I am sure it is universally known that last Saturday was Buy Nothing Day. The Green Movement has historically tip-toed around the whole consumption issue. Will the introduction of new technologies enable us to lead the lifestyles we currently aspire to and still allow us to hit carbon targets? Do we require more fundamental changes questioning the very bedrock of consumerism?

Buy Nothing Day

Even with the recession, our love affair for buying stuff remains high. For instance, UK clothing sales this summer were up 11%. The average item of clothing is worn for less than a third of its useful life and more than a million tonnes of clothing are thrown away each year. The bulk of it ends up buried like woolly lasagne sheets in landfill sites or being used as multicoloured incinerator fodder.

Despite some academic evidence suggesting that acquiring more clobber does not lead to happier lives, questioning our consumption culture is strictly out of political grounds. Earlier this year the Sustainable Development Commission bravely released Tim Jackson’s report ‘Prosperity Without Growth - Economics for a Finite Planet’. Within days Government distanced itself from the report quicker than a cheetah on heat.

At Global Action Plan we want people to start thinking about whether they need to buy as much stuff as they do, but do not feel ‘Buy Nothing Day’ is the best way to do this. Along with many environmental messaging it either provokes anger (how dare you to tell me how to live my life) or guilt. And only lasts a day.

Instead we have launched Consumerholics Anonymous an opportunity for people to confess their consumer sins - starting with our own employees - and get the help they need. There is also a supportive facebook group.

A double-dip recession

On Tuesday a number of CEO’s from environmental charities got together for a policy discussion. Collaboration within the sector has not been a traditional strength and I was expecting as much warmth as a meeting between Arsene Wenger and Mark Hughes, but I was pleasantly surprised and it was very constructive.

Much of the sector is funded from public sector funding and there is extreme nervousness about the impact of a massive tightening of public purse stings. Environmental issues have never been top of the Government’s spending agenda and even a small cut could prove devastating for many organisations.

The general feeling was that a ‘perfect storm’ of change is about to hit. Not only will funding be cut but there is also likely to be a radical change in the way that services are delivered meaning that many existing contacts and networks will disappear. As the wine flowed the more optimistic started mumbling about ‘never wasting the opportunity of a good crisis’ but once the alcohol tinted glasses are removed it is clearly going to be a difficult time ahead.

Those pesky emails

The prelude to the Copenhagen conference has seen the climate skeptics out in force using the leaked emails from UEA to once again question the science. Casting doubt in the public’s mind is the key strategy behind the skeptics campaign and the timing, extent and cleverness of the email leak has the grubby hands of professional lobbying all over it.

I am sure the scientists regret the content on the emails they sent and on the surface they don’t look great. However, if somebody had scoured through all the emails I had sent since 2004 and then presented some of them out of context I would come over like a cross between Attila the Hun and Bernard Manning.

I am delighted that somewhat belatedly scientists are starting to respond to the scale of the lobbying. The fact that the Met Office has decided to make available their baseline data is exactly the sort of response that should have happened a while ago.

What I think is clear is that we are currently carrying out a global experiment on our atmosphere without anyone truly knowing the outcomes, that we must reduce the level of carbon produced and we cannot let a small group of vested interest lobbyists derail the Copenhagen process.

10:10

A few weeks back I stated that I would give a detailed description on measuring my carbon footprint in readiness for the 10:10 campaign. Since looking at my electricity bill there has been radio silence.

The reason for this is not that I have changed my mind or have discovered horrors that can’t be shared. It is simply because I am scouring the house for old gas bills in order to get these measurements. It is due to prosaic issues such as this that many people will drop out of the 10:10 process.

On a much bigger scale it is why many large organisations are having kittens about the introduction of the Carbon Reduction Commitment and the penalties attached for not providing accurate data.

My personal carbon measurement will be back on track before Christmas.

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