Someone the other day mentioned that, they believed Thrushes were becoming a rare sighting. I did mention, they do frequent Hulme Park and sometimes my garden, to feed on the berries. Though it had not happened this year, for some reason. Later that day, as I approached my front gate, I was delighted to see a Thrush, fly out of my bushes. Despite the constant war waged against nature by Manchester City Council and property developers. It is nice to see we have a diverse range of birds, are still making a home in Manchester. Below, There also photographs of the Ancoats Kestrel and Canada Geese with their Goslings by the Ashton Canal.
Thrush
A Thrush, but whether it is a Mistle Thrush or a Song Thrush, I cannot tell the difference. Any help in identifying them probably would be appreciated, though I think, it is the more common Mistle Thrush.
Hunting for its dinner. It can be seen frequently around Ancoats Dispensary hovering for its food. Our local family of Crows are not too happy about it being in the area. Then we have the Canadian Geese with their Goslings at different stages wondering about and foraging.
The Conservatives also asked the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC); http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Commission, at which Tim Jackson and colleagues produced a report, ‘Prosperity without Growth’. No political party in the UK, took this report seriously, and all constantly pursue economic growth. Which is of course, the cause of inequality and climate change. Truthout have just posted an article on ‘Beyond Growth or Beyond Capitalism?’, which is repeating the SDC’s findings; http://truth-out.org/news/item/21215-beyond-growth-or-beyond-capitalism. Will any political party embrace these policies and engage the voters with them? The UK Green Party were told at it’s 2010 Spring Conference, to be bold and to push forward on this agenda. They failed to do so, and the capitalist and growth at any cost agenda, prevails.
What’s interesting is that the next sentence goes –
It had risen by almost 20% under Paterson’s predecessor, Caroline Spelman, but fell 41% after Paterson replaced her in September 2012.
So, there are Tories who want to conserve (the clue is no longer in the name) a habitable planet. But Dave, presumably in an effort to keep his make-Attila-the-Hun-look-like-Mahatma-Gandhi friends to the right happy, is willing to throw them overboard.
When they are older, and they understand what he has done, his children will – along with everyone else’s – curse the day he was born. But of course, it’s easy to denounce the pantomime villain (oh yes it is). The bigger question is – where are the social movements? Where are the people who are learning and teaching how to channel the anger, disbelief and despair felt by so many into effective…
The policies in the 4-for-2°C Scenario have been selected because they meet key criteria: they can deliver significant reductions in energy-sector emissions by 2020 (as a bridge to further action); they rely only on existing technologies; they have already been adopted and proven in several countries; and, taken together, their widespread adoption would not harm economic growth in any country or region. The four policies are:
Adopting specific energy efficiency measures (49% of the emissions savings).
Limiting the construction and use of the least-efficient coal-fired power plants (21%).
Minimising methane (CH4) emissions from upstream oil and gas production (18%).
Accelerating the (partial) phase-out of subsidies to fossil-fuel consumption (12%).”
This post is by Dr Bruce Tofield, associate consultant at the Adapt Low Carbon Group, University of East Anglia.
In launching Next steps for shale production, energy minister Michael Fallon said that fracking “is an exciting prospect, which could bring growth, jobs and security”. There is, however, great concern about the damaging local environmental impact of fracking in Britain. Less remarked upon is fossil fuel lock-in, highlighted recently by Rachel Cary. As Michael Liebreich, CEO of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, has pointed out “If the UK ever becomes dependent on shale gas, it will never be able to kick the fracking habit.”
Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, continually argues, Manchester City Council cannot do anything without the other councils within Greater Manchester doing so as well. I attended the Triodos Bank AGM (Annual General Meeting) in Bristol the other month and heard some inspirational stories from people including those from Bristol. The Mayor of Bristol was one of those who spoke about what had been achieved and what they are still trying to achieve. There was an atmosphere of being part of the solution and of success. This feeling of success, came on top of my feeling, things are getting done in Bristol, after my visit for the Triodos Renewables Fund AGM. I had posted earlier about my visit to the AGM: Bristol-and-Wessex-Water. Not the constant complaints why it cannot be done or that it is somebody’s fault, they constantly emanates from Richard Leese. How he can be considered a leader, is beyond me, he is unfit to be in charge of an empty shopping trolley, in an empty car park. The article reinforces the fact, that Bristol is moving forward on being green and sustainable:
I have to constantly point out to people who use Daily Mail articles, to attack climate change and renewables. That the Daily Mail is a paper which only pushes untruths, not only about climate change but also on immigration, benefits, NHS and welfare. No one can really take this adult comic seriously.
As an investor in Triodos Renewables Fund, I decided to go to Bristol to attend the AGM (Annual General Meeting) of the fund. The meeting took place on Saturday, 15th June and had decide to spend the weekend in Bristol. This was my second AGM, I had attended, my first being two years ago when it was held at Ness Point, Lowestoft, site of one of the funds wind-turbines.
That weekend was also the start of Bristol’s Big Green Week, which leaves Manchester’s green events in the shade. The Friday I arrived, it was announced that evening, that Bristol had been elected to be European Green Capital for 2015. I did noticed their City Centre did seem cleaner and greener than Manchester City Centre, with plenty of mature trees still standing.
View along St. Augustine’s Way, towards the Cenotaph.
On the Saturday morning I made my way down to the Triodos Bank offices. I found the walk pleasant, not just because of the views but also of the pedestrian and cyclist friendly attitude of the motorists. And the scene outside Bristol’s Council’s offices beats Manchester’s any time in my view.
Bristol City Council offices
At Triodos’s offices we were informed they had solar PV in place on the roof and rainwater was harvested. Unfortunately, the EA (Environment Agency) had occupied the offices next door first and they were the beneficiaries of the harvested rainwater. After the main business of the AGM, we had a question and answer session. One of the questions was about opposition to wind-turbines. A member of the board, stated only one site had received any complaints, which was Kessingland, a site a visited two years ago. The complainant wrote, they could not see or hear the turbines, in fact knew nothing about them till they had read about them in the local paper. The board member did stress, that they still took this complaint seriously and took steps to mitigate any adverse impact. The Governments real intentions towards renewables, especially Eric Pickles stated support for those opposed to onshore wind.
After lunch, we took a coach to Avonmouth and Wessex Water waste water treatment plant (sewage farm). After donning hard hats and high-vis, we assembled in a training room to be given a presentation by Mohammed Saddiq of GENeco. He explained the board of Wessex Water wanted to reduce their energy consumption and reduce their carbon footprint. Mohammed, stated GENeco was set up to explore the options, looking into energy efficiencies and into trying to be energy self-sufficient. You need to do both, to achieve the aim of reducing greenhouse gases and moving away from a fossil fuel economy.
Originally the treated sludge waste from the sewage treatment plant, would be taken by local farmers, for a price. GENeco, decided to put this sewage sludge through a two-stage bio-digester to produce biogas. This left a rich compost which the company now sold to local farmers. In fact, the company employs a team soil biologists to advice farmers on exactly how much of this bio-fertiliser they need, to improve their soil. 220,000 tonnes a year are supplied by GENeco to farmers, as an alternative to fossil-fuel derived fertilisers.
He did go on to mention a post-graduate working for them, who had suggested he could use the grits, rags and plastic instead of it going to landfill. The screenings as they are called are composted and used of remedial landscaping and the plastics separated out and sent to an energy-from-waste plant (I do not know which one and what process it uses). Their claim is they are zero waste, as no waste is sent to landfill.
As well as sewage sludge being processed in the bio-digester plant, they now collect food waste and use this as well. The biogas is used in CHP plants to produce energy and heat. The heat is used to improve the efficiency of the plant and enough electricity is produced to be able to export some to the national grid. The even produce excess biogas, and have converted some of their vehicles to run on it,not just their promotional vehicle.
The Big Bug, biogas powered vehicle.
They are producing 42 GWhr/year of electricity, exporting biogas, produce fertiliser and compost and even send treated waste water to a power station for use as cooling water. And all this was accomplished in 31/2 years. What has Manchester City Council accomplished since announcing it’s Manchester – A Certain Future, in December 2009?
So why was Triodos Renewables investors here at Wessex Water waste water plant? During GENeco‘s review of options, they had applied for planning permission for 4 wind-turbines, that was approved. As, they were already energy sufficient, they had offered Triodos Renewables to chance to build and operate the wind-turbines. And that was the primary reason we were there, to look at the locations for our 4 new turbines.
Pilings in place for Turbine 3 at Wessex Water, Avonmouth plant.
These four turbines will give Triodos Renewables an additional 8.2MW of capacity to the already 43.25MW of installed capacity. A very ethical outcome for all involved.:-)
To me, Joanne, describes what I found during my short time as a member of the Green Party, especially here in Manchester. I have found, those who class themselves as Marxists and other far-left doctrines, to be an elitist bunch. They shout down anyone who dares say anything they disagree with. The situation in Brighton, where one member of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas’s ex-PA, has been working against the good work her fellow colleagues are doing, under trying conditions. Tim Jackson, (Prosperity without Growth) addressed a Green Party conference, and urged the Green Party to be bold and state, we cannot have more growth. He stated, ‘Labour – Social Democracy demands more, will only happen with growth. Capital Growth is a shark, Labour supports this inequality and unsustainable growth’. Some of them even dismiss the idea of Green Economics, what they want is a consumer society but with the riches more fairly distributed. That is, of course for those of us in the Global North. They do not consider the implications for those in the Global South. In fact Peter Cranie at a hustings for leadership of the Green Party. Claimed, it was only right that the thousands who are affected by floods in Bangladesh, should emigrate to the UK. It does not seem to understand, it is are excessive consumption of natural resources that are the cause of the floods. Therefore, moving people, will not solve the problem but will help exasperate the situation. Unfortunately, the left, of which, Caroline Lucas is one, decided to ignore Tim Jackson’s advice. And have continued with calls for more spending and consumption of natural resources. I do not know why they are in the Green Party, which was originally the Ecology Party.
When Mckenzie Wark appeared on Novara, Resonance FM on May 28th 2013 he argued that a critical theory that does not confront environmental problems as one of its central problems was not worth discussing (I am paraphrasing – what he actually said was is more complicated and is transcribed below). Oddly, in this interview Wark managed to simultaneously acknowledge the validity of the environmental crisis as a theoretical problem – while also denying its implications in practice. For me this was a significant moment for Novara since it was certainly the best attempt they have yet made (that I am aware of) to engage with the ecological problem. Unfortunately, while Wark has many good ideas, his convoluted take on ecological theory is a classic example of extravagant lengths intellectuals (and especially the environmentally disengaged radical left) devise to continue to dismiss the most fundamental challenges posed by the ecological…
Another article about the negative environmental impacts of ‘fracking’. The method of using high hydraulic pressure to fracture gas shale or coal-seams to extract methane (natural gas).
As well as the Oceans heating up, they also absorb carbon which turns them more acidic. This is causing the death of the corals and softening the shells of shellfish and crustaceans. Also, the Oceans may release to captured carbon back into the atmosphere.
Hunting for its dinner. It can be seen frequently around Ancoats Dispensary hovering for its food. Our local family of Crows are not too happy about it being in the area. Then we have the Canadian Geese with their Goslings at different stages wondering about and foraging.
patricktsudlow 