Burning issues posts
The language of global warming
Posted in: Burning issues by Paul Allen , November 12, 2008 – 11:13 am
How susceptible are you to spin? Earlier this year, the New York Times reported on a book called Nudge by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein.
The authors argue that some new creative thinking on the part of marketers is increasingly affecting the way we behave. Salespeople - or “choice architects” as the New Yorkers like to…
What would make football more ethical?
Posted in: Burning issues by Andrew Zincke , November 4, 2008 – 12:04 pm
The latest issue of Ethical Consumer magazine has a good piece on Premiership football clubs. Sarah Irving’s article acknowledges that supporting a club is hardly a matter of choice on the same level as, say, washing powder but she explores some thought-provoking points.
Ethical Consumer rates all the clubs by the corporate ethics of their owners,…
The ethics of killing
Posted in: Burning issues, In the news by Lily Barclay , October 28, 2008 – 3:27 pm
A 19-year-old gamekeeper, at the Kempton estate in south Shropshire, received a six-month suspended prison sentence last month for killing legally protected species, including badgers and buzzards.
Kyle Burden’s actions came to light when two other gamekeepers witnessed him clubbing badgers that were still caught in a snare and shooting buzzards with a shotgun. They reported…
The ethical dilemma of leather
Posted in: Burning issues by Lily Barclay , October 14, 2008 – 1:32 pm
Whether or not people choose to wear leather often depends on how they feel about the ethics of the meat industry. But it’s not uncommon for strict veggies to be ok with wearing it – considering it as a by-product of meat farming.
Some argue that it is a form of recycling, after all if the…
The credit crunch and planet crunch
Posted in: Burning issues, In the news by Will Watt , October 10, 2008 – 10:12 am
On 15 September Evan Davis hosted a live debate on Radio 4, ‘The Credit Crunch Mess – What’s Next?’ An expert panel tackled three key questions: whether banks should be reined in, whether consumers should be spending less and saving more, and whether the era of American dominance is over.
While talk of de-leveraging, liquidity and…
Green prisons
Posted in: Burning issues by Lily Barclay , October 8, 2008 – 10:23 am
Green architecture, a private beach and organic cuisine might sound like the credentials of a luxury spa, but it’s actually the world’s first ecological jail. Inmates at Bastoey Prison in Norway are responsible for recycling their rubbish, tending the vegetables and caring for the prison’s lambs, cows and pigs. And drugs aren’t the only banned…
The new face of giving?
Posted in: Burning issues by Sharath Jeevan , October 2, 2008 – 12:03 pm
The way we give to charity is changing. Not so long ago, we didn’t tend to ask much about where our donations were going – just giving to a reputable “good cause” was enough.
But today, we demand a lot more. We want more control over how our donations are used and greater reassurance that…
Are the green inspectors watching you?
Posted in: Burning issues by Lily Barclay , October 1, 2008 – 10:50 am
The idea of your neighbours snooping through the net curtains might make you feel uneasy at the best of times. But what if they had a green agenda? A new neighbourhood scheme has seen councils recruiting for undercover, unpaid “environmental volunteers” to name and shame their naughty neighbours.
The idea is to reduce dog fouling, fly-tipping…
Stickers of shame
Posted in: Burning issues by Lily Barclay , September 22, 2008 – 3:09 pm
We Europeans like to think of ourselves as greener than the average American, but we’re one step behind on 4×4s.
While Boris Johnson has given London’s gas guzzlers the green flag by scrapping plans for an increased congestion charge, across the pond Arnold Schwarzenegger has other ideas. The Californian governor has announced plans for all new…
