Last week George (Gideon) Osborne had to do something different because it was clear that his economic policies weren’t working (he did the wrong thing, but he did have to do something) whereas there is no sign that Defra is going to do anything different even though their policies aren’t working either. The differences between…
BLOG POSTS
Swanwick
I spent yesterday at the BTO Conference at Swanwick and left feeling slightly foolish. Foolish, because although I have attended many BTO Conferences in my time, that is the first for a good many years, and I enjoyed it so much that I felt foolish for having missed out over recent years. The conference theme…
Ralph Underhill cartoon
Hedgehogs – you couldn’t dream them up really could you? If you hadn’t seen one (you have seen one haven’t you?) then would they seem any more likely than the unicorn? Hedgehogs seem to be getting rarer for a variety of reasons here, here and here) – one of which might well be that…
Come on chaps!
I’ve been thinking, off and on, about the marine wildlife riches around Pitcairn Island since the meeting at the Royal Society last week. It was wonderful to get some comments on this blog from Pitcairn Islanders too. I hope it’s not too presumptuous to think that the case for strong protection of the marine wildlife,…
Book review – Nature all around us by Beatrix Beisner, Christian Messier and Luc-Alain Giraldeau
This is a lovely little book: small in size but great in scope. It is subtitled a ‘guide to urban ecology’ but since ecology is the same everywhere it is a guide to ecology which has been approached through the everyday sights and sounds that surround those people who might think that they are most…
Guest Blog – Why we need to change if we really care… by Ralph Underhill
Ralph Underhill worked on planning casework and water policy at the RSPB for seven years, before joining the Public Interest Research Centre where he is working on the Common Cause for Nature project. He would like to hear your thoughts on this piece and would like anyone interested in the project to get in touch….
Butterflies in the landscape, and a Christmas present too
I’m sorry I can’t attend the launch today of a marvellous report by Butterfly Conservation. Landscape-scale conservation for butterflies and moths – lessons from the UK is a superb document about how to do nature conservation. Few of our UK conservation organisations could produce something so impressive in terms of demonstrating how to conserve threatened…
Biomass – dirtier than coal?
Last week I pointed out that every form of energy production has snags – and suggested that we should give a higher priority to reducing our energy needs. Here’s another example, and it’s rather similar to the situation regarding biofuels (described in Chapter 13 of Fighting for Birds). Using biomass to fuel power stations looks…
Fighting for Birds – ho! ho! ho!
If you are really struggling to think of a Christmas present for that wildlife-friendly friend or relative – then how about a signed copy of Fighting for Birds? You’d make my Christmas too! Signed copies are available at £15 (inc P&P). Email me at mark@markavery.info and we’ll get it all organised. Don’t delay as Christmas…
Ralph Underhill cartoon
Buglife’s Matt Shardlow gave evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee on Wednesday and said: “The economic case for neonicotinoids is marginal at best the environmental cost is a price too high to pay. The use of these indiscriminate pesticides must be suspended before it is too late to halt the alarming decline in…