Building Bridges

As I am more in the habit of burning my bridges before I get to them, it is nice for a change to see some valuable construction work bear fruit.

Yesterday I was strolling back through town when I chanced upon an expo (well, a few stalls) in the Market Square, one of which was festooned with 'recycle now' banners.

Now, as may be recalled, I am a little chary of some from this sector, having felt Junkk.com to have been at best poorly served, and at worst rather dubiously treated by a couple of dodgy dealers of theoretically green-promoting largess in the past.

Anyway, fresh from swallowing my pride at Total Packaging, and with luck forging new and useful bonds with a WRAP big-wig, and having found a new soulmate at Eden Project (whose previous PR director treated me and our lovely Head of Prose and Comms Anita so shabbily a few years back) the other day in London, I decided to see if the magic may apply on a more local basis.

Well, fingers crossed, it looks like it may. I had a very nice chat with Jeremy, the officer of the day, and as a consequence ended up talking with the head bod for Hereford and Worcestershire's enviro efforts. And, thanks to this, we should see a whole new level of synergistic bonding taking place. For a start, they were happy to have our stuff on the stand, so I dashed home to get a standee and flyers to them asap. And these will now be touring around, much as the Junkk.com demo kit is currently doing in Cumbria. They help me; I help them. How sweet is that?

And to kick off from our side, I am happy to share what they were doing there, which was promoting a kitchen waste sink macerator device, with added grant. And very nice both look too, both environmentally and financially.

I initially had my doubts, and expressed them rather starkly by asking 'How the heck does flushing pureed waste down my sink help the planet?'.

Well, the answer was simply and convincing, if disappointing to learn that (as is too often the case) it is not applicable in very many other places.

Because it seems that our local water guys have in place a system to collect biogas from the sewage system, and better yet then recover the resulting dry matter for use as fertiliser. And that makes for a 'win win' in my book. So I will be applying and installing asap, as it is also not beyond the ken of a fair DIYer... apparently.

I'll still be using the compost bins for most organics as I think I can find uses for this at home, but as this machine will chew up the rest and squirt it to enviROI+ nirvana, it gets my full endorsement and with-feet vote.

Nice one council, water board and others! Let's hope such an initiative catches on everywhere.

For those in the relevant areas, once they give me the PR and details I'll upload it.

Scott and Peter and Ted and Malice

The ongoing, spooky (at least as it seems to mirror my life) genius that is Dilbert.

Forces of IT evil - 0, Peter - 2

Well if that isn't asking for it, I don't know what is.

Two small victories for me over my LCD (lowest common denominator) screen status. Well, 1 and three quarters.

First, up, having blown 3 times the price of a Windows compatible, I at least have a Skype phone, on my Mac, that seems to work. That is, I made a call and received one. Whether I will do it without the help of a tech expert next time is another matter. But I am now online and freely available... literally, if sometimes not actually able to come to the phone.

The other is our first test of the upgraded Junkk.com site. Very exciting, except for the fact that a lot didn't work, which is why we have it on a test server. Can't wait to let it loose. New homepage with auto-updates of latest ideas and blogs. New functionalities such as a much more useful edit/delete function on JunkkYard. And some major glitches sorted. Sweet.

Well, when they work.

Oh, what a waste of...?

I was an odd youngster. Where others were wearing their hair long and their politics left, I was usually considered a touch on the Tory side. Which annoyed me a lot, and actually such labels still do bug me for their all-encompassing nature, as it seldom adequately described where I was coming from, which was trying to assemble personal best from the policies that all sides were espousing.

But one thing was sure, when it came out, I really didn't see the problem with Poll Tax. While a few others most certainly did. Riotously so. Maggie outingly so. I can't recall exactly when it was now, but it may have had something to do with me owning my first flat and sharing it with a mate, and our paying on where it was and not what we used had something to do with it.

Hence I find myself with odd, and conflicted feelings about all that surrounds the newly-announced Waste Strategy and all the media surrounding it, a small sample of which (noting how the leanings of some are evidenced by the spin they put on the same facts) can be surveyed here:

Telegraph - England's rubbish crisis -
Telegraph - Cash carrot to curb the family's rubbish -
Telegraph - Miliband offers recycling carrot -
Telegraph - Households to face £30 recycling fines -
Times - Waste Not, Want Not -
Times - Pay-as-you-throw scheme for waste ‘penalises householders’ - 'Recycling volumes will rise most quickly if the Government smooths the path of those who make a living from reuse and reclamation. There is no place yet for fining or taxing those individuals yet to appreciate the benefits of an afterlife for their rubbish.'
Times - Councils ‘need money to meet costly targets’ -
Mail - Now you'll have to pay to take your rubbish to the tip - But if they try to avoid these charges by driving their domestic refuse to the tip, they will have to pay anyway.
Express - DUSTBINS: NOW WE FACE FINES AND TAXES - Lower-income households receiving council tax benefit - often families with young children - could also be exempt, despite generating relatively large quantities of waste with nappies and other trash - er, excuse me...?
Indy - Cash rewards to reduce rubbish disposal - Every household in the country could have at least five bins in the future to allow separate collections for glass, paper, cans, plastics and food waste, though not garden refuse - tell that to Elsie in her flat opposite!
Indy - Legislation to tackle excess packaging - I still await how 'excess' is defined any better than 'necessary' without also clamping down on every other aspect of consumer culture, from advertising to fashion.
BBC - Bin charges 'to boost recycling'

By any measure, I should be up there waving from the rooftops. It seems to be exactly what the young me was in favour of, and how the old me lives. But...

There is an odd unease in the land of Martin at the logic behind it, the competence of those who would put it into effect, and the actual enviROI that is going to be derived vs. the social divisions, public rejection and possible 'targets rather than tangibles' measures to be imposed.

I choose to be optimistic, as there is a lot of talk of reward and incentive, but this has to be complemented by the mechanisms to do the right thing easily and conveniently. People are starting to wake up to the fact that much of what is out there is a big fine waiting if you do not work for free for councils who you pay, and who pay contractors big money already. I don't mind doing my bit, but certainly want it appreciated and acknowledged. I do not like being forced to act in support of overpaid and inefficient systems, especially under threat. On a personal level, but also as a matter of logic, if segregated recyclable materials are a resource, why would I be penalised for bringing them to a collection centre? Should I quickly throw out all I have collected over the last few years into one massive, mixed black plastic bin liner and simply drop it outside. How on earth does that serve the environment????!

There is also the not so small matter of what is actually being done, and what is seen to be done. A few too many of the proposed initiatives smack of populist window dressing, tackling high-profile but irrelevant targets at the expense of real ones. There still seems a typical, massive, and hugely wasteful focus on trying to deal with the end point problem by using those who have little control over it all as scapegoats, when so much more could, and should be done (and a heck of lot more transparently in a financial sense) as things go into the consumer system before they become disposable.

For my kids' futures, I expect substance, and not window dressing, and if they can't find a way to sell it to the public with their existing methods, maybe they need to change. Or be changed.

Here it is: DEFRA

The Big Apple Bore

New York may be a greener place but it's also become boring. Whatever happened to Sin City?

I am very much of the view that anything is better than nothing, and anyone is better than no one when it comes to making the planet a better place for future generations. So if it's boring it may be preferable to being interesting for all the wrong reasons.

And hence I have to say most on the list of initiatives seems pretty tame, logical and, with luck, likely to have a welcome effect.

Where I do get concerned, from billionaires upwards, is when the actual agenda is not too driven by altruism.

While the positives may still outweigh the negatives, there is a very broad and complex series of factors at play here, from difficult to quantify ones like 'awareness' and 'public motivation', to simple, tangible carbon reduction.

While not always easy, I try and judge all I am served by its enviROI, the actual benefit to what goes up in smoke at the end of the day, as this seems to be our most pressing area to address.

Sadly, and all too often, I find too many fail by being more minded to meet a target, score a rating, a political point or push a project through. And that does not help my kids' futures.

All roads (and train lines) lead to London. Darn it.

Caption 1 - The carpark at Didcot Parkway. Rich in symbolism, I felt.


Caption 2 - The goodie bag from the do. I'd have to say a few trees were hurt in the making of this show. Ah well, all in a good cause. And I did get a few things I can now re:view.

For a London boy, I find myself oddly in dread of going there. Yet, inevitably, I find myself doing so, again and again. Big lights, big city. Centre of all things.

Yesterday was another long day, but a worthwhile one.

The trip itself was very pleasant, both ways, though at four hours in either direction totalled a working day alone. I have been further experimenting with my options, and this time decided to try Didcot Parkway in another car/train combo.

By way of nerd analysis, I break down the trip in several ways, pretty much in this order of importance:

1) Cost (miles, fare, parking, tube, etc)
2) Time (on the road, on the train, hanging about for connections)
3) Convenience (turn up and step on or sweat on a connection)
4) Reliability (will they shut the motorway... again. Will the cancel the train.. again)
5) Flexibility (can I turn up or do I need to book? And can I change my plans?)
6) Comfort (sitting in my case next to the loos. Sitting at Swindon waiting for the missus to get me)

The drive was lovely, but did take 2hrs. I'd say petrol was pretty fair, especially as I took the small car. What was nice was the ticket price (except the parking) - £20 - but it was pretty restrictive. It kicked in at a a fair (fare?) enough post-rush hour 9.30am, but had a rather inflexible, pre-4pm, post 'lord knows how late' return, which made for an undignified early duck out and some Cinderella style scampering to get there to avoid becoming a pumpkin (or end up being penalised). This added the additional 2hrs. Other than standing on the way back, it was all comfortable, but the time and convenience was pretty low. Not sure I'd do it again, as all I managed was a rushed few hours to do the biz.

And this was two-fold. First up was to meet a potential advisor on hooking up with venture capital/business advisers for RE:tie. This went very well and is looking promising. I'd not go so far as to say that RE:tie is a no-brainer, but in the current climate its business applications are pretty clear... IF handled well. I came away feeling this chap knew where I was coming from and, more importantly, what and who it would take to make the journey to where I want to go a decent one for all concerned.

The other bird that got duly well stoned was the annual Bray Leino (possibly the world's most soothing homepage) networking bash (oddly, though this was held in London, most there who I met were from anywhere but). This is a specialist eco-PR agency who I came across as a consequence of them and us being involved with ecover. Sadly no one from that company was there, but a lot of other more than interesting, and I hope mutually regarding folk were. Such as dyson (new product out, which I plan to review soon), ecotricity, green.tv... and innocent. And it's true what they say - you can be as virtually whizz-bang as you like, but it really only happens in person over an organic quiche and a glass of fresh OJ (I made that last bit up).

Bonds were forged, with luck, and opportunities will I hope soon be created.

You can call me 'Al'

ETHICAL MAN GOES GLOBAL

'Newsnight's one-time Ethical Man, Justin Rowlatt, travels (somewhat unethically by plane) to India - ETHICAL MAN GOES GLOBAL'
-----------------------

I don't know how he fared with families there, but he didn't do too well here. As to whether it was 'somewhat' something ending in 'ical', ethics were not the first thing that sprang to mind.

Glibly admitting the blatant nature of a 'don't do as I do; do as I say' reason, if not excuse, really doesn't (green)wash any more, even with the sad attempted justification of 'raising awareness'. But it is still being trotted out as if it justifies anything, no matter how superfici-al (another one) done in the name of eco.

As Saint Bob Geldof recently opined about the forthcoming Live Earth concerts: 'We are all pretty [gosh darn] aware enough already, and really don't need a bunch more celebs flying all over the place to tell us'. Such as Mr. 'Well, you know, not flying isn't really practical...for folks like ME' Blair, 'You can call me - in my Lear - Al' Gore, Leonardo 'I try to fly commercial' diCaprio, Richard 'So it's a few rich guys atop a column of greenhouse gasses to have a Kodak Moment in the stars - but I've sponsored a prize' Branson' and every eco-writer whose doom and gloom book has been preceded by a global promo tour.

All followed, or mirrored by just as '-al' journalists who seem big on justification and low on irony. I imagine it will not be long before Justin has to fly up to the icy wastes to join half the BBC already there 'studying' what Global Warming is doing to the icy wastes, thanks in part to all the folk flying up there to 'study' it.

Sure it may be your job. But that's the point. We all have jobs, and a lot of them involve some form of flying. If you won't... can't... shouldn't have to forgo this in the name of earning a living, why the heck should anyone else? THAT is the only message all this fake concern for the environment conveys. The BBC trumpets the world's largest network of correspondents, so why do we need one to fly, presumably with crew, to India to report on it there? If it's for a quick entertainment ratings fix then admit it, but don't try and pretend it is 'somewhat unethical' or has one whit to do with concern for our planet or kids' futures upon it.

I just look forward (with dread) to when a few thousand Indian journalists come over here to see how our water levels are doing, followed by a newly affluent middle class from Asia who as a consequence don't think any restrictions need to apply to them either. No wonder, with such a message from the media: 'whoever it is, it isn't me'.

THIS was his first return at living ethically having ended his year and dropped the 'attempt' like last night's leftovers in the waste bin???! He can, apparently, because he's 'no longer ethical'. Well, golly, that's all right then.

No wonder George isn't giving up his car. Good to see he can get his aircon fix at M&S though. I guess paying for plastic bags here soon will make up for it.

Nice one, BBC... nice one.

VIDEO

Team.. er.. Work

Or... jobs for the boys & girls?

Just got this press release:

Office of the Third Sector appoints four Deputy Directors to spearhead new team structure

The Deputy Directors will each lead a new team, created as part of the recently announced OTS restructuring and coming into effect on June 4, and play a pivotal role in the leading and implementing the Government's approach to the third sector.

The range of skills and experience of the new appointees, encompassing considerable achievement in both public and third sectors, will help the OTS strengthen levels of understanding and partnership between the third sector and every level of government.

Now, while I am all for strengthen levels of understanding, and positively over the moon about the possibility of partnership (well, still waiting for any yet, but I'm sure it's coming), and accepting this is an exciting new sector to 'engage' with, but I do have to wonder what four new DDs and 'teams' adds up to in terms of service delivery and ROI to the taxpayer.

Just asking.

Those who report on the rich and famous are different to you and I...

... they evidently have no shame:

Indy - Her Majesty's parliamentary press corps are hopping mad. For years
they have had the privilege of parking their cars for free in the
Mall but there has now been a crackdown. Hacks will now have to fork
out 2,200 pounds a year for parking on the Mall, which is set to make
for an interesting set of expenses over the coming months.

Why, pray, do they need a car in the first place?

'No flies on us' zone

Nothing like a good bit of in-depth, critical repor... printing of a press release:

Global travel firms unite in climate-change drive

I look forward very much to the arrival of any bio-fuel that is 'carbon free', as I rather suspect that some may still be involved.

However, in the great trading scheme of things, if we are on a possible window measured in decades, it may be wise, no matter how unpalatable to the current lifestyle expectations of the richer nations and their populations, to also look at the possibility of a little less gadding about in the first place. That way we don't have to knock down forests to make the stuff and burn it in the first place.

Pretty please:)

You scratch my back?

A curiously uneditorialised press release being reprinted here, all the more odd as it is from a rival paper group:

Murdoch: I'm proud to be green

Just one quick question; one of many this piece raised in my mind. As they obviously exist, but given that my 1/2sqm solar suitcase promises 13W on a good day, how exactly do these work?: '...practical measures include solar-powered golf carts to carry people round..'

'Aving a LARHF

Mars forced into u-turn over animal products

There seems to be a whole new level of 'aving a LARHF (Left And Right Hand Foul-up) these days, where it almost beggars belief that one side of a marketing-driven organisation can institute something without those who may offer valuable views (especially to avoid boo-boos) having a say.

In this PC, inclusive, multi-allergic world, a major fmcg didn't commit to adding an animal-based product to some ranges where before there was none, without someone in the decision chain going: 'Er, hey guys, what about...?'.

Then again, if it were not for the cost involved and the amount of egg that should rightly be spread over various faces (with all due deference to Vegan sensibilities), have seen the more than chipper spokeslady making the most of the media interest last night, one could almost be forgiven for thinking that 'any publicity is good...'. Like it was meant to be:)

National Vegetarian Week (21-27 May 2007) - Gosh, what a coincidence!

Ask a silly question...

Is the environment a vote-winner?

Yes, so long as the enviROI (environmental end-benefit) is real, assessed without agenda, applied with long-term fortitude, with the pros and cons explained to the public clearly, based honestly and sold without spin.

So, no matter what hue from the political spectrum the next knee-jerk, half-considered, tomorrow's vote-swapper initiative gets served up from... then the answer must be... probably.

Trouble is, there will be one inevitable loser: the planet, and our kids' futures on it.

Better than expected?

I just opened a read the latest email newsletter form the latest in a long line of lifestyle newsletter/feeds that I get. It's called ecogeek, and perfectly good it is too. Today they are suitably excited about their progress:

Another Milestone is Upon Us. We've just passed 1,000 RSS users and are officially being forced onto a dedicated server because people love us so much!

Even more awesome? EcoGeek is now providing content to Yahoo! along with a few other top environmental blogs like TreeHugger and WorldChanging. Check out green.yahoo.com for more.

Good for them, and well done. But it got me to thinking. Junkk.com does waaaaay better than that. Click on the link and we do a lot better than Yahoo, too.

Now, I need to capitalise on this as it obviously matters. And helps spread the word further.

Yet again, this is an area I know of, but not much about, and need to get going on this pronto.

Politics. As Usual.

Good day for burying awkward news?

'Just how does this fit into Gordon Brown's new attempt to build trust?'

Well, I suppose it does seem a good way of trying to erase analysis of various parties' roles in the last ten years, and 'starting afresh', in theory untainted by the fact that he and most who still surround him were in the room when it all happened... Pensions, Education, Health, Iraq...

I'm still trying to get to grips with how this government thinks they bear no responsibility for their collective actions previously - under a leader they elected, - simply because a new leader has oozed into the top slot due to lack of... well, everything really.

I for one am living what they have created and know who bears responsibility. Trouble is, when it comes to voting them out there is precious little alternative, though I'm damned if this time I'll allow my protest be deemed a 'spoiled vote'. It was a democratic statement of my view on the competence who would claim to be fit to lead us, and should have been accorded status as such.

I just hope the 'Anyone but these clowns' clown who does get in has the humility to realise that by scraping in with a pathetic percentage of a pathetic percentage who vote does not count, nor should be trumpeted as 'a mandate from the people'. What are the odds?

Indy - The MP, his quad bike and a phoney scare story - Well said. It's just another nail in the coffin of the people's faith, and trust, in those who would claim to 'serve' the public.

Letters - QED

Indy - MPs have no reason to be exempt from FoI law, watchdog warns

Crashing the party

It's pretty obvious that there are opportunities for promoting Junkk.com on social networking sites, especially as it has a lot that is visual and you can 'do'. And I'd like think our structure and style is appropriate and attractive to such audiences.

Other than the small matter of finding the time to tackle this task, it is also important to do it right. Hence I was pleased to stumble across this piece, which I found useful: Avoiding the MySpace Mistake (though the title may be a tad misleading - we should make such mistakes as MySpace! It in fact refers to etiquette upon it)

Getting Out & About

In terms of priorities, with all that is going on I seem to have a list 'yaaaaay long' of what to do first. Cloning self would be a good start.

However, pretty near the top, it seems obvious that while I have devoted so much time to RE:tie of late, Junkk.com has played second fiddle. I don't mean the site itself so much, which in theory is bubbling along on its own by being designed as a user-managed and evolving experience (exciting new features to come soon, though!), but promoting it.

For a long time I have been well aware of the potential of such sites as YouTube, MySapce, etc in offering routes to expose new markets to what we have on offer, especially as so much of it is stuff to 'DO', and is so visual. I'd also like to think we're pretty hip too, but by using that word I'm probably showing I'm not the guy to ride that particular wave.

Anyway, I was therefore grateful for this piece in BusinessWeek - Avoiding the MySpace Mistake - and even was moved to write to the author.

While my site is itself a budding social exchange, it is obvious to me that there are many opportunities for 'promotion' out there on sites such as MySpace, YouTube, etc.

The key is 'cutting through' and getting noticed, but in focusing on how to do that it would be all too easy to forget there are certain key considerations that need to be borne in mind, and this article was a valuable reminder of these.

Never mind the material. Just listen to the girl.

I too often get distracted by the blog, which really does get a tad 'earnest' itself at times, that I forget just how fun the estimable Grist can be.

So I can only direct you, with relish, at this, their review of Madge's latest incarnation, Earth Mother: And I Am a Recycled-Material Girl

Methinks she doth protesteth too darn after the band's wagon has rolled outta Dodge. And, it seems, perhaps with less than her usual skill.

I have no clue how to link to it as it came as an email, but here it is as received. Go to Grist and try and find it there if you fancy their links (which are many and, I'm sure, worthy, if only of note):

Madonna releases single to support Live Earth climate efforts

What is it about climate change that makes music ... suck? First we had Melissa Etheridge's "I Need to Wake Up," the earnest, Oscar-winning Inconvenient Truth anthem. Now we have Madonna's "Hey You," a somnolent single released this week in conjunction with Live Earth, the continents-spanning climate-awareness concerts planned for 7/7/07. While we can't complain about our favorite virgin's intentions -- the single is downloadable for free for a week, and Microsoft is donating 25 cents for each of the first million downloads to the Alliance for Climate Protection -- we can complain about her music. Because its vapid lyrics and "stripped-down, folksy" style suuuuck. Still, Live Earth's Kevin Wall called the release of the ballad, which Madge will perform at the London concert, "an incredible boost to our efforts to get people engaged in the environmental cause." And you should go download it! To support climate relief! Plus you might love it! In which case, ignore everything else we just said.

I wonder if they'll ask Bob Geldof what he thinks of it? Is it just me, or is Live Earth off to a less than glorious start even from the eco-side of the fence?

Awareness, people! Be aware, be very aware! And don't forget to buy the T-shirt.

They are cracking me up!

Before I go to bed, I just have to get off my chest the latest idiocy from out national broadcaster.

A few years ago, a dirty great lump of ice in the middle of the Canadian wastewaters broke off.

Now, it is probably not a good thing, and possibly a further sign, should we need it, of a warming trend climatically. So far, so factual.

But what do we get? Po-faced, the anchor announces that: 'this is what it could have looked like; before we get what seemed like a cut-price CGI animatic to the opening sequence of Ice Age, the movie. Basically a cartoon of a white thing with a crack running along it.

Then, just for good measure, we get a blow by blow account of the BBC reporter and team struggling, you guessed it, to get there in a chartered airplane to stand on this two year old lump of floating ice, '...to understand what may have caused this'.

For some reason, all watching thought this more of an effective p*ss take than the preceding Have I Got New For You, and fell off their chairs laughing. I sooo feel my licence fee is being well spent.

ADDENDUM - yes, it's now also on the web: Mission to Ice Island - 'you can follow the progress of myself and producer Mark Georgiou and cameraman Duncan Stone.'

Them. The Other Them. And Us in the Middle

'Call us Malcolm, and we are strong (well, we can write really vicious blogs, anyway)!

After a mind-frying week, I decided to have a gentle surf of the 600 legitimate emails in my In-box that have built up over the last few days. Most are from e-newsletters, and will, sadly, now never be read, but the title of one caught my attention enough to read, and I am glad I did. It's good:

MTV Misses the Mark on Eco-Activists

This synergises so well with what I have experienced and write about, especially lately, over here. There is a really disturbing trend for the media and politics to try to drive wedges in matters green for their own short-termist ends.

This must be fought at every silly, sick little attempt to score a cheap vote or easy rating by using concern for the future so selfishly.

ADDENDUM:

I wrote to compliment the author, who has responded most charmingly:

Many thanks for your comments, and for taking the time to write in. I’m glad you enjoyed the post, and thanks for linking to it from your own blog!

I was moved to write on this because there were so many obvious, easy, constructive alternatives to what they had in mind. I’ve gotten lots of support from my friends and colleagues about it as well. I’ve been a part of SustainUS—The US Youth Network for Sustainable Development, which is an all-volunteer youth-run organization that sends young people to UN meetings, like the Commission on Sustainable Development, to have a voice. Being in great company there, it is so obvious to me that MTV would have plenty of candidates who would 1) make great TV, and 2) have innovative, educational, and important things to share.

Glad to be in touch.

Best,
Zoe

I hope to stay in touch with such a thoughtful correspondent.