• Issue 2

HM The Queen's state visit to the US last month totalled 8,275 flown miles and emitted 1. 5 tonnes of CO2. Upon her return, Buckingham Palace made a donation to an environmental charity to offset the royal entourage's flights.

But The Queen isn't the only state-level jetsetter.  After thousands of miles of flights, politicians from eight industrialised countries and five developing ones have sat down together in Germany to try to hammer out a consensus on global warming and emissions targets.

At the top of their conference agenda is an impossible environmental mission - with science uncertain and citizens in love with travel, the world is split over how best to keep global temperatures from rising two degrees within a century.

The Queen's willingness to offset her carbon footprint should be food for thought for the G8 (+ 5) delegates- you can only imagine the greenhouse gases emitted as an average of two planes per country flew to Germany with proposals, personal assistants and other paraphernalia for the heads of state.

While you're at it, think about the emissions created by the UN's 2,000 scientists in charge of shuttling between urban areas around the globe in order to collect enough evidence to back up a climate change report.

Add to that the earnings made by the officials, researchers and campaigners who regularly  travel to lectures and print books that announce an ever-changing list of nonsensical claims global warming.  Rubbish - in both senses of the word.

It's as though no one realises that the world be always be in climate chaos if the split discussion continues. New approaches are badly needed.  Here are a few I'd like to see.

First, if you're involved in the climate change discussion, whether as a president or a lowly researcher, please act locally. Shorten your journeys and do something, anything, to offset your environmental impacts.

The Queen set a good example - unfortunately no one found out because the dominant story of her trip was Bush's history gaffe. It's now time for more politicians and celebrities to stand up for the environment.

Second, let's shift the discussion from climate change to saving resources. Climate change, if indeed humans are behind it, has been caused by the excessive use of fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources. The burden is on the developed world to find sustainable alternatives - and then share them with everyone else.  Fast.

It's time for the return of personal responsibility.  Let's be The Queen.