Greenpeace has launched an interactive virtual city showcasing how towns and cities across the UK are fighting climate change and enjoying a cleaner and more secure energy future - without relying on new coal or nuclear power stations.

The new online town, called EfficienCity , uses interactive case studies and animation to demonstrate how the UK could slash its greenhouse gas emissions, cut electricity bills and beef up the security of its energy supply. The town is powered by "decentralised energy", a clean and efficient energy system that provides heating, cooling and electricity to the community.

Greenpeace is asking visitors to the virtual town to "reclaim the power" from central government and instead engage with their local councils, encouraging them to implement their own local energy schemes based on efficiency, renewables and combined heat and power.

Through interacting with virtual football stadiums, supermarkets, hospitals and breweries based on real world examples, visitors can see how their own communities can join the fight against climate change by generating their own energy.

Greenpeace has developed the project in response to the official energy policy of the UK government, which currently favours large, centralised power generation and nuclear reactors as the solution to keeping the lights on and tackling climate change.

Developed in collaboration with Biro Creative - founded by former staffers of the Adbusters Media Foundation - the project shows how the solutions to climate change can be applied to every British town.

Videos, animations, slideshows and sounds guide the user through a brilliantly realised low carbon system, explaining how renewable technologies - from wave and tidal power to micro-hydro and anaerobic digestion - work. The town also shows how electricity, heat and cooling can all be part of a local energy network.

Greenpeace energy advisor Darren Shirley said: "With EfficienCity we're trying to demonstrate virtually how the real solutions to climate change can work in practise. We're hoping that visitors to the city will see that these technologies aren't science fiction - they're already available today.

For more information on decentralised energy visit www.greenpeace.org.uk/efficiencity/about

Roast chicken is an iconic dish in British culture.  It probably ranks close to the top of most people's list of favourite foods.  It may be affordable for the masses, but it is also fit for a king. 

But how many of you know about the life your fresh supermarket chickens lead before they reach your table?  That their short, intensively farmed indoor existence is managed like a factory production line, to ensure the big retailers can sell them to you for as little as ?2 a bird?  Is that all the life an animal, born and raised to feed us, is worth?

I would like to see the industry 'de-intensify' by lowering stocking densities and including environmental enrichment programmes in all its chicken sheds.  Existing models for this reform include the RSPCA Freedom Foods system.  I believe that this, or similar audited systems very close to it, should be the new minimum welfare standard for indoor-reared broiler chickens. Supermarkets and fast food outlets should adopt these higher welfare systems as their new baseline standard, and should in turn insist that all their suppliers adopt them.

I would like the supermarkets to end their poultry price wars, as they put pressure on farmers to maximise the intensity of their operations.  I also urge them to pay a fair price to farmers, for higher welfare birds, and to support them with clear labelling so that consumers can understand what they are paying for.

Above all, I would like to see more birds reared outdoors, on assured free range and organic systems.  I believe this is the natural and appropriate way for a chicken to live. 

I also need you to register your support on this website .  We need thousands of signatures to convince supermarkets, farmers, government regulators and anyone else involved in this unacceptable business that they must change.

Uncovering hidden gems in South Africa, volunteering in Moshi and exploring secret eco-havens in Madagascar ? all these experiences and more are available in Acacia Adventure Holidays? latest 2008 brochure.  The tour operator has also reduced the maximum number of passengers in its small group safaris from 16 to 12, thereby minimising the travellers' impact on the environment; and with several of the tour operators new itineraries reaching remote and rural areas Acacia Adventure Holidays has made it easier to meet the people of Africa.

Getting away from the crowds by Dhow:  The few tourists that do visit Madacasgar number around 150,000 a year, but Acacia Adventure Holidays has taken paradise to another level on its new 7-day adventure, traversing the more remote Northern islands by Dhow.  Heavenly eco-havens including, Ankazoberavina and Nosy Irinja are visited en route ? the latter home to the Hawksbill turtles and exotic coconut crabs.  Further highlights include, Nosy Be, Nosy Tanikely and the Lokobe Reserve, where adventurers can go in search of the Black Lemur and the Nosy Be Panther Chameleon.   

A wealth of hidden wonders in South Africa: South Africa is ?so this year? according to Acacia Adventure Holidays ? their new 15-day small group Safari, Hike & Bike Kwazulu-Natal, unearthing the country?s hidden gems.  Mountain biking and hiking in the Drakensburg Mountains is eco-ploring at its best, with many of the trails leading to remote rural villages.  Mount Njesuthi is a further highlight, ready and waiting for energetic hikers who will then retire to Zululand ? this hospitable tribe sharing their mystical beliefs on everything from spiritual healing to witchcraft.  No safari would be complete without a chance to view the Big Five and game viewing in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve, is a final wildlife extravaganza, before canoeing across the waters of the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park and kicking back on the beach at Kosi Bay.

Learning how to tread lightly: The 12-day Masai Walking Safari is an eco-centric addition to Acacia Adventure Holidays? portfolio; starting in Kenya?s capital, with an out of city wildlife expedition to the nearby Nairobi National Park. Leaving the 4X4 behind the itinerary includes walking safaris through Hell?s Gate National Park to view its spectacular gorges and geothermal hot springs, followed by a challenging trek to the summit of Mount Longonot where travellers are rewarded with panoramic views over Lake Navisha and the Great Rift Valley.  The final section of the small group safari sees culture and wildlife combine with Big Five game viewing in the Masai Mara and a 6-day trek through the Loita Hills with the red robed Masai tribe.