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baggy
The big 3 fast expanding, foreign, basic supermarkets, Aldi and Lidl (German) and Netto (Danish) are no guardians of the environment. In their favour though, as well as the fast no faff queues and the quality of some of the stuff (try Aldi's multigrain bread), they don't give away carrier bags. The carrier bag industry fears an Ireland style bag tax, especially as a similar bill for Scotland with cross-party support was unveiled in May 2005, and has put out, well, bags of propaganda. Try "... plastic carrier bags are not a significant component of litter in the UK, studies have shown that bags probably make up less than 1% of litter, and that cigarette butts are by far the highest proportion of litter." Then move on to carrierbagtax.com/ for some dubious stats which contradict what we see in Aldi's every day and what those with a long memory will recall from their youth: people taking a bag out with them when they go shopping.
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puzzling
Friends of the Earth & JAM74 seem to be conducting a textbook opposition to the M74 extension, a proposed 5 mile motorway on 40ft concrete stilts into the centre of Glasgow. A Public Inquiry recommended against the road, pointing out that a multimodal study into the route suggested that the motorway would increase long-distance commuting, therefore measures for "locking in" any congestion benefits would need to be put forward. No such measures had been forthcoming in the planning proposal. In March 2005, the Scottish Executive approved the road anyway. FOE and JAM74 have just successfully appealed the decision, citing Ministers' use of new information in their approval of the road. This may delay things by up to a year, even more impressive given that some interests want this road very badly, saying it's the final piece of a roads jigsaw puzzle that will solve all Scotland's congestion problems and create a celtic shangri-la.
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apatosaurus
With all the excitement about kiddies being dropped off for school in 4WDs the size of herbivorous dinosaurs, those who drive them in the country seem to be getting off lightly. But why are they any more suitable or acceptable there? Most little cars will quite happily negotiate the long gravel drive of a big country house, at the end of which is ... a tarmacced road, just like the ones in the city. And if you're a farmer then you've got a tractor to pull heavy things around or drive over your fields.
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