Bits and pieces...

Friends of the Earth's Big Ask campaign took their petition to Parliament today (watch the film here) asking for aviation to be included in the Climate Change Bill. Oil prices seem to be doing a fairly good job of constraining demand right now, and our old friend Michael O'Leary's Ryannair oxygen mask problems last week (BBC News article here) have also contributed (maybe you had to swipe your credit card before they'd give you a lungful of life-saving gas following the sudden depressurisation of the plane...during which the pilot said...well, er, nothing. Customer service eh? Admittedly he might have had other priorities on his hands).

On a completely different note, for all of us Norfolk boys and girls out there (I wear my 'Normal for Norfolk' t-shirt with pride) another regionally challenged mate sent me the link to the film below. It's probably funnier if you're from the right side of the Fens, but a piece of musical genius from wherever you hail from. Kanye West needs to change his name to East!

Nude planes?

Friends of the Earth's Big Ask campaign, having successfully lobbied in support of the Climate Change Bill in the UK parliament (the first of its kind in the world) has now moved its focus onto making sure that aviation is included in the bill...for some reason at present its not in there. Now why might that be?

; )

Could it be because the UK's addiction to short-haul flights means that aviation actually makes up 13% of UK carbon emissions, as opposed to the 2% of international emissions the industry would prefer you to think about? Either way it seems somewhat bonkers to exclude aviation as one of the fastest growing sources of carbon emissions from the Bill.

Almost 200,000 campaigners have already signed up in support and you can book your seat on the 'virtual' flight to lobby parliament here. I'm in seat 200G if you want to sit nearby (!) and fellow passengers include Thom Yorke, Vic Reeves and KT Tunstall - although you'd be hard pushed to get a spot close enough to touch thighs with these popular types.

There's also a slightly weird series of viral clips including this bizarre 'stripper plane' visiting Parliament...not sure WHAT that's all about...

You can also watch the video below...

Paint my plane green...

After almost a month back at work I am now fully back in the swing of things and today Futerra launches our first report since my return - The Greenwash Guide. The last couple of years have seen a dramatic upsurge in corporations falling over each other to try and 'outgreen' the competition and convince increasingly enlightened and environmentally discerning green consumers to part with their hard earned 'green pounds'. The trouble is, a lot of this 'green' marketing, usually by carelessness and/or over enthusiasm by underqualified marketers, is full of porky pies and exaggerations. So what we all cry! Surely that's what marketing does, embellish the claim , manipulate desire and flog more product! True, but the danger here lies in the potential for creating a cynical reaction amongst consumers who then shun eco-products and undermine the entire green business case...

The battle is on for trust and credibility around green claims and just for fun we mocked up some fake ads for the report, my favourite of which is for an entirely fictional (ahem) short haul aviation company called 'Greenjet'. You can download a .pdf of the guide via this link and the ad is included for your enjoyment below...