Archive for the ‘Enivronmental Charities’ Category

WWF charity are pleased that the Peruvian National Protected Areas Service has decided to allow extra funds this year to help protect a large area of the Amazon jungle that is home to a selection endangered species and indigenous tribes.

The service has pledged to allocate $280,000 to fund surveillance activities in the area, which is so large in size it is actually bigger than neighbouring country El Salvador. The area, which is formed by the Alto Purus National Park and the Purus Communal Reserve, has been a protected area since it was created in 2004 thanks to the support of WWF wildlife charity.

This amazing area of area of untouched forestary in the southwestern Amazon, is home to a wide and diverse selection of wildlife, with much of it endangered species. Not only is home to at least eight indigenous ethnic groups, living in voluntary isolation, but also pink dolphins, jaguars and arapaimas to name just a few of the rare animals that inhabit this wonderful life centre.

Director of WWF’s Amazon Headwaters Initiative, Jorge Herrera, said -

This represents a major success for all Peruvians. The government’s commitment to safeguard the Peruvian Amazon will help us build long term conservation strategies for roughly 3 million hectares of some of the richest forests in the world.

WWF has help to equip and implement seven control posts with the area, whilst supporting the control and surveillance carried out by reserve authorities. Illegal mahogany logging and poaching has not only a damaging effect on the landscape itself, but also the indigenous communities that reside within it’s confines. Thanks to the Peruvian government’s support, a team of more than 20 park guards and experienced technicians will be on hand to help protect the areas natural beauty and resources.

Help WWF UK with a Charity Gift

The WWF is a non profit organisation who can only sustain their tireless work in saving the planet and its inhabitants through donations. You can help raise funds through the WWF Adopt an Animal scheme.

From as little as £3 a month you receive a certificate, a print of your animal, a greetings card, and a soft toy that would make a fantastic charity gift for a loved one.

> > Click here to Adopt an Animal with WWF UK

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WWF UK is warning that a lack of nerve amongst global leaders could have a devastating effects on both people and nature if a strong climate deal in not agreed upon in Copenhagen. The WWF is calling on world leaders to start showing the will to achieve a strong deal and focus on the current climate change crisis.

Head of Climate Change at WWF-UK, Keith Allott, said -

Stories currently being talked up in the media and diplomatic manoeuvres behind the scenes reflect attempts by industrialized countries to lower expectations for Copenhagen. They are currently dodging hard decisions on slashing their emissions and providing funding for the transition to a low carbon economy.

The world is looking for leadership, but instead the leaders are starting to hand out their excuses in advance. This is especially worrying , because next week, the EU must agree its position on reduction targets and financial support, which will carry through to Copenhagen. Yesterday’s Environment Council meeting took some steps forward, but on Tuesday Finance Leaders failed to agree any funding for developing countries. That means Heads of State must make a firm financial commitment next week, or the EU will come to Copenhagen empty-handed.

With the final meeting before Copenhagen taking place next week in Barcalona, WWF is concerned that diplomatic rumours are abound that a binding legal agreement will not be signed in Copenhagen. This is particularly worrying as unless a legitimate contract is entered, the chances of a climate catastrophe will increase dramatically. The contract should feature major emission reduction targets for all countries across the globe alongside major support for all developing countries. Only through this course of action can the climate change issue realistically be tackled.

Help WWF UK with a Charity Gift

The WWF is a non profit organisation who can only sustain their tireless work in saving the planet and its inhabitants through donations. You can help raise funds through the WWF Adopt an Animal scheme.

From as little as £3 a month you receive a certificate, a print of your animal, a greetings card, and a soft toy that would make a fantastic charity gift for a loved one.

> > Click here to Adopt an Animal with WWF UK

View other top charity gifts

The effect that large supermarkets are having on our rural communities and the landscape is huge. For every £1 spent at a supermarket as little as 10p is generated for the local economy. The other 90p leaves the area immediately. But this contrasts with the fact that every £1 spent at a local shop generates up to £3 of further business in your local area.

Campaign to Protect Rural England has recently stepped up its campaign to promote local foods by strongly objecting to Competition Commission proposals which would encourage more supermarkets to be built. If implemented, this measure could force hundreds of small and independent shops out of business, deny the consumer real choice and reduce the availability of local foods.

Supermarkets often do not have a clear definition of what is meant by ‘local food’. CPRE’s definition is that the product should be grown and processed within 30 miles of the store. Waitrose has adopted a definition of local foods based on this recommendation, and we hope that other supermarkets will follow its lead in order to give consumers a genuine, informed choice.

In addition we recently launched a new website run jointly with other organisations called www.makingfoodwork.co.uk. The CPRE are also getting active in local communities and schools to gain more support for local foods through our local branches. For example CPRE Cheshire has started a ‘Buy Local’ award scheme as part of its campaign to support locally-produced food. Eligible businesses include farm shops, market traders, high street shops and restaurants that make significant efforts to provide genuinely local food.

>> Click here to register your support for our local foods campaign.

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.

> > click here to make a donation to the WWF

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

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?

> > click here to make a donation to the WWF

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

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…

> > click here to check out the top environmental charities

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’

> > click here to make a donation to the WWF

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

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. 

> > click here to help Greenpeace protect the environment

> > click here to save a save half an acre of rainforest

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

> > click here to help Greenpeace protect the environment

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