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Bye bye David, Hello Hilary

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David Miliband is off to defend our interests beyond these shores as foreign secreatary. In comes Hilary Benn as enviroment secretary. He's built up a solid reputation as international development secretary but didn't perform so well at last weekend's deputy leadership contest. Will he start a blog like Miliband's? There's a useful list of the new cabinet on the BBC site.

Gordon Brown will be sustainable....

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... According to Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the RSA. He's in a pretty good position to voice such opinions given his background - before taking up his current post last November he was chief adviser on political strategy to Gordon's predecessor, one Tony Blair. I quizzed him at an RICS event he attended on Tuesday morning launching the Institution's new Surveying Sustainability document.

The King's Cross tour

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I attended a couple of events at Architecture Week, one of which was a tour around the land north of King's Cross train station which is due for a massive facelift over the next decade under the control of developer Argent. Our guide? None other than Argent head honcho Roger Madelin, who turns out to be very far from the public stereotype of a property magnate - dry, softly spoken, witty and approachable. He had managed to charm the 15-odd walkers before the two-hour trot around the 67-acre site, called King's Cross Central, had finished.

Gleeds receives mud slinging. Give them a break

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I posted an intriguing story up on the Building website on Friday of last week which led to some mud (geddit?) slinging from an anonymous reader at QS and projetc management firm Gleeds. The firm set up a tent at the Glastonbury music festival for revellers to confess their eco-sins at. Mr anonymous piped up and called hypocrisy for a firm that "encourages car allowances and large lavish offices in the centre of bustling cities" wanting people to admit they "dont always rinse and return their milk bottles".

This is funny

Addressing Climate Crisis, Bush Calls For Development Of National Air Conditioner

WASHINGTON, DC—"We must act now so that our children's children can live in a world without sweat," said president Bush, justifying the project's $100 trillion price tag.

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Exeter Council back sustainable construction

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Exeter council has recently shown its support for sustainable housing by hosting a breakfast event, at the Livestock Centre at Matford, for its preferred suppliers and consultants. During the event, the council made clear how much it wants promote sustainability and that it now requires contractors to adhere to the council's Green Accord and Selection Procedure - a code that sets benchmark targets for all parties in the housing process.

How the hell do we measure our carbon footprint?

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Businesses need a single, unified standard for displaying the carbon impact of their activities to ensure companies can see a visible competitive advantage to sustainable development. While educating consumers to change their lifestyles is vital for reducing emissions, a panel discussion found a lack of clear standards for measuring carbon footprints was a major obstacle to change.

Thames Gateway: A counterblast

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In yesterday's Guardian historian Tristram Hunt delivers a stinging condemnation of the Thames Gateway project. He says the £6bn scheme - one that promises 120,000 new homes and 180,000 jobs - will destroy much of the historical meaning and geographical beauty that make up many parts of the Kent and Essex coastlines.

How do you rate green buildings? An American look - but an international issue

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The New York Law Journal recently published an insightful article entitled "What does 'Green' Mean?" Its dual authors, Peter S. Britell and Smita G. Korrapati, state their terms in the opening paragraph: "Green is good. Yet there has been little focus on what green means in commercial agreements - and what happens if a contracting party defaults in being green."

Severn Barrage: one thing Blair and Brown agree on

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The proposed Severn Barrage - a barrier that would stretch between Weston-Super-Mare and Lavernock Point, on the south coast of Wales, has been approved by Tony Blair in his closing days in office. However, the barrage has encountered fierce criticism from environmental groups and commentators. George Monbiot, author of Heat, recently said that, "It will cause too much environmental damage: there are far better ways of getting energy from the sea."