Bee in my bonnet about fuel efficiency (Jan09)
Green expert Julia Hailes tries out an ‘environmentally friendly’ BMW. How does the new BMW perform as a green family car? I’ve got a bit of a bee in my bonnet about the fuel efficiency of cars. I can’t understand why they’re not a whole lot better than they are. Article originally written for Telegraph online.
M&S Packaging fact sheets for consumers (Dec08)
Public concern about over-packaging so often misses the point that we should be looking at how to reduce the environmental impact of producing, distributing, storing, selling and consuming food, rather than the amount of packaging waste we have to throw away. Consider the fact that overall the carbon emissions from wasted packaging is one tenth […]
Wasting heat through open doors (Nov08)
This week I had a meeting with the Carbon Trust, a government-funded organisation that helps businesses move towards a low carbon economy. They offer advice on saving energy, so I thought it was rather ironic that the doors of the large office block where I went were wide open – letting the heat out and […]
Good riddance to US car companies (Nov08)
I sat next to a chap from Citicorp Bank for Sunday lunch at a pub last weekend. His company was apparently waiting to hear about the $20 billion cash injection from the US government. But he was more struck by the news about America’s car giants and their approach to getting a government bail out. […]
NT – Energy efficient light bulbs (Jun08)
ABOUT TIME TOO – NATIONAL TRUST ENERGY SAVING LIGHT BULBS I was a tenant of the National Trust for nearly 10 years. My husband and I rented Tintinhull House in Somerset from 1995. It’s a beautiful house with gardens, made famous by Penelope Hobhouse, open to the public during the summer months. The public reception […]
A Trip to Waste Tip (Jun08)
Dimmer landfill site near Castle Cary in Somerset is unusual. It has a rather beautiful wooden eco-building within it’s boundaries, housing the Carymoor Environmental Centre. School trips for nature talks and wildlife walks are a regular feature – and they do a lot to educate the public on the benefits of recycling. I took my […]
Plastic recycling is not where it should be (May08)
Most plastics can be recycled but that doesn’t mean they are. Recoup have been campaigning for more plastics recycling – particularly of bottles – since the early 1990s. A long time ago I went to open their 100th bottle bank but haven’t really been involved since. So attending their conference this week brought back memories, as well […]
Food ethics, tomatoes and feeding the world (May08)
I’ve been to a lot of food ethics events recently – being a member of the Food Ethics Council (FEC) is keeping me busy! I’ve chaired three of their Business Forum meetings – on food miles, meat consumption and ethical labelling; attended a working group meeting on the conflict between limiting air-freight food and fair […]
Biodegradable is not my bag (May08)
Chuck away plastic and it lasts forever. That doesn’t sound great, particularly for things that are only useful for hours at best – seconds at worst. And if that plastic ends up littering the hedgerows or floating around in the oceans it’s not only an eyesore but can be damaging to wildlife too. So, many […]
Between the Sheets (Apr08)
I spend quite a lot of time staying at hotels or other people’s houses, often for only one night at a time. And I realise that I’m getting quite obsessed about sheets. Well actually, not just sheets – pillowcases, towels, bathmats and anything else that has to be laundered. Most of you will have seen […]
Whole foods (Oct07)
A few years ago I went to a Whole Foods store in New York. This week I visited the London Whole Foods Market, situated on the old Barkers site in Kensington High Street. Rather like a trip to French street markets, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘Why don’t more shops make food […]
Gay Times – I interviewed Paul O’Grady – aka Lily Savage (Sep07)
“I’ve never known anyone make so much fuss about three light bulbs” Paul said as we laughed uproariously in his kitchen. I’d pointed out that there were more lights in just half his kitchen than Peter Tatchell had in his whole flat. Then I saw more lighting above the aga. “Only one” Paul says. So I peered underneath the mantel and discovered there were three!