Blogs

Green Blog

Secrets, loves and loathes from the UK's friendliest green team.

You can subscribe to this blog by email using Google's subscription service.

RSS Feed RSS icon


andy.coleman

Andy Coleman

20 May

Develop clean British energy to create UK jobs

By failing to invest in renewable energy R&D and infrastructure, the UK is in danger of falling further behind the market leaders (USA & China) more ...


katy.anderson

Katy Anderson

14 May

Frustrated by stuff you have to throw away?

Together we can unpick the problems and find solutions for achieving zero waste. more ...

people's design lab logo


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

aaron.faunch

Aaron Faunch

13 May

Get Gobby competition, step 2: Turning ideas into a plan

In my last blog I talked about choosing an audience and a medium to reach them. Now the most important part... How am I going to convince them to change their diets? more ...

Get Gobby - a student challenge to persuade people to eat in better ways

© Friends of the Earth


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

philippa.parry

Philippa Parry

13 May

Why are wind developments being met with closed doors?

A few weeks ago I met Paul Kent, Chair of the community energy project Bedlinog Wind, in South Wales. more ...

Paul Kent, chair of Bedlinog Wind in South Wales, flicks through wind project application


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

philippa.parry

Philippa Parry

13 May

Community Energy: does the Government protect private energy suppliers?

Friends of Taff Bargoed in South Wales has found itself in what has become an all too familiar situation for community energy generation projects. Despite being backed by all relevant parties and confirmed to be viable and potentially lucrative, the project is being held up by financing issues. more ...

Chair of Friends of Taff Bargoed Park standing by the river running through the park.


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

tom.wright

Tom Wright

08 May

Sowing the seeds for new life in old earth

Digging up the earth in a cemetery usually only means one thing. I have to admit to being a bit nervous as I put my foot on the spade for the first time. But thankfully the only things that'll be springing up between the gravestones in Walthamstow Cemetery are wildflowers.   more ...

Planting wildflowers in Queens Road Cemetery

© Waltham Forest Friends of the Earth


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

vicki.hird

Vicki Hird

03 May

Get Gobby over our broken food system

Depending on your preferences, the news from China puts our horsemeat scandal into the shade. Apparently they've had fox, mink, rat and other meat  passed off as lamb. They are also finding their rivers filling up with dead pigs. more ...

image

© istock


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

alison.benjamin

Alison Benjamin

01 May

Diary of a beekeeper - bees and the cold weather

  more ...

Beehives in orchard

© Thinkstock


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

nicola.baird

Nicola Baird

29 Apr

Eco adventures - what role in kids' education?

Guest blogger Nicola Baird is an author, environmental writer and blogger - more at www.nicolabaird.com  more ...

Map from 'The Last Wild' book

© Thomas Flintham


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

kenneth.richter

Kenneth Richter

26 Apr

Do you know what your pension's up to?

Like millions of people working in the UK I'm saving money for my retirement by paying into a pension fund. more ...

Bujumba family in Uganda

© Friends of the Earth International


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

aaron.faunch

Aaron Faunch

25 Apr

Get Gobby competition, step 1: Wading through the idea minefield

Hello, I'm a student from the University of Lincoln, and I'm entering Friends of the Earth's new competition, Get Gobby. more ...

Get Gobby - a student challenge to persuade people to eat in better ways

© Friends of the Earth


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

andrew.neather

Andrew Neather

22 Apr

A biodynamic wine guide for the ethical drinker

Guest blogger Andrew Neather is wine critic for the London Evening Standard and a former editor of Earthmatters, Friends of the Earth's supporter magazine. more ...

Oxen in vineyard growing biodynamic wine

© Floris Books


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

philippa.parry

Philippa Parry

18 Apr

'Black to green': hydropower cleans up disused Welsh coal mine

It's a testament to the power of community regeneration that Cwmclydach Countryside Park, a former colliery near Swansea, is now a beautiful nature haven. more ...

Cwymclydach hydro communty project turned disused coalmine into a nature reserve.


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

anna.rosbach

Anna Rosbach

18 Apr

Mining for sea plastic - a new resource

Industry, the fishing communities, governments and NGOs can work together to tackle waterborne waste, particularly plastic.

Anna Rosbach, MEP and Chairwoman of Waste Free Oceans. more ...

image

© Jenny Penney


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

lucy.pearce

Lucy Pearce

16 Apr

Come and help me answer some campaigning conundrums

What great campaigning moments stick in my mind? more ...

Anti-nuclear demonstration Japan c. Matthias Lambrecht

© Matthias Lambrecht


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

philippa.parry

Philippa Parry

16 Apr

Poems in the Valleys: energy and climate change

Poetry and climate change may seem like a strange combination. But as the charity Awel Aman Tawe (AAT) found, it can be incredibly powerful in conveying the realities of a changing climate to wider audiences. more ...

Welsh valley scene

© Tancread


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

susie.hewson

Susie Hewson

11 Apr

The Big Green Bike Ride - On the road again

It's amazing I cycled all the way from London to Edinburgh in just 6 days, blogs Susie Hewson - a participant in last year's Big Green Bike Ride.  more ...

Susie Hewson on the Big Green Bike Ride

© Susie Hewson


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

simon.bowens

Simon Bowens

09 Apr

Sustainable businesses from tiny Acorns grow

At Friends of the Earth, we have always confronted businesses when they pursue profit at the expense of the environment and of people. more ...

turbine opening Acorn Dairy, Darlington, April 2013

© Friends of the Earth


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

nithya.natarajan

Nithya Natarajan

03 Apr

Eco-friendly fashion? It's all about supply chains

As an avid Fairtrade supporter, I'm a great believer in well-labelled products on supermarket shelves that explain their origins. Fairtrade and other schemes such as Rainforest Alliance guarantee that the processes and materials behind a product are all earth and human-friendly. Quite simply, they promote the idea of companies being transparent about their supply chains. more ...

People walking on pavement past Gucci store

© caribb


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

mute.schimpf

Mute Schimpf

28 Mar

Stop the Crop for a sustainable GM-free future

"GM isn't the answer to our food problems," blogs Mute Schimpf from Friends of the Earth Europe as a new campaign to stop a new wave of GM crops being approved is launched. more ...

image

© Friends of the Earth


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

daniel.ferro

Daniel Ferro

26 Mar

Playing cat and mouse with Apple security

Playing cat and mouse with security has been a bit of a pattern for me of late.  more ...

Apple laptop in store with paper label attached: Do I trash forests? #MakeItBetter


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

rachel.gibbons

Rachel Gibbons

20 Mar

Cutting climate from the curriculum leaves me cold

Unbelievable. The self-proclaimed "greenest government ever" has decided that climate change is not important enough to be in the geography curriculum. more ...

Penistone School


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

neil.kingsnorth

Neil Kingsnorth

13 Mar

Public pressure's finally made EDF Energy see sense over No Dash For Gas

Well, it took over 64,000 petition signatures, a tonne of messages on EDF Energy's Facebook page and letters in local papers across the country. Not to mention a special web site created to help people switch their electricity from EDF to another provider, and criticism from businesses and commentators. more ...

No Dash For Gas protest

© No Dash For Gas


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

wendy.yuen

Wendy Yuen

12 Mar

Mappiness: why our new Green Britain map makes me happy

It struck me the other day that the availability of IT tools like Google Maps has led to a resurgence in the ancient art of map making. Everyone from the UN to music bands seems to have realised that maps are cool. But when it comes to campaigning can they help change the world? more ...

Map of Green Britain


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

esther.woolfson

Esther Woolfson

04 Mar

Spring Journal - Field Notes by Esther Woolfson

 The award-winning nature diarist Esther Woolfson celebrates the signs of spring in the first of her guest blog posts for Friends of the Earth.

more ...

image

© Thinkstock


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

amelia.collins

Amelia Collins

04 Mar

You've been framed...

Well strictly speaking I've been framed. I slightly dread it when the optician tells me I need new glasses, the daunting prospect of having to select a new pair is not one I relish. Thankfully I have found a solution. more ...

Amelia Collins wearing Modo recycled glasses

© Friends of the Earth


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

alex.gregory

Alex Gregory

27 Feb

Olympic gold medallist Alex Gregory: get training for The Big Green Bike Ride

Training is tough at the very best of times. And never more than when the British weather is at its wintery worst. But there is very little that is more satisfying than achieving a goal you have set however big or small. That's why I want to encourage you to sign up to the Big Green Bike Ride and challenge yourself to ride from London to the New Forest to raise money for Friends of the Earth. more ...

Olympic Medallist Alex Gregory

© Alex Gregory


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

steve.cain

Steve Cain

27 Feb

10 secrets to charity shop success

I get most of my clothes second hand, and a lot of these are from charity shops. I love the feeling of finding unusual items and supporting a good cause. Even better, research shows there's plenty of environmental benefits to buying from charity shops. more ...

Charity shop suit

© Steve Cain


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

amelia.collins

Amelia Collins

26 Feb

Glass half full: Environmental Photographer of the Year 2013

Looking through the images from CIWEM's Environmental Photographer of the Year 2013 , I was heartened by a sense of positivity. I don't mean that climate change, social inequality or development issues are no longer there to be photographed. Rather, the tone of the photography is changing. This series of images demonstrates that beauty can be as powerful as negativity in portraying the challenges we face.
  more ...

Environemntal Migrants Mongolia

© Alessandro Grassani


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

neil.kingsnorth

Neil Kingsnorth

25 Feb

EDF's legal threat could threaten us all

Like so many others last October, I was incredibly impressed by the campaigners from No Dash for Gas who spent a week occupying EDF's new West Burton gas-fired power station in Nottinghamshire.  more ...

Children with megaphone

© Friends of the Earth


Share on FacebookShare on Twitter Bookmark and Share

Archive here of older posts

Friends of the Earth-sters in vintage clothes

© Friends of the Earth