Now I'm the fun police

I used to enjoy seeing all the Christmas lights on people's houses - when our son was very young he would be so excited by them and I would adjust my route to take us past the households that really made an effort. Now I just shake my head and fret about the wasted energy. This year I agonised over whether to put up our single row of icicle lights on the front of our house. In the end, we've put them up but used a timer so that they light briefly, at the right time of day to welcome us home. Our Christmas tree has its lights on a timer, too. Even so, I feel guilty about the energy we're using.

There are houses in our town that really go overboard with their Christmas lights, collecting money for charity from the people that come to see them. It's a kind gesture that gives pleasure, but perhaps its time to find another way to help. With energy so expensive, they could probably raise more for charity by just donating the amount they would have spent on powering the lights. On one level our lives would be a little poorer for not having the displays, but it's time for new thinking.

Our son is eight now, and pretty well informed on environmental issues. I'm sure I could explain to him that our Christmas lights are no longer a good idea and he'd understand. But it would make me feel like I'm stealing some of the fun from his childhood. And I don't think I can do that until I can find another kind of fun to put in its place.

David Kennedy at Green Monday

David Kennedy - the chief executive of the independent committee on climate change - addressed Green Monday last night. Yesterday, his committee has unveiled a new report on carbon budgets, designed to support the commitments of the new Climate Change Act. The report recommends that the UK should unilaterally aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - not just CO2 - by 34% by 2020 (compared to 1990 levels). In the event of a global deal on greenhouse gas reduction being reached, this would increase to 42%.

This follows on from the release of an interim report on October 8th which called for an 80% reduction in all greenhouse gases by 2050, to include shipping and aviation.

David believes we can meet these ambitious targets, without adversely affecting quality of life, largely through better energy efficiency and energy management. In terms of power generation there are two scenarios. The first is primarily via renewables; the second through fewer renewables but increased nuclear power. Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is not an option during the 15 year timescale, because of time to market. This raises the question of whether we should continue to invest in coal fired power plants during the intervening period. The committee’s recommendation is yes, as long as the plants are designed for CCS to be retrofitted.

In order to achieve these targets, both corporate change and culture change are required. We need to change our behaviour, make more considered purchasing decisions and do things more efficiently. The anticipated cost is between 0.5 and 0.8% of GDP - around one third of the recent cost of bailing out the UK banking system. It’s not a large amount and, as the Stern review pointed out, the cost of doing nothing is much,much more.

Green Christmas Gifts

For the traveller: Recycled Travel Journal from www.ecocentric.co.uk

For the bathroom-hog: Frog Shower Timer from www.bynature.co.uk

For the comfort queen: Naked In The Meadow gift set from www.nakedbodycare.co.uk

For the little one: Organic cotton Lion Rattle from www.otoys.co.uk

For the green goddess: The Little Green Book of Beauty from www.ethicalsuperstore.com

For the wildlife lover: Elephant Dung Paper Notebook from www.objects-of-design.com

For the kids: Santa wind-up or shake torch from www.nigelsecostore.com

For the fashionista: Funky gear from www.fashion-conscience.com

For somebody who has everything: Watering can donation from www.presentaid.org

And why not use Christmas tags that turn back into trees - Plantable Holiday Gift Tags from www.ecohip.org

Want to marry? Plant a tree!

According to the The Red Carpet Blog, some communities in Indonesia have introduced novel measures to combat deforestation. In Malalo village in West Sumatra Province, ancient tradition has a couple plant two trees before getting married. Steps are now being taken to enshrine this act in legislation. Now Balikpapan city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, has decreed that before a couple can secure the recommendation letter required to get married, they too must plant a tree seedling.

Data shows that forest area in Indonesia has decreased from 162 million hectares to 98 million hectares in the 50 years up to 1996. The problem is compounded by illegal logging, forest fire and widespread corruption in forestry industry.

Stuff Your Rucksack

A great idea for travellers: Stuffyourrucksack.com provides information on equipment wanted by charities and other worthy causes at your destination.

Solar cemetary

Santa Coloma de Gramanet, near Barcelona, has found an unusual place to generate renewable energy - it has placed 462 solar panels over its multi-storey mausoleums. The panels will create enough energy each year to supply the needs of 60 homes.

The cemetery was chosen for the project because it is one of only a few open, sunny places in the city, which has a population of 124,000 crammed into 4 sq km (1.5 sq miles). The installation cost 720,000 euros (£608,000) but will keep about 62 tonnes of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere every year

Santa Coloma de Gramanet has four other solar parks, mostly on top of buildings, but the cemetery is by far the largest. The full story can be found on the BBC website.

Train trouble

I want to travel by train, I really do, but they don’t make it easy for me. Travelling to North Wales this weekend began with a Friday afternoon Cross Country service to Stafford - a journey of about two hours. The train was late arriving in Reading and it soon became apparent that the reason for the delay was that the train was so full that passengers couldn’t get on within the scheduled stopping time at the stations. We had reserved seats in advance but to get to them we had to pass through a solid wall of people and luggage which had nowhere to go.

Inevitably, my son needed the toilet during the journey. We clambered through the carriage in one direction only to find that somebody had locked themselves in at Reading and despite much banging on the door was refusing to yield to needy passengers. So the only option was to repeat the ordeal in the other direction. Moving through the train was so difficult we decided to leave our seats at the previous station to ensure we had time to reach the door before our stop.

I assumed at first that this was an unusual situation caused by some unforeseen event, but no. Fellow travellers told me they use the service regularly and it’s always the same. The train is woefully inadequate - too short for the volume of traffic and with no luggage facilities to speak of, despite an itinerary that crosses half of England and links several large cities.

Inevitably the delays increased throughout the journey and we missed our first connection so our journey had to replanned along the way, causing much stress and delay. The journey back was even worse - we couldn't get on the train at all. In fairness to Arriva and Virgin the other sections of our trip were perfectly acceptable, but the damage is done. If I have to make that journey again, I'll take the car rather than trust Cross Country Trains to get me there.

It was reported this weekend that fares are to go up by 8% next year. If the objective is really to get more people off the roads and onto public transport, it’s the standard of service, not the fares, that should be increased.