Today, as you may or may not know, is Blog Action Day. Bloggers of the world are uniting in a single cause, and that cause is (insert drum roll here) "the environment".

Now, in my mind, which runs off on a million tangential paths simultaneously at the mention of blogging about "the environment", there becomes immediately two ways to view this topic.... One way to look at it, is how we are devastating our little blue cosmic marble, and the other is to look at it as a creative hook. Surely it all depends on your definition of "the environment"?

I had planned to write a little piece today about how much I had enjoyed the Marsden Jazz Festival this weekend.... and the gears click into place.

Firstly, we walked to the Jazz Festival on Sunday lunchtime, along the canal. What I CAN say is that the advancements we have made in recent years, with regard to how we view and treat these monumental waterways, is refreshing indeed. For years, the humble canal fell into disrepair and disregard. Fettered with shopping trolleys, carrier bags, and foul stinking water. Now these revolutionary transport paths have had life breathed back into them.

The chosen mode of transport into Marsden allowed me to exercise a love of the natural surroundings, to neutralise my carbon footprint, and to enjoy and endorse these wonderful canal towpaths.

In Marsden, I headed for the Riverhead public house, which serves beer that is brewed on the premises. The fact that the beer has not had to travel to reach the pumps, and subsequently my stomach, makes me feel a whole lot better. I think we can safely say, I managed to drink the planet a little bit healthier!!

I also managed to drink some beer in Golcar at the Rose and Crown (which is a dreadful pub) where the beer is also brewed locally. Golcar Mild, Pennine Gold...... delicious stuff.

If that weren't enough, let me tell you about another "green" policy I have recently introduced to my life.

Carrier bags. Horrible plastic things for carrying shopping in. A travesty of both design and environmental consideration. The handles are so bad, that when the bags are loaded to their capacity, the circulation to your fingertips is completely shut off. The black fingertip syndrome even prompted some brainbox to create another lovely petroleum based plastic product which you can loop the handles around to avoid this problem. They don't (in the main) biodegrade, and almost all, if not every single one of them, eventually ends up in our rubbish bins and dumped in a landfill.

Well, for a rather nominal fee, you can purchase some rather fetching alternatives to these plastic bags. The ones that you can buy at Tesco, that are made of a sort of hessian material (maybe it's jute?) and have nicely designed handles, will easily fit twice as much in them as a carrier bag. They cost one pound. They are comfy to carry, and if you keep them in the car, then you'll never forget them when you hit the supermarket aisles.... I suppose a greener version of this story would be to keep them in your walking trouser pockets, but I don't know many people who walk to the supermarket to do their "Friday big shop", so let's be realistic.

It's a small step for man, and a giant gulp for mankind.

We all know the pack drill.... Don't boil more water in the kettle than you need.... Turn off the tap when you are brushing your teeth...... A full freezer functions better than one that is half empty..... Recycle..... Use public transport...... Don't put your telly on "standby"...... Don't buy fruit that has travelled three thousand miles to reach your supermarket shelves....... Feel free to add to the list.

Christ on a bike, I nearly forgot.... feed the birds!!!