Monthly Round Up - October 2009

Good luck to 'Two Jags' Prescott - now the Council of Europe's Rapporteur on Climate Change - and travelling by public transport! 850 new species of invertebrates discovered underground in Australia! http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/556657/?sc=swhn 200 Bearded Vultures have been spotted in a remote part of India! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8280607.stm Lighter Coke bottles save costs and the environment: http://www.packagingdigest.com/articleXml/LN1045978798.html IOC voting on Friday for venue of 2016 Olympics. Tokyo's bid has environment as priority with Olympic stadium to be powered by solar energy Let's hope Formula 1 keeps KERS in 2010 rules! Kinetic Energy Recovery System. It uses heat generated by brakes for power, saving fuel Clock on your microwave? £50 a year onto your energy bill! Turn off your microwave at the wall when you're not using it, to save you money Starbucks in Canda now have compostable cups made of partially recycled material! France invests 1.5Billion Euros on infrastructure for electric cars, including a million battery-charging points to be built by 2015! 60 celebs record eco song! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/6253847/Lily-Allen-and-Duran-Duran-record-climate-change-song.html# Save money and help the environment by purchasing energy efficient products such as dehumidifiers, refrigerators and televisions India setting up Green Party! http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/kolkata-/Long-road-ahead-for-green-party/articleshow/5074145.cms UK approves world's largest biomass plant: http://www.cleantech.com/news/5090/world-largest-biomass-plant# 10 eco myths busted! http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/02/AR2009100205640.html Giant pandas on brink on extinction - debate rages as some wildlife experts say let them go and spend the money saving other animals! What do you think? Save the pandas or spend the money saving other animals? I say fight to save them, but only Chinese government can do it! Want to meet new people? Volunteer for a day in a nature reserve planting trees! New research into plants that create hydrocarbons chemically identical to petroleum: http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/556931/?sc=swhn# Watch the amazing lyrebird mimick chainsaws: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y Arnold Schwarzenegger signs climate agreement: http://www.imperialvalleynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6735&Itemid=23 Eco gadgets make great birthday or Christmas presents! Sony brings out 'presence sensor' TV that turns on / off when you enter / leave the room, saving up to 50% of power consumption. Notable scientists and authors unite in calling for new Nobel prizes for 'Global Environment' and 'Public Health'! Homeowner and want to save on your heating bill? Ground source heat pumps save an average of 540kg of carbon a year - use instead of boilers Save money and hang your washing to dry! Clothes dryers account for at least 6% of household electricity consumption Endangered parrot tries to mate with Stephen Fry's photographer! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY&feature=player_embedded# Want to stop getting junk mail and reduce waste paper? Register with the Mailing Preference Service! http://www.mpsonline.org.uk/mpsr Green Awards 2009 Shortlist Announced! Find out which organisations have been leading the way on eco-issues at www.greenawards.co.uk Scientists Raise Alarm as Biodiversity Loss Surges: http://ictsd.net/i/news/biores/56994 Buy The Times on Thursdays for the Eureka magazine - science, life and the planet! Want to live longer? Walk! It's the ultimate low-cost, ecofriendly, carbon-neutral mode of transport. Walkers in their 80s live longer! Want to lose weight or get fit? People burn about 100 calories per mile when walking at 3mph. Walking also reduces depression! 350.org: 350 is the most important number in the world-it's what scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere Shark mums 'invest' in newborns: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8323155.stm Some interesting thoughts on 'spiritual ecology': http://noteshow.com/2009/10/the-boreal-forest-deep-ecology-of-the-north New solar panels align themselves with the direction of the sun! When you lose habitat area you lose species, it's "the most important relationship in ecology" says Washington University Warmed forests yield less timber: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/ap/65939187.html University of Wisconsin is putting on a free environmental film festival: http://www.wkbt.com/Global/story.asp?S=11379341 Rachel Carson, in her book "Silent Spring," pointed to the decline of birds to warn about toxins like the now-banned DDT. Obama dismisses warming sceptics: http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/24/obama-dismisses-warming-skeptics/# New book claims that pet dogs are as bad for the environment as driving an SUV: "Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living" Up to 70% of female alligators remain with the same male year after year: http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/2009/10/26/met_553262.shtml Billions of ladybirds will invade UK! http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/10/26/invasion-of-the-smelly-ladybirds-115875-21773971/ Watch The Community Channel on Sky at 11pm GMT tonight! Eco Expert presenting a 15minute film about conservation volunteering! Eco-Halloween Costumes: http://www.care2.com/causes/environment/blog/halloween-eco-horror-costumes-to-terrify-the-green-at-heart Watch The Community Channel on Sky 539 at 11am, 5pm or 11pm GMT! Eco Expert presenting a 15minute film about conservation volunteering! Edward Norton runs NYC Marathon for environment! http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5jkBRbKHBuwxDpcgCK_twYRn_l2fg Ban internal flights for 1 day per year to help meet CO2 targets! Add it to the calendar as 'Carbon Holiday' or 'Aviation Holiday'! An interesting, unexpected impact of the recession, and 9/11, is that it reduced CO2 emissions in some countries!