tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39134962011-11-15T17:27:30.756ZEarth-Info.Net offers environment news, links + comment. Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comBlogger6961100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1138880756500684602006-02-02T09:57:00.000Z2006-02-02T11:45:56.750Z

The UK's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is considering a scheme in which small and medium-sized firms may face pollution limits in the UK's drive to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. If these businesses exceed their allocation of permits to emit CO2 they could soon have to buy additional pollution permits from a carbon market.Large businesses in the EU, such as power stations and steel

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1138873509655944182006-02-02T09:26:00.000Z2006-02-02T11:50:41.036Z

The RSPCA is today tackling the government head-on in a desperate fight to prevent the senseless slaughter of thousands of badgers in England.Badgers are protected by law, yet the government is now consulting on whether - and how - badgers should be killed. They could be shot, snared or even gassed. The public only has until 10 March to write and object to the proposals - badger killing could

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1138819876782202162006-02-01T18:28:00.000Z2006-02-01T18:51:17.133Z

On 26 January the UK government launched a Climate Challenge Fund which aims to support climate change communication at the local and regional levels. The Fund will distribute a total of £6m over the next two financial years and support projects in England aimed at raising awareness and changing attitudes to climate change. One imaginative element of the campaign is to find 10-18 year olds who

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1138818446199066332006-02-01T18:16:00.000Z2006-02-01T18:27:26.720Z

Westmill Wind Farm Co-operative Ltd. is seeking to raise £3.75 million to build the first community owned wind farm in southern England on the Oxfordshire/ Wiltshire border.It is doing this through a Share Offer that will close on 28 February 2006. The Share Offer is open to individuals or organisations. The minimum investment is £250, the maximum is £20,000. It is being supported and modelled on

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1132062755160094822005-11-15T13:43:00.000Z2005-11-15T13:55:09.406Z

Earth-Info.Net has just launched it's first online campaign at BanTheBulb.Org!This campaign aims: (1.) to increase the use of energy-efficient light bulbs, (2.) to encourage the taxing and phasing out of incandescent light bulbs, (3.) to propose a time limit for the replacement of light fittings requiring the use of incandescent light bulbs and for altering the shopping habits of consumers and (4

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1130573241242206622005-10-29T07:22:00.000+01:002005-11-04T22:42:01.953Z

Earth Info is very sad to have learnt that Prof. Sir Richard "Dick" Southwood died on Wednesday 26 October, 2005.Prof. Southwood was the one of the fathers of modern ecology and an important mentor to many ecologists.Prof. Southwood founded and chaired the Division of Life Sciences at Imperial College London. At Imperial's Silwood Park field station he was responsible for fostering a golden

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1130420584179493732005-10-27T13:48:00.000+01:002006-11-13T13:01:33.616Z

The Wilderness Foundation has proposed that 800,000 hectares of Britain should be managed as wilderness reserves.Such a scheme could help to revitalise rural communities, where farming is likely to become uneconomic over the next 20 years, and allow the re-introduction of species that used to live in Britain, such as beaver, reindeer, lynx, auroch + elk, but which have been eliminated by a

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1130197280258379772005-10-25T00:09:00.000+01:002005-10-25T01:14:22.900+01:00

Green MEP, Caroline Lucas, has called for the introduction of domestic carbon emission rations.Sometimes called Domestic Tradeable Quotas, personal carbon rations have the potential to assist the process of contraction and convergence in global greenhouse gas emissions.They would do this by allowing every citizen to emit their fair share of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and forcing those

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1130186289883015952005-10-24T21:37:00.000+01:002005-10-24T21:38:10.003+01:00

BirdLife International have warned that hasty responses to Avian Influenza based on incomplete or unsound data could do great damage to birds and other biodiversity, while actually raising the risk to people and to the economically important poultry industry. BirdLife International’s Partners throughout Europe, such as the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK ), are working or preparing to work with their

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1122636388200813452005-07-29T12:01:00.000+01:002005-07-29T16:29:01.196+01:00

A coalition of British NGOs and MPs have called for a new law to ensure that the UK reduces its emissions of greenhouse gases. Despite Tony Blair’s concerns about climate change, UK emissions are continuing to rise, and are now higher than they were in 1997 when Labour came to power.MPs and NGOs launched the details of the proposed new law in Parliament on Wednesday 13 July 2005. They argued that

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1120601367531781352005-07-05T22:47:00.000+01:002005-07-29T14:39:14.270+01:00

The BBC are asking for questions which can be put to their Board of Governors...I have sent in the following question:"Will the BBC consider producing new editorial guidelines for the reporting and coverage of scientific uncertainty? I feel it is wrong for the BBC to continue giving a minority of climate change sceptics, who are mostly funded by the fossil fuel industry, equivalence to the

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1118317377698797082005-06-09T12:07:00.000+01:002005-06-09T13:20:50.016+01:00

I would like to ask the G8's leaders to show leadership, and to stop making excuses for their failure to end global poverty.In recent years, the rhetoric in relation to international development has become increasingly warm and positive. However, there remains depressingly little evidence that the majority of the world's richest nations are prepared to commit, even a tiny proportion of their

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1117500502645903712005-05-31T00:47:00.000+01:002005-05-31T01:57:08.256+01:00

A weir keeper,Alan Williams, has invented a trap which could help to capture a large proportion of the carp which have invaded the Murray-Darling River Basin in New South Wales, Australia.Native fish species do not jump, but carp do. Alan's ingenious trap, developed in collaboration with Ivor Stuart from Victoria's Department of Sustainability and Environment, takes advantage of this difference

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1117483718397906332005-05-30T20:44:00.000+01:002005-05-31T00:46:45.320+01:00

Australia's CSIRO and the University of Sydney have recently published a report entitled Balancing Act A triple bottom line analysis of the Australian economy. This report provides an overview of the Australian economy using a set of ten environmental, social, and financial indicators. The environmental indicators are water use, land disturbance, greenhouse emissions and energy use; the social

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1117472592549773732005-05-30T16:03:00.000+01:002005-05-30T20:18:54.603+01:00

The heads of twelve of the UK's biggest companies, including BP, Shell, HSBC Bank, BAA, John Lewis, Scottish Power have signed a joint letter asking the British government to make firm and consistent commitments to long-term action on climate change. Between them these firms employ 10,000s of people and have a turnover of £452bn.To date, few of the encouraging statements made about climate change

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1115161850776423302005-05-04T00:03:00.000+01:002005-05-06T18:32:31.036+01:00

A long time ago I promised that I would post some stories on my ecological research and travels in Australia... Below are five photographic stories which attempt to fulfill this promise. These pictures illustrate the ants I was so fascinated by, the Acacia plants whose pollination ecology I studied, the effects of introduced animals on Australia's ecology, the impacts of roads on Australia's

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1115155752975628962005-05-03T22:28:00.000+01:002005-05-30T18:48:35.990+01:00

(1.) An Australian Bull Ant viewed under a microscope (2.) A Bull Ant foraging on Acacia mearnsii (3.) A Bull Ant returning to its nest with a Lycaenid caterpillar as prey (4.) Lycaenid caterpillars at different stages of development (5.) Meat ants tending and guarding a mature Lycaenid caterpillar. Meat Ants guard Lycaenid caterpillars against predators such as Bull Ants and birds, and

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1115155522948653992005-05-03T22:24:00.000+01:002005-05-04T15:22:59.136+01:00

(1.) The foliage of most Australian Acacia species is bipinnate in juveniles, but phyllodinous in adults. A phyllode, is made from thickened leaf midrib, and more resistant to water loss than normal leaf tissue.(2.) In Africa and America all the flowers within an Acacia flower head open simultaneously over 1-3 days. In Australia, the flowers within Acacia flower heads often opened in a

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1115151525178696702005-05-03T21:04:00.000+01:002005-05-04T11:58:51.870+01:00

(1.) An Australian farm dog.(2.) A feral kitten left in a hollow tree by its mother.(3.) An anti-fruit fly sign on the border between South and Western Australia.(4.) Camel grazing on farmland near Nimbin, New South Wales.(5.) A roadsign indicating that camels are a road hazard over vast areas of Australia. During the 1880s, camels were introduced to Australia in order to transport goods across

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1115148722256669722005-05-03T20:03:00.000+01:002005-05-03T22:31:51.976+01:00

(1.) Cows crossing in front of two roadtrains. The skid marks on the road suggest road accidents involving animals are common.(2.) A sculpture inviting drivers to avoid livestock on the road.(3.) A dead kangaroo found on a road in South Australia. Roadtrains hit so many wild animals that they are usually fitted with roo bars made from huge iron girders. Drivers don't always stop for injured

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1115145206779178842005-05-03T19:22:00.000+01:002005-05-03T22:27:29.336+01:00

(1.) Land being cleared in southern Australia, with a tree burning in the foreground.(2.) A forest being cleared for cattle farming in southern Australia.(3.) Cleared land used for wheat farming in Western Australia.(4.) Cleared land suffering from dieback as a result of salinity and/or phythoptera (a fungal disease which causes root rot).(5.) Natural cycles of fire have been disrupted by farming

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1112314205377873672005-04-01T00:48:00.000+01:002005-04-03T09:40:00.526+01:00

A team of intrepid adventurers are about to set off on a race to the magnetic north pole, in aid of Medicins Sans Frontieres' work in Darfur, Sudan. This expedition will be a massive test of endurance - with teams dragging 90kg sleds in temperatures down to -50 degrees for 4 weeks!Before setting off on this awareness and fund-raising adventure the expedition team have had to learn how defend

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1110911929003604502005-03-15T17:28:00.000Z2005-03-16T10:27:49.536Z

An alien species called the Harlequin Ladybird has invaded the United Kingdom and is out-competing, even eating, native ladybird species which share aphids as their food. In an effort to monitor the effects of this invasive species the University of Cambridge, invertebrate charity Buglife, the Centre for Ecology + Hydrology and Anglia Polytechnic University have launched a survey which will

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1110884429139820412005-03-15T10:02:00.000Z2005-03-15T19:07:34.786Z

Earth Info is pleased to announce that it has launched a weblog for the Painted Dog Conservation project in Zimbabwe. The Painted Dog conservation project was set up 15 years ago by Greg Rasmussen. Over this time Greg has persuaded many farmers to stop shooting dogs, and also invented a special collar which can cut through wire snares and help drivers to see dogs on the road. Sadly, despite

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1110740591646690152005-03-13T18:36:00.000Z2005-03-14T19:12:57.036Z

Dave Walsh, the editor of the Forest Rescue Station weblog in Finland has been in touch to let this site know about the state forestry company's efforts to take over reindeer grazing areas used by the Sami people. The Sámi Reindeer Forests of Arctic Finland are amongst the few remaining areas of ancient forest left in Europe. The Reindeer Forest is under siege by the Finnish government's own

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1110558727151122222005-03-11T15:47:00.000Z2005-03-11T16:59:17.993Z

Birdlife International: Press releaseSix years after she was satellite-tagged as a chick, Donna the White Stork has been killed by power lines. Hatched in Belgium, the much-travelled Donna had left her wintering grounds in southern Spain, and died as she reached her breeding site in the Calvados region of France. Wim Van den Bossche, leader of the Storks Without Borders project, followed Donna's

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1104865991205845562005-01-04T18:41:00.000Z2005-01-17T16:01:25.296Z

On December 26th, 2004 the fourth most powerful earthquake ever recorded occurred off the coast of Aceh in north-western Indonesia. The associated movement of the Eurasian and Australian continental plates caused a series of massive tsunami (waves) to hit coastal areas of Indonesia, Thailand, India, Sri Lanka + Somalia over the next four hours. Initial estimates of the fatalities +

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1102862371342511212004-12-12T14:25:00.000Z2004-12-12T14:48:04.066Z

If you would like to buy a present that really transforms someone's life this Christmas, Earth-Info.Net would like to recommend a visit to the Send A Cow website. This charity was set up in 1988 when UK farmers sent greatly needed cows to Uganda at the end of a long and brutal civil war... Now all cows are locally sourced and it is possible for you to help communities very directly by

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1102436241097754812004-12-07T15:46:00.000Z2004-12-07T16:19:21.320Z

Dear Reader, I am sorry it has been a while since I updated this site! I have now submitted my PhD, and will try to chip away at my backlog of stories over the next few weeks. Best wishes Matt

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1095196738975495852004-09-14T20:33:00.000+01:002004-11-30T15:57:45.720Z

Below is the text to a speech Prime Minister Tony Blair gave today at a meeting hosted by the Prince of Wales' Business and the Environment Programme on the threat posed by climate change. Although the speech lacked funding commitments, the Prime Minister pledged that the UK will use its presidency of the G8 (and EU), next year, to make tackling climate change an international priority, push for

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1092750010870403992004-08-17T14:29:00.000+01:002004-08-17T14:53:46.423+01:00

An excellent Alternative Energy Blog has been launched. Recent posts include reports on the solar chimney being developed in Australia, the plans for tidal power in the New York's East River and a complaint by the UK government about the World Bank's failure to tackle the $235,000,000,000 of subsidies given to the global oil, gas + coal industries.

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1092263894521682772004-08-11T21:28:00.000+01:002004-08-12T23:14:54.736+01:00

Following the collection of 110,000 signatures a state-wide ballot will now go ahead in Colorado this November to decide whether the Colorado Renewable Energy Initiative should force the state's major utility companies (such as Xcel Energy, Aquila, Delta-Montrose and InterMountain) to obtain 10% of their energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal + hydroelectric power

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1081717181343183082004-04-11T21:59:00.000+01:002004-05-12T16:28:03.020+01:00

A new website called www.EU-votewatch.org has been set up by Friends of the Earth, WWF, Birdlife + Greenpeace in order to help voters see how Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are voting on environmental issues such as Agriculture, Air pollution, Chemicals, GM food, Liability, Nuclear power, Recycling, Renewables + Transport. The European Union is responsible for around 90% of

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1081249842858308922004-04-06T12:10:00.000+01:002004-04-11T22:59:25.546+01:00

Later today, the UK's International Development Secretary, Hillary Benn, will be meeting Uganda's President Museveni to discuss what assistance the UK can provide with tackling a crazed + murderous cult, called the Lord's Resistance Army, that has been terrorizing northern Uganda, and forcing abducted children to become soliders, for the past 18 years. You can listen to this piece from BBC Radio

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1081247498922662762004-04-06T11:31:00.000+01:002004-04-11T22:55:23.046+01:00

The latest edition of the Bretton Woods Project newsletter has just been released. This update offers plenty of high-quality retrospective analysis and the latest news on the controversial projects + policies of World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and is well worth a read. Articles on offer include: 1. The World Bank and IMF at sixty... 2. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers: a

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1081244683785476742004-04-06T10:44:00.000+01:002004-04-06T11:46:01.090+01:00

Last night Earth-Info.Net attended the Oxford launch of the Undercurrents News Network, an alternative media group, which plans to help distribute videos highlighting the work of activists from around the world. Undercurrents have been producing videos, featuring their own alternative news stories, for the past 10 years, and discovered that on average it takes 4 years for these stories to be

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1080833397968870452004-04-01T16:29:00.000+01:002004-05-12T16:28:37.520+01:00

The latest edition of BBC Radio 4's Costing the Earth programme investigates the threat posed by dryland salinity to Australia's most productive farmlands + drinking water. Dryland salinity is caused by a combination of ancient + modern events. In prehistoric times, the tectonic plate that was to become Australia was located under the sea. When this plate was eventually lifted above

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1080760425186287302004-03-31T20:13:00.000+01:002004-05-12T16:29:02.790+01:00

The European Union has told the UK government and British Nuclear Fuels that the situation regarding the UK's storage of military + civilian nuclear waste at Sellafield is "unacceptable" and must be addressed within 3 months if stiff penalties are to be avoided. The Commission is demanding that a plan of action be prepared by June 1st and, that after this date, six monthly reports must be

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1080521145910669612004-03-29T01:45:00.000+01:002004-05-12T16:29:53.336+01:00

The Australian government is to ban fishing from one third of the Great Barrier Reef and to more strictly limit the movement of shipping near the reef. Each year, the reef, which is Australia's number one tourist attraction, attracts 1,000,000 tourists and helps to inject A$4.3 billion into the national economy. However, WWF Australia has recently warned that the reef is likely to be dead

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1080331202935431472004-03-26T20:00:00.000Z2004-05-12T16:30:57.226+01:00

At a memorial conference to the 800,000 people who died during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Kofi Annan, the head of the UN (and former head of UN peace-keeping) has expressed his bitter regret that he did not do more to rally international action, and stop the killing. Sadly, Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire, the head of the peace-keeping force in Rwanda at the time, has said that he feels the

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1080235845433806292004-03-25T17:30:00.000Z2004-03-31T18:11:33.513+01:00

Jessica Matthews of DevNetJobs.Org has been in touch to let me know about her organisation's (subscription) job service which lists 100s of job opportunities + consultancy assignments in the area of International Development. In addition, DevNetJobs brings out a free, fortnightly jobs newsletter which may be subscribed to by sending a blank email to: developmentjobs-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1080181613670718262004-03-25T02:26:00.000Z2004-05-12T16:30:19.966+01:00

Today, an Environmental Expo will be taking place in the "wheatbelt" town of Dalwallinu in Western Australia. This expo will showcase some of pioneering work that is being done in this biologically diverse region to protect endangered plants, drain cleared farmland suffering from waterlogging + dryland salinity and control introduced weeds + feral pests. This event will also see the official

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1080082074059095542004-03-23T22:47:00.000Z2004-03-25T04:16:17.403Z

Greenpeace, Peter Mandleson MP + the GMB trade union are calling on the UK to stop sending "toxic" ships, containing asbestos or dangerous chemicals, to be scrapped in poor countries. At present, it is common for poorly-paid workers, in countries such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China + Turkey to be inadequately protected, and for the waste to be unsafely disposed of, while old ships are

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1080076322824971542004-03-23T21:12:00.000Z2004-03-24T02:27:33.920Z

Africa is the most incredible + vibrant place Earth-Info.Net has ever visited, and doesn't conform to a vast swathe of negative Western stereotypes. Despite this, it is undeniable that Africa has more than its fair share of problems. Some of which are eloquently summarised by contributors to a debate organised by the BBC's Africa Live! radio show, entitled: "What can stop Africa's brain

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1080057282132079982004-03-23T15:54:00.000Z2004-03-23T17:49:35.530Z

Yesterday, EU Fisheries Ministers agreed to give permanent protection to Scotland's unique cold water coral reefs, the Darwin mounds by banning deepwater bottom trawling in the area. This ban delivers a promise first made by Margaret Beckett, UK Secretary of State for the Environment made in October 2001, and has been welcomed by WWF-Scotland, who have spent the past 3 years highlighting the

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1079989468917740852004-03-22T21:04:00.000Z2004-03-23T16:43:53.280Z

The 8th Special Session of the Governing Council of the UN Environment Porgramme will be taking place in Jeju, South Korea from the 29th-31st March, 2004. This meeting is due to discuss the Environmental Dimension of Water, Sanitation and Human Settlements. A full list of the event's notification + working documents as well as further information documents can be found if you follow these links

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1079965763703986382004-03-22T14:29:00.000Z2004-03-22T22:34:55.403Z

What is the best way to reflect public opinion? An election, an opinion poll, a referendum... Much depends on the question being asked + who is asking it, but one interesting, new approach is the citizens jury. A citizens jury exposes a jury, made up of members of the public, to a range of factual evidence, and allows them to interrogate witnesses possessing a variety of different

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1079733703190792892004-03-19T22:01:00.000Z2004-03-22T20:25:20.216Z

In 2001, The Biodiversity Challenge Group, which comprised of Butterfly Conservation, Friends of the Earth, Plantlife, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Wildlife Trusts and WWF-UK challenged the UK government to reverse the declines of all the UK's threatened species + habitats by implementing a 10-point plan... The 10 key challenges were as follows:1. Imagination - deliver a

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1079641389454835542004-03-18T20:23:00.000Z2004-03-20T17:43:26.733Z

A British architect, Eric Reynolds, of Urban Space Management, has been experimenting with innovative ways of producing energy-efficient and cheap homes + offices, and has settled on converting old shipping containers. These containers are usually used to transport goods, but can be converted into habitable space with suitable windows, doors, insulation + decoration. Then, by fitting containers

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1079640646110813232004-03-18T20:10:00.000Z2004-03-18T20:56:43.153Z

Guardian Unlimited has started to compile it's environment + development stories in an online supplement called Life. Within this supplement stories are arranged according to themes such as climate change, conservation, global fishing crisis, renewable energy, spreading deserts + water. Some themes have many more reports than others, but this supplement is a welcome development. In

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1078788746752087172004-03-08T23:32:00.000Z2004-03-18T20:14:36.780Z

The UN high commissioner for refugees, Ruud Lubbers, has said that rich countries should do more to allow refugees to return to their home countries once wars have finished, and stability restored. He said that as many as 2,000,000 African refugees could now choose to go home and restart their lives, but that international community needs to be prepared to provide long-term funding + commitment

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1078788322615460062004-03-08T23:25:00.000Z2004-03-08T23:44:18.496Z

Today is International Women's Day. The World Health Organisation has decided to mark this occasion by discussing the need to combat gender inequality in the fight against HIV/AIDS Biologically, economically, socially + culturally, women are more vulnerable to infection than men, due to factors such as financial dependence on men, physical + sexual abuse from partners, and the fact that it is

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1078785161042263132004-03-08T22:32:00.000Z2004-03-09T14:32:35.513Z

The BBC is hosting a vigourous debate as to whether the production of $30 billion worth of oil is a blessing or a curse for impoverished African countries. One contributor suggests that "the paradox of plenty" results in oil revenues creating a buffer between the government and the population, which fosters corruption, and leads to a loss of transparency and accountability. Others seem to

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1078783996266848522004-03-08T22:13:00.000Z2004-03-09T14:33:41.030Z

In a severely critical report, Human Rights Watch has said that "U.S. forces operating in Afghanistan have arbitrarily detained civilians, used excessive force during arrests of non-combatants, and mistreated detainees"... The report concludes that "the US-administered system of arrest and detention in Afghanistan exists outside of the rule of law", that "The United States is setting a terrible

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1078781928042351202004-03-08T21:38:00.000Z2004-03-11T15:33:10.950Z

Have you ever heard of a man called Max Nicholson? My guess is that you haven't, but that you will have heard of SOME of the organisations he established, helped to found, or ran during his incredible career. They include The World Wide Fund for Nature (1961), The International Institute for Environment and Development , The Nature Conservancy (1949), The British Trust for Ornithology (1933),

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1078504563897386222004-03-05T16:36:00.000Z2004-03-08T21:46:08.373Z

Since 1753, humanity has scientifically named + described just over 1.5 million species using Carl Linnaeus' binomial system of classification. Under this system each organism is given one Latin name to indicate the genus (e.g. Homo) , and one as a "shorthand" name for the species (e.g. sapiens). Unfortunately, tens of millions of species remain to be named and many of the world's existing

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1078501402782591232004-03-05T15:43:00.000Z2004-03-06T16:01:43.170Z

At a gala dinner to raise funds for the Marine Stewardship Council, the UK's Prince Charles has urged people to only eat fish which are not in decline... At present stocks of cod are down to only 10% of their 1970 levels and there is a distinct possibility that the, once bountiful, cod fishery will collapse - as the Canadian Grand Banks fishery already has - unless drastic changes are made to

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1078500717249646412004-03-05T15:31:00.000Z2004-03-05T15:46:39.043Z

A report entitled Coping With Hunger And Poverty In Ethiopia has found that many Ethiopians rely on overseas food aid in order to survive and that food supplies are now less reliable than they were in 1984. Negative consequences of relying on food aid also include "long-term dependency, laziness + reduced self-reliance" and the report suggests that, rather than continue to focus on

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1078000137908701372004-02-28T20:28:00.000Z2004-03-05T15:35:09.890Z

You might like to read the US Pentagon's recent report entitled An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security, which concludes:It is quite plausible that within a decade the evidence of an imminent abrupt climate shift may become clear and reliable. It is also possible that our models will better enable us to predict the consequences. In that event the

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1078000005325139862004-02-28T20:26:00.000Z2004-02-28T20:33:54.076Z

In the US, the Natural Resources Defense Council has put together a detailed summary of the Bush administration's record when it comes to favouring short-term economic growth over long-term environmental health... The attacks on hard-won environmental protection are wide-ranging + profound, and (to be frank!) difficult to believe... I'll therefore let Bush's record on Air, Energy + Global

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1077995645225998622004-02-28T19:14:00.000Z2004-02-28T20:31:07.716Z

A report, Implications of Climate Change for Australia's Great Barrier Reef, written for WWF Australia and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council has revealed that the long-term prospects for the Reef are bleak... Under a best case scenario, global temperatures will increase by less than 2°C and, though seriously reduced in size by 2100, the Reef will slowly recover as the climate stabilises

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1077902630321065772004-02-27T17:23:00.000Z2004-02-28T18:45:29.186Z

Thirty research staff + an unknown number of giant tortoises are being held hostage by fisherman at the Charles Darwin Research Centre on the Galapagos Islands. The fishermen are unhappy that they are not allowed to fish for sharks using long lines, and that large cruise ships can no longer dock on the islands. Environmental campaigners are urging the Ecuadorian government not to cave into this

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1077901156770581602004-02-27T16:59:00.000Z2004-02-27T17:52:14.700Z

Earth-Info.Net has established a sister weblog called Environment News. The new weblog offers direct links to daily news stories, from a wide selection of respected media organisations, and can be reached via the Latest News! link at the top of this page (above the picture of the globe). The selection of stories is based on email alerts distributed by EarthWire - a service sponsored by the

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1077879908744349482004-02-27T11:05:00.000Z2004-02-27T17:02:23.296Z

Prime Minister Tony Blair is to establish an international commission to propose solutions to Africa's problems and has pledged to make the fight against poverty an "absolute priority". The commission, will consist of British politicians Tony Blair, UK Chancellor Gordon Brown and International Development Secretary Hilary Benn, activist Bob Geldof, as well as Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi + South

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1077831907244067272004-02-26T21:45:00.000Z2004-02-26T21:50:51.356Z

A blockade by Greenpeace's flagship, the Rainbow Warrior, has resulted in the Indonesian navy escorting into international water a ship (owned by the Vietnamese government) which was attempting to load a cargo of illegally felled trees. Find out more by visiting the live weblog being produced on the Rainbow Warrior.

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1077745013493313292004-02-25T21:36:00.000Z2004-02-27T11:30:18.890Z

The BBC has won the world's richest environment prize, the Zayed Prize, in recognition of its outstanding coverage of environment + sustainable development issues. Programmes cited by the judges awarding the Zayed Prize include BBC World's one-to-one interview show, Hard Talk, which has developed an effective way of grilling those in position of authority as to why they are not doing their job

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1077382787263387272004-02-21T16:59:00.000Z2004-03-19T22:11:11.450Z

Earth-Info.Net doesn't usually post entire press releases but the following one from Friends of the Earth is hard to improve + the details are interesting... The Office of Fair Trading's (OFT) long awaited review of the Supermarkets Code of Practice, published today [1] is a blow to farmers and other suppliers hoping for action to give them greater protection from the bully behaviour of the big

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1077120969812329642004-02-18T16:16:00.000Z2004-02-21T17:12:04.920Z

A conference organised by the UK Treasury, to discuss "Making Globalisation Work For All", has heard speeches by Bono, Gordon Brown MP ( Chancellor of the Exchequer), James Wolfensohn (President of the World Bank), President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Hilary Benn MP (Secretary of State for International Development), Lord Carey (Former Archbishop of Canterbury) + Cardinal Cormac. Key

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1076939462164508912004-02-16T13:51:00.000Z2004-02-18T16:20:23.043Z

A new report written by Dr Susan Hawley of The Corner House entitled Underwriting Bribery: Export Credit Agencies and Corruption highlights the hypocrisy of many of the developed world's demands for anti-corruption measures to be tightened in the developing world. This is especially the case while the same level of scutiny is not being applied to the rich world's own backyard. Extracts from the

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1076853850173250742004-02-15T14:04:00.000Z2004-02-16T13:20:17.483Z

Earth-Info.Net has established a weblog co-operative designed to enable conservation + development fieldworkers to publicise, in their own words, the reasons for their work, as well as the ups + downs they experience. The first of the conservation weblogs, called Babirusa.Org, has been built for Dr. Lynn Clayton, an ecologist who studies a rare + unusual species of pig, called a Babirusa, in

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1076853832104533912004-02-15T14:03:00.001Z2004-02-16T13:52:26.530Z

A report produced by English Nature entitled State Of Nature: Lowlands - Future Landscapes For Wildlife has called for improvements in the environmental standards of farming, better water management, and measures to reduce the impact of alien species. Key recommendations include:* Investment in environmental management + wildlife recovery on farms * Stimulation of appropriate management of

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1076853737847659642004-02-15T14:02:00.000Z2004-02-15T22:26:02.996Z

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has said that the rich world's record on protecting the global environment is appalling and that $25bn a year more will be needed to establish a proper working system of protected areas for wildlife. In 1992, 200 countries signed up to the Convention on Biological Diversity which commits rich countries to helping to fund conservation in

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1076853466768400052004-02-15T13:57:00.000Z2004-02-15T22:39:34.593Z

At its 11th session, the UN's Commission on Sustainable Development decided that its multi-year programme of work beyond 2003 would be organized on the basis of seven two-year cycles, with each cycle focusing on selected thematic clusters of issues... In each cycle, the thematic clusters of issues will be addressed in an integrated manner, taking into account economic, social + environmental

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1076853136680566032004-02-15T13:52:00.000Z2004-02-15T22:13:32.340Z

A team blog called World Changing is doing a great job of discussing ideas + practical steps that will enable us to achieve a more sustainable way of life using approaches that are already available and can be implemented straight away provided that the determination is there... It's a great approach, and a blog well worth visiting! Recent posts include a synopsis of a Pentagon report on the

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1076852313699284352004-02-15T13:38:00.000Z2004-02-15T22:14:26.576Z

The Bretton Woods Project has released its latest Update (No. 38) of news which contains the usual range of fascinating insights and comments on, and criticism of, World Bank + the International Monetary Fund activities... One report includes the following, highly evocative description of the proceedings at a meeting organised by the UK Department for International Development, the World Bank,

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1076851619232393322004-02-15T13:26:00.001Z2004-02-15T22:28:05.436Z

The following extract comes from a newsletter produced by Globe UK, an all-party sustainable development group based in the UK's Houses of Parliament, and outlines how the UK's Department for Trade and Industry plans to change the way that the UK's nuclear waste is disposed of, and to establish Nuclear Decommissioning Authority... "On the day that saw the news dominated by the Hutton Report, the

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1076851609170286282004-02-15T13:26:00.000Z2004-02-15T22:29:29.716Z

The UK's National Audit Office, which independently scrutinises public spending on behalf of Parliament, has produced a damning report which highlights the conflicts of interest, hidden costs and risks to the taxpayer/energy market that resulted from the way British Energy (and its associated nuclear liabilities) were privatised in 1996. Responding to the National Audit Office Report into

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1075979812348863162004-02-05T11:16:00.000Z2004-02-13T15:00:56.466Z

Roger Harrabin, the environment correspondent for BBC Radio 4's Today programme, has teamed up with the Environmental Investigation Agency + Telapak to expose how thousands of tonnes of illegally logged Ramin timber from Indonesia are being laundered through Malaysian ports on to world markets... You can listen to Roger's undercover interview with a middle man in the smuggling trade here...

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1075917031674611342004-02-04T17:50:00.000Z2004-02-15T22:09:42.530Z

Cafe Direct the UK's largest fair trade hot drinks company is launching a public share issue designed to raise £5 million ($9.1 million). At the moment world coffee prices are extremely low and many developing country farmers are being forced to sell their produce at a loss. Cafe Direct is unusual, however, in that it agrees to pay farmers a guaranteed minimum price, which can be 2 or 3

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1075916288273866692004-02-04T17:38:00.000Z2004-02-04T18:09:24.590Z

At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Kofi Annan, the secretary general of the United Nations announced that he will be convening a meeting to refocus attention on the problems faced by the worlds poor, and find practical solutions to their plight. Mr. Annan expressed frustration that the world's attention had been diverted away from tackling global poverty over the past

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1075914031643929952004-02-04T17:00:00.000Z2004-04-06T11:48:21.263+01:00

A report produced by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) + Birdlife International has found that, over the past 25 years, intensive farming practices have reduced the number of bird species found in Europe by one third. The RSPB says that:"These declines have been severest in countries in north-west Europe. In the UK, for example, between 1970 and 1999, the skylark declined by

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1075911231321848312004-02-04T16:13:00.000Z2004-02-04T17:25:31.576Z

Glen Barry the editor of the excellent www.environmentalsustainability.info website has launched a discussion forum, called Earth Talk, which aims to stimulate, and host, discussions of issues relating to environmental sustainability, forests, the climate + water. Earth-Info.Net whole-heartedly recommends a visit to this site, and wishes Glen well with his mighty endeavours... which

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1075910472351597152004-02-04T16:01:00.000Z2004-02-04T16:30:39.716Z

Auditors Valid International have said that, in 2002 and 2003, British non-governmental organisations overstated the severity of a famine affecting southern Africa and should look at ways to improve the effectiveness of the aid they provide to those in need, and of reducing the use of emotive language in fund-raising campaigns. You can access the full report on the Disaster Emergency

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1075908930062564802004-02-04T15:35:00.000Z2004-02-04T16:18:21.686Z

Many thanks to those of you who wished me well during the build up to my PhD viva... You know who you are! The good news is that my examiners were firm but fair, and that I rather perversely enjoyed the experience! The bad news is that I now need to make quite a few corrections - though fortunately nothing too serious or daunting. Preparing for my viva, which tested and challenged

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1074179328189245312004-01-15T15:08:00.000Z2004-02-04T16:18:54.543Z

There's some interesting juxtaposing of issues going on over at the BBC News Online website. In a pro-human space exploration piece, their science editor, Dr. David Whitehouse, strongly praises "inspirational" US plans to spend (only!) $86 billion on NASA over the next 5 years... While the more down-to-earth environment correspondent, Alex Kirby, reports on the World Economic Forum's Global

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073931760350606562004-01-12T18:22:00.000Z2004-02-04T16:16:59.716Z

Last year's Australian of the Year was Professor Fiona Stanley, the epidemiologist who discovered that giving a folate supplement to mothers could prevent their children from being born with spina bifida. In a speech given to the National Press Club in Canberra, Prof. Stanley makes a rock solid case for tackling the underlying causes of problems, rather than overwhelmingly concentrating, as we

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073923927311087262004-01-12T16:12:00.000Z2004-01-12T18:31:09.346Z

Every year some 50,000-100,000 women sustain an obstetric fistula while giving birth. Unless offered surgery, this internal tearing results in the mother leaking urine + faeces uncontrollably, which often leads to them being ostracised by those around them... However, for as little as $60 this ailment can be treated, and the lives of sufferers transformed for the better... Follow these

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073920560558660042004-01-12T15:16:00.000Z2004-02-04T17:23:39.560Z

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, our close primate relatives, the Orang-utans may go extinct in the wild within the next 20 years... The loss of the Orangutans' rainforest habitat, which is often converted into oil palm plantations, is one of the greatest threats to the survival of this species, and is ironically being encouraged by consumers in Europe and the US... This is

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073845037940294182004-01-11T18:17:00.000Z2004-01-12T15:34:45.216Z

Earth-Info.Net admits that it is interesting to see what the surface of Mars looks like, but seriously questions the values of any country (or planet!) that ranks the acquisition of this sort of knowledge above tackling fundamental problems of critical urgency + great practical use to its own safety + survival. At the moment millions of people die of preventable diseases (either because they

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073839367655391942004-01-11T16:42:00.000Z2004-01-11T18:40:01.510Z

In an article for the journal Science, Prof. David King the UK government's chief scientific adviser has warned that climate change is the biggest threat to international security. Threats associated with climate change include increased flooding, drought, hunger + the spread of debilitating diseases. Prof. King also says that we cannot explain climate change over the last 100 years without

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073838709081912032004-01-11T16:31:00.000Z2004-01-11T17:24:40.550Z

Oil company Shell has announced that it is cutting the size of its proven oil + gas reserves by 20%. This reassessment has lead to a 7% drop in the company's share price and highlighted the fact that only 70 to 90% of extracted oil and gas reserves are being replaced by new discoveries.

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073595655034227512004-01-08T21:00:00.000Z2004-01-11T17:24:56.283Z

In its annual report, State of the World 2004, the Worldwatch Institute says that the world is consuming goods + services at an unsustainable pace, with serious consequences for the well-being of people and the planet. Around 1.7 billion people worldwide-more than a quarter of humanity-have entered the "consumer class," adopting the diets, transportation systems, and lifestyles that were limited

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073585145259261952004-01-08T18:05:00.000Z2004-01-11T17:23:19.536Z

OneWorld.Net's Environmental Activism page has posted a link to an interesting article written for Society Guardian, by former UK environment minister John Gummer MP, on the recent loss of influence experienced by international NGOs... Ironically, Mr. Gummer suggests that this loss of influence has happened just as many NGOs have succeeded in securing unparallelled access to governments +

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073520494202404862004-01-08T00:08:00.000Z2004-01-08T18:18:50.280Z

A poll for Body Shop estimates that in the UK approx. 750,000 mobile phones have been thrown away since Christmas. Incredibly, only 4% of people, who got new phones for Christmas, said that they would recycle their old one... This is a real shame as there are now a number of companies that will recycle mobile phones intact or break them up their valuable components + materials... One raw

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073514568440661412004-01-07T22:29:00.000Z2004-01-12T15:33:31.123Z

Scientists at a conference hosted by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, in Cambridge UK, plan to spend the next two days attempting to think the unthinkable in order to establish what macro-engineering options may offer realistic alternatives to the Kyoto Protocol if the mechanisms, for cutting concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, proposed under the 10-year old

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073507423243735092004-01-07T20:30:00.000Z2004-01-07T22:56:30.530Z

In a speech to the Oxford Farming Conference the UK's Food + Farming Minister Lord Whitty has called on farmers to "take advantage of 'revolutionary' agricultural reforms which pave the way to a profitable + sustainable future for the countryside." He suggests that they do this by responding to the needs of the market rather than continuing to farm in ways that have traditionally attracted

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073506279208572602004-01-07T20:11:00.000Z2004-01-07T22:00:48.980Z

An investigation by Dr Yunes Teinaz, a senior Haringey environmental health officer has lead to a north London shopkeeper, Paulina Owusu Pepra, being jailed for three months, after being convicted by Haringey Magistrates' Court of selling meat unfit for human consumption. In the UK this is the first ever prison sentence to be given for selling bushmeat (a general term used to include wild

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073505268172958002004-01-07T19:54:00.000Z2004-01-07T20:01:46.776Z

A report, Extinction Risk From Climate Change, summarised in a paper for Nature, has calculated that the survival of millions of species is threatened by levels of climate change likely to occur by the year 2050. This analyses of six biodiversity-rich regions, including Europe, Brazil + Costa Rica, suggests that 15–37% of a sample of 1,103 land plants + animals from will eventually become

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073237786082345862004-01-04T17:36:00.000Z2004-01-07T20:46:54.020Z

Twenty years ago a news report by the BBC's Michael Buerk shocked the world's public + politicians into action by showing the devastating effects of a war + drought-induced famine on Ethiopians, who were then dying in their thousands in refugee camps, or unnoticed on their own land... Following this news report, Bob Geldof organised a Christmas single and two Live Aid concerts, which pricked

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3913496.post-1073150330611670022004-01-03T17:18:00.000Z2004-01-04T18:30:46.333Z

The human death toll from the recent earthquake in the Iranian town of Bam has now reached at least 28,000, and it is possible that up to 50,000+, of the town's former population of 80,000, are now dead. A calamity on this scale is hard to comprehend, but the need for food, shelter + medicines is obviously considerable. Unfortunately, even basic support on this sort of scale is expensive, and

Matt Prescotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14104361844199902873noreply@blogger.com