The vote follows several years of wrangling over how stringent the legislation should be. Green campaigners say they are pleased that the issue is to be addressed at last. Incredibly, around 20% of timber coming into the EU is thought to be illegal.

The illegal timber trade plays a significant part in the deforestation of some tropical countries. It also helped sustain the recent Liberian civil conflict as armed factions used the revenue for arms.

Finland’s Green MEP Satu Hassi, who has led moves within the parliament commented “At last the link between the European market and the forests around the world ravaged by illegal logging has been weakened. For too long the EU has preached against such logging and the resulting massive deforestation while simultaneously providing one of the largest markets for illegal timber.”

“As such, this agreement on the illegally sourced timber represents a major international breakthrough.”

The new law will force companies operating in the EU to produce “chain of supply” documentation so that, in principle, each piece of timber can be traced right back to its source.

Oscar winning actress Marion Cotillard has been highlighting the illegal timber issue whilst companies that operate “responsible timber” policies have welcomed the move.

“It is good news that Europe has finally agreed to crack down on illegal timber, creating a level playing field for responsible retailers,” said Ian Cheshire, CEO of Kingfisher plc, the parent company of European DIY giants such as B&Q and Screwfix.

“This new regulation will mean that consumers can have even greater confidence that the wood products they buy are not contributing to deforestation and climate change.”

Campaign groups working on environmental and human rights issues were also pleased by the move.

“This law hangs up a ‘closed for business’ sign to a destructive market,” said Greenpeace EU forest policy director Sebastien Risso. “It promises to level the playing field so legitimate companies and customers are better able to act sustainably.”

However, they were disappointed that EU member states fought for and obtained exemptions for five years on printed materials. To a large extent, the new law replicates measures contained in the amendment to the Lacey Act passed in the US in 2008.

This new law is at least a step in the right direction and hopefully will help reduce the illegal logging of timber around the world. All the other remaining world leaders must now also make this law, effectively ending what has devastated many areas of the planet. Of course we must remember that this not only is a major cause of global warming but also kills thousands of animals in the process.

Love your Lakes is a dynamic campaign in the beautiful English Lake District, aimed at improving the lakes’ water quality that is being damaged by the cleaning products we use every day.

A recent review of Cumbria’s lakes water quality revealed that Bassenthwaite Lake and Derwentwater were of particular environmental concern. They are both under extreme pressure from an overload of nutrients.

All of us can do our bit to help improve our local water quality – read more about how the Bassenthwaite Reflections Project are making a difference in our environmental article here.

The world’s net rate of forest loss has slowed in the last decade, with less logging in the Amazon Jungle and China becoming eco-conscious and planting more trees.

Yet forests continue to be lost at “an alarming rate” in some countries, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Its Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 finds the loss of tree cover is most acute in Africa and South America. But Australia also suffered huge losses because of the recent drought.

“This is the first time we’ve been able to say that the deforestation rate is going down across the world, and certainly when you look at the net rate that is certainly down.

“But the situation in some countries is still alarming,”

The last decade saw forests being lost or converted at a rate of 13 million hectares per year, compared to 16 million hectares in the 1990s.

However, new forests were being planted to the tune of more than seven million hectares per year; so the net rate of loss since the year 2000 has been 5.2 million hectares per year, compared to 8.3 million in the 1990s.

Globally, forests now cover about 31% of the Earth’s land surface.

The biggest losses of forest occurred in Brazil, Indonesia and Australia. Australia’s reduction of half a million hectares per year is principally down to the drought conditions that have covered most of the country in recent years, thought to be a consequence of global climate change.

The Indonesian and Brazilian figures were not such a surprise, with both countries possessing vast tracts of forest and major logging industries. Both Brazil and Indonesia are reporting a significant drop in the loss of forests. In Brazil it’s spectacular, and that’s largely because there is a political goal to reduce deforestation by 80% by 2020 and that’s supported by the president.

As deforestation has fallen, there has also been an increase in the planting of new forests, particularly in China, leading to a net increase in national forest cover of three million hectares per year. Worryingly though, the programme – aimed at preventing desertification, reducing flooding and protecting farmland – is due to end in 2020, and if it does, the FAO points out, that will rapidly lead to an increase in the net loss of forest figure. India and Vietnam have also mounted significant forest-planting programmes, the FAO notes.

UN agencies hope the net rate of loss will be slowed further in coming years if the climate change-related initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD) comes to fruition.

The FAO is conducting another survey using satellite observations that they hope will provide a much more detailed assessment, and should be published at the end of next year.

Hopefully with technology becoming so mainstream the need for paper will become less and less as the years go by. Think of only a few years ago when you used to write letters, send invoices etc on paper. These days we use email and pdfs which in theory should greatly reduce our need for paper. Maybe the Apple iPad will revolutionise magazines too in the way it did for cd albums. Time will tell.

The challenge of saving the orangutan – man’s closest relative – from extinction is trickling down to the weekly shop. Many of the biscuits, margarines, breads, crisps and even bars of soap that consumers pick off supermarket shelves contain an ingredient that is feeding a growth industry that conservationists say is killing the orangutans.

The mystery ingredient in the mix is palm oil – the cheapest source of vegetable oil available – and one that rarely appears on the label of most products. Palm oil is grown on land that was once home to the vast rainforests of Borneo, and the natural habitat of the orangutan.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that the population has declined by 50% in recent decades and the Indonesian government admits that 50,000 orangutans have died as a result of de-forestation.

A BBC Panorama investigation into clear-cutting in Indonesian Borneo – the island it shares with Malaysia – found that the thirst for land on which to plant palm plantations is encroaching on areas that the Indonesian government has deemed to be off-limits.

The orangutans, displaced as the trees of old-growth forests are burned and at times killed by workers who see them as a nuisance in the logging process, are not the only victims of the runaway growth in palm oil – scientists say there is a wider environmental price being paid.

Greenpeace has identified the draining of ancient peat lands to make way for palm oil as a global threat, saying it had lead to massive amounts of trapped methane and carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere. As a result, Indonesia is the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind only America and China.

ORANGUTAN FACTS

• Orangutan means “old man of the forest” in Malay
• Only apes living outside of Africa
• Largest tree-dwelling mammals

Using GPS technology and satellite imaging, the BBC team pinpointed exact locations where palm oil giant the Duta Palma Group is logging on both high conservation lands and deep peat lands – both are illegal.Shailendra Yashwant, Greenpeace director for Southeast Asia, said this illegal logging is widespread and includes major suppliers to the UK’s food and household product market.

“We want the Indonesian government to immediately announce a moratorium on further deforestation…beginning with peat lands.”

Willie Smits, a former advisor to the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry turned environmental campaigner, said of the findings: “This is criminal, this should not take place. It means there is no hope left for the most endangered sub-species of the orang-utan in west Kalamantan.”

He said the wider environmental issue of greenhouse gases can no longer be overlooked by both manufacturers and everyday consumers.

“This is not just a matter for Indonesia to decide, this is a matter for the world.”

Currently, only 3% of the world’s palm oil is certified sustainable, meaning it comes from plantations that pass an environmental and social impact test. Many have joined the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) scheme set up to promote certification of where palm oil originates.

Bulk oil from a variety of plantations – including that of Duta Palma Group that the BBC found to be illegally clear-cutting – is mixed together and shipped around the world and sold on to manufacturers behind everyday products. Duta Palma declined to comment on the BBC’s evidence of illegal deforestation.

Many of the sweets and staples in our shopping trolleys contain palm oil. Current labelling laws allow manufacturers to list palm oil as ‘vegetable’ oil, without singling out the palm oil content. However, Sainsbury’s supermarkets had earlier taken the decision to not only single out palm oil on the ingredients lists of their own-brand products, but to state directly that it is from a sustainable source.

Recently Unilever, the UK’s largest user of palm oil in products that range from Dove soap to Pot Noodles, Knorr soups and Flora, terminated a large contract with a supplier called Sinar Mas, because of reports it was destroying high conservation value forests.

We need to make people aware of issues like this that affect others we may not realise, whether they are human or orangutans. If the public are not aware the products they buy are destroying natural habitats then they won’t do anything about it. Help spread this message so we can make a change.

Breaking Wind
Bad manners just got worse. Breaking news shows that the average person lets rip two to three shot glasses of carbon dioxide every 24 hours! However, if you’re a vegetarian you’re looking at a pint glass. Concerned? Scientists, stifling giggles, advise a diet low in baked beans, corn-on-the-cob, green peppers, cabbage, milk and raisins.

Forget the Space Holiday
Conscience clear for take-off? Intergalactic spring holidays sound like a blast – but the climate impact of space tourism is giving rocket scientists tropopause for thought. A single NASA shuttle’s climate impact can eclipse that of New York in a week – and a space tourism buggy still produces as much CO₂ as a business class flight from London to New York.

Plus, if star treks really take off, yearly emissions from space tourism could trump the weekly emissions of a 500MW power station. Given the gravity of the situation, the carbon conscious may want to limit their moon-walking to Friday nights. Here’s hoping a new anti-gravity alien-style space travel method will be found soon!

Composting Toilets
Remember when composting toilets were a conversational taboo, pooh-pooed by mainstream society? Getting rid of ‘humanure’ using a waterless toilet may not be just a fringe fad much longer as it reduces the climate impact of waste. How?

By composting it into humus. (Not to be confused for the stuff made out of chickpeas – that’s humous.)

One Less Child
Looking for an excuse to get out of having another child? Controversial research by the Optimum Population Trust suggests that the single most effective thing a person can do for climate change is to not have that extra baby.

More people means more carbon emissions. Simple as that. (In fact, a couple that has two kids instead of three could cut their family’s climate impact by the equivalent of 620 return flights a year between London and New York.)

Compost Your Corpse
Surprisingly, we continue producing CO₂, beyond the grave. Our corpses are burnt in furnaces up to five times hotter than an average oven, emitting greenhouse gases and carcinogenic air pollution. Our bodies are 80% carbon, producing around 215kg of CO₂ when cremated. Coffins are made from chipboard or tropical hardwood, decomposing slowly alongside a methane-producing corpse as it rots.

A more climate-friendly way to go is to opt for an ‘eco’ style ‘pod’ made from toughened recycled paper and be buried in a woodland or wilderness, with a planted commemorative tree.

Celebrities are showing their support for an end to animal testing by joining an on-line virtual protest. Comedian Ricky Gervais, actress Joanna Lumley OBE and rockers Brian May CBE and Chrissie Hynde, are joining tens of thousands of people taking part in the virtual march to Brussels where the 20-year old law on animal experiments is up for review by politicians.

‘Mini-me’ virtual characters of Ricky, Joanna, Chrissie and Brian appear in the campaign cheering on the thousands of marchers from across the EU and they hope to persuade thousands more to take part at www.makeanimaltestinghistory.org/march

More than 12 million animals such as rabbits, hamsters, monkeys, cats and dogs, are used in experiments in Europe each year. Many of the experiments can cause physical and mental distress to the animals. Animal lovers across the UK and Europe are taking to cyber-space to demonstrate support for improvements to the 20-year old law on animal experiments. Make Animal Testing History is run by the Dr Hadwen Trust for Humane Research, Four Paws and Humane Society International who are seeking a massive drive to develop non-animal alternative tests to replace the use of animals altogether with humane, 21st-century methods.

Ricky Gervais says: “When I was asked if I’d like to back the campaign to Make Animal Testing History I said “Yes”, immediately, as it is a cause that I am very, very passionate about. When they said it involved a march, I said forget it. But when they said it was a virtual march and I would have to do very little except show my support and give a quote, I jumped at the chance. On a serious note, we need EU politicians to vote for more humane science. With all the non-animal techniques available now and in the future, we really don’t need to hurt animals to make medical progress.”

Joanna Lumley OBE, said: “Join me fabulous walkers, in showing how much we care for the feelings of our fellow creatures, and how soon we long for all animal testing to become a thing of the past. Tell everyone you know how easy it is to sign up, pack some sandwiches and, as Nancy Sinatra so succinctly put it, “Start walking!!!”

Queen guitarist Brian May CBE said: “Humans do not have the right to abuse other animals in any way whatsoever. What on Earth makes us think we are that important? If we want to call ourselves civilised, a change is long overdue. No animal should ever be subjected to indignity or discomfort, far less, a painful death, in the name of science.”

Chrissie Hynde said: “Animal experimentation just doesn’t make sense in the 21st century. It causes suffering to millions of animals and it’s hardly cutting-edge science. Thousands of people are cyber-marching right now to Make Animal Testing History and I’m right there with them cheering them on. Let’s stop filling our laboratories with monkeys and mice and use modern alternative research methods instead. See you on the march!”

Citizens from across Europe are being invited to get e-active by signing an online pledge of support to Make Animal Testing History and creating their own personalised character to join the mass cyber parade through Brussels towards the European parliament. The law will be debated during the coming months by politicians across Europe.

“We are living in exceptional times. Scientists tell us that we have 10 years to change the way we live, avert the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth’s climate. The stakes are high for us and our children. Everyone should take part in the effort, and HOME has been conceived to take a message of mobilization out to every human being. For this purpose, HOME needs to be free. A patron, the PPR Group, made this possible. EuropaCorp, the distributor, also pledged not to make any profit because Home is a non-profit film. HOME has been made for you : share it! And act for the planet.”

Yann Arthus-Bertrand, GoodPlanet Foundation President

HOME is a carbon offset movie. Visit the Home Project website for more information.

• October 1989: At least 20 whales of three species strand during naval exercises near the Canary Islands.
• December 1991: Two Cuvier’s beaked whales strand during naval exercises near the Canary Islands.
• May 1996: Twelve Cuvier’s beaked whales strand on the west coast of Greece as NATO ships sweep the area with low- and mid-frequency active sonar.
• October 1999: Four beaked whales strand in the U.S. Virgin Islands during Navy maneuvers offshore.
• May 2000: A beaked whale strands in Vieques as naval exercises are about to begin offshore.
• May 2000: Three beaked whales strand on the beaches of Madeira during NATO naval exercises near shore.
• April 2002: A beaked whale and a humpback whale strand near Vieques during an offshore battle group training exercise.
• September 2002: At least 14 beaked whales from three different species strand in the Canary Islands during an anti-submarine warfare exercise in the area. Four additional beaked whales strand over the next several days.
• May 2003: As many as 11 harbor porpoises beach along the shores of the Haro Strait, Washington State, as the USS Shoup tests its mid-frequency sonar system.
• June 2004: As many as six beaked whales strand during a Navy sonar training exercise off Alaska.
• July 2004: Approximately 200 melon-headed whales crowd into the shallow waters of Hanalei Bay in Hawaii as a large Navy sonar exercise takes place nearby. Rescuers succeed in directing all but one of the whales back out to sea.
• July 2004: Four beaked whales strand during naval exercises near the Canary Islands.
• January 2005: At least 34 whales of three species strand along the Outer Banks of North Carolina as Navy sonar training goes on offshore.

So far, NRDC has been successful in pushing for stricter control of two major types of military sonar, the widely used mid-frequency sonar and long-range low-frequency sonar – despite strong administration resistance. In early 2008, a federal court prohibited the Navy from conducting major mid-frequency sonar exercises in California without safety measures in place and rejected a White House bid to excuse the Navy from following the law. The Navy appealed this decision. Also in early 2008, federal courts limited the regions where low-frequency sonar may be used and deemed certain species-rich areas, such as the Galapagos Islands and the Great Barrier Reef, off-limits. The NRDS’s advocacy has pressured the Navy into preparing impact reviews and seeking environmental permits for sonar training on all of its U.S. ranges.NRDC’s goal is to encourage the military to use sonar responsibly, not to stop its use altogether. Necessary safety measures include putting rich marine mammal habitat off-limits; avoiding migration routes and feeding or breeding areas when marine mammals are present; and turning off active sonar when marine mammals and endangered species are spotted near by. The principle behind active sonar will be familiar to anyone who has ever watched a submarine movie. Active sonar systems produce intense waves of sound that sweep the ocean like a floodlight, revealing objects in their path. Some systems can put out over 235 decibels, a level that can spread harmful sound across tens or even hundreds of miles of ocean.

Evidence of sonar’s dangers surfaced in 2000, when whales of four different species stranded themselves on beaches in the Bahamas after a U.S. Navy battle group used mid-frequency sonar in the area. Although the Navy initially denied responsibility, the government’s investigation established that sonar caused the strandings. After the incident, the area’s population of Cuvier’s beaked whales nearly disappeared, leading researchers to conclude that they either abandoned their habitat or died at sea. Similar mass strandings have occurred in the Canary Islands, Greece, Madeira, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Hawaii and other sites around the globe.

Many of these beached whales have suffered physical trauma, including bleeding around the brain, ears and other tissues. 

In addition, many have shown symptoms akin to a severe case of “the bends” — the illness that can kill scuba divers who surface quickly from deep water. The clear implication is that debilitating and lethal injuries are occurring in whales exposed to sonar at sea, perhaps by altering their dive patterns.

But stranded whales are only the most visible symptom of a problem affecting much larger numbers of marine life.  

In the darkness of the ocean, marine mammals and many fish rely on sound to follow migratory routes, to locate each other over great distances, to find food, to breed and to care for their young. Naval sonar has been shown to disrupt feeding and other vital behavior and to cause a wide range of species to panic and flee. Scientists are concerned about the cumulative effect of all of these impacts on populations of animals. Ongoing NRDC campaigns have made strides toward requiring the Navy to use proper safeguards when employing sonar.

• 2008: A federal court limits the regions where low-frequency sonar may be used and deemed certain species-rich areas, such as the Galapagos Islands and the Great Barrier Reef, off-limits.
• 2006: Two years after an earlier exercise caused the stranding of 200 whales in Hanalei Bay, a federal court halts sonar use during the Navy’s massive Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise off Hawaii. The Navy agrees to additional mitigation to remove the injunction.
• 2006: After years of pressure from NRDC, the Navy begins to conduct environmental reviews and seek permits for mid-frequency sonar training off the U.S. coasts. The first review, for a proposed training range off North Carolina, is so heavily criticized that the Navy takes the unusual step of withdrawing it and starting from scratch.
• 2005: An NRDC-led coalition sues the Navy in U.S. federal court after years of attempts at constructive dialogue could not convince the Navy to take common-sense precautions during peacetime training with mid-frequency sonar.
• 2004: Responding to NRDC and other groups, a suite of intergovernmental bodies begins to take action on sonar. The European Parliament calls on its 25 member states to stop deploying active sonar without more information about the harm to whales and other marine life. ACCOBAMS, a European agreement for marine mammals, commits to develop guidelines for sonar and other noise-producing activities in the Mediterranean and Black seas. The World Conservation Congress of the World Conservation Union calls for international action.
• 2003: NRDC wins a major victory when a federal court rules illegal the Navy’s plan to deploy low-frequency sonar through 75 percent of the world’s oceans. The Navy agrees to limit use of the system to a fraction of the area originally proposed, and that use of low-frequency sonar will be guided by negotiated geographical limits and seasonal exclusions.

NRDC’s efforts to bring attention to the serious risks of active sonar have been aided immeasurably by the tens of thousands of messages their members and other activists have sent, insisting that active sonar not be used until the long-term safety of ocean wildlife can be assured. Today, they are increasing pressure on the international community and the U.S. Navy to reduce the impact of active sonar on our oceans, before it’s too late. As their campaign expands, they will need your help more than ever. Join NRDC’s Earth Activist Network. Please visit www.nrdc.org for more information.

But ministers do not expect eligible cars to hit the showrooms until 2011. The car industry as a whole welcomed the plan, but George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, dismissed the initiative as a “fantasy announcement.” Critics said the government needed to invest more in places to recharge the vehicles and in public transport. However, the strategy includes plans to provide £20m for charging points and other necessary infrastructure. At present they are very limited creating a chicken and egg situation with potential electric car purchasers. After all you wouldn’t buy an electric car if you couldn’t find anywhere to charge it would you?

Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon said that there was huge potential to reduce emissions, with less than 0.1% of the UK’s 26 million cars now electric. The government hopes to target drivers of a new generation of all electric or plug-in petrol-electric cars, which are expected to go on sale in two years time.

“When people see the electric car – the speed, the lack of noise – they are going to fall in love with it. We need to lead this green motoring revolution,” Business Secretary Lord Mandelson

Speaking at a racing circuit in Dunfermline, Geoff Hoon said the plan was about “encouraging the idea that electric vehicles will become part of everyday life, that people will take them for granted and they will look and feel the same as any other car”.

Jay Nagley, an analyst at Spyder Automotive, said the announcement was very significant for the car industry. “The big problem is that the next generation of electric cars will initially be very expensive to make – manufacturers say about double the price of a petrol car,” he told the BBC. “Without subsidies, nobody will buy them, so manufacturers won’t be able increase production and get the price down.”

By 2020 about a quarter of all cars sold could be electric.

But the RAC Foundation, which lobbies on behalf of British motorists, questioned the amount of money being spent by the government, and how it would be put to use. “If the whole £250m were divided up so £5,000 is allocated per person, this would only put an extra 50,000 electric cars on the road – out of an annual total of some 2.7 million cars sold in the UK,” said director Stephen Glaister.

Modern lithium-ion batteries have already been installed in prototype cars, such as the Mini E, which handles like an ordinary car and offers a range of 150 miles. But the batteries are huge, so the car has no back seats. Plug-in petrol-electric hybrids will soon offer five-seat alternatives. In these, a petrol engine takes over once the battery has run out. This is the solution favoured by Toyota. Alternatively, a small petrol engine recharges the battery whilst driving – the General Motors solution. Either way, in the future motorists will increasingly buy power from electricity companies rather than from the oil industry.

Environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth said that financial support for electric cars was a step in the right direction but said investment in public transport was also needed. “Electric cars are only as green as the electricity they run on – ministers must do far more to boost the UK’s flagging renewable energy industry,” said the group’s transport campaigner Tony Bosworth.

Shadow chancellor George Osborne said that the government’s announcement lacked detail on the measures needed to make electric cars a mainstream reality.
He said more information was needed on how the higher demand for electricity would be managed and on how a national network of car charging points would be created.
“The Labour plan announced today is like giving people a grant to buy an internal combustion engine, without bothering to set up any petrol stations,” he said.

Government incentives to stimulate the sales of cars are spreading.
In a separate initiative, Chancellor Alistair Darling is expected to reveal an incentive scheme for motorists to trade old cars in for new ones in next week’s Budget. This could provide £2,000 for car owners to trade in their old cars to buy new ones. The plan is designed to boost demand for new cars and help struggling carmakers who are suffering during the recession. Similar schemes have proved successful in boosting new car sales in continental Europe.
In Germany, for example, car sales increased by 40% in March compared with a year earlier.
Critics of the scheme, however, have complained about the environmental impact of encouraging people to buy new cars.

What do you make of this? Is it a step in the right direction or purely Government propaganda?