Posts Tagged environment
HP and how to save the environment
So I ordered an ink cartridge off HP.es. A few days later, this turns up.
It’s a box. A fairly big box. And a light one. I opened it up and peered inside.
My first thought was that it was empty. However, I then spotted the cunning false bottom, underneath which was my ink cartridge and a letter. See how they’ve had to build a cunning false bottom to stop the cartridge from rolling around the box while in transit?
This rather blurred photo shows you just how big the box is, for such a small cartridge.
The letter, by the way, said “your invoice will arrive later by post”, and by gum, it did.
I’m not sure how environmentally friendly it is to send such a small thing in such a huge box, with a seperate invoice in another parcel, is. Dell.es, by the way, sends out their invoices electronically and their cartridges in jiffy bags. That’s probably why Dell is making money and HP lurches from crisis to crisis.
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Public Prosecutor archives “Algarrobico” criminal case against public officials
The Public Prosecutor (Fiscalia) has decided not to accept a case prosecuting the townhall of Carboneras and the Junta de Andalucía for initially permitting the construction of the illegal hotel “El Algarrobico”, despite criticism from judges in related cases of the way the original construction was allowed to go ahead.
Various ecologist groups had placed criminal charges against Carboneras townhall and the Junta de Andalucía alleging incompetence, conflict of interest and outright bribery. They also cited a statement made by the instructing judge who ordered the paralysation of the building works, in which he stated that there were clear signs that the law had been breeched by public administrations.
However, the Fiscalia has announced that they are unable to see a reason to prosecute and have decided to archive the case for lack of evidence. Ecologistas en Accion have already announced their intention to appeal to Fiscal General del Estado, the general prosecutor of the State.
Clemente García, provincial delegate of the Environment in Almería, said that it was clear that all public administrations had done their work correctly at all times, but insisted that it was still the Junta’s intention to knock down the hotel as soon as it was legal to do so. “The Algarrobico is stopped and closed” he assured reporters.
Irony and Sevillana Endesa
A very nice little Welcome to 2009 card (no mention of Christmas, just the new year) turns up in the post from Sevillana Endesa. It’s a third bigger than most Christmas cards, as it has an extra sheet, although 3 pages are blank and another just has a nonsensical, Dali style diagram on it.
It waffles on about the sea, the mountains, the valleys, the flowers, the trees, the environment, the trees, you, me, him, us…. reminds us that Sevillana is “environmentally friendly” and wishes us all a sustainable 2009, for us and for the future of our children.
Now, ignoring the fact that they probably sent this piece of crap to about half a million subscribers, cutting down around a thousand trees, plus the postage and transport costs, if they really cared about sending us seasons greetings “sustainably” they could have sent me an e-card – I’m a member of their virtual office and receive an email a week from the blighters.
NO end in sight for El Algarrobico
After the uproar yesterday about the proposed 100 million euro payment by the Ministry of the Environment to Azata, the owners of El Algarrobico hotel in Carboneras, the Ministry (which, remember, is central government in Madrid, not the Junta de Andalucia, who seems to have washed their hands of the matter) has hastily backtracked.
They have announced the the price of 100 million was set some months ago after an independent firm surveyed the installations and ground (known as a tasación in Spanish), but this survey was for “orientation purposes only”. They further said that the agreement announced yesterday with Azata was simply that they would offer to buy the whole installation to speed everything up, and that Azata agreed to this, but that no price had been set. The Ministry has now ordered a new tasación be carried out, probably mid September, and said that it expects to pay only a fraction of the 100 million previously quoted.
Azata is, understandably, annoyed, and accused the Ministry of simply trying to hide the fact that central government doesn’t have enought cash to pay the previous valuation. It also said that it cannot understand how the Ministry expects a second survey to come to a different conclusion from the first, as nothing has changed and the prices are set by an independent panel of experts. Azata concluded that it hoped that the Ministry would “play by the rules” but that it would not accept a substantially lowered valuation.
Meanwhile, the whole sorry process is still going through the courts, and the Junta de Andalucia says that it will not take a decision until the courts have decided upon the legality of the hotel. However, Manuel Chaves, President apparantly for life of Andalucia, did publically say a while back that the hotel was illegal and will never open, so hopefully his subordinates will be too scared of embarrassing their lord and master to do anything but knock the blasted thing down.
In conclusion, if Azata accepts the Ministrys’ offer, central Government will buy it and knock it down. If they don’t, it’s up to the Junta de Andalucia to keep pressing the matter through the courts until a final, binding decision is made. Which could be a while, the way things are going.
The Ecoheroes vanish for the summer
Remember everybodies favourite green grannie and family, fighting against the evil of Co2? The EcoHéroes? Well, much sniffing going on at the moment about how they’ve all buggered off for the summer.
Instead of being on the beaches educating us about switching off lightbulbs and the like, they seem to have gone to ground and have not been seen. No doubt indoors, with the a/c turned up high.
Mind you, I just had a thought – remember the wonderful ITV series, “Benidorm”? I can just see them up there… 
(Related posts: Ecohéroes change us to change the world)
Ecohéroes change us to change the world
Passionate as I am about climate change, I can’t help feeling the latest Junta de Andalucía PR campaign against CO2 emissions may be rather OTT.
Consisting of the “Ecohéroes”, or the Eco Hero family, all dressed in green – Muscular Daddy, yummy Mummy, a rather “Chulo” looking teenager and a smug grandmother, complete with stick and a perm.
They link to a web that allows you to create your own “Eco Hero” and compete against other likewise bored people, calculate your CO2 emissions and handy ways to cut down on your emissions. Also downloads and comics. And a ringtone. No doubt we shall soon see some TV appearences. At least they didn’t enter them into Eurovision.
It’s “cool” in a sort of stuffy, civil servant style. Only kids interested in this are the ones that were already.
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