January 2010

Are Italy and France backing down, and backing bluefin?

Posted by Willie — 31 January 2010 at 7:33pm - Comments

Here’s a bit of hot gossip, that I am typing from Paris , where I’m with a gaggle of Greenpeace campaigners at a summit on sustainable seafood.

It seems that something is stirring in the Mediterranean . Bluefin followers will be familiar with the ‘will-they/won’t-they?’ saga that surrounds the EU countries and supporting and international ban on Atlantic bluefin.

Article tagged as: bluefin, EU fisheries, tuna

How to build an activist base on the Airplot - we need your ideas!

Posted by jamie — 28 January 2010 at 11:59am - Comments

Update April 23: The deadline for this competition has now passed. No further entries are being accepted.

Exhibition: Come and see the Heathrow Contest entries »

Ever since we bought our piece of land on the site of the proposed third runway at Heathrow, we've been receiving suggestions for what to do with it. We've already sunk our roots into it by establishing an allotment and planting an orchard, but now we want to go one step further and for that we want to get your ideas. Watch the video above for more details, and read on for the full lowdown on how to enter the competition.

Article tagged as: airplot, aviation, climate change, competitions, heathrow

Big actions speak louder than big words

Posted by Willie — 19 January 2010 at 4:22pm - Comments

Charismatic megafauna at play. Did we get your attention?

The word 'biodiversity' is often bandied about as shorthand for 'lots of lovely animals and plants'. We probably think of African plains teeming with herds of antelopes, zebra and wildebeest, a jungle cacophonous with crickets, monkeys and birds, or perhaps a coral reef that looks like a still from Finding Nemo.

But that's because most of us are a little shallow when it comes to the species we co-inhabit this planet with. We get overexcited by the big things, the cuddly things, and the wow! things.

Article tagged as: angela merkel, biodiversity, CBD, CITES, endangered species, hilary benn, wildlife

Sinking Sundarbans on display in London

Posted by jamie — 14 January 2010 at 6:38pm - Comments

Small islands bereft of mountains are going to sink beneath the waves as sea levels rise and for the millions of people living on them, climate change is not some distant, abstract concept but a concrete reality. As noted last week, the Sundarbans islands of India and Bangladesh have lost four islands completely. Sorry, 'lost' implies that they were carelessly misplaced behind a cupboard. 'Forcibly taken' would perhaps be more apt.

Article tagged as: bangladesh, climate change, exhibitions, india, photography

A New Year, and a new position from the UK government on bluefin?

Posted by Willie — 12 January 2010 at 6:36pm - Comments

Well, they may not be shouting about it, but it certainly looks that way. Ironically 2010 has been declared by the UN as 'International Year of Biodiversity', yet alarm bells are ringing for one iconic species already.

In a remarkable contrast from last summer, and autumn, when the UK Government were keen to tell us all how committed they were to saving the bluefin at every possible opportunity, our ministers have gone strangely silent on the issue since the ICCAT meeting in November.

Article tagged as: bluefin, CITES, DEFRA, iccat, tuna