As this article makes clear: building roads improves access to previous wilderness areas. We know for sure that where people can get to, they will take. Greed, lack of responsibility, and general uncaring will ensue. This is certainly something that The BA should become involved with. Mike
Category Archives: Press
Fossil pushes Homo genus back to nearly 3 million years ago
I like this. I’ve had a long interest in this part of the world and its remarkable treasures ๐
Jaw bone discovery in Ethiopia is oldest ever human lineage remains
Solar-powered flight going well.
Animal activism is not terrorism.
Image: Don?t you want to save me too? Photograph: USFWS Mountain-Prairie/flickr
Using satellites to monitor ocean acidification
This will probably help us understand the bigger picture. Note particularly the comments in the article that in 2014 the global CO2 emissions were 65% greater than in 1990: despite constant promises to curb CO2 and increase the use of renewable energy. No one is interested! ๐
http://rt.com/news/232711-satellite-ocean-acidification-space/
Sea change: gas-powered shipping?
Considering how much freight goes by sea, this could well be a very positive change. We’re just seeing the first solar-powered aircraft too. Mike ๐
A welcome sign of our times!
This is not strictly about biodiversity, but most certainly it shows how other voices are now being heard in our world. Thank goodness! In Britain university tuition used to be free, and a few decades ago students could even get living allowances while studying too. As the greedier governments came into power, so they forced university students to pay fees: thereby once again segregating the ‘haves’ from the ‘have-nots’; regardless of academic ability. In 2010 the Liberal Democrats went into coalition with the Conservatives at Westminster: they reneged on their manifesto pledge not to support tuition fee increases. The Tory-LibDem coalition increased fees up to ?9000 per annum. LibDem support nationally is now less than 5% of the voters. In other words they sold their soul for a taste of power!
As the article points out: Britain could easily afford fee-free university education for all those interested. The cost? Scrapping nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction.ย So what is the issue with this? The Westminster government believes having Trident makes it important, and crucially gives it a permanent seat on the UN Security Council … a throwback to the end of WW2. But do we need WMD? Simple answer is NO. More to the point is that London dumps these things near to Glasgow ~ Scotland’s largest city. Scotland & Wales don’t want them at all; probably the majority of people in England don’t want them either. Personally I’d rather have free education for all: a well-educated population is exactly what our Planet Earth needs right now. ๐
Some like it hot, some never even think about it?
Looking at the graph I think we can safely say our world is getting warmer … maybe all those bullets some folk keep shooting round the place.
What is remarkable is that despite a 90% probability of an El Nino event occurring in December 2014 ::: it didn’t happen. I wonder what willย happen next?
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/feb/02/14-15-hottest-years-record-2000-un-global-warming
Malama Honua
The latest from the M?lama Honua Worldwide Voyage
Our traditional voyaging canoes H?k?le?a and Hikianalia are on a 47,000-mile open-ocean journey around the globe. Using nature and the stars to find their way, our navigators are charting a course for hope. The Hawaiian name for our voyage is M?lama Honua, to care for our Island Earth. Thank you for being a part of our ?ohana (family) and tuning into this important journey as we voyage for a sustainable future.
Written byย K?lepa Baybayan Three kilometers inland along the winding banks of the Ngauroro River sits the 102 year-old marae, Kohup?tiki, Flounders in the Mist. The 10-crew of H?k?le?a along with the young crew from the escort vessel Tranquility have settled into the whare nui and resting after a 48 hour bumpy ride north from the seaward capital of New Zealand, Wellington, to the coastal port of Napier. In a land called Rotopounamu, Green Springs, for the numerous springs that percolate upward through the rich soils, the orchard filled landscape that surrounds us at the marae is stunning to behold. Last night as golden hue filled the sky, a flock of tui andย komako birds followed the setting sun and returned to their nest for an evening rest. This coast is rich, acres of logs line the commercial harbor as the await shipment for processing to some distant port where they will undoubtedly be turned into framing timbers for new homes. Today is a workday for our escort vessel Tranquility…
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Fiji compensates atomic test veterans: Bula Fiji
Bula Fiji, very well done ๐ This is something very close to my heart. You’ll notice that Britain and the other WMD testers are still dragging their feet; and increasing their nuclear arsenals.