This video made me laugh, but it has more than a grain of truth in it.

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Spam email is annoying. An amazing 62 trillion unwanted emails were sent in 2008. But spam’s also contributing to global warming according to a report by ICF international, an environmental consultancy.

The report, commissioned by online security company McAfee, calculates that 33 terrawatts of electricity were used sending this spam. Put another way, that’s enough to provide energy to 1.5 million US homes for a year or the energy consumption of 3.1 million cars during the same period.

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Around 40% of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions each year come from businesses. That’s compared to 27% from households.

The Carbon Trust calculates that about 21% of businesses’ energy expenditure is wasted. In monetary terms, that’s an incredible £2.4 billion annually.

Take office lights. Not switching the lights off before going home at night in a typical small office annually uses enough energy to power a three-bedroom house’s heating for a nearly five months.

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If you feel that’s there’s nothing you can do personally to combat climate change, this interview with Guy Dauncey might give you a few ideas.

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As you’re biting into that nice, juicy king-size burger, have you ever thought how much you’re contributing to global warming?

I hadn’t. Cattle, though, are a major problem for the environment. As cows are busy munching away in their pastures, their multiple stomachs are producing methane.

Methane is a particularly potent greenhouse gas, 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide for global warming. According to The Journal of Animal Science, livestock produce between 250 and 500 litres of methane every single day! At the top end of the estimate, that enough to fill 250 large bottles of Coke.

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Here’s a useful film that you might find interesting:

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Before the Industrial Revolution, life was straightforward. Most things people consumed were produced locally, on a small scale and there was no mass transportation. So they would know where and what they consumed had come from, and probably how it been made.

Fast forward to the 21st Century and the complex, interlinking, global nature of trade. Most of us have no idea how and where the products we consume are made.

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Overweight people contribute more to global warming claim two British researchers. The study by Dr Phil Edwards and Ian Roberts of The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

The populations of the wealthy nations are getting larger. According to Dr Edwards, “UK health surveys estimate fatness has increased from an average body mass index (BMI) of 26 to 27 in the last ten years. That’s equivalent to about half a stone (7 lbs) for every person”. This is worrying as anyone who has a BMI above 25 is medically considered overweight, whilst over 30 is the medical definition of obese.

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