UNICEF Report reveals damage to children’s lives in Iraq
The Unicef report ‘A year in their life’ has revealed statistics concerning the welfare of children in Iraq. The report found that at least 2 million Iraqi children lacked adequate nutrition and faced a range of other threats including interrupted education, lack of immunization services and diarrhoea diseases. Only 28% of Iraq's 17 year olds sat their final exams in summer, and only 40% of those sitting exams achieved a passing grade in South and Central Iraq. Early estimates from the Ministry of Education show that net primary enrolment rates may have fallen from 86% in 2004 to 46% in 2006. Only 40% of children nationwide had reliable access to safe drinking water, and only 20% outside Baghdad had a working sewerage service. An estimated 600,000 children had been displaced since 2006, the vast majority unable to return home. By the end of the year, approximately 75,000 children and their families were living in temporary shelters. www.unicef.org
Global league tables on MEAs published
Recent research into the ratification of five key Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) shows that a number of countries are stalling on their environmental commitments. Stakeholder Forum for a Sustainable Future, a multi-stakeholder organisation working on sustainable development policy, has produced a Global League Table, ranking countries according to their commitment to each MEA. They are available at www.stakeholderforum.org
Environmental War
A report from independent think-tank, the Oxford Research Group warned that Climate Change could pose a threat to international security. In addition to environmental catastrophes, dangers could also come from militant environmental groups that resort to terror tactics to make their feelings known, the report warns. In Europe, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner warned that battles over water supplies and instability arising from diminished harvests, particularly in the Middle East, are likely to cause "serious security risks". www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk
Transport Appraisal Criticised
The method by which the government decides whether to give transport projects the go-ahead is bad for the environment and bad for the motorist, research published by Green Alliance and Campaign for Better Transport has shown. The research found that the department's appraisal framework favours projects that increase CO2 emissions while penalising projects that reduce fuel use, and that it does not give full consideration to non-road building alternatives to encourage walking and cycling. www.bettertransport.org.uk
CO2 Info For Rental Cars
As a first for the car rental industry, the Europcar UK Group has announced plans to add vital information to its car group descriptions to reflect the average CO2 emissions of vehicles. The new information will be provided for both Europcar and National brands to help leisure and business travellers make greener decisions when renting. Tim Bailey, Fleet Director of the group said: “We believe this is an enormously positive step for the industry and we hope that the other rental providers will soon follow suit.”
International ‘Year of the Reef’
2008 has been designated the ‘International Year of the Reef’ and Professor James Crabbe, a world expert in marine biology at the University of Bedfordshire, will be raising awareness of the value and importance of coral reefs. On 5 April he will be talking at the Institute of Biology’s East Anglia Branch in Norwich. The Institute’s annual general meeting will discuss ‘Crop Growth and Climate Changes’. www.iyor.org
Green Party Candidate ready to face Dragons
Malcolm Victory, the current Green Party candidate for West Worcestershire, is taking his latest invention to the Dragon’s Den. The Rotaire Dryline allows washing to dry outdoors even if it is raining, reducing energy consumption from household washing appliances. Tumble driers cost upwards of £80 a year to run and in this country alone the energy used produces millions of tonnes of CO2 each year. Across the EU where sales are over 600,000 per year this rises to over 30 million tonnes.
It has been successfully consumer tested in his locality and improvements made so that it can be folded along with the airer when not in use. He says of his decision “A truly novel idea has to be brought to the public’s awareness before it can be sold. The Dryline will pay for itself against a tumble drier in less than a year, while even indoor drying takes energy from your home and increases humidity, causing damp and possible health problems.” Malcolm has similarly innovative ideas for when the Dryline is successful. His invention can be seen and ordered on www.rotaire.com.
Brothers’ Environmental Scars Prompt Business Success
Rob and Mart Drake-Knight were motivated to influence environmental change after becoming ill from surfing in polluted waters. Mart wears scars from a skin infection caused by pollution and Rob lost three days of holiday due to sickness caused by field run-off. Their response was to create Rapanui Clothing, an organic and sustainable clothing company, based on the Isle of Wight. The company uses organic, natural and ethical fabrics and the factories have their own wind and solar panels and carbon offset warehousing. Their garments are made of sustainably coppiced bamboo, organic cotton and convergence cotton. They are manufactured in Fairwear Foundation-audited factories and are also undergoing licence for fair trade. The organic products are also double-certified under the soil association standard and the global organic textile standard. www.rapanuiclothing.com
SHELL Shelved
Shell’s two year tenure as sponsor of the Natural History Museum’s ‘Wildlife Photographer of the Year’ exhibition has come to an end. A two-year national campaign, coordinated in part by the direct action group Rising Tide and its Art Not Oil offshoot, helped to force the NHM to ditch Shell. Using a combination of creative direct action and a ‘Shell’s Wild Lie’ exhibition, Rising Tide has been pressurising the Museum and partner BBC Wildlife magazine to acknowledge that one of the world’s largest oil companies is not a good sponsor for an exhibition that has become a powerful testament to the beauty, diversity and fragility of the natural world. www.artnotoil.org.uk
Britain To Investigate CC Effect On Poor
The Secretary of State, Douglas Alexander, confirmed that £20million will be spent over five years to establish which global regions will be hit hardest by the effects of global warming and how they can be protected. www.dfid.org.uk
Amazon corridors too narrow
Protected forest strips buffering rivers and streams of the Amazon rainforest should be significantly wider than the current legal requirement, according to pioneering new research by scientists at the University of East Anglia (UEA). Brazilian forestry legislation currently requires that all forest strips alongside rivers and streams on private land be maintained as permanent reserves and it sets a minimum legal width of 60m. But after investigating the effects of corridor width on the number of bird and mammal species, Alexander Lees and Dr Carlos Peres of UEA's School of Environmental Sciences say a minimum critical width of 400m is necessary. The full report is published in the Journal of Conservation Biology.
£30 million eco-building in London
A contest to design a £30 million state-of-the-art eco-building has been won by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. The GreenHouse will be a low-carbon addition to London’s skyline and a global hub for research and communication about the key environmental challenges of the 21st Century — such as climate change, biodiversity loss and deforestation.
Solar-powered Castle
The National Trust turned on the first solar panels installed on one of its Grade I listed buildings. Dunster Castle in Somerset will start generating renewable electricity as part of an ongoing project to reduce the castle’s carbon footprint. A bank of 24 photo-voltaic panels will provide a source of renewable energy to the castle. www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Hydrogen Powered Theatre
London’s Arcola Theatre has installed a hydrogen fuel cell to power its café/bar and selected main house shows. The fuel cell operates almost silently, producing nothing but electricity and clean water. The 5kW fuel cell system takes pride of place in the foyer of the theatre accompanied by displays describing the benefits and challenges posed by the technology. www.arcolatheatre.com
Locals together for Bloom success
The Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Britain in Bloom finals were officially launched in February 2008. The ‘Local Roots’ theme aims to encourage communities to come together to improve their home towns, cities and villages. www.rhs.org.uk/britaininbloom
