Environmental Graffiti

Europe’s Biggest “Organic Supermarket” opened in London yesterday. At 80,000 square feet, 10,000 products and 500 staff, the High Street Kensington building is huge and – what’s more - it claims to revolutionise the way we buy food and drink.

Whole Foods Market boasts almost 100 different types of olive oil, 1,000 wines, “mix your own bars” for granola, lentils and pulses, 40 breads, 50 freshly squeezed juices, 24 freshly brewed coffees, a 30m long “dairy case” and 40 different types of sausages , made on the premises.

It will be interesting to see how UK shoppers react to this. Marks and Spencer must be tearing their hair out!

This is a video of Dave Miliband, the Environment Minister, expressing a few of his views and how politics is changing and will change thanks to Web2.0

As Tony Blair and Angela Merkel called for action against climate change
attacking the White House’s position, Germany was trying to recover from the worst G8 summit violence for six years. Thousands of masked anti-globalisation protesters yesterday went on the rampage in the port city of Rostock pelting police with firebombs and stones and torching cars in clashes that injured over 900 people.

Police said that 433 officers were injured, 33 of them seriously, in what they described as “unprecedented violence” that erupted after a peaceful anti-globalisation demonstration in Rostock on Saturday four days before the summit of G8 leaders in nearby Baltic resort of Heiligendamm.

Protest organisers said at least 520 demonstrators had been injured in the clashes that began late in the afternoon after one masked youth jumped on to a stage at a closing rally and told the crowd ” We have to bring war into this demonstration - we’ll achieve nothing through peaceful means.” Running battles between some 2,000 black clad protesters wearing ski-balaclavas to conceal their identities and 5,000 baton-wielding riot police using tear gas and water cannon ensued. At least three cars were set on fire. Police were pelted with Molotov cocktails and cobblestones ripped up from the streets and ferried to a ” front line” in stolen supermarket trolleys.

Tony Blair condemned the violence and pressed on with his points. The Prime Minister told leaders today attending the G8 in Germany that time was slipping away for a deal on climate change, warning: “Now is the time to act.”

Blair said he remained “hopeful of progress” at the G8 but senior British sources fear the call by President Bush to hold a separate conference in 2008 will leave the world on hold until then.

The retail giant, Marks and Spencer has pledged to increase its use of renewable energy from its current 20% to 100% by 2012. The group also claims they will reduce their CO2 emissions from their Scottish stores by over 20,000 tonnes in the next twelve months. The sources of their renewable energy are wind, bio-mass and small scale hydro.

The pledge is part of their “Plan A” publicity campaign - a five year plan to address climate change, which has the tagline “Plan A, because there is no Plan B.” Pretty sombre stuff.

Experts react to China’s climate change plan More…

FEATURE-Germany in climate change dilemma ahead of G8 More…

FEATURE-Indonesia’s forests threatened by logging, palm oil More…

Global warming overheats Australian politics More…

National Grid vetoes Gore’s big switch-off More…

China says climate policy must make room for growth More…

China says EU 2 degree warming goal lacks basis More…

CO2 Rising three times faster than expected More…

Wild tigers on “catastrophic” path to extinction More…

Waste for recycling “buried in landfill” More…

Britain’s energy policy fails to stack up, say expert panel More…

Carbon Map of Britain’s most toxic towns More…

Blair pushes climate agenda More…

Its time for rich countries to deliver More…

BP’s chief executive vows to stick to green agenda ahead of G8 summit More…

National Grid vetoes Gore’s big switch-off More…