homes
On my visit to BRE (the Building Research Establishment) I was reassured to find that others share my view. I went with Michael Pawlyn, who has just left Grimshaw architects to set up on his own. I first heard him speak, amongst other things about the work he did at the Eden Project at the end of last year and was inspired by his innovative eco-system approach to architecture and design. We met up with Nick Hayes and Lynne Ceeney at BRE to discuss how we might help them with some of their projects.
Lynne Ceeney, Nick Hayes and Michael Pawlyn
Our time was little rushed in part because we missed the right bus stop and had to be picked up trudging along the verge of a busy dual carriage-way.
So after lunch in the BRE canteen we were taken on a whistle stop tour of their show houses, most of which had been built in the last few weeks. The idea seemed to be that different companies sponsored each house to show case their approach.
It was the model school that impressed me most. With a wall of brightly coloured squashed mobile phones and a well insulated window made from recycled bottles, it was fun.
Many of the other houses looked pretty ordinary – even when I was enlightened about their innovations.
One thing that struck me was that LED lights (which are the most energy efficient) - and even compact fluorescents (CFLs) - were not fitted as standard.
Why would anyone design a state of the art ‘green’ building without minimising the electricity used in lighting? It has to be the simplest thing you can do.
So if a green building doesn’t mean optimum energy efficiency, what is it? And what more can we do to make existing houses a lot greener?
Live Earth in Frome (9jul07)
Soon after the last chords of the Live Earth concert had died away I went to another green event on a very different scale – the Green Fair at the Frome Festival. Opened by Kevin McCloud (of Grand Designs fame) who has a Madonna-like status in the area, the event was a huge success, with more than double the number of people than were expected.
Organisers of the Frome Green Fair
There weren’t any bands, although there was some music as a couple of ballads were played at the end. And most people arrived on foot or by bike (I have to admit that didn’t include me because I came from further afield). But the stalls in the Cheese and Grain shed at the end of Frome’s main street were humming with trade.
My son Rollo (aged 10) managed to find a rather unattractive cushion with swirly patterns on it made from some synthetic fibre – I made him return it.
Wondered what green criteria it met – possibly recycled from some horrendous looking curtains. But there were lots of innovative and colourful things that I found more appealing.
One stall run by Judith Pidgeon from the Martinsey Isle Trust was encouraging discussion on green funerals. We met when I was the key note speaker at the Green Funerals Exhibition in May. So Judith asked me if I’d judge their competition for green coffin designs.
The prize for the winning entry was a copy of The New Green Consumer Guide which has a section on green death, including an eco-rating of coffins.
I brought my sons along for the day. They proved to be fantastic at selling The New Green Consumer Guide and had a receptive audience. We sold more than at any other event I’ve been to.
The food at the café (Grange Cookery) was so popular it was almost impossible to get it – the queue snaked around the room for the whole time it was open. But I did manage to get a glass of proper freshly squeezed orange juice and at the very end a cheese sandwich with some really delicious chutney.
Of course fairs of this sort don’t get to the sort of audience reached by Live Earth and the people who attend them are generally already converted.
But I’m afraid that I’ve yet to be convinced that adulating pop stars with a carbon footprint the size of a small town is going to do a lot for climate change.
If Elton John decided to give up his cut flowers, Madonna restricted herself to a couple of commercial flights a year and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers (whoever they are) got rid of their private jet, then we’d be talking.
I wonder if anyone can be super-rich and super green at the same time or is this just a green dream?
Tags: Elton John, Madonna, Green Fair, Frome Festival, Martinsey Isle Trust, The New Green Consumer Guide, Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Is flooding a sign of global warming? (8jul07)
Rushed back from London for a BBQ on the beach at Eype in Dorset. Like almost every other outside event since the beginning of June it was rained off. Actually, it was moved. We had a party in a friend’s artist studio.
Rising tides: Are the floods pointing to a bigger problem?
The rain or more accurately the flooding was supposed to be the main item on the Anita Anand Show on Radio 5. I was a panellist on the programme, which runs from 10pm to 1am.
They asked us whether we thought flood prevention in Hull and other Northern towns were adequate. Although I’m extremely opinionated I have to say that I didn’t feel qualified to comment on how much has been invested in flood defence in towns I haven’t even been to! (Luckily we had other topics of interest, including Conservative front bencher Alan Duncan challenging defecting MP Quentin Davies on his move to Labour).
But I noticed on this week's Question Time that one member of the audience was convinced this perpetual rain in the UK (and no doubt the extreme heat in Greece) was climate change in action.
I think we should wait and see the overall trend information before leaping to conclusions. I worry that attributing every exceptional weather event to a changing climate will only give fuel to the sceptics.
Whilst, I’m on the subject to global warming, I was interested to see that Al Gore has been voted as the world’s first choice for green champion. I wonder if that will prove to be a more tempting opportunity than throwing his hat in the ring to be the first Green President of the United States.
Tags: Global warming, Green issues, Al Gore, Floods, Hull
Posted originally on Telegraph Blogs by Julia Hailes on 08 Jul 2007 at 12:48
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