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Virgin Blue going green April 5, 2007

Posted by James Webster in : environment , 2 comments

Although there had been a press release (PDF) from the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Water Resources about this last week, I just saw an ad in today’s Financial Review talking about Virgin Blue’s (a major Australian airline for the international readers) new Carbon Offsetting program. For my last few domestic flights around Australia I have been purchasing carbon offsets from Neco as I have decided to make all my air travel from this point on carbon neutral. I applaud Virgin Blue’s efforts towards making it easier to purchase offsets but I think we will soon need to just build carbon offsets into the price of air travel.

One thing I am a little confused by is the disparity in pricing; the Government/Virgin Blue press release claim that carbon offsets can be purchased “for an average of a dollar a trip” whereas Neco’s short distance domestic flight offset (covering return flights of up to 1600kms) is $12. Admittedly for that you get posted a couple of luggage tags to proudly trumpet your carbon neutral status over your fellow passengers but I think that itself is an additional use of resources we could do without. If we are not going to force people to pay to offset their carbon footprint through taxes or higher airfares then at least the various carbon offset providers should be singing the same tune on price in order to minimise cynicism amongst the population.

Perhaps true price transparency will only be achieved when Australia implements an emissions trading market.

DRM, EMI, iTunes and Sellaband April 4, 2007

Posted by James Webster in : web , add a comment

If you were anywhere near the Internet yesterday you would have seen the blogstorm of commentary regarding the EMI/iTunes deal. I think its a great step forward however many are justified in being a little skeptical.

Is this the death rattle of DRM or the major labels as we know them? If you have talent there are many more options today beyond handing your soul (and masters) to a label. The Podsafe Music Network has been swinging along for quite a while now; I have generally ceased listening to broadcast radio so I hear alot of new music via podcasts. My mate Pete also put me onto Sellaband, read TechCrunch’s reviews here and here. Like Pete I also bought a part in Second Person and was delighted to see them reach the $50,000 target. The latest SellaBand Tribune announces that Second Person will be headlining a Sellaband showcase gig in London during June.

I see several parallels between Kiva and Sellaband; allowing people to easily connect with capital to realise their dreams.