Mtv Networks and the European Commission have joined forces to raise young people’s awareness on the issue of climate change, in view of the United Nations’ Copenhagen Conference, during which the world’s leaders will decide the future of our planet.

The campaign includes three live events, a dedicated website on which young people can upload videos and post comments, and a series of Make Me Green stories, short videos featuring young Europeans and their sustainable lifestyles. The campaign is supported by international celebrities who act as ambassadors in their own countries. Following concerts by Moby in Stockholm and Editors in Budapest, the next event being planned is a live gig with Backstreet Boys, who will play Copenhagen on 7 December 2009, the first day of COP15, the UN’s conference on climate change.

The ‘Play to Stop: Europe for Climate‘ campaign is focusing on young people as they are the ones will bear the brunt of the impacts of climate change. In fact, according to a Eurobarometer survey, 65% of young people aged 15-24 years do not believe that climate change is an unstoppable process and that nothing can be done about it. Their voices are thus important and can act as a catalyst for real change.

The competition to win two tickets to the Backstreet Boys concert (travel and accommodation expenses covered) is now closed. However, for those who are already in Copenhagen, there is the possibility of claiming a free pass by registering on the Play to Stop: Europe for Climate website: www.mtvplay4climate.eu

Article by Sara Maestro

Mark Shearer and Nick Gardner combined their green hearts and business smarts to develop an online e-community for urban greening projects.  Their community, Project Dirt, is a place connecting eco-conscious individuals with down-and-dirty greening projects in London. The duo, part of the Timberland’s Earthkeeper Heroes ’09 campaign are being recognized for their awesome contributions to creating sustainable environmental change through community projects.

Project Dirt has an estimated 2,000 projects in the pipeline. Mark and Nick will be sharing their stories on the social networking platform Changents.com through their blog, videos and photos while they green London. Timberland and Changents, as well as Project Dirt, invite the public to learn more about their work and join in the movement to create environmental sustainability.

The Earthkeeper Heroes is comprised of seven activists who are achieving major feats like creating back packs for the homeless made entirely of scrap metal and recycled materials and testing it while living as a homeless person or swimming 1,000+ miles to raise awareness about water pollution and ocean health. Together the Heroes are trying to start a global movement to raise support for key environmental issues while sharing their stories.

As part of the campaign, Timberland and Changents is also launching a widget competition.  It’s a race for each Hero to reach 100,000 downloads of their Earthkeepers widget which shows a mini-news feed with story updates, pictures and videos.  Timberland will award the winner with a publicity stunt to get them on national TV so they can promote their cause.

Last year, Timberland partnered with Changents.com in an effort to create a unique consumer engagement engine to “break” emerging eco-change agents onto the global environmental scene.  The Timberland Earthkeeper Hero ’09 campaign combines the evolving stories of dynamic environmental heroes with a interactive social media experience.  The result is a platform that connects this generation’s most exciting agents.

Article by Jennifer Simckowitz

The Rainforest Foundation UK will be holding the first Hot & Bothered Comedy Event on Tuesday October 14 at the Leicester Square Theatre.

Hosted by Alex Zane the show’s comic stars include Josie Long, Patrick Monahan, Natalie Haynes and Janey Godley, all lending their talents to what promises to be a night of hilarity, and all in the name of a good cause.

The event is part of the Rainforest Foundation UK’s Hot & Bothered campaign aimed at getting everyone who is bothered about climate change to stand up and make a difference. All profits go to the campaign.

Find out more at the Rainforest Foundation website

Lyme Bay Reefs on the Devon / Dorset coast is one of the UK’s finest marine wildlife sites and thanks to a successful campaign conducted by the Wildlife Trusts in conjunction with excellent support from members of the public, an area of 60sq miles has been protected from commercial scallop dredging.

I first reported about the Save Lyme Bay Reefs campaign in the posts titled ‘Help save the seaside’ and I would like to thank any GGG readers who supported the campaigning by signing the petition and or writing to Defra.

The Wildlife Trusts have been campaigning for a 60sq mile exclusion zone around Lyme Bay reefs , since concern was highlighted, in the early 1990s, by divers who observed damage to some areas. Survey work by Devon and Dorset Wildlife Trusts has shown that scallop-dredging is damaging the reefs and that time is running out for their preservation.

Lyme Bay is home to around 300 recorded species of plants and animals, including dense populations of the nationally protected pink seafan and the extremely rare sunset coral. As well as a haven for sponges, starfish and coral, the reefs also support a range of seafood animals, including crab, lobster and scallops.

Talking about the success Paul Gompertz, Devon Wildlife Trust’s director, said:

“This is one small step for marine but one giant leap for marine-kind. It finally acknowledges that our seas need vital life-support systems like Lyme Bay reefs. It’s taken 18 years, hundreds of thousands of fundraised pounds, the energy and dedication of many people – and a host of setbacks and heartache along the way. But it has all been worth it – to see a new day dawn for the future of marine conservation in this country. The Government is to be congratulated on a bold step. Now we need to see the exclusions enforced.”

Important Marine Sites

World wide there are a range of important wildlife marine sites that require urgent protection. Whilst it may appear a daunting task to get such sites protected, I think that if conservation organisations work in partnership with one another, engage members of public into the campaigns and lobby MP’s face to face then we can truly save our seas.

Photo Sources

Lyme Bay by North Light: Source Flickr

Scallops by Rory MacNish: Source Marine Photobank

When I watch wildlife documentaries I love to see playful seals and I would love to take part in a seal watching expedition in Scotland or even on the South East Coast of England (Margate in Kent is becoming a hot spot for seal spotting).

However these popular marine mammals which help attract wildlife tourists to various locations across the world are victims of human cruelty. Seals are brutally and savagely murdered across the world for their skin, oil and most bizarrely by fishermen because seals eat fish to survive!

The Canadian commercial seal hunt

When I think of Canada, I think of a country rich in wildlife however it appears that the Canadian Government may care more about what the fishing industry thinks and increasing GDP from commercial activity than wanting to keep its country rich in wildlife. Each year a cruel and unethical practice takes place in Canada in which seals (including pups aged about 2 weeks to 3 months) are killed with a blow to the head using a wooden club or hakapik.

This hunt is a highly competitive activity and it is disturbing to know that some of the seals are actually skinned before being rendered fully unconscious. Most of the sealers are fishermen who in addition to wanting the seals to sell abroad also have a vested interest as they own sea food companies and thus want to reduce seal population to maintain cod stock levels which in turn will increase their profits.

The 2008 Seal Hunt

The allowed quota for 2008 was 275,000 seals however it was reported that participation in seal hunting was lower than usual and federal officials say that about 80% of the quota was taken (still far too many!!). The reason for low participation included bad weather, high fuel price and the fall in financial value of pelts (half of what they were a year ago).

Seal products

Whilst seal products are not sold in the U.S.A (thanks Marine Mammal Protection Act) they are still legally sold in a variety of countries including the UK!

Seal pelts

Back in 1982, the European Union banned the import of ‘whitecoat’ seal pup pelts (skin) however hunters instead waited until the pups shed their white fur before they killed them.

Seal pelts are still used for a variety of products ranging from designer coats to traditional Scottish sporrans (see photograph below).

However I was delighted to hear that the UK ethical Bank ‘Cop-Operative’ refused to do business with one Scottish kilt company which still uses seal pelts in its sporran range (news source from Guardian newspaper)

Seal meat

After the seals have been skinned most of the meat is wasted and left on the ice, however some is sold and ground up into animal feed and some of the flippers are even sold for human consumption in Newfoundland.

Seal oil

North Atlantic Harp Seal oil is sold in capsules labeled “Terra Nova Omega-3 capsules” by a company called ‘Atlantic Marine Products’. However there is no need at all to source Omega 3 from seals or even fish as ethical alternatives exists including vegan versions containing predominantly seed oil.

Seal products and the EU Legislation

Thanks to the successful lobbying of various conservation and animal welfare organisations the European Commission recently announced that it will seek to ban the import of “inhumane” seal products.  However it is not known how long it will be until it is enforced.

Seals and the Fishing industry

It is hard to escape the fact that fish stocks are becoming drastically low, however rather than blaming the unsustainable fish quota’s, many unjustifiable persecute seals simply for eating fish for survival.

Conservation organisations including the Seal Preservation Action Group (SPAG) in the
UK state that:

“There is no scientific evidence to justify claims that seals are threats to fish stocks when human over-fishing clearly is”

In fact research suggests that seals are opportunistic feeders and their diet mainly consists of fish species which commercial fishermen target. According to SPAG:

“It has been estimated that seals in the North Sea account for only 2% of fish stocks annually, compared to 25% to 30% by the fishing industry”

The way in which some fishermen, fish farmers and even the owners of sports fishing rivers deal with seals eating their fish stock is to shoot them. In such instances profit is being put before ethics, animal welfare and nature conservation. However consumers must also play a role in terms of supply and demand, commercial fishermen and fish farmers are protecting fish stock from marine mammals to supply the demand from consumers.

What you can do to help

1) Use your consumer power to protect seals by:

a) Not purchasing any seal by-products

b) Boycott business organisations that sell seal byproducts including fashion designers

c) Help SPAG encourage UK food retailers to stock seal friendly salmon

d) Reduce or even completely stop eating fish

e) Not participating in or funding the sport fishing industry

2) Lobby for change:

a) Help SPAG encourage the UK government to create a Seal Protection Act whereby the killing of seals will be strictly forbidden.  If you would like to help SPAG’s campaign, please write to the relevant UK and Scottish Ministers calling for the protection of seals.

Their addresses are:

Lord Rooker, Minister for Animal Welfare, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, Nobel House, London SW1P 3JR

Richard Lochhead MSP Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Scottish Parliament,Edinburgh EH99 1SP

For further information about this campaign please go to the Seal Preservation Action Group (SPAG) website

b) Write to the Canadian Ambassador in your country and pledge to boycott all Canadian seafood products until sealing is ended.

In the UK the address is Canadian High Commission, Macdonald House,1 Grosvenor Square, London,W1X 0AB

c) Write to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown demanding that the UK introduces a unilateral ban on the import of all seal products as have EU partners Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands:

Rt Hon.Gordon Brown MP, Prime Minister, Downing Street, London, SWIA 2AA

I have written to all of the above and I hope that GGG readers will get involved to help protect seals too!

Last March the city of Sydney plunged itself into darkness to make a statement about climate change.

2.2 million people and 2100 businesses switched their lights off for one hour which, according to the Earth Hour website, reduced Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2%, the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour. Now that’s impressive.

Earth Hour is happening again this year but on a global scale and with those impressive numbers on saving energy how can you not be involved?

We at Make Hay have signed up to support Earth Hour and committed to switching off our lights for one hour at 8pm on 29th March. You can get involved too by visiting the WWF’s Earth Hour website and giving your support.

This ties in a little with some of my previous posts about energy waste through unnecessary lighting and Earth Hour goes to show just how unnecessary it is.

Recently Nottingham City Council held an event called Nottingham Light Night which, yes you guessed it, meant wasting more electricity on pointless lighting. Sometimes I wonder whether they’ve actually heard about what’s happening to the planet but that’s a whole other topic I could rant on about forverer.

You might ask what the point is of just switching off for a once-a-year event, its what you do every day that counts and I would totally agree. However, I can’t help being inspired when people decide to put their heads together and demonstrate how they feel about an important issue. An event like this also shows that a positive message can spread far and wide and we all have the ability to effect change.

Watch the Earth Hour video and you’ll see what I mean…

Visit www.earthhour.org

I decided to take Vicky’s advice below and find out what’s happening on our side of the world on December 8th.  Brace yourselves and I mean that literally as we are not taking to the streets but the waters!

The International Day of Climate Change is being led by the National Polar Bear Plunge group.  Thousands of climate activists are going to jump into cold bodies of water or ski down slopes in shorts in order to raise awareness and funds.  Additional information can also be found at the Climate Crisis Coalition website.

On Saturday 8th December people from all over the world will be marching the streets of their cities to show politicians how strongly they feel about climate change.

The marches are organised to coincide with the United Nations Climate Change talks in Bali and are part of an International Day of Climate Action.

This 13th UN Climate Change conference has particular significance as earlier in the year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed the severity of human related global warming.

More than ever the voice of the campaigners must be heard as they ask for world leaders to take stronger, more definite action.

UK marches are taking place in London (organised by the Campaign against Climate Change), Glasgow and Belfast. Even more marches will be organised in many other countries worldwide.

For details of the climate marches visit:
Friends of the Earth website
Campaign against Climate Change website
Global Climate Campaign website.

If you’re not able to go along then show your support by joining Friends of the Earth’s Big Ask.

If any GGG readers join the demonstrations on 8th December in any country we would love to hear from you.

My sister is in the process of trying to help organise the first carbon neutral triathlon (A swim followed by a cycle ride and then a run for those non-sporty people of you out there) with her club Crystal Palace. Anyone who has ever taken part in a triathlon or has been to watch one will have seen how many plastic water bottles the triathletes get through, the amount of promotional merchandise that is produced and will know like most big events that transportation and energy consumption is high.

Hopefully this will be a first for this type of event and as the triathlon is the fastest growing sport in the U.K could be a great example of how to plan other eco friendly sporting events and races.
If you would like to know more about their plans or could help with sponsorship of the event please get in touch.

Kate