So this is the last post from Green Guys Global for now. We are taking an indefinite break from our blogging here to work on all the other things that busy green guys & girls do.

Here’s a great big thank you to all of the editors for their brilliant writing over the past few years and to guest contributors who have brought their news, views and ideas into the mix. Of course the biggest thanks is to our lovely readers, whether they are new ones who have just discovered us or those from back in the day. Thank you!

We’ve had lots of fun running Green Girls Global and Green Guys Global and we’re really proud of the things we’ve achieved in such a short time. Some of the highlights include having features in the Times Online and Marie Claire, being involved in the fabulous Eco Chic Weekly and selling our own stylish organic t-shirts, created by the very talented artist and Green Girl, Lee Tracy.

What’s next for the girls and guys of GGG? Well we all have our own businesses, projects and blogs that keep us very busy. Take a look at our editors page to see what we’re all up to. Mine & Jez’s Green Hosting company will continue to host the site as there’s just too much good stuff here to take it down and Green Guy Gareth will be back again soon with an exciting blog of his own – so watch this space!

For now please do keep enjoying the articles here on the blog and thank you again for all your support.

Love from GGG x

I have an alternative but equally radical solution, which could help end war and poverty, whilst improving the livelihoods of millions. At the same time it will deal with climate change. Sounds impossible? Read on.

Africa’s deserts were once forested paradises, and so they must return. Using large scale desalinisation plants on the coast, fuelled by concentrated solar power, hydroelectric, and wind, water will be pumped across the land, to turn this arid landscape into a green paradise. The excess salt will be sold to the rest of the world, where amongst other things it can be used for assisting in extreme cold weather events. Where sand once existed plants will grow, fuelled by clean water, and it is these plants that must start to form the basis of a new strong economy. The biomass acting as a as carbon sink will also supply food, ecological services and anthropogenic resources. The clean water will be a keystone to improving health and fuelling economic development, just as it did for all the developed countries before.

The construction of such a large scale irrigation project will create thousands of jobs, and it must be the entitlement of all Africans to be able to provide their labour. Other than the benefit of employment, they will benefit from contributing to their continents development knowing full well that the water will improve the lives of their own people. Power tensions arising from low water reserves will diminish, and gradually the continent will transform. Enterprise from forestry will start to boom, and as it does more and more carbon will become locked away. Wealth will be made from helping the rest of the world lock carbon up in biomass, and as it does wealth will take on a new meaning. But here is the difference, Africa will have to show the rest of the world what a sustainable economy really looks like, and along the way the politicians will have to work out what is the most efficient and equitable political model to make this all happen.

This has the potential to be one of the greatest legacies of our civilisation.

To keep checking that things are not damaging the environment is no easy feat, but then again it’s probably easier to do if your slate is relatively clean to start off with.

Once the water is flowing, some of the greatest challenges can start to be overcome at a faster pace. Sustainable economic development, healthcare, climate change, poverty and technology will all advance at a quicker pace. Of course some will be jealous, it’ll threaten corrupt institutions and change power relations, but surely the long term reward for all generations is greater than the short term reward for the few? In the words of Nelson Mandela S., African black civil rights leader ‘Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation’.

The speed of the development need only be constricted by all our greatness and the speed of positive collaboration, co-ordination and competition.

Of course I don’t pretend to have all the answers, I’m only one person. Only together as humans could we make such an idea work.

If I won the lottery, I know what project I would start…. and it wouldn’t be a big car. I’d plant an acorn to start this green transition.

Take care

G

1. I will not be as obsessed about what I can get for a buck

Don’t try to tell a fib. You probably have gone in a dollar store. Most of us do, and, yes, there are some good deals if you stop to think about your purchase first. But there’s a reason many plastic goods, for example, in these stores are a buck and not recyclable: they are churned out on assembly lines, in far away places with low-paid workers, with no attention to environmental concerns. It’s one reason that a year never goes by without another health warning about dollar-store toys containing harmful levels of lead.

2. I will help animals in need

Don’t wait for a TV informercial and images of animals in distress to spur you into action. Make a donation to an animal rescue shelter. The overwhelming majority of these facilities manage to sustain themselves solely on donations from the public. Everything from medical supplies to food is needed from caring people like you.

3. I will donate or plant at least 10 tree seedlings

Find a seedling grower in your area (seedlings, such as pine, usually cost less than $3 each) and either plant them yourself, or donate them to a school or girl guide or boy scout troop for Earth Day.

4. I will visit at least one farm and tell the grower how much they are appreciated.

We’ve all heard that message about getting closer to where our food is grown. Usually that typical message involves visiting a farmers’ market. Here’s a twist: actually visit a farm. Many farmers are now selling directly from their farms. You can’t get any closer than that, to where your food is grown. Your visit will be appreciated, and it’s a great way to tell a farmer how much they are appreciated. Plus, you can eliminate the middeman (the grocery store) and ensure all your money for a product goes to the true source.

5. Yep, I will really think seriously about wearing Dad’s old jacket

Relax. We’re not telling you to start wearing a leisure suit. We’re talking sports jacket or winter jacket or (yikes) dinner jacket. Remember, no matter how funny the plaid pattern looks (hey, it will be in style again!), part of reducing waste is recycling and reusing. That includes clothes. And if you really can’t stand the sight of dad’s old jacket, consider visiting a store selling gently used clothing.

6. I will not build a single Inukshuk this year

OK, we know that sounds a little extreme, but we’re noticing a lot of makeshift Inukshuks these days built by people who aren’t Inuit. These makeshift Inukshuks dot the edges of major highways across the land. They are usually made by motorists and their occupants who feel the need to disturb and remove rocks from their natural place. Every rock on the ground represents a habitat. When you remove rocks for activities such as ‘Inukshuk’ building, you destroy a potential home for an amphibian, reptile, mammal or insect.

7. I will speak out when I see a grocery store or restaurant selling items it shouldn’t

Spot frog legs at your local grocery store? What about Chilean sea bass on the menu at a restaurant? Just don’t stand there with your shopping cart, or sit there in your chair. Speak out. Ask to see the grocery store or restaurant manager so you can tell them why it’s not socially responsible (always use the term ‘socially responsible’ — it hits a nerve in a more positive but yet impactful way than saying ‘irresponsible’) to sell endangered or threatened species. And don’t always assume you’ll be setting yourself up for a confrontation. You may in fact be educating someone which is often appreciated.

8. I will drive less like Mario Andretti

That means taking your foot off the gas and coasting if a traffic light ahead is red, and accelerating gradually from a stop. If you hear the engine rev, you’re acting like Mario again. It’s time to cool your engines.

9. For my next project I will choose my wood carefully

It’s pretty much a given that in 2010 you will make something out of wood, or buy something made of wood. This is where you can educate yourself about making the right choice. Forest Stewardship Council is an international certification and labeling system that guarantees that the forest products you purchase come from responsibly managed forests and verified recycled sources. Usually, products made of solid wood are best, but look for the FSC label. Be aware that many composite, veneers, wood strawn products are made through processes that typically include 1) toxic volatile organic compounds (also known as VOCs, which are carbon-containing gases and vapors such as gasoline fumes and solvents); 2) particulate matter (PM) which consists of airborne particles in solid or liquid form. These can often produce a haze in the air. PMs can be a health concern and may aggravate asthma and respiratory diseases; 3) Nitrogen oxides (NOx) which is forned by the gases nitrogen oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) can cause acid rain and other ecosystem-damaging impacts such as vegetation and crop loss; 4) Carbon monoxide; 4) Acelatdehyde, acrolein, formaldehyde, and methanol.

10. I will convert at least one paper newspaper or magazine subscription to online digital edition

Let’s be realistic: Many people still like to ‘hold’ a newspaper or magazine. But many newspapers and magazines also now provide digital editions. Not sure if you will like it? Ask for a trial edition. Even if it’s only for one issue, or one month, you’ve helped reduce paper use.

Article by Gregg McLachlan – Founder of WorkCabin.ca, Canada’s online outpost for environmental jobs
www.workcabin.ca

The fact of the matter is, they do not have too many children when taken in context. I will use Africa as an example, but this argument can be used against any such claim.

Look around you today and you’ll see many examples of families with several children. The average number of children in the UK used to be much higher (National Statistics, 2010).  It is a well known fact that the number of children people have across the world correlates with healthcare and sex education.

If I lived in poverty, travelling 5 hours a day to find water, scrapping through, day by day trying to survive, no schools, no hospitals – I would be called ‘optimistic’ if I thought my children would survive.  In the absence of sick pay, maternity benefits and all the comforts developed countries take for granted, I would look to my children to help the family. Quite frankly the more of them to work the land and provide security the better.  Some of them would probably die, and I’d grow weary with the heavy emotional burden, that I had not been able to beat poverty and drought, to allow them all to succeed.  So in it’s basic form, one reason people have a larger number of children in the developing world is simple a matter of survival.  Much like it was in my grandparent’s day, children frequently died of diseases like tuberculosis and polio.  Life was harder – but no where near as hard as most of the world.

The ecological footprint of each country is another angle.  Footfrints are much smaller in developing countries than those that are developed.  Independent think-tank NEF estimate it takes around 2-5 planets to support developed countries (NEF, 2010). Most under-developed countries use less than one planet.  It’s easy to see that with only a small number of children ecological footprints for families in developed countries would still be larger than those in under-developed world.  If anything, it is us that should be making bold moves like China to restrict population growth, especially if we can’t control our over-consumption.

Still believe there is not enough to go around?  Then just think of all the food we chuck away on a daily basis and think of the food mountains we keep for our security while the rest of the world starves.  The population of developing countries is not the problem my friend.  We are.

Links

Population Action – Average Number of Births per woman in Africa (UN)
http://www.populationaction.org/Publications/Reports/Africas_Population_Challenge/Average_Number_of_Births_Per_Women_in_Sub-Saharan_Africa.shtml

NEFs Happy Planet Index 2.0

http://www.happyplanetindex.org/explore/global/index.html

National Statistics – Total Fertility Rate in England and Wales

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=369

Frustrating and annoying as it is, we have learnt that when it comes it the environment you can’t use self-reference criteria. In other words, not everyone thinks and acts like us!

People who don’t currently recycle are not likely to be swayed by environmental arguments. If these people pay exactly the same as their neighbours regardless of whether or not they recycle then they simply won’t bother. No amount of education or persuasion will work. Period.

That’s why we were pleased to hear that people who recycle household waste could get up to £130 a year in shopping vouchers under plans outlined by the shadow chancellor. The Conservatives have been piloting the American-style scheme in Berkshire and say they would help roll it out to councils across Britain. In a speech George Osborne said the Tories would pay people to recycle, not “punish them” with “bin taxes”.

Whilst this may be no more than a political gimmick, these murmurings are a step in the right direction because they signal a greater willingness to tackle the appalling lack of recycling in the UK.

The focus of previous attempts to encourage people to recycle have typically revolved around punitive methods, such as the threat of fines and even putting spy cameras inside bins. These approaches can lead to resentment and claims of Big Brother snooping, prompting calls for a different approach based on reward not punishment.

Differential pricing on Council Tax bills is one possible solution. In the same way a household qualifies for a discount for a single person, a discount could be applied to households who recycle waste in different bins. This could be funded by proportionately increasing the Council Tax bills of those who choose not to recycle. It’s also fairer because it recognises each household’s impact on the environment, the amount of waste they send to landfill sites and the cost to the local authority. Those who choose not to recycle are not forced to do so through punitive measures, but instead pay more in recognition of the extra cost to the local authority of processing their waste.

Yes, this would add some complexity to billing but it would lead to a more equitable charging system which more closely aligned financial contribution with environmental impact.

Clearly, differential pricing on Council Tax bills is just one possible solution amongst many different incentives that could be considered but the general principle remains the same. That is, those who recycle must be given a financial benefit over their non-recycling neighbours if we are to have a credible and workable system of recycling in the UK.

The latest episode of Hip Hop News Parody show ‘Rap News’ deals with the lead up to potentially historic Climate Change meeting in Copenhagen, 7th December. Your host Robert Foster brings notorious figures from both sides of the debate together in the studio to have it out. Lord Christopher Monckton, the hereditary peer from Great Britain, finally gets the chance to pour his barrage of climate change skepticism all over IPPC darling, Al Gore. Who will win, and who will be rap battled into the ground to eat logic dust? Find out here on Juice Media’s Rap News.

Hugo Farrant

Since then I’ve noticed several companies, just like M&S, claiming to be greener by reducing their packaging. Great! I hear you shout. On the surface of it yes it is a good thing, but I’m worried that more and more companies are using this message to convince their customer base that they care about the environment. Oh yes, the figures stack up, and their auditors approve them, but I’m not convinced less packaging always correlates with less environmental harm. The situation is much more complicated than it seems on the surface.

Let’s use a carrier bag as an example. Most carrier bags are made from plastic. Plastic is a derivative of oil. Oil is pumped from the ground and the whole process from extraction to conversion uses lots of energy perpetuating environmental impacts that are well documented. How much does the carrier bag weigh though? I’m not sure on this, but pick up an empty bag, let go and there’s a good chance it will float off in the wind. Contrast this to a Hessian bag. The bag is unbleached, made from plant fibre and sewn together. There are environmental by-products don’t get me wrong, I doubt there is a process on earth that does not have some measurable environmental impact. There will also be social economic factors to consider, but the weight of the bag is heavier, there is more product. I think I might start using a plastic carrier bag, surely that way there is less of it. Do you see what I’m trying to get at? Less packaging is not necessarily better for the environment.

The Humpty Dumpty Easter Egg company (fictious) wraps their eggs up in 2 cardboard boxes. The next year they focus on improving their environmental performance and move to one box. This is a 50% reduction in the same packaging, so in the crudest sense, we shout ‘of course it’s better than the original’. Year 3 the eggs are wrapped in plastic shrink wrap. ‘We’ve made a 99% reduction in packaging’ Humpty Dumpty proudly proclaim. Indeed they have if you go by weight, but is plastic better than card?

Is the card recycled? Is the plastic recycled? What energy goes into the processes that make these products? I don’t have all the answers, but I do think the current methods of measurement carry an element of environmental ambiguity. Consumers must use caution. Sadly for most of us these important debates add to the mire of confusion when choosinig products. Most people just want to nip into a shop, grab something off a shelf and then head home. The packet said ’40% less packaging’, therefore it must be good right?

The construction industry got to grip with this problem some time ago, when the debate about which material was better really got underway. Now things like concrete, wood, steel are measured by embodied energy Which attempts to work out the true environmental cost of the material, including elements of extraction, transportation and fixing. Lets face it there are so many variables it’s hard to pin down an exact cost. But the construction industry does a better attempt than most. Maybe the food industry could learn a lesson or two, from this mechanism of performance measurement.

From an environmental and ethical perspective two concerns spring immediately to mind.

Firstly, thousands of trees and tonnes of paper are used to produce telephone directories. Secondly, these directories are delivered to households without asking the occupant(s) if they want them. In other words, they arrive uninvited.

From our own perspective, we were receiving these paper-based directories and not using them at all. For example, there were stacks of pages relating to car insurance but we don’t know of anyone in this day and age who still spends hours ringing around dozens of companies when an on-line comparison site can do the job in minutes (granted there are a handful of insurance companies not listed on price comparison sites).

Worse still, we were receiving many different versions of these telephone directories and often the same information was contained in them. Also, as they’re only published once each year then they can quickly become out of date whereas the Internet offers current and much more detailed information than ever possible on a printed page.

Despite this, we were powerless to stop these directories arriving every year on our doorstep. Our pristine copy would simply be replaced by another pristine copy and then gather dust until we recycled it each time.

We were delighted to find out, therefore, that we could opt out of receiving these directories – saving trees, paper and irritation. Recently, we called BT Phone Books (the phone number is very inconspicuous at the front so you have to search to find this ‘opt out’ phone number). We were very pleased to have a man call at the door within days to collect it along with confirmation that we wouldn’t receive any more.

The point of this article is not simply to highlight that a mechanism exists for stopping the arrival of paper-based telephone directories and saving paper in the process. It also has a broader significance. That is, it illustrates the tremendous power of technology (in this case the Internet) to help the environment and improve economic efficiency.

Gary Robertshaw

The Green Providers Directory

With gas prices continually in flux, interest in domestically produced bio-fuels like ethanol (E85) is on the rise. These flex fuels have been gaining popularity not only for their lower cost, but also their lessened impact on the environment.

Helping to lessen the impact on the environment even more, Coskata Inc., a leading developer of alternative bio-fuels, announced the successful start-up of its semi-commercial flex-ethanol facility. Unlike other technologies and facilities that often rely on one primary source of feedstock, the company’s flex ethanol facility will be producing ethanol from numerous sources, including wood biomass, agricultural waste, construction waste and even household garbage.

In addition, their patented microorganisms and bioreactor designs will produce ethanol for the same as, and in some cases less than, the cost of producing a gallon of gasoline. This new technology also reduces CO2 emissions up to 96 percent compared to gasoline.

Flex Fuel vehicles that can run on gas, E85 or a combination of both, are already available from major U.S. automotive manufacturers. One of these automakers, General Motors has built 5 million of these vehicles to date.

Article by Eric Klein

For convenience I took advantage of their on-line booking service (10% discount).  The night before pickup, I received a courtesy sms informing me about the car and driver.

We were greeted by Eric, an ex-IT consultant turned eco-entrenpenuer, and founder of EF Cars ‘Our aim is to provide a service that goes beyond people’s normal vision of a cab company’s service driver.  We have aspirations of a fleet of carbon neutral cars supplied by our own bio-fuel processing’.

Taking the short trip to Southampton Airport I started to imagine a day when all taxis were like the one I was in.  EF Cars significantly undercut the cost of the competition and the smaller carbon footprint, make the choice a no-brainer.  Why everyone wasn’t snapping up rides with this company was beyond me.  Surely this was one way individuals and companies could easily reduce their carbon footprint.

Despite my un-green flight (I did offset by a factor of 2 I hasten to add) our journey to the airport in a VW powered by bio-diesel (recycled oil) made me feel slightly less guilty.

Excellent service from a company with foresight of meeting the needs of the green economy.  I look forward to seeing their progress.

Link: EF Cars http://www.efcars.co.uk