This green Ferrari has recently been unveiled. It is more than just green in colour, however, the vehicle is an electric hybrid. The Ferrari 599 has a top speed of 200mph and aims to cut pollution and fuel consumption. It runs on a zero emission electric motor which backs up a 6.0 litre petrol engine.

According to this article five species of rare butterflies could soon be extinct. The annual survey of butterfly numbers in the UK has found that overall butterfly numbers are much lower than average. The problem is the wet summers we have experienced in the past few years which make it difficult for the insects to breed. Another wet summer could mean that species such as the Duke of Burgundy, High Brown Fritillary, Wood White, Lulworth Skipper and the Pearl-bordered Fritillary will become extinct. It seems there is not much we can do to save them other than hope for a long dry summer.

According to this article the major food retailers have all agreed to cut the carbon footprint of their grocery packaging by 10% over the next two years. Some of the measures they will put into place include selling milk in plastic bags, meat in vacuum packed plastic bags and spirits in plastic bottles. Under the agreement retailers will also provide facilities to recycle wrappings and plastic bags. Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks and Spencer have all signed up for the agreement which could save consumers £800 million over three years because of the reduction in the amount of food thrown away. It should also save the industry £200 million and cut gas emissions by three million tonnes over the next three years.

The European Commission has cleared the way for a genetically modified potato to be grown in the EU for the first time. The potato will be only the second GM product to be allowed. The Amflora potato can be used for industrial uses such as making paper and for animal feed but not for human consumption and has been specially developed for the special qualities of its starch. The starch can make yarn stronger, paper glossier and keep glue liquid for longer. Although environmental groups are strongly opposed to the introduction of GM crops the Commission has insisted the decision is based upon sound science. Although it has been approved individual countries still have the right to decide whether it should be grown on their territory. It is expected to be planted in the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands but it needs to be grown under strict conditions to stop it cross pollinating with non GM crops. For example being cultivated and harvested before it produces seeds.

This is interesting its a scheme from the Co-op to try and rebuild honeybee numbers. Under the scheme people would be encouraged to keep bees in an urban environment. It would take advantage of areas such as allotments and roofs of buildings which can support bee populations. The Co-op aims to encourage 300 new people to urban beekeeping in Manchester, London and Inverness and will provide free training and equipment to those who are interested. In a trial of the scheme last year 60 people out of an initial 100 went on to become beekeepers. Honeybee numbers have more than halved in Britain in the period between 1985 and 2005 due to a number of reasons such as pesticide use, warmer winters and infections such as varroa mites. With their pollination of fruit trees and other crops being worth £165 million every year lets hops the scheme is successful. I would certainly be interested but am not sure my garden is quite big enough for a bee hive.

A recent Which? report has found that vegetable plugs produce poor value for money. The report found that a carrot plug plant that costs £1.09 each and produces one carrot is poor value when compared to a pack of seeds which would work out to just 10p. One company Gardening Direct has since withdrawn it’s carrot and beetroot plug plants facing the criticism. Keen gardeners have been advised to choose seeds instead and only to buy plug plants if they are priced fairly.

Police investigating the vandalism of a 200 year old statue were surprised to find it was carried out by squirrels. Staff at Darlington Hall in Devon had noticed serrated marks on the statue as though someone had tried to hack it was a saw. Shortly afterwards a bald squirrel was found suffering from lead poisoning. It was later found that squirrels were looking for food and had decided to nibble on the lead covering the statue causing the damage with their teeth. It is not known why the squirrels chose to eat the statue but it is thought is could be down to a shortage of nuts.

From January 2011 drivers will be able to claim up to £5,000 to buy an ultra low carbon car. The grant will be available to both private and business fleet buyers and provides 25% towards the cost of a new car capped at  £5,000. To be eligible for the scheme cars will have to pass performance criteria to ensure safety, range and ultra low tailpipe emissions.

A planned cow farm has met with a great deal of opposition from campaigners. The farm would see 8,100 cows being kept in what animal rights groups say are battery conditions. The farm would be Britain’s largest dairy and would bring together a consortium of dairy farmers from Lancashire, Devon and Lincolnshire. They say the farm would be a flagship for the industry and that it would set new standards in animal welfare. Cows would be bedded on sand which would be continuously cleaned and recycled. They would be kept indoors when producing milk and put out to pasture when dry. The project would generate 80 jobs and produce close to half a million pints every 24 hours. Animal rights groups have condemned it as a "an environmental disaster, condemning animals to dark sheds for most of their lives". It has also been criticised because it would produce as much carbon emissions as 3,000 homes.

Ecologists have identified brown bears, wolves, lynx and elk as species that could potentially be reintroduced into the British countryside. A report compiled for Britain’s largest national park has indentified 23 species in total that once lived in Britain and could survive here again. Campaigners have been pushing for lynx and wolves to be reintroduced to Britain for some time. They believe that they could help to control deer numbers and protect woodland that can often be destroyed by large herds. Ecologists also believe that introducing large carnivores can be beneficial for tourism. The proposals have not been popular with landowners and farmers, however who believe the animals could pose a threat to people. It’s easy to see both sides here, on one hand it make sense to have larger predators to manage deer populations but on the other if not carefully managed then there is likely to be a significant impact on farmers and their livestock.

Food watchdogs are calling for CCTV to be installed in slaughterhouses to help improve animal welfare standards. Tim Smith of the Food Standards Agency is developing a plan for the industry within the next six months. It will recommend that cameras are installed to help ensure that the highest health, hygiene and animal welfare standards are followed. The calls come after a recent European Union veterinary inspection exposed poor hygiene at UK abattoirs and meat cutting plants. Animal Aid a welfare campaign group have also filmed cruelty to pigs and sheep at an organic certified abattoir in Devon. As a result of these findings  every aspect of welfare and risk is now being reviewed across the country’s 400 abattoirs to ensure more traceability in the meat industry. Although the agency would not be able to force meat companies to install surveillance cameras they hope to come to some voluntary agreement. The RSPCA on the other hand is backing compulsory cameras in all meat plants and hopes to make it a requirement for meat produced under its Freedom Food label.

I remember reading a similar article about a year ago when the lettuce was the nations most wasted food. It seems now that the title goes to the banana. According to this article fruit, salad and vegetables are the most wasted items from peoples shopping baskets. The banana comes top of the list for the most wasted item, followed closely by fresh milk. Apparently the worst culprits for wasting food are single men aged between 25 and 35 who waste an average of £17.43 of food a month. In contrast a family of four waste £15.70 of food a month and people aged over 57 are the least wasteful, throwing away just £3.36 a month. The results came after a countrywide survey which looked at food waste across the country. Based on this I wonder how much food I waste a month. I would guess its very little as most of my kitchen scraps are made into cat food or put out for the birds, still, it might be worth monitoring the waste that goes out.

According to this article the number of bugs in Britain’s soil has increased by 50% in the last ten years. In the first study of its kind scientists have analysed the soil. They took more than 2,600 samples from different geological and climatic areas across the country and measured them for invertebrates, nutrients, pollutants, acidity and carbon. They found that in the top 8cm of soil, there are 12.8 quadrillion living organisms. Whilst the number of invertebrates has gone up by nearly 50% it appears that the diversity of life (the number of types) has decreased. Scientists say that both of these things are caused by the rise of annual temperatures and rainfall, the warmer and wetter summers that we have been experiencing.

Some lucky chickens in Norwich are having jumpers made especially for them. The chickens are former battery hens that have been brought by a rescue centre rather than being slaughtered. They now live at the Little Hen Rescue in Norwich whilst they are awaiting new homes. Unfortunately many of the hens are rather bald as a result of the intensive battery environment they have previously lived in, hence why they need jumpers. The jumpers are being kindly provided by a Somerset craft club who have been busy knitting to help keep the chickens warm. The Little Hen Rescue currently takes in around 4,000 hens at a time and cares for them until they are fit enough to find a new home. Around 10% of birds have lost their feathers so it seems there is a quite a demand for chicken jumpers.

At a time when people are becoming conscious of where their food comes from supermarkets have been accused of putting misleading labels on sausages and bacon. The labels strongly suggest the animals have been raised in the British countryside when in fact they have been raised in cruel conditions outside the UK. Currently it is possible to label a product as “made in Britain” when the product may have simply been processed and packaged in the UK. In cases like this products labelled as Lincolnshire sausages might in fact be made from German pork. One problem with this is that welfare standards for animals outside the UK are often considerably lower. Other people may want to buy British simply to support the country in a time of recession. In what has been hailed a victory for clearer labelling a new code of practice will mean  only pork made from pigs that are born, bred and slaughtered in the UK can be labelled as British. However, manufacturers are still able to opt out of the agreement and campaigners are calling for the measures to be made compulsory.

I watched the Panorama programme about the impact of the palm oil industry on the environment with interest. I have long been aware that unsustainable palm oil impacts hugely on the environment and particularly on the habitat of the orangutan population. What I was now, made aware of, however, was the number of products that might contain palm oil without my knowledge. I prefer to source most of cosmetics from Lush because most of their products do not contain palm oil but the Panorama documentary made me aware that many food products might contain palm oil disguised as vegetable oil.

The problem with palm oil is that it causes a massive amount of deforestation in Indonesia and Malaysia. The impact forces not only the indigenous people from their homes but also the ever vulnerable and fast depleted orangutan population. What the documentary highlighted was that many areas that are protected forest are being illegally logged and turned over to palm oil production. It seems, that because the business is so lucrative, the respective local governments turn a blind eye to this breech of the law.

Figures show that the orangutan population has declined by 50% in the last decade and around 50,000 orangutans have died as a result of de-forestation. At this rate there seems little hope for the remaining population. Currently only 3% of the world’s palm oil is certified as sustainable meaning it comes from a plantation that passes an environmental impact test. Most of the big manufacturers who use palm oil also have no way of tracing where it comes from because it is mixed with other oil so they are unable to trace the origin.

Whilst this might be the case what in my mind is inexcusable is the mislabelling of products. Manufacturers are allowed to list palm oil simply as “vegetable oil” without stating the actual content. Although their excuse that recipes can change and the oil can very from week is certainly plausible, surely they can label a product as “may contain palm oil” in the same way they would with a product such as nuts. That way as a consumer I can make an informed judgement as to whether to buy the product or not. Surprisingly the only supermarket which states whether a product contains palm oil and whether it is from a sustainable source is Sainsbury’s. Based on this I think I will make a conscious choice to switch to their own brand products. I wonder whether any others will follow suit.

When it comes to endangered animals many get a much higher profile than the Great White Shark. It seems, though that it is now more endangered than the tiger with only 3,500 left. The findings have led to marine biologists to call for urgent action to stop them going extinct. The population estimates come after a scientists studied and tagged the migration of the sharks using radio transmitters. What was surprising is that great whites travel much longer distances that previously thought, anything up to 12,000 miles in a nine month period. The researchers found that sharks seen in Hawaii were the same ones that were found in California just six months later leading experts to the conclusion there are far fewer sharks left in the sea. Whilst great whites have a bad reputation for attacking people most incidents are thought to be due to the shark mistaking people for seals. With so few left and the fact that most people have little love for sharks, it seems they might not be around for much longer.

Cat food is being used in Australia to stop the spread of invasive cane toads. It has been found that cat food attracts meat ants towards it. Meat ants in turn have quite an appetite for baby cane toads. Leaving cat food near the waters edge when the baby toads are emerging puts the ants right where they are needed. The idea is the latest attempt to try and control the cane toads which were introduced from Hawaii in 1935 in an attempt to control beetles on sugarcane plantations. Since then cane toads have become a destructive influence on the local wildlife population. Other methods of controlling them have included hitting the toads with golf clubs and freezing them. However, with tens of thousands of toads emerging from the water at any one time these methods have not proved effective. Meat ants, are well equipped to deal with the glut of extra food and it has been found that when ponds are lined with cat food, 98% of toads are attacked within two minutes. Of those that escape 80% die of their injuries within a day.

According to this article almost half of all primates face extinction. There are 634 primate species but 48% of these are on the red list of animals under threat. The main problems facing primates is the destruction of tropical forests and the illegal hunting trade. A recent report has highlighted the 25 most endangered primate species some of which are thought to be down to just a few dozen individuals. Among these are golden headed langur of which there are between 60 and 70 individuals left and the eastern black crested gibbons of which there are around 110. It is hoped that the report will go some way to highlighting the problems facing these creatures before it is becomes too late to save them.

According to this article some French vineyards are starting to make their fruit into health tonics, pills and dietary supplements in order to move into the teetotal market. Is seems that these products can often be made from the part of the grape that would be discarded. Although some wineries have traditionally turned this wine residue into state subsidised industrial alcohol, these subsidies are due to be ended and so producers are looking towards new markets and instead looking to develop medicines and supplements. One producer that the article mentions produces Dionysox a drink made from the grape skins which he sells as a dietary supplement whilst another sells dietary supplements made from the vines. Although 80% of wine studies show it has a positive affect on health there are as yet no guarantee that the wine extracts do, so it would be interesting to see if any of these products undergo any clinical trials.

Scientists, politicians and wildlife groups are pushing for moves to restrict the sale of bluefin tuna. Campaigners will call for trade restrictions at the next meeting of Cities, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Bluefin tuna is very popular particularly in Japan where it is used for sushi and can often sell for thousands of pounds. Stocks of the fish, however, have dropped by 82% since 1978 in the western Atlantic and those in the eastern Atlantic have dropped by 80% in the same period. The fish is currently being fished faster than the total population can replenish its numbers so if nothing is done it appears the collapse of the species is inevitable. As the world’s main purchaser of the fish Japan are likely to oppose any restrictions.

A conservation project in Devon and Cornwall to help the cirl bunting is proving successful with numbers of the bird up 25% on 2003 levels. Under the project conservationists have been working with local farmers to manage land in such a way that provides food and a natural habitat for the birds. In 1989 there were just 118 pairs of breeding birds to be found in the UK but this has now risen to 862 in 2009.

According to a recent poll on obesity and weight loss, people in the East Midlands are the fattest in the UK. The poll looked at the average body mass index (BMI) across the country. It found that people in the East Midlands had an average BMI of 28.4 compared to London which was 26.1. Putting this into perspective a BMI of anything between 25 and 29.9 is considered to be overweight. Based on this it seems that even the lower of the two figures is taken into account then the average person in the UK is overweight.

According to this article a lack of fog could threaten the giant redwoods in the state of California. A recent study has found that fog has decreased in the last 100 years in the area. Whilst the importance of fog might not be apparent at first it helps to prevent water loss from the redwoods in the summer and so is really important for the trees. Most of the redwoods in the area are concentrated along the coast because they are not that good at dealing with California’s hot summers.  With the decline in fog many of the trees are now showing signs of drought stress and it is this which could threaten the trees. As yet the negative impact of the trees does remain unproven but it is interesting to see how a slight imbalance could start to have consequences for the environment, It seems this is an area which needs further study to see if the trees will be further impacted in the future.

This article is interesting, it suggests that vegetarian meat substitutes do more harm to the environment than eating meat. There has been widespread news about the impact of meat production on the environment but it seems that meat substitutes such and Quorn and tofu are not as green as they may seem. The Cranfield University found that switching from British bred beef and lamb to tofu and Quorn actually increases the the amount of land cultivated therefore raising the risk of forests being destroyed. This is because the production methods for these products are energy intensive and the final products are highly processed. A vegetarian looking to reduce their environmental impact, then, might be better off avoiding them.

A group of hedgehogs at a wildlife rescue centre are being on a diet because they are getting a little too fat. The hedgehogs spent longer than usual in care over the winter period and as a result carry so much weight they are finding difficult to roll into balls. The 10 hedgehogs will now undergo a much reduced diet before they are deemed fit enough to be released into the wild.

A herd of wild horses has been released into the Kent countryside in a project to help improve biodiversity in the area. The horses have been released into the South Foreland Valley nature reserve at St Margaret’s Bay near Dover. The project is a collaboration between conservation groups and St Margaret’s parish council. The horses are a relative of the Tarpan, a wild forest horse that would have roamed Britain in prehistoric times. It is hoped that grazing the land will encourage the return of many species of wildlife which are under threat including butterflies such as the chalkhill blue and silver spotted skipper.

Eel passes such as the one shown in the picture have given a boost to the number of European eels in British rivers. The passes allow the eels to wriggle their way up and over the barrier on a bed of bristles so they can get to the other side. Two passes installed in Somerset have seen 10,000 eels queuing up to use them. The Environment Agency now plans to fit a further 100 gates across the country.

According to this article St Austell in Cornwall will get £9 million of government money to help its eco-town project. St Austell was named as one of four areas that has been chosen by the government to have eco-towns with the others being in Rackheath in Norfolk, Bicester in Oxfordshire and Whitehill Bordon in East Hants. In all, the four areas will support up to 2,000 local jobs and introduce thousands of people to green living. The project in St Austell will regenerate the china clay area being used to create a number of carbon neutral homes. The homes will initially be used as show homes to help give residents in the local area an example of green living. Other houses will be given a green makeover and will feature water saving systems and smart meters to monitor energy use. They will also have renewable power and electric car charging points.

According to this article scientists have created a tomato that can stay fresh for up to six weeks. The tomato which is the result of genetic engineering will stay fresh for around 45 days, three times longer than a normal tomato. Researchers believe the process could also be applied to other fruits including bananas and mangos. It has been created by researcher in India who have managed to stop the production of ripening enzymes in the fruit. The increased firmness stops the fruit going soft for longer. The one problem may be that no one has yet tested the tomato for taste. It would also need to undergo extensive safety testing before it would be allowed to go on sale. I’m not convinced myself, I find fruit and vegetables at their best when they are fresh and am a little dubious at something that can be kept so long.

This is interesting, its a machine that supposedly turns waste paper from the office into toilet roll. Called the “White Goat” the machine could not be described as portable, it is 6ft tall and weighs in at 94st. It can create a new toilet roll from 40 sheets of A4 paper in around 30 minutes. Waste paper is fed into a shredder, untangled and then dissolved in a pulper. The wet paper is then thinned out and dried before being wound into toilet paper.

I have always been sceptical about the claims that fortnightly bin collections will cut waste. I’m not surprised then by the results of a report recently commissioned by the Government. It suggests that fortnightly bin collections do not help to cut waste and in fact it forces people to dispose of their waste in other ways such as driving it to the local dump. The report which was commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs found that although fortnightly bin collections did reduce the amount of waste left in the street it had a knock on effect of home owners taking more rubbish to the tip. According to the shadow Local Government minister this has the effect of increasing congestion and pollution from traffic. Based on the findings the Conservatives have said they will work to establish weekly bin collections if they are elected.

This interesting looking creature is called the blobfish. The fish which can grow up to 12 inches in size lives at depths of up to 800m which means it is rarely seen. Unfortunately although the fish is not edible it lives close to others that are and so is often caught by mistake with other catches such as crabs and lobsters. Whilst other fish are protected the blobfish is not and so is now at risk of becoming extinct.

If you like the idea of eating fresh produce from your own allotment but are not to keen on all the hard work involved, then this scheme might be for you. Launched by Wimpole Home Farm in Cambridgeshire it allows people to own a plot of land on an allotment. A grower will then plant, harvest and maintain the plot and for just £8 the owner will receive the fruits of their labour. An acre of land has been put aside by Wimpole Home Farm for the scheme and this has been divided into 50 sections which are being offered to individual owners. The land is owned by the National Trust and they have pledged to create 1,000 similar plots across the UK in the next 3 years. It seems like a good idea for those who want seasonal fruit and vegetables but don’t really have to time to spend growing it themselves.

According to this article the BBC is considering not renewing the Met Office contract when it comes up for renewal in April. The  news comes after a series of inaccurate weather forecasts which included the “BBQ summer” that failed to materialise and the “mild winter” which has been one of the coldest in recent years. Personally I usually rely on the BBC’s weather forecasts and this winter have found them to be fairly inaccurate. On days when heavy snow has been forecast there has been none and vice versa. The BBC is currently in talks with a company called Metra, the national forecaster for New Zealand so it will be interesting to see whether the Met Office is replaced and if it is whether the forecasts are any more reliable. 

A buffer zone has been put in place around a red squirrel reserve in Northumberland in a bid to protect the species. The reserve in Kielder Forest includes the Cumbrian woods of Kershope and Spaedadam. The buffer zone effectively cuts off the gap between the forest and the Solway Firth to try and slow the migration of grey squirrels to the Scottish border. Within the buffer zone Forestry Commission grants are available to support land managers in controlling grey squirrels by using humane traps. It is hoped that the zone will stop the spread of the pox virus which the grey squirrels carry and which is fatal to the endangered red squirrels.

The World Wide Fund for Nature has placed the tiger at the top of its list of the most endangered species. The charity is stepping up its efforts to save the animal as figures show there are only 3,200 tigers left on earth. Tigers are under threat from poachers, the destruction of their habit and climate change. A combination of these things has meant that the world population of tigers has fallen by 95% over the past century. The WWF have now classified it as the most at risk on its roaster of 10 critically endangered animals and will increase patrols and work with politicians to try and eradicate poaching and the illegal trade in tiger skins and body parts. With this year being the Chinese Year of the Tiger it seems like a time to focus on saving this magnificent animal.

The news has been full of snow related stories during the recent bad weather but this one deserves a mention for being one of the more unusual. It had never occurred to me that swans can get stuck on frozen lakes but it seems they can and do. This article highlights a case where a flock of swans had to rescued from a frozen lake by the RSPCA and some construction workers. The construction workers used their mechanical digger to break up the thick ice that has frozen around the birds. Although one swan died before they arrived the others were set free. It seems this is not an isolated incident with the RSPCA receiving around 100 calls reporting ducks and swans stuck on ice on ponds and lakes.

This interesting looking crab has recently been discovered of the coast of southern Taiwan. The crab which is bright red and covered with white spots is a new species.  Although it does resemble another species that lives in areas around Hawaii this one has a distinct clam shaped shell.

If this article is to be believed then our pets could have a bigger carbon footprint than the car we drive. According to the article the carbon footprint of a pet dog is more than double that of a sports utility vehicle. The analysis is based upon the fact that the average sized medium dog eats around 164 kilos (360 pounds) of meat and 95 kilos of cereal in a year. The land required to generate this amount or food has an annual footprint of 0.84 hectares, that’s twice the 0.41 hectares required by a 4 by 4 driving 6,200 miles a year. It appears other pets are no better for the environment, with cats having an eco-footprint of around 0.15 hectares, a little less than driving a Golf for a year. A hamster’s carbon footprint equates to a plasma TV and a goldfish, the equivalent to running two mobile phones. There are ways to reduce your pets carbon footprint such as feeding your cat on fish heads and left over's rather than premium choice cuts of meat. Still, given the choice between giving up my cats or the car, I know what I would rather keep, my cats might not be very useful but my car could never give me the companionship and entertainment that my cats do.

According to this article light bulbs could soon become a thing of the past as light emitting wallpaper is introduced. This is according to a government body that supports low carbon technology. The wallpaper would work using a chemical coating on the walls which illuminates all parts of the room with an even glow mimicking sunlight. It will also avoid the shadows and glare of conventional bulbs. An electrical current will be used to stimulate the chemicals in order to produce light but the voltage would be very low meaning the walls would be safe to the touch. Dimmer switches would control the brightness of the light. The product is still in development but the Carbon Trust has recently awarded a grant to Lomox, a company that is developing the technology. They claim it will be two and a half times more efficient than energy saving bulbs and will make a big contribution in cutting carbon emissions.

According to this article the public will soon be able to shoot parakeets. The birds are due to be added to an updated list of pests meaning that people will be able to kill them on their own property without a licence. The parakeets have become something of a pest in parts of the UK and have been blamed for wrecking fruit crops and threatening the nesting sites of native birds. A total of 63 species will be added to the list of alien pests in April, these include the European eagle owl, Chinese water deer the wild boar and some plants such as the rhododendron.

According to this article feeding the birds can affect the way that they evolve. Scientists have carried out a study on blackcaps which has found that they follow a different evolutionary path if they spend the winter eating food people have put out for them. The birds normal wintering ground is in southern Spain where they would feed on the fruit that grows there but some birds are now wintering in the UK because they can survive on the food we leave out on our bird tables. Studies have found that those birds which do this are now in the early stage of forming a new species. As the UK is closer to the birds breeding ground these birds also return early and claim the better territory than those that winter in Spain. The researcher found that the two groups of birds have different chemical signatures and have formed two distinct populations even down to the fact that they only mate within their own group. There are also differences emerging in the birds beak, wings and plumage with the birds that winter in the UK having rounder wings and longer narrower beaks more adapted to eating seeds and fat from bird feeders. It will be interesting to revisit this story in the future to see whether they have evolved further.

According to this article rhino poaching is on the rise. The global surge is being driven by the the demand from Asian medicinal markets and a decline in law enforcement. Around 95% of rhino poaching since 2006 has taken place in Zimbabwe and South Africa according to data compiled by Traffic the global wildlife trade monitoring network. The most serious situation appears to be in Zimbabwe where rhino numbers are declining rapidly, however, the conviction rate for rhino crime is only 3% in this country. Poaching and illegal trading have also seen a huge increase in South Africa with 210 rhinos being illegally killed between 2006 and 2009. The African black rhino is now placed in the critically endangered category on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and with the market for rhino horns in Asia still growing rapidly, its obvious that greater measures need to be put into place to in order to prevent poaching.

According to this article only two in every three children now have married parents. It appears that the number of children being brought up in the traditional family unit is at a historic low, that’s according to official figures. The findings come after the Government’s family pressure group has claimed the state should no longer try to preserve the traditional family. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics show that there are 8.3 million dependent children living with married parents, that’s a fall of 1.3 million since 1997. The number of dependent children in cohabiting households has risen from one million to 1.7 million during the same period. Studies show that children from cohabiting parents are also more likely to end up in single parent households because of the higher break up of these relationships. Research also shows that children from married homes do better at school, get better paid jobs and are more likely to steer clear of drugs and crime.

According to this article tomato and potato plants kill insects in order to help fertilise themselves. The plants have sticky hairs on them that they use to trap small insects. When the insects die they fall to the ground and the plants absorb the nutrients through their roots. Although the technique is more commonly seen in wild plants, it is thought that garden varieties still retain the ability to this but that they have no need to do so because gardeners tend to provide the plants with food. Botanists have recently been conducting a study into carnivorous plant species and were surprised to find carnivorous behaviour in many plant species that have previously been overlooked. Among them are species of petunia, ornamental tobacco plants, some varieties of potatoes and tomatoes and shepherd’s purse.

This article suggests that climate change could make some marine life such as lobsters bigger. A study has shown that more acidic oceans caused by rising atmospheric carbon dioxide can produce oversized shelled marine species including lobsters, crabs and shrimps. Whilst this may be good news for seafood lovers there is some bad news. Other species such as oysters, scallops and clams suffer in more acidic waters because they are unable to build their shells. Lobsters on the other hand thrive under higher CO2 levels because they can convert inorganic carbon in seawater into a form they can use to produce shells. However, they rely on the smaller creatures for food so in a situation where the predator is getting stronger and the prey weaker it seems only a matter of time before the predators are also severely impacted and the population becomes unsustainable.

This rather oversized robin was spotted at Plymouth’s Burrator Reservoir. Surprisingly despite his size he was able to fly. The good news is with his extra bulk he should be well placed to survive even the harshest winter as long as he is fast enough to evade any predators.

This orchid has recently been discovered in Eucador and is thought to be the world’s smallest. It measures only 2.1mm wide and its transparent petals are only one cell thick. The tiny flower was found among the roots of much larger plants and after it was studied in more detail it was found to be an entirely new species.

According to this article cutting one sausage out of your diet a day is necessary to save the planet. A report which has been backed by the Environment Secretary partly blames meat eaters for climate change. Scientists called for a 30% reduction in the number of farm animals bred for meat in order to prevent rising temperatures and rising sea levels. This 30% reduction is equivalent to seven sausages, two chicken breasts, four lamb chops or 12 rashers of bacon and according to the report would not only help the environment but also bring significant health benefits such as reducing premature deaths from heart disease.

According to this article a programme to save a rare species of duck is proving rather successful. The Madagascan Pochard is so rare that it is thought that there are only 20 of them left in the wild. All of the remaining population are thought to live on just a single volcanic lake. Eggs were collected from the wild population and were hatched in captivity. In all twenty four ducklings were hatched successfully. These ducklings will later be released back into the wild and it is hoped that the captive breeding programme will double the number of pochards within the next three years.

According to this article many energy saving lighting bulbs have a design flaw which means they start to become dimmer over time. Whilst it is advertised that the bulbs can last as long as five or six years, it appears that many will need replacing long before that. A good quality bulb is likely to lose about 20 per cent of its light over its estimated 8,000 hour lifespan with cheaper alternatives emitting just 60 per cent as much light as a new bulb. The problem is with CFL bulbs which give off light when a current is passed through a gas filled tube. The gas glows with ultraviolet radiation which lights up a coating of white phosphor on the inside of the tube, over time, however, this coating starts to lose its ability to light up. Other low energy bulbs such as halogen lights and LED bulbs are more reliable and more likely to stay bright throughout their life. With conventional bulbs being withdrawn from sale it appears we will soon have little alternative but to purchase the slightly dimmer alternative.

According to this article hundreds of horses are likely to be shot this winter as owners find they can no longer afford to keep them. Animal charities and sanctuaries have already reported a rise in the number of animals needing new homes but as they are already flooded with demand many have been turning away unwanted animals for months. As a result euthanasia is often the only option especially for older animals. Currently around 10,000 horses a year are killed in British abattoirs with much of the meat being sold on the Continent.

According to this article lost golf balls are becoming something of a problem. That’s because they can take take anything between 100 and 1000 years to decompose and are becoming something of a litter problem. When they do start to break down the balls release a high quantity of metals including zinc. When submerged in water this poisons the surrounding flora and fauna damaging the environment. I wonder if there is such a thing as a biodegradable golf ball.

A man has been arrested by Brazilian police after he was caught trying to smuggle 1,000 live spiders out of Brazil. The man who is a pet shop owner in London was stopped at the airport when police became suspicious about his luggage. He was found with boxes of live spiders in his suitcases. It could have been entertaining if one or two got loose on the plane.

It looks like its good news for water voles if this article is correct. The creature which was declared an endangered species in 2008 now appears to be becoming more common and there were twice as many spotted this year as there were last year. According to the article water voles have been the UK’s fastest declining mammal with numbers declining due to unsympathetic farming and watercourse management. Most of the recent sightings have been on the Kennet and Avon Canal between Reading and Bristol.

New legislation means that it will now be possible to create protected marine zones in areas which contains endangered species. The Marine Act will allow conservation groups to stop practices such as scallop dredging and trawler fishing in areas that are under threat. Species such as the Atlantic salmon, the pink sea fan (a type of coral), the harbour porpoise and seahorses should all benefit from the new protected zones.

It seems GPS has a wide range of uses. In this this case it has been used to pinpoint some rare ants nests in order to save them from destruction. The nests are located in forests in Northumberland, however, The Forestry Commission is due to remove 10,000 conifer trees from the forest. It was feared that the ants nests might be damaged in the process. Foresters will now be provided with the GPS co-ordinates of the ants locations so that they can be sure to avoid them.

According to this article there has been a rise in the cases of scurvy reported in children in the UK. The disease which is more commonly associated with sailors is caused by a deficiency in vitamin C usually caused by a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables. It seems that the disease has soared by over 50 per cent in the last three years with 61 children being admitted with the disease in 2004/2005 and 94 in 2007/2008. These figures only cover those who have been admitted to hospital and it is thought that the problem is much more widespread. It makes me wonder what sort of diet people are eating to get this disease today when it is possible to buy large quantities of fruit and vegetables at low prices especially if you choose the supermarkets own brand value range.

If this article is to be believed then it appears that Cadburys are planning to get rid of the Roses tin. Tins of Roses are usually to be found in most supermarkets in the run up to Christmas but Cadburys has decided to replace the tin with a cardboard box. The move comes as part of a drive to save on packaging. The new cardboard box will include the same amount of chocolates as the traditional tin and will cost the same but should be a little easier to recycle once you have eaten the contents.

If you are planning on building a bonfire this bonfire night, then make sure you look out for hedgehogs. Unfortunately this is just the time of year that hedgehogs are looking for somewhere warm to spend the winter and a pile of logs makes the perfect place to hibernate. If you are planning on building a bonfire the advice is to assemble your fire a few hours before the event rather than several weeks before hand. It is less likely that animals such as hedgehogs and frogs and toads will have chance to crawl inside. As scientists predict that hedgehogs could be extinct by 2025 they need all the help they can get, so taking this simple step could mean far less casualties.

Two red squirrels have been found near Bangor, the first to be found in the area for a decade. It is thought the squirrels may have crossed the Menai Strait from Anglesey to Gwynedd using one of the two bridges. Scientists are waiting for the results of tests to prove that they came from the Anglesey colonies. Around 300 red squirrels live on Anglesey but this is the first evidence that they have started to colonise new habitats on the mainland. The discovery has been hailed as a breakthrough for the endangered species.

According to this article some parts of the UK could soon see an invasion of ladybirds. Numbers of the non native Harlequin ladybird have dramatically increased over the past few years. At this time of the year when the weather starts to get colder the ladybirds looks for cracks in walls to hide in and often find ways into the house in an effort to stay warm. Unfortunately whilst the ladybirds are fairly harmless the rapid expansion of the non native species is bad news for our native ladybirds which compete for the same food. Scientists have launched the UK Ladybird Survey to track the spread of the harlequins which are larger and have more spots than the native seven spot ladybird. If you see any you can email your pictures to the Harlequin Ladybird Survey website or text LADYBIRD to 83040 to receive a link to upload your photos from your mobile.

This picture was taken last week when the Maldives government held an underwater cabinet meeting in order to highlight climate change. Politicians wore scuba gear for the meeting which took place 6 feet under water. The nation’s president fears that the archipelago will be swamped by rising sea levels unless action is taken to reduce carbon emissions. Currently 350,000 inhabitants live in the Maldives with most of the islands being only 2.1 metres above the ocean. It is feared that if measures are not taken to save the islands that what now seems a fun publicity stunt may soon be become reality as the Maldives disappears under the rising water.

Scientists are studying an outbreak of squirrel pox in the hope that it might provide information to help stop the red squirrel  from dying out. Whilst an epidemic of the squirrel pox virus may be bad news for red squirrels in Liverpool it is hoped that studying how the virus is spread and what makes the red squirrels particularly vulnerable to it may help to save the species and ensure its long term survival. The virus is carried by both red and grey squirrels but the greys seem to unaffected by it whilst it is lethal to red squirrels. In 2007 there was a major outbreak of the disease in Formby in Lancashire which caused a 90% fall in the number of red squirrels in the area and is still affecting the population today. Scientists from the University of Liverpool will monitor the squirrels as part of a four year project. They hope to find out how the squirrels became infected and whether the surviving squirrels have developed any immunity to it. They should then be able to determine how the infection progresses and look at how to halt the spread.

According to this article it could soon be legal to shoot parakeets. The birds have become very common in some parts of the country and there were certainly flocks of them in Egham when we used to live there. The problem is that the non native species eats much the same things as our native bird species and in some places have become so common that the native species are beginning to suffer. The birds have also been blamed for destroying crops with one vineyard owner losing enough grapes to make 3,000 bottles of wine in just a day. The London wildlife trust has criticised the proposed change because they say other birds such as green woodpeckers could be mistaken for parrots and might be shot in error. If the law is changed parakeets will join crows, gulls and magpies on the list of birds that it is legal to shoot if they have caused damage. Based on the fact that there are thought to be around 40,000 parakeets in the South East alone and some colonies have as many as 7,000 birds I think its time to go parrot shooting.

I hate spiders so was disturbed to read that we are likely to see a lot more of them this year. According to this article the warm dry summer has created the ideal conditions for spiders and crane flies. This is good news for the environment as it means more food for those creatures that like to snack on them. It is not, however, good news for those of us that are scared of spiders. I can see I will making use of my favourite spider catching technique of sucking them up the vacuum cleaner fairly often this winter.

According to this article if you want bigger fruit from your tomato plants then you should try urinating on them. A study has found that urinating on your tomato plants can make the crop up to four times bigger than usual. The discovery was made by a team of Finnish researchers who found sprinkling the tomatoes with human urine mixed with wood ash made the ideal fertiliser. Its an interesting idea but I’m not sure I would fancy eating the fruit.

According to this article tall people lead happier lives than their shorter friends. A study published in the journal Economics and Human Biology has found that most miserable men are almost an inch shorter than average. The research found that shorter people are generally more dissatisfied with their lives. 450,000 adults were interviewed about how they viewed their life. Tall people were more likely to be positive and judge themselves as happy, they were also less likely to feel negative emotions such as sadness and physical pain. I’m not convinced myself, I’m fairly happy but am also tall but I also have plenty of friends who are short but also happy.

According to this article short haired bumblebees are going to be reintroduced in Britain. The species has been extinct in Britain for almost ten years but now a conservation programme will try to reintroduce the species from a colony of insects in New Zealand. Conservationists will fly to New Zealand’s South Island to collect some queen bees from a colony that was exported there over a century ago. These bees from the native colony will be bred in captivity. They then hope to use the bees offspring to start repopulating the English countryside reintroducing the first bees next June.

This giant woolly rat is a new species that has recently been discovered in Papua, New Guinea. The rat was discovered near an extinct volcano. It measures nearly 3ft long about the size of a cat and weighs more than 3lb and has no fear of humans. It has provisionally been named the Bosavi woolly rat and it it thought that it is only found in this crater.

According to this article a loggerhead turtle has found in a rockpool near Tintagel in Cornwall. The turtle which has been nicknamed Steve is the second loggerhead turtle to be found in the area within the month. Steve appeared to be unharmed and he has been taken to Newquay’s Blue Reef Aquarium where he is recovering with the other turtle, Squirt. Both turtles will be released in the Canary Islands once they are fully recovered.

These cute little guys are part of a programme to release sand lizards in sites across the UK. The endangered lizards have almost disappeared from Britain due to loss of habitat caused by agriculture and building developments. Hundreds of sand lizards are to be released at five sites in Surrey, Dorset and mid Wales in an effort to reverse the decline of the creatures. The lizards have been raised in special hatcheries with minimal contact from the breeders so they do not become too tame. Their new homes are on nature reserves which have been assessed to make sure they provide the right habitat for the lizards to survive.

This is unusual its a newt that is able to push its ribs through its skin to use them as weapons. The Spanish ribbed newt is able to force its bones through its skin when it is threatened. Surprisingly this does not appear to cause the newt any harm but it is quite an extreme method of protection.

According to this article giant pandas could be extinct within two to three generations. The warning comes from the WWF who say the destruction of the pandas natural habitat is the main threat facing the species. The problem is that the remaining living areas are becoming increasingly fragmented leaving most of the remaining pandas in areas of bamboo less that a mile wide. These areas are often separated by highways which make migration and mating difficult for the pandas. It is thought there are around 1,600 pandas left in six mountain ranges in southwestern China, with only 43% of panda habitats being protected areas.

This giant owl shaped crop circle has appeared in a field in Wiltshire. The 400ft pattern appeared overnight in the field. It is not known who is responsible for it but its certainly interesting, I wonder how you go about creating one of these.

This scary looking plant has recently been discovered in the Philippines. The plant which has been named after Sir David Attenborough grows more than 4ft long. It is able to eat prey such as mice and rats which it traps by secreting nectar. Once close enough the animals fall into a large pitcher within the plant. Unable to get out they then drown and acids in the fluid break down the remains.

This rare albino swallow was spotted in by Steve Copsey in Rhynie, Aberdeenshire. Apparently there is a one in 18,000 chance of a bird being albino making this little guy very rare.

A re-colonisation programme hopes to reintroduce sea eagles to Scotland. Under the scheme a group of 14 chicks from Norway were reared in custom built aviaries in Fife . They have now released at the Tay estuary. The project which is now in its third year has already been successful in the west of Scotland and there are now thought to be around 200 sea eagles in the region. Last year 44 pairs of breeding birds produced 28 chicks so it looks like a good sign for the species.

I feed the birds everyday but have never considered that the bees also might need some food. According to this article gardeners are being urged to leave out energy drinks for tired bees to try and help the declining bee population. The RSPB has been inundated with calls reporting bees lying on the ground unable to fly. They recommend leaving out an egg cup filled with two tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of water so that tired bees can boost their energy levels.

According to this article the average British family throw away £610 of food every year. The figure is based on a household with children and amounts to 6.5 million tonnes of rubbish. Based on this ministers want supermarkets to replace buy one get one free offers in favour of half price deals as well as introducing a larger range of pack sizes. They also want supermarkets to use clearer labels so that customers are sure of the difference between the use by date and the best before date. The article made me wonder how much of our household waste is food waste. I am certainly getting better at reducing the amount of rubbish we produce and try to make as much use of leftovers as possible mainly to try and save a bit of money but we still seem to have several sacks of rubbish every week.

This is interesting, its a scheme being offered by a farmer that will allow people to grow vegetables above their dead relatives. Under the scheme people will be able to buy a plot for their relative to be buried in and will then be able to farm the land above to grow their own veg. The plots will be available at Richard Sibley’s farm in North Somerset. It will cost £1,400 to bury someone there and £13 a month to continue farming the land.

Several major shoe brands have demanded a moratorium on the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Clark, Adidas, Nike and Timberland are among the brands that are putting pressure on suppliers to make changes. According to this article around 65 to 75% of deforestation is linked to the growth of ranching. As well as the moratorium on leather from newly deforested areas the footwear makers want suppliers to bring in a traceability system which will guarantee the source of all leather. Currently some Brazilian companies linked to rainforest destruction export products to blue chip companies across the world. The three major processors Bertin, JBS and Marfrig have now agreed to reject cattle from illegally deforested land. The footwear companies will also refuse to buy leather which is sourced from farms on both legally and illegally deforested land.

According to this article a report has concluded that organic food is no better for you. The report which was commissioned by the Food Standards Agency found that organic food contained no more nutritional value than factory farmed meat or fruit and vegetables grown using chemical fertilisers. I think the report might be missing the point. I don’t necessarily buy organic produce because I think its better for me but I do like to know that what I am eating has been farmed in a responsible way and I do like to know where my food comes from. I don’t necessarily purchase organic produce but I am aware that organic farming has stricter animal welfare rules and that it bans artificial chemical fertilisers so am more likely to choose it if the price is not a consideration.

This unusual albino blackbird was spotted by a bird watcher in South Wales.  Mr Jarman spotted the unusual bird in his garden and managed to get this picture of it. The bird which he nicknamed Snowy visited his garden for several months before it disappeared. Unfortunately with its unusual colouring it was probably picked off by a hungry pussy cat or other predator.

According to this article sales of bicycles are booming as people take advantage of a tax break scheme. According to the article the Government’s Cycle to Work scheme allows people to buy a bike out of their salary before it is taxed. The bike is also free from VAT. This can mean a saving of hundreds of pounds on top bicycle models and 26,000 vouchers have been redeemed so far this year. The boom in bike sales has also been put down to the better weather and the fact that people want to save money on their transport costs but it appears cycling is becoming much more popular with shops selling out of many bike models and repair centres being so busy that it can take several weeks to get your bike mended. I have a neglected bike at the back of the shed, perhaps its time to dust the cobwebs off of it and go for a ride.

According to this article dormice in Devon and Cornwall are crossing some of the regions busiest roads and making their home on the central reservation. The rodents have been found living on verges in the middle of the A30 and the A38. The findings come after 50 animals were electronically tagged to study their movements. The study by the Highways Agency was looking into how the busy roads affected population numbers. Although it is not known how many dormice are killed crossing the road it appears once they are established they prefer to stay put on the central reservation and seem to thrive.

An orphaned elephant called Nellie has got a new lease of life after he was fitted with a false foot. The elephant lost his foot when he was caught in a poacher’s snare. The foot had become infected and it was thought that Nellie would never walk again. His rescuers cut away the infected tissue and cleaned his wounds before fitting the prosthetic limb. It will need changing as he grows bigger but it appears this elephant is very happy with his new foot.

According to this article rhino poaching is set to reach a 15 year high. The warning comes from conservation groups who warn the animals are at risk due to the demand for their horns which are used in traditional medicine. It is estimated that the number of rhinos being killed in southern Africa has risen four fold over recent years. Although there have been recent successes in conservation efforts it is now feared that these are being undone by the huge increase in poaching.

According to this article Amur tigers are on the brink of extinction. There are currently thought to be only 500 tigers left in the wild. The results come after a genetic survey of wild Amur tigers. At the start of the 20th century there were nine subspecies of tigers with a total population of around 100,000 individuals. Three subspecies, the Javan tiger, Bali tiger and Caspian tiger are now extinct and world tiger numbers have fallen to fewer than 3000. The Amur tiger was also nearly driven to extinction due to habitat loss and poaching and in the 1940s only between 20 and 30 individuals survived. Since then the Amur tiger has seen a slow recovery with about 500 tigers thought to survive in the wild. The problem is that the remaining population of tigers is behaving as though it were the size of only 27 to 35 individuals due to factors such as non-breeding individuals and a skewed sex ratio. The remaining Amur tigers are also split into two populations that rarely intermingle reducing the size of the world population further.

If this article can be believed then climate change is responsible for shrinking sheep. The article is based upon a study of Soay sheep in Scotland. It found that since 1985 sheep have decreased in size by 5%. In addition to this their legs have also got shorter. The change has been put down to the fact that milder winters help smaller sheep to survive resulting in a decline in size. Younger sheep also tended to give birth to smaller lambs and eventually smaller sheep start to become more common.

According to this article Marks and Spencer is the worst supermarket for packaging waste. A study found that the supermarket is worse than Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Waitrose and Morrisons when it comes to packaging. Which? found that its packs of bacon, punnets for mushrooms and tubs for ice cream were all heavier than similar packaging from their rivals. Which? brought 27 own brand items from leading supermarkets including fresh and frozen food and washing up liquid and fizzy drinks. In each case the total packaging including the labels was weighed. The total weight of Marks and Spencer’s packaging was 415g, Sainsbury’s was the lightest at 369g and Tesco was just slightly more at 370g. Marks and Spencer said the study was flawed because it failed to take into account the amount of recycled material that was included in the packaging. They claim that in many cases their packaging may weigh more but is actually more environmentally friends because it is made from more recycled content.

I have noticed a huge number of greenflies in my garden over the past few weeks and it appears I am not the only one. According to this article the recent hot weather has created the perfect conditions that’s the flies need to reproduce. The cold winter has also meant that many of the larger insects that eat the greenflies have been killed off. The insect explosion whilst it is not good news for gardeners like me is however, good news for garden birds that rely on insect numbers to flourish.

Something that has been puzzling researchers for some time is the amount of frogs that are found around the world with missing legs. It was originally thought to have been caused by chemical pollution but it appears it might have a more natural cause. According to this article dragonfly nymphs are rather partial to eating the legs on developing tadpoles. The nymphs rarely eat the tadpole whole and instead grab it and chew on its limbs often removing them altogether. The tadpole usually survives and later turns into as adult frog with missing legs. It appears that the adult frogs are able to survive for a long time with missing legs which goes some way to explaining why there are so many legless frogs hopping around.

A man has invented a solar powered plane which he hopes will be able to fly around the world. The plane is 61m wide but weighs just 1,500kg. It uses solar cells, batteries, motors and propellers to enable it to fly at night. It is currently only a prototype but the final version of the plane will try to cross the Atlantic in 2012 in an unmanned flight.

This is interesting its a plant that pretends to be ill in order to deter predators from eating it. The plant produces patterns on its leaves which mimic the damage done to plants by mining moths. The picture shows actual mining moth damage on the left and the fake damage right. It appears that moths do not lay any further larvae on leaves that already have damage so they avoid the plants with the fake leaf damage. The idea was tested by painting white correctional fluid on the leaves of some plants to mimic the moth damage. After three the number of leaves affected by the moths were counted comparing green leaves and the pattered leaves. It was found that those with the patterns were significantly less damaged than the plain green ones.

Sainsbury’s will be the first of the major supermarkets to scrap cereal boxes on its own brands. The supermarket will stop using cereal boxes and will instead use recyclable plastic bags. Sainsbury’s have already started selling milk in polythene bags in an attempt to cut down on packaging. Scrapping cereal boxes should mean that they cut down on packaging by a third. They have already started stocking basics Rice Pops in the new packaging and eventually hope to scrap boxes for all of their own brand cereals. They have also reduced packaging on soft fruit by replacing the plastic punnet with a lid with a heat seal wrap and are looking at reducing packaging on meat.

According to this article a 2,500 bird’s nest has been found on a cliff in Greenland. The nesting site is used by gyrfalcons and includes three other nests all of which are more than 1,000 years old. Ornithologists discovered how old the nests were when they were trying to find out long the birds return to the same site. They used carbon to date the bird droppings and debris left behind and were surprised to find out how the nests actually were. One of the nests also contains feathers from a bird which would have lived more than 600 years ago.

One lady got a shock when she opened a jar of tikka masala sauce from her local Asda and found that it contained something extra. Along with the curry sauce she found a dead mouse which it seems had fallen into the jar before it was sealed. The jar of sauce has since been sent away for analysis in order to establish where it came from.

Sir Paul McCartney has launched a campaign to try and get people to eat less meat. He has urged people to give up meat for just one day a week, hence why it has been called meat free Mondays. The campaign has been launched after a United Nations report said that meat production is responsible for 18 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. In comparison transport is responsible for 13 per cent of emissions. Personally I have been cutting down on the meat that we eat, but more for financial reasons rather than environmental considerations. The aim has been to try and have two days a week where we do not eat meat in order to save a little more money during what is proving to be an expensive house move. So far it is going quite well and the shopping budget has definitely got a lot more manageable. I do miss eating meat every day but just look forward to the other days when we still have it.

This is interesting, its an idea that is being tried by Sainsbury's to make their stores greener. Under the scheme the checkout would be powered by energy which is created by the shoppers. Kinetic road plates will be installed at a new branch in Gloucester. The plates will generate energy when customers drive over them when entering and leaving the car park. The device will then convert enough energy to power the tills inside the store reducing the amount of energy taken from the National Grid. The devices are already being tried at distribution warehouses but this will be the first time they will be used at a supermarket. If the scheme is successful in Gloucester it could soon be put into place at more stores across the country.

Pret a Manger has taken the decision to switch to a sustainable type of tuna after the founder watched a documentary about intensive fishing methods. They will start using skipjack tuna later this year which is more common than the yellowfin and bluefin tuna that they currently use. As well as being more common skipjack tuna is caught using smaller fishing boats using a pole and line approach rather than an intensive fishing method which often leads to other sea creatures being caught in the nets. Although the pole and line technique is more labour intensive and therefore most expensive Pret have promised that the increased cost will not be passed onto the customer. Waitrose and Marks & Spencer have also stopped selling bluefin tuna, swordfish and skate and Tesco does not sell bluefin tuna.

Sony have released two new phones that are made from recycled plastic. The phone are made from old CD cases and water bottles and have been launched as an eco friendly option for customers. The GreenHeart C901 and Naite both feature a camera, video streaming, bluetooth and WAP and work as a conventional phone would. The only difference is that the casing is made from 50 per cent recycled plastic. Both phones also include a low power charger and an in phone e-manual which reduces paper usage by 90 per cent. They also include an application that allows you to work out how much greenhouse gas emissions you can save by choosing to walk somewhere rather than using your car.

This in interesting, its a plant that has the ability to water itself. The desert rhubarb which is found in Israel has specially developed leaves that collect water and then channel it down to the plants roots. This means that the plant can collect 16 times more water than other plants in the same region with a typical plant collecting about 4.2 litres of water a year and a large plant collecting as much as 43.8 litres. That's not bad especially when you consider that only 75mm of rain falls in the region each year.

If like many other people you are thinking of getting an allotment to grow your own vegetables, it appears you might be in for a long wait. According to this article in some areas the waiting lists for an allotment are so long that you might have to wait up to 40 years before you get one. In Camden for example there are 883 people waiting for an allotment and in Islington, Burnley, Fylde, Wirrel and Kingston upon Hull waiting list are all longer than 10 years. Although every council has to provide 20 allotments per every 1,000 residents it seems demand is simply to high. Whether its the effects of recession or simply a renewed interest is not clear but it appears growing your own is the thing to do.

According to this article a bustard has bred in the wild in Britain for the first time in 200 years. In fact three chicks have hatched at two sites on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. The exact spots are being kept secret in order to protect the bird but the news is the first sign that an reintroduction programme might be working. In 2004 forty chicks were brought to Britain from Russia to their new home on Salisbury Plain. Bustards, however, are slow to mature and the first known nest in 2007 produced infertile eggs. The presence of chicks is encouraging and there are hopes that the population will now be able to become self sustaining.

Beavers have been released into the wild in Scotland for the first time in 400 years. The 11 beavers have been released in Knapdale Forest, Argyll. They are part of a reintroduction production that could soon see beavers becoming a more common sight in the UK. The beavers have been fitted with tracking devices and their progress will be closely monitored. The programme has gone ahead despite some concerns that the beavers will have a adverse affect on fish stocks. It will be interesting to revisit this in a few months and see how they are getting on.

Designer Paul Smith has created these rubbish bins in the shape of giant rabbits to try and reduce London’s litter. The bins have flashing ears which light up when rubbish is put into them. They will be tested for four months to see if they encourage more people to put their rubbish in the bin. The bins have been unveiled in Covent Garden, central London and Holland Park.

According to this article the cuckoo has featured of Britain’s list of endangered birds for the first time. The latest assessment of Britain’s native birds puts the cuckoo as one of 52 species which are now considered to be at risk. Numbers of the bird have fallen by as much as 37% in the last 15 years. Other birds on the list include the lapwing, tree pipit, wood warbler and yellow wagtail. Once common species such as the song thrush, house sparrow and starling have also seen a drastic decline mainly caused by loss of habitat.

According to this article £300,000 of taxpayers money was spent on research into finding out which kind of water ducks prefer. This hugely important and ground breaking research was carried out by Defra with the aim of making sure that ducks kept on farms are properly treated. During the three year study by Oxford University scientists offered the ducks different types of water including a trough, a pond, a shower and a nipple drinker. It was found that the ducks preferred standing under a shower and that they spent twice as long under the shower as they did in the other water.

According to this article numbers dormice and water voles are starting to recover thanks to some conservation programmes which have been set up to save them. The creatures which used to be common have been threatened by intensive farming techniques, pollution and climate change which have threatened to wipe them out. The decline of the dormouse is mainly due to the loss of hedgerows and meadows which have caused then to halve in numbers in the last 100 years. Water voles are also affected by loss of habitat as well as polluted rivers. These factors have caused a 90 per cent drop in their numbers in a ten year period between 1990 and 2000. As well as working on projects to improve the creatures habitat conservationists have been asking the public to monitor numbers of dormice and provide boxes for them to sleep in. There have also been successful reintroduction programmes of over 600 dormice to 12 counties over the past 16 years. It appears all of these measures combined mean that the furry creatures are starting to make a comeback.

I am used to seeing butterflies in my garden but in the last week have noticed an unusual concentration of painted lady butterflies. The usual butterfly population in my garden tends to consist of a mix of cabbage whites, small and large tortoiseshells, comma and peacock butterflies so I was wondering if there was a reason for this high concentration of painted ladies. This article just might explain it. It suggests that there is a mass migration of the butterflies this year with around 18,000 of them arriving on the north Norfolk coast from North Africa. Apparently the migration began last Thursday when large numbers of the butterflies were found in Dorset but since then they have been spotted pretty much everywhere. If you don’t know what one looks like, there is a picture on the left but chances are you could be seeing quite a lot of them this year.

According to this article if you want to save the planet you should stop eating lamb and drinking beer. Apparently 37lbs of carbon dioxide is generated to produce 2.2lbs of lamb. Producing pork and chicken on the other hand produces much less emissions. Alcoholic drinks also contribute to emissions with the growing and processing of hops producing 1.5 per cent of Britain’s greenhouse gases. mmm I was thinking of doing both of these things today.

This fox cub had to be rescued by the RSPCA after he got his head stuck in a glass jar. The cub had licked the contents from the glass jar but then found he could not get his head out again. He was found in a garden in Ilford and animal officers were called who removed the jar from his head. After being sprayed with water to cool him down, he was released apparently none the worse for his adventure.

According to this article it is a particularly good year for dandelions. The combination of lots of rain followed by sunny days seems to have created the ideal growing conditions for the weed.  My garden definitely backs up the theory. As quickly as I dig the plants out, more seems to take their place. I am starting to wonder whether I should just leave them there and try to use them for something. Apparently they are quite nice in salads.

According to this article gardeners are increasingly starting to use wallabies as an alternative to lawnmowers. Apparently private orders for wallabies have jumped recently as landowners choose to use them on their land. Traditionally people with large gardens have used sheep to graze their lawns but it appears that wallabies are a friendlier alternative. Wallabies are not cheap at around £150 for a male and £650 for a female but it appears that demand for them is rising with Waveney Wildlife Britain’s biggest private supplier reporting orders doubling in the last five years. If you are looking to keep a wallaby they need about an acre of land and fences at least 5ft high so they cannot escape.

Some lucky bats in East Sussex have got a nice new luxury heated house to live in. The £20,000 bat house has been built by a property developer who was told he needed to protect the bats habitat. The developer was given permission to demolish two houses in order to build nine flats on the condition that he provided the brown long-eared bats with an alternative home.

According to this article being fat is bad for the environment and can actually contribute towards global warming. Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that overweight people are more responsible for carbon emissions than their thinner counterparts because they consume more food and fuel. The study identified an increase demand for livestock production and a higher dependency upon cars  as the main causes of global warming. This led them to the assumption that overweight people are more likely to consume more meat and as they find it harder to move around easily also more likely to use cars rather than walk, thus contributing to global warming more than a thinner person. The researchers also estimated that a lean population of one billion would emit 1,000million tonnes less carbon dioxide per year than a ‘fat’ nation of the same size. What do you think, is being fat a cause of global warming?

Since I heard that the government was introducing a scrappage scheme to encourage people to trade in their old cars for a newer model I have watching with interest. My car has now reached the 20 year old mark and its a miracle every year when it gets through the MOT. I would happily trade my car in a for a newer one, the only thing that is really stopping me is that I simply cannot afford to get a new car. I was hoping that the government scheme might give me an extra little bit of help to be able to purchase something a little newer, perhaps a car that is only five years old rather than twenty. It appears, however, that the scheme only allows you purchase a car that is less than a year old. I have been looking around at the prices of new cars and even if I were to purchase one with finance it is simply too expensive. I don’t want a particularly big car perhaps a Ford Fiesta or similar but prices of these start at around £12,295. It looks as though my car will be on the road for some time yet whilst I continue saving for a newer one.

This in interesting its an initiative by Boris Johnson that will use spare plots of land in London to grow vegetables. Under the scheme not only spare plots of land but also other spaces such as roof tops and open areas around some of London’s famous landmarks could be used to grow vegetables. Some possible candidates are plots of land around the Tower of London, Marble Arch and the roof of the Hayward gallery. Boris will lead the way by planning some runner beans in a plot of land near City Hall and hopes that landowners will be encouraged to lend any spare plots to the campaign. The National Trust’s Grow Your Own Campaign will consider all plots of land including derelict building sites and supermarkets car parks and the trust itself has already pledged 1,000 plots of land from its own holdings. In addition to this Network Rail and British Waterway have also promised land.

According to this article honey can be used as a natural cure for hayfever. The article suggests that rather than using anti-histamines you could just have a spoonful of honey each day. People that use honey to combat hay fever usually have one spoonful every day and start taking it well before the pollen season starts. Honey contains small amounts of pollen and helps be desensitising you to the pollen in the air. Apparently it doesn’t work for everyone but it can’t hurt to try it and I do quite like honey on toast.

New research has found that if the population of grey squirrels are controlled red squirrels do return the area. The Red Squirrel Survival Trust (RSST) have found red squirrels in Cumbria, Northumberland and parts of Wales where they have been absent for more than twenty years. The return of the red squirrels in attributed to a grey squirrel control zone, in which the grey squirrels are trapped and killed in order to let the red squirrels re-colonise. Animal rights activists, however, insist that killing grey squirrels is not the answer and that red and squirrels could live side by side if a vaccine is developed against the fatal pox virus that the greys often carry. The results of the grey squirrel control zones do appear to be encouraging Dr Craig Shuttleworth SST adviser says: "Ten years ago there were fewer than 40 red squirrels on the island of Anglesey, and their prospects were bleak. However, through a strong local partnership, grey squirrels have almost completely been removed from the island, and the red squirrel population has increased to 300. Significantly they have spread from the conifer trees to the broadleaf areas – showing that reds are happy in a whole variety of habitats providing they are untroubled by greys. Anglesey has turned the grey tide." It appears from this that grey squirrels do need to be controlled in order to help the red thrive. I have also heard that squirrel tastes a bit like chicken, so perhaps they can be put to good use in local restaurants.

Scientists have warned that the Arctic could be ice free within a decade. The prediction is based upon Nasa figures which show an increase in winter sea ice of just 5.85 million square miles, the fifth lowest on record. Studies also show that the ice is thinner than ever and that the volume of ice is probably the lowest it has ever been. All of these things mean that the sea ice is less likely to survive the summer and that the Arctic Ocean could be free of ice as early as 2013, although it is more likely to happen between 2020 and 2040. Based on this it appears that change is coming to the Arctic much earlier than expected  which is not only bad news for the polar bears and humans that rely on the ice for hunting but also for weather patterns around the world which are likely to be triggered by atmospheric changes.

This is interesting, its an idea from Bristol City Council to raise their own herd of cattle to provide beef for schools and restaurants. The council intends to buy 200 acres of parkland next to the M32 which they will use to graze a herd of beef cattle. The council’s “British Beef” project will then supply meat to local schools under the healthy schools meals programme. It seems like quite a good idea and I’m all for sourcing produce from the local area, the plan has met with some resistance, however, from local vegetarian groups.

If this picture is genuine then it could be the best evidence yet that large cats are roaming the countryside. The picture was taken in New Denham near Uxbridge by Paul Keehn and appears to show a large black cat sitting by a fence near some homes which back onto fields. Britain’s leading big cat expert said of the photo "If this photo is genuine it is the best ever photo of a British Big Cat taken in Britain.” and "It's a photograph that would be hard to disprove. I would prefer to have seen another photo of it to see that there's some movement to be sure.” I’m not entirely convinced. What do you think?

This is interesting its a TV that turns itself off when no one is watching it. The new Sony Bravia WE5 Eco TV includes something called a smart presence sensor that will turn the TV off if it no longer detects any movement in the room. The TV detects the movement and body heat of anyone sitting within range of the screen. If the viewer falls asleep or leaves the room the sensor can detect this and switched the picture mode off reducing the power consumption. The set then remains idle for 30 minutes before switching itself off completely. It’s an interesting idea, but I wonder how well it copes with people who sit still for long periods of time and also how it deals with pets moving about the house.

This article suggests that low energy light bulbs can cause rashes and swelling in some people with sensitive skin. The warning comes as many large supermarkets have started phasing out traditional light bulbs in favour of the energy saving variety. Currently people do still have the choice of whether to buy traditional or energy saving bulbs, however from September 2012 traditional light bulbs will be banned and only the energy saving bulbs or halogen bulbs will be available. Medical charities say that low energy light bulbs trigger migraines, epilepsy and rashes and in some cases lupus, a disease of the immune system which causes skin to become hypersensitive to sunlight. Based on this some doctors are now calling on the government to give medical exemptions for those affected when the ban comes into place. In my opinion if there is evidence that low energy light bulbs can affect people in this way, then the traditional alternative needs to remain on sale as an alternative although personally I do buy energy saving bulbs and don’t find that they affect me.

This cute little guy is the Spud the spineless hedgehog. He is being cared for at St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital after he was found in someone’s garden. What makes Spud unusual is that he doesn’t have any spines at all. Other than that he behaves like a perfectly normal hedgehog. Due to his lack of spines he cannot be released into the wild because he would get too cold in the winter so he has a permanent home at the hospital. The cause of his condition continues to be a mystery and staff at the hospital are appealing for people to come forward with ideas about what might have caused the problem and offer potential solutions.

It’s a conversation you might have in a pub after a few beers, if a crocodile and a shark has a fight which will win? This question appears to be answered if this article is to believed. It highlights an incident (pictured left) where the two creatures did indeed fight with the crocodile coming off better. In fact the 15ft saltwater crocodile proceeded to eat the shark after disabling it, proving that on this occasion the answer to the question is clearly crocodile.

Frogs in a part of Edinburgh will soon have their own frog hotel. The structure will be built alongside a pond in Redhall Walled Garden in Edinburgh. It is designed to protect the frogs from predators during the mating season. The structure will include a ramp that leads up to a protected area and a lower ground area which has been nicknamed the Compost Cafe. It’s an interesting idea, I wonder whether I should built a frog hotel to protect the frogs in my garden from my curious cats?

This is interesting its an idea created by visionary architects which they say could help combat global warming. Put in simple terms the idea is to build a skyscraper that includes 400 trees in an effort to absorb dangerous pollutants and convert carbon dioxide into oxygen. The devices would be built near factories or other major sources of pollution in order to clean the air. Evergreen trees would be mounted on the 400ft tall structure along a series of floors so that they could filter air hundreds of feet above the ground. To the right is a diagram showing how the system could work. Looking at the comments at the bottom the article it seems most people object to the fact that the structure is rather ugly, I certainly wouldn't want outside my house. What do you think?

A property tycoon has built America's first "green" mansion. Costing £15 million the mansion includes enough solar panels to cover a basketball court and can generate enough energy to power two or three average sized homes (or 1 giant mansion presumably). It also has a water system that collects enough run off water to fill an average sized swimming pool every 14 days and includes environmentally conscious lighting which reduces electricity consumption by 70 per cent. All of these things mean that it is the first home of its size to be certified as "green" by Florida's rigorous environmental standards committees.

I came across this picture of a heart shaped island in Croatia today. The unusual shape was of the island called Galesnjak was highlighted on Google Earth and it has since become known as Lovers Island. The owner has now started receiving lots of requests from people who want to spend a romantic break there.

This article is interesting, it suggests that whales used to live on the land. Fossilised remains of an ancient whale from 47 million years ago seem to prove that the creatures were dependant on the land for resting and breeding and may have once lived completely on the land. The fossil found was a female whale that was pregnant with a calf when she died. The calf's position in the womb appears to back up the theory that at this point whales were not totally aquatic. Looking at the position of the calf in the womb it would have been born head first like land mammals rather than tail first as the norm in aquatic mammals. It is this that in the words of Phillip Gingerich of the University of Michigan shows “They clearly were tied to the shore".

According to this article over a billion frogs each year are taken from the wild for human consumption. This figure was arrived at by analysing UN trade data although it appears that the global trade in wild frogs could actually amount to many more frogs appearing on our plates. France and the US are the two main importers of frogs but other countries in East Asia also consume large amounts of the creatures. With one third of all amphibians now listed as threatened species the article suggests that we might have to start looking at how many frogs are taken from the wild and limiting this number before we start to see a decline similar to the situation with global fisheries. Poor Froggies.

This article suggests that it could be a dark day for grey squirrels as black squirrels become the more dominant variety. Black squirrels are now rapidly wiping out their grey cousins in parts of Britain, much as the grey squirrel has already done with our native red squirrels which are now only found in a few remote locations. The black squirrels are thought to be descended from just one individual that was released into the wild about 130 years ago. Black squirrels are faster, fitter more aggressive and more territorial than the greys meaning that they can compete better for food and mates. According to the article this is the biggest change in squirrel demographics since the native red squirrels were almost wiped out by the grey squirrel 50 years ago. It seems the grey squirrel could now suffer the same fate.

If you like me have an ancient car then you might find this idea interesting. Under plans suggested by the EU Industry Commissioner car owners could be paid £1000 in order to scrap their old car in favour of a greener model. The scheme would be targeted at people who have a car that is at least ten years old. My beast certainly qualifies, it will 20 years this year. It still goes quite well for an old car, although I dread the MOT every April thinking it might be its last. £1000 would go someway towards me getting something a bit newer, so it will be worth watching to see if this idea comes to anything.

Sales of traditional lightbulbs have soared as some retailers are finding their sales of the 100 watt bulbs triple. Many supermarkets are now running low on the traditional style bulbs as they have begun to phase them out as part of an agreement with the government. The older style lightbulbs are expected to be scrapped completely by September 2012. Whilst many people seem happy to make the change to energy saving bulbs it appears others believe that they can cause skin rashes, epilepsy and migraines. People also don't like the strip lighting effect that you often get from energy saving lightbulbs. One company thelightbulb.com has apparently seen its sales for the entire month of January last year matched in just the first three days of January this year. Whilst I am happy to use the energy saving variety I do wonder whether the traditional alternative should be sold alongside them so those who have health concerns have the option to purchase an alternative.

This is interesting they are boots made from recycled carrier bags. They are made by designer Camila Labra and are called Dacca Boots after the Bangladeshi city of Dhaka which banned carrier bags in 2003. The boots are made entirely out of plastic shopping bags that Miss Labra collects. They are then combined with a cotton lining to make the boots. If you want some they cost £30 a pair. Personally I think they are little odd looking.

The Forestry Commission has confirmed that big cats have been caught on camera in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. The animals were spotted by rangers who were filming a deer survey. The sightings have been confirmed by experienced rangers who would be unlikely to mistake deer for big cats. On both occasions the cats were observed in low light using heat activated vision equipment. Whilst it couldn't be determined what sort of cats there were, it is confirmed that there are certainly cats out there.

I have been reading with much amusement over the last few days articles related to the cold weather and all the confusion it seems to be causing. I'm not saying its not cold, after all this article points out that temperatures in some parts of the country have reached -12C and that it is colder here  than in Antarctic. It does seem to me, however, that people have forgotten that going back 10 or 15 years ago it was this cold every winter and that most years we had at least some snow. Perhaps the last few years of mild winters mean a little bit of cold weather comes as a shock but in some ways I think it makes a change to have a good cold winter. I have enjoyed all of the pictures of snow that I have seen posted on various websites but my favourite winter picture so far has to be this one of the Meerkats under a sun lamp at Marwell Zoo. 

I woke up this morning to find there had been some snow in the night. Its not very much but its quite a rarity to see any snow in Egham so it was a surprise. The cats spent about 10 minutes outside digging holes in the snow and then pouncing on them before it got a little too cold for them and all came back aside to find a warm spot to spend the rest of the day. It seems cats don't like snow very much because it makes their paws wet.

This article suggests that the number of sparrows in Britain has fallen by as much as 68% in the past three decades. The decline has been put down to the fact that many people pave over their gardens and remove trees causing a decline in the the insects that the birds eat. The article suggests that sparrows have disappeared from cities such as London, Bristol and Edinburgh. The problem is that many chicks are starving to death in the nest because they are not getting enough food to become strong enough to fly. Chick survival was found to be higher in areas where there were more insects such as aphids. There are things you can do to encourage sparrows such as growing honeysuckle, wild roses, hawthorn and fruit trees and leaving some untidy areas in your garden to encourage more insects. I have noticed that we don't have a lot of sparrows in our area, but they do seem to like the berries in our hedge and this time of year we tend to have a small community that take advantage of the seasonal food. After reading this article I don't think I will trim the hedge until the birds have had chance to take full advantage of all the berries, it might look a little untidy but I'm sure the sparrows will appreciate the extra food this winter.

You don't see much odd shaped veg in the the supermarket but that could be about to change. Current EU regulations mean that there are strict guidelines as to what fruit and veg can be actually be sold. Cucumbers for example cannot be sold is they are crooked or if they have blemishes and apples under 50mm in diameter cannot be sold. The regulations are now due to be relaxed because every year tonnes of perfectly edible produce is discarded because it does not meet the guidelines. Personally I am not too bothered whether my carrots are a little bit crooked or potatoes misshapen, as long as the veg tastes good I am happy to buy it.

A chef in Devon has started offering squirrel in his restaurant in a bid to save the native red squirrels. Whilst red squirrels are very rare in the UK the grey squirrels are all too common and carry a virus that can be lethal to the endangered red squirrels. Chef Ed Chester has started offering squirrel kebabs on his menu as well as squirrel pates and squirrel fricassees. He believes ones of the best ways to control the population of grey squirrels in the UK is simply to eat them. Its not a bad idea and I heard that squirrel tastes a lot like chicken.

This is interesting, it suggests that a herd of 200 cows produces as much greenhouse gas as driving a family car 3,000 miles. Dr Andy Thorpe of Portsmouth University said that 200 cows expel as much methane annually as the equivalent carbon dioxide emissions of a car burning 21,400 litres of petrol. He also says that whilst CO2 emissions have increased by 31% in the past 250 year, methane emissions have increased by 149%. Apparently methane has a greater warming effect than CO2 and also has a longer lifetime in the atmosphere as well as being responsible for a fifth of global warming since 1750. Around 55 to 70 per cent of methane comes from the farming of animals such as cows, sheep and goats which produce methane as they digest food. It makes me wonder what are the methane emissions of the human population? I suppose we could eat less meat and more vegetables but would that mean that we produce more methane?

It appears that some red squirrels are starting to develop an immunity to a virus which threatens to wipe out the population. Britain's native red squirrels are now only found in on the Isle of Wight and Brownsea Island. They have been under threat from a killer virus which was introduced by the non native but much more common grey squirrels. Recently eight red squirrels have been found that had an immunity to the squirrelpox virus which threatens the species. The red squirrels that were found with the immunity had died from other causes but were clear of the squirrelpox disease raising hopes that red squirrels have now developed a natural immunity.

This is interesting, its an article that describes how ants display a preemptive response to danger. In a Brazilian ant colony some ants choose to sacrifice themselves for the good of the colony. At sunset, the colony will protect itself by sealing off the entrances with sand. The problem with this is that a few ants must choose to remain outside to complete the job. These ants will be unable to reenter once the nest is sealed and so will die when the temperature drops overnight. A behavioural ecologist found that as many as eight ants would remain outside the nests. The remaining ants, however, were not stragglers they stayed outside the nest to deliberately help to hide the entrances and would spend up to 50 minutes carrying sand into the hole until it was sealed. By the time the morning came the ants that had stayed outside were dead. It is thought that the ants who remained outside were old or sick ants that chose to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the colony.

This blue lobster was caught near the Isle of Man. He is unusual because only one in every two million has is blue. The unusual colouring is caused by a genetic defect that causes the lobster to produce an excessive amount of protein. This particular lobster has been deemed too interesting to eat. The fishermen are now looking for a suitable home for him.

A fisherman in Birmingham got a surprise when he caught a snapping turtle. He was fishing for carp in Earlswood Lake and thought he had just caught a big one. It turned out to be a rather vicious snapping turtle. The turtle ripped through two nets whilst the fishermen were trying to remove the hook from its mouth. They managed to get this picture of it before releasing in back into the lake. Experts later identified the creature as an alligator snapping turtle which is native to the US. It is thought this particular turtle was imported as a hatching and either escaped or was dumped in the lake.

I am being to think that I might suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) because the last few days I have felt very run down and depressed with little energy to do anything. The constant rain means that even with the lights on in the house it still seems dark and dingy. Its easy to take the sunlight for granted but when you don't see any for a couple of days its amazing the negative effect it can have on your mood. Its also been too wet to go running which puts me in a bad mood. Its days like this you just want to eat a big bar of chocolate, bring on the sunshine.

I remember being taught at school about the importance of taking your litter home with you. At the time I was quite young and the message was enforced with a man in a kangaroo suit who I believe was called Hoppy. For me the message stuck and as a child I always took my litter home if I couldn't find a bin to put it in. Lately, however, I have wondering when this message got lost. Not having children, I'm ensure whether the Keep Britain Tidy group still go into schools to try and get the message across. To me, it seems as though the message is not getting through anymore. I pick up other peoples rubbish from around my property on a daily basis and am always incensed to see both adults and children just dropping their rubbish wherever they want. Even worse seems to be the rubbish that accumulates along the main road where I go running. I can only assume that this is simply thrown from peoples cars as they drive through the area. It seems people don't care about keeping the country tidy, this is despite the fact that you can now be fined for littering. I did notice that the Keep Britain Tidy Group are organising a series of litter picks to try and reinforce their message but I do wonder how much good it will do if people are not being taught from a young age that dropping litter is unacceptable.

If you have just killed your favourite plant and are finding it a little hard to cope there is no need to suffer on your own. There is help out there from the Royal Horticultural Society. They offer a service that can help those who are suffering from plant grief. They have a dedicated team who have studied bereavement counselling. They will try to help you determine why your plant has died and you can even send them a sample to help determine the cause of death. According to an expert "That can help them reach the final stage  -  acceptance  -  and then they can move on." Apparently many of the people that use the service treat their plants like their family and these cases of plant grief are becoming more common.

I come across some really obscure things sometimes but I found this one somewhat ridiculous. The article claims that recycling is as hard as a Sudoku puzzle. The claim is based on research conducted on a group of volunteers who rated how difficult they found it to separate their rubbish for recycling. I'm not quite sure where they found these people but we have a simple system. A bin for waste, a blue bag for paper, a blue box for glass and cans, a black bag for used clothes. Plastic and cardboard is not collected by our council so for this we do a weekly trip to the sports centre where we put it in the relevant bins. On a rather obscure note our local recycling centre now even has a bra bank, for recycling used bras. It appears there is no excuse to throw anything away.

This is an interesting idea from a village pub in Norfolk. They are utilising produce grown in the local area by introducing a bartering system. Locals can barter something they have grown or killed for a beer or food in the pub. Some examples include taking a rabbit you have shot, some vegetables you have grown or eggs that your hens have laid. The idea helps to make the best of the available produce in the local area and allows the pub to feature fresh ingredients on its specials board. It make a lot more sense than sourcing items from suppliers who are miles away, although it must make it harder to plan a menu, never knowing what's going to arrive next.

These clouded leopard cubs have recently been born at Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury. The two male and two female kittens were born in April and have recently made their first public appearance at the wildlife park. Clouded leopards are difficult to breed but the breeding program at Howletts has been quite successful with 30 births since 2003. The leopard is currently threatened with extinction in the wild due to the demand for it coat.

Sainsbury's will launch a new range of chickens that are kept in better conditions meaning that a third of its stock will no longer come from battery farms. It will also start phasing out chickens from battery farms completely so that all of its stock will meet RSPCA standards. Sainsbury's have said that sales of poultry reared in better surroundings were up 60 per cent since January so I wonder whether this move is simply in response to consumer demand for better quality chicken.

I found this flood game the other day. Basically it allows you to make decisions about what flood defences to implement in the UK and how much money to spend over a three year period. You can do things like build a flagship project, plant trees and repair the drainage system. You also need to choose which regions of the country to protect and how much to spend on each project. After you have made your decisions it then shows you exactly how much of the country gets flooded based on your choices. I didn't do badly but I managed to keep flooding Scotland.

This is an interesting idea, a solar powered handbag. The bag uses solar panels to absorb the suns rays and turn them into electricity. The bag uses laminated solar panels made of photovoltaic film to convert sunlight into electricity. It then transmits the power to a circuit connected to two batteries in the lining of the bag and to a USB port. It can be used to charge most small devices such as mobile phones, cameras and ipods. It does, however, require two hours of full sunlight to charge a mobile phone battery. If you want one, they cost £150. 

With costs of conventional fertiliser rising, farmers are turning to a new way to fertilise their crops. Many have now started using human waste in the form of treated human sewage. Water companies are no longer allowed to dump this into the sea but appear to have a ready market in supplying farmers. In fact Severn Trent Water have said they are struggling to keep up with demand. Human fertiliser costs farmers around a fifth of the price of the more expensive alternative but does have the disadvantage of being more smelly. However, farmer Jonathan Barrett says the smell can be reduced once it is incorporated into the soil and turned regularly. He also said it is best to take into account the wind direction when using it. Human sewage is currently allowed to be used on grassland and crops but not on salads, fruit and root crops.

This article suggests that children now spend so little time outdoors that they are unable to identify most of Britain's common wildlife. Apparently one in three cannot identify a magpie whilst half couldn't tell the difference between a bee and a wasp. However in contrast nine out of ten could identify the Daleks from Doctor Who. You can take the survey here. I got them all right.

According to this article it is going to be a good year for mosquitoes and midges. Apparently the mild winter and the wet spring have provided the ideal breeding conditions for the little critters. I have nearly recovered from my insect bites that I got last week but it looks like there could be many more to come this summer. I hate midges.

According to this article gardeners are likely to see an invasion of slugs this year. Apparently the warm and damp spring has provided the ideal conditions for slugs to breed. It certainly seems to the case in my garden. The slimy little critters have been enjoying my nice ripe strawberries before I can get to them myself and I took this picture of a particularly large and slimy slug crawling down my patio door this morning.

I don't suffer from hay fever as much as I used to, probably because I no longer wear contact lenses since having laser eye surgery. I do, however, find that I get a constant sore throat and runny nose during the summer months. I was interested to find out that a hay fever vaccine is currently being tested. It is meant to the reduce the symptoms of hay fever by training the immune system to tolerate pollen. During a four week trial volunteers who received the vaccine reported a significant  improvement in their symptoms. The only problem I can see is that it involves having an injection every week. Being scared of needles I think I will just live with the hay fever symptoms until it comes in a pill format.

I'm still playing with new Nikon D40 and in just a few weeks have already taken hundreds of pictures. Rather than bore people with the details, in future I will just post a selection of the better ones every week or so with a short caption. Starting with the picture on the left which I was quite pleased with.

Yellow Rose in My Garden

This interesting looking treetop walkway has just opened at Kew Gardens. It is 200m long and has been designed by the architects behind the London Eye to allow visitors to enter the tree canopy and get a closer look at the birds and insects that live there. It certainty looks like it will be interesting to visit, although I will probably wait until it has been open a little while before going.

Naturalists have discovered that orangutans can not only swim but that they also know how to fish. The orangutans in Borneo were previously thought to be non swimmers but they have learnt how to swim across the river to get to the best fruits. They have also learnt how to use a tree branch as a spear in order to catch a fish after watching fishermen using rods. However, they have also worked out that it is less work to steal fish from unattended fishing lines rather than going to the effort of catching the fish themselves. At this rate they will quickly be overtaking some of the lesser intelligent human individuals among us.

A new system is being tried London which will put a value on trees. Trees will be assessed on a number of factors including size, how many people enjoy the tree and the life expectancy of the tree. Taking into account all of those factors a plane tree in central London has recently been valued at £750,000. The system is designed to make it harder for trees to be felled. For example if a developer illegally destroys a tree, then the fine imposed could now be a better reflection of the tree's value, meaning they should be less likely to consider felling a tree in the first place.

People living near a river in Oxfordshire were rather surprised to find that it was a rather bright shade of green today. The Environment agency were called to Grove Brook near Wantage to find it was fluorescent green. It is thought that the colour was caused by a dye that is used to trace the flow of water through drainage systems, but it is not known how the dye got into the river. The dye, however is not toxic and should disperse by the end of the day. I wonder if it turns the fish green as well.

According to this article we are likely to see fewer butterflies around this year because of last years wet summer. 2007 was the worst year for butterflies for more than a quarter of a century with numbers at a record low. This was mainly because butterflies do not fly in the rain and therefore they cannot reach plant nectar to feed or fly to breed. The charity Butterfly Conservation is hoping that we have a long hot summer this year so that numbers can recover. Unfortunately I think my cats are to blame for the lack of butterflies in my garden.

This is quite an interesting article showing images of how the world would look if human life ceased to exist. This picture shows how parts of London would rot and how flood waters would enter the city, as without power to the Thames Barrier central London would be mostly underwater. Other pictures show impressions of how Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge would decay. The pictures are based on both scientific expertise and an understanding of history to predict what would happen. Within a few weeks the planet would be plunged into darkness and within six months areas would start to be repopulated by animals including domestic pets. Within 40 to 50 years modern buildings would start to collapse and within 100 years cars would have rotted away. The more aggressive predators would become dominant with livestock being mainly wiped out. What a cheerful article.

I can’t be the only person to notice that all the wet weather in the UK has had a massive impact on the slug population. Usually I see a few slugs but this year they are everywhere, crawling around and devouring all my plants. I was interested to read this article that suggests the slug population has in fact doubled this year. Experts estimate that there are 15 billion in Britain, that’s an awful lot of slugs, and I think a couple of hundred are in my garden. I think its time to get the beer traps out.

Pygmy elephants in Borneo are under threat because of the loss of their natural habitat. There are currently only around 1,000 of the elephants left in Sabah which is much less than previously thought. The elephants depend of the forest for their survival but over the past forty years 40% of the forest cover has been lost due to logging and human settlements. Environmentalists are calling for measures to save the elephants remaining habitat.

Its good news for the black footed ferret, North Americas most endangered mammal. A key population that had only five individuals in 1997 has now grown to more than 220. This massive rise is attributed to the large prairie dog population in Wyoming which is the ferret’s main source of food.

I read this article where a leading environmentalist suggests walking to the shops can actually damage the environment more than if you were to use your car. His calculations are based on the fact that with food production being so energy intensive more carbon is emitted providing a person with enough calories to walk to the shop than if you were to take a car over the same distance. I find this article a little silly. People need to eat whether they walk to the shop or not. I eat the same amount every day regardless of whether I walk or do other exercise. If I were to require more food for my walk to the shop, perhaps he might have a case. Either way, I will continue to walk and leave the car at home.

Scientists looking for a rare Chinese river have concluded after a six week search that it is likely to be extinct. The last time the dolphins were counted was in 2006 when only 17 individuals were found. This time when scientists looked for the dolphins they found none at all. If the dolphin is now extinct it will be the first large vertebrate to become extinct for 50 years. Scientists had hoped to find some Yangtze river dolphin’s to transfer them to a protected breeding program but it appears they are too late.

A tiger census to see how many wild tigers there are in India has suggested that there are now only between 1,300 and 1,500 left, that’s half the amount there was in 2002. Among the problems facing tigers is that whilst they do well in protected reserves, they do not appear to do so well in other forest areas. This survey suggests that efforts should now be concentrated on the tigers that currently live within unprotected areas.

The recent wet weather in the UK has managed to fool a zoo’s population of tawny frogmouths that it is monsoon season. As a result both of the zoos female birds laid eggs. The birds are from Australia and lay their eggs directly after the rainy season to ensure there is enough food for their chicks. Both eggs have now hatched to produce some cute fluffy chicks named Thunder and Storm.

Environmentalists are concerned about a vulnerable colony of porbeagle sharks after a fisherman caught 60 in a day. The sharks, although rare are currently not a protected species. A catch of this size could be enough to wipe out a whole colony due to the fact it would be likely to contain most of the colonies breeding females. The decline of this species is likely to continue until they are listed as a protected species. If this doesn’t happen soon it may be too late.

Jersey’s population of Agile Frogs has just been given a large boost due a captive breeding programme. The programme was started to try and stop the decline of the frog which was facing extinction in Jersey. 800 frogs have now been released into the wild with a further batch due for release as soon as a suitable site can be found.

The mixture of the wet weather we have had here in the UK recently, followed by a period of warm weather has created the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. Experts have warned that we could see the insects arriving in large numbers within the next few weeks. As someone who has gets an allergic reaction to insect bites, I am not looking forward to a summer of swollen and itchy arms and legs.

Most UK residents know that swans are protected. It appears that new arrivals to country, however, are unaware there is a law protecting them and are catching them for food. Polish and Lithuanian immigrants have been seen dragging the birds away. The remains of swans have also been found along the towpath in Leighton Buzzard.  Luton Angling Club has now come up with a sign which they hope will make it clear that swans are not for eating. Killing a swan is currently subject to a £5,000 fine and six months in jail.

Pest controllers have warned that this summer is likely to bring a plague of mice. Several factors have contributed to the growth of the mouse population including warmer winter and more rubbish being present on the street. Calls about mouse problems rose by 23 per cent last year in London and the South East. I don’t think we need to worry too much, having four cats seems to control the mouse population near our house nicely.

Two cygnets have been shot dead in Telford, by what is believed to have been an airgun. The cygnets were shot in the head and were thought to have been used as target practice. The RSPCA have said that these types of incident are more common during the school summer holiday.

A lady in Devon tried to keep the swallows out of here barn by putting up a bird scaring owl. After two days the swallows had made their nest in the bird scarer. She is now resigned to the fact that the swallows are there to stay.

Two moorhen chicks have been shot at a nature reserve in County Durham. The chicks were shot dead with an air gun at the Wingate Quarry Reserve. It’s thought that the incident might be related to youths drinking in the area.

Researchers studying pandas in China have found that they have expanded their habitat in the bamboo forests of two western provinces. This indicates that the population of pandas could also be expanding which is good news for the species. The last panda census recorded 103 pandas in Baishuijiang, the largest panda reserve in China. There are currently only around 1,590 pandas left in the wild with about another 180 having been bred in captive breeding programs.

I read this interesting article about a project to re-introduce wolves to Yellowstone National Park and the impact the project has had on the parks eco system. The wolves were introduced in 1995 after having been absent from the environment for 70 years. Since their return there has been a regeneration of the parks population of aspen trees which were previously declining. Whilst the wolves do not have a direct impact on the growth of the aspen tree they do affect it indirectly.

The decline in the trees was attributed to the growth of the parks elf population which having no natural predators was getting out of control. The elk were able to wander around the park freely and eat all the young aspen trees. The re-introduction of the wolves has meant that the elk are no longer able to wander so safely for fear of being eaten. The knock on effect is that there are less elk and the young aspen trees are able to grow to maturity. I find it interesting how restoring the natural balance of predator and prey affects the whole eco system of the park.

We went for a walk along the Thames at the weekend to see how high the river was. Whilst we were there we came across this family of swans. They seem to be doing particularly well this year; usually they only have two or three cygnets, but as you can see this year there are four. As you can see from the photo the river has not yet burst its banks but is quite high for this time of year. The picture was taken at Staines.

There have now been two alleged sightings of a Great White Shark off the coast of Cornwall. Whilst coastguards have dismissed the claims as scaremongering scientists have admitted that it is possible the Great White Shark could move into British waters especially as they start to get warmer. There has never been a confirmed sighting of a Great White off the Cornish coast and it is possible that the shark seen was actually a smaller shark such as a mako or a porbeagle.

A pair of peregrine falcon chicks in Inverurie have died after being poisoned. It is not known who killed the birds but police are appealing for information. There are currently only around 1,285 breeding pairs of peregrine falcons in the UK. The species have long been persecuted by game keepers and pigeon fanciers because the falcons eat mainly small birds. The Scottish raptor group estimates that around a quarter of nests in Scotland are subject to interference and killing despite the fact that these birds are still greatly at risk.

A giant bustard has laid an egg in Britain for the first time since 1832. The birds are part of a program to reintroduce the great bustard to Britain using chicks from Russia. Although the eggs have not hatched it is still an encouraging sign that the species should be able to breed successfully in Britain.

With all the bad weather yesterday it was hard to do anything much outside. I was lucky that I didn’t have to use public transport otherwise I would have been stuck. I did, however, have to take some urgent parcels to the post office which is ten minutes away from my house. The trip there and back was interesting in that all the roads and footpaths around here were flooded with water. Not only did I get rained on, I also had to avoid the splashes from passing cars. I got back rather wet, my waterproof jacket had protected the top part of my body but as you can see from the pictures my trousers were a little wet.

It seems to me that it’s becoming much more economical to have a smaller car these days. Not only do you pay less tax and less insurance, some council’s are bringing in further measures to force people with larger vehicles to pay more. Richmond council already charges people with the most polluting cars more for a perking permit. They are now also thinking about charging higher fees for parking meters and council car parks for so called gas guzzlers. Having worked in Richmond and seen that most people have large or high performance cars I can see this is likely to prove unpopular with residents, still it might make them think about using their cars slightly less or maybe getting a smaller car.

I read this interesting article about how Britain became an island. The evidence shows that Britain was split from France hundreds of thousand years ago by a huge flood. The evidence is based upon high resolution sonar images of the English Channel that show a deep scar in the limestone rock caused by a huge torrent of water. Its an interesting read and makes me wonder hoe different Britain would be today if it were still joined to France

I read this really interesting article about how London is slowly sinking. A combination of subsidence and rising water levels mean that every year London is around 3mm lower. This is according to the Environment Agency who has been monitoring the situation. With these findings they hope to be able to adapt London’s current flood defences to make use of a better natural floodplain as well as get a clear timeline of how much time they have to carry out existing improvements before the situation gets too critical.

Australia’s worst drought in around a hundred years is forcing kangaroos into its cities. The droughts mean that food is scarce and kangaroos have to compete with sheep and cattle for food water and water. This forces them into the city to look for food.

It always seems to be the cute cuddly creatures that get most of the press when it comes to conservation. Other animals are overlooked because they are not so attractive. When it comes to sharks they have a really bad press, everyone remembers Jaws and most people will probably admit to finding them rather frightening. Maybe that’s why there doesn’t seem to be much effort to try and save these creatures from extinction. A recent report by a conservation group suggests that sharks could well become extinct within a generation if the practice of eating shark fin soup is not stopped. The soup is popular as a luxury item in China and is often eaten at wedding, mainly because its expensive, you need a lot of sharks to make the soup and they are few and far between. The Chinese currently account for around 90% of the world’s consumption of shark fins. The current demand for shark fin soup continues to rise and as the demand cannot be sustained by the population of wild sharks, the future looks bleak for the shark.

A pair of Montagu’s harriers nesting in Lincolnshire has successfully hatched three chicks. There are currently only around 10 to 14 pairs of these rare birds nesting in the UK so this could be good news for the species.

I read this interesting article about a group of giant apes that been discovered in the Congolese jungle. The chimps are much larger than normal and due to their remote location are not afraid of people. They also exhibit different behaviour from most chimps building large nests on the ground rather than sleeping in the trees to avoid predators, as is more common. Local hunters claim that the large apes have also been known to kill and eat lions, although so far there is no evidence to support this claim other than the fact that one chimp was found eating a leopard. Once again it reminds me of those pub arguments, who will win chimp or lion? .... but what if its a giant lion eating chimp?

Cheese prices are set to rise dramatically due to a combination of freak weather and the demand for milk. The price of wholesale cheddar has increased in Britain by £350 a ton in the last three months, meaning consumers will start seeing the cost of cheese rise. The rise in prices will not also affect cheese prices; the price of pizza is also likely to rise as cheese makes up around 40% of the cost of producing a pizza. Bad news for cheese lovers everywhere.

A species that was thought to be extinct has now been found to be alive. The creature is called David Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna. The creature was feared to be extinct until a local tribesman said he had recently caught and eaten one. Scientists investigating the claim found recent burrows which suggested the creature is still very much alive. More trips to the area have now been planned in the hope they will be able to catch the creatures on camera.

Shops could soon charge customers 10p for each carrier bag they use. A new scheme is likely to be tested in London before possibly being introduced throughout the rest of Britain. The proposals are aimed at reducing plastic waste produced by supermarkets. Personally I would not mind paying for bags when doing a shop. I do already reuse all of my bags, taking my own with me on most shopping trips and I wonder if more people would start to do this if they have to pay for a bag.

Three osprey chicks in Aberfoyle have been weighed and tagged and at five weeks old appear to be doing well. The tags will allow the birds to be tracked if they return to Scotland to breed. This is the first year that three chicks have hatched in a year, so is encouraging news for Scotlands Osprey population.

It’s such a shame that while conservationists try so hard to protect our wildlife there are still ignorant people that are intent on wiping it out. The Peak District has recently seen two species of birds completely wiped out as a result of attacks on birds of prey. The Goshawk and the Peregrine Falcons that were breeding in the area have now been decimated. There were 17 recorded attacks on peregrine falcons in the last year in which female birds were shot dead and unfortunately this amounts to the whole breeding population of this fragile species. Birds dying of natural causes is one thing, but I can't understand why someone would want to wipe out a whole species in an area on purpose.

A rare horseshoe bat who has lived on his own for seven years has now found a mate. The bat called Dean flew from Gloucestershire to Wales in his search for a mate and found Cinders. There are now hopes that the bats might start a new breeding colony.

The recent flooding in the UK, along with a potato blight could mean bad new for chip lovers everywhere. The potato blight which thrives in warm wet weather is the worst for five years and the resulting shortage in potatoes will mean a rise in chip prices.

A firm which advises councils on green transport has sent an email to its employees advising them to drive to work or use public transport because they think cycling in London is too dangerous. The firm which has advised Transport for London has now had to distance itself from the email after a furious backlash by TFL. Personally I don't think I would cycle in London because drivers do not seem aware of pedestrians, let alone looking out for someone on a bike.

McDonalds have recently introduced new measures in its efforts to appear environmentally friendly. They will now turn all of their used cooking into bio diesel fuel which will be used to power their vans in the UK. They have also started using non-hydrogenated cooking all in its restaurants as well as organic milk. Along with these measures they are redesigning a lot of their outlets. In all the exercise is meant to make the chain appear more ethical. I'm not sure how much difference these measures will make but one thing I have noticed is the amount of discarded McDonalds food wrappings that seems to be around.

If you read my husband's blog you will know that our wheelie bin was stolen a few months ago. Bearing this in mind I found this article interesting. A wheelie bin which belongs to Peterborough City Council apparently turned up 1,200 miles away in Bulgaria. The bin was spotted by a council employee whilst she was on holiday. She was surprised to see the council's logo clearly in place. It makes me wonder where my bin ended up. Perhaps it is also sunning itself on a beach 1000 miles away.

If you think the rivers are polluted in UK you might be shocked by this picture. The river Citarum in West Java seems to be more rubbish than river. The river that provides the main source of drinking water for cities such as Jakarta is polluted with rotting rubbish from the homes and factories surrounding it. In fact the river is so polluted there are fears that the hydropower stations in the area may start corroding. Not only that, pollution here is likely to double by 2025.

I saw this article on The Independents website about packaging on food. The article suggests that consumers are annoyed about the amount of packaging used by supermarkets and that if the supermarkets were to cut down on packaging it would increase customer loyalty and satisfaction. Personally I find excess packaging really irritating. Everything you buy in the supermarket seems to include plastic wrapping and as there is no way of recycling this, it all goes straight in the bin. We remove from our waste all the items to be recycled and all the waste that can be composted. The remaining waste is made up almost entirely of plastic packaging from the Supermarket.

It’s that time of year again when Easter eggs fill the shelves of every supermarket. It’s very easy to be seduced to by the pretty wrapping and the seemingly cheap deals. However, perhaps we should take into account how much of the egg is actually edible. This article on The Guardian website states that some Easter eggs contain as much as 52% packaging, that’s not much chocolate for your money. They discovered this by weighing the packaging in relation to the edible content of the egg. Interestingly the Cadburys Cream Egg has only 6% packaging leaving a great 94% of edible content. The article approaches the issue from an environment perspective, trying to get manufacturers to cut down on the packaging they use. Personally for me the issue is that if I am buying an Easter egg then I want good value for money, and as much chocolate as possible…. mmm chocolate.

I learnt today that my local council is thinking of bringing in fortnightly refuse collections instead of the current weekly collection.

I and my husband already take recycling very seriously and recycle all our bottles, cans and paper waste through the current blue box scheme. We also compost all of our vegetable and garden waste. I have recently taken further steps to reduce waste such as getting my milk delivered so we can use the reusable glass bottles instead of plastic ones. I have also started buying all of fruit and vegetables from a local box scheme to further cut down on packaging. However we find that due to the fact that nearly everything you buy from the supermarket is wrapped in plastic that our wheeled bin is always full by the time of the Wednesday rubbish collection and that the bulk of this rubbish is plastic shrink wrap.

When the council does start a fortnightly collection of household waste it is my opinion this will only lead to piles of rotting rubbish beside peoples wheeled bins that will remain uncollected. This has already been the case in other councils that have already introduced this scheme see the following article and comments. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6234893.stm In the summer this could start to pose a health risk especially if it starts to attract higher number of rats as mentioned in the BBC article. A fortnightly collection does not reduce the amount of waste that a household produces it just forces people to find other ways to dispose of the uncollected waste such as fly tipping. The problem needs to be addressed in a more logical way perhaps looking at ways to recycle the ever increasing amount of plastic packaging that we currently have to include in household waste and makes up 90% of the waste in our household.

On another note if I am forced to do a trip to the local tip every other week to dispose of my household waste, does this mean I will get a reduction in council tax as I will only be getting half the service I used to from the council?