For a really interesting simulation on the birth, death and emission rates of humans for the whole planet, check out this site:
Breathing Earth - http://www.breathingearth.net/
It's based on data from the UN and populations as compiled on wikipedia.
This simulation gives us a very good visual guide to each country's contributions to global CO2 emissions. As many of studies are showing now, the emisisons from the USA and China are remarkable and extremely frightening, and this is clearly visible in this animation.
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
Budget 2008's plastic bag policy
It seems that the government obviously note plastic bags as a serious waste of global resources since plans included in the recently published Budget for 2008.
Alistair Darling said when delievering the budget:
It seems that the responsibility still lies with the supermarkets and other shops, very few of which have done anything up til now about. It seems that enforced reduction of single use plastic bags is the only way to solve the problem, as we have a stunning example of in Ireland.
Lets hope that these and the other fairly meager enviromental promises made in the Budget are actually carried out.
Alistair Darling said when delievering the budget:
"Given the damage that single-use carrier bags inflict on the environment, we want to be able to take action. We will introduce legislation to impose a charge on them if we have not seen sufficient progress on a voluntary basis.
"Legislation would come into force in 2009 and based on other countries' experience, it could lead to a 90 per cent reduction, with around 12 billion fewer plastic bags in circulation. The money raised should go to environmental charities."
It seems that the responsibility still lies with the supermarkets and other shops, very few of which have done anything up til now about. It seems that enforced reduction of single use plastic bags is the only way to solve the problem, as we have a stunning example of in Ireland.
Lets hope that these and the other fairly meager enviromental promises made in the Budget are actually carried out.
Food production's cost on the planet
Yesterday the BBC ran a really interesting 'cost of food' section exploring why the price of food is increasing.
One of the most interesting things for me were the shear numbers involved with the world's growing intake of meat products. The figure below (taken from the BBC) shows the increase of food intake in China per capita (a rise from 20kg to 50kg over the last 17 years) and the respective increase in resources that are needed to fund this increase; which obviously have a serious impact on the planet.
One interesting point that comes out of this diagram is the fact that we don't even have to look back as far back as the hunter-gathering neanderthals to see that our meat intake has far outgrown our requirements!
The implications of the increased food production for climate change are of course vast but only briefly touched upon in the BBC articles. As they mention, desertification is already accelerating in China and sub-Saharan Africa whilst the disruption of the water cycle causes considerable changes in other regions. This is not to mention the extra strain the production methods place on natural resources.
These BBC articles are definitely well worth a read especially as they help confirm my opinion that the quantities of meat that people eat, needs to be addressed. Hopefully, for the sake of the environment, this shift in thought will be made long before economic issues demand us to address the situation.
One of the most interesting things for me were the shear numbers involved with the world's growing intake of meat products. The figure below (taken from the BBC) shows the increase of food intake in China per capita (a rise from 20kg to 50kg over the last 17 years) and the respective increase in resources that are needed to fund this increase; which obviously have a serious impact on the planet.
One interesting point that comes out of this diagram is the fact that we don't even have to look back as far back as the hunter-gathering neanderthals to see that our meat intake has far outgrown our requirements!
The implications of the increased food production for climate change are of course vast but only briefly touched upon in the BBC articles. As they mention, desertification is already accelerating in China and sub-Saharan Africa whilst the disruption of the water cycle causes considerable changes in other regions. This is not to mention the extra strain the production methods place on natural resources.
These BBC articles are definitely well worth a read especially as they help confirm my opinion that the quantities of meat that people eat, needs to be addressed. Hopefully, for the sake of the environment, this shift in thought will be made long before economic issues demand us to address the situation.
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
London's Free Newspaper Farce
Cyclists in London can think themselves lucky. Why is this, apart from the obvious benefits of cycling (healthy, fewer emissions, expense etc...)?
Well it's because they manage to avoid the armies of free newspaper "pushers" found on virtually every street corner, desperately thrusting poorly-written celebrity-ridden advertising packages into people's hands. But the luck doesn't stop there because cyclists are also spared the sight of the gratuitous waste of paper created when all of these free newspapers are discarded on buses and trains.
On three of the tube lines alone, 9.5 tonnes of free newspapers are discarded every day, with maybe four times this over the whole underground network. I'm pretty sure that the stacks of papers that inevitably pile up towards the ends of lines are simply jettisoned into non-recyclable waste bins. Seems a terrible waste of resources to me!
The Metro seems to pride itself on using recycled paper and encouraging their readers to dispose of their papers in recycle bins around London. However a vast fraction of these free papers must simply be thrown in to ordinary waste bins (plus we must also take into account the lack of bins around train stations due to the threat of terrorism).
Surely its time there is some provision made, preferably by the newspaper companies who are creaming off a profit from this irresponsible publication, for recycling facilities on trains and helping facilitate the tube and train companies to separate ordinary waste from the recyclable newspaper.
I'm obviously not the first person to become frustrated by this situation and a much fuller discussion of this point can be found at this ecolocal blog. However despite comments on this quoted blog about the stand that several councils are taking against the publishers, I fail to have seen any progress on this issue.
It seems that there are campaigns to help the situation in London now (see Project Freesheet) and to start raising awareness on the waste of free newspapers.
I'll finish by urging people not to take a copy of a free newspaper from the street touts..... there'll be a spare copy (or twenty) on the tube for you anyway! And when you've done with that copy, please take it home and recycle it.
Well it's because they manage to avoid the armies of free newspaper "pushers" found on virtually every street corner, desperately thrusting poorly-written celebrity-ridden advertising packages into people's hands. But the luck doesn't stop there because cyclists are also spared the sight of the gratuitous waste of paper created when all of these free newspapers are discarded on buses and trains.
On three of the tube lines alone, 9.5 tonnes of free newspapers are discarded every day, with maybe four times this over the whole underground network. I'm pretty sure that the stacks of papers that inevitably pile up towards the ends of lines are simply jettisoned into non-recyclable waste bins. Seems a terrible waste of resources to me!
The Metro seems to pride itself on using recycled paper and encouraging their readers to dispose of their papers in recycle bins around London. However a vast fraction of these free papers must simply be thrown in to ordinary waste bins (plus we must also take into account the lack of bins around train stations due to the threat of terrorism).
Surely its time there is some provision made, preferably by the newspaper companies who are creaming off a profit from this irresponsible publication, for recycling facilities on trains and helping facilitate the tube and train companies to separate ordinary waste from the recyclable newspaper.
I'm obviously not the first person to become frustrated by this situation and a much fuller discussion of this point can be found at this ecolocal blog. However despite comments on this quoted blog about the stand that several councils are taking against the publishers, I fail to have seen any progress on this issue.
It seems that there are campaigns to help the situation in London now (see Project Freesheet) and to start raising awareness on the waste of free newspapers.
I'll finish by urging people not to take a copy of a free newspaper from the street touts..... there'll be a spare copy (or twenty) on the tube for you anyway! And when you've done with that copy, please take it home and recycle it.
Monday, 10 March 2008
climateprediction.net - Simulating climate change on your computer
http://climateprediction.net/ is a cool experiment akin to the Seti@home project. Making use of the processor of all of its member's computers when they are not being used to their full capacity, simulation models of climate change are run and analysed.
Hopefully this experiment (with the help of many people) will be able to allow us to model how global warming will affect the planet in the future.
Seems like a very worthwhile project and the success seen in the amount of data digested by Seti@home shows that, with similar subscription, could produce some really interesting results.
Sharkwater- 'The Incovenient Truth for Shark Finning'
Shark Water by Rob Stewart
With some wonderfully shot footage, Shark Water brings us a very emotional but highly depressing view of the damage caused by the shark finning industry.
Rob Stewart, the director, appears to have devoted his life to following sharks and about spreading the story about their plight. Over 100 million sharks are butchered every year for their fins. The shear act of killing the sharks is not simply the worst part- but very often they are simply finned and tossed back into the water- what a disrespectful end for such wonderful creatures.
In this film, Rob Stewart begins by trying to dispel some of the myths that exist about sharks. He points out that there are more deaths from drinks vending machines every year than from sharks with a staggering ratio of 800:5!
A brilliant point he puts across is that this majestic creatures are an ultimate predator, which have out-survived the dinosaurs, honing their hunting skills for millions of years. If sharks really were the blood thirsty "man eaters" that people believe them to be, then there would surely be many more incidents involving sharks. Films such as Jaws and sensationalist media hype paint an ill-educated and daemonising view of them; shaking people's fear of sharks is a prime objective in getting people to stand up and begin to save them.
Rob Stewart joins up with one of the crews from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (earlier post) to tackle illegal shark fishing in Costa Rica and the Galapagos. This proves to be a highly dangerous manoeuvre, both politically and physically. Whilst breaking house arrest Stewart manages to film shark finning in Costa Rica from the Taiwanese market and uncovers the enormous power that the wealthy market exerts on the Costa Rican government. Unfortunately (and this is of course sadly true for many of the world's problems) it appears that pure human greed and vanity puts shark fins on people's plates and drives this shocking situation.
The intimate story that Stewart draws you into the film with makes you feel his pain and burning desire to simply protect sharks. Some of the images that are shown will shock and appal the viewer but the message behind them will spark many many thoughts, which hopefully will provoke people to make a difference to the benefit of sharks.
Towards the end of the film a very simplistic picture is drawn about the effect that destroying shark populations has on the environment. However I think it is an argument that really brings home the message of how a matter that appears so low on the agenda for many people and countries can have a profound effect on the largest scale.
The argument runs as follows: that if we take away sharks, then smaller fish lower down the food chain thrive and populations increase without their regular predators, therefore consuming more phytoplankton. Phytoplankton is one of the largest sinks of CO2 in the world, using atmospheric CO2 in their photosynthesis to grow. So if you reduce the amount of phytoplankton then you reduce the amount of CO2 being sucked out of the atmosphere. THe greenhouse gas effects of CO2 are fairly well known and so we see how Stewart brings us to see that killing sharks could make a significant contribution to global warming.
His argument might be a little too naive for some people but the main point one could take away from this is that even "small measures" such as shark finning have serious escalating problems further along the line.
This is something I have long worried about in terms of marine life since I think it is too difficult to survey the ecological effects on populations underwater. The protection of terrestrial based species is often brought to people's attention because we can see the problems directly however the plight of subaqua species is often neglected by the public possibly because visualising the pillaging of the seas is a lot less tangible. Films like Shark Water raise people's awareness to these issues and for this reason I think everyone should
You will come out of this film feeling totally shocked and probably, like me, sick to the stomach with the devastation being reeked by the shark finning fisheries but it is without doubt a brilliant film with a story that will hopefully help bring about an end to the ridiculous act of shark finning.
There are a number of different organisations set up to stop the plight of shark
Please visit:
http://bite-back.com/
and
http://www.sharktrust.org/
to find out how we can all help protect one of the ocean's many integral parts to maintain the balance which has existed for millennia.
Go and see Shark Water and take as many friends with you as you can. Hear is the trailer:
With some wonderfully shot footage, Shark Water brings us a very emotional but highly depressing view of the damage caused by the shark finning industry.
Rob Stewart, the director, appears to have devoted his life to following sharks and about spreading the story about their plight. Over 100 million sharks are butchered every year for their fins. The shear act of killing the sharks is not simply the worst part- but very often they are simply finned and tossed back into the water- what a disrespectful end for such wonderful creatures.
In this film, Rob Stewart begins by trying to dispel some of the myths that exist about sharks. He points out that there are more deaths from drinks vending machines every year than from sharks with a staggering ratio of 800:5!
A brilliant point he puts across is that this majestic creatures are an ultimate predator, which have out-survived the dinosaurs, honing their hunting skills for millions of years. If sharks really were the blood thirsty "man eaters" that people believe them to be, then there would surely be many more incidents involving sharks. Films such as Jaws and sensationalist media hype paint an ill-educated and daemonising view of them; shaking people's fear of sharks is a prime objective in getting people to stand up and begin to save them.
Rob Stewart joins up with one of the crews from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (earlier post) to tackle illegal shark fishing in Costa Rica and the Galapagos. This proves to be a highly dangerous manoeuvre, both politically and physically. Whilst breaking house arrest Stewart manages to film shark finning in Costa Rica from the Taiwanese market and uncovers the enormous power that the wealthy market exerts on the Costa Rican government. Unfortunately (and this is of course sadly true for many of the world's problems) it appears that pure human greed and vanity puts shark fins on people's plates and drives this shocking situation.
The intimate story that Stewart draws you into the film with makes you feel his pain and burning desire to simply protect sharks. Some of the images that are shown will shock and appal the viewer but the message behind them will spark many many thoughts, which hopefully will provoke people to make a difference to the benefit of sharks.
Towards the end of the film a very simplistic picture is drawn about the effect that destroying shark populations has on the environment. However I think it is an argument that really brings home the message of how a matter that appears so low on the agenda for many people and countries can have a profound effect on the largest scale.
The argument runs as follows: that if we take away sharks, then smaller fish lower down the food chain thrive and populations increase without their regular predators, therefore consuming more phytoplankton. Phytoplankton is one of the largest sinks of CO2 in the world, using atmospheric CO2 in their photosynthesis to grow. So if you reduce the amount of phytoplankton then you reduce the amount of CO2 being sucked out of the atmosphere. THe greenhouse gas effects of CO2 are fairly well known and so we see how Stewart brings us to see that killing sharks could make a significant contribution to global warming.
His argument might be a little too naive for some people but the main point one could take away from this is that even "small measures" such as shark finning have serious escalating problems further along the line.
This is something I have long worried about in terms of marine life since I think it is too difficult to survey the ecological effects on populations underwater. The protection of terrestrial based species is often brought to people's attention because we can see the problems directly however the plight of subaqua species is often neglected by the public possibly because visualising the pillaging of the seas is a lot less tangible. Films like Shark Water raise people's awareness to these issues and for this reason I think everyone should
You will come out of this film feeling totally shocked and probably, like me, sick to the stomach with the devastation being reeked by the shark finning fisheries but it is without doubt a brilliant film with a story that will hopefully help bring about an end to the ridiculous act of shark finning.
There are a number of different organisations set up to stop the plight of shark
Please visit:
http://bite-back.com/
and
http://www.sharktrust.org/
to find out how we can all help protect one of the ocean's many integral parts to maintain the balance which has existed for millennia.
Go and see Shark Water and take as many friends with you as you can. Hear is the trailer:
Saturday, 8 March 2008
Marine Reserves Now
Go to this website:
http://www.marinereservesnow.org.uk/
and sign up now!
UK seas are home to a huge variety of wildlife, yet less than a thousandth of one percent of our sea area is fully protected.
The Marine Conservation Society is campaigning for a network of vital Marine Reserves – where our precious marine heritage and wildlife will be safe from harm, giving nature room to breathe and recover from decades of exploitation.
The Facts:
* Scientists recommend that 20- 30% of our seas should be fully protected to ensure their survival.
* Over 60% of UK fisheries are unsustainable,and delicate long-lived species continue to be damaged by destructive fishing techniques.
* Case studies abroad have shown that Marine Reserves can benefit divers, anglers, fishermen and biodiversity alike. New Zealand has 28 Marine Reserves, and 33% of the Great Barrier Reef is highly protected – many reserves have resulted in increased fish and shellfish populations, whilst biodiversity is protected from destruction.
Together we can make a real difference. Register now at www.marinereservesnow.org.uk to help convince the Government that marine conservation must be at the core of the Marine Bill.
It's our job to look after the seas for future generations, so demand Marine Reserves Now!
Thursday, 6 March 2008
Wednesday, 5 March 2008
Fair trade vs food miles
A little while ago I wondered about where the state of debate would lead between Fair Trade foods and the so-called 'Food Miles' measure. Having seen lots of shops campaigning for Fair Trade goods and many individuals campaigning for locally produced goods, I was intrigued to see which direction the debate would turn. It seemed to me that there was a real dilemma of humanitarian well-being versus climate change.On further inspection however, it appears that the odds are stacked considerably towards one camp.
Food miles are a measure for calculating how much CO2 is produced by transporting food from production to shops. In the UK 95% of fruit and over half of the veg eaten comes from abroad. However the 'food miles' are purely based on the distance travelled to get onto our shelves and take no consideration of the energy expended and greenhouse gases released during the production of the food. If one bares in mind the energy-hungry lights needed in northern Europe to grow crops, then the issue of the emissions produced during the transportation of goods from overseas seems flawed. We clearly need to think more in terms of a total food emission than simply transport.
The point also comes to an economic one since that is what Fair Trade is all about- helping self-sufficiency of the developing world. Forcing a movement towards locally produced goods would mean taking money away from these developing nations, who in general are the ones causing least the damage to the environment. The revenue generated though Fair Trade goods hopefully goes towards educating and treating disease in these countries, which I would argue would have a much more constructive long term benefit for the planet and climate change.
So having set out to raise a possible conflict that consumers might feel towards their food shopping, I now feel that perhaps the issue of Food Miles is fairly redundant until a method of accounting for the greenhouse gas emissions during production can developed.
Plastic bags - customer service over the evironment
It seems now that whenever you buy something from a shop you are automatically given a plastic bag to put it in, even if you are buying only one item. if you try to persuade the cashier that you are fine and have a rucksack, you're often given a look that says either 'how on earth will you carry that?' or that they haven't done their job well enough!Customer service seems to have taken much higher worth in the minds of the cashiers than the gratuitous waste that accompanies purchase. When reading so much about the enormous environmental issues associated with the vast amount of plastic that is starting to litter the world, it is odd to see that such a negligent attitude is taken to shopping bags- hundreds of thousands of which surely are discarded into a larger bin bag when the shopper gets home.
However rather than the cashiers being to blame it is beyond the store managers and up to the regional managers. It appears that some of the supermarkets (Marks & Spencer and Budgens) have already returned to charging a fee for plastic bags and it seems that the Government seems to be taking heed of this problem. This is especially good news given the amazing success a similar scheme has had in Ireland (with a drop in plastic bag usage of a whopping 90%). Lets hope that the Government move on this and if they operate it as a taxation scheme that the tax actually goes into other green schemes.
As with many things it's more of a shift in attitude that is needed rather than individual actions like this. However it takes people in responsibility to pass that change down. Charging for plastic bags is a start but there is still far too much plastic packaging on most products from shops, which also needs to start being tackled and this is something that would be great to see.
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