Eat the seasons

There are a number of good reasons to eat more local, seasonal food:

• to reduce the energy (and associated CO2 emissions) needed to grow and transport the food we eat

• to avoid paying a premium for food that is scarcer or has travelled a long way

• to support the local economy

• to reconnect with nature's cycles and the passing of time

The majority of the UK population grow up in urban areas, with little or no awareness of when and where various foods are produced. Imports from around the world ensure that supermarket shelves look the same week in week out. Eat the seasons aims to promote an understanding of food seasons. Each week we focus on one food, which is currently in season, and share enlightening facts, useful tips and enticing recipe ideas picked from the web and our favourite books.

Link to eat the seasons | seasonal food

The Longbridge revival

MG Rover was sold in July 2005 to another Chinese car firm, Nanjing Automotive, which paid around £50m.In July 2006 Nanjing reaffirmed its commitment to produce cars at Longbridge when it purchased a 33-year lease for one third of the land at Longbridge. The company also said it would be investing around £10m in the plant, but there would be far fewer jobs than in previous years. By March this year, as the company unveiled its first China-built cars to the world's media at its factory in Nanjing, plans were well advanced in Longbridge too.

Several pre-production models of the MGTF had been completed and the old production line was being brought back into use. It is thought that around 250 people are already employed at the factory. Staff numbers are expected to rise over time as production ramps up. Nanjing has said it aims is to make 3,000 cars in the first year, rising to 12,000 by 2009. It will ultimately have the capacity to make 15,000 cars a year. The company also says it has had a good response from dealers who want to sell the new cars.

Link to BBC NEWS | England | West Midlands | The Longbridge revival

LINK Car production to resume at Longbridge The Guardian 29th May

VIDIPEDIA

This isVIDIPEDIA. Video UPLOADS are available. Good video on ANTARTICA

LINK: Antartica Video.

Go to GEOGRAPHY PORTAL for full list of Videos available.

Can Shanghai turn green and grow?

Shanghai has been transformed into a global city - but its rapid growth has produced pollution, traffic jams and overcrowding.In becoming one of the centres of the world economy, Shanghai has grown faster than almost any other global city in the past 15 years. The population increased from 13.5 million to 21.5 million as migrant labourers flooded in from the surrounding countryside, and the standard of living rose even faster, with per capita income now at $7,000, the highest in China.

The physical size of the city increased sixfold, from just 100 sq km to 680 sq km, as people sought more space and the city government rushed to develop nearby areas, such as Pudong. Rapid growth of car ownership has led to congestion and pollutionThree ring roads and six motorways now criss-cross the city, and gridlock grips the bridges and tunnels across the Huangpu river during rush hours.

The city has also seen an explosion in car ownership, with over 1 million car owners in 2006, and private car ownership has doubled in two years. The increased traffic levels contributed to rising levels of atmospheric pollution. Now the city of Shanghai has begun to tackle some of the environmental problems that could threaten its future growth.

The goes on to discuss; new towns, discouraging car ownership; Investment and public transport; and Bicycles.

Link to BBC NEWS | Business | Can Shanghai turn green and grow?

Millions who risk death for a better life

Across Africa, millions are dreaming of fleeing to Europe. Families scrimp and save to find the money needed to secure a seat on a boat. Young men, often fathers, squeeze on to overcrowded, rickety fishing boats that leave Senegal, Libya or Somalia in the dead of night. They take with them nothing more than the hope that a better life lies across the sea.

Some leave because of conflict, most because of poverty. All hope to find enough money in Europe to be able to send some back home to their families. The money earned by a migrant on a construction site in Spain or hawking sunglasses on the streets of Italy can be several times more than he would have made back in Mali, Nigeria or Eritrea. African migrants' remittances are growing at a faster rate than official aid from foreign governments.

Source: Millions who risk death for a better life - Independent Online Edition > Africa

Make Trade Fair - Oxfam International

More than a year ago, the Ethiopian government approached Starbucks global HQ in Seattle and asked the company to recognise Ethiopia’s legal ownership of the names of its coffees.
Ethiopia's ownership of its coffee names could bring substantial benefits to the 15 million poor Ethiopians who depend on coffee for their livelihood. By owning the rights to its fine coffee names- Harar, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe- Ethiopia can help its farmers negotiate a better price, potentially increasing income for the country’s coffee industry by an estimated $88 million a year. This would help lift millions of farmers and their families out of poverty, helping them to send their children to school and access healthcare.
After initially dismissing Ethiopia 's plan to trademark its specialty coffees, Starbucks, which came under international pressure from campaigners, has now said it is ready to recognize Ethiopia 's right to pursue this path. So far, more than 90,000 people across the globe have called on Starbucks to sign such an agreement. This support has pushed Starbucks to hold meetings with the Ethiopian government to discuss the issue. Despite its much-publicised commitments to Ethiopia’s farmers, Starbucks has not taken the Ethiopian request seriously. It’s time for Starbucks to recognise Ethiopia’s right to the legal ownership of its own coffee names.

Link to Make Trade Fair - Oxfam International

LINK Starbucks case study

LINK Interactive diagrams on the ISSUES

PlayPump water system example of Intermediate Technology

While children have fun spinning on the PlayPump merry-go-round (1), clean water is pumped (2) from underground (3) into a 2,500-liter tank (4), standing seven meters above the ground. A simple tap (5) makes it easy for women and children to draw water. Excess water is diverted from the storage tank back down into the borehole (6). The water storage tank (7) provides a rare opportunity to advertise in outlaying communities. All four sides of the tank are leased as billboards, with two sides for consumer advertising and the other two sides for health and educational messages. The revenue generated by this unique model pays for pump maintenance.
The design of the PlayPump water system makes it highly effective, easy to operate and very economical, keeping costs and maintenance to an absolute minimum. Capable of producing up to 1,400 liters of water per hour at 16 rpm from a depth of 40 meters, it is effective up to a depth of 100 meters.

Film can be seen at http://www.green.tv/one_water

Link to Playpumps International and the PlayPump water system. Kids play. Water Pumps! :: PlayPumps International

Driving Ban Lowers Beijing Pollution

In an effort to control smog during the 2008 Olympics, Beijing officials planned to institute a number of pollution-curbing measures. One such measure is to limit the number of vehicles on the roads. The Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, held in Beijing on November 4-5, 2006, gave officials the opportunity to see just how much pollution would be reduced if traffic were restricted. Between November 4 and November 6, officials banned government and commercial vehicles, restricted the use of private vehicles, and limited access to certain roads. Buses ran more frequently to provide transport within the city. News reports estimated that approximately 30 percent of the city’s vehicles were taken off the road during the three-day restriction period.

Orbiting overhead once a day, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA’s Aura satellite recorded nitrogen dioxide levels. Looking through the column of air that sat between the satellite and the city, the instrument summed up the average number of nitrogen dioxide molecules per square centimeter. The data it sent back to Earth showed a drop in nitrogen dioxide levels over Beijing between November 4 and November 6, as illustrated by these images. High concentrations of nitrogen dioxide are represented by bright yellow squares over China’s major cities. The cities, and their corresponding pollution “hotspots” stretch across the North China Plain from north to south, with Beijing reigning in the north. On November 5, center, nitrogen dioxide levels dropped over the entire country, but the decrease is most dramatic over Beijing which went from turquoise-yellow (high) to dark blue (low) back to yellow before, during, and after the restriction period.

The graph illustrates the drop in nitrogen dioxide over Beijing in greater detail. Though concentrations jumped from day to day between October 25 and November 19, sometimes to concentrations as low as levels seen during the summit, the only time nitrogen dioxide levels remained below 20x10¹⁵ molecules per square centimeter for more than a single day was during the summit when traffic was restricted. The graph is from a paper by Yuxuan Wang and colleagues from Harvard University and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, published in Geophysical Research Letters on April 28, 2007. The scientists estimated that nitrogen oxide emissions were reduced by 40 percent during the restriction period.

Link to EO Newsroom: New Images - Driving Ban Lowers Beijing Pollution

EARTH GUIDE

This is a great interactive site that provides answers to the following questions:

1. Where is the earth located in the Milky way Galaxy?

2. How is the earth different from other planets?

3. Where does the sky become space?

4. Where does sunlight that hits the earth go?

5. How do water and carbon circulate.

6. What type of substances is the earth made of?

7. What kind of land areas exists on the face of the earth ?

8. How big are the oceans of the world?

Link to EARTH GUIDE

What Is GeoSquishing?

the basic idea is, you find a famous or infamous location which you believe to have some relevance and GeoSquish it. For example Bodie Island Lighthouse being GeoSquished.

Link to What Is GeoSquishing?

There will be a summer competition with prizes, look out for it in Kingdown News.

The village that was swallowed by the sea

Just an hour's drive south of the Thai capital Bangkok , the small coastal village of Khun Samutchine is facing a daily battle with the sea. The sea is coming in at an alarming rate

The village is suffering from the effects of severe coastal erosion: the sea comes in at a rate of approximately 25 metres a year. Environmentalists say the erosion experienced in the area is probably some of the worst in the world. Dr Thanawat Jarupongsakul, a scientist from Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University says that climate change has helped cause the loss of nearly 600 km of Thailand's coastline. "Climate change has resulted in more intense waves and rougher seas during the monsoon period," he said. "The average height of waves used to be between one and 1.5 metres, but now it has increased to between two and four metres high." Go to SOURCE for rest of article..

Source: BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | The village that was swallowed by the sea

Flying addicts take dim view of air taxes in poll

Britain has become a nation addicted to flying, according to a Guardian/ICM poll out today. It shows that more than two-thirds of people have travelled by plane in the last five years and reveals widespread opposition to government action aimed at cutting the number of people who fly in order to limit climate change.

The poll does reveal a growing level of concern about the impact of air travel. Almost half of air travellers claim they have changed their behaviour in response to fears about the impact on the environment.

But these fears are not being translated into backing for official action. Voters remain strongly opposed to government action to control the rapid growth of the airline industry, such as raising tax levels on air tickets to restrict low-cost airlines. More travellers want taxes on air travel cut than want to see them increased: 30% want a reduction and only 20% higher taxes. Many people (46%) think that tax levels should remain the same, although environmental groups, the Conservative party and the Liberal Democrats all support some form of increase.

At present, airlines do not pay tax on the fuel they use. Air passenger duty, doubled by the chancellor in February to between £10 and £80 a ticket, is regarded as too low by many campaigners. But only 18% of Tory voters back a rise despite their party's policy on reforming air taxes, launched earlier this year. Labour voters are equally hostile, with only Liberal Democrat supporters more in favour of increases than tax cuts.The poll shows that 68% of respondents have travelled at least once by plane in the last five years. Cheap flights have boosted the number of people travelling by air, with airlines such as Ryanair currently offering "10m seats at £10".

But flying remains a middle-class habit: 83% of people in the top AB economic group have flown recently, against 52% of DEs at the bottom of the scale.

Air travel is also weighted towards the south of the country, with 72% of southerners flying in the last five years against 66% in Scotland and the north.

Only 13% of passengers say that they have given up flying as a result of climate change. But 34% of people who fly say that they have cut down on the short-haul trips they take as a result of climate change. A similar proportion, 31%, say that they have reduced long-haul flying.The growing number of air travellers suggests that the reality may differ. People at the top of the economic scale are the least likely to claim they have taken action to help the environment.

Many air passengers also say that they have tried carbon offset schemes to neutralise the impact of their journeys: 29% of all passengers say that they have used such a scheme.Again, that claim may be running ahead of what is actually happening. A recent Financial Times investigation suggested the industry was still in its infancy, with a lack of clarity about how off-setting and carbon trading schemes should work.· ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,003 adults aged 18+ between May 18 and 20. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults.

Link to Flying addicts take dim view of air taxes in poll | Climate change | Guardian Unlimited Environment

Chinese challenge one-child policy

Link to BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Chinese challenge one-child policy .

LINK Fertility drug use boom

Black Gold : The Official Site

Multinational coffee companies now rule our shopping malls and supermarkets and dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil.

But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields.

Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Tadesse Meskela is one man on a mission to save his 74,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Tadesse travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price.

Against the backdrop of Tadesse's journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world's coffee trade becomes apparent. New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organisation reveal the many challenges Tadesse faces in his quest for a long term solution for his farmers.

Link to Black Gold : The Official Site

American Food Aid to Malawi

US government deal, announced in April, to ship $19.5 million of American corn and soya to Malawi as food aid.

School-feeding programmes run by the Malawian government and various aid agencies have resulted in incraeses in stuents attending school. Children come to the school because of the meal - class numbers are up by about 7 per cent in every age group since the feeding programme began in January.In a country where only 70 per cent of the children attend primary school, that's an achievement. At another nearby primary, where an Oxfam partner supplies milk to mix into the free porridge, the head teacher, Annie Jana, told me that she now had 800 eight-year-olds, compared to 500 when the programme started a year ago. 'Absenteeism has fallen, and even children who dropped out are coming back, especially girls.' And in Malawi, getting girls into school has always been difficult - which is why half of all women are illiterate.

In April the US Government announced that it wanted to join in. It would give WFP nearly $20 million over three years to help fund an expansion of the programme so, from 2008, 650,000 Malawian children get a daily mug of porridge at school. At the same time it announced similar schemes for Kenya, Cambodia, Guinea and Pakistan - a total spend of $85.9 million.

The problem is - though WFP left this detail out of their press release - that the US grant came with a condition: it had to be spent on American CSB to be bought from American farmers and put in American ships to be transported to Malawi. According to WFP, the cost of buying, transporting and packing the annual 8,000 tonnes of US CSB will be $812 a tonne. SIR, which will buy about 3,600 tonnes of Malawian CSB - likuni phala - this year, expects to pay around $320 a tonne (distribution costs add another 5 per cent). Simply, if the American money was spent in Malawi, it could feed nearly two-and-a-half times as many schoolchildren.

Link to How America is betraying the hungry children of Africa | Food monthly | The Observer

Stop Disasters

Interactive site on disasters. PLAY stop the disaster

Link to Stop Disasters

AIRPORT WATCH

Link to Airport Watch

AirportWatch is an umbrella organisation, formed in 2000. AirportWatch campaigns for a demand management approach to aviation. Demand for air travel could be dampened down by government removing the considerable tax breaks the aviation industry receives. AirportWatch believes that government policies to expand aviation can and should be resisted.

Optimum Population Trust

A radical form of “offsetting” carbon dioxide emissions to prevent climate change is proposed today – having fewer children.

Each new UK citizen less means a lifetime carbon dioxide saving of nearly 750 tonnes, a climate impact equivalent to 620 return flights between London and New York*, the Optimum Population Trust says in a new report.

Based on a “social cost” of carbon dioxide of $85 a tonne**, the report estimates the climate cost of each new Briton over their lifetime at roughly £30,000. The lifetime emission costs of the extra 10 million people projected for the UK by 2074 would therefore be over £300 billion.

Link to Optimum Population Trust

Should I Really Give Up Flying?

Link to BBC NEWS | Programmes | Should I Really Give Up Flying?

British Airport Authority: 2006

Link to BAA: 2006

There are detailed statistics for 2006, you need to click on the link of your choice. These links will all launch PDF's in new windows on the following topics.1. Busiest Month and Day 2. Origin and Destination 3. Top Airlines 4. Top Airports 5. Top Routes