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!

As great green girls you probably already know all about this but just in case…!

The Federation of Small Business has just launched a national petition which calls on the Government to pay special attention to securing the future of independent shops across the UK.

You can sign here on the 10 Downing Street website. It takes less time than it takes to eat a locally made organic choc chip biscuit!

The FSB has also launched a Small Business Manifesto which urges local authorities to take specific steps to champion small businesses.

It’s our duty as green girls to do all we can to support the distinctiveness of our unique, independent businesses! Also take a minute to check out Brighton-based uniqueto.co.uk – who alerted me to this petition – their site offers the easiest way for locals and vistors to find unique local businesses.

And if you’re in London, you could also consider investing in a Wedgecard - the local shop loyalty card. Am hoping these cards make it to Sussex soon!

Katie
www.ethicalweddings.com

Attention all East Midlands (UK) based GGG readers!

You are cordially invited to an East Midlands Day of Action on the Climate Change Bill outside East Midlands Airport on Saturday April 12^th from 1.30 until 3 p.m.

What’s it all about?

Since Friends of the Earth launched the Big Ask campaign in June 2005 we’ve made amazing progress towards securing binding climate change legislation in Britain. The Government has introduced a Climate Change Bill which will become law in 2008. However the Bill they propose is not strong enough to realise the carbon dioxide emission cuts that are needed to ensure global emissions are kept below dangerous levels.

For this reason Friends of the Earth are now campaigning to see 3 key amendments in the Bill:

· An increase in the overall target for 2050 to 80 per cent CO₂ reductions;

· The inclusion of the UK’s share of international aviation and shipping emissions;

· The adoption of annual targets rather than 5 year budgets. 

What are the aims?

We need to highlight the need for ALL emissions to be included in the Climate Change Bill and show how Gordon Brown and his government are wilfully ignoring the impact of international aviation emissions.  We need to generate as much local media coverage as possible. MPs carefully monitor the local press and coverage and it really does influence the decisions they make. With an impending vote on the Climate Change Bill this coverage could make all the difference.

What’s the Plan?

We’d like to get as many people as possible posing outside the airport wearing Gordon Brown masks with their hands over their eyes, as the planes fly overhead. The image is intended to show how Gordon Brown is wilfully ignoring international aviation.  We have already received support from Members of Parliament across the region and David Taylor MP for North West Leicestershire will also be joining us on the day.

How do I get involved?

We will provide all the masks and props for the day but we need you to register your attendance by contacting callie.lister@foe.co.uk or calling 0115 9506 926, this will allow us to alert the press in advance as to how many Gordon Browns they can expect outside the airport! If you can please wear a dark suit and tie for an even better Gordon Brown effect!

You can find information about public transport to the airport by clicking here.

We will meet by the airport sign outside the front of the airport at 1.30 p.m. (please be very careful if you are crossing the roads near the airport as they are very busy and the traffic travels incredibly fast). If you need to contact us on the day for any reason you can call 07831 648 171 – but please do register your attendance in advance.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries,

Thank you

Callie Lister

Friends of the Earth Regional Campaigns Co-ordinator

East Midlands Region

Have you ever considered whether good lives have to cost the earth? Well a diverse group of people have considered the question and their answers were documented in a book (with the question as the title) edited by Andrew Simms and Jo Smith.

Before I started reading the book I already had an answer to the question myself and that is No. It has always been my belief and my experience (even as a child) that a good / happy life does not have to cost the earth. To me the simple / free pleasure are always the best for example:

* Just peacefully being with my loved ones

* Volunteering my time to help people and also the planet

*Breathing the fresh air of the countryside

*The taste of freshly picked organic food from my garden

*The beautiful sound of bird song

*Walking along the beach with my fiancé

As you may have gathered from some of my posts I always aim to consume as little as possible in life as it is my belief and the book also supports this that….

“people who consume above their fair and sustainable source of the Earth’s resources is no more likely to be satisfied with life than someone who is living within our collective environmental means”

(Quote within book and sourced from the European (un)Happy Planet Index, 2007)

The book has some interesting contributors all of whom have focussed on different areas of what makes a good life. Below you will find my favourite quotes from all of the featured contributors:

Tom Hodgkinson (Editor of the Idler): “Good lives are cheap, cheerful and will save the planet to boot”

David Boyle (Author): “Victorian economists calculated that the average English peasant in 1485 needed to work fifteen weeks a year to earn the money the needed to survive. In 1564, it was forty weeks. Now of course it is questionable whether we can manage to afford a reasonable life in
Britain without two salaries all the year round”

David Goldblatt (Author) “Step forward motor sports: Seriously, guys, yes you in the fast cars, peak oil is here or near. What are your great-grandchildren going to think a hundred years from now when they look back and see you spunking up the last precious drops of gasoline”

Phillip Pullman (Author) “Environmentalists need to know something about basic story telling in order to make their words effective”

A.C Grayling (Philosopher) “The environment has suffered in pursuit of wealth”

Oliver James (Author) “We talk of needing these things (i-pods/cars etc), but really we only want them”

John Bird (Creator of the Big Issue) “What we need today is to keep monopolies out of our life. Whenever we have a monopoly, whether public or private, you have the limitation of choice.”

Adair Turner (Vice Chairman at Merrill Launch Europe) “Population stabilization will be crucial to our long term success in dealing with climate change and other global environmental impacts”

Dame Anita Roddick (Founder of the Body Shop) “Providing for these vital human needs requires another kind of economy altogether, which emphasizes beauty, community and creativity”

Ann Pettifor (of Advocacy International Ltd) “We live in a global community that worships the god ‘Money’”

Larry Elliott (Financial Journalist) “The idea of personal thrift has gone out of the window, to be replaced by a culture in which it is not just permissible but commonplace – acceptable even – to live beyond our means”

Colin Tudge (Author) “The people who get to be in charge are the people who like power and the people who like power are not necessarily on the side of humanity”

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Writer, broadcaster, campaigner) “Buy local food and almost by definition your buying seasonal produce with a low environmental impact”

Rosie Boycott (Writer and Broadcaster) “How you live is just as important as what you say. We argued (the feminist movement) that by changing the way in which we lived, we would in time influence the larger world around us. Now, I believe that sentiment is back”

Kevin McCloud (of Grand Designs) “I think that human beings are of our own environment, we are the problem but we are also the solution: the cause and the cure of our own environment”

Wayne Hemingway (Creator of Red or Dead and the Land of Lost Content) “We cant change the fact that new things stimulate us. But if we are really to achieve sustainability, then durability is incredibly important”

Stephen Bayley (Design Correspondent of the Observer) “Man is homo faber, a divine monkey who makes tools. While saving the planet it is a priority no one should ignore, its important to remember that since we stepped out of the primeval glop on to the dry shore and started the journey that ended with reality TV, the world has been constructed by us”

Nic Marks (Founder of the Centre of Well-Being at nef) “The language of well being doesn’t rely on an economic model that assumes that more consumption is always better”

David Cameron (Conservative party MP) “The greatest responsibility in the fight to save our planet lies with the Government, which must give a lead on the issue and set the right framework”

Hilary Benn (Labour party MP) “Transforming our economy, our cities, our way of life and cherishing our countryside and wildlife is something that we have to do”

Caroline Lucas (Green Party MEP) “Whether good lives are defined as happy lives or lives of well being, the bottom line is that living a good life and sage guarding the climate are not only simply compatible, they are inextricably connected and mutually dependent”

As you can see the book really does have a wide range of contributors, each providing their own insight in to whether good lives have to cost the earth.  I found the book an excellent read as it provided different perspectives on the green movement, I highly recommend it – however to be green and frugal get a copy from the library, a friend or second hand.

If you have already read the book what did you think? If not what are your thoughts about the featured quotations? And a question for everyone ‘do you think that goods lives have to cost the earth’?

Let’s all discuss….

It’s been a little while since I complained about lighting outside buildings (and inside for that matter) so I thought it was about time I had another moan.

The government has given their response to a petition on floodlighting I signed a while ago. The petition requested a ban on uneccessary floodlighting and asked the government to lead by example and reduce the lighting on their own buildings.

You can read the whole response at the 10 Downing Street e-petition site but the straight answer is that they do not intend to bring in a policy which bans floodlighting.

They say that “good practice” is to use various types of lower energy lighting but importantly they do not suggest making even this the law. Why not???

My favourite statement throughout their whole response is “Effects of reducing lighting levels or turning lights off vary from case to case”. Surely reducing lighting levels or turning lights off will reduce energy in every case!

They then state that safety should be a consideration (and balanced against financial and environmental cost) and I wouldn’t argue with that. So, let’s not necessarily have a blanket policy to ban floodlighting altogether but consider the use of it more carefully – I’m sure that alone would cause great reduction in energy waste and light pollution.

I strongly feel that this is an issue which shouldn’t be brushed off in the way it was in this government response. So, if you feel that light pollution needs to be tackled join me in signing a couple more petitions:

Make it illegal to leave lighting and electrical devices on in any establishment whilst the building is vacant or outside of working hours

Save energy consumption by reducing streetlight usage

Switching off a light is one of the easiest things to do so why is it so difficult to make it happen?

Edinburgh MP Mark Lazarowicz has introduced a new Bill titled The Environmental Protection (Transfers at Sea) Bill, which if introduced would improve the regulation of ship-to-ship transfers of oil and other hazardous cargos throughout UK seas, thus helping to protect the UK’s marine habitats and wildlife from potential oil spills.

Why is the Bill needed?

Ship-to-ship (STS) transfer is a process by which cargo is transferred between ships at anchor, this includes oil! The transfer of oil currently takes place at Scapa Flow Orkney) and Sullum Voe (Shetland).

However what is very worrying is that there are new proposed STS sites around the UK including include Falmouth Harbour (Cornwall), Southwold (Suffolk), the Firth of Forth (SE Scotland) and Nigg Bay (NE Scotland). Lyme Bay (Devon/Dorset) (remember that Lyme Bay is already suffering from commercial scallop dredging as reported in the post titled ‘Help save the seaside’)

Currently, STS operations are insufficiently regulated. The UK Department of Transport (which is responsible for shipping matters) has failed to fulfil repeated promises to introduce stronger measures.

Mark Lazarowicz’s Bill would require the Secretary of State for Transport to bring in new regulations controlling STS transfer of cargos, including strict safeguards to protect our seas and sea life. STS transfer is not addressed by the forthcoming Marine Bill (which I wrote about in the post titled Can we have the Bill please’) , so separate legislation is necessary and extremely important.

Please act now

The Bill’s Second Reading in the House of Commons will take place on 25 January and as this is  a make-or-break time for the Bill, the Wildlife Trust is urging people to email their MP asking him / her to support the Bill and attend the debate on 25^th January.

4 simple steps to help secure the bill

1)  Visit www.theyworkforyou.com and type in your postcode to locate your MP.

2) Click on ‘Send a message to…’.

3) Write a short message in your own words, using the following notes to help you:

- The Environmental Protection (Transfers at Sea) Bill, introduced by Mark Lazarowicz MP, would improve the regulation of ship-to-ship transfers of oil and other hazardous cargos throughout UK seas.

-This would allow strict controls on ship-to-ship transfers, helping to protect the
UK’s marine and coastal habitats and wildlife from potentially catastrophics spills.

-The Bill’s Second Hearing is on 25 January.

-More information about the Bill can be found on Mark Lazarowicz’s website: www.marklazarowicz.org.uk

4) Email the Wildlife Trust Marine team marine(at)wildlifetrusts.org to let them know that you have done it and please put STS as the subject and let them know who your MP is.

Attention non UK citizen’s whilst you wont be able to do the above steps I see no harm in you contacting Mark Lazarowicz and offering support to this Bill, his contact information can be found on his website.

Thank you

Since my Bali Action post on 13th December I thought I’d write a little update.

I expect you all heard about the big turnaround in the discussions. At one point it seemed as thought the whole thing would break down. However, after extended talks and lots of wrangling, all nations have agreed to sign a climate change treaty by 2009.

Of course that doesn’t mean everything is plain sailing from now on, there’s still lots to be agreed and even more to be done. If world leaders are planning to tackle climate change seriously then I’m sure it will mean some serious changes and they won’t necessarily be popular.

I won’t go into detail about what was agreed at Bali but here is a very brief run-down.

• Agreement on a ‘Bali Roadmap’ – to continue dialogue about climate change.
• Targets to reduce carbon emissions by 25 – 40% by 2020
• Agreement to address particular issues including deforestation and technology

For full explanations and reports visit the Greenpeace and UNFCCC websites.

“We all love to be beside the seaside” and that’s actually official!  The Wildlife Trust conducted a survey in which 1,200 UK citizens took part and over one third of them chose a day at the seaside as their favourite leisure activity.

With this in mind, I’m sure that all of you who love to be beside the seaside will want to help protect some of the finest areas of coastline that we have for the benefit of people and wildlife.

Lyme Bay

A coastal area that needs immediate support is Lyme Bay on the Devon / Dorset coast in England.

Lyme Bay is one of Britain’s finest sites for marine wildlife. It consists of reefs which are a haven for corals, sponges and starfish in fact the reefs are home to over 300 recorded species of plants and animals, including dense populations of the nationally protected pink seafan and the extremely rare sunset coral.   Both species are national priority species under the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP).

The Seafood industry

As well as being home to a range of rare species, Lyme Bay also hosts a range of species used for seafood (i.e. crab, lobster, scallops etc). Thus it is a popular fishing location for commercial fishermen.  However gone are the days when fishermen use the traditional method of potting or diving to catch seafood such as scallops.  No, instead all in the name of demand and profit, the fishermen use a technique called dredging.

Scallop dredging

Scallop dredging involves using a dredge that consists of a metal frame with spring-loaded teeth to which a chain-mesh bag is attached.  The dredge is towed over seabed habitats, where the teeth rake the seabed disturbing the scallops.  This gear is extremely robust and can be used over much harder grounds than traditional trawls.  As a consequence, scallop dredges can severely damage other seabed organisms and habitats.

To see footage of scallop dredging please click here.

Dredging at Lyme Bay

Lyme Bay Reefs support rich and varied biological communities of national importance. However scallop dredging destroys both seabed species and the habitats on which they depend.

There is hope though as these marine species can potentially recover, provided that disturbance to habitat is not too extreme.  This is why the Wildlife Trust wants a ban on scallop dredging within a specific 60 square mile of Lyme Bay Reefs.

Talking about Lyme Bay Reefs Paul Gompertz, Devon Wildlife Trust’s director recently said:

“The reefs are the undersea equivalent of the rainforests and closure of Lyme
Bay Reefs to dredging is essential if we are to stop their destruction.  Lyme Bay Reefs is one of the best-studied areas of seabed off the entire UK coast, and the scientific and economic data point very clearly to the only sustainable option: closure of the reefs to scallop dredging.  If the Government fails to make the right choice here, it bodes very badly for the protection of other important – but less-studied – sites.”

History of protecting Lyme Bay Reefs

Devon Wildlife Trust has been studying the reefs for 15 years and, along with The Wildlife Trusts, has campaigned for their protection. During the 1990s, Devon WT worked with the local fisherman and negotiated a voluntary agreement in 2001 to stop scallop dredging in two parts of the Bay.

This agreement broke down last year demonstrating the need for a statutory approach. Natural England subsequently called upon The Department for Agriculture and Fishing (Defra), with the backing of The Wildlife Trusts to introduce an order to stop the damaging activity.

Defra’s Lyme Bay Reefs Consultation

In response to Natural England and the Wildlife Trusts request to stop scallop dredging within a specific 60 mile square mile of Lyme Bay, Defra has written a consultation letter and have been asking for feedback – to view the letter please click here.

The Wildlife Trust has responded to the consultation advising that the only real option in which to protect Lyme Bay Reefs and its marine wildlife is option C “Exclude the use of all towed gear, by either SFC Byelaw or Order, in the 60 square mile area originally proposed by English Nature in May 2006.”

The original deadline for submitting a response to the consultation was the 12^th December, however Defra have extended the deadline to the 21^st December.

You can help – but please act now

The good news is that you can help to protect the beautiful and diverse Lyme Bay Reefs and the marine wildlife that depends on it through just two simple steps (which should take less than 5 minutes!)

1) Email Defra explaining that option C in the consultation is the only realistic choice to protect this beautiful and diverse area of the ocean.

Please click here to download an example of an email that you can send to Defra (Choose the save option as opposed to just opening it)

Even if you do not live in the UK, then I think that you should still email Defra raising your concerns and asking them to chose option C.

2) Email your MP asking them to sign the Lyme Bay Early Day Motion.

To find out who your MP is and how to contact them please click here.

Once you have checked who your MP is click here to see if they have already signed the EDM.

Together we can make a difference

Remember we all love to be beside the seaside and if we all work together we can make a difference to marine habitats and the world!

Tomorrow the Climate Change Conference in Bali will be over. So, what will the outcomes be and what will they mean for our planet and everyone on it?

I thought it might be useful to highlight a few ‘Bali Talks’ resources informing us what the world leaders are discussing, what they decide and how we can get involved.

URGENT PETITION: Stop the Climate Wrecking at Bali!

AVAAZ.org have put together an urgent petition to stop the leaders of a few countries making a big mistake.

The talks in Bali were reaching an agreement across all nations which stated that rich countries would meet climate emissions targets by 2020 and developing countries would contribute over a longer period of time. According to AWAAZ Japan, the US and Canada are trying to block these targets and could potentially ruin all of the plans which were so nearly put in place.

Before the end of Friday 14th December please sign the ‘Stop the Climate Wrecking at Bali Petition’ and show the leaders of these countries that it’s not acceptable for them to throw away the planet’s future.

WEBSITES

Here are a few blogs and websites keeping us up to date with the global climate change talks and plans:

Greenpeace’s Bali Bloggers

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

WWF’s Latest on the Bali Summit

The Bali Climate Change Conference Blog

EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

Bali Business Briefing
Discussions about what the UN’s Bali meeting means for business
5-7pm Tuesday 18th December at One Silk Street, London

Global Climate Campaign Gallery
If you were involved in the Climate Campaign demonstrations on 8th December, send your photos and videos to the Global Climate Campaign and show the world all the wonderful things you did to help save the planet.

I Count – Stop Climate Chaos
Bug your MP and tell politians how you feel about Climate Change by joining I Count

DO IT YOURSELF

Of course whilst we’re waiting for those in charge to deliberate and argue amongst themselves we can take the lead and show them how its done. Whether you’re a business owner, parent, young person – anyone - you can reduce your own carbon emissions and tackle climate change individually. Here at Green Girls Global and next door at Green Guys Global you’ll find hundreds of ideas on how to go about it.

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.