Whatever we do has environmental impacts. these impacts can be immediate - and direct. Whenever we cut, chip. clip, or click something that is a direct impact. However most of our environmental impacts have an effect well away from us.

To give you an idea of how much that can amount to, consider Britain. When the emissions from our transport, homes, power stations and fields are added up, they amount to about 2% of the world total for Greenhouse Gases - those gases that contribute to global warming.

However if you add up all the emissions resulting from our major business activities abroad - eg toys from china and food from Europe, we contribute nearer 15% of world GHGs. Coming Clean Action Aid (pdf). These are the indirect impacts.