Going Green Podcast, Video blog and Daily News

The Hidden Footprint of Summer Events Can Fetes, Regattas and Festivals Be Greener Without Losing the Fun? “A summer event should not need three skips, two generators and a small mountain of plastic cups to be considered successful.” There is something wonderfully British about a summer event. A school fair with bunting flapping in a slightly uncertain breeze. A village fete where someone has bravely agreed to run the tombola. A regatta with boats, flags, tea, cake, damp grass and at least one person carrying a clipboard with the seriousness of an air traffic controller. A sports day, an open day, a festival, a church event, a community barbecue, a charity fundraiser or a sailing club weekend. These events matter. They bring people together. They raise money. They create memories. They give children something to look forward to and adults a chance to stand around saying, “Well, at least the rain held off,” even when it clearly did not. But they also have a hidden environmental footprin...

  Summer Water: Are We Treating Rain Like Rubbish? “We spend half the year trying to get rid of rainwater, then buy hoses to replace it in July.” There is something very British about complaining about the rain from October to May, then standing in the garden in July looking mournfully at a crispy lawn and wondering why the water butt is empty. We are a nation that has perfected the art of grumbling at drizzle. Rain spoils barbecues, school sports days, sailing plans, photography sessions and, if you are unlucky, the one afternoon you chose to varnish something outside. Yet when summer arrives, we suddenly behave as if water is a scarce and mysterious substance that has to be dragged reluctantly through a hosepipe. The odd thing is that a great deal of the water we need in summer falls on our roofs, patios, driveways and school buildings during the wetter parts of the year. We simply rush it away as quickly as possible. Down the gutter. Into the drain. Out of sight. Then, a few mon...

  The Great Summer Declutter: Why Tidying Up Can Be an Environmental Act Hook: Decluttering is only green if the clutter does not simply migrate from your house to landfill. Summer has a dangerous effect on the British householder. The sun comes out, the garage door is opened, and suddenly we discover that our home has been quietly breeding cardboard boxes, mystery cables, half-used paint tins, old tools, garden equipment, broken chargers and things that “might come in useful one day”. The traditional response is simple: hire a skip, throw everything into it, feel virtuous for three hours, and then quietly start buying replacements for half the things we have just thrown away. That is not really decluttering. That is environmental relocation. A genuinely green declutter is different. It is slower, more thoughtful and, occasionally, more annoying. It asks not simply, “Do I want this?” but also, “Could this be repaired, reused, shared, sold, donated, repurposed or used before I buy a...