Julia Hailes MBE

Sustainability Pioneer

Future of Food Ethics (Jun18)

It’s eight years ago since I stepped down from the Food Ethics Council, but I still knew quite a few faces at their 20 year event, held in London this week. I was particularly intrigued by one man who had moved on from being a chef to selling goats meat.He wasn’t impressed that the goat’s […]

Speaking on Plastics – (May18)

The town hall in Bridport was full with an expectant crowd. Organised by the Transition Town network in Bridport, as part of their Green Fortnight, everyone had come to hear me talk about plastics. I’d taken a lot of time getting slides together, but the projector wouldn’t accept them! It became clear that I’d have […]

Battle of the Quooker – hot water tap (May18)

Most people complain that their husband / male partner, doesn’t help enough with the washing up.  Mine does too much!  He’s obsessive about it. This means he gets up early in the morning to get into the sink before the day starts – and also before the cleaner comes.  Another part of the ‘problem’ is […]

Ideas for greener tourism in Myanmar [Relevant to other countries too] (Apr18)

There are over 3,000 temples in Bagan…​ Aureum Palace Hotel in Bagan claimed that 99% of clients  want their sheets changed daily “99% of people like to have their bed linen changed at hotels at least once a day”. Really? I wondered how this assertion could be validated.  But, I haven’t been able to respond […]

A lot of rubbish is talked about plastics… (Jan18)

The phone was ringing, the dog was barking and the builder was wanting my attention – when I was connected live to the BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show (11jan18).  What prompted me to call?  Plastics.  More specifically, my husband had phoned from his car suggesting I might like to go on the programme. Everyone […]

Will Bitcoin destroy the planet? (Dec17)

The energy impacts of mining Bitcoin spiral even more than its stock price Wow. The growth in the value of Bitcoin over the last few months has only been matched by the number of articles about this cryptocurrency. I have a particular interest in it because my son Monty decided to share his research and […]

I Love Bjarke Ingels (Dec17)

Not literally, of course – I’ve never met him!  But, I have seen a documentary film about his life – The Big Time – and it was inspirational. For those that don’t know, Bjarke is the Danish architect who designed a waste to energy plant with a ski run on it’s roof – and he […]

The olive oil industry survives the cruise ships in Montenegro… (May17)

They are humungous. The cruise ships in Kotor were like vast beasts completely dwarfing the beautiful historic buildings that have been quietly sitting on the shores of the Adriatic for millennia.  And, they spit out their tourist cargo onto smaller boats to visit the scenic islands, bell towers and cobbled streets. I was there for […]

Tesla is flying (Apr17)

  The ‘flying’ Tesla Model X I showed my mother a photo of ‘Tess’ – our new fully electric Tesla Model X. Seeing the falcon wing doors at the back she asked if the car could fly!  Not yet.  But, it’s exciting to discover the numerous new gizmos they have thought of… Teething problems revealed […]

Tesla arrives on April’s Fools Day – Teething Problems (Apr17)

She’s called Tess…  And she arrived today.  Glistening, blue and beautiful.  I’ve never been so excited by a car. It’s April Fool’s day.  A bit worrying.  Was it an omen? Quite possibly.  Rather nervously I approached the car and tried to work out how to open the door.  It didn’t work properly.  Pressed the chrome […]