http://ecoswitch.com/articles/xml/0/ Green News and Press Releases from EcoSwitch.com en Fri, 16 May 2008 12:01:23 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Ol' Muggins Here 1.0 web.services@ecoswitch.com (ecoswitch.com support) http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/16/Gores_Green_Army Al Gore has launched a £300m advertising campaign in order to recruit a 10 million strong Green Army to force politicians to act on climate change. The proposed Alliance for Climate Protection will use the money to generate television advertising and online organising to push the debate on climate change to the forefront of the upcoming US elections. Although Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth managed to raise awareness among the public, the same amount of force has yet to move into the... %6e%61%74%61%73%68%61%2e%62%61%72%6e%65%73%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Natasha Barnes) Fri, 16 May 2008 11:33:34 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/16/Gores_Green_Army http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/16/Princely_Ecotown An ecotown to be built in south Devon has been granted permission for planning this week.  The town, called Sherford is the second of the Prince Charless model towns and will be built for 12,000 people.  The first homes will include a free bicycle and 390ft wind turbines will power the mandatory low energy light bulbs.With rooftops covered with grass and solar panels its no wonder that the town has been dubbed the greenest new settlement in Britain.  Cars will be banned on some streets and... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Fri, 16 May 2008 11:33:33 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/16/Princely_Ecotown http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/15/Greenwash_or_Hogswash In a recent article for the BBC, Rebecca Swift, global creative planning director for Getty Images, claimed that consumers were being overexposed to \'green\' images and slogans to such an extent that advertising is experiencing a \'greenwash\', making consumers immune to the deluge of green used in the media. Swift criticises the use of environmental imagery by companies cashing in on the latest commercial zeitgeist, using \'green\' ad campaigns to suggest that they themselves are green. This obviously... %67%72%61%63%65%2e%73%69%6d%70%73%6f%6e%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Grace Simpson) Thu, 15 May 2008 13:26:29 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/15/Greenwash_or_Hogswash http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/08/Environmentally_Friendly_Home_Heating There is no doubt that there is a need for energy efficient, eco houses. Buildings consume 40% of the world's energy - not so bad considering the amount of buildings there are, but imagine if it were possible to make these buildings consume less? That would drastically reduce the amount of energy being consumed and C02 produced. In the last few years there has been a drive for eco housing. Eco villages, eco towns, cohousing are all ideas being banded about, but what of houses that already exist?... %72%61%63%68%65%6c%2e%61%72%63%68%65%72%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Rachel Archer) Thu, 08 May 2008 20:13:13 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/08/Environmentally_Friendly_Home_Heating http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/07/Lighting_is_the_Key_to_Saving_Energy A global switch to efficient lighting systems would trim the world's electricity bill by nearly one-tenth. This is the conclusion of the first global survey of lighting uses and costs conducted by the International Energy Agency. Carbon emissions saved by this switch would dwarf cuts so far achieved by adopting wind and solar power. Better building regulations would boost the uptake of efficient lighting. "Nineteen percent of global electricity generation is taken for lighting - that's more than is... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Wed, 07 May 2008 20:01:45 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/07/Lighting_is_the_Key_to_Saving_Energy http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/07/Spring_into_Non-toxic_Cleaners Spring has finally sprung and that means digging out the supplies and dusting away the cobwebs. It's that time of year again; time for spring cleaning. This year, instead of using toxic cleaners that release potentially harmful fumes why not be resourceful and green? You don't need to buy expensive non-toxic cleaning products because you probably already have what you need at home. For example, did you know that baking soda, vinegar, borax, salt, citrus and even ketchup can be effective non-toxic... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Wed, 07 May 2008 19:45:15 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/07/Spring_into_Non-toxic_Cleaners http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/05/Greeenpeace_Critiques_Electronic_Products Greenpeace have named Sony's Vaio notebook and a Sony Ericsson mobile phone and PDA as the most environmentally friendly products on the market in a survey released this week. “Searching for Greener Electronics”, a study similar to a survey that Greenpeace releases on a quarterly basis, was released during this week’s CeBIT conference (the world’s biggest technology fair), detailing a study of 37 products which had been voluntarily submitted by 14 electronics manufacturers. The submissions were... %73%61%72%61%2e%62%61%72%6e%61%72%64%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Sara Barnard) Mon, 05 May 2008 20:10:52 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/05/Greeenpeace_Critiques_Electronic_Products http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/02/Hunger_Riots_Could_Destabilize_Governments A top humanitarian official for the UN warned yesterday that rising food prices could result in worldwide unrest and political instability. Recently there has been two days of rioting in Egypt over doubled prices of staple foods in the past year as well as protests from in other parts of the world. Sir John Holmes, undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and the UN’s relief coordinator told a conference in Dubai that escalating prices would trigger protests and riots. Food scarcity and rising... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Fri, 02 May 2008 19:59:00 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/02/Hunger_Riots_Could_Destabilize_Governments http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/01/Expect_less_this_Easter In past years, with Britons set to eat an estimated 80 million eggs over the Easter period, those environmentally minded souls would have become more fierce than ever about the amount of packaging due to head straight for the landfill. Friends of the Earth in Scotland estimated that the rubbish produced during last year’s chocolate rush alone included nearly 4,500 tonnes of cardboard and 160 tonnes of foil, with at least 25% of most eggs weight due to packaging. This year however, things are... %6e%61%74%61%73%68%61%2e%62%61%72%6e%65%73%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Natasha Barnes) Thu, 01 May 2008 20:07:45 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/01/Expect_less_this_Easter http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/01/The_World%27s_Rubbish_Dump A floating rubbish dump in the Pacific Ocean is growing rapidly and now covers an area about twice the size of the continental U.S. The "plastic soup" is the world's largest rubbish dump. It is held in place by the swirling underwater currents of the North Pacific gyre- a vortex where the ocean circulates slowly because of little wind and extreme high pressure systems. The "drifting soup" stretches 500 nautical miles off of the California coast, across the Northern Pacific past Hawaii and almost... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Thu, 01 May 2008 20:02:36 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/05/01/The_World%27s_Rubbish_Dump http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/28/How_to_Build_an_Eco_Paradise There are many ways to be green these days. This site alone is proof enough of that – ethical travel? No problem. A grade energy dishwashers? Just a click away. Eco-building is no exception. Just two weeks ago Ecobuild 2008 was hosted at Earls Court in London, where 500 exhibitors displayed their contributions to the world of eco-building. The list of exhibitors and what they offer in greater detail can be found here, but here are a few quick examples. Let’s start from the bottom. The Floor Always... %73%61%72%61%2e%62%61%72%6e%61%72%64%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Sara Barnard) Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:10:58 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/28/How_to_Build_an_Eco_Paradise http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/24/Know_Where_You%27ve_Been%3F How to Calculate Your Carbon Footprint The phrase Carbon Footprint used to be an obscure one only used by academics and scientists. But recently, as the idea has become more mainstream, more people are beginning to understand and it's definition was added to the Oxford English Dictionary. On the Carbon Footprint website, the phrase is defined as "a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide".... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Thu, 24 Apr 2008 19:50:38 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/24/Know_Where_You%27ve_Been%3F http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/23/Government_must_work_harder_to_encourage_rail_travel The government has been urged to do more to encourage rail use, by a report from the UK\'s main professional body for engineers. The Institute of Mechanical Engineers stressed the importance of train use in the struggle to cut transport emissions, and added that the government is not doing enough to reduce car travel. �We have ambitious government targets for transport emissions, but transport emissions are static,� said Cliff Perry, vice president of IMechE\'s Railway Division. He added that,... %6e%61%74%61%73%68%61%2e%62%61%72%6e%65%73%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Natasha Barnes) Wed, 23 Apr 2008 20:08:16 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/23/Government_must_work_harder_to_encourage_rail_travel http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/22/The_Importance_of_Home_Insulation Half of our homes heating is lost through poor insulation. This means two things for the homeowner; firstly, they are throwing money out of the cracks in their walls and secondly, they are wasting an awful lot of heating which is making their homes energy guzzlers. Insulation is quite a simple tactic in keeping your home energy efficient. For houses built after the 1920’s they may wish to look into cavity wall insulation. Because houses built after this point tend to have two walls there is a... %72%61%63%68%65%6c%2e%61%72%63%68%65%72%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Rachel Archer) Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:12:54 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/22/The_Importance_of_Home_Insulation http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/22/Save_Some_for_the_Fish Ethical shopping just got harder. Now, not only should you be keeping track of your carbon footprint, you should also notice your water footprint. A water footprint or virtual water tells consumers the amount of water used to manufacture the product they purchase. It's the same idea as carbon labelling, the water footprint of a product will indicate the amount the product has cost the earth during it's production and disposal. Again, as with carbon footprints; less is always better. The University... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Tue, 22 Apr 2008 20:01:49 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/22/Save_Some_for_the_Fish http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/21/Impending_Water_Crisis_in_Spain There is increasing concern for water supplies in Spain following a the continuation of a widespread drought. Levels have dropped to such an extent that importing water from desalination ports (predominantly from Marseilles and Almeria) is the generally regarded as the only solution. Becuase of the extremity of the problem, water imports will have to continue for several months. Emergency measures are already being taken, all main Fountains and swimmingpools in Barcelona have been drained, and City ... %66%72%69%74%68%2e%74%61%79%6c%6f%72%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Frith Taylor) Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:14:36 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/21/Impending_Water_Crisis_in_Spain http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/21/Morgan%27s_LifeCar The green sports that Morgan promised to produce three years ago, is finally set to launch this year. A team from Morgan Motor Company and a selection of universities, plus some helpful funding from the British government, have made the \"zero emission\" sports car a reality. The LifeCar will be hydrogen-run, fuel-cell powered electric car. Instead of emitting C02 it emits water vapour. This puts it above green cars that are run on say, vegetable fats, since even they emit carbon dioxide. The car... %72%61%63%68%65%6c%2e%61%72%63%68%65%72%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Rachel Archer) Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:12:20 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/21/Morgan%27s_LifeCar http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/21/Eco_Building_Environmentally_Friendly_Housing The need to develop environmentally friendly housing has become ever more pressing in the past few years. Buildings consume 40% of the world's total energy and 16% of the water supply. In order to reduce emissions, many people believe it is imperative to learn how to build houses that absorb energy, are durable, and provide non-toxic environments for their inhabitants. Earlier last month the UK government declared there would be plans to build ecohousing in 10 different locations throughout... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Mon, 21 Apr 2008 19:54:47 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/21/Eco_Building_Environmentally_Friendly_Housing http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/20/Health_Warning_over_Organic_rubbish German scientists have warned that rotting organic rubbish can cause serious health problems to the skin and lungs. The mould that grows on this type of rubbish has caused skin and breathing problems in some people. Harald Morr, a pneumologist and chairman of the German Lung Foundation, has found studies showing that airborne mould spores from organic waste could lead to allergic reactions, asthma attacks, hayfever-like symptoms and itchy skin lesions. "Even just opening the lid of a bin containing... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:58:10 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/20/Health_Warning_over_Organic_rubbish http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/19/The_Easy_Guide_To_Recycling When shopping in a supermarket, or in fact any other shop, it is becoming increasingly impossible to avoid the amount of packaging that accompanies a product. Salad comes pre-chopped, and vegetables pre-peeled, all ready to eat and packaged up in neat cellophane containers. Noodles come in plastic pots, and drinks in individual aluminium cans – perfect for the quick and easy lifestyle us Westerners have come to represent. However, even for those that understand that such a lifestyle is damaging, and... %6e%61%74%61%73%68%61%2e%62%61%72%6e%65%73%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Natasha Barnes) Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:09:07 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/19/The_Easy_Guide_To_Recycling http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/18/Scotland_Rejects_500m_Off_Shore_Wind_Farm_Scheme The 500m plan to build one of Europe's largest onshore wind farms was rejected on Monday by Scottish ministers who claimed the scheme would have devastated a globally significant peatland. Jim Mather said the 181 turbine project would have taken over the moors of northern Lewis and would have had significant adverse impacts on rare and endangered birds that live on the peatland. The rejected plan was greeted with delight to many environmentalists and wind power opponents, however the developers were... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:58:36 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/18/Scotland_Rejects_500m_Off_Shore_Wind_Farm_Scheme http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/18/Carbon_Offset_Programs The carbon offset industry is at risk of being discredited due to cowboy programs. Unless a set of standards is compiled that customers can trust, the industry may collapse. But the problem isnt just that some schemes are of dubious value. Many environmentalists are increasingly opposed, seeing companies opt for the cheaper, easier route to become green by paying carbon offset programs to do the dirty work for them. Many believe that companies and individuals should take out the third party and... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:51:44 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/18/Carbon_Offset_Programs http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/17/Eco_Festivals Despite the disappointment that some fans may experience on hearing the news that Lily Allen has pulled out of the Isle of Wight festival, the upturn of it is that the organisers are planning on using the money on something a little more sustainable; the environment. In the wake of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke refusing to play Glastonbury down to its rather large carbon footprint, festival promoter John Giddings had promised to use the money that he would have spent on Allen, and instead spend it on... %72%61%63%68%65%6c%2e%61%72%63%68%65%72%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Rachel Archer) Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:11:49 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/17/Eco_Festivals http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/17/Your_Very_Own_Forest Buying up woodlands has become an increasingly astute move for investors. The UK woodland sector is booming and the value of commercial holdings has surged up to 40% in the past year. The value of some areas has doubled in the last four years. The average prices last year were 4,250 per hectare and sales were up 80% in 2006, according to the Forestry Market audit by UPM Tilhill and Savills property consultants. After the credit crunch in the banking world, more people are eager to buy up space of... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:50:30 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/17/Your_Very_Own_Forest http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/17/Gore%27s_Green_Army Al Gore has launched this week a $300m advertising campaign in order to recruit a 10 million strong Green Army to force politicians to act on climate change. The proposed Alliance for Climate Protection will use the money to generate television advertising and online organising to push the debate on climate change to the forefront of the upcoming US elections. Although Gore\'s film An Inconvenient Truth managed to raise awareness among the public, the same amount of force has yet to move into the... %6e%61%74%61%73%68%61%2e%62%61%72%6e%65%73%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Natasha Barnes) Thu, 17 Apr 2008 15:32:59 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/17/Gore%27s_Green_Army http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/07/Carbon_Labelling Packets of cheese and onion Walkers crisps have recently embraced a world no one thought possible: the daring new notion of carbon labelling. These timeless favourite crisps have had their carbon footprint measured by Carbon Trust and since last year, have been back on the shelf looking gorgeous in royal blue packaging and bearing it all with the statistics printed for all to witness. One bag of crisps produces a carbon footprint of 75g which may not be shocking until you consider it is almost double... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:09:48 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/04/07/Carbon_Labelling http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/03/27/Greenwash_%3D_Hogswash%3F In a recent article for the BBC, Rebecca Swift, global creative planning director for Getty Images, claimed that consumers were being overexposed to 'green' images and slogans to such an extent that advertising is experiencing a 'greenwash', making consumers immune to the deluge of green used in the media. Swift criticises the use of environmental imagery by companies cashing in on the latest commercial zeitgeist,using 'green' ad campaigns to suggest that they themselves are green. This obviously poses... %66%72%69%74%68%2e%74%61%79%6c%6f%72%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Frith Taylor) Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:13:55 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/03/27/Greenwash_%3D_Hogswash%3F http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/03/26/The_40bn_Plan_to_Harness_the_Power_of_Congo Seven African governments and some of the world's largest banks met in London on Monday to discuss the plans for a 40bn hydro power project on the Congo river. Supporters say it could double the amount of electricity on the continent. The dam, which is predicted to be up by 2022, could double the amount of electricity produced by the worlds current largest dam, the Three Gorges in China. They hope the plan could jump start industrial development in Africa and bring electricity to hundreds of millions... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:54:21 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/03/26/The_40bn_Plan_to_Harness_the_Power_of_Congo http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/03/14/The_Truth_About_Electric_Kettles According to the UK Tea Council, as a nation we consume 165m cups of tea and 70m cups of coffee each day. When the Energy Savings Trust conducted a survey in 2006 they found that 67% of tea drinkers in the UK admit to overfilling their electric kettle each time. Although it may seem trivial, studies have shown the massive amount of energy and money we could save by only using as much water as we need each time. If we habitually boil twice as much water we need each time we use an electric kettle, we... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Fri, 14 Mar 2008 19:55:12 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/03/14/The_Truth_About_Electric_Kettles http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/03/13/Tony_Blair_on_another_mission_to_save_the_world Tony Blair has announced a new initiative to tackle climate change globally, with the help of The Climate Group – an independent, not-for-profit organisation. The 'Breaking The Climate Deadlock' initiative will be aimed at both the developed and the developing world to set a comprehensive, international agenda to tackle global warming. Blair arrived in Tokyo today to meet with Japan's Prime Minister Fukuda, where he hopes to reveal the initiative at a meeting of the G20 this weekend. Blair will... %6e%61%74%61%73%68%61%2e%62%61%72%6e%65%73%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Natasha Barnes) Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:08:36 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/03/13/Tony_Blair_on_another_mission_to_save_the_world http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/03/03/Heathrow_Protests_Continue It's been a busy week for those protesting the expansion of Heathrow airport. On Monday (25 February), Greenpeace activists defied airport security by climbing on top of British Airways Airbus A320 to unfurl a banner reading 'Climate Emergency – No Third Runway'. Four protesters were arrested while BAA branded the act 'unlawful and irresponsible' adding that, nevertheless, operations were not affected. Protestor Anna Jones explained her grounds for protest: 'Our planet and the people who live on it... %73%61%72%61%2e%62%61%72%6e%61%72%64%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Sara Barnard) Mon, 03 Mar 2008 09:58:10 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/03/03/Heathrow_Protests_Continue http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/02/27/How_Consumers_can_Prevent_Excess_Waste_Paper From greetings cards to telephone directories, how consumers can prevent excess waste paper. With Valentines Day over for another year, Mother's Day in March, and Father's Day in June, we are made aware of just how many special occasions may warrant the purchase of a greetings card. Billions of cards are thrown away each year. Perhaps 2008 is the year we dust off our creativity skills and make our own? Perhaps even better, with recycled materials? 4.6 million tonnes of paper and card thrown away... %6b%61%74%65%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Kate Jones) Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:14:55 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/02/27/How_Consumers_can_Prevent_Excess_Waste_Paper http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/02/22/Doomsday_Vault Hardly anything grows in Svalbard. In this remote arctic archipelago, permafrost is 1,000 feet deep, the nearest tree grows 600 miles south, and the sun refuses to rise fourth months of the year. But it’s here that a £4.7m warehouse has been built inside a mountain to protect the future of mans food supply. The Svalbard global seed vault is a top security repository that will be used to store batches of seeds from nearly every variety of food crops on the planet, including maize, rice and wheat. The... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Fri, 22 Feb 2008 19:55:42 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/02/22/Doomsday_Vault http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/02/19/Retailers_Unite_over_Plastic_Bag_Ban The issues surrounding The London Local Authorities (Shopping Bags) Bill, which was deposited in Parliament last November, have arisen again as retailers unite to petition against it. If passed, the ban would mean an end to all paper and plastic, free and paid-for bags carrier bags supplied to customers in London. Merrick Cockell, of London Councils, said the aim was to rid the city of the "environmental blight" of plastic bags. Retailers however have dubbed the bill as "excessive" and want to trigger a... %6e%61%74%61%73%68%61%2e%62%61%72%6e%65%73%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Natasha Barnes) Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:50:49 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/02/19/Retailers_Unite_over_Plastic_Bag_Ban http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/02/15/Improve_the_Environment%3A_One_Can_at_a_Time In the little more than a century of its first commercial production, aluminium has become the second most used metal in the world after steel. The annual primary production of aluminium in 2006 was around 34 million tonnes and recycling production only 16 million tonnes. Aluminium is a unique metal; strong, durable, flexible, impermeable, light weight and it does not rust. But the most important thing about this distinctive resource is it's100% recyclable. Aluminium can be melted and reset repeatedly... %63%68%72%69%73%74%69%6e%65%2e%70%69%6e%65%6c%6c%61%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Christine Pinella) Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:30:37 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/02/15/Improve_the_Environment%3A_One_Can_at_a_Time http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/02/15/%22Bottled_Water_is_Bollocks%22 It seems to have become a favourite with companies recently; to announce their products as sufficiently eco-friendly for today's green-concious public, yet with no actual basis for the claim. The term 'greenwashing', coined in the early '90s, applies to businesses who spend more money and/or time advertising their green credentials instead of actively working to develop environmentally sound practices. It is a term that could be applied to many, including bottled water manufacturers. When thought through... %6e%61%74%61%73%68%61%2e%62%61%72%6e%65%73%40%65%63%6f%73%77%69%74%63%68%2e%63%6f%6d (Natasha Barnes) Fri, 15 Feb 2008 15:08:38 +0000 http://ecoswitch.com/articles/2008/02/15/%22Bottled_Water_is_Bollocks%22