Zible

Free Range Studios have been at it again. The crazy creative team have composed their latest movie to help spread awareness of biodiverstiy and environmental issues.

In a DaVinci Code theme, animal symbologist Robert Penguin and the dashing agent Sophie Minnow race to expose the greatest lie ever told.

• Watch 4 minute movie: The Daversity Code

Before you sign the road pricing petition that has swept the UK, read what you are signing and do some research into whether you really support it. The petition reads as follows:

The idea of tracking every vehicle at all times is sinister and wrong. Road pricing is already here with the high level of taxation on fuel. The more you travel – the more tax you pay.

It will be an unfair tax on those who live apart from families and poorer people who will not be able to afford the high monthly costs.

Please Mr Blair – forget about road pricing and concentrate on improving our roads to reduce congestion.

Let's disect these statements…

The idea of tracking every vehicle at all times is sinister and wrong.

The big brother concern is quite right. However, it is up to the UK as a nation (providing the government listens to public opinion) as to how the vehicle usage data is used. I don't like the idea of being tracked everywhere I go, but if I know that the data can only be accessed and used for specific and agreed purposes that I can trust in that, then I don't mind. Obviously we don't want an Orwellian future, but we can avoid that with the proper use of technology. The "idea" of tracking every vehicle at all times is not sinister and wrong – it is how that data may be used that could be sinister and wrong.

Road pricing is already here with the high level of taxation on fuel. The more you travel – the more tax you pay.

Current motoring taxation is collected through road tax (your tax disc) and fuel duty (the tax on petrol/diesel). The current system cannot be used to affect our behaviour in regards to reducing congestion. It has no way of creating a financial incentive/disincentive for driving at a certain time of the day. Is that a really such a big issue? We would all like to reduce congestion, but if avoiding traffic jams was that important to us, wouldn't we change our behaviour voluntarily and choose to go to work before or after the rush-hour? Also, taxation on fuel is cheap for the government to collect which helps keep the (astronominal) public sector costs down. Plus it is true that the more you travel the more fuel you consume, therefore the more tax you pay. So, it would seem that taxation on fuel is effective plus there is a financial incentive to drive a higher MPG vehicle (therefore, reducing your environmental imapct). Perhaps there is a case for scrapping tax discs and increasing duty on fuel (to make up the difference).

It will be an unfair tax on those who live apart from families and poorer people who will not be able to afford the high monthly costs.

This claim is nonsense for two reasons. Firstly, the person can choose when to travel to minimise the price of their journey. Most journeys to visit family will be at weekends when traffic is lighter and travelling at this time will cost less or may even be free. This new system could in fact work out cheaper for low income people if they use it wisely. Secondly, if the government is seeking to raise the same amount of motoring revenue as is currently raised, the overall taxation burden across the UK will not rise. In practice, it may rise because, characteristcally, the government will spend more than it plans to, the system will have technical problems and the cost of raising the tax may be higher than the combined cost of current fuel tax and fuel duty. But as far as I have understood (and a clearer breakdown from the government on its exact plans would be appreciated), the government does not intend to use this new pricing structure to increase the total tax burden – on average we will still pay the same amount each. Pay-as-you-go road pricing is a fair model because you pay for what you use. You pay for how much you travel just as you pay income tax depending on how much you earn and VAT depending on how much buy.

Please Mr Blair – forget about road pricing and concentrate on improving our roads to reduce congestion.

We should welcome all ideas and for improving our transport system and should critically analyse every one of them for pro's and con's. The governments' idea of road pricing via satellite tracking is no exception. It should not be dismissed in a whim as this petition does. It should be debated openly with the involvement of the public, planners, scientists, economists and politicians.

Read the research

• Department for Transport, Study report – the original report into the potential for road pricing using satellite tracking.
• BBC News – At-a-glance: Road charge plans – A summary from the BBC about the proposal.
• Petition against travel tax – the petition signed by 1,112,045 people so far.
• The Association of British Drivers – this hard-line motorist lobby is aid to have started the petition. Controversially, the ABD believes the climate change is a myth. If only they were right that the biggest challenge ever to face humankind was in fact an illusion.

Other thoughts

Many questions arise from the governments' dramatic road pricing proposal. Here are some of my thoughts. Please add your thoughts below.

• If under the proposed new system we remove tax fuel, how will we tax farm machinery, lawnmowers and garden machinery, recreational vehicles and how will we deal with the Irish and French who will want to buy tax-free fuel in the UK?
• How easy would it be to tamper with the black box and avoid paying the fee?
• If vehicles were tracked, the data could be used to solve more crimes, solve them faster and solve them cheaper.

Watch the entertaining new movie from Free Range Studios about how we need to reclaim food and make it healthy again.

• Mouth Revolution

Another great movie from these world saviours!

Free Range Studios have just released the latest excellent movie in the Meatrix series. Watch them online. They are 3-5 minutes each…

• The Meatrix 1 and 2
• The Meatrix 2½

They have also done a load of other Flash movies including the superb Store Wars.

Buy Nothing Day is the single day during the year that you are encouraged to buy nothing. It is here to make a stand against so called "growth" which has turned us into a consumption crazy society.

Spread the word for Buy Nothing Day – Friday November 24th. No purchase necessary.

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1. Adbuster facts:
   • For more information on Adbusters, Buy Nothing Day, or to watch Kalle Lasn’s 2004 Buy Nothing Day interview with CNN visit www.adbusters.org
2. Buy Nothing Day facts:
   • The first BND was organized in Vancouver in September 1992, an idea by artist Ted Dave, as a day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption.
   • In 1997, it was moved to the Friday after American Thanksgiving, which is the busiest shopping pre-Christmas weekend in the US. Outside of North America, BND is usually celebrated on the following Saturday.
   • Despite controversies, Adbusters managed to advertise BND on CNN, but many other major TV networks declined to air their ads.
   • Soon, campaigns started appearing in US, UK, Israel, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, and Norway. Participation now spans over 65 nations.
3. Shopping and consumption facts:
   • Per capita consumption in the U.S. has risen 45 per cent in the last 20 years.
   • Although people today are, on average, four-and-a-half times richer than our great-grandparents were at the turn of the century, Americans report feeling “significantly less well off” than in 1958.
   • A recent article in New Scientist featured research suggesting that the more consumer goods you have the more you think you need to make you happy. Happiness through consumption is always out of reach (New Scientist, 4th October 2003, Vol.180, Issue 2415, p44. Available online after registering at www.newscientist.co.uk).

I have not used the Yellow Pages for years. The internet is a much better way to find local suppliers. Online information is more up-to-date and you can find much more about a company than its address and phone number.

So, I cancelled my Yellow Pages delivery. It's easy. Just call and ask them to stop delivering it.

• United Kingdom: 0800 671 444, Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.30pm GMT.
• United States: 800 343 7390, Mon-Fri 6am-5pm PST.

The Yellow Pages is a huge waste of paper. You can visit www.yell.com for the same information or just Google it. Other free specialist directories can help you find local suppliers, for example this directory of property services.

I chatted to my old flatmate and good friend Declan Commons a couple of weeks ago. When I say I chatted to him, that is exactly what I mean because I could not chat with him. You see, he had just discovered Skype and wanted to try it out but he had no headset. So I spoke to him using my microphone and my webcam, then waited for 10 seconds while he typed back. All rather strange I can tell you.

Anyway, hats off to Dec for starting his own environmental planning consultancy. He has become somewhat of an expert in sustainable town planning over the last 10 years. When councils, construction firms and property developers plan new developments, they need to take lots of factors into consideration. By going through this planning process in a sustainable manner, they should make better decisions about the area which people could be living in for hundreds of years to come. I think that's roughly what Dec gets up to but check out Planning Workshop for the full story.

Looking for a gift? Do something positive. This is a list of products that might make suitable gifts. They are all made from recycled products. Clever, hey?

• Freitag – recycled footballs and boxing bags
• Traid – t-shirts from recycled clothing
• Natural Collection – can crusher
• Remarkable – pens and pencil cases
• Blissen – pin set
• By Nature – plates (from recycled glass)
• Green Glass – bracelets and necklaces (with recycled glass beads)

Why do people travel business class? Or first class for that matter? I am finding out and I have a proposition for regular fliers…

At 32,000 feet above Calcutta, flight MH004 is currently cruising to London Heathrow Terminal 3. The 13-hour flight departed just after 12 noon from Kuala Lumpur.

But this is no ordinary flight for me. This is business class. I am sitting in a spacious seat 40 rows forward from the economy seat that I booked 2 months ago. Seeing as I can’t walk and I can’t bend my leg more than 30 degrees, my insurance company upgraded me to fly home in business class. (Thank you Norwich Union.)

This is my first opportunity to see why people regularly pay up to 8 times the price they need to fly from A to B. At £560 return including taxes, my economy fare seemed like good value. The business class price was £2,672 and the first class price £4,474.

Some of the folks upstairs in first class paid nearly £4,000 more than I. The chap reading the Wall Street Journal in the seat over to my right spent up to £2,112 more. Yet we embarked and will disembark at the same location at roughly the same time.

Are they mad? They have spent pocketfuls of money more than they needed to and have little to show for it afterwards!

No, they are not mad. They just place a high value on the perks of travelling in greater comfort and style. It’s understandable. The perks are all around and the experience is luxurious. Some of them that I have indulged in are:

• Fast-track through security and immigration.
• Spacious and calm business class lounge with complementary drinks, wireless internet and showers.
• Last minute arrival at the plane if you wish.
• Personal attention from cabin-crew members throughout the flight.
• Wide, fully adjustable seats that can turn into an almost flat bed.
• Details galore – electricity to power your laptop; large movie screens; flight bag including toiletries and socks; good food served on real plates; magazines; less noise (and no babies!).

This is a high-quality service. The high life. A charming stewardess brings me a fresh coffee as I type. Of course you would be happy to pay more for these perks. Especially if you are honeymooners; on an important business trip; handicapped (like me); weigh 20 stone; or you just want to experience the best service available. All these extra/extended services and pampering make you feel special.

But is it worth an extra £2,000 to £4,000? Is it good value? Not in my book.

For the last 30 years, I have flown economy class. I love it. I travel frequently and it has enabled me to explore the world easily and inexpensively. I have made good friends from people I have been sitting next to. And I have always arrived in the same place at approximately the same time as the passengers in business and first class.

Plus, what about this? … Compare air travel today to air travel 20 years ago. Today’s economy class is luxurious! If you had had the experience of a 2006 economy traveller but back in 1986, you would have thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. Air travel has improved greatly in recent decades and today’s economy class is comfortable and civilised.

So if you are hooked on travelling business class or first class, here is my simple proposition …

Choose economy class for your next trip and then donate your ticket saving to a charity of your choice. If your saving was £1,000, this could:

• educate 20 orphans in Sri Lanka for one year;
• protect 40 acres of rainforest forever or;
• give eyesight back to 65 people with cataracts.

In 12 hours, you’ve arrived at your destination and you’ve genuinely changed people’s lives. Now that is what I call good value!

If by any chance you should happen to do this, please email me and tell me your story.

This movie depicts where we may be 50 years from now if we choose to buy electricity generated from clean energy sources (such as wind). The movie is US-centric but global warming affects all of us, so it is worth watching.

• Climate change movie (4 minutes long)

The US consumes more fossil fuel than any other nation, so it is refreshing to see sites like this encouraging people to switch to clean energy. The website lists clean energy providers in every US state. You can also sign up to a newsletter to receive advice on how to reduce your own climate change impact.

For UK electricity consumers, I strongly recommend Ecotricity as your electricty supplier. It generates electricity from 100% renewable sources.