January 2012

Why we're supporting high-speed rail done right

Posted by jamie — 17 January 2012 at 1:18pm - Comments
Speeding train
All rights reserved. Credit: Victor Svensson
HS2 is great in principle, but the plan has plenty of holes

Last week, the government gave the thumbs-up to the first phase of the new high-speed rail network (aka HS2). Since then, debate between those for and against has filled the media including a piece in the Mail claiming Greenpeace is opposed to the project. We're not of course, but it does need correcting.

Article tagged as: climate change, co2 emissions, emissions, high speed rail, hs2, transport

And the award for threatening planet Earth goes to...

Posted by jamie — 12 January 2012 at 6:03pm - Comments
Darth Vader present Ivan Hodac of Acea with an award for threatening planet Eart
All rights reserved. Credit: Tim Dirvan/Greenpeace
Darth Vader present Ivan Hodac of Acea with an award for threatening planet Earth

Another bit of fun from the Brussels motor show today: an award presented by Lord Vader himself for jeopordising the future of our planet.

Together with a squad of stormtroopers, Darth Vader interrupted a speech given by Ivan Hodac, general secretary of the car industry lobbying body Acea. The dark lord presented Hodac with a gong for his achievements in blocking propressive car efficiency legislation in Europe.

Listen to Darth Vader's speech below and tremble with fear.

Article tagged as: acea, brussels motor show, ivan hodac, volkswagen, VW

Cracks appear in VW ranks as polar bears invade Brussels motor show

Posted by jamie — 12 January 2012 at 2:33pm - Comments
Polars bears lounge around a VW Polo at the Brussels motor show
All rights reserved. Credit: Sara Ayech/Greenpeace
Polars bears lounge around a VW Polo at the Brussels motor show

VW has been ignoring our requests for a meeting, so we've paid a visit to its exhibition stand at the Brussels Motor Show.

Or, to be more precise, dozens of polar bears (including the majestic Paula Bear) have invaded the prestigious Autosalon 2012 event to protest about the impact that Volkswagen and the rest of the car industry is having on our climate and the Arctic.

Article tagged as: arctic, autosalon 2012, brussels, cars, motor shows, oil, polar bears, transport, VW, VWDarkside

VW: pioneering anti-social media

Posted by jamess — 10 January 2012 at 2:20pm - Comments

After ignoring well over 1,000 comments on its Facebook pages, Volkswagen has found a new tactic: deleting them.

Article tagged as: car efficiency, climate, climate change, go beyond oil, oil, volkswagen, VW, VWDarkside

VW: what a social media fail looks like

Posted by jamess — 4 January 2012 at 10:44pm - Comments

What I love about social media is that you can’t fake it.

For all the hundreds of millions of dollars companies like Volkswagen pump into their advertising machines (for VW it’s a cool £1.5bn every year) they can’t crack social media. And that’s down to one simple reason: they fear honesty. 

Article tagged as: 30 percent, car efficiency, climate, climate change, go beyond oil, oil, volkswagen, VW, VWDarkside

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