Ethical Directory Blog - Eco Environmental info resources and news

Adventure the eco friendly way

admin — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:48:02 +0000

The eco-conscious adventurers trying to circumnavigate the world in a carbon-neutral biodiesel trimaran are approaching Puerto Rico, where they’ll take on more fuel, fix the toilet and repair an inspection hatch that flooded their sleeping quarters with biodiesel.

Despite the problems, Earthrace has covered 4,200 miles since leaving Sagunto, Spain, on April 27. The team is making its second attempt to circumnavigate the globe in record time and has braved 18-foot seas since leaving the Azores last week.

read the full story here

Gordon Ramsay - Ban fruits and vegitables that are out of season

admin — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:17:00 +0000

Celebrity Chef, Gordon Ramsay called on the government to fine restaurant that serves fruit and vegetables that are out of season. “I don’t want to see asparagus in the middle of December, nor strawberries from Kenya in the middle of March.
Mr Ramsay argued that the amount of transportation that goes into transporting fruit and vegetable that are out of season to out kitchens adds significantly to the food mile, which is very bad for the environment.

Jay Rayner in an article in the Observer of 11th of May critisised Gordon Ransey’s call asking him to put his kitchen in order first. Jay Rayner wrote “This is a man who operated a restaurant in Dubai, for God’s sake, where asolutely nothing is local or seasonal.

UK household trow away food worth £10 billion

admin — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:30:42 +0000

A report published recently by Waste and Resources Action Programme, a government funded agency claimed that UK households trow away more than 6.7 million tons of food every year. Most of the food are still untouched and could have been eaten.
More than £1 billion worth of wasted food was still “in date.”, an average household is throwing away £420 worth of food a year.

Consumer complain about exaggerated green credentials

admin — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:21:11 +0000

A record number of consumers have complaint to the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) about companies “green washing” consumers by “severely exaggerating” their product, services or companies green credentials.
Shell Petroleum, Ryanair and Toyotal Prius were some of the companies/products were a few of the 561 complaints ASA received from consumers in 2007.

Carbon Rebound

admin — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:20:19 +0000

Is when you spend savings made as a result of a green activity on a non eco friendly act, for example, spending savings made as a result of converting to solar energy on holiday flights.

Highway Agency to Recycle Sunshine

admin — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:32:50 +0000

The government thought the Highways Agency are to try a new way of keeping roads in the UK free of ice. A scheme know as Interseasonal Heat Transfer (IHT), uses the summer sunshine to heat water placed in plastic pipes just below the surface of the road in the summer when the temperature is hot. The water is then transferred to insulated pipes, where the temperature is maintained, in the winter when its cold, to prevent the roads freezing, warm water from the insulated pipes are transferred back to the original pipes, the warm water help prevent the road from freezing.

Scientist from the Transport Research Laboratory have worked on this scheme for two years, testing it our on little used road on section of the M1. The scheme is expected to be rolled out on a small scale because of the significant cost of implementation which could take as long as 30 years to pay for itself.

Disposable Nappy Recycling is Here

admin — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:53:25 +0000

Knowaste, a Canadian company that currently recycles nappies and other products in the US is starting a recycling plant for disposable nappies in Tyseley, in Birmingham. About 30,000 tonnes of nappies a year will be recycled, turning the waste which normally goes into landfill site to plastic and other plastic related items.

Some groups argue that parents should use washable cotton nappies instead of disposable nappies in the first instance, this is said to go a long way towards reducing the estimated 750,000 tonnes of disposable nappies currently sent to landfill.

You can read more about disposable nappies here.

LPG Car for sale - Volvo S40 BiFuel

admin — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 23:01:29 +0000

Inside

Volvo S40 SE with Winter pack
Model: S40 1.8 SE lpg factory fitted
Transmission: Manual 5 speed
Colour: Metallic green
Mileage: 71,404 warranted miles
Registered: 29th Sept 2003
Owners: 1 previous owner
MOT expires: 29th Sept 2008
Full Service History: Yes all at Volvo main dealers at 12184..25300..39367..53932..64083 which was on 12 sept 07 ..so next due at 76083 miles or 12th sept 2008 and a full print out of all work carried out on the car from new.
Repairs /faults:None drives as new..it had new discs and brake pads all round at 53923 miles new tyres at 60836 miles.

FULL SE trim ..Black leather.. & Winterpack fitted.. Alarm/immobiliser,, AM/FM radio/CD/tape Player catalytic converter, remote central locking, front/rear electric windows, electric heated mirrors, Air conditioning, climate control, heated leather seats , power drivers seat, power-assisted steering (PAS), tilt steering wheel , headlamp washers, front fog lights, driver/passenger/ safety belt pretensioners ,SIPS and WHIPS, alloy wheels.

London Walk to Work Day - 24th April 2008

admin — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:36:52 +0000

The mayor of London through transport for London are organising Walk to Work. The date set aside for Walk to Work is 24^th of April 2008.

Walking to Work is an excellent way to keep fit, save on petrol price, if you are normally a car driver, avoid congestion in public transport and help the environment.

You can find out more about Walking to Work from a website set up for promoting walking in London: Walking Works .

38% sale in hybrid car

admin — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 23:02:19 +0000

Kim Fenske drives a bus in Colorado by day, but when he’s not working, he zooms around the mountains in a 2007 Toyota Prius.

Fenske, an attorney by training who has also worked as a forest ranger, was an environmentalist long before hybrid cars like the Prius hit the market. In the early 1990s, he ran unsuccessfully for the Wisconsin state legislature on a renewable energy platform.

But he recently decided to go one step further and make an environmental statement with his car.

“My decision is a very political decision. I want to get people in this country off their dependency on foreign oil,” said Fenske, 48, who lives at the Copper Mountain ski resort near Frisco.

A growing number of buyers feel like Fenske. U.S. registrations of new hybrid vehicles rose 38 percent in 2007 to a record 350,289, according to data to be released Monday by R.L. Polk & Co., a Southfield-based automotive marketing and research company.

full story: msnbc.msn.com/id/24230209/