Were you fooled at all…?

April Fools’ Day can be a minefield. There’s a great story of a young reporter rushing to their editor having swallowed a brillient RSPB April Fool story of a Polar Bear being washed up in the Hebrides one year… But yesterday, did you pause for thought when you saw;

Professional? Or professional foul?

This is an interesting report in a local newsletter. I feel that, whatever the rights and wrongs of this particular case, this is a significant issue. Carrying out weak environmental assessments for developers is a gravy train.

Vjosa Forever

Albania must still be one of the least known countries in Europe – I’ve never been there, I’ve never really considered going there. Have a look at this short (7minute) video and you will see some of what you and I have been missing – and may well lose the chance to see at all….

What do you think of this?

Who doesn’t love a turtle? asks the headline. Quite a few to judge from the reception this piece got on social media. Two lads planning to make money out of captive breeding reptiles and amphibians and with an ambition to reintroduce herptiles to the UK – quite a few of them. When I was their…

Thoughts on 2020 (6) – this blog

2020 was a record year for readership (pageviews) on this blog. Here are the previous five years (1 Jan – 31 Dec) and this year: 2020, 1,331k pageviews (with a few hours still to go) 2019, 1,139k pageviews. 2018, 898k pageviews 2017, 876k pageviews 2016, 1,254k pageviews 2015, 808k pageviews But what of the content?…

Thoughts on 2020 (5) – nature conservation

I don’t think that nature conservation, as a movement, comes out of 2020 very well. The economic challenges should have brought home to many nature conservation organisations that they have morphed too much into being part of the entertainment industry in recent years and have loosened their nature conservation and environmental roots. When it came…

Thoughts on 2020 (4) – politics

Do you think better or worse about politicians at this end of 2020 than this time last year? Has a crisis of COVID-19 and the challenge of Brexit raised or lowered your estimation of the politicians that you and our fellow voters elected? Come to that, do you feel more impressed or less impressed about…