Saturday, February 24, 2007

Vicarious is as vicarious does

The wisdom of crowds

It has been a long day. I just wish I got paid.

Well is it?

I always like questions. You can stick it to 'em without quite being the hatchet man.

Fairtrade is booming - but is it still a fair deal?

No2. He flies harder.

'Airmiles Andy' attempts image overhaul

I just liked the headline (actually both theirs and mine)

I also liked this: "But by employing Sir Digby, he is suggesting that he takes his role seriously, and is working to be a more effective trade ambassador."

I'd suggest he's a good candidate for tushtissue.info, as to me it reads like he's got in some paid spin to do a papering over job... badly.

GO FIGURE

As you will gather, I have been a busy blogger today.

Partly it's because I was away at a show (which will need blogging... sheesh) yesterday, but mainly because I found a big pile of clippings from my last Sunday's Times' read. And it was a rich seam.

And an eclectic one, too.

Thing is, now I have revisited a few hours later to check links (how pro is that?), I'm trying to figure out the rationale why some made it in... and some are conspicuous by their absence.

It may be that there are different moderators for different areas, and some are on a break this weekend. Fair dos. But I do wonder, as those that are not there are mostly (if not all) perhaps a tad critical of the media and its representatives' professional performance lately.

It was actually a salutary read, as in noting my blog on the ethics of getting a paid holiday in the sun counting as journalism of any form, I went back a bit further to find another not (yet) featured was one about the law of press junkets. Apparently, any form of paid/assisted PR jolly is illegal under UK law.

Pols Porkies doing well today

‘Four homes’ Charles picks on property owners half his size

Live and let... well, at least let out lots of others for oddles of dosh, ey, what?

What a super-dooper example one sets.

Out of the mouths of consumers...

Green pallor

When it comes to environmental issues, Ms. Taylor, you can ask a
lot of very good questions. Just don't expect many good answers.
Especially from those we used to imagine were tasked to ask them,
despite ad budgets on media:)

I'm guessing after week you have heard... er... nothing?

It not just retailer greenwashing, it's media-contrived greenwashing:)

Green is the new black... er...

"Black day for GE’s green stand"

Bless. Damned if you do greenwash. Damned if you don't.

Don't shoot the messenger. Or the guys flying him for free on a jolly.

Blair Force One fails to take off

What exactly is 'a full press corps', and why do we need to pay
(both financially and environmentally to fly them around?

Nothing like freedom of the press.

Lack of logic is driving me... to Distraction

CAR CLINIC - Congestion chargers

How about the Smart Fortwo I recall reviewed in the paper? And don't
biodiesels like the Saab of dual-fuels such as Volvo offer count?

Mind you, I am still unclear how use of such vehicles solves congestion.

Or, for that matter, how two two miles in a 4x4 and then parking all
day kills the planet, while running all day on electric or hybrid helps
the planet. The pipe may be elsewhere or pump out less per mile,
but if you are doing the miles you are congesting and polluting more,
surely?

The windmills of don't mind (the issues)

Ask the experts - Wind Turbines

You may wish to check the costs. As there is some debate as to
whether you can go green without going into the red as they actually
expire well before the payback period.

That is your eco vs. £ call.

What Ministers might also consider is whether the enviROI
helps the planet, either.

Get paid for making your own electricity


As indicated, there is some debate as to whether you can go
green without going into the red as they actually expire well before
the payback period.

That is a personal eco vs. £ call.

What does interest me, especially when Government and Ministers
get involved, is whether the enviROI helps the planet, either.

I'll put anything up (if I can afford it) IF it improves matters environmentally,
but not to meet some stupid green target

When two sides go to bore

Open airspace to cut carbon, say airlines

At first I thought 'Nice one, Tel!', as it seemed another ace bit of spin
by RyanAir.

But in there, somewhere, is a modicum of logic.

Just like road pricing.

It's just a pity there tow sets of camps, at such extremes dealing with
it all, logic - and action - are as likely as that Gloucester Old Spot
dive-bombing crows out my window.

The richer are different to you and I. They attract more leeches.

I stumbled across this.

I almost wished I hadn't. Almost.

Beam me up, Sir Richard... why space tourism is no longer a sci-fi fantasy

Well, golly. How sooooooper, for you.

And any of this serves anyone, especially the planet... how?

Sickening.

Don't pity me on Petit St Vincent

Light out. The end of some tunnel vision?

Why do I feel the dead hand of a target, combined with some typically unjoined up thinking here?

Get ready for the big blackout

At first I thought 'Why not?' as a lot of motorway miles are driven
using just headlights. But beyond the human, I wonder about the
eco-cost of lights vs. the consequences of an accident in terms of
persons, travel and material damage/repair/recycling.

Brian has made a good suggestion.

Or there are ranges of low energy light made by Philips I have seen.

Told you I was righ...

Gases, not sun, change climate

When are we going to move beyond the vast energies expended
discrediting things and concentrate on simply getting on and
DOING something?

I fully accept that we should not rush into precipitous actions that are
unproven to have environmental benefits, but the possibility of an
economic downturn seems a poor argument against the possibility
of going past a global warming tipping point, proven yet or otherwise.

This is the logic of Salem witchfinders, where you are only proven innocent
/right when it's too late and you are dead.
when you are dead.

Yes, I am jealous. But also a litle jaded.... like a fox

Blog off

Was the content why, the readership why, or the fact that the author
and/or hubby know someone who knows someone in a)publishing,
b) PR and c) a compliant media hack who owes a favour or has a
slow news day?

I blog, therefore I am £70,000 richer

Now is the nuclear winter of my discontent

Just when you though you had had enough of all the Lovelocks, another comes along.

Go nuclear, save the planet... buy the book (that last bit was mine)

I have been erring on agreeing with Mr. Lovelock's analysis of late,
whilst wishing that such contentious, though sincerely meant as
thought-provoking, opinion pieces did not seem to always end with
"The book/TV series/movie is out now, priced £/$x, and the author
is on a tour of the planet to promote it now... but probably not on his
bike"

However, the value of blog post from those who care and know stuff
is clearly evidenced here.

This is just too good a page turner!

No sooner do I put one Pol's Porky to bed, but another gets presented.

The eco minister’s 11,000-mile car claim

The shame of it is that Norman Baker's bill to make such info public domain, seems not only to have passed (yay!), but so quickly been consigned, along with what it thew up, to history. Pity.

Puff piece

Last night a mate of mine asked my what the ecological consequences of the smoking industry was, from growing tobacco to setting fire to the stuff. I have no idea. Might be worth a scope.

Anyway, it leads me to this: MEPs’ cigarette ban goes up in smoke

I say nothing, but imply what you will that it is labelled 'POLPOR', which is for Pol's Porkies, my forthcoming website to log those that say one thing and do another. Hypocrite is too goo.. strong a word.

Laptops of the Gods

A bit of good news:
Wind-up laptops for Third World
The £50 laptop to change the world

Can I buy one?

No, really. I go to a lot of shows where they charge £200 for
power and £100 for internet access.

Or eco-shows where they don't charge because they have neither.

Tricky when you are promoting a website that is out to help save
the planet.

Surely aversion can be made that is 'For sale', and one that is given
away clearly branded as only for a worthy recipient's use, such that
a person found in possession will at the very least be named and
shamed, if not held to account.

What's green and has nothing to do with fixing a car?

Green travel off to a flying start

While whacking a fir in the firmament is the method du jour to attract
the tiny minority of well-informed Radio 4 listeners and even, it seems,
middle England to buying anything Climate Guilt-free, I was wondering
if there were any policies that addressed reduction of waste within the
automotive industry, and especially in the areas of reduction, reuse,
repair and recycling? Things like fixing stuff instead of just replacing.

I am aware of instances where this would be possible, and would
seem to confer more relevant benefits to the planet.

Cut and paste

I have been critical of some in the charity sector on occasion, and feel right to be so where excessive money goes not to those intended, but to those who see opportunity for being in a sacred cow industry.

So when I saw this I was impressed: What a donation buys around the world

20% is pretty much a standard agent's fee for any efforts on behalf of a client. So I think that is about right. And they have undercut that target by 4%.

Big up.

Let's shoot at the guy in the window seat of the pressurised palne

Miliband mocked by his critics as climate Bill is downgraded

As Minister for the Environment and a claimed contender for party leadership it makes sense for anyone with an interest in this planet's future to watch Mr. Miliband's career and pay close attention to what he does, or does not do (or get done).

In this case I find it a shame that the 'critics' seemed more interested on how this reflected on him and his 'chances', than the issue at hand, and how it was delayed.

Further proof, if it were needed, that the denizens of Westminster and Fleet Street care more about themselves in the short term than anything pressing beyond the day after tomorrow.

Times - Labour accused of climate Bill chaos
Guardian - Watch thy neighbour
Ain't it a great way to run a country?
Whoops, it's where I live. Bummer.