According to some greenies, consume any meat or dairy products and you might as well buy a private jet and make your carbon-fest a real fiesta. But some of us really hanker for a hunk of cheese – and a splash of milk. As someone who didn't drink tea, coffee or cola until I was 19, I've downed more than my fair share of the white stuff. Oh what a trendy teen I was, ordering milk in restaurants!

I have at times considered cutting back, like when my son was a dyspeptic baby who woke up screaming 10-15 times a night. I was desperate, so when well-meaning folk suggested dairy might be affecting my milk, I listened. The catch? I'd have to give it up for two weeks to notice if things improved or not. Two weeks without a milky cup of tea as the reward for surviving yet another broken night? Impossible to contemplate. So whether or not milk was the culprit, the torture of sleep deprivation continued (we think of those lost years as our own private Guantanamo).

At least buying organic milk can reduce green guilt. Have a look at my Website of the Week, Love-OM (and Calon Wen) for details of how organic milk is better for the environment – and better for cows. It's better for farmers too, now that the Federation of Organic Milk Groups (FOMG) has hired a 'Sifu' to teach farmers Tai Chi to improve their sense of wellbeing – which they hope to pass on to their herds. "My mood definitely transfers to my cows," says Tristan Dale a Love-OM farmer. "As organic farmers we believe happier cows produce better milk."

 

They're not being stingy with the good vibes either: starting in September Love-OM is launching Tea Break Meditation, to help everyone take time out from the hectic pace of life. Maybe I should join in, but the last time I went to a yoga class I collapsed in floods of tears and hid in the loo. Stressed and repressed, moi? I'm just more 'tea break' than 'meditation' – a nice warm (milky) cuppa soon lifted my spirits.

 

 

 

Click here to see the winners of the 2008 Nigel's Green Web Awards (just announced). I was on the judges panel, along with some very influential green gurus, including Tracey Stokes from EcoStreet, Abi Silvester from HippyShopper, Eco Worrier Anna Shepard and Adam Vaughan from SmartPlanet. There are some very interesting sites you may not have seen before and ones you'll surely want to take another look at, such as Ideal Bite, my Website of the Week this week. Once your do-gooder juices start flowing, pop into Nigel's shop to stock up on eco-friendly essentials and keep the green guilt at bay.

 

 

With sweatshop fashion in the spotlight, you can't read a newspaper without someone suggesting you try SIY (sew-it-yourself). My head says it's a great way to save money and avoid eco/ethical quagmires, but my heart? Hmmm... yet another dirty little secret:  I am philosophically opposed to sewing.

 

Obviously not all sewing, just any done by me personally. When you grow up a good Mormon girl, someone's always shoving a needle and thread in your hands – no matter how big a tomboy you are. They tried teaching me to embroider, knit, crochet and quilt, all to no avail. Perhaps my failure is simply down to being a left-handed pupil in a right-handed world, but I like to think it was a burgeoning feminism, shaking off the shackles of knitting needle and crochet hook.

 

You'd rebel too if you thought sewing your own meant the modest, puffy sleeved garb you may have seen recently in the US news (and in Big Love, right). Let me clarify: I was raised in the 'normal' church, not some polygamist offshoot but still, these dresses do look disturbingly familiar rather than just disturbing. It's not a particularly flattering look – even style icon Chloë Sevigny can't really pull it off.

Oddly there's actually a demand for pioneer-style dress patterns online, but luckily most SIY is now decidedly more stylish. Keep and Share offers machine- and hand-knitting courses in Herefordshire and sells ready-made clothing, including an Eco Collection made from organic, locally sourced yarns. Clothkits has relaunched and Gossypium has a new line of home sewing kits too. I've even heard of a knitting club at a pub near me, so SIY has definitely come out of the mumsy closet.

 

I heartily recommend you give it a go, and many of you are (Argos reports sales of its inexpensive Brother sewing machine are up by 500%). I'm sure it is in fact liberating, but will I personally whizz up a few simple summer skirts? Maybe when I see men nattering over their knitting, I'll feel ready to join the SIY revolution, but I fear I'll need years of therapy first...

 

It's birthday time for Madonna and Barbie, both hitting the big 5-0 this year. As the queens of re-invention, it's not surprising both have done a turn as Green Goddess in 2008. Madonna graced the cover of Vanity Fair's Green Issue and Mattel now claims Barbie is amazingly on trend with her Barbie™ BCause "eco-friendly" fashion range (handbags, hats, pillows, diaries and more) all made from recycled fabric scraps.

"Barbie BCause is for eco-conscious girls who believe that being environmentally-friendly is the right thing to do," says Richard Dickson, a senior VP at Mattel Brands. "We are thrilled to give extra meaning and extra style to what was once just extra Barbie doll fabric."

Not to mention creating new profits from what was once just extra Barbie doll fabric. So, does this cancel out the impact of manufacturing millions of plastic dolls encased in plastic packaging on the other side of the planet  (with associated labour, quality control and environmental issues) or is this just greenwashing? If you choose A, I've got a lovely Barbie Dream House for sale in Kabul.

 

Actually, despite my long grudge against Babs (which peaked in a mass decapitation incident during a sleepover in 1978) I do not live in a Barbie-free home, though I don't buy them myself. I worry that a strict Barbie ban would just make her more alluring.

 

For my money, if you're looking for a green goddess who's bang on trend for 2008, check out this trolley dolly: the Mummy in The Tiger Who Came to Tea, by Judith Kerr. Who'd have guessed she'd seem quite so contemporary 40 years on – but look how she's working that string bag, trolley and bright orange mac. 

Cheap and cheerful fashion is starting to look a bit down in the mouth. The days of bragging about snagging a fab dress for a fiver are just about over. 'I don't know how they do it!', we exclaimed, hoping against hope that some magic fairy dust allowed companies to manufacture clothes on the other side of the planet, ship them here and still charge only a few quid.

'All You Care to Eat' read the restaurant's banner as I walked through Soho in 1991. Why did it look so wrong? After all, I'd grown up in America, land of the gorge-fest known as the 'All You Can Eat' buffet.

 

Ah, but those few words of difference make a world of difference: 'All You Care to Eat' implies that one will sup until sated, daintily wipe one's mouth and smile beatifically. 'All You Can Eat' is a challenge that you rise to by stuffing your gob and waddling back for seconds, thirds and fourths until you burst – or burst into tears from the agony of acid reflux.

 

Acid reflux is now classed as a disease, but for many folks it's simply the logical consequence of devouring a huge slab of steak, a baked potato dripping with butter and sour cream, and don't forget the starters – a plate of cheesy nachos perhaps? – all followed by The Ultimate Ice Cream Experience (a case of 'The Devil Eats Cold Stone Creamery'?).

 

Gluttony is one of the 21st century's biggest problems (no pun intended). The world is now home to more overweight people than hungry ones, US professor Barry Popkin told the International Association of Agricultural Economists in 2006 (1billion, compared with 800m). Should we celebrate that fact? After all, obesity should be easier to crack than starvation: if the chubbies just cut back on the Big Macs, wouldn't there be plenty to go round? Apparently not if meat is on the menu.

The Devil Eats Meat (?)

Animal agriculture gobbles up resources (food, water and land) and leads to pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation. See my recent 'Website of the Week' (23 June 2008) where I selected PETA [People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] and its new campaign to highlight the ethical and ecological issues surrounding meat consumption. PETA is trying to encourage everyone to take the 30-day Veg Pledge to give up meat (or at least to cut back with Meat-Free Mondays). This can be a tricky challenge for Americans when dining out, as on most menus even salads are heaped high with chicken, ham or bacon bits.

 

Fat is no longer a feminist issue – it's an ecological issue. And let's get real: morbid obesity is no cake walk. In addition to the consequences to the planet from over-consumption of food, there are the personal repercussions: decreased mobility, increased threat of heart attack and cancer and even depression.

 

Even if you're not morbidly obese, you might (like me) be carrying an extra stone around. Perhaps thinking about our weight in ecological terms will be that extra incentive we need to resist the biccie box. In fact, in addition to taking the Veg Pledge, I promise to undertake a 30-day biscuit ban (starting after the one I just had). It's not going to save the planet – or even my figure – but hey, you've got to start somewhere. Care to join me? In the meantime if your bod isn't exactly beach-tastic, try a floaty cover-up – double points if it's second-hand, fairtrade or organic – and steer clear of the sausage rolls.

 

Maybe it's being over 40 and the prospect of yet another birthday approaching fast (I'm not complaining – it definitely beats the alternative). Or maybe it's coming back from our holiday in France, where things improve with age (at least the wine and cheese). Whatever the reason, I'm currently obsessed with Father Time, as you can see by this week's Website of the Week (where old things are transformed into art) and my Favourite Find for June (vintage furniture).

 

Call me hypersensitive, but I was especially incensed when I saw the lambasting (or should I say 'mutton basting'?) of Sarah Jessica Parker – who it turns out, is just a few months older than I. It seems she's had the cheek to show her face in public now she's over 40, especially if she will insist on having pores, let alone wrinkles, veins and the odd bunion. It's a disgrace and an affront to mankind apparently, as men in particular seem enraged that she hasn't had the dignity to check into a care home. The definition of ''decrepitude" is a seriously slippery slope, ladies (especially if you're sporting four-inch heels).

 

Here's a snippet from a review at Telegraph.co.uk:

"...like its characters – Samantha, who's on the verge of 50, and Carrie, who looks like a skeletal transvestite – it's getting on a bit. This really should be its final hurrah."

 

Forget the misogynistic tranny comment for a mo. "Getting on a bit"? So after 40 women should bow out and meekly disappear from our screens? Actresses bemoan the dearth of decent roles for 'older' women and with good reason. Who'd be an actress if at the stroke of 55 the only role you're offered is playing Jack Nicholson's mum?

 

Meanwhile Harrison Ford (65) earns $1 million per day playing adventurer Indy Jones. At least they had the decency to bring back Karen Allen instead of casting a 20-something as his sidekick. And he hasn't been spared the odd 'Fogey in a Fedora' comment himself. That reminds me, hat's off to Harrison, an old (no offence) supporter of Conservation International for his new ad raising awareness of rainforest deforestation.

 

I'm not saying SATC is the greatest thing since sliced organic wholemeal bread with sunflower seeds. Each of the characters has her foibles, but who doesn't? For the crime of growing older should these women be hounded into purdah? No – but could someone encourage Carrie to try a 12-step programme for that unsustainable shoe addiction – before it's too late!

 

If you think I'm being paranoid, remember Rush Limbaugh's comments about Hillary Clinton and the American addiction to physical perfection: "So the question is this: Will this country want to actually [sic] watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis?"

 

Of course the Republican opponent is more than a decade older than Hillary, but he's got a Y chromosome. Political disagreement with Hillary is fair, but the misogyny on the campaign trail wasn't.  After all, it's an election for President of the United States – not Miss America. Make no mistake: sexism is alive and kicking in 21st-century politics, and Michelle Obama isn't immune either. Lauren Collins's recent profile of Michelle in The New Yorker (and then The Observer Magazine) states that the potential First Lady can seem detached and 'aloof' and here's the proof: "Her mother and her older brother both say that she has never once phoned them in tears." Shocking. Man isn't a quivering jelly: strong. Woman shows resilience (or even just basic emotional stability): cold fish. But one teary outburst and she'd be judged a hormonal wreck. A woman can't win. And this year, a woman won't.

 

It's a great week for cyclists, who can now cycle the wrong way down a one-way street without risking a ticket – at least in David Cameron's neighbourhood. (The trial covers several test roads in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.)
So I applaud the move as a logical decision that improves cyclist safety – but what about pedestrian safety? Most peds step out confidently onto one-way streets, never imagining a bicycle might be winging its (wrong) way up the road. There's a simple, inexpensive and neighbourly solution: bring back the bell!  It's much more effective than 'Excuse me' as one knows immediately it's a bicycle rather than another pedestrian, a tourist asking for directions or a dodgy character asking (politely) for your wallet or iPod.

 

It is actually illegal to sell a bike without a bell in the UK, but macho cycling culture means shop assistants typically 'hint' that you can remove the girly bell as soon as you walk out the door.

 

I worry this law will make cyclists even more bold (read: bolshy). I am now suffering from road rage every time I walk across a busy street with children. We wait patiently for the green man, but cyclists run their red light and treat the children like cones in an obstacle course. I gently suggest (read: shriek) that the cyclist should use a bell and get a scathingly condescending look in return. I understand the cyclists' need to get ahead of the cars, but they need to respect pedestrian crossings, especially when they see children. After all, how cool and macho is it to run over a toddler?

 

Cycling in Paris recently, I found the bell a breeze to use, and French pedestrians didn't seem a bit sniffy about my heavy-handed ringing. After all, it's much better than having a clueless tourist run over your very expensive shoes. Does David Cameron ring his bell? What about Boris? He recently put macho concerns aside to buy a helmet, so this could be the next logical step. We need some sleb cyclists to ring in the change and make bells cool – or at least tolerable. Maybe someone could invent 'ringtones' for bikes? That might get the lads on board.

 

Some women – and men – gain true contentment from a sparkling sink or a freshly mopped floor. Even David Beckham confesses to OCD hoovering in straight lines – like a manic mower. 

So you wouldn't think I was a candidate for mixing DIY cleaning potions (much less for using them) but think again. As you can see on my Website of the Week this week, I've bought in bulk from Summer Naturals and no longer is (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction my soundtrack for spring cleaning.

 

Speaking of satisfaction, don't mock Mr Beckham: didn't you know a man in a pinny is now considered a pin-up? Women everywhere hanker for a hunk who does housework, as you can see in this book and calendar by the Cambridge Women's Pornography Cooperative (photos by Susan Anderson). 

 

My father was a keen gardener, but unfortunately though blue-green eyes are hereditary, green thumbs are not. It would have been a safe bet that if I was ever featured in the gardening section of a Sunday newspaper it would be for crimes against nature, but all bets are off as of this past Sunday.

 

To kick off Compost Awareness Week (and as I'm only in charge of a postage stamp patio so any gardening crimes are at least limited in scale) we were contacted by The Mail on Sunday to sing the praises of compost bins and show off our shiny new Can-O-Worms, doing our part to encourage people to keep slimy leftovers out of landfill. (It doesn't get more glamorous than this, does it?)

 

To find out more about Compost Awareness Week visit my Website of the Week page. And if you're a keen gardener, you'll love May's Favourite Finds. 

 

Ever waggled your finger in a litterbug's direction (and lived to tell the tale)? If you want the nation to clean up its act, but you're no longer willing to risk life and limb, you'll appreciate the no-threat-of-being-shouted-at-or-spat-upon-in-a-public-place aspect of this week's Website of the Week, Stop the Drop.

 

 

Well, compared to last night, when we witnessed the magical musical mystery that is the simply magnificent Björk, onstage in Hammersmith. I was chatting to someone last week about live performance, with its inevitable carbon cost. Every night at hundreds of theatres and halls around the country (and the world), actors, musicians and the like hit the stage, many of them having jetted in with their entourage and tons of electrical kit in the bargain. Surely it's more eco-friendly to do a performance once, film it and put it online. True, but there's something distinctly and intrinsically human about live performance. It has a vitality and power you just can't get from a screen, so I think it may be one of the last things the human race is willing to sacrifice if carbon rationing becomes a reality. Maybe we'll just decide to let very talented people have a bigger slice of the carbon pie. But who will judge which acts are 'worthy'? Perhaps instead of a citizenship test, they could craft a musicianship test that would just ensure you have the basic ability to read notes or play an instrument or sing on-key (without electronic 'help'). And in the bargain, maybe when kids are asked what they want to be when they grow up, they'll once again say 'a bass player' or 'a musician' instead of 'a pop star'.

 

Björk is far from a bottom-line-obsessed corporate operator simply totting up the ticket sales. She cares deeply about her art and about serious issues, as she showed at her March concert in Shanghai where she allegedly shouted "Tibet!" after performing the exhilarating Declare Independence, which she sang last night: Declare independence! / Don't let them do that to you! / With a flag and a trumpet / Go to the top of your highest mountain! 

 

We live on a mountain / right at the top / this beautiful view / from the top of the mountain / Every morning I walk towards the edge / and throw little things off / like car-parts, bottles and cutlery / or whatever I find lying around / it's become a habit / a way / to start the day  

Instead of taking that too literally, visit my latest Website of the Week to find out how to dispose of those little (or large) items you no longer have use for... Otherwise you're just another of the Earth Intruders.

 

When you read in tomorrow's papers about clashes between police and protesters along the Olympic torch's route through London, just remember that the overwhelming majority of us were not thugs or troublemakers. We were peaceful protesters simply speaking up for the Tibetan cause. After all, can chanting "Stop the torture in Tibet" really be that controversial?

 

Our pre-protest picnic at Jubilee Gardens seemed a daft idea in the snowstorm, so we cheerfully set up camp in the warmth of the Royal Festival Hall. A fortuitous move, as the riverside grandstand hinted at a major torch pit stop. After lunch we moved outside, where dozens of protesters mingled peacefully with spectators along the cordoned-off route. Even non-protesters seemed friendly and mostly supportive. Well you can't imagine them striking up a rival chorus of "Continue the torture in Tibet!" 

 

On the balcony the show was all-singing and all-dancing, but with no torch in sight. We all cheered when the cordons were dismantled as rumours spread that protests had halted the relay. I think the crafty authorities were just trying to get us all to give up and go home (and get out of camera range). In truth they sneaked the torch in via a back route so it could make a momentary appearance on stage, though without much fanfare.

 

Were we wrong to protest? Should sports and politics be separate? If so, why did the torch make a visit to the Prime Minister in Downing Street? I agree with Tessa Jowell, Minister for the Olympics who said the protests were "a good advert for democracy". Steve Redgrave also defended the right to protest. At the end of the day, it's a striking difference between living in a tolerant democracy or a repressive regime. Here you can speak your mind without fear of a thumping or a night (or decade) behind bars.

 

I left the 21st Century Challenge lecture on low-carbon energy at RGS last Wednesday feeling more glum than ever. No, not just about missing both the England/France friendly *and* the first night of The Apprentice, but glum about the prospect of any government actually being brave enough to tackle climate change. Lord Browne was pragmatic and made some interesting points, but Malcolm Wicks (after an optimistic start) seemed ready to admit defeat. On the topic of airport expansion he claimed he's "not interested in hairshirt regimes" which doesn't sound like the government is planning any tough measures to reduce emissions. He also implied that it's inevitable that China will dig up every crumb of coal under its soil. Listen to the speeches and audience Q&A here (including questions from Neil Crumpton of  Friends of the Earth and Mayer Hillman, author of How We Can Save the Planet.)

 

Should we all just shrug our shoulders and give up? Not just yet. In The Carbon Tariff (part of the 'Coming Home' report published last week) Jeff Rubin of CIBC and Benjamin Tal posit an interesting possibility, that carbon tariffs could drive manufacturers back to the West. The next US president is expected to cap greenhouse gas emissions and bring in carbon credits/tariffs. This means countries with cheap labour but dirty energy won't look so enchanting to western companies. So would China move towards cleaner energy in order to keep its stranglehold on manufacturing?

 

Do you consider 'stranglehold' too strong a word? Try boycotting 'Made in China' goods for a month (whether in protest at the regime's actions in Tibet or just to reduce transport miles and your carbon footprint). It's harder than you think. If you want to take a public stand against China's actions in Tibet, join the Tibetan Freedom Torch Rally on Sunday. We'll be at the South Bank Centre as the torch passes through (after a picnic in Jubilee Gardens).