Travel – experiencing new countries and cultures, is something most of us love doing. But is it possible to make ‘green’ travel choices? Air travel is one of the biggest contributors to global warming; using an alternative form of transport is one thing we can all do as individuals to reduce our carbon footprints and limit the impact our travel has on the environment. Planes emit CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions directly into the upper atmosphere, if the same amount is released on ground level estimates suggest it will cause around half the damage.

Rail travel is a greener alternative to flying. Aeroplanes emit millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. The CO2 emissions produced by flying are ten times higher than a rail journey to the same destination. Research commissioned by Eurostar measured exactly how much of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide CO2 is released during their route compared to flying between London and Paris.

A return short-haul flight from Heathrow to Paris releases 122 kg of CO2 per passenger, in comparison with the Eurostar rail journey from St Pancras to Paris which releases considerably less with just 10.9 kg per passenger.

The number of people choosing air travel has steadily increased, budget airlines and competitive pricing mean the amount of people flying is only going to increase further. The environmental impact of flying includes noise pollution, and gas emissions. Greenhouse gas emissions from flying in the EU increased by 87% between 1990 and 2006, clearly highlighting the sharp increase in plane travel.

Train holidays offer an alternative and responsible form of travel. Trains are the ideal way to travel across continents and take in a number of different countries all in one trip. Europe has a well-connected network of trains that allows you to travel seamlessly from one country to another without having to step on a plane.

Rail travel has many advantages and not just for the environment:

- The high-speed rail line from St Pancras means faster journeys to the Continent.
- Avoid long queues at check-in and delays at the airport.
- No airport security to go through.
- Keep your baggage with you.
- Enjoy the journey. Relax in comfort and take in the scenery.
- Arrive relaxed at your destination.
- Bring your own food and drink for the journey.
- City centre stations cut down the cost and stress involved in getting to and from the airport to your accommodation.
- Budget friendly way of traveling.

It is simple to make ‘green’ travel decisions. Train holidays are the perfect way to cut down your carbon footprint and enjoy an alternative way of traveling. Rail travel is one of the greenest and most environmentally friendly ways to travel.

With an extensive European rail network it is easy to travel from the UK across the continent. In January 2013 the final part of the TGV high-speed rail route between Paris and Barcelona opened. This means you could breakfast in London, have lunch in Paris and arrive in Barcelona in time for your evening meal!

As many of our long term readers will know I have been vegetarian since I was a teenager, so I am always on the look out for good recipes.  Here is one I found on the BBC Good Food site for Veggie Chinese Pancakes.

Ingredients and method are below.

Ingredients

• 200g mushrooms , sliced (we used chestnut)
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• ½ tsp five spice powder
• 1 tbsp rice wine , preferably Shaohsing
• ½ tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 6 Chinese pancakes
• 2 spring onions , finely sliced
• 5cm length cucumber , deseeded and sliced into matchsticks
• ½ Little Gem lettuce , shredded
• 4 tbsp hoisin sauce

1. Heat a small frying pan. Add the mushrooms, soy, five-spice, rice wine, sesame oil and sugar. Stir until the mushrooms are cooked and the sauce is thick, bubbling and clinging to the mushrooms. Warm the pancakes – steam them or heat them in the microwave.
2. Serve the mushrooms, spring onions, cucumber, lettuce and hoisin sauce in separate dishes, with the pancakes alongside.
3. To assemble, spread a pancake, with a little hoisin sauce. Add some mushrooms, onions, cucumber and lettuce. Fold the pancake and enjoy.

Any make up artist will stress to you the importance of flawless eyebrows. It is a well-known beauty secret that the key to a picture-perfect face is flawless eyebrows, and thanks to HD Brows and their fabulous range of make-up, you can be red-carpet ready in an instant this summer. With the latest celebrity fans including The Saturdays and Little Mix, it has never been easier to dazzle like the stars with your very one bespoke HD Brows.

Take a look below at some of HD Brows beauty must-haves, which promise to keep you looking salon-fresh all summer long…

- The HD Brows Eye & Brow Palette: This product has proved itself to be a firm favorite amongst world-renowned make up artists and celebrities alike, effortlessly transforming eyebrows.The chic HD Brows Eye & Brow Palette compact comes in three luscious color combinations – Bombshell, Foxy and Vamp – each tailored to complement a different skin tone and hair colouring. Each palette contains four long lasting and specially selected matte, neutral powders which can be used alone or blended to achieve the perfect shade for your eyes and brows. The HD Brows Eye & Brow Palette costs £19.95.

- HD Brows Powder Base, Blusher, Bronzer and Brush Collection: In addition to complete your beautiful brows, 2013 sees the launch of the new HD powder collection.

The long lasting HD Brows Blusher pressed power is the perfect shade of soft burnt rose and works across all skin tones and costs £17.95.

While the HD Brows Bronzer is ideal for contouring and achieving the sun kissed look and costs £19.95. Both are highly pigmented and can be built up as desired to suit.

Helping to create an even skin tone, the HD Brows Powder Base is a compact pressed mineral powder foundation in six perfect shades. A foundation and concealer in one, it can be used for light, natural or full coverage with the smooth formula blending seamlessly and absorbing excessive oils to create a flawless finish.The HD Brows Powder Base costs £21.95. 

Additionally, the HD Brows Brush Collection is now available to purchase and includes thirteen brushes. The product was developed in conjunction with several top make-up artists, and is available to purchase separately or in three collections: full, face and eye & brow. The collection features every brush that you will ever need! The HD Brows Full Brush Collection costs £129 or from £9.95 individually.

These beautiful HD Brows products and much more are available to purchase from approved salons, from HD Brows or by alternatively clicking here. So, what are you waiting for? Get flawless brows today!

Come along and visit the TGF team at the Baby Expo in Brighton on 30th June 2013.  We will have a stand so that we can talk to you about natural parenting options.  We will be there with our Wikaniko products and our TGF Eco Gift Boxes.

Now, we all love our pets very much and often tend to spoil them from time to time, whether it is sneaking them a bit of your steak dinner every now and again, letting them up on the sofa for a cuddle when they have been explicitly banned or picking up a new bone or toy every time you go past that pet shop in town, but in the grand scheme of things these are all pretty minute things when compared with this list of extravagant ways to spoil your pet.

Birthday Cake

We all love a good birthday cake to share with friends and when our dog has given us those begging eyes we have succumbed to its charms and given them a morsel of our sacred cake in the past. Whether we will be going one further and buying them a cake of their own remains to be seen but these do look rather exciting. The Canine Cookie Company have developed a Happy Barkday cake for your canine friend for their birthday. The entirely customisable cake allows you to choose the flavour of the cake giving you the choice to opt for flavour combinations which include liver and cheese and carob and cinnamon. Once you have chosen a colour and a personalised message you are ready to go. If you are feeling like a full blown cake is too extravagant then the Canine Cookie Company also do doggy Cupcakes, Cookies and even popcorn inspired Pup Corn.

Doggles

Ever worried about your dog getting the sun or dust in their eye? No us neither!! But apparently this is something that we should be worrying about as it can lead to eye infections, and loss of site earlier than when they are protected. To combat this Doggles have come up with an invention of doggy goggles which look just like swimming goggles for dogs except you don’t just wear them in the water. These Doggles have a UV coating on the lens to protect your dog from the sun, a shatterproof lens, foam padding for comfort and with their elasticated fit allow the goggles to fit closely to the dogs head.

Perfume

Granted dog’s don’t smell great at the best of time. Most dogs are quite happy to lie in their own pool of wee, a pile of mud or rifle through a bin full of old food with all of these things providing a less than satisfactory smell. With most people opting for products such as Oust and room sprays to rid the smell a luxury dog style company Sexy Beast have released a signature fragrance for our doggy friends. A unisex blend of bergamot and vanilla infused musk scent that could put some of our own fragrances to shame.

Pet Spa

Everyone likes a good bit of pampering whether it’s a nice relaxing massage, a cut and blowdry or even a pretty manicure, however we thought that “everyone” was just humans. Apparently we are mistaken though if Harrod’s Pet Spa is anything to go by. Harrods premium spa which has bseen people like Tamara Ecclestone take her pet in for some of the 42 treatments available. Some of the most luxury treatments include a blueberry and vanilla facial and a mud spa which involves a dog being slathered in mud and then wrapped in clingfilm to allow it to sink in. The Pet Spa was the first in Britain but judging on its popularity looks unlikely to be the last.

Kennel

If you have a spare £250,000 to spend (like we all do obviously) then why not spend your cash on your must loved dog? A dog owner in Gloucestershire commissioned a Kennel mansion with two bedrooms and a lounge, controlled access from the main and human mansion and automated food and water dispensers which makes most of our own homes look in superior. We would love a sheepskin lines bed like this owners two Great Danes get.

We personally prefer the simpler things in life and still consider spoiling our dogs giving them a cooked sausage or the occasional half a sandwich and a squeaky toy. One thing it is important to spoil your pet with is some decent pet insurance for peace of mind.

It is hard to believe that even now, in 2013, within the U.K. that there are people who live in ‘fuel poverty’, as a developed country we like to think that problems such as this do not exist. However, figures released from the Association for the Conservation for Energy and the Energy Bill Revolution campaign, show otherwise. In the U.K. 19.2 per cent of the total population are living in fuel poverty, that’s around five million households.

Fuel poverty is described as any house hold that spends above 10% of its income on fuel to adequately heat the home. Adequately heating the home is defined in England as 21°C in the main living area and 18°C in other occupied rooms. Three key factors are taken in to consideration when measuring for fuel poverty; ‘energy efficiency of the home, energy costs and household income.’ energy-uk.org.uk.

The U.K. is currently at the bottom of the league table within Europe when it comes to fuel poverty, being followed closely behind by France, who’s numbers are currently at 16.2 per cent. This is concerning as most European countries actually have higher energy prices, however due to better insulation of their homes they are paying much less to heat them.

It is the responsibility of the government to assist with fuel poverty within the U.K. however energy companies are helping to reduce fuel poverty in the most severe cases, such as in the elderly. Some of the larger energy companies are partnering with charitable organisations, to provide and help and support. There are also companies such as www.weboil.co.uk who can assist in finding the cheapest heating oil in your area.

Some other suggestions for tackling fuel poverty from Ed Matthew, director of the Energy Bill Revolution include using carbon tax to fund better installation of the homes of those most in need of assistance, “The Treasury collects enough carbon tax to super-insulate over half a million homes a year” he said. “Eventually every UK home could benefit, slashing energy bills and wearing the UK off its addiction to gas.”

According to poverty.org.uk single pensioners, single person households and working-age singles are more likely to be within the fuel poverty threshold than couples or larger families. ‘Overall, averaging across 2007 to 2009, around 35% of single pensioners and 25% of working-age singles were in fuel poverty compared to around 20% of lone parents (the next highest group), 15% of pensioner couples, and 5% of working-age couples.’ Within England, the most fuel poverty stricken areas are the West Midlands and the North East.

To help the Government combat fuel poverty an independent report on ‘getting the measure of fuel poverty’ was conducted by John Hills in March 2012 and produced some interesting findings, along with some key proposals for the government to take in to consideration. The independent report, set out to establish;

• ‘Whether ‘fuel poverty’ is a distinct problem or a manifestation of more general poverty
• If it is distinct, how is it best measured and whether the current approach captures the problem effectively
• The implications of measurement for the way we understand the effectiveness of the range of policy approaches to reducing it’

From the findings from this research Mills compiled six recommendations that he thought necessary for the government to take to combat fuel poverty. These recommendations include:

‘Recommendation 1: The Government should change its approach to fuel poverty measurement away from the current ’10 per cent’ ratio indicator.

Recommendation 2: The Government should adopt a new indicator of the extent of fuel poverty under which households are considered fuel poor if;

• They have required fuel costs that are above the median level; and
• Were they to spend that amount they would be left with residual income below the official poverty line

The Government should count the number of individuals in this position as well as the number of households they live in.

Recommendation 3: The Government should adopt a new indicator of the depth of fuel poverty as represented by the depth of fuel poverty as represented by the average and aggregate ‘fuel poverty gap’, defined as the amounts by which the assessed energy needs of fuel poor households exceed the threshold for reasonable costs.

Recommendation 4: The Government should measure incomes for fuel poverty purposes after housing costs and adjusted for household size and composition. The threshold should be set at 60 per cent of median income plus calculated household energy requirements.

Recommendation 5: The Government should set the reasonable costs threshold at the level of the contemporary median energy requirements for the population as a whole. The modelled bills for individual households should be adjusted for household size and composition – using a specific set of adjustment factors – when comparing them to this threshold.

Recommendation 6: The Government should use the LIHC indicator and fuel poverty gap as the basis for operation target setting. The fuel poverty gap in particular gives the best focus on the scale of the problem and progress in tackling it.’

It is hoped that from the report findings and recommendations that the Government can help reduce the numbers for fuel poverty within the U.K. For a full copy of the report, visit gov.co.uk.

The Government is currently working on better improving the insulation in homes across the U.K. with the ‘Green Deal’; assisting with the cost of better insulating your home or business. Although the fuel poverty numbers have been rising since 2003, the Government, fuel companies and independent organisations are working together to reduce the numbers of those who live in fuel poverty. Viva the fuel revolution!

There are not many events in this world that have so many followers – sporting matches like football and basketball draw in thousands of people every month. If you were to compare this to a music festival, that happens only once a year, you can see how massive sports are to us as a society. With this in mind, it makes sports grounds, the games themselves and the players, the perfect place to start a campaign for going greener. Imagine how many people can be reached, through blogs like Youwin blog, that can have the message sent directly to them.

We have all seen and heard about the campaigns for ‘saving the world,’ from how we drive to the food we buy. Changing our lifestyles has made some impact, but in reality we need to look at the larger ways we can tackle the issues. This is where sports can help rebuild some of the damage caused and how they can do it.

Look at the energy used

We all love to watch our favourite sports and it is never better than at the live games. However you only need to look around you to see how many lights are on, screens that show those goals in replay and video cameras recording every moment. That is just the areas that you can see. There are also changing rooms with baths, showers, gas emissions and the vehicles the players travel in.

The main concern is the energy efficiency of these stadiums. This is the first place that we could make small changes that would help us for the future. There are obvious parts, like switching lighting to energy efficient forms and making sure that big screens use efficient connections so that no energy is wasted. Some of the more drastic changes that could be made, and have been made before showing great result are; changing the plumbing to make waste disposal more efficient, using/changing to low impact gas if it is possible and turning to paperless tickets. In 2009, the Seattle Mariners undertook some of these changes and have currently saved over 60% in natural gas consumption and 30% in electricity consumption.*

Go Paperless

Many offices and businesses now run in a paperless format, saving documents in cloud storage. One of our biggest wastages is in this format and it is one point sports companies do make a fair amount of wastage. Whether it’s through printing tickets, handing out fliers and selling souvenir brochures, changes can be made here. In this age of technology, the world is at everyone’s fingertips, making the reach far bigger than that of 10 years ago. On top of this, we have also seen airports and other venues where you need tickets, turn to the mobile format and away from printed tickets. If sports venues could come up with a format where supporters wouldn’t need a paper ticket, they could cut down on hundreds of thousands of waste paper a year.

Changing water efficiency

I know it may not be nice to imagine, but with hundreds of people all in the same place at the same time, you can guarantee that the rest rooms and sinks will be constantly in use. One of the biggest problems our world will face in the next few generations is the depletion in fresh water supplies. With this is mind, it has never been more important that large sporting venues look at ways they can save the huge amounts of water they consume each day.

Now, they are always going to use large amounts of water during any game and even training days, but there are some changes in appliances and plumbing that can make dramatic differences. Changing the toilets, for example, to dual flush, energy efficient toilets will make sure that they only flush as much water as they need to. Then there are low-flow faucets that can be used as normal, without wasting any extra water.

Finally we need to talk to the sports teams themselves. There are very few people who have more celebrity influence than our favourite sports personalities. If they were to come forward and lead the way to a greener life then we will be on the right step to a greener future.

This year why not have a holiday with a difference and learn a new skill that will help you live a more sustainable life.  Maybe you’d like to learn how to get more out of your food or you’d like to help continue an ancient craft or skill.  There are a number of centres out there that specialise in this field, so there are plenty of options to choose from.

The Derbyshire Eco Centre offers a range of sustainable development courses.  There are loads of traditional building techniques that you can learn like dry stone walling and courses that specialise in working with wood or straw.  Included in their selection are arts and crafts lessons and family fun courses.

It’s no surprise to find a sustainable living course at Hugh Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage HQ.  Their Sustainability course covers a wide range of issues like selecting and buying food.  It’s suitable for businesses and individuals alike and aims to help you lower your impact on the environment.

The Sustainability Centre is located on the South Downs and has a range of courses in this field.  They can teach you how to forage for your food, lay a hedge or practice coppicing.

Whether your business is a small start-up or a multi-million pound corporation, sustainability is big news. Adopting ‘clean technology’ can not only save you money long-term, it can actually ensure the survival of your company.

According to Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, a charitable initiative advising businesses on how to cut down on their energy usage; businesses are ‘sleepwalking into a resource crunch.’ He believes many companies are not embracing the changes associated with global warming and will suffer the consequences if they don’t go green. Delay claimed many businesses view lowering carbon emissions as ‘an obligation and a cost,’ rather than an asset to corporate reputation and long-term finances.

The farming industry, especially, could be set to cash in on cutting carbon. A study of 60 cow and sheep farms from EBLEX, shows that for every 1kg drop in energy emissions per kg of lamb, farmers increased profits by 28p. Studies showed that some lamb and beef farms are creating a carbon footprint up to ten times that of others; suggesting enormous scope for energy savings.

It’s even been suggested that recovery in the UK export market could come from low carbon goods and services. It may seem unlikely, but a major report from the Carbon Trust and Shell Springboard initiative released earlier this week reveals that 76% of almost 2,000 low-carbon small or medium enterprises are aiming to sell their products overseas. This is a dramatic rise from only 37% in 2011.

More than 40% of these businesses had already entered international markets, double the amount of start-ups in other industries. This has certainly contributed to the UK being placed fifth in a poll of countries most likely to compete in a low-carbon economy, with only France, China, Japan and South Korea ranking ahead.

Findings from a survey conducted by energy company E.ON, found that a staggering amount of businesses are shirking their responsibility for cutting their energy waste. Shockingly, only 22% of company owners or chief executive accepted that it was their role to ensure office spaces under their remit were energy efficient. In another survey by the energy provider, it was indicated that energy wastage is costing small and medium enterprises in Britain up to £7.7 billion a year.

In light of incredible figures like these, it is hard to believe that many businesses still view lowering carbon emissions as an unimportant distraction. In times of recession, it can be difficult to free up capital for initial clean energy costs; but the long-term benefits are well worth it. LED lighting, for example, uses less than half the wattage of traditional mercury bulbs and installing these in commercial buildings can save businesses up to 50% on their lighting costs, enough to recover the initial outlay within three years.

When it comes to overhauling your company’s energy policy, there is certainly no quick fix, but businesses do need to become more accountable for the carbon they produce. According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, over the next 40 years, UK industry could make savings of over £30 billion if energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions are cut. Making your business greener no longer needs to cost the earth, and with energy costs expected to rise by 25% in the next decade, you will be fortifying your company for the future.

This article was written by Jennifer Acton, on behalf of QMS, who offer ISO 14001  accreditation to help businesses to become more environmentally sustainable.

A lot of people are geared up to organic gardening and try to avoid using pesticides and other chemicals on their crops.  How many though think about the properties of the cleaning and maintenance products that they use in their garden or on garden tools?

Maintaining tools well will increase their working life which can only be good for both your pocket and the environment. Often this will mean using some sort of oil, but oil can be problematic.  Ballistol is an environmentally friendly oil suitable for use around the garden.  It will help protect your garden equipment and contribute towards it lasting longer.  While it’s protecting your tools, it won’t contaminate your soil or your plants.  Ballistol is plant based and non toxic, plus  it decomposes completely leaving no harmful residues.

Cleaning drives, paths and patios can be a tedious job, but it doesn’t need to mean using harsh chemicals.  Fragile Earth offer a Path and Patio Cleaner which features a concentrated moss algae and mould killer.   A 50ml sachet makes 5 litres which will cover up to 30 square metres and costs £3.90.