[News] from [guardian.co.uk]
[News > Politics > Boris Johnson]
Boris Johnson ups carbon footprint by courtesy flight to New York
Hélène Mulholland and Patrick Wintour
The Guardian, Tuesday 15 September 2009 Article history
Boris Johnson will today help out British Airways's commercial interests by speaking out against using video conferencing as a way of doing business, at a press conference in New York which he is attending courtesy of four business class tickets provided by the airline.
The mayor of London's backing will again lead to questions on the Conservative commitment to cutting unnecessary CO2 emissions. Government advisers argue that restraining air travel is a prerequisite of reducing overall carbon emissions. Research has suggested that business air travel affects carbon emissions significantly, partly because the profitability of such passengers allows airlines to offer economy class tickets.
The European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association claims that a 20% cut in business travel would save 22m tonnes of CO2 each year – "equivalent to taking one third of the UK's cars off the road".
Carriers with large business class cabins have higher emission levels per passenger than those that carry many more economy passengers in the same aircraft type.
In July BA launched a "Face to Face" campaign to encourage business meetings in person, claiming that "tangible, human connections are a crucial driver of business growth".
The mayor's spokesman said Johnson's role at the BA campaign in the terrace lounge at Terminal 7 of JFK airport today would be to see the winners of the campaign off to pitch their business ideas face to face in London.
Asked how this fitted in with the Conservatives' call for a reduction in unnecessary air travel, his spokesman said that the mayor supported video conferencing as a tool of business, but was keen to bring tourists and business leaders to London: "Air travel account for a very small part of carbon emissions. It's important to contain the growth, and Boris Johnson has been fiercely critical of plans for a third runway at Heathrow.
"But the mayor believes that flying remains important to London's prosperity."
On travelling courtesy of BA, the spokesman said the airline was "very close partners" with Visit London, the agency promoting tourism to the capital. "Taxpayers of London will appreciate the mayor is able to conduct such an ambitious marketing drive for zero cost."
A study of Harvard Business Review subscribers, commissioned by BA, found that 95% believed that face-to-face meetings were the key to success in building long-term relationships, while more than 50% said recent restrictions on business travel had hurt their business.
[Environment > 10:10 climate change campaign]
Local councils and police sign up to 10:10
Cambridge, Nottingham and Coventry councils and Cheshire police have signed up to the 10:10 climate change campaign
James Randerson
guardian.co.uk, Monday 14 September 2009 18.11 BST Article history
Six local councils representing over 1.4 million people and a police authority have signed up the 10:10 climate change campaign. The new sign-ups, which include Cambridge, Nottingham and Coventry, boost the number of councils to 16, while Cheshire police is the first of the UK's police forces to join the campaign.
The new arrivals join a cross-section of UK society including nearly 16,000 individuals, over 600 businesses including the Royal Mail, the entire cabinet and Tory front bench, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and Tate Modern, as well as numerous celebrities, schools, universities and hospitals.
The campaign, which was launched two weeks ago, is encouraging people and organisations to cut their carbon emissions by 10% by the end of 2010. It aims to build a coalition from all sectors of society to put political pressure on the government for more robust action on climate change. It is supported by the Guardian.
Simon Chubb, sustainable city manager at Cambridge council said that the 10:10 campaign offered a good opportunity to communicate the council's climate policies on climate change to the people in the city. "[Councillors] saw that as an opportunity to remind people that it is one of our key priorities," he said.
He said the council will target its car parks that have electric lighting 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. "They have some of the largest electricity bills in the council," he said. It plans to invest £120,000 in more efficient lights and cut energy use by around 75%. He calculates that the investment will pay back in just over three and a half years.
A spokesperson for Nottingham City Council said that it would soon be moving its operations from two sites to one, which would cut down on energy use.
Stoke-on-Trent, Camden and Haringey councils are three other recent council sign ups who join a diverse group of over 300 large and small organisations including Cambridge University Conservative Club and West Leeds Rugby Union Football Club, which describes itself as "probably the most social rugby club in Leeds".
Karen Wickstead, Cheshire Constabulary's environment officer said that 10:10 was a "small step towards making a big difference".
"As staff within the organisation are extremely keen in reducing their carbon footprint it took literally minutes from sending an email highlighting the 10:10 event to the first member of staff registering – showing that staff are aware of climate change and are committed in doing their bit for the environment," she added.
Other recent signees include Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust and Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust as well as the Danish Embassy in London's Sloane Square.
[Life & style > Cyling]
Blackpool launches on-street cycle hire scheme
Lancashire resort copies Parisian scheme to get residents and visitors cycling
Peter Walker
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 15 September 2009 00.10 BST Article history
Just over a century ago, it happily borrowed the idea of the Eiffel Tower. Now, Blackpool has taken inspiration from a more recent Parisian innovation – mass on-street cycle hire.
In an attempt to change its reputation as a fading seaside resort for boisterous stag weekenders, and to boost local health, the Lancashire town is today launching the UK's most ambitious municipal cycle hire scheme to date.
Modelled on initiatives such as Paris's popular Vélib, where people can use a swipe card to take a bike from street-side depots, the Blackpool version is beginning with 60 brightly coloured cycles. But by next spring – before a much-heralded equivalent opens in London – this will be expanded to 500 bikes at 100 stands.
Funded by the local council, the town's NHS trust and Cycling England, the system will be run by Hourbike, a private company which operates a smaller version in Bristol. Blackpool is seen as particularly suitable given its flat terrain and low levels of car ownership. Renters will be able to use a network of bike lanes either along the coastline or inland.
The town has some of the lowest levels of adult exercise in the country, and the scheme is aimed at local people as well as its 10m visitors a year.
Unlike in Bristol there is no extra charge for one-way trips, to try to tempt people into trying commuting by bike.
The bikes will be available to visitors for a daily fee of £8, while residents or regular visitors can get a swipe card which lets them use the machines for a £1 hourly charge, with the first 30 minutes free.
"It's a very, very interesting scheme," said Philip Darnton, chairman of Cycling England. "The important thing for something like this is knowing who it is aimed at. It's going to be fascinating to see whether this gets local people riding as well as tourists."
The concept of publicly-available municipal hire cycles first emerged as 1974 in the French Atlantic coast town of La Rochelle, but its recent emergence dates back to mid-2005, when Lyon launched its Vélo'v system. This was adopted as Vélib two years later in Paris, which has now expanded to around 20,000 bikes at almost 1,500 street stations and has proved hugely popular, despite problems of vandalism and theft.
As well as Blackpool and Bristol, there are a handful of smaller schemes around the UK, for example one aimed mainly at tourists in the smaller Merseyside seaside resort of Southport.
The London scheme, due to launch next summer as a joint venture between Transport for London and the company Serco, will dwarf all other UK bike hire operations, with an initial plan for 6,000 bikes at 400 "docking stations".
There are currently no other such municipal schemes in the pipeline, Darnton said, although South West Trains has just launched an initiative where commuters into London can hire folding bikes to get from the station to their workplace. "This is the sort of thing I expect we'll be seeing more of in the future," he said.
[News > Politics > Boris Johnson]
Boris Johnson ups carbon footprint by courtesy flight to New York
Hélène Mulholland and Patrick Wintour
The Guardian, Tuesday 15 September 2009 Article history
Boris Johnson will today help out British Airways's commercial interests by speaking out against using video conferencing as a way of doing business, at a press conference in New York which he is attending courtesy of four business class tickets provided by the airline.
The mayor of London's backing will again lead to questions on the Conservative commitment to cutting unnecessary CO2 emissions. Government advisers argue that restraining air travel is a prerequisite of reducing overall carbon emissions. Research has suggested that business air travel affects carbon emissions significantly, partly because the profitability of such passengers allows airlines to offer economy class tickets.
The European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association claims that a 20% cut in business travel would save 22m tonnes of CO2 each year – "equivalent to taking one third of the UK's cars off the road".
Carriers with large business class cabins have higher emission levels per passenger than those that carry many more economy passengers in the same aircraft type.
In July BA launched a "Face to Face" campaign to encourage business meetings in person, claiming that "tangible, human connections are a crucial driver of business growth".
The mayor's spokesman said Johnson's role at the BA campaign in the terrace lounge at Terminal 7 of JFK airport today would be to see the winners of the campaign off to pitch their business ideas face to face in London.
Asked how this fitted in with the Conservatives' call for a reduction in unnecessary air travel, his spokesman said that the mayor supported video conferencing as a tool of business, but was keen to bring tourists and business leaders to London: "Air travel account for a very small part of carbon emissions. It's important to contain the growth, and Boris Johnson has been fiercely critical of plans for a third runway at Heathrow.
"But the mayor believes that flying remains important to London's prosperity."
On travelling courtesy of BA, the spokesman said the airline was "very close partners" with Visit London, the agency promoting tourism to the capital. "Taxpayers of London will appreciate the mayor is able to conduct such an ambitious marketing drive for zero cost."
A study of Harvard Business Review subscribers, commissioned by BA, found that 95% believed that face-to-face meetings were the key to success in building long-term relationships, while more than 50% said recent restrictions on business travel had hurt their business.
[Environment > 10:10 climate change campaign]
Local councils and police sign up to 10:10
Cambridge, Nottingham and Coventry councils and Cheshire police have signed up to the 10:10 climate change campaign
James Randerson
guardian.co.uk, Monday 14 September 2009 18.11 BST Article history
Six local councils representing over 1.4 million people and a police authority have signed up the 10:10 climate change campaign. The new sign-ups, which include Cambridge, Nottingham and Coventry, boost the number of councils to 16, while Cheshire police is the first of the UK's police forces to join the campaign.
The new arrivals join a cross-section of UK society including nearly 16,000 individuals, over 600 businesses including the Royal Mail, the entire cabinet and Tory front bench, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and Tate Modern, as well as numerous celebrities, schools, universities and hospitals.
The campaign, which was launched two weeks ago, is encouraging people and organisations to cut their carbon emissions by 10% by the end of 2010. It aims to build a coalition from all sectors of society to put political pressure on the government for more robust action on climate change. It is supported by the Guardian.
Simon Chubb, sustainable city manager at Cambridge council said that the 10:10 campaign offered a good opportunity to communicate the council's climate policies on climate change to the people in the city. "[Councillors] saw that as an opportunity to remind people that it is one of our key priorities," he said.
He said the council will target its car parks that have electric lighting 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. "They have some of the largest electricity bills in the council," he said. It plans to invest £120,000 in more efficient lights and cut energy use by around 75%. He calculates that the investment will pay back in just over three and a half years.
A spokesperson for Nottingham City Council said that it would soon be moving its operations from two sites to one, which would cut down on energy use.
Stoke-on-Trent, Camden and Haringey councils are three other recent council sign ups who join a diverse group of over 300 large and small organisations including Cambridge University Conservative Club and West Leeds Rugby Union Football Club, which describes itself as "probably the most social rugby club in Leeds".
Karen Wickstead, Cheshire Constabulary's environment officer said that 10:10 was a "small step towards making a big difference".
"As staff within the organisation are extremely keen in reducing their carbon footprint it took literally minutes from sending an email highlighting the 10:10 event to the first member of staff registering – showing that staff are aware of climate change and are committed in doing their bit for the environment," she added.
Other recent signees include Brighton and Hove Primary Care Trust and Sherwood Forest Hospitals Foundation Trust as well as the Danish Embassy in London's Sloane Square.
[Life & style > Cyling]
Blackpool launches on-street cycle hire scheme
Lancashire resort copies Parisian scheme to get residents and visitors cycling
Peter Walker
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 15 September 2009 00.10 BST Article history
Just over a century ago, it happily borrowed the idea of the Eiffel Tower. Now, Blackpool has taken inspiration from a more recent Parisian innovation – mass on-street cycle hire.
In an attempt to change its reputation as a fading seaside resort for boisterous stag weekenders, and to boost local health, the Lancashire town is today launching the UK's most ambitious municipal cycle hire scheme to date.
Modelled on initiatives such as Paris's popular Vélib, where people can use a swipe card to take a bike from street-side depots, the Blackpool version is beginning with 60 brightly coloured cycles. But by next spring – before a much-heralded equivalent opens in London – this will be expanded to 500 bikes at 100 stands.
Funded by the local council, the town's NHS trust and Cycling England, the system will be run by Hourbike, a private company which operates a smaller version in Bristol. Blackpool is seen as particularly suitable given its flat terrain and low levels of car ownership. Renters will be able to use a network of bike lanes either along the coastline or inland.
The town has some of the lowest levels of adult exercise in the country, and the scheme is aimed at local people as well as its 10m visitors a year.
Unlike in Bristol there is no extra charge for one-way trips, to try to tempt people into trying commuting by bike.
The bikes will be available to visitors for a daily fee of £8, while residents or regular visitors can get a swipe card which lets them use the machines for a £1 hourly charge, with the first 30 minutes free.
"It's a very, very interesting scheme," said Philip Darnton, chairman of Cycling England. "The important thing for something like this is knowing who it is aimed at. It's going to be fascinating to see whether this gets local people riding as well as tourists."
The concept of publicly-available municipal hire cycles first emerged as 1974 in the French Atlantic coast town of La Rochelle, but its recent emergence dates back to mid-2005, when Lyon launched its Vélo'v system. This was adopted as Vélib two years later in Paris, which has now expanded to around 20,000 bikes at almost 1,500 street stations and has proved hugely popular, despite problems of vandalism and theft.
As well as Blackpool and Bristol, there are a handful of smaller schemes around the UK, for example one aimed mainly at tourists in the smaller Merseyside seaside resort of Southport.
The London scheme, due to launch next summer as a joint venture between Transport for London and the company Serco, will dwarf all other UK bike hire operations, with an initial plan for 6,000 bikes at 400 "docking stations".
There are currently no other such municipal schemes in the pipeline, Darnton said, although South West Trains has just launched an initiative where commuters into London can hire folding bikes to get from the station to their workplace. "This is the sort of thing I expect we'll be seeing more of in the future," he said.
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