Anna Shepard is no granola-munching hippie. She’s the hip and stylish green girl next door who writes the Eco-Worrier column for the Sunday Times, the Eco-Worrier blog, and she’s just published a new book, How Green Are My Wellies?
Anna comes from a family of frugal women, and so took to eco-living like a duck to water. In her own words, she “finds living green to be more life-enhancing than difficult or expensive”. Anna dishes out advice that she’s tested thoroughly herself, as well as frugal (and eco-friendly) nuggets passed down to her by her mother and grandmother.
In How Green Are My Wellies?, Anna tackles one lifestyle change per month. She explores different methods for greening her life, discarding those that don’t work, and recommending those that do. As you read along, month-by-month, you’ll be encouraged to join Anna to achieve a seasonal green target, and learn, as Anna has, how to green your life without having to compromise on style.
This book will make a great gift for aspiring environmentalists, especially at Christmas time to encourage green New Year’s resolutions. From slimming your waste in January to stepping off the seasonal treadmill in December, following Anna’s lead with make the world of difference to your environmental impact by taking your life in a new and greener direction.
In their commitment to the planet, and each other, Stefanie Schmiedel and Robert Gray took the Tube to their wedding. They travelled with their bridal party from Dollis Hill to Baker Street Tube station by London Underground, and then walked the rest of the way to the Marylebone register office.
Bride Stefanie wore a reusable dress, a 2nd hand engagement ring and the couple’s wedding menus and order of service were printed on recycled paper. The reception was catered for using local produce and the wedding cake was organic.
The couple felt it was important to have an environmentally friendly wedding and Stefanie even encouraged her relatives to travel to London from Germany by train or coach instead of flying. Groom Robert Gray remarked: “We didn’t feel that we needed a stretch limo to get to their register office when we have got an Oyster card and the Tube”.
In the run-up to last Christmas I wrote a big, green eco-xmas gift list that included a little toy car called the H-racer as a gift idea for boys of all ages. At the time I called it “a futuristic toy car containing one of the most exciting and advanced technologies of the 21st century”, and I suppose that is what it remains. But I didn’t imagine when writing that last November that just 8 months later I’d be hearing about the first zero-emissions hydrogen 4×4 taking to the streets of London. It’s still pretty futuristic because the technology is still too expensive to produce the car commercially, but as will most technologies, that should change as the demand for it grows.
The Nissan 4×4 FCV (fuel cell vehicle) challenges the view that 4-wheel drive vehicles are gas guzzlers by emitting only a few drops of water over the 300 miles that it can travel on a full tank of hydrogen.
The Environmental Transport Association’s Andrew Davis test drove the Nissan X-Trail FCV. This is what he has to say about the experience:
The first thing I noticed as I pulled into Exhibition Road, Kensington was that pedestrians did not look up to see my approach – the vehicle is near silent at urban speeds. This made me even more attentive to ensure I did not run down someone who was relying on their hearing to check for traffic. I was also very concerned that I was in control of a demonstration vehicle priced at around £1•5m. It was also ironic that I was driving what many would consider a ‘Chelsea tractor’ a stone’s throw from Chelsea itself.
As the viability of hydrogen powered vehicles continues to increase (have you seen the price of petrol lately?), hydrogen stations are starting to pop up in the UK. The first opened in April 2008, with another 11 expected to be operating by 2010. Channel 4 news looked at the opening of the first hydrogen fuel station back in April.
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In their commitment to the planet, and each other, Stefanie Schmiedel and Robert Gray took the Tube to their wedding. They travelled with their bridal party from Dollis Hill to Baker Street Tube station by London Underground, and then walked the rest of the way to the Marylebone register office.
