Glastonbury Festival Climate Conversations

I asked a number of people at the festival what they were doing in their own lives to tackle climate change and also what they found the most difficult.

Sharia - Greenpeace Fundraiser

‘I shop locally, eat locally, manage my own allotment, and cycle to work. I don’t use supermarkets, so for me fitting in all my shopping, along with everything else is difficult. But the vegetarian and vegan co-operative I’m a member of, makes this slightly easier.’

Joe - LetsTalkGordon.org.uk Campaign Co-ordinator

‘I’m getting active politically, at the moment I’m co-ordinating LetsTalkGordon.org.uk a campaign dedicated to getting the Prime Minister to make a televised address to the nation on climate change, launching the national debate about how we should respond.

I’m trying to eat less meat and cut down on flights. It’s difficult because my brother lives in New York. I offset, but am not convinced. Not being a vegetarian, eating less meat is not easy.

Helen - Festival Go-er

‘I’m growing my own veg in the garden, going to local farmers markets and buying too much cheese! I try to buy eco-products like organic, fair trade clothes and earth friendly toiletries. Overcoming my own laziness is the hardest part.’

Three Drunk Blokes on Cider

‘Arhhhhhhhhg.. Take a photo.. hic’

Gemma - Anti-Slavery Campaigner

‘Buying energy saving light-bulbs and saving energy around the house. I find the hardest part is seeing how were all making a difference, knowing that the part you play is just a small part in the whole thing.’

This year’s Glastonbury Festival was one of the greenest yet, but there was still room for improvement. It will be remembered as ‘one of those fantastic years’.

Keep coming back for a review of the Festival’s Greener Side in the coming days.

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Green fields at Glastonbury Festival

At Glastonbury Festival, The Green Fields provide an environmentally friendly guide to life.

A number of entrances to the fields exist, but many will come along the old train track. Decorated by campaigners, the old track contains a number of climate inspired messages. ‘Did you know if all the bees died, life on earth would cease to exist after 60 years’, ‘Walk your kids to school’.

This year the Green Fields are showcasing a couple of low impact homes. Practical tips on how you can insulate your walls with sheep wool, build with green timber and make but use of your natural environment.

Despite all this greeness, the festival motto ‘Love the farm, leave no trace’ has clearly not struck a chord with some.

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The GreenFestivalMan at Glastonbury festival

Well I’ve arrived at Glastonbury Festival 2008. The organisers of this years festival have promised it to be the greenest festival yet, so i’m really looking forward to the next few days.

The Green Futures field claims to be here to make this a better world to live on.

In fact Glastonbury isn’t just a music festival, its here to make everyone’s future brighter. The Green Futures field is an important part of this.

The speakers tent hold diverse talks throughout the festival, ;Can the Torie Deliver a Green Agenda? with Caroline Lucas, Anthony Browne and Justin Rowlett.’, ‘Poetry’ and ‘Peak Oil’ with Shane Collins.

Amongst the jigsaw of solar panels, biodisel generators feeding the field is the world’s first solar-powered travelling cinema. A regular attraction that’s been operating here for 11 years.

A nearby camp can teach you anything from jewellery making to crafting wooden dishes. Yesterday I was taught how to light a fire with a strike steel.

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10 Carbon Busting Greener Festival Tips

The Guardian recently reported that a study by Julie’s bicycle, revealed that large music festivals (i.e more than 40,000 people) can generate around more the 2,000 tonnes of CO2.

This year I’ll be going to Glastonbury Festival, and Camp Bestival and living by 10 greener festival tips as The GreenFestivalMan.

Number TEN - Fashion
Don’t waste money buying new clothes that will get trashed. Shop around charity or thrift Shops for pre-festival bargains. A large number of UK festivals have charity shops on site.

Number NINE - Toilets
This applies to guys more than girls. Festival toilets can be pretty grim but less grim than the thought of 10′000s of people urinating at random in a field. Doing so is tantamount, to empting the content of a large toilet right over the entire festival. Poor santitation = nasty stomach upsets and ecosystem pollution.

Number EIGHT - Lighting
It’s dark you need light. Use renewable power torches and lights, like the Puma Dynamo Torch available from EcoOutlet.co.uk. (It even has a strobe light).

Lights comes in all forms from solar to water powered.

Number SEVEN - Tent pegs
Made from potato starch, Millets.co.uk have launched a range of biodegradable tent pegs from GreenStake. Reusable, but won’t harm wildlife if you lose them in the ground.

Number SIX - Fire!
If like me you need fire be sociable and gather round someone else’s.

Use deadwood, don’t pull any branches down. Using charcoal? make sure it’s from a sustainable source. Charcoal in the UK should be FSC certified and can be sourced from British woodlands.

This year I’ll be using the WoodGas Biomass Camp Stove. Originally designed for developing countries to minimise smoke pollution. There are only a few UK stockists at the moment, but a larger number in the USA.

Number FIVE - Power
Use recharagable batteries or personal renewable power sources.

A number of personal solar panels are available to charge various different electronics like MP3 players, batteries and mobile phones. Most can be found for reasonable rates on the internet.

A recent addition to the pack, is the HYmini wind powered generator and handheld charger.

Number FOUR - Cleanliness
Use natural, bio degradable, wet wipes. Better still, take a flannel, remember those?

Use biodegradable soap and Eco-friendly toothpaste. Many ‘non-green’ hygiene products release nasty chemicals. These chemicals eventually get into food chains.

Number THREE - Rubbish / Trash
Leave no trace. Leave nothing but footprints. Use on-site recycling facilities or take home waste to recycle and/or compost.

Don’t trash your tent or burn it, give it to an organisation like Globalhand.org for recycling. If it does get trashed, salvage the useful bits. Tent poles can make good flag poles. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

Number TWO - Food
Buy local, eat seasonal – try out the local food stalls. Meat eaters can cut back their carbon footprints but eating more vegetarian food. Cut it out or cut it back. This year at Glastonbury I’ll be only eating vegetarian food, but only if I can find another 15 meat eaters to join me. Sign up on www.PledgeBank.Com/GoVegetarian .

If going vegetarian isn’t your bag try to make the special effort to get something that’s local, free range and preferably organic. The meat tastes better that way and will have taken less carbon to produce.

A good range of organic and fairtrade museli and granola bars are available (excellent munchie food).

Decant soft drinks into a re-usable bottle, like CamelBak’s innovative BPA free range.

Alcohol from local breweries will quench the festival thirst. Find yourself stuck with a bottle but no way of getting in to it? Show your friends how old stuff can be reused. EcoOutlet.co.uk retail bottle openers made from recycled metal spoons.

• Number ONE -Transportation

Most of your Carbon footprint originates from the way you travel to the event. Use public transport where possible, many festivals across the world can be accessed by trains and coaches. Rock am Ring in Nurberg and Glastonbury included.

Going by car? arrange a lift share via liftshare.org or find a travelling companion on boards like eFestivals.com or networking sites like isanyonegoingto.com. Whatever your means offset it a few times using audited carbon offset companies like Climatecare.org.

Have a happy Festival and Camping Season. See you at Glastonbury or Camp Bestival.

GreenFestivalMan

(aka Gareth, GGG Editor)

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Earthwatch Volunteer Open Day

Details of the open day provided by Simon Laman from Earthwatch:

Date: Saturday 12th January, 10am - 1pm

Venue: Earthwatch Oxford Offices, Prama House, 267 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7HT, UK

This is intended for those of you who are new to Earthwatch, and/or have never been on an Earthwatch project before. You will be given the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the many expeditions on our programme, chat with past volunteers, and talk through the specifics of volunteering with our experienced staff.

Admission is free, although you should ask for your ticket in advance, as numbers will be strictly limited. Coffee, tea, soft drinks and biscuits will be freely available on the day.

See the Earthwatch website for more information.

For a full programme, please call +44 (0)1865 318856 or email events@earthwatch.org.uk

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Hello, Get on Board

Hello.

I’m Asi and I’m really happy to be part of the Green Guys Global team. I’m a strategist at Poke and I will mostly write about green marketing stuff and tell you about really nice environmental campaigns.

In my first post here I’d like to tell you about something I’m personally involved with - the WWF Get on Board campaign to strengthen the UK Climate Change Bill.

The UK is leading the field by introducing legislation committing us to reduce our CO2 emissions by 2050, but the WWF along with many others are pressing for deeper cuts and clear targets. Poke have focused on one seemingly crazy omission from the calculation of CO2 emissions - namely that the emissions from international aviation and shipping are currently excluded from the calculations.

As aviation is the fastest growing source of UK emissions, it’s got to be bonkers to leave it out. We’re going to be making a rather large paper plane and boat to highlight this issue, and are hoping to take them from Gabriel’s Wharf where it will be exhibited for the whole weekend - 15th-18th November - to The Houses of Parliament - which should get some attention!

The people who sign the petition will have their names printed on the giant boat or plane so please go and sign up and tell your mama and sista and friends to support us as well.

We’ve been working with some lovely people who support the WWF and for celebrating my first post here, I’ll show you an exclusive outtakes/blooper video footage that will make you laugh…you can watch it here

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Welcome Green Guys Global!

It’s hard to believe that a whole year has passed since 9 very excited ex City Hippy editors began their brand new venture with Green Girls Global.

During that time we have discovered so much about making our lives greener, written over 300 posts, gained 4 fantastic new editors, been featured in The Times and Marie Claire and now, the biggest celebration of all, launched this brand new Green Guys Global blog!

I’m very happy to have our new Green Guys on the team and from what I have learned about them over the past few months I know they’ll do a great job.

Please welcome Jez, Andy, Adam, Joel, Charles & Asi. Visit the editors page to find out more about them and drop them a line to say ‘hi’.

Show our guys your support by leaving comments or getting in touch to let them know what you think, be a part of the GGG community.

Don’t forget to sign up to our new newsletter where you’ll get a round-up of both Green Girls and Green Guys Global news.

Whilst you’re around pop over to Green Girls Global, we’ve had a make-over to match the guys’ new site too.

Finally, if you would like to join either of the GGG blogs as a full time or guest editor then please get in touch.

Well there’s not much more left to say except for thank you for reading our posts, linking to us, talking about us and helping us get to this one year milestone. May there be many more to come!

Over to you gentlemen….

Vicky x

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