The Green Village News for the ‘Conservation and Wildlife’ Category
Saturday, May 30th, 2009
The familiar sound of the cuckoo is becoming a less heard occurrence in Britain, and the bird has been added to the RSPB‘s ‘red list’ of endangered species in the UK.
Reasons for the decline in numbers of the well known bird are not known for certain, but are believed could be down to a number of factors which are currently being looked into in order to find out whether more can be done to reverse the population drop. These factors include loss of habitats and food sources, and the decline of other species that cuckoos rely on in order for their eggs to be cared for and their young to be raised.
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Tags: cuckoo, endangered species, red list, RSPB, uk
Posted in Conservation and Wildlife, Green Planet | No Comments
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
The Lake district is known to many as a serene peaceful holiday retreat and a location good for walking, cycling and water sports. However in recent years, the Lakes of Cumbria are becoming strained due to higher populations around the lakes, tourist booms and changing weather patterns.
The vendace fish which inhabits Bassenthwaite’s cool waters is under particular pressure from rising water temperatures. Many species that thrive in and around the Lakes are sensitive to even minute temperature changes, but the Environment Agency are so worried about the vendace fish that a small selection of the healthier specimens have been moved to lakes in Scotland. If conditions in the lake worsen, the species may be able to be re-introduced at a later date.
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Tags: cumbria, lake district, lakes, water pollution
Posted in Conservation and Wildlife, Environmental Impact, Green Leisure and Tourism, Green Living, Green Planet | No Comments
Monday, May 25th, 2009
The city of Bath is renowned for its healing spas and history and attracts around 4 million visitors each year. City officials have approved plans as part of a £6 million transport scheme to build a new park and ride facility at Bathampton Meadows, which they argue will help stem the congestion and traffic problems Bath currently experiences.
Campaign group ‘Save Bathampton Meadows’, who began a petition in October 2008 to promote their cause and help get names on paper to show the council that the park and ride is not wanted. The site is thousands of years old, greenbelt and bordering the River Avon and sits in a valley, which campaigners say will make the development an eyesore and a blot on the landscape; unable to be missed from the viewing points all around the area. Save Bathampton Meadows’ spokeswoman Alison Millar said,
“This park and ride would spoil the meadows and be visible not only to hundreds of homes nearby but to people walking in the hills around it.”
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Tags: bath, bathampton meadows, greenbelt, park and ride
Posted in Conservation and Wildlife, Environmental Impact, Environmental Politics, Green Planet, Sustainable Development, Transport and Travel | No Comments
Friday, May 22nd, 2009
2009 has been officially declared as ‘Year of the Gorilla’ in an attempt to promote this important creature and increase awareness of the threats the species faces that could have a serious effect on gorilla populations. A project by YoG is looking to supply local people of the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo with affordable fuel efficient stoves to reduce the demand for charcoal from the rainforests.
Gorilla numbers have been declining for a number of reasons, mainly the result of man’s actions. Rainforest deforestation impacts on gorillas by destroying their natural habitats, leaving them without the natural surroundings they have evolved to live in. Destruction of the rainforests funds many industries in addition to charcoal production, including the increasing market for palm oil which is being touted as an alternative to oil. Palm oil, however, has twice the carbon footprint, and therefore environmental impact of crude oil.
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Tags: congo, deforestation, endangered species, gorilla, rainforest, rainforest destruction, year of the gorilla, YoG
Posted in Conservation and Wildlife, Environmental Impact, Environmental Politics, Green Planet | No Comments
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
A recent study by the US Geological Survey has pointed the finger at Asia’s coal fired power stations. Original theories believed that mercury levels in the ocean were caused by pollution from US and Canadian coal plants being passed into clouds from the atmosphere, where the mercury would then return to earth in rain and other precipitation. The findings of the study no longer think this is the main cause.
Although the authors of the study do not target Asia as the only party responsible for increased levels of mercury in the world’s oceans, they believe that the continent is responsible for a particularly significant contribution to the problem. William Landing, a lead scientist on the study, commented,
“We believe the majority of Asian mercury emission comes from coal burning.”
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Tags: asia, bioaccumulation, coal fired power stations, mercury, methylmercury, ocean, sea, sea pollution
Posted in Conservation and Wildlife, Environmental Impact, Food and Farming, Green Planet | No Comments
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
Harnessing the power of digital media, Prince Charles has launched a new campaign to spread public awareness of the importance of the rainforest and acting to stop further deforestation and destruction while we still can.
In a video on The Prince’s Rainforests Project website, celebrities including actors Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford and Robin Williams, singer Joss Stone, footballer Pele, and the Dalai Lama, along with a computer generated frog created by makers of the film, The Golden Compass, pledge their support for the rainforests before Prince Charles himself tells of his reasons for acting to protect the rainforests.
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Tags: campaign, deforestation, prince charles, rainforest
Posted in Companies and Organisations, Conservation and Wildlife, Environmental Impact, Green Planet | No Comments
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
White Nose Syndrome, a fungal disease that affects hibernating bats, has devastated bat populations across America forcing the US forest service to close caves to the public. Caves and mine shafts stretch from Maine to Minnesota and will be boarded up to prevent access and contain affected colonies.
The closure will be in place for 12 months in the hope that it will stop the disease being transmitted between colonies, the spread of the which some people believe is down to humans transporting spores from the disease between caves. Scientists have confirmed that they do not believe the condition is a risk to humans. Anybody not adhering to the closure will be faced with a fine or a 6 month spell in prison.
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Tags: america, bats, us forest commission, white nose syndrome
Posted in Conservation and Wildlife, Green Planet | No Comments
Friday, May 1st, 2009
The RSPB have carried out a huge amount of research into the effects of wind farms on bird populations in the past few years. Although their stance was originally that on-shore wind farms were bad in general, they have now started to embrace the possibility of erecting turbines on specific sites.
Last month, the conservation charity started talks with the government to increase the speed at which on-shore wind farms are developed and to plot out a wildlife sensitivity map to enable wind farm developers to site their turbines in areas that will do the least damage to bird populations.
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Tags: birds, on-shore wind farm, RSPB, wind farm
Posted in Companies and Organisations, Conservation and Wildlife, Energy and Resources, Green Planet | No Comments
Monday, April 27th, 2009
National Trust has joined with Natural England to begin a project to bring awareness and conservation to the traditional orchard. Traditional orchards are in danger of becoming a thing of the past, with most fruit trees now being grown intensively with the use of chemicals and small scale fruit producers having been hit by difficult economic situations over the years.
One of the major reasons behind the project is concern for the future of many rare varieties of apple, such as the Polly White Hair and the Hangy-Down. Plum and pear varieties are also affected, as are habitats of creatures such as bats, birds, insects and small mammals. National Trust’s head of nature conservation, David Bullock, commented,
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Tags: apples, biodiversity, natural england, orchards, the national trust
Posted in Companies and Organisations, Conservation and Wildlife, Green Living, Green Planet, Grow Your Own | 1 Comment
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
It’s a well known fact that for the last few years, Britain’s bee populations have been in decline. With the national population of bees estimated to be down by 15%, an amount which is still increasing, the British government has pledged £10m of funding to research into the reasons behind the drop in numbers.
Honey bees no longer exist in the wild, and if numbers continue to fall as they have recently, there could be severe consequences for Britain’s food production. Honey bees are responsible for pollinating vast quantities of crops, fruit and vegetables, and without them, there could be a food crisis. Environment Secretary, Hilary Benn commented on the declining population, stating that,
“We don’t fully understand what the cause is. Therefore we need to invest more and all of these institutions, majority government funding, have come together so we can better understand what’s going wrong and try and put it right.”
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Tags: bees, government, government funding, hilary benn, soil association
Posted in Conservation and Wildlife, Environmental Politics, Food and Farming, Green Planet | No Comments
