A new report by the WWF charity has found that 25% of all wood imported into the European Union came from illegal sources, with the UK being the second largest importer. The EU imported nearly 31 million cubic metres of illegal wood and related products, with the UK imported over 3.5 million cubic metres alone. The UK also imported the biggest quantity of furniture and plywood of all the EU states.

The UK’s illegally imported timber is equal to the total amount of wood harvested in Poland in the entire year. With most of the illegal timber coming from Russia, Indonesia and China, the WWF are pushing for stronger European laws to prevent illegal wood entering the EU market.

 Manager of the Forest and Trade Network at WWF, Julia Young, said -

‘Illegal logging reduces the protective function of forests which frequently increases the risk of natural disasters such as floods and landslides and leads to deforestation, one of the main causes for climate change.’

Voluntary agreements have been drawn up between exporting and importing countries to tackle the trade, though the ineffectiveness of the existing scheme, the EU Forest and Law Enforcement, is obvious.

The main trader of illegal wood is Russia, with 10 million cubic metres transferred across many EU countries. Almost half of this wood arrives onto the European market through Finland, where it is processed into pulp and paper and then exported.

The WWF urges new EU laws to be put in place to guarantee that only legal wood is sold on the European market. All traders should have to prove the origin and legality of wood, with penalties introduced for any law violation. This trade must be stopped now to safeguard the future of the planet.

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Government proposals to look seriously at the Severn Estuary as a power generator have been welcomed by the WWF charity, though the focus on one specific energy extraction method is causing concern.

After extensive Government testing of barrages, tidal lagoons and a tidal fence in the Severn Estuary, 10 prospective power sourcing methods have been proposed. With all the projects in different stages of development, the Government has to consider all the options for tidal power in the Severn, though the barrage method seems to be their main focus of attention.

Head of WWF in Wales, Morgan Parry, said:

‘We have argued for many years that there are better ways of generating power from the tides than through fixed concrete barrages and we must keep all these options open. The publication of this list shows that there are many options, and Government Ministers have been wrong to focus exclusively on the barrage. We urge the Government to give serious consideration to the alternatives, such as the Tidal Fence and Tidal Steam proposals and to invest time and money in bringing them to an advanced state of readiness.’

Though the Government must be applauded for their testing, it seems that putting all their eggs in to one basket is a concern. With 10 proposed methods of energy retraction, surely all options must be researched in equal measure. Surely it is better to have ten different methods of energy sourcing rather than just one?

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The UK’s clubbing capital tonight proves you don’t have to hug a tree to do you your bit for environmental issues, with the world’s first energy sustainable club ‘Surya’ opens in doors in London tonight.

 The Islington based club feature a high-tech danceflooor that generates electricity when danced on. This energy is created through piezoelectricity - the ability of quartz crystals and ceramics to generate electricity through the applied stress of the dancing motion of clubbers. Surya will be powered completely by sustainable energy sources such as wind and sun power, and may even generate enough sustainable electricity to share with neighbouring community.

Alongside the piezoelectric dancefloor will be solar panels, a wind turbine, waterless urinals, low-flush toilets and eco-friendly air-conditioning units. The club will also recycle all glass, metal, plastic and paper used, whilst the club’s owner Andrew Charalambous, promises to donate part of the club’s profits to environmental charities.

Property developer Mr Charalambous, aka Dr Earth (?), has put in an estimated £1million of his own money into  the project. He said –

“Each week millions upon millions of exuberant human beings head out of their houses and into nightclubs to expend large amounts of energy on the dancefloor, We estimate that if you had loads of clubbers dancing vigorously it would provide 60 per cent of the club’s energy needs. With the wind turbines and solar power we aim to provide the energy needs of 14 to 20 local residents. We are the first free energy-donating business in the world”

Dr. Earth is not only a pretend doctor, but also a fully qualified barrister said to be who is worth well over £100million. He has also stood as a Conservative parliamentary MP, and helped back Boris Johnson’s successful campaign to become mayor of London.

DJ’s appearing at tonights launch party include Jade Jagger, Dan Williams, Queens of Noize and Nathan Detroit, with Coldcut promising an ecologically-themed AV set. Not to be outdone, Dr Earth will also be presenting a 10 point environmental “manifesto” for the rest of the world’s nightclubs to follow.

Whether the local Ritzy will be following suit is another thing, but maybe Dr. Earth could advise all their patrons on how to recycle their white plastic stilettos in the correct manner…

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The WWF charity has praised the Government’s latest renewable energy strategy which could herald a much needed energy revolution through incentives to entice UK home owners to go green.

The UK is currently the third worst performer in the EU on renewable fuels, with measures now in place to make this energy source more attractive to homeowners. With the Government now realising the potential for clean energy in this country, urgent measures need to be taken to undermine the need for any new coal-fired power stations in the UK.

The WWF has been campaigning for a stronger policy to reduce the environmental footprint of existing UK homes so we can meet the CO2 emission reduction target of 80% by 2050. The Government’s current target of a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions is outdated and doesn’t include the UK’s share of emissions from international aviation. To achieve an 80% cut requires the decarbonisation of the electricity supply plus the application of carbon capture and storage technology across the UK.

Head of Campaigns for the WWF-UK, Colin Butfield, said

‘If the Government implements this strategy it would spark a much-needed green energy revolution. This would reduce our exposure to soaring fossil fuel prices, create jobs and enable the Government to show true international leadership on climate change’

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Leonardo DiCaprio is narrating and also producing ‘The 11th Hour’, a documentary about environmental issues to be broadcast on Channel 4 later this month.

The documentary, to be transmitted on May 25, will feature leading scientific and political arguments about the environmental disaster the Earth is currently facing. Guest speakers will include professor Stephen Hawking, Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai, and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The film itself will be narrated DiCaprio, and was written and directed by sisters Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners, co founders of the Tree Media Group.

Tree Media have been in operation for 9 years, and thier mission is to use the media to support and sustain civil society. The film calls for action to change global human activity through technology, whilst claiming that not since a meteor hit earth 55million years ago have so many forms of life become extinct on this planet.

The film itself received critical acclaim when it premiered at the Canne Film Festival last year. Channel 4 has recently purchased the broadcast rights to the documentary from Warner Bros, who will also be releasing a DVD of the film in June.

It’s great to see big screen stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio using their voice to help save the environment, as future generations really need to sit up and take notice off the climate change issue. Hopefully with such a high profile star fronting this campaign, more people will sit up and take notice.

You too can help the planet’s enviromental problems by making a donation to Greenpeace, or even help save half an acre of rain forest with the World Trust. 

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Environmental issues is one of the modern world’s top priorities, and today (Tuesday 22nd April) the globe becomes the stage for the annual ‘Earth Day’.

Earth Day was founded in 1970 by American Senator Gaylord Nelson, who organised the event as a nationwide demonstration on environmental issues. With thousands of colleges also getting involved in the organisation, more than 20 million people took to the streets and parks of America to show their solidarity against the harmful effect the U.S was having on the environment.

By 1992, Earth Day was being supported by 200 million people in 141 countries, and through this global support, the first ever United Nations Earth Summit was held in South America. Over 100 countries sent their heads of state to attend, and with over 170 governments involved, this was the largest environmental meeting in the history of mankind. From this summit, the Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) was set up. The CSD now hold annual meetings at U.N. headquarters to discuss the global prevention of pollution and climate change. With the global recognition of Earth Day, their international network now reaches over 17,000 organizations in 174 countries, with more than a half billion people participating in the event every year.

Along with Earth Day is Wednesday 29th March’s ‘Earth Hour’ supported by the World Wildlife Fund. Over a 250,000 people and 20,000 businesses worldwide have signed up to turn their lights off for one hour during the working day, with power companies set up to monitor the current change. Last year in Bangkok alone, the one hour electricity shut down caused the decrease of 73.34 Megawatts, or the equivalent to 41.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

It’s good to see so many people across the world getting involved with the enviromental problems the Earth is enduring. The more people who become aware of these issues the closer we get to save guarding the future, not just our families, but the world around us.

 > > click here to find out more about the work of the WWF

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Asda Furniture

A brand new environmentally friendly service has just been announced by ASDA furniture. Not only will they deliver your furniture for free, they will actually assemble it for you!

This means no more headaches about the whole thing collapsing after 10 minutes, or trying to work out where the bits that are always left over are supposed to go. All ASDA Furniture is created from sustainable wood supplies, and not only will the delivery team put together your furnishings; they’ll even take away all the excess packaging to be recycled.

All in all an excellent service, not just for the customer, but also for the environment.

> > Click here to buy furniture with Asda online

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After a meeting of the United Nations Environmental Protection Programme, four countries lead the race to become the world’s first carbon neutral country. In the running for the ultimate ecological accolade are Costa Rica, Iceland, Norway and New Zealand.

All four contenders receive most of their energy from renewable resources, with Iceland almost reaching carbon neutrality in the heating of buildings and electricity. Only 1% of homes in Iceland are powered by fossil fuels, but with one of the biggest car fleets per head on the planet, Iceland still has a lot of work to do to fully cut out carbon emissions.

Last year Costa Rica planted more than 5 million trees to offset their carbon emissions, the biggest ever tree planting exercise in the history of the world. Costa Rica currently run 90% of the country from renewable energy sources, with a 3.5 per cent raise in fossil fuel tax going to the National Forestry Financing Fund. Costa Rica’s banana industry (their main export) also plans to go neutral, but with the countries number of cars and air traffic increasing, the task may be far harder than expected.

Meanwhile, New Zealand has commissioned six government agencies to make their nation carbon neutral by 2012. 50% of the country’s greenhouse gases come from the 40,000 national farms, which compares to an average of 12% for most countries. With New Zealand hosting the World Environment ‘Kick the C02 Habit‘ Day, the country has set itself a target of reaching 90% renewable fuel sourcing by 2025.

Norway’s aim to be carbon neutral by 2030 is very ambitious, seeing as they are the third biggest oil exporter on the planet. This hasn’t stopped the Norwegian government joining the European Emissions Trading Scheme and investing a massive $730million in helping to reduce carbon output. This is added to the $2.7 billion promised to neutralize emissions from deforestation, which is estimated to be nearly 20% of the country’s total output. With Norway already using 95% hydro-electricity, it seems like their 2030 deadline is starting to look very achievable.

So who will win this race to be the world’s first carbon neutral country? All four countries have a great chance, but my money is on Costa Rica, whose massive tree planting initiative should be able to offset their carbon emissions fare quicker than the more built up countries. But shouldn’t the question really be:-

Why are only four countries worldwide trying to gain this auspicious honour in the first place?

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Nearly 60 years after the Thames River was claimed to be ‘biologically dead’, new environmental research show the river is now a hive of activity for underwater life.

The river still suffers from some pollution due to the Victorian designed sewer system overflowing into the Thames through heavy rainfall. But with over a 100 species of fish recently being spotted in the Thames, the water is so clean that the National Environment Agency claim Salmon can now be bred in the river.

Thames Salmon died out over 150 years ago due to pollution, but due to a stricter sewage policy the river is now fit for the fish to be re-introduced. Over 5,000 Salmon eggs were recently incubated and released into the Thames tributary at Welford in Berkshire.

Along with the Salmon farming, the Environment Agency was ‘astonished’ to find Snout Nosed Seahorses now living in the Thames for over 18 months. Along with the seahorses, dolphins, seals and even whales have been spotted in the Thames, along with Bass, Flounder and Dover Sole.

It’s easy to see why Ken Livingstone’s office is now touting the Thames as the :-

‘cleanest urban river in Europe’.

> > click here to help Greenpeace protect the UK’s waterways

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The first purpose built enviromentally friendly ‘Eco School‘ in the UK has just opened its doors. With its part flower, part windmill emblem, believe me this educational facility is doing slightly more than a bit of recycling!

The Howe Dell Primary School in Hatfield, Hertfordshire has been built on the grounds of a former airfield, with recycled glass panels leading up to the entrance like a runway. Once inside the building, the reception desk is made entirely from recycled mobile phones, whilst the flooring for both the dining room and main hall are created from sustainably-sourced bamboo and timber. All the carpeted areas within the classrooms consist of recycled tiles, which in the event of damage can be repaired per square, instead of removing the whole carpet. Recycled materials are the theme throughout the school, with yoghurt pots being used for sink tops and drainpipes doubling as the library counter, and even desks!

Lighting for the school is provided by solar panels that convert sunlight into electricity, and skylights, which allow natural light to take the place of electric bulbs. Plus, plans are already under way to build a wind turbine to take the place of all the electricity that is currently used.
 
The school is warmed by a number of different, environmentally friendly methods. Firstly, the radiators are heated by a brand new system called the Interseasonal Heat Transfer. This involves a network of pipes under the playground absorbing heat from the sun, which is then stored in thermal banks beneath the concrete play area. This heat is saved until the winter months, then released into the building’s radiators. Along with this revolutionary system are solar panels that are used to pre-heat the water used in the kitchens and bathrooms. Even the flushing toilets are maintained with recycled rainwater.

The planning and construction of an environmentally friendly school such as Howe Dell does not come cheaply, with the price running to over £10million. But what price can be put on the environmental awareness this kind of project creates not only for its pupils, but also for the surrounding community?

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