Seven addresses key issues from the seven continents

It is a magazine for politically conscious men and women with an interest in the international arts

Continue reading for a taste of articles from their recent issue or to receive the magazine yourself for free email sevenmail@sevenglobal.org

Glacier Hiking are the US super band made up of former members of The
Eels, Ross Golan and Molehead, and the Abandoned Pools. Freda Gordon
talks to the alternative rock outfit about their music career and
decision to finally release an EP after touring together for almost
three years: >>>

Alexa van Sickle was among the lucky two million people who got to see
Barack Obama inaugurated in Washington D.C.. She reports on her
experience in the US capital and how the election of the first
African-American president is helping the country to rediscover the
ideals it preached in the past: >>>

Young African filmmaker, Kwame Mante, speaks to Rachelle Hull about his
career so far and the short movie he created, I Am African: >>>

Seven’s Twitter was the first one in the whole wide world to bring you
the Oscar nominations in full. FACT. Join now, before it’s too late: >>>

Cheryl Gallagher writes about one man’s attempts to bring closure to
families who were victims of General Franco’s dictatorship in Spain: >>>

Is the rebirth of Kings of Leon a natural one? Or has it been conceived
as part of plans to reach a wider market? Heidi Vella muses on the
possible reasons behind the dramatic change in the sound and style of
one of the world’s biggest bands: >>>

Carl Packman looks at the impact Obama’s presidency will have on race relations in the US: >>>

Have social networking websites led to a decrease in our need to
socialise? Sarah Hellegren reports on the impact sites such as Bebo,
MySpace, Facebook and Twitter are having on our need to interact with
others: >>>

Lucy Portsmouth explores the perception of the female role in
speculative fiction, and asks how much feminism has had an impact on
gender representation in genre fiction: >>>

In case you haven’t seen them yet (where have you been?), check out this year’s Oscar nominations: >>>

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My Greener Home™ now sells the HouseHeat range of products to cut your central heating bill. Househeat is a fantastic new set of products that allow you to control the temperature of each room in your house independently to save you money. As long as you have Thermostatic Radiator Valves on your radiators you can fit Househeat in minutes and begin cutting your heating bill straight away. The equipment is modular so you can start by installing it in one room to try it out, and then expand it to control the radiators in each room of your home.

At its simplest, HouseHeat consists of a thermostat unit that you mount
on the wall of your room, which communicates wirelessly with a
motorised valve that you install on your radiator. When the temperature
of the room reaches the level you have set, the valve will turn the
radiator off, and when the temperature of the room starts to drop
again, the valve turns the radiator back on.

The benefit of HouseHeat is that it will control the temperature of
each room in which it is installed without any intervention by you. Ask
yourself how often you adjust the settings on your radiator. Do you
turn down the temperature settings in each room at night and then turn
them back up again in the morning? With the built in timer the
HouseHeat can allow the temperature of the room to fall to a lower
level at night (saving you money) and then bring it back up again in
the morning. The system can be set so you have more warmth in the
bedroom at night, and more warmth in the living room during the day.
All of these changes reduce the amount of time that your boiler is
burning fuel to heat parts of your house unnecessarily.

Visit My Greener Home™ at http://www.mygreenerhome.co.uk

…and see these new HouseHeat products here.

Further information:

With conventional hot-water central-heating systems using thermostatic
radiator valves, temperature-measurement errors arise because the
thermostat is too close to the radiator. With HouseHeat the Wireless
Room Thermostat is not physically connected to the radiator and may be
placed wherever desired in the room so temperature control is more
precise and is sensed in the desired location in the room itself, not
next to a radiator.

Furthermore, the room temperature only needs to be set at one location
in the room – namely on the HouseHeat Wireless Room Thermostat. With a
conventional heating system using thermostatic radiator valves, the
temperature needs to be set on each individual radiator.

A fully customisable daily and weekly programme enables the temperature
to be precisely regulated separately in every room in a house,
delivering accurate control of individual room temperatures according
to your personal needs and requirements. Separate day- and
night-programmes for each day of the week are definable. There is also
an override function to allow you to temporarily change the temperature
if required – for example, if you go away on holiday.

Because the HouseHeat system operates wirelessly, no cables, wires or
pipes are required for its installation – which means no disruption of
your home or damage to your décor. Installation is fast and simple,
with no need to drain radiators during installation.

About My Greener Home™

The company was founded in 2007, by Edwin Lloyd, formerly head of
global telecoms hedge funds at Norges Bank Investment Management, part
of the Norwegian Central Bank. He discovered the UK lacked a single
website selling credible energy and water saving products.  Consumers
affected by both the Credit Crunch and with a growing social
conscience, are demanding these products.  He, as a new father, also
wanted the safest and greenest goods for his children.

My Greener Home™ helps consumers save on their bills and reduce the impact on the environment. The four main product areas are:
1. Energy saving (reduce your heating bill and electricity usage)
2. Water saving (either by using less water, or by reusing rain or grey water)
3. Recycling (compost bins and rubbish compactors)
4. Lifestyle (wind-up radios and MP3 players, baby products)

The most popular product so far has been the Chimney Balloon which is
used to stop heat loss up (and cold air coming down) unused chimneys.
Father Christmas was the only one who didn’t appreciate it! My Greener
Home™ is constantly on the look out for innovative and inexpensive
devices to make homes greener. If you have heard of one, let us know,
and we’ll call them up.

Edwin Lloyd, Founder of My Greener Home™, commented:  ‘I started My
Greener Home™ when I found there was no single company that saved my
family money and had an environmental conscience.  We are always
looking for companies to work with, who have the same ethos as us.’

www.mygreenerhome.co.uk  
Enquiries +44 20 8133 9002

New Ownership for One of the Country’s Best Backpackers Hostels

Deepdale Backpackers and Camping, the multi award winning backpackers hostel and campsite at Burnham Deepdale on the north Norfolk coast, will have new owners on 23rd February.

Louise Smith and Andrea Bramhall are relocating from the North West to Norfolk to follow a dream and have a complete change of lifestyle.  Gone are the days of office jobs, instead they’ll be welcoming guests to the hostels and campsite, and enjoying the open spaces and opportunities of the north Norfolk coast.

Louise – “I always loved the outdoor life and to run a campsite had
always been a dream – so when the opportunity at Deepdale came up it
was everything I could wish for and more.”

 Andrea – “There are moments in life where you look about you and you
feel like you have just come home.  This was how we felt the first time
we came to Deepdale.  This is a wonderfully exciting once in a lifetime
adventure that I can’t wait to begin!”

Louise and Andrea take over the business from Alister and Jason
Borthwick, father and son partnership, who built and managed the
business from a small campsite only open in August to a tourism
business that accommodated over 31,000 bed nights in 2008.

 “The new energy and ideas that Louise and Andrea bring to Deepdale will
be great for the business.  We had incredible interest from potential
tenants, over 150 enquiries, and Louise and Andrea fought off stiff
competition to become our preferred tenants.  They take on a strong
business, which we all hope they can continue to strengthen.  I now get
the chance to spend a lot more time with my wife and the ever
increasing number of grandchildren,” said Alister Borthwick.

Initially Louise and Andrea look forward to running the business along
the same lines, “why fix what isn’t broken”, and then put their mark on
the place by developing writers workshops, singles walking and biking
weeks, artists and photographers weeks and many other winter
activities.  They look forward to working with the local businesses in
the area, especially the businesses at Dalegate Market, another
development by Alister and Jason.

“There are many opportunities for us to look at.  We’re looking forward
to the challenges this first season will throw at us, but relish the
opportunity to take up the reins.  Lonely Planet already describes
Deepdale as one of the country’s best backpackers hostels and we plan
to keep it that way,” said Louise.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?  Well I do now!  Deepdale is a
beautiful and charming place; every visit has been an adventure for us,
and our two dogs, who have discovered the pure unadulterated joy of
chasing waves!” said Andrea.

As Louise and Andrea take the reins, Alister Borthwick will take a step
towards retirement and Jason Borthwick will look for the next
opportunity for the family business to invest in.  Hostels elsewhere in
the East of England are high on the list and he’s developing his
consultancy business, Earthly Ideas.  “I’m always on the look out for
suitable locations for hostels.  Backpackers love the East of England,
but are seldom catered for.  We know we have a successful formula at
Deepdale, which will only benefit from feeder hostels around the
region, so watch this space,” said Jason.

Louise and Andrea look forward to welcoming guests all year round in
the backpackers hostel, campsite, tipis, group hostel and visitor
information centre – www.deepdalebackpackers.co.uk

Collaboration: an essential for sustainable practices?
London, 12th February, 14:00 – 17:30

What are the recent experiences and best practices from public and private sectors?
How can organisations collaborate for greater impact?

There is a dramatic increase in attempts (and directives) to collaborate – both internally as well as externally. Open Minds has undertaken research in relation to this theme to establish, from people’s real experiences, insights and guiding principles that might help in ensuring the best possibility of collaborative efforts being successful.

Examples from UK public and private sectors as well as from India are
showing that collaboration, rather than competition, is proving to be a
far more effective strategy than competition.

Effective collaboration is going to be essential in helping address
some of the more complex challenges both within and between
organisations as well as in the broader sustainability field. We are
also keen to see how complexity science principles might help underpin
such attempts.

ASP collaborates with Open Minds and The Environment Council to run a half-day workshop in London on February 12th

Contributors (speakers)
Simon Hamilton, Director and Founder of Three Hands
Mike Jones, Director Learning & Leadership, Open Minds
Mark Lawrence, Head of UK Operations (logistics), Marks & Spencer
Sian Peake-Jones, Director and Founder Open Minds

Objectives
Identify the growing need for more successful forms of collaboration
Explore Open Minds’ research findings
Share participants’ own learnings and experiences
Understand the Open Minds’ Learning Network
Create connections

Outcomes
Participants will:
Understand how sustainability practices are inherently dependent upon new collaborative models
Learn about the research open Minds has undertaken collaboration:
The importance of Context
Logic as an inhibitor
The role of relationships and connectivity (and the strength of ‘weak’ ties)
Bounded freedom – unleashing the magic of self-organisation
Uncertainty as a given – ‘Black Swans’ (and staying open to surprises)
Edge effects – interfaces and boundaries as source of innovation and breakthroughs
Patterns and success indicators – recognising what’s in the process of breaking down as well what is breaking through
Share their experiences and learn collectively from others
Understand the distinctions between collaborations in different sectors  

Participants will be:
CSR and sustainability practitioners
Stakeholder engagement and communications practitioners
Academics working on related topics

Click here to find out more > > >

Choose a juicer quickly and confidently with Energise Your Life’s easy guide

There are plenty of new fads around as we enter a new year, and often health-related ones are the shortest lived of them all.  Take juicing for example, a quick and easy way of ensuring all the vitamins, minerals and other trace elements needed for optimum health.  Juicing is a great way of managing a safe, full system detox, or ideally as a very simple daily way of ensuring five-a-day of fruit and vegetables – in fact with a juicer you will probably double or even treble this intake with ease!

But, what kind of gadget is the best?  Picking the
wrong type of machine for your exact needs could make the difference
between many happy years of daily juicing and the associated health
benefits, and one which ends up at the back of the cupboard gathering
dust.

Energise Your Life (www.energiseyourlife.com)’s top UK website not only
sells a multitude of health gadgets from juicers, sprouters, ionisers,
filters and milk making machines, but is also a mine of information for
a healthy living lifestyle.  Offering impartial advice, helpful buying
and usage guides and clear comparison charts, Energise Your Life also
offers competitive prices – up to £104 off juicer RRPs – and free next
day delivery in the UK.

Here’s a link to the Energise Your Life juicer comparison chart,
comparing in comprehensive detail ten different automatic juicers
according to twelve criteria including ease of use and cleaning, juice
quality and yield, whether it juices wheatgrass, speed, warranties and
what else it makes, such as pasta, icecream, nut butters and sorbets,
and price comparison.

Energise Your Life’s top recommendation is the Samson 6-in-1 juicer –
awarded Best Buy Masticating Juicer by Which? Magazine and scoring top
marks in all categories.  Fantastic value at £169 (£30 cheaper than
RRP) the Samson juices fruits and vegetables as well as wheatgrass, and
can be used for making icecream, pasta, dips, noodles, nut butters and
sorbets.  Its compact size doesn’t take up too much surface space, and
it comes with a ten year motor guarantee.

A great mid-range juicer is the Solo Star II (£225), which in tests has
shown to produce over 20% more juice than the Oscar Vitalmax, and since
its recent introduction into the UK is proving to be a best seller
amongst juiceaholics.

If you’re serious about your juicing and want the optimum nutrition and
best quality juice around, it’s worth seeing the purchase of a juicer
as an investment.  Energise Your Life offers the Green Star GS2000
(£355) and the Green Star Gold – (at £395 saving £104 on the RRP) –
these truly are the Rolls-Royces of juicing and offer fantastic
performance, quality and longevity.   These twin gear juicers give such
high performance they are the favourite choice of raw food fanatics and
give the best results of all for wheatgrass and green juices.

Juicy facts:

• Drinking juiced fruits or vegetables gives your body and
  instant concentrated boost of nutrients, enzymes, vitamins and minerals
  in a form easily absorbed and digested by the body – entering the
  bloodstream within 30 minutes of consumption
• Juicing is healthy because the amount of vegetables or fruits
  juiced is much higher than eating whole items; not only this but it
  increases the amount of raw food in the diet, which has been shown to
  improve energy, detoxifies the body and boosts the immune system.
• Chlorophyll from green juices detoxifies the liver and builds
  red blood cells and is even thought to help prevent and remove cancer
  cells.
• Raw vegetable juices are alkaline, helping reduce acidity and its associated negative health implications.
• Some juices are even thought to be medicinal, such as
  cucumber and onion which help the pancreas produce insulin, and the
  natural antibiotic properties of garlic, onions and tomatoes.
• Juices could even help slow down ageing!  The minerals
  calcium, silicon and potassium are vital for cell health – a lack of
  these nutrients almost certainly speeds up cell death and thereby the
  ageing process.

Several million ethical consumers offer two ways to boost your business prosperity…

There is a new Ethical Junction member company going live very soon. It is called Your Ethical Startup (YES Club) and will be encouraging people to set up their own ethical businesses. Don’t worry! – rather than creating competition for existing Ethical Junction members, it will be focused on increasing awareness among consumers of the need to spend their budgets more thoughtfully from now on. In this way, YES Club is intended to create MORE business for existing ethical traders. It is also designed to enable more mutual support between ethical enterprises, this will be facilitated by the YES Forum, to be launched at the same time as YES Club.

YES has something you might find extremely
interesting: access to several million ethical consumers. If you would
like to attract some of these to your business as paying customers via
the new company, you might wish to consider the following:

1. Offering a discount to YES Club and YES
   Forum members. A discount offered at the YES launch could win you many
   new customers who will stay with you for years to come.
2. Running an event – perhaps a seminar,
   workshop or conference – during Spring or Summer of 2009. Again, YES
   members would need to be offered a discount. If you can trade it, you
   can teach it – why not open up a whole new revenue stream? And if
   you’re already running courses or other events, then this is your
   chance to promote them to several million new ethically-aware customers.
   

Please let us know as soon as possible if you
are interested in participating – the YES website launches shortly and
we would like to include as many special discounts and events as
possible.

Please contact YES here: info@ecobloomfield.com

Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 is being launched Sunday 22 February

Supreme Creations launched the UK’s first Fairtrade cotton supermarket carrier bag with the Co-operative stores and now have the widest rage of Fairtrade, Organic and natural cotton and jute bags for exhibitions, give-aways, packaging and retail.

As the largest ethical manufacturer with over 2,000 employees, when we drop our prices, we don’t drop our standards. It’s a tough climate and economic realities are daunting. And yet, some
businesses will respond proactively and effectively, while others are
left behind. Call 0845 230 5996 or email Kiran@supreme-london.com quoting ‘Special 14′.

Orders must be confirmed by 06 Feb for delivery to you for Fairtrade
Fortnight. (subject to acceptable artwork and approval by the Fairtrade
Foundation). This offer is not valid in combination with any other
offers, discounts or promotions. Click here to see the range.

Over the past few months, the ethical brand consultancy Scamper Branding have been pushing the boundaries of affordable web design and are now able to develop professional websites for a fraction of the usual cost.

“From our experience in web design and discussions with our clients, we found that there was a huge disparity between the cheap template websites that don’t meet clients needs, and custom designed websites that are very time consuming and therefore expensive to build” says Scamper’s Tom Greenwood.

“What many companies need is something in between, giving them a high
level of style and functionality at a price they can afford.”
By utilising the open source WordPress content management system (CMS)
and modifying the style and functionality of existing design themes,
Scamper are now able to give their clients advanced websites for the
cost of much more basic ones.

“We believe so strongly in this technique that we decided to practice
what we preach, and redesigned our own website according to these
principles. You can see the result at www.ScamperBranding.com” says
Vineeta Greenwood, co-founder of Scamper.

Now, to celebrate the launch of our new website, we are offering
Ethical Junction members free carbon neutral hosting with all WordPress
sites, as well as 10% off any sites ordered before the 1 April
2009.

January Update from UK AWARE

1) We’re going to attempt to stage the biggest green car show the UK has ever seen.
What’s it going to be? The biggest green car show the UK has ever seen with over 20 companies invited to exhibit up to 50 green forms of transport. From funky to conventional, from single person to family size and from cutting edge to retro-fit – we will have it all.

Who’s coming? Invited companies include: The Battery Vehicle Society, Lotus, Green Motor Sport, Twike, G-Wiz, Toyota, Honda, Saab, Lightning, River Simple, Zipee, Peugot, Citroen, Vectrix, Ecotricity Wind Car, Ashwood, Formula Zero, Volvo, VW, Ford, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Jaguar, Aston Martin, Tesla.

2) We’re going to stage a Swishing party. FYI see www.swishing.org/home

It is going to be organised by Daisy Green Magazine and Flame. They are also going to try and create a fashion show for us…but this is still ‘in the pipeline’…

Our latest additions to the exhibitor list include:

ERS Europe Ltd
Worldeka
World Wildlife Fund
Sustained Magazine
Junkyard Chic
21st Century Health
Eco-eye

Save the dates!
 
The seventh WALK YOUR TALK conference will take place this year from the afternoon of Sunday 8th to Wednesday 11th November 2009 at Buckland Hall, near Brecon in Wales.
 
Further details, including early bird rates, will follow shortly. If you have colleagues or friends who would like to receive news of WALK YOUR TALK 2009, please let us know.