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| Archived blog - March 2005 |
30 March 2005 Where we are today 
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment is a huge report, 2,500 pages long written by 1,300 researchers, it basically gives an assessment of the world's ecosystem as we stand today. I suppose it's no great shock that the world is in a dire state, but maybe just how bad things are is a surprise. For example it confirms that our intensive agriculture is putting huge pressure on drinking water and that land is being so intensively farmed that is becoming barren. The are very few quick fixes, but if you don't start somewhere it'll never happen. BBC report here The fundamental problem here is that the general population are so set in their ways and protective of the 'comforts' of modern life, if we go tell them just how bad it really is, if the government had a huge advertising and information campaign give the facts. I think a large percentage of the population would say 'Oh well it's going to happen anyway, there's nothing I can do about it, I might as well go and by that SUV I've always wanted!' But something needs to be done, burying our head in the sand just isn't an option. I have plugged this before, but if you want to understand more about the main environmental problems facing the world today, have a look at the excellent BBC's Planet under pressure site.
Happy Birthday to Vincent Van Gogh, who was born on this day in 1853 and died an unhappy man at the age of 37 on the 29th July 1890. I'm afraid van Gogh's work suffers from over familiarity, when you look at it really closely you realize what a genius he was. Probably the best resource on the web, and in real life for that matter, is the van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. Take care - Wildberry |
Friday 17 March 2005 Air fresheners Now bear with me dear reader. Is it just me or is every other advert on TV now for air fresheners? We now seem to live in a world where the air in house isn't fresh unless it has a chemical smell of 'freshness' - what's it all about? You can now get battery powered ones, air fresheners that plug in an electrical socket in the wall and one that squirts at you when you close the bathroom door! The trouble with these things is that with every skirt you are putting in the air very small particles of all sorts of chemicals and then every time you breath in these particles go into your lungs. There have been many studies on this very subject - as far as I'm concerned it just isn't worth the risk, why not just open the window get some fresh air and save the money!
Take care and have a great weekend - Wildberry |
Wednesday 9 March 2005  Red Nose Day coming soon! I'm sure everyone is aware that Red Nose Day this year is on Friday 11 March, but have a look at the website, there's a lot of interesting information about the events going on and how to donate. If you've not seen Adrian Edmondson on Fame Academy he's been hilarious. Please have a look it's such a good cause. This weeks easy-thing Sorry I'm a bit late with this one, it's been a busy week. Obviously the easiest thing you could do this week is donate some money to Comic Relief. If you've already done that then how about going to your the Friends of the Earth site for your country and joining their email campaigns in some countries it's called 'Press for Change' in others 'Take Action'. Basically there are a number of campaigns they run, you sign up for the one your interested in and they will email you every so often asking you to do something such as emailing your President / Prime minister etc. It's a good thing to do and it's easy! Friends of the Earth links at Friends of the Earth International. I got an email from the Make Poverty History team encouraging me to email my MP, which hopefully we all did last week. If
you haven't it's still not too late. They also sent a link to a short (2
minute) film about the problems of children living on the streets of Nkandla. It is heartbreaking to
watch, but please have a look. Virgin Radio Podcast ....... why? Are
they really stupid I ask myself, they just don't get the point. Apparently
according to this story on the BBC, Virgin Radio (it can't be bothered to link to them) are going to
make 'highlights' of their breakfast programme available as a podcast or MP3
download. What they're missing, surely, is that people in the main listen to
podcasts so they can hear something different to what's normally available.
For example I listen to the daily rant show from Whole Wheat Radio, because it's
eclectic, it's from Alaska, it's different to what I can normally hear in
the UK. If I wanted to listen to the bloody boring Virgin breakfast
programme I wouldn't buy a £200 iPod, have the hassle of downloading to my
computer, transferring it to my iPod, I'D BUY A BLOODY RADIO FOR TWENTY QUID
and listen to it live! |
Friday 4 March 2005 Hybrid car sales taking off Fairtrade Beer?
The Simpson's is Number 1 - as if we didn't know that already Have a great weekend and keep safe - Wildberry |
Wednesday 2 March 2005 Fairtrade Fortnight Fairtrade fortnight started yesterday and runs until the
13 March. Please make the effort when you're in your local store or
supermarket next to check out the fairtrade goods and try some. The Fairtrade Foundation in the UK
and the Fairtrade Federation in the US have lists of suppliers and retailers that sell fairtrade goods. The Co-op stand head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to the promotion of fairtrade products and the range they sell. They now stock over 100 fairtrade products and have just launched their Fairtrade Website. Most of the Co-op products I saw yesterday in my local store were 20% off to promote fairtrade fortnight. Waitrose have a very good range of products and a link to the fairtrade section of their website here. Tesco, the largest retailer in the UK, do sell fairtrade I've seen it but after a lot of searching on their website, I couldn't find it. They're obviously not that interested in promoting Fairtrade fortnight - if I were you I'd go somewhere else. Sainsbury - I'm sure they have some, but no details on the website. Asda - yep, you guessed, it the same again. So I guess that tells us if you can't get Fairtrade in your local store, go to the Co-op or Waitrose. Here's a BBC report focusing on the growth of fairtrade products in the UK. For further links and details of fairtrade products available see the Fairtrade section in the directory. BBC Charter Renewed I am really pleased the UK Government has finally come to the conclusion that the BBC Charter should be renewed and the licence fee will remain for at least the next ten years. I've said it before, but a bears repeating, the BBC is one of the most valued jewels in the UK crown, its critics will only realize how important and valuable it is when it's gone and we are immersed in the dross of commercial television and radio. (Thanks to the excellent TV & Radio bits site for the picture) Have a happy fairtrade week - Wildberry. |
It's
good to see that sales of hybrid technology cars are still on the increase
in the US. According to 
We
hold a party during Fairtrade fortnight with friends and family and I'm
looking for a fairtrade beer, I've heard of one produced by the 
Congratulations
to the team behind the 
Supermarkets in the UK
have pages on their websites listing the fairtrade goods they sell, here are
links to a few of them. Of course if you can buy fairtrade and support your
small local retailer at the same time all the better.
