This blog may help people explore some of the 'hidden' issues involved in certain media treatments of environmental and scientific issues. Using personal digital images, it's also intended to emphasise seasonal (and other) changes in natural history of the Swansea (South Wales) area. The material should help participants in field-based modules and people generally interested in the natural world. The views are wholly those of the author.
Monday 8 December 2008
Which Old Fossil Will Win the Day?
A judgement (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/dec/06/law) has been obtained in favour of an elderly ex-Engineer home owner (Peter Boggis) living at the Warrens (on the cliffs near Southwold in East Anglia) against Natural England. Natural England had extended the boundaries of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) to include the cliffs below his home and had suggested that Boggis was not allowed to create 'soft defences' against the erosion by the North Sea (the sea has apparently claimed more than 2 miles of coastline in this locality since 1640) by dumping rocks and soil on the beach and using JCBs to pile it high. The judge (Tony Blair's brother) ruled that Natural England were supposed to use SSSI's to conserve rare plants and animals or geological features whereas they apparently wanted the sea to wash out the fossils in this area. He did, however, rule that they were behaving lawfully in terms of letting the sea take its 'natural' course in areas away from the cliff-based housing. He also gave Natural England leave to appeal.
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What's In a Critter's Name? 11. Comma butterfly
The Comma butterfly ( Polygonia c-album) gets its name from the punctuation-like mark, on the underside of its wings.
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The UK government continue their quest to turn England's rivers back into sewers. They first facilitated the privatised water companies...
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Garden plants in France, The Netherlands, The UK and Sikkim (NE India).
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