Marseille, for so long the dark, dowdy, run-down and edgy seaport on France’s Mediterranean coast, has been transformed in this, its year as European capital of culture (2013). Is this the year, too, when this renewed and restored city finds a hotel to match its proud new status? Time will tell, but the InterContinental Marseille –… Continue reading
Sustainable fish – not what it says on the label
The BBC’s Stephen Evans was right to go after untrue labels of packets of fish – “Mislabelled fish slip into Europe’s menus”, April 2nd, 2013. The issue is fresh in the listener’s mind after the horsemeat scandal. (The Daily Mail ran a similar investigative story on fish in 2011.) There is a separate conservation point… Continue reading →
Broadband – never knew we needed it, now can’t do without it
I first signed up to broadband in the early 2000s. What did we do before?, the under 20s might wonder. We used something called a “dial-up” connection, which now feels really antique. Whenever you wanted to send an e-mail or check something on the internet, you pressed a key and the computer went through the… Continue reading →
Air quality a health hazard in UK towns and cities: govt slow to act on traffic causes
This week the Guardian newspaper published a disturbing story about air-quality in London and other urban areas. There have been a lot of still, quiet weather days in London this month (March 2013) and that contributes to a buildup of airborne pollution. Much of that comes from diesel engines, in cars, taxis and commercial vehicles…. Continue reading →
Time for the solar revolution to end Africa’s kerosene nightmare
If the mobile phone had developed at the same rate as the principal means of lighting used across underdeveloped Africa and the Far East, we would still be using the brick size version that came out in the early 1990s. Smaller, lighter and more efficient phones would still be an awfully long way away. In… Continue reading →
Electric car Twizy delivers green driving in the New Forest
We often see new cars advertised against the background of a beauty spot, the implication being that you have the freedom of such wonderful places if you buy that particular model. It is a spurious and somewhat insincere message if, like most people, you live in a town or city and must drive many miles… Continue reading →