Category Archives: hippie

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Good news for the environment

The Age: Governors take action to save rainforests

Vast tracts of tropical rainforests will be protected under a declaration signed last night by the governor of Brazil’s Amazonas state and his counterparts from the Indonesian provinces of Aceh, Papua and West Papua.
Dubbed the “green governors”, they will impose moratoriums on logging across their provinces, home to much of the world’s tropical forests.
With growing frustration at faltering negotiations in Bali to include programs to reduce deforestation in a post-Kyoto climate treaty, the governors have decided to take the lead.

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Oh yes! Australia signs up to Kyoto

Australia pledges to sign Kyoto protocol on climate change

Australia won applause at the start of UN-led climate change talks in Bali on Monday by agreeing to ratify the Kyoto protocol, isolating the US as the only developed nation outside the pact.
Soon after an Australian delegate promised immediate action on Kyoto, the new prime minister in Canberra, Kevin Rudd, took the oath of office and signed the ratification documents, ending his country’s long-held opposition to the global climate agreement.

In a piece of funny timing, I’ll be in Melbourne by NYE, so I’ll have a chance to see how Rudd is going for myself.

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Some random travel/hippy articles

US immigration ‘worst in the world’

Entry requirements in the United States are the “worst in the world” and visa rules are “cumbersome”, causing tourists to steer clear of America, according to a leading figure in US travel and tourism.

It’s certainly one reason I’m not going to or through the US.
In other news, organic food really is better:

The biggest study into organic food has found that it is more nutritious than ordinary produce and may help to lengthen people’s lives.
The evidence from the £12m four-year project will end years of debate and is likely to overturn government advice that eating organic food is no more than a lifestyle choice.
The study found that organic fruit and vegetables contained as much as 40% more antioxidants, which scientists believe can cut the risk of cancer and heart disease, Britain’s biggest killers. They also had higher levels of beneficial minerals such as iron and zinc.

Call to use leftovers and cut food waste

Research by the government’s waste reduction agency, Wrap, found that one third of all food bought in Britain is thrown away – of which half is edible. Wrap will claim that this discarded food is a bigger problem than packaging, as the food supply chain accounts for a fifth of UK carbon emissions and decomposing food releases methane, the most potent of the greenhouse gases. Wasted food is estimated to cost each British household from £250 to £400 a year.
‘If we stopped the amount [of food waste] that we could stop, it would be the same as taking one fifth of cars off the road

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Biofuels ban?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7065061.stm

A United Nations expert has condemned the growing use of crops to produce biofuels as a replacement for petrol as a crime against humanity.
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It was, he said, a crime against humanity to divert arable land to the production of crops which are then burned for fuel.
He called for a five-year ban on the practice.
Within that time, according to Mr Ziegler, technological advances would enable the use of agricultural waste, such as corn cobs and banana leaves, rather than crops themselves to produce fuel.

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Interesting piece from the BBC: UK ‘exporting emissions’ to China

The New Economic Foundation (Nef) says such reliance is adding to CO2 levels because China’s factories produce more CO2 per item than British ones.
The report also says many similar goods are both imported and exported, adding needlessly to CO2 output in transport.
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Nef also said the international trade pattern prompted higher greenhouse gas emissions from transport but had little discernible benefit for the consumer.
During 2006, the UK exported 15,845 tonnes of chocolate-covered waffles and wafers, but imported 14,137 tonnes.
During the same period, 20 tonnes of mineral water were exported by the UK to Australia, while the UK imported 21 tonnes. And thirty-four tonnes of vacuum cleaners went from the UK to Canada, with 47 tonnes travelling the other way.

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The top 100 travel sites?

From the Times Travel site, 100 best travel websites including Best for holiday bargains (cheap flights, insurance, etc) or Top-value rooms; Road, rail, ferry, cruise (including the fabulous www.transportdirect.info, seat61 (how to get anywhere by rail), deutsche bahn (train timetables across Europe)); Specialist travel (“Cook, dance, trek, surf, paint, go single or go green – these sites will guide and inspire, plus there’s some great tips for travellers embarking on a gap year adventure”) and Travel 2.0 (news and tips from other travellers, but see also Inside info).

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Woo! The Eurostar is faster *and* nearly at St Pancras

BBC: Eurostar is making its inaugural journey from Paris to London via Britain’s new high-speed line

Richard Brown, chief executive of Eurostar, said he hoped that by 2010 10m people would travel by Eurostar each year.
“Today marks Britain’s entry into the European high-speed rail club.”
He said journey times to Paris, even for people travelling from Yorkshire, would be broadly the same as for those flying due to lengthier check-in times at airports.
“It’s as quick and more frequent… and we will be matching airline prices.”

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Can’t give up the cheap flights?

The BBC says, “Britons are “addicted” to cheap flights and confused about the climate impact of flying“.

In a government-funded study, even people living generally “green” lives said they were reluctant to fly less.
The Exeter University team that carried out the research says cheap flights have become a lifestyle choice.
Aviation accounts for about 7% of the UK’s emissions, and research suggests Britain will not meet its climate targets without curbing the industry.
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“And it’s not people on lower incomes taking these flights, it’s middle class people taking more flights to go on city breaks, and they can afford to pay higher prices.”
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But some observers believe there is an inherent contradiction within a government that wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while expanding airport capacity.

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The BBC “asks why search engines are so keen to keep hold of our personal data” and raises some interesting issues:

“This is a general problem with free services,” she added. “You have the impression that you don’t pay for this, you don’t pay. In fact, you pay a very high price, because you pay with your own privacy, your own intimacy. You pay with yourself.”
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With Web 2.0 now moving so many of our desktop applications, and therefore data, online, campaigners feel we would do well to get these privacy issues sorted out sooner rather than later.