The recycled rubbish being kept in storage because no one will buy it. Read this article from Mail Online here
Green scheme scrapped as household recycling is sent to landfill - Telegraph
Call to recycle food separately - BBC News
Sunday 23 November 2008
Friday 19 September 2008
Friday 12 September 2008
Sunday 7 September 2008
More flood alerts in UK
Flood warnings are in place across the country after more than two weeks of rainfall fell during 24 hours of gale-force winds and torrential downpours
The Environmental Agency has issued 33 flood warnings - which mean local homes and businesses are at risk of flooding
The south west was one of the worst hit areas. Residents had to be rescued from rising waters, roads were closed, events cancelled and motorists were injured by falling trees as winds reached more than 60mph.
In Gloucestershire, downpours led to road closures and firefighters had to pump out floodwater from homes
The Environmental Agency has issued 33 flood warnings - which mean local homes and businesses are at risk of flooding
The south west was one of the worst hit areas. Residents had to be rescued from rising waters, roads were closed, events cancelled and motorists were injured by falling trees as winds reached more than 60mph.
In Gloucestershire, downpours led to road closures and firefighters had to pump out floodwater from homes
Flooding in India and Bangladesh Sept 08
Hundreds of thousands of people made homeless by the floods in the northern Indian are panicking over the high risk of disease in the camps where they are sheltering.
There is a big threat from water-borne diseases and measles, and many people are suffering from snake bites.
More than 700,000 people have been to camps, but there are still tens of thousands of others who remain stranded. The government are asking for more medicines to be rushed to the area, particularly anti-venom, which is in high demand.
The River Kosi which flows down from the Himalayas burst its banks and levees in Nepal on August 18. It then changed course and surged down the centre of Bihar state in India - one of the poorest areas of the country. The water flooded more than 700 villages and affected around 15 districts, home to around three million people.
The rescue and relief operation has been consistently criticised for being slow and poorly organised.
An Oxfam representative said "Women and children are bearing the brunt of the disaster, whether huddled in cramped camps or exposed to heat and the rains under the open sky.
"Thousands of people are without safe water and are having to defecate in floodwaters. There is a serious risk of diseases breaking out."
"Hygiene and sanitation facilities are urgently needed to prevent the spread of a water-borne epidemic. More food and shelter is also needed immediately."
Times
There is a big threat from water-borne diseases and measles, and many people are suffering from snake bites.
More than 700,000 people have been to camps, but there are still tens of thousands of others who remain stranded. The government are asking for more medicines to be rushed to the area, particularly anti-venom, which is in high demand.
The River Kosi which flows down from the Himalayas burst its banks and levees in Nepal on August 18. It then changed course and surged down the centre of Bihar state in India - one of the poorest areas of the country. The water flooded more than 700 villages and affected around 15 districts, home to around three million people.
The rescue and relief operation has been consistently criticised for being slow and poorly organised.
An Oxfam representative said "Women and children are bearing the brunt of the disaster, whether huddled in cramped camps or exposed to heat and the rains under the open sky.
"Thousands of people are without safe water and are having to defecate in floodwaters. There is a serious risk of diseases breaking out."
"Hygiene and sanitation facilities are urgently needed to prevent the spread of a water-borne epidemic. More food and shelter is also needed immediately."
Times
Hurricane Ike - Hurricane season 2008
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Ike's eye was passing over the Turks and Caicos early Sunday (7th Sept). The NHC Web site showed hurricane force winds from Ike battering the island. It was moving west about 15 miles per hour with winds near 135 mph (215km/h). Its path would take it by the southeastern Bahamas early Sunday and near eastern Cuba Sunday night or early Monday.
There is a warning that Ike could dump 12 inches (30cm) of rain in places and cause storm surge flooding of up to 18ft (5.5m) above normal tide levels.
The hurricane is expected to reach the south-eastern Bahamas later on Sunday (7th Sept).
After weakening on Saturday, Ike regained strength as it approached the islands.
After weakening on Saturday, Ike regained strength as it approached the islands.
The NHC now classes it as "extremely dangerous" Category Four hurricane.
Preparations
Thousands of tourists and residents have left the islands.
The airport in Providenciales, the most populated of the island chains, has closed.
Areas likely to be affected:
The centre of the hurricane is forecast to pass to the north of Haiti
Haiti which is still recovering from Hanna will not be spared, where a humanitarian crisis was unfolding after flooding from Hanna left more than 500 people dead and thousands in desperate need of food, clean water and shelter.
Further flooding in Haiti is expected as the storm's outer rain bands were forecast to unleash torrential downpours up to 12 inches on the country's vulnerable northwest coast. These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides over mountainous terrain
Further flooding in Haiti is expected as the storm's outer rain bands were forecast to unleash torrential downpours up to 12 inches on the country's vulnerable northwest coast. These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides over mountainous terrain
Dominican Republic
Preparations are underwy with troops put on full alert with the potential risk of flooding. The ground is saturated and some of the dams in the south-east region are fairly close to their maximum capacity.
Heading west south-west at about 15mph, Ike should hit the northern coast of eastern Cuba by late Sunday or early Monday, according to the NHC forecast, putting the crumbling colonial buildings of the capital, Havana, at risk
source: BBC
Friday 5 September 2008
Winds and rain battering Britain
Heavy rainfall and strong winds are sweeping across Britain causing floods in many areas.
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for Wales and many parts of England.
Some places have suffered more than a month of rainfall in 24 hours.
A major incident has been declared in Bridgend due to rising water levels in the River Ogmore. The council is evacuating staff from its civic offices
• The Jazz in the Park event in Pontypool has been cancelled, as was Cardiff Pride 2008
• A number of roads are under water in Gloucestershire
• Arriva Trains is advising people in south east Wales not to travel by train as all rail services are severely disrupted by flooding
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for Wales and many parts of England.
Some places have suffered more than a month of rainfall in 24 hours.
A major incident has been declared in Bridgend due to rising water levels in the River Ogmore. The council is evacuating staff from its civic offices
• The Jazz in the Park event in Pontypool has been cancelled, as was Cardiff Pride 2008
• A number of roads are under water in Gloucestershire
• Arriva Trains is advising people in south east Wales not to travel by train as all rail services are severely disrupted by flooding
Read the whole article from BBC here
South Wales Fire Service said it had received 350 flood-related calls in six hours on Friday, compared with a normal daily total of about 130.
Fire crews and council workers were called to homes in the Lydney area of Gloucestershire on Thursday after flash floods.
The ground is saturated after an unusually wet August, increasing the risk of flooding across the UK, experts said.
"We are expecting 20mm to 40mm of rainfall in the next 24 hours on already saturated ground, which is the biggest problem.
Flooding is likely to disrupt businesses in the worst affected areas.
Hurricane Gustav
Rise in 2008 hurricanes predicted 
Hurricane season 2008
Major hurricanes that cause devastation are getting stronger - article from The Telegraph herefrom BBC
from Independent
Sunday 24 August 2008
National Trust warns of loss of beauty spots due to coastal erosion
Which parts of the UK are under threat? What are the choices for managing the areas
What is the environmental impact?
Is there a human impact?
Read more from The Guardian here
Thursday 21 August 2008
Population hits the headlines...
Figures released can be viewed from the National Statistics site here
1. Ageing population - The population timebomb
Independent
BBC
Times Online
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pressass/20080821/tuk-over-60s-outnumber-children-in-uk-6323e80.html
2. Boom in births brings UK population to almost 61m
Useful article from The Guardian
3. Immigration and births to non-British mothers pushes British population to record high
Read this article here
4. Reduced immigration from Eastern Europe into UK
Read more from Daily Mail here
Independent
Times Online
BBC
1. Ageing population - The population timebomb
Independent
BBC
Times Online
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/pressass/20080821/tuk-over-60s-outnumber-children-in-uk-6323e80.html
2. Boom in births brings UK population to almost 61m
Useful article from The Guardian
3. Immigration and births to non-British mothers pushes British population to record high
Read this article here
4. Reduced immigration from Eastern Europe into UK
Read more from Daily Mail here
Independent
Times Online
BBC
Wednesday 20 August 2008
UK households use over 1000 gallons of water a day
The average household in the UK uses over 1000 gallons of water a day, making the country one of the biggest water importers in the world, a report claims.
The study by the environment group WWF is the first attempt to discover the full scale of UK water consumption, or its "water footprint".
As well as water for drinking, cleaning and washing, it looks at hidden factors such as how much water is needed to grow food around the world and to make and transport goods.
It concludes that only 38 per cent of the water used by the UK comes from its own resources, with much of the rest coming from countries such as Spain and Morocco, which face serious shortages.
While the average UK household consumes almost 33 gallons a day for washing and drinking, it consumes about 30 times as much in "virtual water", used in the production of imported food and textiles
As well as water for drinking, cleaning and washing, it looks at hidden factors such as how much water is needed to grow food around the world and to make and transport goods.
It concludes that only 38 per cent of the water used by the UK comes from its own resources, with much of the rest coming from countries such as Spain and Morocco, which face serious shortages.
While the average UK household consumes almost 33 gallons a day for washing and drinking, it consumes about 30 times as much in "virtual water", used in the production of imported food and textiles
Those eating meat and dairy foods use more than twice as much water a day as vegetarians.
"Huge amounts of the food and cotton consumed in the UK are grown in drier areas of the world where water resources are either already stressed or very likely to become so in the near future."
WWF identifies Spain, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Israel, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as some of the countries facing the worst droughts, yet they still supply the UK with substantial exports of their water.
WWF identifies Spain, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Israel, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as some of the countries facing the worst droughts, yet they still supply the UK with substantial exports of their water.
British retailers such as Marks & Spencer are already working with WWF to calculate their water footprint and are auditing key crops such as strawberries and tomatoes to establish where and how they should be grown in the future.
Virtual water = virtual water is the volume of water that is required to produce a particular product. A can of fizzy drink might contain 0.35 litres of water, for instance, yet it also requires around 200 litres to grow and process the sugar that goes into it. A pair of leather shoes may contain no water at all, but it requires 8,000 litres to grow the feed, support the cow and then process its skin before you start wearing the shoes. Add all this virtual water together and you have a water footprint for a person, a business, a community or a country.
In the UK, we consume far more water to support our lifestyles than most imagine - a typical British household uses 30 times as much virtual water as the amount it obtains through the taps for washing, cooking or drinking. When virtual water is taken into account, consumers in developed nations are leaving a large water footprint not just in their own countries but across the globe too. Only 38% of the UK's total footprint, for instance, comes from our own resources. The other 62% comes from other parts of the planet (we are the world's sixth largest net importer of virtual water) . But since water is in many ways a finite and, in some places, a dwindling resource that is also the cause of conflict, this massive import of virtual water too often comes at the expense of people and ecosystems that can ill afford to lose it.
read more from The Guardian
and a useful website here
Monday 18 August 2008
Should we lose land and homes to the sea?
Is this stretch of coastline affected by erosional processes or deposition?
What evidence is there to support this?
What are the wooden structures shown on the sands and what purpose do they serve?
Read the article from the Independent here
Why are 'stretches of Britain's coastline doomed'?
Lord Smith suggests that the government is not taking environmental issues seriously and cites three projects to support his view. Explain the reasons for the proposed projects and state why these are not necessarily the best from the environmental perspective.
Some parts of the British coastline are so badly eroded they are not worth protecting from the sea, the new head of the Environment Agency has said.
Lord Smith of Finsbury said work was already under way to identify areas of the east and south coast most at risk.
The threat to low lying areas from rising sea levels is highlighted, especially in parts of East Anglia, and Lord Smith refers to 'engineering solutions' being offered in some places. What are 'engineering solutions'?
Lord Smith suggests that the environment agency will have to identify "priority areas" and he warned: "We are almost certainly not going to be able to defend absolutely every bit of coast – it would simply be an impossible task both in financial terms and engineering terms."
How might some communities react to this statement? Who benefits? who might lose out?
For more information and the views of people affected by the issues of coastal erosion, look at the Happisburgh website by clicking here
What evidence is there to support this?
What are the wooden structures shown on the sands and what purpose do they serve?
Read the article from the Independent here
Why are 'stretches of Britain's coastline doomed'?
Lord Smith suggests that the government is not taking environmental issues seriously and cites three projects to support his view. Explain the reasons for the proposed projects and state why these are not necessarily the best from the environmental perspective.
Some parts of the British coastline are so badly eroded they are not worth protecting from the sea, the new head of the Environment Agency has said.
Lord Smith of Finsbury said work was already under way to identify areas of the east and south coast most at risk.
The threat to low lying areas from rising sea levels is highlighted, especially in parts of East Anglia, and Lord Smith refers to 'engineering solutions' being offered in some places. What are 'engineering solutions'?
Lord Smith suggests that the environment agency will have to identify "priority areas" and he warned: "We are almost certainly not going to be able to defend absolutely every bit of coast – it would simply be an impossible task both in financial terms and engineering terms."
How might some communities react to this statement? Who benefits? who might lose out?
For more information and the views of people affected by the issues of coastal erosion, look at the Happisburgh website by clicking here
Sunday 10 August 2008
Thursday 31 July 2008
Canadian Arctic sheds ice chunk
Nearly 20 sq km (eight sq miles) of ice from the Ward Hunt shelf has split away from Ellesmere Island, according to satellite pictures.
Loss of ice in the Arctic, and in particular the extensive sea-ice, has global implications. The "white parasol" at the top of the planet reflects energy from the Sun straight back out into space, helping to cool the Earth.
Read the full article from BBC news here
Tuesday 29 July 2008
Californian earthquake
The quake made buildings in the city shake and was felt as far south as San Diego
The US Geological Survey said the tremor had a magnitude of 5.8
The epicentre of the quake was located 29 miles south-east of downtown Los Angeles, near Chino Hills in San Bernardino County
Tuesday 8 July 2008
First hurricane of the season
Bertha Builds Into 1st Atlantic Hurricane
Some nice links on this website including ones which allow you to track all storms of 2008 season.
You might also like to check out this website which has lots of detailed information and relevant maps of sea temperatures etc for tropical storms.
Click here for another good website for tracking storms.
Some nice links on this website including ones which allow you to track all storms of 2008 season.
You might also like to check out this website which has lots of detailed information and relevant maps of sea temperatures etc for tropical storms.
Click here for another good website for tracking storms.
Monday 7 July 2008
What does Global Warming look like?
Series of before/after photos showing effects of global warming on number of American cities
here
here
Regeneration of wetlands
Large areas of wetlands must be created over the next 50 years to safeguard wildlife, counteract climate change and reduce flooding, say conservationists. Read the whole article on BBC news website
Further details can also be found on Wetland Vision Partnership website
Wednesday 2 July 2008
India unveils climate change plan
The Indian government has unveiled a national action plan to confront the threat posed by climate change.
The Prime minister said the plan envisaged a gradual shift to greater reliance on sustainable sources of energy. The development of India's capacity to tap solar power would be central to the strategy.
The Prime minister said the plan envisaged a gradual shift to greater reliance on sustainable sources of energy. The development of India's capacity to tap solar power would be central to the strategy.
The action plan makes no commitment to cut India's carbon emissions.
India's government says that it must strive to lift much of the country's population out of poverty. It argues that its carbon emissions per head of population are only a fraction of those of rich countries.
India's government says that it must strive to lift much of the country's population out of poverty. It argues that its carbon emissions per head of population are only a fraction of those of rich countries.
Read the full report from the BBC news website here
Thursday 26 June 2008
UK plans big wind power expansion
Thousands of new wind turbines could be built across the UK over the coming decade as part of a £100bn plan to boost renewable energy.Under the government's plans an extra 4,000 onshore and 3,000 offshore turbines will be needed.
Follow the link and other related videos and news reports
Thursday 19 June 2008
is this what it takes to make us reduce, reuse and recycle?
Read the article to find out what is being proposed.
How does the UK compare to our European neighbours when it comes to reducing our waste output?
How does the UK compare to our European neighbours when it comes to reducing our waste output?
Tuesday 17 June 2008
The price for cheaper fashions
Primark has a reputation for low cost fashions.
Why has the company stopped trading with three Indian companies?
What are the underlying issues?
Read the following article published on 'TIMESONLINE' website
And prior to the Panorama programme on BBC1 on Monday 23rd June, is this article from
The Observer
Fund to save Congo Basin rainforest launched
The Congo Basin Forest Fund has been set up to protect the rainforest by paying African governments and its indigenous people to manage its vast resources sustainably.The Congo rainforest is the second largest in the world and contains more than a quarter of the planet's remaining tropical rainforest. Every week an area the size of 25,000 football pitches is cut down in the Congo Basin.
The UN warns that two-thirds of this rainforest will be gone by 2040.
It is home to more than 50m people, supports an estimated 10,000 plant species, 1,000 types of birds and 400 different kinds of mammals.
Read more in the Telegraph article Link
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