The Environmental Investigation Agency – Fighting Eco-Crime (Mar10)
I’ve been made a lifetime member of the Environmental Investigation Agency or EIA for short. I think this campaigning organisation fighting eco-crime should be getting more attention. Founded in 1984, the EIA is rather unique in its approach to campaigns. Whether it’s illegal logging, smuggling ozone-destroying chemicals or trading in endangered species, they have under-cover […]
Bottled water – Eau de Vie or ‘Eau de tap’ (Jul09)
I was invited to eat a ‘Water-Rich Menu’ at Quo Vadis in Soho. The host was Nicholas Stanley, Managing Director of Eau de Vie. Although his new enterprise is all about water, he seemed quite surprised when I – and a number of the other guests – declined the champagne in favour of water. But […]
Supermarkets vs french markets…. (Sept08)
Even with the wind and rain lashing around our beach hut on the Dorset coast, we had a great couple of days. There were sunny spells and we had lots of visitors. Somehow the weather didn’t matter that much. We stocked up for supplies from the large supermarket in Bridport – but this was more […]
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 […]
Sea Kayaking – Scotland (May08)
I’ve spent quite a lot of time mucking around in boats but surprisingly had never been sea kayaking – that is until the bank holiday weekend. Actually, I was on an outdoor philosophy course, which I discovered meant paddling in the clear waters near Mallaig, in Scotland, by day. And for the rest of the […]
Great Briton’s of 2007 Award (Jan08)
I really appreciate ‘can do’ people and you can’t get much more ‘can do’ than Tim Smit (see photo), founder of the Eden Project – and the Lost Gardens of Heligan. So I was rather delighted to be on the judging panel that selected him for the short-list of three for the Environment section of […]
Christmas waste (Jan08)
One of the most striking things about Christmas is the amount of waste we all produce. Waste heat, waste light, waste food and most of all waste packaging. Actually, quite a lot of presents are wasteful too. I wonder what percentage of gifts are actually appreciated and how many of those are useful. I have […]
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 […]
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 […]
Aga saga (May07)
Probably the issue that got most response in both my interview and serialisation of The New Green Consumer Guide in the Telegraph, was about the aga. On the one hand a number of people have been critical of me for being an aga owner and having the nerve to preach about green issues. I agree. […]
McDonalds Testimonial (May07)
“Julia participated in a panel discussion that explored our CSR past, present and future. We encouraged her to be provocative because we want to be challenged to create game changing social and environmental policies and programs. And she sure delivered. She has strong opinions about McDonald’s, and she’s not afraid to vocalize them.” “Most of […]
Youth Media and G Whiz (Apr07)
Met Justin Smith from Youth Media in a juice bar on Edgware Road. He’s been tremendously successful with his student communications business. We discussed a number of ways in which green messages might be included as part of his package. There’s so much that schools, universities and students could be doing to reduce their environmental […]