What does it mean to be green?

What are the defining features of being "green"? We would love to know your view. A few initial thoughts suggest the following characteristics: green is local, slow but adaptable, organic, natural, and low-tech. What do you think?

Feel the pain

As we try and reduce our impact on the environment, and reduce the threat of climate change, we are all going to have to make sacrifices. The consensus among scientists is that in the developed West, the affluent will need to cut their carbon emissions by 80%. What will you find most difficult to give up?

Jane from Reading - Chocolate. I couldn't live without it.

Brian from Coventry - I am finding cutting back on using the car a tough one, as it takes so much longer even to do the short journeys on foot, and time is at a premium, especially with getting the children to lots of different activities.

Sarah from Woking - I love having a soak in a really hot bath. That would be a really tough one to give up.

Mark - There are somethings that we cannot grow in this country, like coffee, which I would really miss. Also I use the computer a lot to surf the internet, which I suppose is not very green, given the power used by computers.

Phil from Selby - I would miss cutting back on driving. I know we have all got to cut down, but I really enjoy motoring.

Henry from Carlisle - I would really miss exotic fruit like oranges, bananas and kiwi fruit.

Georgina from Aberdeen - I have a sister in America, and fly to see her and her children, my nephews, every six months. I would find it really hard to stop flying.

Going Green Together

Many of us are now making choices to benefit the environment, and some of these involve short term sacrifices. Have you done something positive or given something up? Do let us know - it will be easier making these sacrifices if we share them. To start things off, we asked our staff if they had done anything recently:

Emma - I recently collected my daughter from school on foot. I can do it in 5 minutes in the car, and it takes nearly half an hour on foot, but afterwards I felt good, as the exercise was good for us both, and we had a chance from some uninterrupted gossip!

Fiona - We normally cheat and have pre-cooked meals from Tesco in front of the TV, but recently we have made a point of at least twice a week sitting down at the table for a family meal. I have been doing some proper cooking and we have been eating vegetable from the local organic box scheme. We talk to each other more, and should be healthier into the bargain.

John - I regularly walk across town rather than drive everywhere. I feel much fitter for it, and you normally bump into someone for a chat, which you miss if you drive everywhere. We have only been abroad for a holiday once in the last 18 years, and even then it was just a coach trip. The cheap flights are tempting but our planet's future is more important than a week in the sun. We have got to know England much better - there is always more to see, and it makes you appreciate more what is on your doorstep.

Talking Point

What do you make of the newspapers' coverage of environmental issues? Which one do you find most sympathetic to the green cause?

Here at Eco, we spend a lot of time looking at the coverage by the various papers, and would rate them in the order below, but we would love to know what you think:

1. The Independent
2. The Guardian
3. The Daily Mail
4. The Times
5. The Telegraph
6. The Express
7. The Sun
8. The Star

If you have enjoyed reading Eco let us know, and better still let all your friends know our web address/ url:

http://www.ecozine.co.uk