Optimism, cause and better grocery shopping

Posted by joelle on Friday, January 23rd, 2009

Yes, it’s time for my weekly round up of some of the sustainability stories in the news.

  • Swelling optimism with the inauguration of a president with the vision and the courage to make a difference. Here’s one highlight from the inauguration speech:

“Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of our economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act–not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do.”

  • And there’s no time to waste. Also in the news this week is scientists’ belief that global warming is to blame for US forests dying twice as fast as they did three decades ago; research that removes any doubt that the Antarctic is definitely warming up; and Washington think tank Worldwatch Institute report revealing that the carbon problem is ‘worse than we thought’ and predicting dire catastrophe if we fail to take effective action and quickly.
  • A smattering of good news closer to home comes thanks to UK supermarkets. Progress is being made in phasing out battery farmed eggs, with Sainsbury’s stocking only eggs from cage-free hens in its own label from 5 February, that’s about 2.5million eggs per week coming from happier hens. Waitrose has launched a free cycle trailer scheme to help people transport their shopping home greenly.

Wishing you a green weekend!

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