Some positive news on the whaling front, where it appears that protesters (including the Sea Shepherds) have managed to hinder the Japanese whaling fleet to an extent that they have failed to hit their targets for "scientific whaling".
See this BBC article.
Certainly a step in the right direction and one that will hopefully bring more awareness to the issue!
Monday 14 April 2008
Thursday 10 April 2008
In search of Garbage Island
For the full series of these videos please visit the VBS.TV website.
Plastic filling up our oceans is a very major and real threat and it is an issue we must start to address. Reducing our dependency on plastic is a necessary step we need to take. And that can start with plastic bags.
Wednesday 9 April 2008
Algae Fuel for the future
Debate about the actual benefits of biofuels seems to have been running for a fair while now, with many studies indicating that the effects of clearing such vast swathes of land to produce these supposedly "green fuels" far outweigh the benefits in terms of greenhouse emissions (New York Times article).
There is much concern also on the escalating cost of food around the world, a situation that the production of biofuels does nothing to benefit; demand for ethanol already having caused the price of sugar to double (see BBC article)!
Targets set by the EU and the United States seem to have forced the situation of a rapid increase in biofuel production, without first considering the different techniques and setting standards in the quality of production on a global green scale. Consequently rainforests in Brazil and many other developing countries around the world are being cleared, leading to not only greenhouse emissions from their burning and ploughing but also reducing the amount of carbon sinks globally. A very worrying prospect given how these targets were predominantly set in an attempt to slow carbon emissions.
A technology that I recently heard about (see link) seems like an ingenious new way to use the carbon dioxide emissions from power stations to grow algae; the algae then being converted into biodiesel or ethanol. Testing has apparently been carried out by GreenFuel Technologies which have already demonstrated algae-based fuels powering diesel cars.
Perhaps algae will be a useful source of renewable fuel for the future or maybe not. But it certainly seems a lot more sensible that the apparently hasty shift towards biofuels, which are only serving to destroy the planet quicker in their current remit.
There is much concern also on the escalating cost of food around the world, a situation that the production of biofuels does nothing to benefit; demand for ethanol already having caused the price of sugar to double (see BBC article)!
Targets set by the EU and the United States seem to have forced the situation of a rapid increase in biofuel production, without first considering the different techniques and setting standards in the quality of production on a global green scale. Consequently rainforests in Brazil and many other developing countries around the world are being cleared, leading to not only greenhouse emissions from their burning and ploughing but also reducing the amount of carbon sinks globally. A very worrying prospect given how these targets were predominantly set in an attempt to slow carbon emissions.
A technology that I recently heard about (see link) seems like an ingenious new way to use the carbon dioxide emissions from power stations to grow algae; the algae then being converted into biodiesel or ethanol. Testing has apparently been carried out by GreenFuel Technologies which have already demonstrated algae-based fuels powering diesel cars.
Perhaps algae will be a useful source of renewable fuel for the future or maybe not. But it certainly seems a lot more sensible that the apparently hasty shift towards biofuels, which are only serving to destroy the planet quicker in their current remit.
Thursday 3 April 2008
March to Parliament - Marine Reserves Now
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3677800.ece
100,000 petition signings handed to Joan Ruddock, MP to bring about many more marine reserves within British waters to allow the marine wildlife to recover from the destruction caused by over-fishing.
Visit:
http://www.marinereservesnow.org.uk/
to sign the petition now.
100,000 petition signings handed to Joan Ruddock, MP to bring about many more marine reserves within British waters to allow the marine wildlife to recover from the destruction caused by over-fishing.
Visit:
http://www.marinereservesnow.org.uk/
to sign the petition now.
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