Leo Hickman, Guardian Journalist on Ethical Living

Leo Hickman is a journalist, author and broadcaster. He has appeared on a number of leading television and radio shows including ITV's This Morning, BBC Breakfast, CNN, Sky News, Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show, Radio 5's Simon Mayo Show, Radio 4's Midweek and BBC World Service. In addition, he has made many public appearances, including the Hay Festival and The Edinburgh Book Festival.

In 2003, Leo, joined by his wife Jane and their baby daughter Esme, embarked on a year-long experiment to live as 'ethically' as possible. Over 12 months, they sought to see how easy it was to live without a car, refuse to fly, grow their own food, wash nappies, volunteer, manage a wormery and a range of other testing challenges all within the confines of their terraced house in south London. The experience was documented in a series of columns for The Guardian and later led to two bestselling books, 'A Life Stripped Bare: My Year Trying to Live Ethically' and 'A Good Life: The Guide to Ethical Living'. 'The Final Call: In Search of the True Cost of our Holidays' was published in 2007. Based down in Cornwall, Leo continues to write a weekly column in The Guardian about life's thorny ethical-living dilemmas.

Talks

Leo prefers to engage his audience with an interactive debate rather than deliver a straight talk. This allows the discussion to focus on any particular areas of interest his many different audiences have. School groups might like to consider some questions to put forward to him as part of their preparation for a talk.

A Life Stripped Bare: My Year Trying to Live Ethically

Leo discusses how he fared when faced with this enormous challenge - starting to lead a more 'ethical' life. What were the hardest things he encountered? What were other people’s reactions to this change of lifestyle? What did he and his family miss most? Is it actually possible to live ethically and minimise one’s environmental footprint whilst continuing to live a 'normal' life - with a job, mortgage, kids? Would he accept this challenge again? What would his advice be to anyone who wanted to start living more ethically?

The Final Call: In Search of the True Cost of our Holidays

Leo discusses some of the issues which arise in his book. What does 'ethical tourism' actually mean? Is it possible to go on a ‘guilt free’ holiday? What considerations should be made before deciding where to go (or indeed, if to go at all?). Do the economic advantages which tourism bring outweigh the many environmental or social impacts?