The Green Diaries

When the Swiss Re Tower (aka the gherkin) in London was built it was heralded as an eco-friendly sky scraper that used clever engineering to maximise natural ventilation and sunlight to reduce the energy the building needed.  Eco-architecture is becoming more and more popular for new buildings, particularly skyscrapers, as a smart design helps reduce running costs for these massive structure. + BBC article on Swiss Re Smaller, older offices aren't so easy. The one I work in now is an old Georgian structure made of brick with huge windows. It can be sweltering on hot days in the summer especially with the computers and lights on. So AC went in, the windows got shut and now we're in winter, but strangely, the AC is still on because the building still retains so much heat from all of the electronic equipment and  lack of decent cross-ventilation.  And then the windows get opened because it becomes so stifling from the lack of fresh air and we have AC pumping straight ou...

After emails and calls to our local London council, Westminster has finally included our block of buildings on the recycling route. We now have stacks of big blue bags just waiting to be filled. Of course, in true government fashion, not all recyclables are allowed in the bag (they have a limited list of what they will accept) so we have two on the go  - the blue one and one to collect non-conformist recyclables which we take to the local collection bins.  The Stern Report came out a few weeks ago - a UK government report that was years in the making and predicts catastrophe unless massive environmental actions are taken now - which may be why Westminster suddenly enabled recycling on our block. I'm sure the pressure is on to at least look like they are trying. 

Our Californian Correspondent, Senorita Julie, sent in the best link. + Environmental Working Group It's a hard hitting think tank that provides all sorts of product reviews, including one on cosmetics. It dissects the ingredients of common soaps, shampoos, moisturizers etc and highlights hazardous ingredients, then gives the products and overall rating. This is an extremely useful resource. 

Green Correspondent Alice sent us a link to a company called Ethiscore which reviews companies on an ethical basis. + Ethiscore   It rates companies based on their scores against 20 ethical business criteria grouped into 5 main categories: environment, people, animals, politics and product sustainability. Reviews are included for everything from cell phones to banks, chocolate, butter and computers. There are a few reports which are accessible for free or you can access the full library of scorings for a set subscription fee of £15 (about $25) per annum. The results can be surprising. Some of the organic food industry faves like Green & Blacks fall far behind lesser known brands. And Ecover has a lower Ethoscore rating than I would have thought. It's a relief to have such a comprehensive look at companies to help guide shopping decisions. Have a look and see what you think.  Thanks Alice for enlightening us!

Another great tip from Green Correspondent Alice. It looks like the Tetrapak carton makers are pushing for every council to start collecting and recycling this ubiquitous packaging that is used for just about every type of consumable liquid. + Tetrapak recycling It's a very informative site with educational info on what the cartons are made of, how they are recycled, what they can become post-recycling plus maps of where in the UK they can be collected. I looked up our council (Westminster) in London on the 'where are cartons collected' maps and found that Westminster is one of the only councils registered 'not interested'. Come on, Westminster! It's bad enough our block of building doesn't get kerbside recycling (we still lug it to the local sorting bins) but to not even show any interest in collecting a major product is not good enough.  Kudos to Tetrapak for actively pursuing more recycling of its own products and informing the public with a website....

This is no longer breaking news due to my lax blog updating (sorry) but apparently one of the UK's biggest home stores is now selling solar panels. Green Correspondent Ren sent us this clip: "Curry's have started selling solar panels in the hight street. Shoppers in West Thurrock, Essex, and Fulham and Croydon in Greater London will be able to snap up the £1,000 panels, manufactured by Sharp. An installed system that could halve the electricity bill of a typical three-bedroom home costs £9,000, Currys says." For more info read: + BBC coverage of Curry's solar panel announcement That's way too expensive if you ask me. I'm hoping that solar panels will get cheaper and cheaper every season. So, Curry's, when will we see the £500 solar panel system? 

This one comes from Correspondent Hines, who, even in the midst of world travel with fiancee Tara, still has time to send us less exciting Londoners greenie websites. This, like the carbon emissions footprint on BP.com, is a quick and easy way to figure out what you're using and where. Our household came in at 1/2 of national average but that's still 34 buckets of water per person per day. I bet the environment misses my pre-professional days when I'd wear the same pair of jeans 3, 4, 5...6 times before washing them. Care of Correspondent Hines, reporting from Ecuador, behold the water calculator. + Find out how much water you use

I have been keeping this blog for almost 4 months now. My mission: to become a more considerate, educated environmental citizen including using earth-friendly products, reducing my greenhouse emissions, buying locally and becoming more proactive. Well, it's time for my self-assessment. First, the bad news: After months of using Ecover products only, I gave in and bleached the kitchen sink and bathroom last week. It was just getting too grotty with the lack killer toxins. Is that shallow of me? I've gone back to Ecover but I have to confess, the power of bleach felt good. I'm sorry fish!  My husband has been giving me rides to work. It's 3 miles there and back. I usually take the bus home. It's been so hot in London and the tube in unbarable (and unreliable) and the bus in the morning is so hot and slow and uncomfortable. I do walk home about once a week, though the pollution caused by selfish people like me ruins the healthy effects of said walk.  I've slipp...

I'm ashamed to say it's taken me this long to try an organic vegbox from a UK farm. Well, I finally got with the program and decided to give Riverford Organic Vegatables a try. I had a flip through their very well laid out website, chose a nice medium size vegetable box and some other products. The vegetable boxes include seasonal vegetables mainly grown on their farm. Two days later, the box was delivered to our central London home in a sensible, reusable, fold up cardboard box. And in it, we found and array of good and dirty summer veg including: Bunch of beet root (my fave) Bunch of carrots Fresh mint Fresh rocket (arugula) An assortment of lettuces Cabbage type head (yet to be tasted) Potatoes Chard Bunch of onions Cherry tomatoes And the verdict: Excellent quality all around.So much better than supermarket organics. We plan on being regular customers. And the package came with a booklet on how the farm works, their ethos and interesting info on the farming process a...

There's a new wiki cheat sheet on staying green. + Wiki goes green It's the standard list on reducing your carbon footprint but to the point. Worthy of sticking on your energy efficient refrigerator door. There will be a test on this next Thursday, class, so please be prepared.

Brother Ren, who shall now be called Research Ren as he is better at it than I am, has sent in this guilt-alleviating website which allows anyone to purchase carbon neutrlaization packages. + Carbon Neutral Question you may have: What is a carbon neautralization package? Is it something that can only be purchased at Star Trek conventions? Answer: These packages plant trees to help absorb the nastiness left in the air from your flight to the Maldives. It will also calculate how much CO2 you emit on flights based on your destination as well as CO2 you emit with your car mileage. It's a smart site, easy to use and I feel more green-angelic just for looking at it. We're taking the Eurostar/TGV to a wedding in the south of France in 2 weeks rather than flying but we still have all of those air miles to make up for from our London-NY-San Fran-LA-London trip so looks like we'll be using this site's offerings to help to plant a small forest somewhere. (Though I do wonder how ...

Brother Ren has informed us that the government have been talking about getting rid of the planning permission requirements for micro wind turbines and solar panels by early July. I can't find anything online - has anyone out there heard anything about progress on this? Whilst searching for updates on the above, I came across the Environment Agency website which seems to be a good source for more serious green affairs in the UK.

Researcher Ren found this totally cool new range of utensils from Vegware - presenting Spudware! Who thought fully biodegradable cutlery could create such excitement? Spudware in action Mission: to persuade all of the stores we food shop with to start carrying this type of biodegradable utensil. Progress: Marks & Spensers' new packaging for their sandwiches uses cornstarch instead of plastic and FSC approved card board.

I am in complete adoration of the Lazy Environmentalist blog. All of his June pieces have been very interesting.  The piece on eco-transport and the new media zeitgeist are good reads and link throughs. Lazy Environmentalist My apologies about lack of entries lately. Working hard to get the $/£ to but those Eco products! Though, I confess, I have longed for the harshness of bleach to whiten my ever greying sinks.   After our California trip, it's nice to be back in London where there's a Smart Car on every corner and Vespas instead of Hummers. And the national papers seem to be attacking SUVs in cities more and more regularly. I recently saw a bloke drive through a red light at a busy pedestrian intersection in his Range Rover, while on the phone, as an ambulance was trying to get by him while he continued his big-car mayhem, oblivious.  

The more we ask people about their views on being eco-friendly the more inspired we get. Some eco-green stars need to go to: Julie and Luis who have started their own organic garden in the heart of Hollywood. Lovely Christina who campaigned to get recycling started on her TV show Kevin Hill and won. She's now considering starting an industry-wide campaign to get recycling bins on all sets. Brooklyn's Michele and Charlie who have installed state of the art recycling compartments in their new kitchen, use eco-products in the house and have bought their first composter for their city garden. Hugo in London who is petitioning to get more serious recycling efforts going for his apartment building. Virginia in Portland, Oregon who has recently attended a master recycler program (how cool is that?) and has promised to send on the details. Paul and Heather who now recycle in their east London flat and order the local veggie basket for their organic greens. I have some catching ...

The UK goverment is being so slow in bringing in green legislation. I'm still surprised that there is no tax on plastic carrier bags a la Ireland and many other European countries.   I'm hatching a plan to start a Green Store Scheme whereby stores can voluntarily join forces with the policy of 'to show or support of reducing waste, we will only give you a plastic bag if you pay' with the proceeds going to a worthy eco-cause. Need to get the ball rolling in the private sector! It would require a lot of planning, canvassing, PR and a few willing high profile stores to start the trend. I'm thinking each store would carry a poster and information on conserving, recyling and reusing. The one catch - I'd need to quit working to have time to even get to step 1. Any volunteers?

While I was walking to the tube the other day, I saw the coolest thing. A middle-aged man in a helmet on a Segway overtaking a group of cars that were overtaking 2 horses making their way back to the stables. 19th, 20th and 21st century transport modes all lined up. I wish I had had my camera.

Everyone who knows me knows that I hate flying. It's loud, uncomfortable, confining and if things go wrong there's no way out. (I'm an advocate of parachutes under seat, not inflatable vests.) But the real reason I hate flying these days is the environmental impact. a) Apparently you're better off driving to your destination, alone , even if it's thousands of miles away, than being on a full plane. That's how bad the fuel consumption is. b) Planes dump their emissions in the most delicate part of the stratosphere and there's nothing to help mitigate the damage. For all of the pollution cars create, we have our plant life down here to help soften the blow. c) They are noisy, booming things and no matter where we go, we seem to be able to hear one or see one, even the far hills of Scotland. d) The amount of packaging they use per passenger is amazing. When my husband recently flew on a short haul flight to Amsterdam, he asked the air steward if they recy...

Just bought the green issue of Vanity Fair (May 2006). It's packed full of research and helpful tips, including a small booklet of 100 simple ways to have a greener lifestyle. The booklet covers the basics like: + buy energy efficient light bulbs + don't leave things on standby + bring your own bags shopping + walk or bike whenever you can + buy A grade appliances (most energy efficient) + recycle diligently at home + get your office to recycle + try to fly less as it's massively dirty and wasteful form of transport apparently, even if your flight is packed to capacity, you're using way more fuel than if you drove alone in a regular 30 MPG all of the way - alone! - and that includes long haul trips (at least that's what I read in Leo Hickman's book.) There's also a lot of info about forward green-sense global activists, politicians and business. My favourite profiles: + Wangari Muta Maathai - She's currently the assistant environment minister in Kenya...

The product reviews are on their way tomorrow... but first, we have one HUGE new product review - a car. I'm so ashamed! But I've been carless for about 6 years now and, man, it felt good to get out of London and not be fleeced by the train companies. For American readers, train tickets here are about 4-5x more expensive than in the states. And gas is about $7/gallon. They get you every which way in the old UK! There's one man somewhere on this island sitting on a huge stack of gold... Our car is a Spanish Seat and it gets about 40MPG highway, 30 city. Not great but not terrible. I pushed for something compact with way better fuel consumption but the Mr. found our green list cars to be wimpy drives. And he was getting aggravated by the never-ending requirements--especially since he does the majority of the driving as I have yet to figure out how the hell to get round a round-a-bout in London without having a nervous breakdown. We had a tight budget and were only looking at...