Just one small thing

Pink power

New boy wears a pink polo shirt on his first day at school - quite fashionable you would think.

Not to those more hard of thinking at the school, who saw it as a clear sign that he was gay and therefore in need of some bullying.

Two older boys wanted to take a stand, and show some solidarity. Their plan was for them and a bunch of friends to wear pink to school the next day as well.

But the word quickly spread, with the result that over half of the school's 800 pupils turned out (in pink) in support. Much to the embarrassment of the boy in question. But then you can have everything!

Shows the importance of just deciding enough is enough, and that it's time to do something. And that, at the end of the day, it's up to you to do it. Because if not one else gets to that point, nothing will ever happen.

Read the full story here. And thanks to Seth for the lead.

Stop sex trafficking

Following on from gun crime, this is another issue we've been getting heavily involved with as a company.

Initiated by Sam Roddick, Emma Thompson and Helen Bamber, The Journey is an art & action based campaign to highlight the issue of sex trafficking.

There have been a number of marches/performances over recent weeks (photos here), all culminating in an instillation event running for the next 8 days in Trafalgar Square, demonstrating the 7 stages of one individual's sex trafficking journey (you can see a digital representation here).

It's a pretty harrowing experience (we contributed step 4 - The Bedroom), but it's getting some good PR for the issue.

So get on down there.

(PS honesty requires me to add that I've not had anything to do with this myself - so congrats to everyone involved).

Triumph of the bag ladies

(Currybet)

There's a new grass roots eco-trend emerging in UK, based around whole communities rejecting the use of plastic bags.

The trend was kicked started 6 months ago by wildlife camera women Rebecca Hosking, when she persuaded the 40 or so shopkeepers of Modbury in Devon to switch to greener alternatives. And it's still going strong today, the retailers remaining committed and the shoppers embracing the move (note: not sure if the big grocery retailers are involved).

Now some 50 other cities, towns and villages are investigating going the same way as Modbury including, most significantly, all 33 London boroughs proposing a city wide ban.

But first to bite the bullet has been Hebden Bridge, where the self-styled Bag Ladies have persuaded nearly all the towns 104 traders to ditch the plastic.

And the trick in both instances? Small groups of committed individuals not just campaigning (or complaining), but actually going to retailers with a solution. So don't just give people your problems, it's up to you to provide the way to make a difference.

Fighting gun crime

A little something on the side we're getting up to at work (click to see bigger)...

(A bit lazy, I'm afraid - as it's work related, this has already appeared here).

Switch to the dark side

There seems to be some debate as to whether this is strictly right, but I like the fact that it might be so will run with it anyway!

The basic idea is this - CRT monitors (tho not LCD it seems) use more energy when showing white than black. So what if the pure white Google, the world's most visited website, had a black interface option?

The impact would would be a saving of 750 Megawatt-hours a Year apparently (though I'm not sure what that actually means)

And if you think this makes sense, Blackle now gives you a way to do your bit. Because, thanks to the Google Custom Search facility, they can provide you with a bit of search on the dark side.

With 206,422.190 Watt hours saved in the process so far.

I Believe In Miracles

...is the name of a small business specialising in fairly traded gifts, cards and accessories (disclosure - one of the directors is a friend of mine).

Apart from checking out all the they have on offer, you might also went to partake of a new service they've just introduced in time for Christmas: company-branded greetings cards.

Most charity cards aren't fairly traded. So apart from the few pence that finds itself to the charity in questions, the benefits are arguable limited. But bulk buy fair trade cards and you make a whole heap of difference. So go do it.

Do less

(Paolo Margari)

A new thought from John Grant: lessening.

I'll let him explain...

"Whatever your starting point the goal is to make a little progress week in week out, some local fruit and veg, a lightbulb here an inessential trip cancelled there. It's all about a direction of change, not starting out green. I like the fact that it sound a bit like lessons and I think sharing learning could be a key strand"

It's an approach that has always worked well for us. Because the fact is, once you start cutting back, if only a bit, it's always easier to cut back some more.

Jane Tomlinson: a very amazing woman

Jane Tomlinson finally succumbed to her battle against cancer on Monday.

But what an inspirational battle it was - £1.75m raised for charity from a number of challenges you would assume were way beyond someone in her condition, including the Great North Run, London Marathon, the Ironman UK Triathlon and an epic 4,200 mile bike ride across America.

Shows what one person can achieve when they put your mind to it, regardless of the odds staked against them.

A lesson for us all.

The Black 35th

Heard on the news this morning that the 35th week of the year has consistently been the worst in terms of stock market falls....in the UK at least. And I may have misheard, but I think the report said this had been true for pretty much the whole life of the FTSE.

No idea why (back from holiday blues perhaps). But a classic example of herd mentality: once everyone thinks the market will go down in week 35 it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy - who wants to be left with expensive stock when you could by buying it for much cheaper.

I guess the question is, how can we generate positive herd movements, e.g. in areas like climate change - not just thinking something needs to change, but doing something about it.

The armband movement of MPH, Lance Armstrong et al, did a bit of that. Although you always got the sense this was a fashion herd more than anything else.

So what are the triggers then, that will get us all doing the same little something to significant ends?

Living off the land

We went blackberry picking yesterday - always one of my favourite things at this time of year. And definite herald of what is my preferred season (or at least the one that seems to sit most comfortably with my personality!).

What surprised me though, was how many there were still on the brambles. Maybe it's just a little too old fashioned an activity for people nowadays.

Did make me think: wouldn't it be great if we were better able to live off the land - growing stuff or just picking it wild (ourselves - not just nipping down the farmers market). You'd get all the flavour benefits obviously. And the 'at one with nature' stuff. But it would also lead to big reductions in processing, packaging and distribution costs (monetary and environmental).

Most of us would just need a few pointers I guess - I've always fancied some wild mushrooms, but have never quite managed to pluck up the courage.

Any tips for going wild in the country then ?