Madam, do you wish to offset your carbon now or risk social Siberia? An airline is attempting to embarrass its passengers into paying compensation for the climate change emissions of their flights by getting cabin crews to sell “carbon offsets” from the duty free trolley. Virgin Atlantic has instructed crew to announce to each row of passengers that they are offering the offsetting service as well as discounted perfume and alcohol.

People say they’ll do more, but will they? I’m the last one in the greenosphere to mention it, but check out this new poll of 22,000 people in 21 countries (full results PDF), done by the BBC and PIPA. The big takeaway is that more than 80% of people say they’re willing to make substantial changes in their lifestyle in order to go green. Supposedly, 50% of people worldwide support a tax on oil and coal, and more if the revenue is specifically targeted to renewables and efficiency… — David Roberts, Gristmill

South Africans not stressed about planet. Only a third of South African adults living in cities feel that climate change or global warming will affect them. This is according to results of a study by TNS Research Surveys published on Thursday which looked at how people felt about climate change, their use of key resources and what their carbon footprint was. The country is in the top 20 emitting countries in the world with coal powered power plants and an increasing use of private transport. — Independent Online

Clean green tea for Africa. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today announced the launch of a pair of projects worth some $100 million in the tea and sugar industries designed to boost the use of clean energy and stimulate development in Africa. The tea initiative, which will deliver small-scale hydro-electric power to plantations across East Africa, is expected to reach over 8 million people in the tea industry. — UN news service, AllAfrica

Is Germany the greenest of them all? Even though the trees across the country are quickly losing their leaves, Germany is very “green” these days. It starts with the trash every day. In most local communities, households now have four different trash bins outside their door – one for paper, one for plastic, one for organic waste and a trash can for “other rubbish.” In addition, glass containers are strategically positioned at street corners in every neighborhood, but also require active consumer participation. Under German rules, green, brown and white bottles need to be separated. — Andy Eckardt, MSNBC