WINTER
THEPULSE
l
63IT8217S THE THOUGHT that counts.
How many times in how many homes
does this comforting epigram get
trotted out, year after year after
year?Y
our grandmother8217s knitted you a cardigan
that8217s two sizes too small at the chest and four
sizes too big in the arm. For the third year run-
ning, your giddiest aunt8217s bought you the very
same noxious aftershave and cologne gift set
despite repeatedly being told you8217ve got a
skin allergy to that particular brand. And
your brother8217s gone and bought you yet anoth-
er unwearable necktie/hat/blouse (delete as
inappropriate).
Y
ou didn8217t want any of these things, you8217ll
never use them, but how to respond graciously
to the generosity that lies behind them? By
grinning, and thanking, and telling yourself:
8220It8217s the thought that counts.8221
W
ell why not spare a thought this Christmas
for something bigger than your immediate
family unit, and your wider circles of relatives,
friends, colleagues and acquaintances? In
this solar system, there8217s only one habitable
planet, and our consumption of its resources
is putting it at risk and, by extension, us and
every other creature living upon it.
In Edinburgh, there is added reason to pay
attention this year. The World Wildlife Fund
recently conducted a survey of the ecological
footprints of British city residents, and Scot-
land8217s capital came out of that survey with a
problem. There is an understandable link
between disposable income and the size of an
individual8217s footprint, and given the relative
concentration of affluence in Edinburgh, per-
haps we shouldn8217t be surprised. However, the
WWF calculated that if everyone on Earth
were to consume at the level of the average
Edinburgh citizen, we would need 3.2 planets
to sustain that collective lifestyle. The city had
the worst footprint in Scotland, and ranked
50th out of the 60 UK cities surveyed.
Edinburgh8217s high food footprint, and the
number of poorly-insulated tenements8220Why not spare a thought
this Christmas for
something bigger than
your family unit?8221
Give Mother
Nature just what she8217s
always wanted by protecting
the planet, says
Owen HeathINTERIORSSHUTTHATDOOR
Just because it8217s
Christmas, it doesn8217t
mean you can waste
electricity and heat10152scheming
for ag
reenChristmasP63_Pulse_Nov_ 13/11/07 10:10
am Page 63
Page 1Page 2Page 3Page 4Page 5Page 6Page 7Page 8Page 9Page 10Page 11Page 12Page 13Page 14Page 15Page 16Page 17Page 18Page 19Page 20Page 21Page 22Page 23Page 24Page 25Page 26Page 27Page 28Page 29Page 30Page 31Page 32Page 33Page 34Page 35Page 36Page 37Page 38Page 39Page 40Page 41Page 42Page 43Page 44Page 45Page 46Page 47Page 48Page 49Page 50Page 51Page 52Page 53Page 54Page 55Page 56Page 57Page 58Page 59Page 60Page 61Page 62Page 63Page 64Page 65Page 66Page 67Page 68Page 69Page 70Page 71Page 72Page 73Page 74Page 75Page 76Page 77Page 78Page 79Page 80Page 81Page 82Page 83Page 84 Produced by PageSuite