Apparently Unilever is trying to invent ice cream that can be sold at room temperature then frozen at home. I personally think this is awesome. I’d happily store loads of tubs in the cupboard just in case.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article6807139.ece
This is extremely cool. When I find a few hours, I’m going to work out how he does it…!
Here’s an interesting story from the BBC. It’s pretty clear that the supermarkets reject fruit that doesn’t look good enough, but I suspect that this doesn’t have to do with the EU requirements. They want the best looking fruit so it sells better. So will these changes actually mean that funny shaped carrots end up in supermarkets (where most of us shop)? I suspect not, but at least nobody will have this particular excuse.
In yesterday evening’s sweltering heat (it hit 30.4 celsius in St James’s Park at one point in the day), the Conservative Party launched their Climate Campaign. It might have been better called a ‘global warming’ campaign given the heat of the Century Club’s roof terrace. I’m sure Nigel Lawson would have preferred that (he reckons the phrase ‘climate change’ is deliberately misleading). The message from the Conservatives: we need action on the climate right now.
While the full details of what this means may not have been apparent last night, there were a few key things: no to coal power stations unless they have carbon capture technology (from the outset), no to a 3rd runway at Heathrow, and the protection of our rainforests. On the last point, given we don’t have any of our own, I assume that this is more of an international aid, trade and diplomacy idea.
George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, spoke about environmental improvements being good for business, not a costly and negative thing. This was then swiftly backed up by Paul Kelly, External Affairs and Corporate Responsibility Director at ASDA, who said that meeting their green goals (energy efficiency, waste reduction, etc) will save them as much as £25m a year. In other words, there are plenty of reasons why this is a good thing for business (in ASDA’s case 25 million of them). The supermarket retailers seem to have ‘got’ this, and hopefully more businesses will make the move and follow suit.
Seeing as it looks like we have a tube strike starting in London this evening, we thought we’d share a few ideas to get round more easily.
Bike
Hop on your bike and you’re completely free of relying on someone else’s timetable. If you really want one though, you could consider using a BikeTube. This was set up by the London Cycling Campaign to help encourage people to travel to work by bike. Basically, a bike tube is a bunch of cyclists following a commuting route together.
Walk
Why not walk? It’s certainly more pleasant than a tube journey. This may or may not be practical for you, but you could be surprised by how close some things are for you. Many people end up confused by the tube map and place things further or nearer in their heads than they really are. A scheme called Legible London has been set up to help overcome these misconceptions. You’ve probably seen a few of them round - on the map is a circular zone showing everything within a 5 minute walk (and another zone with places 15 minutes walk away). You may be surprised by how close things really are.
If you don’t want to go looking for one of those, try going to Walkit. This is a brilliant site which helps map a walking route for you and tells you how long it is likely to take you, whether you choose to walk slow or fast. It’s a pretty handy site.
If you don’t like either of those, go to TfL’s website and they have a ‘plan your alternative journey’ search function up and ready!
The Small Steps Blog: experiment to live in a more principled and sustainable way - without losing out on all the things that make life fun
A practical guide for Londoners who want to live sustainably
