Friday, February 01, 2013
Somerset County Council cuts.
On the news page of the Somerset wildlife Trust web site is this statement.
"Somerset Local Nature Partnership (SLNP), which represents a wide range of organisations and individuals, including RSPB and Somerset Wildlife Trust has today sent a strongly worded letter to council leader John Osman asking him to urgently suspend implementing the cuts outlined in the County’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for its Countryside, ecology and environment services. These were considered by the County’s scrutiny committee yesterday and will go to full cabinet on 6 February."
This political development is one of the most worrying so far . The flow of bad news for the natural beauty and health of the natural environment in our lovely Somerset has been gathering pace for several years now and this latest is unacceptable.
The Wildlife Trust together with the RSPB are making strong representation to the Leader of the Council and I expect we will hear a lot more about this from now on.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Climate Change and Global Warming
Tweeting a link to this report following the Observer editorial today. Here is the intro paragraph.
Federal Advisory Committee Draft Climate Assessment Report Released for Public Review
A 60-person Federal Advisory Committee (The "National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee" or NCADAC) has overseen the development of this draft climate report.
The NCADAC, whose members are available here (and in the report), was established under the Department of Commerce in December 2010 and is supported through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is a federal advisory committee established as per the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972. The Committee serves to oversee the activities of the National Climate Assessment. Its members are diverse in background, expertise, geography and sector of employment. A formal record of the committee can be found at the NOAA NCADAC website.
The NCADAC has engaged more than 240 authors in the creation of the report. The authors are acknowledged at the beginning of the chapters they co-authored.
This a link to the report:
http://ncadac.globalchange.gov
Friday, December 14, 2012
7:00AM GMT 13 Dec 2012
You can read this article by clicking on the link above.
"Owen Paterson, the Environment Secretary, is considering merging the work of Natural England and the Environment Agency as part of the “bonfire of the quangos”.
The Wildlife Trusts fear this will lead to a cut in staff and budgets, threatening key programmes to protect rare species.
Even more seriously, the review suggests that Natural England should “support and contribute to the Government's aims and priorities as effectively as possible".
But legal advice commissioned by the RSPB points out that this clashes with NE’s original purpose, that is "to ensure that the natural environment is conserved.”
Mike Clarke, Chief Executive of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said the review threatened the independence of NE and therefore its ability to stand up to the Government on controversial planning decisions."
Just seen this news item. I must do some more research on it!
Saturday, December 08, 2012
Doha Climate Talks
There is plenty to read about these talks. I haven't heard much if anything on the BBC News about the importance of Global agreement on climate change. The Guardian as usual is a good place to see what is going on or not!!
Apparently Lord Monkton was escorted / thrown out of the talks for impersonating a Burmese delegate.
Click here :http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/dec/08/climate-change-talks-deadlocked-summit?intcmp=239
Climate change talks deadlocked on final day of UN summit
Talks on a new climate deal ground on through Friday night in Qatar, as countries failed to agree on key issues including: rescuing the Kyoto protocol, finance and compensation for poor countries suffering the effects of climate change, and how to structure a proposed new global climate change agreement.
The negotiations, which have gone on for more than a fortnight, looked set to last for most of Saturday. But the marathon session left many delegates hopeful of rescuing a deal amid the frustration and confusion of the night.
"We have worked without a break and people realise we need to go home with something," said one delegate.
The EU is understood to have proposed a deadline of 3pm Saturday (12pm GMT) for adopting final amendments, but every deadline that has been set so far in the last days of talks has been breached.
Ed Davey, the UK energy and climate secretary, worked through the night, meeting with ministers from developed and developing countries in an attempt to secure a deal.
Saturday, December 01, 2012
Bees and the Rachel Carson legacy
Session 2012-13
Insects and Insecticides
Written evidence submitted by The Wildlife Trusts
The Wildlife Trusts welcome the opportunity to submit evidence to the Environment Audit Committee (EAC) regarding insects and insecticides.
Our evidence focuses on neonicotinoid insecticides, in particular:
· The impacts of neonicotinoids on insect pollinators (honeybees, bumblebees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths)
· Half-life in soil; routes of exposure and contamination of non- target vegetation (such as that found along field margins)
· Impacts on ecosystems in the agricultural landscape
· Inadequacy of risk assessment for these types of insecticides
The Wildlife Trusts’ position
1. There is a growing body of evidence that shows that neonicotinoids have a detrimental effect at sub-lethal doses on insect pollinators. For this reason, The Wildlife Trusts believe that until it can be categorically proven that neonicotinoids are not adversely impacting pollinator populations, and by extension ecosystem health, Government should adopt the precautionary principle and place a moratorium on their use on all outdoor crops.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
The story about a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo in Australia.
Anyone using the Internet gets a lot of emails , some from friends and some not so friendly.
I often ignore them and just delete even from friends because I just don't have time to look at everything.
But if I do look I often try to find out more about the content because they often don't have the name of the originator or any reference and I have just done so to find out where this story came from.
I'm telling you all this because the email does contain a series of lovely photos showing an injured female cockatoo , rescued after a road accident, wing amputated, kept in a cage but still attracted a passing wild male bird and eventually with the helpful rescuer raised a couple of offspring! To find out the source of the story use the link below.
http://www.northwestbirdclub.org/InTheNews.htm You'll see there is even a book about the story!
I don't know how to share the email with you but this is one of the pictures it contained. I might just add one photo with every post over the next few weeks.
It makes a good interlude after all the ongoing gloom and doom.
I often ignore them and just delete even from friends because I just don't have time to look at everything.
But if I do look I often try to find out more about the content because they often don't have the name of the originator or any reference and I have just done so to find out where this story came from.
I'm telling you all this because the email does contain a series of lovely photos showing an injured female cockatoo , rescued after a road accident, wing amputated, kept in a cage but still attracted a passing wild male bird and eventually with the helpful rescuer raised a couple of offspring! To find out the source of the story use the link below.
http://www.northwestbirdclub.org/InTheNews.htm You'll see there is even a book about the story!
It makes a good interlude after all the ongoing gloom and doom.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
World Bank Report on the effects of Climate Change
Here are some extracts from Transition Langport Newsletter.
These two items caught my attention and are worth posting here for anyone interested in the future of wildlife in our beautiful Somerset.
South Somerset Climate Action campaigns for sustainable - and better - communities which will involve: reliable food supplies; protection and careful use of our biological heritage, forests, fresh water & oceans, fuels and minerals; renewable energy generation; waste limitation and pollution control.
The report Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided is a result of contributions from a wide range of experts from across the globe. We thank everyone who contributed to its richness and multidisciplinary outlook.
Foreword
It is my hope that this report shocks us into action. Even for those of us already committed to fighting climate change, I hope it causes us to work with much more urgency.
This report spells out what the world would be like if it warmed by 4 degrees Celsius, which is what scientists are nearly unanimously predicting by the end of the century, without serious policy changes.
The 4°C scenarios are devastating: the inundation of coastal cities; increasing risks for food production potentially leading to higher malnutrition rates; many dry regions becoming dryer, wet regions wetter; unprecedented heat waves in many regions, especially in the tropics; substantially exacerbated water scarcity in many regions; increased frequency of high-intensity tropical cyclones; and irreversible loss of biodiversity, including coral reef systems.
And most importantly, a 4°C world is so different from the current one that it comes with high uncertainty and new risks that threaten our ability to anticipate and plan for future adaptation needs.
The lack of action on climate change not only risks putting prosperity out of reach of millions of people in the developing world, it threatens to roll back decades of sustainable development.
It is clear that we already know a great deal about the threat before us. The science is unequivocal that humans are the cause of global warming, and major changes are already being observed: global mean warming is 0.8°C above pre industrial levels; oceans have warmed by 0.09°C since the 1950s and are acidifying; sea levels rose by about 20 cm since pre-industrial times and are now rising at 3.2 cm per decade; an exceptional number of extreme heat waves occurred in the last decade; major food crop growing areas are increasingly affected by drought.
Despite the global community’s best intentions to keep global warming below a 2°C increase above pre-industrial climate, higher levels of warming are increasingly likely. Scientists agree that countries’ cur- rent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change emission pledges and commitments would most likely result in 3.5 to 4°C warming. And the longer those pledges remain unmet, the more likely a 4°C world becomes.
Data and evidence drive the work of the World Bank Group. Science reports, including those produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, informed our decision to ramp up work on these issues, leading to, a World Development Report on climate change designed to improve our understanding of the implications of a warming planet; a Strategic Framework on Development and Climate Change, and a report on Inclusive Green Growth. The World Bank is a leading advocate for ambitious action on climate change, not only because it is a moral imperative, but because it makes good economic sense.
But what if we fail to ramp up efforts on mitigation? What are the implications of a 4°C world? We commissioned this report from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics to help us understand the state of the science and the potential impact on development in such a world.
These two items caught my attention and are worth posting here for anyone interested in the future of wildlife in our beautiful Somerset.
South Somerset Climate Action campaigns for sustainable - and better - communities which will involve: reliable food supplies; protection and careful use of our biological heritage, forests, fresh water & oceans, fuels and minerals; renewable energy generation; waste limitation and pollution control.
-------------------------------------------------
Hello All,
I only came across the World Bank's recent report 'Turn down the Heat' by accident when I was reading through the Guardian's 'Climate Change' articles. Since the World Bank is hardly one of those left-wing organisations that the UK media love to deride, you might have thought that we would have heard about the report before now. However, I could not, for example, find any reference to it in the BBC's news and current affairs coverage - but then I guess that avoiding 4 degrees C of global warming is too trivial a matter to be placed before the British public. Anyway here is the link to the World Bank's report:
http://climatechange.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/Turn_Down_the_heat_Why_a_4_degree_centrigrade_warmer_world_must_be_avoided.pdf
Even if it is not considered sufficiently important by the BBC, Sky News and newspapers other than the Guardian, perhaps you know of ways to get the report in front of more people than it would otherwise reach?
Best wishes,
Peter R
I only came across the World Bank's recent report 'Turn down the Heat' by accident when I was reading through the Guardian's 'Climate Change' articles. Since the World Bank is hardly one of those left-wing organisations that the UK media love to deride, you might have thought that we would have heard about the report before now. However, I could not, for example, find any reference to it in the BBC's news and current affairs coverage - but then I guess that avoiding 4 degrees C of global warming is too trivial a matter to be placed before the British public. Anyway here is the link to the World Bank's report:
http://climatechange.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/Turn_Down_the_heat_Why_a_4_degree_centrigrade_warmer_world_must_be_avoided.pdf
Even if it is not considered sufficiently important by the BBC, Sky News and newspapers other than the Guardian, perhaps you know of ways to get the report in front of more people than it would otherwise reach?
Best wishes,
Peter R
The report Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided is a result of contributions from a wide range of experts from across the globe. We thank everyone who contributed to its richness and multidisciplinary outlook.
Foreword
It is my hope that this report shocks us into action. Even for those of us already committed to fighting climate change, I hope it causes us to work with much more urgency.
This report spells out what the world would be like if it warmed by 4 degrees Celsius, which is what scientists are nearly unanimously predicting by the end of the century, without serious policy changes.
The 4°C scenarios are devastating: the inundation of coastal cities; increasing risks for food production potentially leading to higher malnutrition rates; many dry regions becoming dryer, wet regions wetter; unprecedented heat waves in many regions, especially in the tropics; substantially exacerbated water scarcity in many regions; increased frequency of high-intensity tropical cyclones; and irreversible loss of biodiversity, including coral reef systems.
And most importantly, a 4°C world is so different from the current one that it comes with high uncertainty and new risks that threaten our ability to anticipate and plan for future adaptation needs.
The lack of action on climate change not only risks putting prosperity out of reach of millions of people in the developing world, it threatens to roll back decades of sustainable development.
It is clear that we already know a great deal about the threat before us. The science is unequivocal that humans are the cause of global warming, and major changes are already being observed: global mean warming is 0.8°C above pre industrial levels; oceans have warmed by 0.09°C since the 1950s and are acidifying; sea levels rose by about 20 cm since pre-industrial times and are now rising at 3.2 cm per decade; an exceptional number of extreme heat waves occurred in the last decade; major food crop growing areas are increasingly affected by drought.
Despite the global community’s best intentions to keep global warming below a 2°C increase above pre-industrial climate, higher levels of warming are increasingly likely. Scientists agree that countries’ cur- rent United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change emission pledges and commitments would most likely result in 3.5 to 4°C warming. And the longer those pledges remain unmet, the more likely a 4°C world becomes.
Data and evidence drive the work of the World Bank Group. Science reports, including those produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, informed our decision to ramp up work on these issues, leading to, a World Development Report on climate change designed to improve our understanding of the implications of a warming planet; a Strategic Framework on Development and Climate Change, and a report on Inclusive Green Growth. The World Bank is a leading advocate for ambitious action on climate change, not only because it is a moral imperative, but because it makes good economic sense.
But what if we fail to ramp up efforts on mitigation? What are the implications of a 4°C world? We commissioned this report from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and Climate Analytics to help us understand the state of the science and the potential impact on development in such a world.
Oaken Wood is at risk, you can help us save it - The Woodland Trust
Oaken Wood is at risk, you can help us save it - The Woodland Trust
The Kent Wildlife Trust is working with the Woodland Trust to save this Wood. Here is a quote from the Woodland Trust web site:
The Kent Wildlife Trust is working with the Woodland Trust to save this Wood. Here is a quote from the Woodland Trust web site:
Over 32 hectares of ancient woodland in Kent under threat from plans to quarry into Oaken Wood.
Over 6,500 of you helped us to convince Secretary of State Eric Pickles to ‘call in’ the planning application for a public inquiry. Now we have the chance to ensure that the plans are examined in detail.
The public inquiry is due to start 27th November 2012. The Woodland Trust, along with Kent Wildlife Trust, is taking part and we are currently preparing our evidence to present to the Planning Inspector.
Public meeting, Talk tonight 22nd Nov
Due to very bad weather with high winds, recent flooding and heavy rain due in the next hour or so we have had to cancel our public meeting on the history and folklore of herbs and how they relate to todays usage.
Apologies for late cancellation. We hope to rearrange the talk at a later date.
Apologies for late cancellation. We hope to rearrange the talk at a later date.
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