World Ecology Newswire Archive

On his visit to Rochdale today, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott met with Save Spodden Valley campaigners and listened to their concerns about building 600+ homes and a children's nursery on the site of what was the world's largest asbestos textile factory.

Countryside Properties have just had their controversial planning application put on hold. campaigners are now asking that the plans be "called-in" to the ODPM so that a Planning Inspector is appointed to oversee any decisions about the troubled site.

John Prescott promised that a request for "call-in" would be considered sympathetically by his office.

The Deputy Prime Minister also expressed his concerns about the dangers of asbestos. He explained how he had lost friends and colleagues to a "slow and lingering death from asbestos"

Save Spodden Valley handed a letter to John Prescott. (More details of the campaign can be fond at: www.Spodden-Valley.co.uk -type carefully- Countryside Properties have been busy buying up similar sounding domain names!)

World poverty and environmental groups descend on Whitehall Friday 15th April to show strength of public concern on the UK’s role in global trade.

The Save Spodden Valley campaign may have discovered a sinister move by developers of the former asbestos factory site in the Spodden Valley, Rochdale:

Le palmier dattier est l'arbre emblématique de la Basse Mésopotamie. Les dattes sont l'un des produits de base de l'alimentation de l'Irak moderne. Avant l'embargo, l'Irak, qui abritait plus de trente millions de palmiers dattiers et plusieurs centaines de variétés, était le premier exportateur de dattes au monde. Aujourd'hui, les palmeraies, saccagées par les troupes d'occupation et atteintes par une maladie inconnue, sont pratiquement détruites.
La destruction des palmiers-dattiers et d'autres arbres fruitiers pourrait-elle faire partie de la politique de génocide culturel menée par les Etats-Unis en Irak, berceau de la civilisation, tout comme la destruction des oliveraies en Palestine par les Israéliens ?

Arizona is the millionaire retirement and second home Fat-Cat capital of the world – and they like to shoot or humiliate Mexican nationals (and Mexican Americans too!) who cross the border to fill the low paying jobs that US businesses offer them (Wal-mart is a big employer of undocumented workers and a threat to Mexican retail stores too!) For some reason, Arizona is one of the most powerful states in the US with 3 or four Supreme Court justices ( if you count the ones to be nominated soon), War-Boy John McCain who could be the next US president,

BBC have bought McLibel!
(better late than never?)


it'll be screened on Weds 13th April - two days before McD's 50th b'day - on BBC4 at 9pm.

press release below to any journos/mailing lists.

Tory leader M.Howard snubs local eco group FoE's General Election Hustings despite having 7 weeks notice and having quite happy to attend 3 previous ones at Election time.
What's he afraid of this time??....

Letter recieved from Bliar on Kyoto Traety and the G8

Report from the Farley Mowat by Captain Paul Watson

Aviation and climate change--Public consultation March-April 2005--Questionnaire for individual citizens

While people have been enjoying the freak summer weather this weekend, scientists have been warning that the ozone layer is are at amoung the thinest sofar and that UV levels will be conrispondingly high. Record cold tempatures during the artic winter have resulted in an increase of the chemical reaction that destroys ozone during the spring as the sun comes closer to the earth. So, enjoy the early spring/summer but remember to cover up and keep up the pressure to curb consumption and climate change.

Police arrested two activists protesting G8 policies on climate change on 15 March at a demonstration outside a G8 ministerial meeting in the City of London.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

The heroic Hillside Animal Sanctuary undercover team bravely risked their lives and a few limbs to covertly gather video evidence to expose barbaric animal cruelty, dangers to public health and illegal unlicensed practices in the biggest case of it’s kind in the UK.

The Brazilian Government replies following Emails (Greenpeace) after the murder of Dorothy Stang.

Demo against the annual Russian Baby Seal Cull on the White Sea. LOndon Mon 28 Feb, Called by European Animal Welfare

European Animal Welfare demo London 2pm 28 Feb 2005

Eighty-six families of the Subanen tribe are being threatened with eviction from their ancestral land by the Canadian mining company TVI.

FoE,Greenpeace,the sierra club and Rainforest Action Network
join together to fight off challenge from Aussie corporation
'Gunns' (a woodchip co) who are lauching legal challenges against environmentalists and the Oz Gov over opposition to their logging etc activities.

Rampant smuggling of illegal timber from Indonesia to China is a billion dollar trade threatening the last remaining intact tropical forests in the Asia-Pacific region, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Telapak revealed at a press conference today in Jakarta.