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 […]
Hay on Wye Festival – China & droughts (Jun07)
The China Question When I wrote the original Green Consumer Guide there was one question I was unfailingly asked by journalists. It was ‘if there’s one thing that you can do to save the world what would it be?’ Answer that in a sound bite without sounding trivial… Of course there isn’t just one thing […]
Bath & West – going green… (Jun07)
The Bath & West show was a bit of a wash out for its first 2 days. Luckily I wasn’t there but I did have someone who was supposed to be running my ‘stand’ selling The New Green Consumer Guide. Actually there was no ‘stand’ as such and they couldn’t sell books in the rain […]
Mostly at Waterloo (Jun07)
Started the day by signing 50 copies of The New Green Consumer Guide at Pearl Fisher’s offices near Hammersmith. I have formed a loose alliance with this design company, who work with companies such as Innocent Drinks and Green & Black Chocolate. They are sending out copies of my books to clients along with a […]
Australian PM prays for rain – at Hay on Wye (Jun07)
When I wrote the original Green Consumer Guide there was one question I was unfailingly asked by journalists. It was ‘if there’s one thing that you can do to save the world what would it be?’ Answer that in a sound bite without sounding trivial… Of course there isn’t just one thing there are lots […]
Sunny day in London (May07)
Unusually I didn’t have meetings in the morning, so I headed for the Lido on the Serpentine. Delicious ‘pain au chocolat’ and not such a delicious organic orange juice for breakfast, whilst reading Rosie Boycott’s Our Farm, published earlier this month. A man approached me saying something about the child he was carrying not being […]