2009-03-08T08:22:00.003Z

Green London

2008-04-05T22:09:00.003+01:00

Is London ready to go green? You may think so, what with the increase in ads about hybrid cars, the latest light bulb amnesty, and the recent declaration from Marks & Spencer that you will now have to pay 5p for each of your plastic bags, but what does it mean to be green? and is London ready?

To try to figure it out, lets have a look at the manifesto's of London's leading prospective mayors.

Red Ken claims that he has made "environmental policy a central focus of all that [he] has done as Mayor*" and when you look at it, it's hard to disagree:

he introduced congestion charging within central London which had the multiple benefits of reducing polution in the city, lowering congestion and making a pot load of money
the Low Emissions Zone has been in place since February which makes you pay a daily charge for driving in London if your vehicle exceeds the emissions standards.
he also claims to have been resposible for the increase in recycling rates from 6% to 21% over the last 8 years

Hmmm... what about the future?

Well, despite what they both say, there doesn't seem to be much difference between Boris and Ken on the environment. They both say that they will:

support and continue the Low Emissions Zone
protect and preserve parks and green spaces
increase recycling

Additionally, Ken promises to introduce an additional charges on gas guzzling cars, promote cycling and walking, help people to make their homes more green... the list goes on. Boris uses lots of emotive words and promises to ban bottled water!!

I suspect that, like millions of Londoners, I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. Its undoubtable that Ken has done much more for the environment than any mayor in the past but its equally clear that although he has thought them through, his policies for the future will include the public shelling out yet more money but with no positive message about the environment.

Boris on the other hand, speaks as if he empathises with the average Londoner and fresh views are definately needed, however suggesting that imposing "a ban on internal flights" as a viable suggestion makes you really wonder how much thought has actually gone into his proposals.

My verdict? neither really rocks my boat.

This post wouldn't be complete without looking at Londons Green Party candidate, Sian Berry. Her campaign focuses solely on the environment and she suggests:

Helping Londoners to insulate their houses and reduce their heating bills
Stop the airport expansion
Provide loans for Londoners to install renewable energy techology

Some of these are good ideas, which I like and maybe its worth voting for her, if only to send a clear message to whoever wins that Londoners care about their environment so the Mayor must too.

There is one thing that is common to all the candidates that as much as I try, I can't quite bring myself to agreeing with them about. Its their opposition to Heathrow's third runway. Much as I try, and care about the environment, I can't help thinking that its a great idea! If you've ever flown through Heathrow, and circled the airport for an hour trying to get a slot to land, you would agree with me on it. Surely it would be better for the environment to land those planes than have them in the air? How about investigating lower emissions airplanes and making grants available to research them and providing tax breaks for any new green planes? London needs to support itself with business and in an increasingly global world, we need more and not less airports.

What will I do? I still have 3 1/2 weeks to decide.

Google's latest contributing

2008-03-28T07:46:00.000Z

This has been harder than I thought. Maybe its because its such an ambitious idea that its hard to know where to start. Anyway, Google has made its contribution - check out its Carbon Footprint Project.

Why?

2008-03-22T00:55:00.000Z

Its hard to say why exactly, not one thing in particular, but probably a combination of lots of things...

1. My friend Alice decided to give up plastics

2. Our council refuses to provide us with wheelie bins for our rubbish but provides 5 rolls of plastic recycling bags for us to use.

3. On our flight to Vermont to go skiing this year, I read a book by Judi Levine called "Not buying it" (kinda recommended, but you should probably borrow it)

4. On the way back, I watched the movie narrated by Leonardo diCaprio called 11th Hour (recommended)

5. Its about time I started another blog so what nobler quest is there than this?

Someone wiser than me once said that Every action has an equal and opposite reaction*, follow my attempts to understand what impact we are really having on our planet and if it is actually possible that we will not survive the results of our actions.

* Newton's law of motion

Saving Humanity

Green London

Google's latest contributing

Why?