Early to bed and early to rise

The Japanese government has launched a campaign encouraging people to go to bed and get up early. The Morning Challenge campaign, unveiled by the Environment Ministry, is based on the premise that swapping late night electricity for an extra hour of morning sunlight could significantly cut the nation's carbon footprint. A typical family can reduce its carbon dioxide footprint by 85kg a year if everyone goes to bed and gets up one hour earlier. It is the latest initiative tackling climate change to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25 per cent from 1990 levels within the next decade.

Asleep on the flight

A British academic who fell asleep during a flight woke up in an aircraft hangar after cabin crew mistakenly left him on the plane. Kris Lines, a lecturer in sports law at Staffordshire University, was woken up by a surprised mechanic 90 minutes after his flight landed in Vancouver, where he was due to speak at an international conference.
He had fought to stay awake during his 22 hour journey from Birmingham to Calgary via Heathrow, drinking Coca Cola to ensure he did not fall asleep and miss the connecting flight to Vancouver. Once safely on the last leg of his journey, he fell into a deep sleep.