Transition Island Blog

“TIGER, tiger, burning bright 
In the forests of the night…”      

William Blake’s oft-quoted poem ’The Tiger’ was published in 1789, when the tigers were mysterious and the population was uncounted.

In 1920s a hunt could still kill over 100 tigers a day. BUT NOW TIGERS ARE DISAPPEARING.

The world’s tiger population may have halved in the last 25 years. And at least one of the remaining five sub-species is in danger of becoming extinct, World Wildlife Fund conservation experts said recently. [more]

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Civilisation aims to protect us from the extremes of nature through a system of cooperation, mostly invisible (taken for granted) these days. Research indicates that the more ‘civilised’ we are, the less worried we are.

Civilisation is designed to reduce our need to worry about our environment.
We can worry about entertainment rather than food.
We can concern ourselves with philosophy instead of shelter.

warnings ignored

“For decades, scientists in the US had pointed out that New Orleans was a disaster waiting to happen.

The city lies in an area that is prone to annual hurricanes, half the city is below sea level, and a force 5 hurricane was bound to hit the city, so drastic measures had to be implemented immediately to avoid disaster.

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Food security and the rapid rise in food prices are the urgent issue that politicians must face up to quickly.

Global grain stores are currently at the lowest levels ever, just 40 days from running out.

Famine will get us before climate change.

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A whisky by-product has been found to clean contaminated ground and waste water.

The team at the University of Aberdeen believe they have a new technique to help the estimated 330,000 contaminated sites in the UK.

They say the Device for the Remediation and Attenuation of Multiple pollutants (Dram) has major potential in industry.

Early tests seem to show that Dram removes several contaminants simultaneously and is quicker and more cost-effective than current techniques.

The Glenfiddich distillery in Speyside has helped researchers get to this stage by donating the by-product, the nature of which is being kept secret.

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Bugs found in water and soil make electricity by feeding on simple organic compounds.

New research shows that a vitamin called riboflavin is a key product that creates electron flow.

Rates of electricity production increased by 370 percent as riboflavin accumulated.

natural battery

Bacteria have been changing the chemistry of the environment for billions of years. Their ability to make iron soluble is a central part of the metal cycle in the environment. It is essential to most life on earth.

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Mothers and their babies are being made ill by common household products.

In 2004, researchers said frequent use of air fresheners, polish, deodorants and hair sprays appeared to increase the risk of diarrhoea, earache and other symptoms in infants as well as headaches and depression in mothers.

The findings came from a survey of more than 10,000 women on the use of fresheners and other aerosols during pregnancy and early childhood, as well as their health and that of their offspring.

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Banish The Bags:
How the world shames Britain in dealing with ‘plastic poison’ bags

Britain lags behind the rest of the world in dealing with the ‘plastic poison’ caused by the distribution of billions of single-use carrier bags, says the Daily Mail.

Three billion bags given away annually by retailers, creating long-lived litter and life-threatening traps for wildlife.

Consumers, governments and retailers around the globe have moved to banish the bags, a symbol of urban waste.

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The first global map of the overall impact that 17 different human activities are having on marine ecosystems has been put together.

Previous studies of human impacts have focused on a single activity or on an isolated ecosystem, and rarely on a global scale.

The North Sea around UK is one of the worst affected, and the English Channel too.

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An audit of London shows increasing and unsustainable strain on the environment.

Every Londoner needs land the size of five and half football pitches to support their way of life. This means its ecological footprint is greater than cities such as Tokyo but is more sustainable than Shanghai and New York.

In its ‘State of the Environment’ report, the Environment Agency says London already produces 19 million tonnes of waste every year, and only recycles 20% of household waste.

The city should waste less water, manage waste better and adapt to climate change, it suggested.

“And we believe that as a world-class city, London can provide international leadership”.

London’s Sustainable Development Commission says:

• Household waste recycling has increased significantly in recent years
• The total area of sites identified as important to wildlife has increased
• Londoners have led the world in shifting from private vehicle use to public transport, cycling and walking
• Recent trends in air quality show that concentrations of key pollutants have reduced in the past decade

On this last point, the Low Emissions Zone has sparked the threat of a legal challenge from Porsche, the car manufacturer. They obviously feel targeted !

But how would the Island fare in an audit?

Litter louts, illegal smokers and graffiti vandals, will soon be fined on-­the-spot around the Island.

In response to public con­cern, from April 2, the IW Council introduces this new initiative. Built on the Clean Neighbourhood and Environ­ment Act 2005, it allows fines from £30 to £300 to be imposed by fixed penalty notice.

Offences will include dropping litter, includ­ing cigarette butts, spraying graffiti, fly posting or leaving refuse outside their homes  too far in advance of collec­tion day.

It will be similar to the Council’s strategy with dog owners who fail to clean up after their dog.

The fines will not be used to gen­erate income, as the Council has been accused to profiting from car-park charges, and the Government from speeding fines.

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