Two phrases you don't hear every day:

"Can I film your breasts?"

"Are you, like, a coccyx?"

The first was from a guy holding a large video camera, and was prompted by the fact I was wearing a t-shirt with the numbers "350" emblazoned across the front in bold type. "I'm not a pervert or anything," he went on to say, somewhat less than convincingly, as he aimed his lens at my chest.

The second was from a young woman with a big smile and black dreadlocks. After I'd stood on a chair and bellowed into a megaphone to address the crowd at the London Eye, she came over to say she'd loved my speech. "You had me rolling with laughter." I think she was referring to my comment that, "If I can row 3,000 miles across an ocean for climate change, then you can remember to turn off the lights when you leave a room." I'm not quite sure hilarity was the desired effect, but maybe the sustainability movement needs a little humor once in a while.

In turn she made me smile when she doubtfully regarded my petite frame and said, "So are you, like, a coccyx that yells at the other people in the boat to row harder?"

Well, coccyx or coxswain, I suppose; I am indeed concerned with getting people to try harder ...

And that was the feeling that I took away from today's 350 event. I am not talking about the organizers trying harder -- Abi Edgar and the heroes of the Campaign Against Climate Change could not humanly have given it any more than they did today. And today has on many levels been an amazing success. According to the 350 website, people in 181 countries have staged over 5,200 events to express their concern over climate change. I am sure that by the end of these amazing 24 hours, many more people will be aware of the number 350 and what it means.

These people have their eye on the target: 350 at the London Eye.Photo: Hemant Anant JainBut as I sat on the train on the way home, I thought about the day and whether it had succeeded. There were a lot of people there -- fantastic. But there were also a lot of people NOT there, people whose Saturdays were business as usual -- shopping, drinking coffee, hanging out with friends. There are 8 million people in London -- why weren't they ALL here?!

Maybe I'm just in a cup-half-empty mood -- the hectic days and short nights of the book tour have finally caught up with me and I spent most of today in bed apart from the couple of hours at the London Eye -- but instead of celebrating the numbers that turned up at the rally, my mind was on the absentees. My perception is that there is still too much apathy, fear and denial amongst the general public.

Will today turn out to be just another masturbatory exhibition by those who are already environmentally aware, while most people continue in ignorance of our climate crisis? Climate change affects everybody; how can we get everybody to care?

We need a shared POSITIVE vision of our green future. We need to get away from the language of sacrifice and inconvenience, and towards the language of excitement, opportunity, and potential. I am currently reading "The Great Transition," a report by the new economics foundation, which presents a powerfully attractive picture of a sustainable world. We need more of the same. At the moment we are still focusing on the problem (climate change) rather than the solution (sustainability). And the majority of people don't need another problem -- they have enough of their own already. The sooner we make this paradigm shift towards the positive, the better.

Other Stuff:

The other speaker today was Bianca Jagger. She arrived late and discombobulated, her driver having been confused by the closure of various nearby roads and bridges, while I smugly arrived by public transport, early and relaxed ...

My speech (or at least, what I wish I'd said):

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Greenpeace protesters on the British parliament roof.Photo: Greenpeace UK

LONDON -- House of Commons authorities ordered an "urgent" probe Monday after dozens of climate change protesters scaled the roof of the British parliament as lawmakers returned from their summer break.

Twenty-three people were arrested and bailed by police after climbing up the landmark and unfurling a banner saying "Change the politics, save the climate." They want urgent action before the U.N.'s crunch Copenhagen summit in December.

House of Commons speaker John Bercow told the first parliamentary session after a near three-month break that the security breach was being investigated urgently.

"We do not discuss matters of security in this chamber but I wanted to say to the house that I have had a preliminary report and the full circumstances are now being investigated urgently and thoroughly," Bercow said."Whatever action is necessary will be taken."

A Greenpeace protester waves flag in front of Big Ben. Photo: Greenpeace UK

Around 25 people remain on the roof, from where Greenpeace employee Brikesh Singh, 29, from Bangalore in southern India, said: "We want them [lawmakers] to get the message loud and clear that if you want a planet-saving deal in Copenhagen, we need to change the climate policy."

The December 7-18 United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen will see nations attempt to hammer out a new global climate treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012.

London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement, "Twenty of the protesters who climbed onto the roof ... have come down and been arrested on suspicion of trespassing on a protected site. They have been taken to a central London police station." A further three were later arrested, a spokesman added afterwards.

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Living with climate change: a family affair?Zac Macaulay, MMIXI get to do some strange things working for Oxfam. On Wednesday night I watched as an average family -- mom, dad and son -- sat around with their dinners on their laps staring at the TV. Glasses of soft drinks and wine sat on the lounge table with the bowl of fruit.

Then the bananas decided to float off and a turtle swam past.

The setting for this surreal scene was the Sea Life Aquarium on London's South Bank. We were there to mark the fact that we're now 100 days away from the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, arguably one of the most important meetings in human history.

At this meeting, world leaders need to agree to a fair and safe deal that prevents catastrophic climate change. For this to happen, we need Western leaders to accept their country's historic responsibility for climate change and to do two things.

First, they have to take a lead in agreeing to slash carbon emissions by 40% by 2020. And second, they need to earmark $150 billion a year to help poor countries adapt to the impacts of climate change and reduce their own emissions. Poor countries are already feeling the effects of climate change, but without a deal this December, fifty years of development gains will be lost.

At present, sea levels are predicted to rise anywhere from five meters upwards over the next couple of centuries. The most conservative estimates would wipe out most coastal cities -- including London -- and would change much of human life dramatically.

To make these very serious points, Oxfam, as part of the TckTckTck alliance, assembled a living room -- complete with furniture -- in an aquatic tank full of stingrays, turtles and sharks. We then had three people -- the "family" -- scuba dive down while assembled media took pictures and filmed the scene. This was possibly the quirkiest depiction I've ever seen of a future potential apocalypse.

The point, however, is that we're far from doom and gloom. We've got 100 days left before Copenhagen and in that time we all must do out part to ensure our leaders do everything they can to make the right deal. In the UK there will be fierce lobbying, petitions, and a huge demonstration where a "blue wave" of people will descend on London.

A lot can be achieved in 100 days. But we must make sure our leaders understand Copenhagen is our big chance to save the planet and the people who live on it.

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More than 30 leading contemporary artists have contributed work on the theme of climate change for an upcoming exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Entitled “Earth: Art of a Changing World,” the exhibit runs from Dec. 3 through Jan. 31, 2010.

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London Mayor Boris Johnson unveiled a draft plan Friday to help the city mitigate and adapt to climate change. Johnson put special attention to water conservation, calling for mandatory metering, increased efficiency, improved drainage, and rainwater harvesting. He also envisions more trees and green space. Environmentalists said the adaptation strategy was a good step, but said measures to cut carbon emissions were missing from the equation. "It is essential that the capital prepares for the impacts of climate change," says one Friends of the Earth campaigner. "But Boris Johnson is also committed to cutting London's carbon dioxide emissions by 60 percent by 2025 in order to prevent dangerous climate change, and has so far failed to explain how he will achieve this." Some 15 percent of London is estimated to be at high risk of flooding from rising seas -- an area housing 1.25 million people, 480,000 buildings, 441 schools, 75 transit stations, 10 hospitals, and an airport.

sources:

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German automaker Porsche has launched a formal legal challenge to London Mayor Ken Livingstone's scheduled tripling of the city's congestion fee for the most-polluting vehicles. The increase, slated to take effect in October, would raise the fee for the most-polluting vehicles entering the city center to about $50 a day from $16 now. Livingstone and the city's transportation department have said the fee helps decrease carbon emissions and other pollution by encouraging fewer of the dirtiest cars from entering the city. Porsche argues Livingstone doesn't have the legal authority to implement the increase and has said in court documents that it expects its U.K. sales to fall by about 11 percent if the higher charge is implemented. However, a survey of city residents by Transport for London revealed that about 61 percent of Londoners support the fee increase. "It's high time Porsche stopped fighting popular initiatives and started manufacturing cleaner vehicles," said Tony Juniper of Friends of the Earth.

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Greenpeace and other eco-activists have been protesting mightily against a planned third runway for London's Heathrow Airport, which would demolish the nearby town of Sipson and, say activists, be completely counter to Britain's ambitious carbon-cutting goals. The airport-expansion plan has brought significant opposition from both politicians and residents; the British government has yet to make a final decision, but opponents fear it's a foregone conclusion.

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London Mayor Ken Livingstone has joined the anti-bottle brigade, exhorting Londoners to drink from the sink and declaring that bottled water served to restaurant patrons costs 500 times more than tap water and is 300 times more damaging to the environment.

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Starting today, high-pollutin' trucks and buses will be fined for driving in London's new Low Emission Zone, which stretches for a not-too-shabby 610 square miles. Diesel vehicles weighing over 13 tons must register with the city transportation agency and have their emissions monitored; vehicles can be charged up to $400 for exceeding exhaust limits. A system of cameras will catch unregistered vehicles, which can be fined up to $2,000. After July, the rule will be expanded to apply to vehicles weighing over 4 tons, which would include large vans and ambulances. The zone is "the first in Britain and the largest in the world by a significant margin," according to a city transportation spokesperson. Transportation officials in the notoriously smoggy city hope the scheme will avoid up to 1,000 air-pollution-related deaths a year.

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London airport owner seeks injunction against weeklong climate protest

We've got juicy legal goings-on from London, and while it's probably not true that all involved are wearing long, white wigs, we like to picture it that way. Here's the deal: in mid-August, an estimated 5,000 protesters will descend on London's Heathrow Airport for a weeklong Camp for Climate Action. BAA, the company that owns Heathrow, is not so keen on the plan, and has sought an injunction that would ban the camp. But the wording of the injunction was so broad it appeared to apply to 5 million members of environmental organizations in the country, restricting their travel to, from, or in the vicinity of the airport on public roads and public transport. That fuzziness has led to critiques from, among others, London Mayor Ken Livingstone ("someone there must be out of their skull") and the judge hearing the request ("I have to know what I am being asked to do"). It has been, says the protesters' lawyer, "a hopeless start to a hopeless application." The hearing should wrap on Friday.

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These metropolises aren't literally the greenest places on earth -- they're not necessarily dense with foliage, for one, and some still have a long way to go down the path to sustainability. But all of the cities on this list deserve recognition for making impressive strides toward eco-friendliness, helping their many millions of residents live better, greener lives. If your favorite green city didn't make the list, tell us why it deserves recognition in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

Reykjavik, Iceland
Remember the grade-school memory device "Greenland is icy and Iceland is green"? It's truer than ever thanks to progress made by Iceland and its capital city in recent years. Reykjavik has been putting hydrogen buses on its streets, and, like the rest of the country, its heat and electricity come entirely from renewable geothermal and hydropower sources and it's determined to become fossil-fuel-free by 2050. The mayor has pledged to make Reykjavik the cleanest city in Europe. Take that, Greenland.

Portland, Oregon, U.S.
The City of Roses' approach to urban planning and outdoor spaces has often earned it a spot on lists of the greenest places to live. Portland is the first U.S. city to enact a comprehensive plan to reduce CO2 emissions and has aggressively pushed green building initiatives. It also runs a comprehensive system of light rail, buses, and bike lanes to help keep cars off the roads, and it boasts 92,000 acres of green space and more than 74 miles of hiking, running, and biking trails.

Curitiba, Brazil
With citizens riding a bus system hailed as one of the world's best and with municipal parks benefiting from the work of a flock of 30 lawn-trimming sheep, this midsized Brazilian city has become a model for other metropolises. About three-quarters of its residents rely on public transport, and the city boasts over 580 square feet of green space per inhabitant. As a result, according to one survey, 99 percent of Curitibans are happy with their hometown.

Malmö, Sweden
Known for its extensive parks and green space, Sweden's third-largest city is a model of sustainable urban development. With the goal of making Malmö an "ekostaden" (eco-city), several neighborhoods have already been transformed using innovative design and are planning to become more socially, environmentally, and economically responsive. Two words, Malmö: organic meatballs.

Vancouver, Canada
Its dramatic perch between mountains and sea makes Vancouver a natural draw for nature lovers, and its green accomplishments are nothing to scoff at either. Drawing 90 percent of its power from renewable sources, British Columbia's biggest city has been a leader in hydroelectric power and is now charting a course to use wind, solar, wave, and tidal energy to significantly reduce fossil-fuel use. The metro area boasts 200 parks and over 18 miles of waterfront, and has developed a way-forward-thinking 100-year plan for sustainability. Assuming civilization will last another 100 years? Priceless.

Copenhagen, Denmark
With a big offshore wind farm just beyond its coastline and more people on bikes than you can shake a stick at, Copenhagen is a green dream. The city christened a new metro system in 2000 to make public transit more efficient. And it recently won the European Environmental Management Award for cleaning up public waterways and implementing holistic long-term environmental planning. Plus, the pastries? Divine.

London, England
When Mayor Ken Livingstone unveiled London's Climate Change Action Plan in February, it was just the latest step in his mission to make his city the world's greenest. Under the plan, London will switch 25 percent of its power to locally generated, more-efficient sources, cut CO2 emissions by 60 percent within the next 20 years, and offer incentives to residents who improve the energy efficiency of their homes. The city has also set stiff taxes on personal transportation to limit congestion in the central city, hitting SUVs heavily and letting electric vehicles and hybrids off scot-free.

San Francisco, California, U.S.
Nearly half of all 'Friscans take public transit, walk, or bike each day, and over 17 percent of the city is devoted to parks and green space. San Francisco has also been a leader in green building, with more than 70 projects registered under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED certification system. In 2001, San Francisco voters approved a $100 million bond initiative to finance solar panels, energy efficiency, and wind turbines for public facilities. The city has also banned non-recyclable plastic bags and plastic kids' toys laced with questionable chemicals. Next thing you know, they'll all be wearing flowers in their hair.

Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador
After it suffered severe damage from natural disasters in the late 1990s, the Bahía de Caráquez government and nongovernmental organizations working in the area forged a plan to rebuild the city to be more sustainable. Declared an "Ecological City" in 1999, it has since developed programs to protect biodiversity, revegetate denuded areas, and control erosion. The city, which is marketing itself as a destination for eco-tourists, has also begun composting organic waste from public markets and households and supporting organic agriculture and aquaculture.

Sydney, Australia
The Land Down Under was the first country to put the squeeze on inefficient, old-school light bulbs, but Sydney-dwellers took things a step further in March, hosting a city-wide one-hour blackout to raise awareness about global warming. Add to that their quest for carbon neutrality, innovative food-waste disposal program, and new Green Square, and you've got a metropolis well on its way to becoming the Emerald City of the Southern Hemisphere.

Barcelona, Spain
Hailed for its pedestrian-friendliness (37 percent of all trips are taken on foot!), promotion of solar energy, and innovative parking strategies, Barcelona is creating a new vision for the future in Europe. City leaders' urban-regeneration plan also includes poverty reduction and investment in neglected areas, demonstrating a holistic view of sustainability.

Bogotá, Colombia
In a city known for crime and slums, one mayor led a crusade against cars that has helped to make Bogotá one of the most accessible and sustainable cities in the Western Hemisphere. Enrique Peñalosa, mayor from 1998 to 2001, used his time in office to create a highly efficient bus transit system, reconstruct sidewalks so pedestrians could get around safely, build more than 180 miles of bike trails, and revitalize 1,200 city green spaces. He restricted car use on city streets during rush hour, cutting peak-hour traffic 40 percent, and raised the gas tax. The city also started an annual "car-free day," and aims to eliminate personal car use during rush hour completely by 2015. Unthinkable!

Bangkok, Thailand
Once known for smokestacks, smog, and that unshakeable '80s song, Bangkok has big plans for a brighter future. City Governor Apirak Kosayodhin recently announced a five-year green strategy, which includes efforts to recycle citizens' used cooking oil to make biodiesel, reduce global-warming emissions from vehicles, and make city buildings more efficient. Bangkok has also made notable progress in tackling air pollution over the past decade. Though the city's pollution levels are still higher than some of its big-city Asian counterparts, its progress thus far is impressive.

Kampala, Uganda
This capital city is overcoming the challenges faced by many urban areas in developing countries. Originally built on seven hills, Kampala takes pride in its lush surroundings, but it is also plagued by big-city ills of poverty and pollution. Faced with the "problem" of residents farming within city limits, the city passed a set of bylaws supporting urban agriculture that revolutionized not only the local food system, but also the national one, inspiring the Ugandan government to adopt an urban-ag policy of its own. With plans to remove commuter taxis from the streets, establish a traffic-congestion fee, and introduce a comprehensive bus service, Kampala is on its way to becoming a cleaner, safer, more sustainable place to live.

Austin, Texas, U.S.
Austin is poised to become the No. 1 solar manufacturing center in the U.S., and its hometown utility, Austin Energy, has given the notion of pulling power from the sun a Texas-sized embrace. The city is on its way to meeting 20 percent of its electricity needs through the use of renewables and efficiency by 2020. Austin also devotes 15 percent of its land to parks and other open spaces, boasts 32 miles of bike trails, and has an ambitious smart-growth initiative, making it a happy green nook in what's widely perceived as a not-so-green state. To put it mildly.

Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) is striving to make his hometown "the greenest city in America." There's lots of literal greenery: under his leadership, Chicago has planted 500,000 new trees, invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the revitalization of parks and neighborhoods, and added more than 2 million square feet of rooftop gardens, more than all other U.S. cities combined. And there's plenty of metaphorical greening too: the Windy City has built some of the most eco-friendly municipal buildings in the country, been a pioneer in municipal renewable-energy standards, provided incentives for homeowners to be more energy efficient, and helped low-income families get solar power.

Freiburg, Germany
Home to the famously car-free Vauban neighborhood and a number of eco-transit innovations, Freiburg is a tourist destination with a green soul. The city has also long embraced solar power.

Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Mayor Greg Nickels (D) has committed his city to meeting the emission-reduction goals of the Kyoto climate treaty, and inspired more than 590 other U.S. mayors to do the same. True to its name, the Emerald City is also planting trees, building green, and benefiting from biodiesel and hybrid buses.

Quebec City, Canada
Dubbed the most sustainable city in Canada by the Corporate Knights Forum, Quebec wins big points for clean water, good waste management, and bike paths aplenty. C'est magnifique!

Kate Sheppard contributed to this list.

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London mayor unveils comprehensive climate-change plan

London Mayor Ken Livingstone unveiled a Climate Change Action Plan yesterday in hopes of making the English capital the greenest city in the world. Under the scheme, London will switch 25 percent of its power supply to local generation, and businesses that invest in green technology will earn merit badges, Scout-style. The U.K. plans to cut carbon emissions 60 percent by 2050, but London's leaders hope to achieve that goal within 20 years, and are setting aside $92.3 million in next year's budget to do so. "This will make London the first city in the world to have a really comprehensive plan to cut its carbon emissions," says the mayor's climate-change adviser. Livingstone also appealed to the 7.5 million common folk, urging energy efficiency and introducing such cutting-edge ideas as discounts on insulation. "Londoners don't have to reduce their quality of life to tackle climate change," said the mayor, "but we do need to change the way we live." Always with the crazy talk, that one.

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London Olympics striving to be all green, all the time

We were about to write yet another blurb on the current climate-change climate when we remembered: today marks 2,012 days until the London 2012 Olympics! So here's a quick rundown of plans for the "greenest games to date." Organizers say they'll cut Olympic Park carbon emissions 50 percent by 2013 and generate some power on site using wind and solar. They'll also reuse or recycle 90 percent of demolition materials and build 50 miles of new bike and walking paths. That's just a taste of an event that will be, says Prime Minister Tony Blair, "the catalyst for one of the most extensive urban and environmental regeneration programs ever seen in the U.K." It's all quite dreamy, except for a political squabble over the games' mushrooming budget and its reliance on National Lottery funds intended for community sports programs and other "good causes." A Parliament committee was expected to release a report this week telling the ambitious government to "get a grip" on its finances. Fun-stoppers.

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World's biggest offshore wind farm given OK in England

The world's biggest offshore wind farm has been given the go-ahead and will soon be built 12 miles off the coast of southeast England. The quaintly named London Array, being developed by a consortium that includes Shell WindEnergy, will consist of 341 turbines. A separate 100-turbine wind farm in the Thames estuary was also given the OK yesterday. Together, the two projects could power nearly one million residences, or about one-third of the homes in Greater London. (So they think they're greater than us? Wanna fight?) Once the obligatory scuffling with locals over siting and increased traffic and noise is complete, London Array is likely to come online in 2011; the wind farm in the Thames estuary should be finished up more quickly, by 2008. With the addition of the two wind projects, Britain will become second only to Denmark in offshore wind generation, and will take a significant step toward its goal of increasing renewable energy resources by 500 percent by 2020. Clean energy -- it's a breeze!

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London mayor proposes steep congestion charge for gas-guzzlers

London Mayor Ken Livingstone has announced plans to make the city's weekday congestion tax much steeper for drivers of polluting vehicles. Under the proposal, owners of SUVs and other gas-guzzlers would shell out the equivalent of about $47 a day to motor into London between 6:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. (the current tax is $15). While central London residents currently receive a 90 percent discount on the congestion tax, Livingstone proposes abolishing that for SUV drivers, whom he once called "idiots." Electric vehicles and hybrids would be exempt from charges altogether. Conservatives and the automotive industry were quick to object to the plan, but Livingstone shrugged off their concerns: "Those who buy [SUVs] can afford to choose from pretty much the whole of the mainstream car market but have chosen to buy one of the most polluting vehicles," he said. The extra charge is unlikely to come into force until 2009 or 2010, giving drivers a few years to give their gas-guzzlers the boot.

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