Green Alliance: can politicians save us? (Jul07)
Giles Chitty and Julia Hailes at Green Alliance Debate Jul07 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 […]
Waste disposal is not for seagulls (Jun07)
I love the Brighton buses. Every stop has a sign telling you how long it is before your bus arrives. I also rather liked the sound of seagulls when I woke in the morning a stone’s throw from Brighton beach. But I discovered that residents are not so keen. I had thought that bird-related complaints […]
Save the rainforests (Jun07)
South American travels Cool Earth has really hit the news this week. So much so that when I went to look at their website it had crashed from too much interest. To me that’s really good news (the popularity of the site rather than the technical problems) because the main aim of Cool Earth is […]
What is a green building? (Jul07)
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 […]
Live Earth in Frome (Jul07)
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 […]
Is flooding a sign of global warming? (Jul07)
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. The rain or more accurately the flooding was supposed to be the main […]
Prince Charles talking to trees (Jul07)
I was sitting just behind Prince Charles and Al Gore at the Business in the Community Awards dinner and wondered whether my image would be appearing in newspapers as a hazy blur over their shoulders. But I had a clear view of how Prince Charles reacted to Rory Bremner’s impersonations. The one that particularly amused […]
Green Washing (Jun07)
Cleaning clothes Did you know that on average we release 1 billion skin flakes a day, 1 litre of sweat and 38grams of grease? Probably not, but looking around the research centre at Procter & Gamble’s Brussels headquarters, these statistics abound. The corporate giant behind everyday brands such as Ariel, Bold and Fairy Liquid has […]
Triodos Bank says ‘I do’ (Jul07)
This was no ordinary AGM. Apart from anything else Triodos staged it with a wedding theme. Charles Middleton the MD made his vows, talked to ‘the congregation’ and encouraged them to ‘speak now’ but ‘not hold your peace’. Apart from a few wry observations that the Triodos representatives were all male and were more formally […]
Interior designers be damned (Jun07)
I stayed the night with friends in Holland Park. Only a year ago they had completely stripped their house to the bone and refurbished it from top to bottom. I wish they hadn’t! Interior designers, builders, architects and I’m afraid to say my friends too have managed to create a family home with an energy […]
