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.

Guest writer Katy Anderson, People's Design Lab

However hard I try to cut down on waste, I still end up throwing stuff away.  Last week it was a kettle that started to blow our electric fuses. I'm not very confident with electronics, but I did try to fix it.  I couldn't work out how to get the screws off so I gave up and took it for recycling.  more ...

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 ...

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 ...

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.

As we sat and flicked through artists' impressions of what the three turbine wind development would look like, what I consistently noticed was how well-suited the site is. A bowl shape in the land near the village of Bedlinog in the Taff Bargoed Valley funnels the south-westerly wind, creating the perfect site to harness its clean energy via wind turbines. more ...

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 ...

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 ...

Kenneth Richter

03 May

Biomass sustainability - key issues explained

Industry has criticised us for raising concerns about the burning of trees in power stations. But is it right?

The Renewable Energy Association (REA) has accused Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and RSPB in the Guardian of "spreading misinformation" when we have called for limits to "green energy" subsidies being paid to support the burning of wood in power stations.

So what's the story here? more ...

Alison Benjamin

01 May

Diary of a beekeeper - bees and the cold weather

Great news that the European Commission has voted for a two-year ban on three pesticides that have been linked to bee deaths. But down at the hives we're currently more concerned with our bees and the cold weather.

Late springs are not unusual, but 2013 has been exceptional because of the unremitting cold. more ...

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 ...

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.

I like to think I make ethical choices when I shop for food and clothes. But when it comes to my pension, I have next to no idea what my money is being invested in.

So I was shocked when I found out that pension funds are reportedly the largest investors in land grabs. Land grabbing is the rapidly increasing practice of companies buying up large amounts of agricultural land in poor countries, often under dubious circumstances. more ...

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 ...

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 ...

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.

The site where one of the last major mining disasters took place in 1965, in which 31 people died, has become a peaceful park lake for the enjoyment of local residents. A few weeks go, I went to take a look.

The park is in Cwmclydach town, a particularly deprived community in the Rhondda valley, South Wales. more ...

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.

So much sea plastic

I come from Denmark and have watched how our beaches have become more and more polluted. Coming from a family of fishermen I've seen with my own eyes how much waste is being brought to the surface when nets are pulled on board. more ...

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.

I was able to visit ATT in January of this year, located in Cwmllynfell, in the beautiful valleys and hills of South Wales. This multiple award-winning community energy charity has worked on a diverse range of green projects. From solar panels to air-source heat pumps, it has been largely successful in bringing clean energy to the picturesque hills. more ...

Lucy Pearce

16 Apr

Come and help me answer some campaigning conundrums

What great campaigning moments stick in my mind?

• The Suffragettes
• Nelson Mandela
• A poster of Desmond Tutu saying: "I don't know which Bible people are reading when they say that religion and politics don't mix."
• My Mum taking her own bags to the market and refusing South African fruit
• Greenham Common women's peace camp, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament marches and blockades
• Christian Aid, Amnesty International, FairTrade

These were the wallpaper to my childhood. I wasn't physically there; but I was part of a liberal family who took political action, and these were the conversations and media chat going on around me. more ...

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. 

Cycling with my 23 year old son Andrew was fantastic because we supported each other during the exhilarating challenge. We shared beautiful landscapes, sang in the rain, and shed tears of joy at the finish. more ...

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.

So it's a real pleasure when a company really embraces the environmental challenges of the 21^st Century. We want to celebrate these entrepreneurs and show that successful business need not cost our planet. more ...

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 ...

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.

Last week a young activist asked me why politicians don't get the facts right on genetically-modified crops (or GMOs). "Why do governments push for GMOs in our fields?" she asked. It is a valid question. more ...

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 ...

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.

Ministers say they want schools to teach "in a way that best meets the needs of their pupils". Yet the greatest need for everyone is surely to live in a world that can support them and their children in the future. more ...

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.

But eventually the energy firm EDF has seen sense, backed down and withdrawn its ill-thought-through threat to sue 21 protesters from No Dash For Gas for around £5 million. About time. more ...

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 ...

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 ...

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.

In the darkness of evening, I heard the sound of the first oystercatchers of the year.

Their arrival was three days earlier than last year but eight days later than the one before. It could be that I just didn't hear them on the day they came back. Perhaps they didn't take their usual, time-honoured route, past my house to the hospital up the road where they like to nest. All the same, I'd been waiting for them. more ...

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.

I have more than 50 suits and 27 jackets ranging from vintage to the latest designs, and have only ever bought three from new.

When my friends comment on my outfit, I always make a point of telling them where I bought it, as  part of my personal mission to spread the word charity shops are fun, fun, fun! more ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...