There is a mind-boggling array of branded waters on the market. The bottles come in all shapes and sizes, from the square Fiji option, with its dubious political connections, to the diminutive pink Evian vessel. It all adds up to a huge headache for the environment, which is why giving up bottled water should be a high priority for anyone aspiring to be green.

But not all plastic water bottles are eco-enemies. Now, a new type of container is entering the fray and it might just make …

Tags: bottled water , environment , evian , fiji water , green , health , hydration , lifefactory , lifestyle , soda stream , sodastream , water bobble , water filter , water safety , waterbobble , wellness

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Cheese is my weakness. Camembert and cheddar, stilton and swiss, mozzarella and mascarpone, gouda and goat’s cheese, feta and fresh quark – I love them all. And while it may not be great for my waistline or as environmentally pure as organic lentils, at least I can eat it knowing that it’s a more eco-friendly choice than, say, tucking into a juicy slab of steak. Or can I?

My vegetarian friends certainly seem to think so – many of them seem to subsist on cheese. Trust me, I can understand …

Tags: animal welfare , cafos , cheese , cholesterol , conscientious omnivore , dairy farming , environment , ethical eating , factory farming , freerange eggs , green lifestyle , heart health , meat , organic dairy , saturated fat , sustainable agriculture , sustainable food , vegan , veganism , vegetarian , vegetarianism

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The Noughties will go down in history as the decade we spent avoiding our biggest challenge.

The headlines of the decade were the terror attacks on New York and Washington DC on September 11, 2001 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that followed. Meanwhile, we started and ended the Noughties with a stock-market collapse and recession – the dotcom crash of early 2000 and the global financial crisis of late 2008. Understandably, this all consumed a vast amount of our attention and energy.

Yet when historians look back on this era, …

Tags: biggest green stories , decade environment , decade green stories , environmental stories of 2000s , most important green stories

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2009 was a year of flood and fire, Food Inc. and flu, frugality and food waste, foreclosures and floating islands of plastic. We started the year with the worst global economy in decades but also widespread optimism over the inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States and hopes that the United Nations talks on climate change scheduled for the end of the year might yield concrete results. We ended the year jaded and battle-weary. Most of us are probably ready to put …

Tags: biggest green stories , eco news , important environmental stories , top environment stories 2009

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I wouldn’t make a very good diplomat. The veiled dance and coded signals of international political negotiation would drive me crazy.

There are two months before world leaders gather in Copenhagen, Denmark for a United Nations Summit to hammer out a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. This could possibly the most important international meeting in the history of the world and yet, like Nero and Rome, we seem to be fiddling as the world burns.

I read the news every day and try to stay informed – The Guardian is probably doing the …

Tags: copenhagen

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We already know that we should eat less meat for the sake of the planet – the United Nations has said reduced meat consumption would help curb greenhouse emissions. While many ardent environmentalists are vegetarian, initiatives like Meatless Monday are trying to encourage all of us to do our part, as well.

So meat production helps cause global warming. But did you know that climate change might also affect the quality of meat? According to New Scientist: “Pork chops will become …

Tags: climate , climate change , food , food production and global warming , global warming effects , meat , meat eating , vegetarian

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Anthropologist Margaret Mead once said: “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

If you’ve ever doubted this, look no further than Cadbury chocolate.

Last month we reported that Cadbury decided to add palm oil to its chocolate in Australia and New Zealand. The company insisted it was doing so not to save money but to “improve” its chocolate as the palm oil produced a “softer” product than chocolate made with real cocoa butter.

The reaction of the Australian and Kiwi …

Tags: Cadbury chocolate , choclovers , Matathew Oldham , palm oil , social media , twitter

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There is something about berries that screams summer to me. Where I live in England it’s the height of strawberry season right now and the berries are cheap and plentiful. They are also succulent and sweet with the summer sun -  unlike the watery tart versions you get from supermarkets out of season. For the next few months we will have a berry bonanza with raspberries, gooseberries, blueberries, red currants, white currants, black currants, and finally in the autumn, blackberries.

For my fifth birthday I begged my mother to make a …

Tags: berries , DIY , fruit , home , how to , jam , Recipe

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As the recession cuts deeper into the profits of big food companies, many brands are downsizing their portions in a bid to cut costs. In some cases, they are also downgrading their ingredients. But as chocolate giant Cadbury is discovering – you mess with your iconic brands at your peril.

Cadbury’s current advertising campaign involves eyebrow gymnastics from two children. Meanwhile, it has made some eyebrow-raising changes to the formulation of its popular Dairy Milk block in Australia and New Zealand. The new chocolate block is smaller, contains fewer cocoa solids …

Tags: agriculture , business , Cadbury , chocolate , food , greenwash , palm oil

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