May 2009 Archives

A BLACK cab driver is threatening to block in buses at Chester's bus exchange because he's fed up with breathing in their dirty fumes.

Ron Lawson and colleagues, whose rank is adjacent to the exchange, are suffering sore throats and headaches.

They want bus drivers to switch off their engines if parked up for more than a couple of minutes.

A CYCLE storage facility has been launched at a Runcorn primary school.

More than 40 pupils at The Park Primary School had told teachers they would be more inclined to ride bikes to school if a proper place to keep them safe and dry was made available.

The school successfully applied for funds from Sustrans, a sustainable transport charity, and Cycling England, to help to build the facility.

The scheme was funded in part by Sustran's Links to Schools scheme, which applies for Cycling England grants of up to £10,000 for storage or up to half of the cost.

ECO-FRIENDLY apprentices at Airbus have planted trees at its Broughton and Filton sites.

The action was a symbol of Airbus's ongoing commitment to partner the United Nations Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) on its Green Wave youth outreach programme.

Green Wave is designed to raise awareness of the crucial role bio-diversity plays in our lives and our futures.

Mark Stewart, Airbus's UK country manager, said: "Airbus recognises air transport contributes 2% of manmade carbon dioxide emissions and is fully committed to doing whatever possible to reduce this impact.

FAMILIES looking to end the half-term on a green note can head to National Trust property Erddig.

The Trust has a Green Day this Sunday from 11am-4pm, May 31, featuring demonstrations and hands-on workshops to educate visitors about a greener lifestyle.

There will be circus performers from Syrcas Circus teaching juggling skills with recycled materials; they will also stilt walk on recycled materials along with performing an environmental puppet show.

Visitors can have a go at paper-making with Scintillate, soap-making with Freyaluna and make their own pots with Wenlock pottery.

Africa's forests are disappearing faster than those in other parts of the world because of a lack of land ownership, a report says.

Less than 2% of Africa's forests are under community control, compared to a third in Latin America and Asia, say the Rights and Resources Initiative.

The deforestation rate in Africa is four times the world's average.

This one's from National Geographic News...

Breathing in polluted air may wreak havoc on our DNA, reprogramming genes in as few as three days and causing increased rates of cancer and other diseases.

So says a new study that tracked DNA damage in 63 steel-foundry workers in Brescia, Italy, who, under their normal factory conditions, were exposed to particulate matter.
The same damage may occur in city dwellers exposed to normal air, the researchers say.

Particulate matter includes suspended, tiny bits of dust, metal, or soot in the air, which can lodge deep in the lungs. Exposure to the substance has been linked to respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and heart problems.

Scientists know little about how inhaling particulate matter can cause health problems, according to lead study author Andrea Baccarelli of the University of Milan.

But they did find that exposed workers' DNA was damaged by a slowed rate of "methylation," a biological process in which genes are organized into different chemical groups.

DETERMINED campaigners in Rushton have demanded plans for a wind farm are withdrawn.

In the aftermath of a public exhibition by developers, protest group Cheshire Against Rural Turbines (CHART) has written a letter asking for the proposals to be scrapped.
More than 100 local residents attended the meeting earlier this month, with a majority of 97 saying they were against the plans.

Truro-based firm Cornwall Light and Power (CL&P) is planning to build five metal wind turbines on land at Oxheys Farm, Rushton.

A NEW recycling campaign has been broadly welcomed in Flintshire.

Thanks to Parliament's approval of battery recycling legislation the Save Battery Waste Campaign has launched in Cheshire to help the UK hit battery recycling targets.

Flintshire has given a positive response to the scheme, which will encourage households to stop throwing away household batteries as local councils improve collecting and recycling.

WREXHAM County Borough Council's recycling officers have just celebrated the most successful Compost Awareness Week yet.

Alyn Waters and Ty Mawr Country Parks both hosted Compost Giveaway events, allowing residents access to 40 tonnes of compost provided by Waste Recycling Group Ltd.

Hundreds of Wrexham residents turned up with sacks and spades to take advantage of the free compost. The soil improver is the result of composting the garden waste collected via the Recycle with Michael Scheme.

This is the first year all the compost has been taken away on the day.

HALTON schools have planted 240 seeds to boost the woodland environment.

The seeds were given out by the Woodland Trust, under its Tree for All scheme.

The packs of 30 seeds were distributed by the Woodland Trust as part of its Tree, For All scheme, the aim of which is to plant a tree for every under-16 in the UK.

More than 3,900 trees have been planted in Cheshire in April and eventually the trust intends to plant 12 million trees across the UK.

Halton schools taking part are Cavendish School, Brookvale, Murdishaw West, Pewithall, St Mary's Primary, The Grange Infants, Wade Deacon and Halton High.

The free packs contain either 30 native hedge trees including hawthorn, hazel, holly, dogrose and dogwood, or 30 native copse trees like birch, rowan and wild cherry.
The trust hopes the trees will help learning and the environment.