We outline here the principal developments in the Royal Docks since the demise of the LDDC in 1998, including projects completed and those in the pipeline. Also described are the transport schemes on which the successful regeneration of the area depends. For earlier developments visit our Royal Docks History Page. For useful Regeneration links and contacts - click here
http://www.westsilvertownfoundation.org.uk/
The Portuguese military has sent specialist rescue teams to the island of Madeira, where at least 40 people are known to have died in rainstorms.Tonnes of mud and stones were brought down the slopes of the island, flooding the streets of the regional capital, Funchal, and other towns. Officials fear the death toll could rise. Water, power and phones were cut in some areas. PM Jose Socrates, who is in Madeira, said he would "do everything to help".
BBC News - Portugal rushes aid to Madeira after deadly floods
About 200 residents have been evacuated from their homes after a landslide split a hillside apart in the southern Italian town of Maierato.
The landslide, which caused power failure, could have been caused by heavy rains in the region, initial reports say.
The European Union’ mandate to ECHO [Regulation (CE) n° 1257/96] is to provide emergency assistance and relief to the victims of natural disasters or armed conflict outside the European Union. The aid is intended to go directly to those in distress, irrespective of race, religion or political convictions.
ECHO’s task is to ensure goods and services get to crisis zones fast. Goods may include essential supplies, specific foodstuffs, medical equipment, medicines and fuel. Services may include medical teams, water purification teams and logistical support. Goods and services reach disaster areas via ECHO partners.
Since 1992, ECHO has funded humanitarian aid in crisis zones of more than 85 countries via its partners. Its grants cover emergency aid, food aid and aid to refugees and displaced persons worth a total of more than €700 million per year.
Encounters at the End of the World is a documentary film by Werner Herzog completed in 2007. The film studies people and places in Antarctica. The film was released in North America on June 11, 2008, and distributed by THINKFilm.[2]
Encounters at the End of the World - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Camfed Presents Where the Water Meets the Sky
A film narrated by Morgan Freeman. Read more, Visit the Press roomWhere the Water Meets the Sky is the inspiring story of a group of women in rural Zambia who learn how to make a film as a way to speak out about their lives. Produced in partnership with Camfed, all funds raised through the film will support Camfed’s work to educate girls and invest in economic and leadership opportunities for young women in Africa.
Camfed | Where the Water Meets the Sky | Home | Play the trailer
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10x10 / 100 Words and Pictures that Define the Time / by Jonathan J. Harris
wiki gathers together a huge range of tools that geographers should embrace.
The Water Survival Box is a rigid, reinforced 54 litre plastic container that becomes a receptacle for water when emptied of survival items, it includes a filtration pack including chlorine tablets – enough for family of 4 for some 4 months, plus essential survival items, as well as a basic shelter – via tarpaulin sheet.It is a fully paid for product full of new items and does not need filling by external organisations. The new items will be tailored to suit the disaster locations. The cost of a survival box Box is £150.
Purchases can be made online and we would appreciate your support.
WorldWaterWorks is managed by the Rotary Club of Chelwood Bridge.
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Food 2030, the Government’s new food strategy, is the first of its kind in over 50 years. In it we set out our vision of what we want the food system to look like in 2030, and how we can get there.
January 2010: Hilary Benn launches Food 2030. Government has published a number of documents:
iGuess is a EU-funded project that aims at developing a teacher training course to promote GIS and instruct teachers in using it. Using GIS in class or in an extracurricular way will produce new, innovative approaches of teaching
iGuess | Introducing GIS Use in Education in Several Subjects
- Study of marine telecommunications in respect of efficiency and propagation parameters
- Simulation of vessel movements in order to contribute to the safety of navigation and to cope with critical incidents
- Interactive information systems design
- Design of databases providing real-time information
- Statistical processing of ports traffic with applications in operational research
- Design of models for the spotting of the origin of a pollution
- Design of efficient algorithms for sea path evaluation and for determining the estimated time of ship arrivals
- Correlation of the collected information with weather data
- Cooperation with Institutes dedicated in the protection of the environment
It provides free real-time information to the public, about ship movements and ports, mainly across the coast-lines of Europe and N.America.
Britain faces a 'perfect storm' of water shortage and lack of food, says the government's chief scientist, and climate change and crop and animal diseases will add to future woes. Science is now striving to find solutions
Why Britain faces a bleak future of food shortages | Science | The Observer
Sat24.com provides realtime satellite images. The images provide an excellent view on the clouds in the sky and an indication of the meteo weather over the European continent.
The website provides for a specific zoom for countries and regions like France , Germany , Netherlands , Spain , Sweden and Scandinavia, the UK , Italia , Greece , etc.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) just released a comprehensive global report, and the first country by country ranking, of clean energy technology sales.
The clean energy sector is on the verge of becoming the third largest sector in the world now. The report — Clean Economy, Living Planet - Building Strong Clean Energy Technology Industries — finds that Denmark is currently the leading country in clean energy sales (relative to GDP), Brazil is second and Germany is third (the top three in absolute terms are Germany, the US and Japan).
Thousands of negotiators, politicians and activists are discussing the climate change deal in Copenhagen this week - but what about those already at the sharp end? Click on the individuals to read their stories with stunning images
Interactive: Voices from the edge of climate change | Environment | guardian.co.uk
After Li Congcong’s parents stopped him going to an internet café, the 17-year-old poured pesticide into some cabbage soup. His mother and father were dead within hours after lunch. Mr Li will be more than 30 when he is released from prison.
His story is just one of 30 chilling tales told in Who Took Our Children?, a documentary that recently started showing in Jiyuan, Mr Li’s hometown in the central Chinese province of Henan.
FT.com / China / Society & People - China struggles to treat youth net addicts
Britain faces a 'perfect storm' of water shortage and lack of food, says the government's chief scientist, and climate change and crop and animal diseases will add to future woes. Science is now striving to find solutions
Why Britain faces a bleak future of food shortages | Science | The Observer
Could a shortage of mud and minerals, essential to low carbon technologies, curtail the world's plans for a green future?The key to a low carbon future is not negotiations in Copenhagen but mud and minerals in China. All low carbon technologies, from wind turbines to electric cars and low energy lightbulbs, use elements known as 'rare earths'. And 95 per cent of these are found in China. Earlier this year the Chinese decided to restrict export of these essential metals and minerals and now a shortage is predicted which could effect the development of green technologies.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/paulmason/2009/11/rare_earth_the_new_great_game.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/8097845.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/8097931.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/8366694.stm
'Rare earth' shortage threatens green revolution - Channel 4 News
The past 10 years have been the warmest in recorded history, according to the UK Met Office.
Figures released today at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen show that despite 1998 being the warmest year on record, the noughties has been the warmest decade recorded in 160 years.
The Met Office also released the raw data from around 1,500 global monitoring stations in an effort to satisfy critics who have demanded that researchers be more transparent with their data in the wake of the email hacking row at the University of East Anglia.
Met Office figures confirm noughties as warmest decade in recorded history | Environment | guardian.co.uk
The UK's best-selling chocolate biscuit bar, Kit Kat, is to receive ethical certification through the Fairtrade quality mark, it will be announced today.
After lengthy talks between the UK arm of the Swiss food giant Nestlé and the Fairtrade Foundation, the familiar blue and green logo will appear on the wrappers of Kit Kats in the UK and Ireland from January. Initially the certification will only apply to the larger four-finger Kit Kats but it will be extended to the smaller bars.
Big break for Fairtrade as Kit Kat receives certification | Environment | The Guardian
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But some commentators are unconvinced that rising greenhouse gas emissions are the cause of modern-day warming. Or they say the world is not actually getting warmer - or that a new treaty would hurt economic growth and well-being.
So what are their arguments, and how are they countered by scientists who assert that greenhouse gases, produced by human activity, are the cause of modern-day climate change?
In response to the urgent and pressing global call for sustainably produced palm oil, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was formed in 2004 with the objective of promoting the growth and use of sustainable oil palm products through credible global standards and engagement of stakeholders.
The seat of the association is in Zurich, Switzerland, while the secretariat is currently based in Kuala Lumpur with a satellite office in Jakarta.
RSPO is a not-for-profit association that unites stakeholders from seven sectors of the palm oil industry - oil palm producers, palm oil processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation NGOs and social or developmental NGOs - to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil.
These five babies, all born in the last month, will face different challenges on different continents as they grow up, but they have one thing in common, writes Robin McKie. Their fate as adults will be dominated by the shifting weather patterns their parents are starting to confront
Copenhagen summit: How climate change will shape these lives | Environment | The Observer
Use the interactive map by entering in any number of inches – the map will show what areas would be flooded or at risk and the left side bar will display the number of people displaced. Click on individual points for current elevation, elevation after sea level rise, and the number and percentage of people losing homes. Global Flood Map uses NASA satellite data to show the areas of the world under water and at risk for flooding if ocean levels rise. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), sea levels have been rising about 3 mm per year since 1993 – totaling a 200 mm increase (7.87 inches) in global averaged sea level since 1870.
