Climate Change Committee 2021 report

The massively impressive latest report by the Climate Change Committee was published on Thursday. I will never read all of it – who will? But I have skimmed through som parts of it and my eye alighted on this rap over DEFRA’s knuckles on their inadequate measures to limit damage to peatlands from burning; That…

Letter to my MP

Dear Mr Pursglove I hope you are well, This email is to keep you informed about some matters which mean a lot to me – as your website suggests I should. On Monday there are two environmental subjects being discussed in Parliament that are of concern for me: driven grouse shooting and the Environment Bill,…

Good things and bad things

If you are subscribed to my free monthly newsletter then last week you would have received my thoughts on George Eustice’s environment speech – there were good bits and less good bits. The most worrying looking bit was the announcement that DEFRA was going to fiddle about with the Habitats Regulations now that we are…

Skydancer Day – tomorrow 10:15

Hen Harrier Action have set up a Skydancer event – a spring event ahead of Hen Harrier Day in early August. Of course, it’s online. It starts tomorrow morning at 10:15 and will end around midday – for details, click here.

Nine weeks and over 140,000 signatures

This petition has now passed 140,000 signatures and may very soon pass 141,000 signatures. The wording of the introduction has changed and the way the counter works too – that may please some readers of this blog. Please sign #stateofnature petition https://bit.ly/3kjLIsX – thank you!

Another petition to ban driven grouse shooting

Far be it from me to put people off any petition against driven grouse shooting but I don’t think I’ll be rushing to sign this one. I’m not sure its timing is wise, and as far as I know it has not had the benefit of any ground being prepared so that it might be…

This blog (9) – Ban driven grouse shooting

If driven grouse shooting had never existed we would never invent it now – and that is the test of whether it should remain as a blot on the landscape. It shouldn’t. Just because it has been that blot for c150 years doesn’t mean it should remain as such any longer. This blog has played…

This blog (8) – news, views and action

For a decade this blog has brought you news, views and action daily. Tomorrow there will no new post, but I will post at weekends in a much reduced, shall we say streamlined, manner. On 21 October I’ll tell you what happens next… News: news can be defined as ‘interesting stuff that happened recently’ –…

Seven weeks and 125,000 signatures

We are, by my calculations, exactly half way through this joint petition calling for a wildife-saving amendment to the Environment Bill and we have reached half way to the figure that I regard as respectable – a quarter of a million signatures. Last week produced 11,000 signatures which isn’t bad, and another seven weeks of…

Six weeks and 114,000 signatures

We’re not quite half way in the life of this petition supported by just about all the wildlife and environmental groups in England (it is largely, not completely, an English matter but that doesn’t prevent any UK resident helping wildlife in England). But I would say that we are not yet half way to respectability…