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Walk Yourself Greener: The Journey That Costs Nothing and Needs No Electricity

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  Walk Yourself Greener: The Journey That Costs Nothing and Needs No Electricity Perhaps the greenest vehicle you own is the pair of legs you've had all along. When we talk about greener transport, the conversation very quickly turns to technology. Electric cars. Charging points. Batteries. Public transport. E-bikes. Hydrogen. Sustainable fuels. All of these have their place. But there is another form of transport that needs no battery, no petrol, no charging cable and no expensive upgrade. Walking. It sounds almost too obvious to be worth discussing. Yet that is precisely why I think it deserves more attention. Going green is often presented as something we have to buy . Walking reminds us that sometimes the greener choice involves buying absolutely nothing. And unlike many environmental choices, walking can give something back immediately: better fitness, time outside, opportunities for photography, conversations with neighbours and a chance to notice what is happening in...
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Going Green Should Save You Money—So Why Does It Sometimes Feel So Expensive?

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  Going Green Should Save You Money—So Why Does It Sometimes Feel So Expensive? Going green isn't fundamentally about buying greener things. It's about needing fewer resources to live well. There is something slightly odd about the way environmental living is sometimes presented. Decide that you want to become greener and, within minutes, somebody appears to be trying to sell you something. A new electric car. Solar panels. A heat pump. A home battery. Triple glazing. An expensive “eco” cleaning product. A smart thermostat. Perhaps even an almost completely rebuilt house. Add it all together and going green can begin to sound less like a way of saving money and resources and more like a hobby for people with £50,000 available for a home-improvement project. That creates a serious problem. Because if environmentalism becomes associated with spending large amounts of money, many perfectly sensible people will conclude: “I can't afford to be green.” Yet in many cases, the exac...
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Are We Planting the Wrong Trees for Britain’s Future?

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  Are We Planting the Wrong Trees for Britain’s Future? “Planting a tree is an environmental decision that may outlive the person planting it.” Planting trees is probably one of the few environmental actions almost everyone agrees is a good thing. Trees absorb carbon, provide shade, reduce summer temperatures, intercept rainfall, provide wildlife habitat and can make almost any street, garden or field more attractive. But perhaps we need to ask a slightly more awkward question. Are we planting the right trees? A tree planted in Britain in 2026 may still be standing in 2100. It could experience a climate significantly different from the one in which we planted it. That changes the question from: “What tree grows well here?” to: “What tree will grow well here now, survive the next 20 difficult summers, cope with wet winters, resist future pests and still be useful to wildlife in 70 years?” That is a much harder question. A Tree Is a Very Long-Term Investment When we plant b...
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