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Good gift guide

From carbon offsets to saving a single whale, there are plenty of 'good' gifts out there. But are they really as good as they seem? Read our news story on climate offsets, and discuss the rest here...

Posted by Nicola Jones on December 20, 2006 06:08 PM |

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One of the things I wanted to get a friend this Christmas was a whale. Not for their bathtub, of course. But the World Society for the Protection of Animals was trying to auction off a whale on e-Bay for £95,000. Once they had the money, they figured, they could pay an Icelandic hunter this amount in exchange for them not hunting a whale (which they started to do again this year - see http://www.nature.com/news/2006/061023/full/061023-3.html). Nice idea. Sadly they only raised £20,040 and then stopped the auction...(see http://www.wspa-international.org/news.asp?newsID=368) Part of me wonders if it wasn't a little naive to expect hunters to take the cash and not ALSO commercially hunt a whale anyway.

Posted by: nicola jones | December 20, 2006 06:41 PM

Fancy saving an endangered pine that dates back to the time of the dinosaurs? Australia has a unique plan for making sure these trees continue to live: selling them. You can buy your own, endangered tree (that's not just for Christmas) from the society here: http://www.wollemipine.com/

Posted by: nicola jones | December 20, 2006 06:47 PM

Oxfam does trade in 'good gifts'. My favourite is the rotating goat... small herds of goats are loaned out to families in Malawi using your money. They keep the goats until they breed, then pay back the loan in kind. The goats serve as a source of manure and financial security for the families involved, who wouldn't be able to afford livestock on their own. http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com/

Posted by: nicola jones | December 20, 2006 06:51 PM

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