Sunday 29 November 2009

World Cup 2010 Football to footprints: World Cup's carbon impact

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Africa's first football World Cup will generate 2.75m tonnes of carbon emissions, one of the biggest environmental impacts of any sporting event in history, a study has found.

The finals in South Africa next year are expected to have a carbon footprint eight times that of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, even before long-haul international travel is taken into account.

The main reasons for the discrepancy are the vast distances between South Africa's host cities and the lack of a green transport infrastructure.

The estimated output from South Africa is 896,661 tonnes of carbon dioxide, according to the optimistically entitled Feasibility Study for a Carbon Neutral 2010 Fifa World Cup, commissioned jointly by the South African and Norwegian governments. Another 1,856,589 tonnes will result from fans travelling from around the world, making the World Cup's footprint the biggest of any major event aiming to be "climate neutral", the report said.

 

Football to footprints: World Cup's carbon impact | Environment | The Guardian

Biggest storm of the year sweeps Britain off its feet with flooding, gales and lightning strikes | Mail Online

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Biggest storm of the year sweeps Britain off its feet with flooding, gales and lightning strikes | Mail Online

Watch your waste during the season of overindulgence | Money | The Observer

 image As a nation we throw out £12bn worth of food and drink every year – an average of £480 per household. This increases to £680 for families. We let £6.7bn worth go off, either completely untouched or opened but not finished, while the remaining £4.8bn of wastage comes from us cooking or preparing too much.

Christmas contributes a hefty whack to that sum. Families spend £182m on Christmas lunch or dinner, and increase their grocery spend by about 20% in the Christmas period, according to market researchers Nielson. Households (including families) spend £63m on turkey, £31m on stilton and cheddar, £15m on Christmas pudding, £14m on Christmas cake and £124m on bacon and sausages.

Watch your waste during the season of overindulgence | Money | The Observer

'I want an education. I want to change my life' | Katine | The Observer

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Looking back, Simon identifies two catastrophic moments that conspired to ruin his academic prospects. The first was in 2002 when his father abandoned the family home, never to return, leaving a pregnant wife and eight children.

The second was when his uncle, who sponsored him through school after his father's disappearance, unexpectedly announced that he could no longer afford to pay the fees, forcing Simon to give up his education. Since that day two years ago he has stayed at home (a huddle of four thatched mud-brick huts), helping to tend the family's fields. He is educated enough to feel frustrated by his fate, but not sufficiently qualified to have many other options for the future.

Christmas appeal 2009: 'I want an education. I want to change my life' | Katine | The Observer

CumbriaFloods Nov 2009 « GeogBlog@IoE

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Emergency rescue workers wade through a flooded street in Cockermouth, in north-west England. Photo source: AFP

Thanks to Dave Rayner for this set of very useful links

http://geogblogatioe.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/lake-district-floods-nov-2009/