radio news Corey Haim was 'tormented soul' Lost Boys actor Corey Haim was a "tormented soul", his friend and fellow actor Corey Feldman says.   news.bbc.co.uk   2010-03-11 Bankruptcy court OKs 'East Valley Tribune' sale A bankruptcy court judge approved the sale of the East Valley Tribune and related Phoenix media holdings Tuesday to the owner of publications in Tucson and Denver for $2.05 million.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-10 Dallas Business Journal's Web site wins a SABEW award The Society of American Business Editors and Writers has named the <em>Dallas Business Journal’s</em> Web site as one of the top business news sites in country, in its 15th annual Best in Business journalism awards competition.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-10 Valpak franchise selling strategy continues Valpak Direct Marketing Systems Inc. has sold its New York franchise Valpak of New York.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-10 Virginia executive named to run Denver’s KDVR-31, KWGN-2 Virginia television executive Peter Maroney has been picked to oversee Denver stations KDVR-Channel 31 and KWGN-Channel 2. (NWS)   bizjournals.com   2010-03-10 The Hallock Agency hires CEO Jackie Hallock, president and creative director of The Hallock Agency, has hired veteran advertising executive Tiger Branch to be CEO of the Portland advertising and public relations firm.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-10 Ad Fed presents socially responsible design The March 16 luncheon of the New Mexico Advertising Federation will feature Mark Randall of Worldstudio in New York City.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-10 ZipRealty loss shrinks as revenue grows 15% Online real estate brokerage ZipRealty Inc.’s revenue rose close to 15 percent during 2009, but the company’s efforts did not prove profitable.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-10 Hallmark revenue slips in 2009 Hallmark Cards Inc. said its 2009 revenue fell roughly 7 percent as the lukewarm economy continued to hammer sales.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-10 ComScore: Bing search share grows, Yahoo weakens, Google far out in front Bing made gains on Yahoo Inc. in search during February while Google Inc. continued to lead the pack by a wide margin, according to a report from comScore. (MSFT) (YHOO) (GOOG)   bizjournals.com   2010-03-10 San Antonio anatomy instructor co-authors art book on Leonardo da Vinci A biology lecturer at the University of Texas Health Science Center has co-authored an art catalog on Leonardo da Vinci that features the anatomical drawings of the medieval artist.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-10 Texas Public Radio honored for excellence in broadcast journalism Texas Public Radio’s KSTX 89.1 FM has been recognized by the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Association for excellence in radio journalism.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-10 GMG's 2015 vision and strategy We commit to play our part as a leading media organisation in creating a fair society that lives within the means of our planet. Driven by our unique ownership structure and values – honesty, integrity, courage, fairness and duty to our readers and communities – we will enable our audiences, customers, employees, advertisers and suppliers to build a more sustainable future.Sustainability has many interlinked strands but the dangers of climate change are so great and immediate that we will pay particular attention to highlighting its hazards and exploring ways of combating it.While all our businesses share this common goal, we recognise that each has its own specific contribution to make.Audiences and customers2015 VisionWe will educate, influence and inspire our audiences and customers to live in a way that does not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs.Our businesses will be recognised as an authority on the implications and opportunities that sustainability presents and will also, wherever possible, give our audiences a platform to explore and debate these issues for themselves.2012 Targets• By 2012 each GMG product should clearly articulate how it will help audiences and customers understand climate change and other key sustainability issues, and what they can do to take action.• This will include an action plan/timetable for how GMG intends to educate, influence and inspire audiences. It should also identify key groups that the particular product will seek to engage with. As a minimum, each product should encourage audiences to take personal action on climate change.• By 2012 each GMG product, where required, should have the editorial resources to deliver the stated aims.Governance2015 VisionEach of our businesses will have its own sustainability strategy and action plan and an effective governance structure to ensure it is implemented.2012 Targets• All businesses report to their board on sustainability progress against all parts of the GMG 2015 sustainability vision once a quarter and have a board member identified as sustainability champion.• By 2012 the board of each business will have objectives focused on progress towards the sustainability vision. Where appropriate, these objectives will be cascaded down throughout the organisation.• All businesses will commit to being represented at the GMG sustainability forum on a quarterly basis.• On an annual basis, all businesses will disclose to key stakeholders (including staff) progress towards the 2015 GMG sustainability vision.Products and services2015 VisionWe will seek a competitive advantage through promoting and developing products and services that support a more sustainable way of life.2012 Targets• We will identify GMG businesses where there is an opportunity to build sustainability related revenues.• From 2010 each relevant GMG business should have a strategic plan that seeks to grow their share of sustainability-related revenues. By 2012 each relevant business should be able to demonstrate progress against that plan.• The strategic plan should include:- A proper assessment of opportunities in all the markets that the business currently operates and potential new markets- Financial and market share projections- Defined objectives and targets/KPIs.• From 2010 all relevant GMG products should have at least one initiative or service aimed specifically at either helping audiences to gain insight into sustainability issues or offering audiences more sustainable alternatives to existing products/services.• Each relevant business should be able to report and track growth in revenue from this specific sector.Advertising2015 VisionWe will share our vision with key clients as well as encouraging advertising from organisations that are playing their part in creating a more sustainable future.2012 Targets• All GMG businesses, via the GMG Commercial Forum, should work towards developing a system for incentivising advertisers who are leading the way on sustainability.• Each GMG business (either individually or collaboratively) should have met with key clients to share the sustainability vision and look for potential partnerships in bringing it to life.Environmental management2015 VisionThe passion we have for inspiring our audiences and customers will be matched by our commitment to operating our offices, print sites and digital platforms to high environmental standards, including minimising waste and maximising both efficiency and recycling.2012 Targets• All GMG print sites will be working together to share best practice and set targets for minimising waste, maximising both efficiency and recycling as well as limiting the use of hazardous chemicals.• All relevant businesses will be meeting the targets set out in the GMG paper purchasing policy.Carbon management2015 VisionWe will measure and publicly report on our carbon footprint and set challenging targets to lower our emissions.2012 Targets• From April 2009 all businesses have committed to monthly monitoring and reporting to GMG of scope 1 and 2 energy, and waste greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all facilities/sites in our estate and under their control. All businesses will also work towards monitoring and reporting on their travel emissions.• From 2010 all paper products should be able to report the monthly carbon cost of print, paper and production.• From a 2009/10 baseline to 2011/12, businesses will achieve at least a 10% reduction in scope 1 and 2 energy, travel and waste GHG emissions from across their operations.• Each business will produce an action plan detailing how they will achieve this reduction. The action plan should prioritise the avoidance of emissions. Reduction of emissions by purchase of renewable energy and investment in offsetting will not count towards the 10% minimum target.Procurement2015 VisionWe will team up with our suppliers to minimise impacts along our value chain, sourcing more sustainable products and services where possible, with a particular emphasis on carbon reduction.2012 Targets• By 2012 each business should have built in a sustainability review within supplier assessment processes to understand and record risks and opportunities.• By 2012 each business should have had discussions with all key suppliers to identify and realise opportunities for mutual benefit.• By 2012 all relevant businesses will be signed up to a GMG-wide paper procurement strategy.• By 2010 all key existing suppliers will have received a copy of our Sustainability Vision and all new suppliers will be given a copy.Employee engagement2015 VisionWe will give our employees information to increase their awareness of the impact of their actions on the planet both at work and home.2012 Targets• By 2012 each business will have communicated to its employees both the GMG sustainability vision and its own strategic plan for working towards that vision.• By 2012 each business will have an ongoing internal communications plan for sharing its own and GMG-wide sustainability activity. This plan will celebrate successes and be aligned with the existing and unique visions within each business.Embedding sustainability into the workplace2015 VisionEach of our employees will understand how to interpret our priorities on sustainability for their specific roles and have the support necessary to implement change. Successes will be celebrated and shared across the group.2012 Targets• By 2012 each business will be implementing a clear action plan to engage employees in achieving the business vision for sustainability. Each department will be required to work with its staff in understanding how sustainability relates to their specific roles and offer support to make improvements. New starter inductions will include training on sustainability.• By 2012 each business will be able to demonstrate progress against this action plan by using existing frameworks such as staff surveys to measure engagement and change.Community2015 VisionWe will work in partnership with our local and business communities in ways that meet their environmental, economic and social needs and have positive effects for our businesses.2012 Targets• By 2010 each business will have reviewed its existing local and business community programmes and developed a register of all community engagement projects.• The board of the business will receive a quarterly report on progress on these projects against a set of Key performance indicators• By 2012 each business will have developed a forward plan for community programmes makingGuardian Media GroupCorporate social responsibilityEthical businessguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-10 The story behind Power of 10 The development of Guardian Media Group's 'Power of 10' sustainability vision and strategy has been the culmination of a two-year process of change.Each business within the group had already been developing its own individual sustainability programme but these were in some cases ad hoc, were not co-ordinated across the group and a lack of reporting made it difficult to measure progress.There were areas of excellence such as the integrated sustainability drive at Guardian News & Media (GNM), publisher of the Guardian and Observer, and the environmental management of Trader Media Group's print sites. But within some businesses there had been limited progress in areas such as carbon footprinting or ethical procurement.At group level, the concentration had been on improving the responsible purchasing of newsprint and magazine grade paper, a key part of our supply chain, but while sustainability-related issues were discussed at the board this was not part of the group's regular formal reporting.A number of factors have helped to transform this situation. First and foremost was the commitment to improvement by GMG senior management. For example, GMG chief executive Carolyn McCall had championed sustainability issues while heading GNM. Having been promoted to the group role, she wanted the whole of GMG to adopt a similar approach.This is not the first example of a parent company within the media sector being inspired by one of its businesses. Sky's innovative sustainability strategy was key in leveraging the development of a climate change strategy at News Corporation.In a video to launch the Power of 10 McCall explains the reasons for GMG's commitment and describes how she was inspired by attending the Prince of Wales May Day Summit on climate change, after which GMG pledged to measure and report carbon emissions publicly, set reduction targets, encourage employees to reduce their carbon emissions at home and at work and encourage customers to take action on climate change.In fact, most corporate responsibility executives describe the breakthrough moment in their own companies is when a senior director starts to really understand the implications of key issues such as climate change, resource degradation, species decline and human rights. A business can have the most effective corporate responsibility team, but their work is likely to remain on the periphery unless someone in authority takes a leadership position.The second critical ingredient was committing specific resource to the project. Along with the creation of a sustainability champion on the GMG board, senior non-executive director John Bartle, came the appointment of one of the group's strategists to develop the programme, with the support of the sustainable development team at Guardian News & Media (GNM), one of five businesses within the GMG family.After gaining the full support of GMG's board and sole shareholder, the Scott Trust, the group joined forces with the Carbon Trust to employ a consultancy to carry out a carbon management project, not only helping to measure the carbon footprint of the group but also advising on ways to reduce it.While it was deemed important to start taking practical steps, there was also a recognition that the group needed to develop a broader vision and strategy to provide a cohesive framework within which each business could develolp its activity.To help with this, it formed a partnership with Forum for the Future, the sustainable development organisation, headed by Jonathon Porritt. GNM had already worked successfully with Forum to develop its own sustainability vision and strategy.There were four keys to the success of the vision and strategy development. One was setting the correct framing. Many companies still tend to act on sustainability either from a position of risk management or compliance or alternatively out of a sense of guilt or obligation.But in similar fashion to the work at GNM, the framing at GMG was set around how sustainability could support the long-term success of the group. By putting it in a positive context, it changed the whole dynamic of the conversations, unleashing creative thinking rather than the limiting it to a feeling of obligation.The second key was recognising that a generic one-size-fits-all approach to managing change would not work at GMG, given the broad and varied nature of the group.This is in part due to the culture of the organisation but also because two of the largest businesses in the portfolio, Emap and Trader Media Group, are co-owned with the private equity company Apax.The solution was to develop a matrix structure that sets minimum standards across the group but allows each business to become a centre of excellence in particular areas, as well as giving them the ability to translate the strategy to fit within its own cultural and business context. For example, what is right for Emap is not necessarily right for the Guardian.Forum had already successfully developed a similar model with Balfour Beatty, the infrastructure services group, which also operated a devolved system of management for its various businesses.Also critical was not to attempt a top down approach but to fully involve key directors and staff from all businesses in developing the matrix, ensuring the final strategy already had buy-in from the boards of all the businesses. The added advantage of this approach was that where issues were identified during the process, work started immediately on addressing them.The fourth key was to recognise from the beginning that there is far more to sustainability than just climate change and to develop a vision that incorporated the social, environmental and economic impacts of the company.While climate change is recognised in the vision as being of critical importance, the group also wanted to incorporate other areas such as community and promoting and developing products and services that support a more sustainable way of life.GMG has given itself five years to meet its vision, but to ensure steady progress has developed a set of aims to be met by 2012 in each of 10 categories, which range from influencing audiences and customers and environmental management to procurement and employee engagement.Each business within GMG has been putting in place effective governance structures and reports will go quarterly to the group board so that progress can be monitored.As I have discussed in a recent blog, change in companies does not come only from management recognising the problems and developing plans for addressing them.Also critical is to engage employees in the process, given that the thousands of small and large decisions they take every day have a major effect on any company's impacts. This is why a core part of the Power of 10 sustainability strategy is to engage staff in focusing on achieving the ambitious targets that have been set.Guardian Media GroupCorporate social responsibilityJo Confinoguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-10 Carolyn McCall introduces the 'power of 10' Chief executive Carolyn McCall explains why GMG is committed to making a difference   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-10 UK Coal gets £350m merger proposal Deal with resources group Hargreaves Services would transform coal industry UK Coal and resources group Hargreaves Services are weighing up a £350m merger which would transform the coal industry, the Guardian has learned.UK Coal, the UK's last major coal producer, announced today that it had received a merger approach from an unnamed third party. The company is keen to reduce its reliance on its deep mines, which are expensive to maintain and have suffered production problems leading to large losses. UK Coal shares closed up more than 12% today.It is understood that property and transport firm Peel Group, which owns 28% of UK Coal, is being kept fully informed of developments. The merger plan is still tentative and even if both sides proceed with the plan, they are understood to be some way from putting a formal agreement to shareholders. Neither company commented last night.Hargreaves Services owns a deep mine in Maltby, South Yorkshire, which it bought from UK Coal, and is soon to start open cast mining. It also manufactures metallurgical coke and solid fuel such as briquettes used in barbecues. The company also runs a transport division and an industrial services division mainly handling fuel on behalf of power station owners in the UK. With a market value about a quarter more than UK Coal, it is likely that Hargreaves Services would be the senior partner in any merger.UK Coal has embarked on an expensive project to upgrade its coal mines. But it has struggled in recent years because of the fall in coal prices following the economic slowdown and writedowns in its property portfolio. Its 43,000 acre portfolio is mainly located around disused collieries which have been earmarked for housing and light industrial redevelopment schemes and is a significant source of potential income. It reported losses of £80m in the first six months of last year, including a near £60m writedown in the value of its property portfolio. It also reported a rise in net debt to £191m, prompting urgent talks with its lenders.In September UK Coal raised £100m via a rights issue to see it through the next couple of years. Next year, it should start to see the benefits of higher production rates from its mines and higher property values. The company has also struggled for some years with long term supply contracts which have forced it to sell coal below market rates to large customers such as Drax. The last of these contracts will expire next year.UK Coal is Britain's largest producer of coal, supplying around 6% of the country's energy needs for electricity generation. It has four deep mines in operation, employing 3,100 people. Eight years ago it owned 13. It is looking to expand its surface mines, which produced around 1.7m tonnes of coal a year in 2008. They are cheaper to run but are opposed by many local communities.UK CoalMiningMergers and acquisitionsCoalEnergy industryEnergyTim Webbguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-10 The ecological case for ebooks Should you be getting an e-reader for the planet's sake? I'd always thought not, but a new study has made me think againThe recent announcement that Foyles are soon to launch the bebook is further proof (as if any were needed) that the e-reader bandwagon is well and truly rolling. News that the New York Times book review will soon be available in e-reader format, meanwhile, also points the way to an increasingly interesting future for what we used to know as the "print industry". The ability to buy something I wouldn't be able to get in a better format elsewhere (so long as the UK remains starved of the glory of the Sunday NYT delivery) even makes me think I might possibly find a use for an e-reader. Up until now, they've struck me as less pleasant than books, far more problematic in terms of copyright theft and – at least for personal use – rather decadent. They're a big computer that can only read books and so, I've always assumed, a waste of resources. But a bit of research has led me to question even that assumption.I've only managed to find one report – on the Kindle (by The Cleantech Group) – but it backs up suggestions that so long as e-readers are used as book replacements rather than supplements, they soon start to pay back in carbon terms. The report states that a book uses up "approximately 7.46 kilograms of CO2 over its lifetime" and that the Kindle produces "roughly 168 kg" during its lifecycle, making it "a clear winner against the potential savings: 1,074 kg of CO2 if replacing three books a month for four years; and up to 26,098 kg of CO2 when used to the fullest capacity of the Kindle."There are still problems. Crucially, the report states: "Amazon declined to provide information about its manufacturing process or carbon footprint" – so we're still really dealing with educated guesswork. I was also curious about whether the report has taken into account the role of books as "carbon sinks". My theory was that books last a long time before they are destroyed – often longer than their source trees ... And even when they aren't furnishing rooms they have a useful second life under the floor of motorways and similar. When I contacted the author of the report, senior research analyst Emma Ritch, she said: "While some of the carbon stored in the forest will remain stored in paper, the majority will be emitted into the atmosphere. There is a significant amount of carbon stored in the soil, the roots of harvested trees, the usable saplings and other understory vegetation. These release massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere when they decay, or when they are burned as energy sources for the pulp mill."So it seems I'm – literally – barking up the wrong tree. Even wood sourced from sustainable forests uses a lot of energy (not to mention water) when it is being processed, and yet more when transported afterwards. (Books are heavy, after all.) Ritch also made the point that textbooks are often updated – and so become obsolete – every couple of years, showing another clear advantage to ebook readers. There are also plusses for academics ploughing through multiple journals and probably even for professional book reviewers.However, I parted company with Ritch's positive view of e-readers when she suggested a further advantage: "the consumer who purchases an ebook often has the rights to use it on five or more devices, meaning multiple users within a household would not have to purchase multiple physical versions of a book." I'd actually view that as a problem, as far as fiction goes. Five or more devices probably gives the ebook a lifespan of little more than 10 years if my experience with such machines is anything to go by – and that's if you don't share it. A book (so long as it stays together) can be shared with hundreds of people over hundreds of years.I also have concerns about the supply side. There's no information available about the energy required to run Amazon's "whispernet" and it's hard to work out the amount involved in supplying other books for download. The internet is too often thought of as a cost-free resource in carbon terms – but it's recently been suggested that Google alone produces as much as some nation states. Ritch suggested a good comparison would be that "a physical book purchased by a person driving to the bookstore creates twice the emissions of a book purchased online." But of course, that depends on someone driving rather than walking to the shop.Nevertheless, I'm part-way convinced. There are clear advantages to using e-readers in schools and academe. At home, I'm less sure – especially when you factor in side-issues such as the toxicity of the heavy metals used in ebook readers and their batteries. I also hesitate because the devices are so new we still know little about how they're used.Here, I'm hoping an informal survey here might shed more light. So tell me: if you own an e-reader, how often do you use it? (Have you for instance topped off the 22.5 books The Cleantech Group require to break even with traditional books in carbon terms?) Are you buying fewer books? How long does your battery last? Have you had to replace it? Do these carbon savings seem realistic to you? And has that influenced your decision to buy one?I'd also be curious to know if other ebook agnostics are likely to be converted by the idea that they could be more environmentally friendly. I know it makes me waver. But then again, won't an iPad be more useful? Even if that does mean my reading could be interrupted by emails … And you can't throw the thing across the room when whatever you're reading gets too annoying …EbooksAmazon.comCarbon emissionsEthical and green livingSam Jordisonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-10 Save the planet. But maybe not right now | Martin Wainwright Doomsaying precludes the possibility of ingenious solutions – and indicates a morbid vanity that we must be the savioursIsn't it welcome to have Ian McEwan as an advocate for a little optimism in the climate change debate? His hope, expressed in his new novel Solar, that humanity will prove ingenious enough to solve the problem through the skill of coming generations is a welcome change from those who portray our descendants as helpless victims of our "excess".Their injunctions to "save the world for our children and grandchildren" fly in the face of history, which repeatedly shows how progress – from the wheel to the internet – transforms the world picture as time marches on. The doom brigade has its moments, such as the collapse of the classical world in Europe, the Black Death and the first world war, but they are exceptions to learn from. And we have learned.Not to the extent of mastering clairvoyancy, however. Like miserabilism, a constant in human behaviour is the inability of Today to successfully imagine Tomorrow. The archive of prophecy and science fiction contains some good guesses, but in general the seers get it wrong. Which of my grandparents, addressing me in the 1950s, could possibly have foreseen today's IT? Which of my grandparents' grandparents had a notion of the bicycle or national parks?This is true of scientists as much as of the more general type of wise person. Science is too often mistakenly treated in the way that history was by those 19th-century Germans who thought that one day the whole truth could be set down. Certainty is not absolute. Scientists are ambushed by novelty – see Galileo, Pasteur, Darwin, Einstein – as often as the rest of us.None of this is to argue against the risks of global warming or prudence in facing them. It is to warn against vanity, in the form of the exaggerated belief that it is all down to our generation: here, now, hurry, rush. It's also an appeal against pessimism, because of the limitations glumness places on the very potential which, odds-on, will prove the planet's salvation.A writer in the Economist's most recent green supplement made this point neatly by questioning assumptions (rather reminiscent of Catholic dogma in Galileo's day) that spending the world's limited resources on Tomorrow rather than Today is necessarily morally right. The Economist's writer said: "Since future generations will probably be much richer than we are, it makes no more sense for us to sacrifice our wellbeing for them than it would to expect 18th-century peasants to go without gruel so we can buy more computers."That is the sort of sally that deserves a wide hearing. If we stall Today's wonderful spread of international knowledge, travel and general prosperity, we risk a future like Gray's Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard, where unknown Miltons remain mute and inglorious and village Darwins never get further than their shacks.Climate changeClimate change scepticismClimate changeIan McEwanMartin Wainwrightguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-10 Competition: Win a Sankey water butt and stand Water butts, on the whole, are ugly things: green plastic hulking things that lurk by the downpipe and are hard to disguise. So isn't it about time someone designed a stylish water butt you can be proud to display on your patio? Sankey is leading the way with its beehive water butt, which is made of practical plastic, but looks like it's terracotta. We've got two 150L Sankey beehive water butts in Terracina (that's a terracotta effect to you and me) plus accompanying stand to give away.To enter, please email your name, postal address and phone number to jane.perrone@guardian.co.uk with "water butt" in the subject line. Entries will be accepted until the end of the day on March 16 2010.Terms and conditions1. The Sankey water butt competition (the "Competition") is open to residents of the UK aged 18 and over.2. The Competition is not open to employees or agencies of Guardian News & Media Limited ("GNM"), their group companies or family members, freelance contributors to GNM, or anyone else connected to the Competition.3. Entry into the Competition is acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.4. To enter the Competition you must email your name, postal address and telephone number to jane.perrone@guardian.co.uk with "water butt" in the subject line. If you have any questions about how to enter or other queries in connection with the Competition, please email space@guardian.co.uk with "water butt competition query" in the subject line.5. Only one entry per person. Entries on behalf of another person will not be accepted and joint submissions are not allowed. You are responsible for the cost (if any) of sending your Competition entry to us.6. No responsibility is taken for entries that are lost, delayed, misdirected or incomplete or cannot be delivered or entered for any technical or other reason. Proof of delivery of the entry is not proof of receipt.7. The Competition closes at 23.59pm on March 16 2010. Entries received after that date and time will not be considered.8. The winner will be chosen from a random draw of correct entries.9. Two winners will each receive a Sankey terracotta water butt and stand. GNM accepts no responsibility for any costs associated with the prize and not specifically included in the prize.10. The winners will be notified by phone or email on or before March 20 2010 and given details of how to claim their prize. If a winner does not respond to GNM within 7 days of being notified by GNM, then the winner's prize will be forfeited and GNM shall be entitled to select another winner (and that winner will have to respond to the phone call or email from GNM within 7 days or else they will also forfeit their prize). If a winner rejects their prize, then the winner's prize will be forfeited and GNM shall be entitled to select another winner.11. Details of the winners will also be published on the Guardian gardening blog on or before March 30 2010.12. The prize will be sent to the winners by April 30 2010.13. Details of the winners can be obtained by sending a stamped addressed envelope to the following address: Gardening editor, Guardian News & Media Limited, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU.14. The prize is non-exchangeable, non-transferable, and is not redeemable for cash or other prizes.15. GNM retains the right to substitute the prize with another prize of similar value in the event the original prize offered is not available.16. The winners may be required for promotional activity.17. No purchase necessary.18. Nothing in these terms and conditions shall exclude the liability of GNM for death, personal injury, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation as a result of its negligence.19. GNM accepts no responsibility for any damage, loss, liabilities, injury or disappointment incurred or suffered by you as a result of entering the Competition or accepting the prize. GNM further disclaims liability for any injury or damage to your or any other person's computer relating to or resulting from participation in or downloading any materials in connection with the Competition.20. GNM reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, this Competition with or without prior notice due to reasons outside its control (including, without limitation, in the case of anticipated, suspected or actual fraud). The decision of GNM in all matters under its control is final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into.21. GNM shall not be liable for any failure to comply with its obligations where the failure is caused by something outside its reasonable control. Such circumstances shall include, but not be limited to, weather conditions, fire, flood, hurricane, strike, industrial dispute, war, hostilities, political unrest, riots, civil commotion, inevitable accidents, supervening legislation or any other circumstances amounting to force majeure.22. The Competition will be governed by English law.23. Promoter: Guardian News & Media Limited, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU.GardensEthical and green livingJane Perroneguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-10 Green light: Extinction overtakes evolution, solar panels and polar photos This is a weekly email briefing from environmentguardian.co.uk, bringing you the best news, analysis and debateSign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inboxConservation and wildlife• Humans driving extinction faster than species can evolve, say experts• New hope for mountain gorillas in Congo• Ghost orchid comes back from extinction• Downpours threaten extinction for Britain's rarest butterfly• Conservationists unveil plans to restore bison to North American plainsThere was good news this week for bisons in the US and gorillas in South Africa, but bad tidings for Duke of Burgundy butterflies and biodiversity globally. "There's no question that the current extinction rates are faster [than the rate at which species evolve]", warned an expert at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.The great feed-in tariff debate• George Monbiot: Are we really going to let ourselves be duped into this solar panel rip-off?• Jeremy Leggett: Solar panels are not fashion accessories• George Monbiot: There is no 'green treachery' in questioning this solar panel rip-off• Jeremy Leggett: I accept George Monbiot's £100 solar PV bet• Ask Leo: Is it time to generate your own domestic power?Guardian columnist George Monbiot sparked a war of words over the government's plans to pay householders, businesses and communities for generating their own green energy. Monbiot argued it was an inefficient and costly way to increase the UK's renewable energy capacity, while Jeremy Leggett and other commentators argued the scheme would create UK jobs and bring down the price of solar PV.Multimedia• In pictures: Paul Nicklen: Polar Obsession• The week in wildlife• In pictures: Saving Congo's mountain gorillas• Audio: Moth predator to attack knotweed: '£150m damage every year'• Video: The National Geographic archives: The wildlife of NamibiaThis week's galleries include stunning photos of wildlife from the polar regions by award-winning photographer Paul Nicklen, plus our regular roundup of wildlife around the world - including a spectacular glowing squid.Green living• Do digital screens have a greater carbon footprint than printed posters?• Which manifesto pledges for cycling would get your attention?• You ask, they answer: Nokia• 'Eco' lifestyle magazine is depressingly predictable disappointment• The innovator: Tom Podkolinski, eco nappy designerHelp us answer Leo Hickman's dilemma this week - do digital screens have a greater carbon footprint than printed posters? And don't forget to post your questions for Nokia on its green track record.Everybody's talking aboutIf you only read one thread...How food and water are driving a 21st-century African land grabAn Observer investigation reveals how rich countries faced by a global food shortage now farm an area double the size of the UK to guarantee supplies for their citizensBest commentHumans driving extinction faster than species can evolve, say expertsValleyboi: Look at it this way: You have been dropped into a situation where your task is to tackle Jonah Lomu in his prime in order to survive. If he was walking slowly towards you from 10m away, you'd have a bit of time to sum up your options and formulate the best plan of attack to bring down the big man. Conversely, if he was already running at full steam you'd only just have time to sob for your mummy before most probably being steam-rolled. That's how I think of the situation we are putting nature in.Read interaction manager Mariam Cook's latest blogpost for more about this week's community activity....And finally• The 'waterless' washing machine that could save you moneyWould you trust plastic beads to clean your clothes, if it saved energy and water?Environment editorguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-10 Guardian's sustainability vision Owner of Guardian and Observer to tackle 10 issues ranging from environmental management and ethical procurement to employee and community engagementGuardian Media Group, the multimedia business whose diverse portfolio includes the Guardian and Observer, today launches an integrated sustainability vision and strategy to address issues ranging from climate change to ethical procurement.The 'Power of 10' vision is based on the belief that the group, which also includes radio stations, magazines and business to business media, can have a multiplier effect by educating and influencing its millions of readers, web users, and listeners as well as working with its thousands of staff, suppliers and advertisers to work towards a more sustainable future.GMG has committed to 10 areas of change, ranging from environmental management and ethical procurement to employee and community engagement.The sustainability drive links in with the core values of GMG's sole shareholder, the Scott Trust, which were first laid down by the great Manchester Guardian editor C P Scott in a leader column celebrating the centenary of the paper in 1921: Honesty, integrity, courage, fairness and duty to our readers and communities.The programme, which has been developed in partnership with Forum for the Future, the sustainable development organisation, is the culmination of a two-year process of change. David Bent, Forum's head of business strategies, said: "We've been impressed by Guardian Media Group. In a busy and difficult time for the business, senior executives have taken the time to develop and commit to an ambitious vision. The inheritance of the Scott values, the key brands and the trust structure means GMG is well positioned to be a leader in the media sector."The Power of 10 vision states: "We commit to play our part as a leading media organisation in creating a fair society that lives within the means of our planet. Driven by our unique ownership structure and values, we will enable our audiences, customers, employees, advertisers and suppliers to build a more sustainable future."Sustainability has many interlinked strands but the dangers of climate change are so great immediate that we will pay particular attention to highlighting its hazards and exploring ways of combating it."Given the diverse nature of the group, which includes the Guardian and Observer, GMG Radio, Emap, Trader Media Group (TMG) and GMG Property Services , the vision recognises that "while all our businesses share this common goal, we recognise that each has its own specific contribution to make."This means that while common minimum targets have been set in each of the 10 areas over the next two years, each of the businesses will develop its own centres of excellence. For example, GMG Radio will direct its resources into employee engagement, working with its audience and customers and carbon management, including a commitment to reduce its carbon footprint by 5% in the first year.TMG will be sharing the Power of 10 vision with all employees through informal 'town hall meetings' and by video. It will be overseen by a corporate social responsibility steering committee made up of five senior executives and an environmental committee made up of 30 employees from around the business.Emap will be using the launch of the vision as a springboard for a broad employee engagement plan to help set a strategy and agree which priorities to focus on.The Guardian and Observer already have their own sustainability vision and action plan, developed three years ago, that dovetails into the ambitions of GMG.GMG recognises that as a media company, its biggest impact comes from its ability to inspire audiences and customers to live in a way that does not compromise the ability of future generations to meet their needs.For example, the Guardian has been leading the charge on the reporting of the environment and social justice for the past two decades and over the past two years has been developing one of the world's most in-depth and popular environment sites. In February, for example, it doubled its page impressions to 7.9 million compared with the same period in 2009 and increased the number of unique users over the same period by 140% to 2.64m.The Guardian also helped launch the 10:10 campaign, which has led to thousands of businesses, councils and individuals pledging to reduce their carbon footprint by 10% in 2010.GMG also recognises that if it encourages readers to change their behaviour, and seeks to influence suppliers and advertisers, then it must also lead the way in its own operations. For example, the Guardian only went ahead with the 10:10 campaign once it had committed to reducing its own carbon footprint by a tenth.The vision states: "The passion we have for inspiring our audiences and customers will be matched by our commitment to operating our offices, print sites and digital platforms to high environmental standards, including minimising waste and maximising both efficiency and recycling."We will measure and publicly report on our carbon footprint and set challenging targets to lower our emissions."Guardian Media GroupCorporate social responsibilityEthical businessJo Confinoguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-10 African land grabs, solar bets and extinction Environmentguardian.co.uk's interaction manager rounds up this week's liveliest debatesOver the weekend John Vidal wrote that food and water are driving a 21st-century African land grab. His analysis told how African land tends to be cheaper: "Ethiopia is only one of 20 or more African countries where land is being bought or leased for intensive agriculture on an immense scale." Commenters deliberated over whether this was indeed a new form of colonialism, how it might feel to be forced from where you have always lived, whether Africans are worse off as paid employees or subsistence farmers, or whether this might actually present an opportunity for Africans to capitalise on globalisation.Debate of the weekHow food and water are driving a 21st-century African land grabHuroner: What is wrong with large scale agriculture in Africa? It offers a route out of poverty for millions.MorganaLeFay: This is modern day colonialism ... I think that we all know what we have to do to stop this. Boycott the big food giants, and shop locally wherever, whenever we have the option, physically and financially.jemay: Too many on the left of a green hue (not to mention those on the right) give the impression that they're not particularly interested in Africans, but keeping Africa as some sort of permanent backwater to better protect the flora and fauna for their edification and delight.mwauragrace0: They don't make the Africans rich, instead they have made them even poorer and dependent on wages that can barely provide their basic needs.janbe: It's always the same story: there's no balance of power between the investors and the local population. The investors have lawyers who will turn a land-grab into something remotely legal. The local population has no chance, because they cannot afford lawyers, cannot fight the security people, get no support from their government, because the officials are on the payroll ...AndrewWorth: It looks like we're finally seeing Africa reaping the benefits that globalisation has delivered to many countries in Asia.Made me smileI accept George Monbiot's £100 solar PV betrobertwiloughby: This is gambling - the Guardian needs a licence to host this sort of event.Best commentHumans driving extinction faster than species can evolve, say expertsValleyboi: Look at it this way: You have been dropped into a situation where your task is to tackle Jonah Lomu in his prime in order to survive. If he was walking slowly towards you from 10m away, you'd have a bit of time to sum up your options and formulate the best plan of attack to bring down the big man. Conversely, if he was already running at full steam you'd only just have time to sob for your mummy before most probably being steam-rolled. That's how I think of the situation we are putting nature in.Elsewhere on the webdavidsouthafrican encourages us to join the Facebook group Fight overpopulation and environmental degradation.ps Please get your entries in for the Observer Ethical Awards by Friday 12 March. We are particularly keen on receiving more conservation nominations - please spread the word.Mariam Cookguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-10 Your recession story Money Watch wants to hear from you   news.bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10 What international role should the EU have? The EU's foreign policy chief calls for a robust new diplomatic service. How should the EU act abroad?   bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10 Should illegal file-sharers be banned from the net? The BT boss says those caught illegally fire-sharing should be fined instead of being banned. Do you agree?   bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10 Phantom returns The critics' verdicts on Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies   bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10 Legacy and Leonardo Director Martin Scorsese on seeking posterity and reuniting with Leonardo DiCaprio on his latest movie   news.bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10

radio news Letterman blackmail is admitted A US TV producer pleads guilty to attempting to blackmail US chat show host David Letterman over his affairs.   news.bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10 Actor Sheen 'set for TV return' Actor Charlie Sheen is expected to return to the set of Two and a Half Men after a spell in rehab, his publicist says.   news.bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10 EMI names ex-ITV boss as chairman Troubled record company EMI - whose artists include Coldplay - has named former ITV boss Charles Allen as its new chairman.   news.bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10 Sir Terry beats successor Chris Evans to radio accolade BBC Radio 2 presenter Sir Terry Wogan is named digital radio personality of the year at the annual Tric Awards ahead of successor Chris Evans.   news.bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10 Arts women to watch list revealed A list of 50 women to watch in the arts over the coming years has been compiled by leading arts organisations.   news.bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10 Anna Nicole story made into opera The Royal Opera House is to stage the world premiere of an opera about the life of former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith, who died in 2007.   news.bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10 Church signs deal to fund album Singer Charlotte Church agrees a £2m deal with a music investment company to finance the recording of her next reccord, it is confirmed.   news.bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10 Florence gets first headline slot Florence and the Machine is to headline her first festival, topping the bill at Latitude in Suffolk in July.   news.bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10 Tempah 'to stay' number one The first official midweek singles chart shows that Tinie Tempah is due to hold on to the number one spot for a second week.   news.bbc.co.uk   2010-03-10 Lavidge Co. counts Pert Plus, Sure among new clients The Lavidge Co. has added new clients to its roster, including name brands Pert Plus and Sure, and Pearl Vision.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-09 WJFK-FM to join new CBS Radio HD sports network Washington-area sports radio station WJFK-FM 106.7 The Fan is one of four radio stations that will become part of a new CBS Radio Inc. high-definition digital multicast. Dubbed “The FAN Sports Network,” listeners will now be able to tune into other regional stations for free, provided they own an HD radio tuner.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-09 ESPN selects NewTek TriCaster to help produce Winter X Games NewTek Inc. will supply its portable live production system to ESPN Inc. for the Winter X Games Europe in France this week.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-09 Bohan Advertising/Marketing opens office in Knoxville Nashville-based Bohan Advertising/Marketing has stretched its boundaries, opening an office in Knoxville to serve AAA of East Tennessee and Home Federal Bank of Knoxville, as well as Pennsylvania’s SuperPetz and Florida’s Brunswick Commercial and Government Products.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-09 Pac-10 hires first chief marketing officer As part of an effort to grow its business, the Pacific-10 Conference has hired its first-ever chief marketing officer.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-09 PlayStation gets HD movies from six studios Sony Computer Entertainment America has a deal to sell and rent high definition movies for six major studios, including 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros.   bizjournals.com   2010-03-09 UK import emissions are the highest in Europe, figures show Study finds 253m tonnes of CO2 are released annually in the manufacture of products bound for UK shores - mostly in the developing worldBritain's demand for imported goods is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions abroad than any other European country, according to a new study published today.The report shows that 253m tonnes of carbon dioxide are released overseas each year in the manufacture of products bound for UK shores, the equivalent of 4.3 tonnes per person. The average Briton's carbon footprint is 9.7 tonnes, not including emissions from goods.Only the US and Japan have higher emissions linked to their imports, at 699m tonnes and 284m tonnes of carbon dioxide per year respectively, the study found.The majority of the emissions are released in rapidly industrialising parts of the developing world, such as China and India.The study, by scientists at the Carnegie Institute of Washington in California, highlights the unresolved issue of responsibility for carbon dioxide that is released to make products for foreign markets.Under the Kyoto protocol, emission targets apply to the country where the gases are produced. But China has so far resisted binding emissions targets, as it does not accept responsibility for emissions associated with making goods that are exported to wealthy nations.Previous studies, by the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research last year and Oxford University in 2007, have found that the UK is "outsourcing" much of its carbon emissions for the manufacture of goods to China.For this study, Steven Davis and Ken Caldeira used published data on international trade from 2004 to build up a picture of how goods moved between 113 countries or regions and 57 industrial sectors, including machinery, vehicles, chemicals and food. By allocating carbon emissions to products and sources, they calculated the net emissions linked to countries imports and exports."Instead of looking at carbon dioxide emissions only in terms of what is released inside our borders, we also looked at the amount of carbon dioxide released during the production of the things that we consume," said Caldeira.Over one-third of the carbon emissions linked to goods used in many European countries were actually released in developing countries, the study shows. Imports to Germany and France were responsible for 233m tonnes and 170m tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions abroad respectively. Switzerland "outsourced" more than half of its carbon dioxide emissions, according to the report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."Just like the electricity you use in your home, we found that products imported by the developed countries of western Europe, Japan and the US cause substantial emissions in other countries, especially China," said Davis. Nearly one-quarter of China's annual carbon dioxide emissions, some 1.4bn tonnes, come from the manufacture of products and services that are ultimately exported, the report adds.Jan Minx, an expert in environmental economics at the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, said the study's system of attributing emissions - based on which country's consumption causes emissions rather than the country where the emissions are released - can help identify when international agreements to cut greenhouse gas emissions are being undermined. Some countries, the UK included, are increasingly becoming service-based economies, but they still import goods from countries that rely heavily on fossil fuels and have no binding emissions targets. "It's not intentional, but it can have a detrimental effect on international agreements," Minx said.Obliging countries to cut carbon emissions beyond their national borders is fraught with political and practical difficulties, but this should not stop import-related emissions being taken into consideration in negotiations to cut emissions, Minx said. "It's most feasible for a country to reduce emissions on their own territory, but this kind of accounting system can provide extra information for policymakers," he added.Adopting such an accounting system for greenhouse gas emissions could be fairer to developing countries, such as China and India, which rely heavily on fossil fuels to manufacture products for wealthy foreigners, the researchers said."Apart from an opportunity to inform effective climate policy, consumption-based accounting of emissions provides grounding for ethical arguments that the most developed countries - as the primary beneficiaries of emissions and with greater ability to pay - should lead the global mitigation effort," the authors write.Carbon emissionsCarbon footprintsClimate changeManufacturing sectorIan Sampleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-09 New hope for mountain gorillas in Congo Two baby primates orphaned in 2007 are safe now but grave challenges remainIn pictures: Saving Congo's mountain gorillasA baby gorilla claps her palms and leaps to the top of a wooden climbing frame. Another grips the hands of her keeper and swings head over heels with childlike exuberance. The pair play in long grass in the shade of bamboo, fig and wild banana trees.This is Ndeze and Ndakasi, symbols of hope in the struggle to save the imperilled mountain gorillas of eastern Africa.The pair, orphaned in massacres that shocked the world in 2007, are settling into a new home and could soon be part of a new family.Negotiations are under way to bring two adult gorillas from Rwanda to become their adoptive parents, with a view to returning the babies to the wild.Innocent Mburanumwe, a warden at Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said: "An adult male and female were sent to Rwanda during the instability here. We could bring them back and drop them all in a big area to form a family."The return of the gorillas from Rwanda depends on the completion of the Senkwekwe Centre, a specially designed sanctuary for Ndeze and Ndakasi in a lush forest habitat in Virunga park. The pair, each two and a half years old, moved there last December from a makeshift shelter in the city of Goma.The babies lost their parents in a spate of killings that cost the lives of 10 gorillas in 2007. Ndeze was found, at two months old, clinging to her slaughtered mother's breast. Photographs of her dead father, a majestic silverback called Senkwekwe, being carried on a bamboo trellis caused international revulsion.The fragility of life in Congo's eastern forests was brutally underlined last month when two-year-old Nsekanabo, a nephew of Ndeze, died after being caught in a snare laid by poachers. The head of local conservation efforts described the loss as "a catastrophic setback".The Guardian joined Mburanumwe to watch the baby gorillas at play in their 40x40m walled enclosure from a newly completed viewing platform. "They were found as little babies and taken to Goma," Mburanumwe said. "We put them in a sanctuary there. Doctors gave them milk and medicines."But in Goma there is much noise and dust, and the air is not good. The place was not as safe as here. In Goma there was no food, but here we have people collecting leaves and bringing them daily, so it's easy for them to grow. The babies are very happy now and playing every day. It's like the habitat where they were born."The infants sleep in the same room as their carers at the centre, which was built with support from donors including the Murry Foundation in Britain. It is situated down a forest track next to the park headquarters in Rumangabo, north of Goma.Mountain gorillas highlight the threat to great apes caused by disease, habitat loss, poaching and war.A recent report showed that, of the world's 634 primate species, 48% are classified as threatened with extinction on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's "red list".The mountain gorilla is critically endangered. There are 720 left in the wild in Congo, Rwanda and Uganda, but this represents an increase from 650 five years ago. "The gorillas are doing much better now than 14 months ago," said Samantha Newport, spokeswoman for Virunga park, adding that rangers had regained control of the gorilla sector from armed rebels in 2008.Last year the park began offering gorilla tracking to foreign holidaymakers, attracting about 100 a month from countries including Australia, America, Brazil, Britain, Italy, South Africa and Spain. Visitors pay to walk through the forests with a professional tracker and observe the primates in their natural habitat.Local activists hope that a period of relative political and military stability in eastern Congo could turn it into an unlikely tourist destination, rivalling the more established tracking tours in neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda.Henry Cirhuza, DRC programme manager of the Gorilla Organisation, a UK charity, said: "It's easier to track gorillas here in the DRC. In Rwanda and Uganda you need to book six months before, whereas here you can book today and go tomorrow. It costs $400 here instead of $500 there."You can spend one hour tracking here, whereas in Uganda it can take all day. And tourism is the best way to bring money to the population here."But while there are tentative signs of declining violence in Africa's oldest national park, grave challenges remain. Poachers still roam here. Several armed groups still live, cook and train in the park. As the death of Nsekanabo last month demonstrated, gorillas still lose their hands, or their lives, in snares intended to catch other animals.The latest and biggest danger to the gorillas comes from deforestation caused by the relentless demand for charcoal, on which local people are highly dependent for fuel to boil water and cook food.Cirhuza said: "All the people in this town use charcoal and it's a big threat to the gorillas because of loss of habitat. The gorillas are on a high plane in the mountains. In one or two years they will be reached by those who take charcoal. This park was created for the gorillas in 1925. If we lose the gorillas, there is no park."Park officials are attempting to combat the trade by distributing kits to local communities to manufacture biomass briquettes from plant waste as a cheaper alternative to charcoal.Last year it promoted the scheme in an extraordinary publicity stunt, driving around Goma with six people wearing gorilla costumes imported from Britain.Newport said: "Charcoal is the number-one threat to the survival of the park. It's very difficult to fight because we've living in one of the most densely populated and impoverished parts of Africa. Law enforcement is not enough; you have to provide alternatives such as the briquette programme."Endangered speciesWildlifeConservationDavid Smithguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-09 Saving Congo's mountain gorillas Ndeze and Ndakasi, symbols of hope in the struggle to rescue an endangered species in eastern Africa   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-09 Canadian MPs put seal meat on parliament's menu in rebuff to EU Seal meat banned by the EU will be served to Canadian MPs in Ottawa to show public backing for the country's annual seal huntCanadian MPs will be served seal meat this week in support of hunters fighting an EU ban on products from the animals.A Liberal MP, Celine Hervieux-Payette, said Wednesday's seal meat menu in the parliamentary restaurant would allow politicians to show their backing for the annual hunt."All political parties will have the opportunity to demonstrate to the international community the solidarity of the Canadian parliament behind those who earn a living from the seal hunt," she said.The EU ban on seal imports was imposed last July on the grounds that Canada's annual hunt was cruel.The east coast seal hunt, the largest in the world, kills about 275,000 harp seals between mid-November and mid-May. The seals are either shot or hit over the head with a spiked club called a hakapik.Animal rights groups believe the hunt is cruel, poorly monitored and provides little economic benefit. Seal hunters and Canadian authorities say it is sustainable, humane and provides income for isolated communities.The EU ban includes processed goods derived from seals, including their skins which are used to make coats, bags and clothing, as well as meat, oil blubber, organs and seal oil, which is used in some omega-3 pills.It exempts products derived from traditional hunts carried out by Inuit in Canada's Arctic, as well as those from Greenland, Alaska and Russia.Canada has requested talks with the EU at the World Trade Organisation, which is the first step before launching an official trade challenge to salvage a Canadian industry valued at £6.46m in exports last year.Last month, an offer of seal meat caught by indigenous hunters to the world's leading economic ministers at a G7 meeting in Iqaluit, 200 miles south of the Arctic circle, sparked outrage.Arlene McCarthy, a Labour MEP who was involved in agreeing the ban, accused the Canadians of using the summit to put seal hunting back on to the agenda: "This is quite a callous way to manipulate an indigenous community which we've already given exemption to on this issue."CanadaEuropean UnionAnimal welfareFoodWildlifeFood & drinkJames Sturckeguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-09 Alien v predator: moth out to kill Japanese knotweed Chosen insect feeds on invasive species but not other closely related plants and cropsBiological warfare is to be declared on an alien invader, Japanese knotweed, that swamps gardens and rivers, with the release of an insect to eat the virulent weed.The decision by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the first allowing one non-native species, a flying insect resembling a miniature moth, to control the seemingly unstoppable spread of an alien plant.However, it is likely to cause concern among wildlife lovers because of a long history of human interventions in the natural world ending in failure, and sometimes causing worse problems than the original, as with the cane toad in Australia.In a public consultation by Defra last year about 20 responses opposed the scheme, though 42 were in favour.The wildlife minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, said the fast-growing Japanese knotweed was estimated to cost £150m a year to control, and was able to grow through buildings and roads.Fallopia japonica has also been blamed for flooding, by causing erosion to river banks and clogging up streams with dead plants."This project is not only ground-breaking, it offers real hope that we can redress the balance," said Irranca-Davies.Experts estimated in 2003 that it would cost £1.5bn to fund a physical clearance campaign for Japanese knotweed.Laboratory tests were started on pests from Japan which control the knotweed by feeding on sap from its stems, causing the plant to die back.The tests showed the chosen Aphalara itadori did not eat any other species, including closely related British plants and important crops.The psyllids – or plant-jumping lice, which grows to only 2-2.5mm – will be released at two sites initially, under close supervision.If these outdoor trials are a success the trials will be extended to another six sites, none of which Defra will disclose.The concept is similar to biological pest control practised by some farmers, using predator insects to control crop pests. The non-native predatory beetle Rhizophagus grandis was also released in Britain under licence in the mid-1980s to tackle the invasive alien spruce bark beetle (Dendroctonus micans).On conservation and wildlife internet forums, opponents of the idea said they feared the impact on other native wildlife, for example species that might start feeding on the psyllids. One blogger compared the risk to the traditional nursery rhyme "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly" in reference to the long pursuit of one animal to destroy another – ending in the lady swallowing a horse: "She's dead of course." The Global Invasive Species Programme said that despite a few well-known failures, a third of biological control programmes to tackle pests and weeds were judged successes, and the system was often considered more "permanent, efficient, environmentally sustainable and relatively cheap" than using chemicals or mechanical removal."While there are some risks, which still may be considered by some to be unacceptable, biological control is increasingly viewed as being the preferred management strategy for invasive species, wherever possible, and in the case of biological weed control specifically, it has an enviable safety record," said Sarah Simons, Gisp's executive director.Japanese knotweed, which is native to Japan, Taiwan and China, was introduced by botanists into Britain in the 19th century as an ornamental plant. It grows at up to a metre a month, and a fragment of just 0.8 grams can grow into a new plant. Invasive predators have become a global problem and are among the top causes of global species threats and extinctions according to conservation experts.The Royal Horticultural Society suggests gardeners destroy knotweed using glyphosate-based weed-killers or by digging out the roots and cutting back regrowth, however it warns that the process can take several seasons. Experts stress that uprooted plants must be destroyed carefully to avoid spreading. "Eradication requires steely determination," says the RHS.Invasive speciesPlantsInsectsPesticidesBiologyJuliette Jowitguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-09 How to avoid your own 'climategate' scandal Leaked emails between climate scientists at the University of East Anglia have caused a furore. Phil Jones on how not to get caught out by freedom of information requestsThe "climategate" scandal involving the University of East Anglia has sent shockwaves through universities, but many academics still do not fully appreciate the full implications of freedom of information legislation.The problems at UEA arose when emails allegedly written by some of the world's leading climate scientists were stolen by hackers and published on websites run by climate change sceptics. The story broke just before the Copenhagen conference on climate change and appeared to call into question the validity of some of the leading scientists' claims.But as well as this, Graham Smith, deputy information commissioner, said the emails between scientists at the UEA's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) revealed that freedom of information (FoI) requests were "not dealt with as they should have been under the legislation".For universities and their staff, the situation at UEA is one that fills them with both relief and dread. Relief that it is not their research; not their university. Dread that it could be them next. The phrase "FoI request" is enough now to strike fear into the heart of many an academic.Where FoI legislation applies – as it generally does in education – it is likely that every piece of correspondence, every email written and every document you have produced could be considered as information that may have to be disclosed in response to an FoI request.Professor Phil Jones, director of the CRU, admitted when he appeared before the House of Commons science and technology committee last week: "I've obviously written some very awful emails," but insists he had never tried to pervert the scientific process.There are real risks for organisations that do not have their "house in order" for FoI purposes. I held a seminar recently on these risks. There was real shock and disbelief about the implications and it was clear that university staff and academics still do not fully appreciate that everything they do or write could be subject to FoI requests.So how do universities and academics ensure that their correspondence does not become the "smoking gun" that turns a simple FoI request into an international scandal?It is not inconceivable that where a university is working on some research that has a commercial sponsor, pressure could be exerted on researchers to reach a certain conclusion, or to portray the results in a way that would be helpful to the sponsor. Where that is the case, do you really want email correspondence going on record about the way in which the results are portrayed? Careful consideration needs to be given to the tone of any email exchange, so the university's position is clear. The best advice is: think twice before you hit the send button.Remember, informal email discussions that you have with a close colleague are no longer private and could be disclosed in the future. Will the possibly uninformed reader who asked for the emails be aware of the context in which they were written? Do you really want people to know the nicknames you have given to some of your collaborators?For sensitive information that you would not want in the public domain, rather than putting it in email or in a document, it may be better to discuss it face-to-face or on the phone.Careful consideration should also be given to how long emails are saved and when they are deleted. In some fields of work, there will be regulatory reasons for keeping emails (clinical work, for example) but do they all need to be retained and archived? A periodic review should be performed to ensure that, wherever possible and lawful, emails that could be that smoking gun are deleted.When making handwritten notes or comments on documents, staff need to be aware that those scribbles could enter the public domain in response to a FoI request. Do you really want someone to see your exclamations of "Idiot!!!" or "Rubbish!!!" on a note? Probably not, so take care – and shred your notes once they have served their useful purpose. Imagine your embarrassment when comments about how doddery your head of department is, or how pompous your vice-chancellor is, or how adorable he or she is, come out in the open.Another thing to consider is the evolution of a document from first draft to final agreed version. No doubt, along the way there will have been discussions that may mean the final version is very different from the first draft. Is it helpful to retain every draft and set of comments? What message do they give to the uninformed reader with a particular agenda?Remember, it is both the individual approach of researchers and the overall approach of the institution that need to be addressed. Jones admitted to the Commons committee that he had not dealt with requests for data "in the right way". His detractors accuse him of a reluctance to reveal his data and research, and both Jones and the UEA of a desire to avoid complying with FoI requests.Jones told the committee: "It was just frustration. I thought the requests were just distractions. It was taking us away from our day jobs … I am obviously going to be much more careful about my emails in future. I will write every email as if it is for publication."This is a sound consideration. "Every email I write," says a lawyer colleague of mine, "I write as though next week I could be reading it in the newspaper."So be careful what you write in email or on paper. And a final note of caution: while it is helpful to amend and delete information periodically, this cannot be done once a related FoI request has been received. Doing so is a criminal offence.• Alan Nelson is a senior associate at law firm Dundas & WilsonHigher educationResearchUniversity of East AngliaFreedom of informationHacked climate science emailsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-09 Digested read: Solar by Ian McEwan Cape, £18.992000 He belonged to that Salman class of short, fat, ugly, clever men who were unaccountably attractive to women. But Michael Beard was anhedonic; his fifth marriage was disintegrating and he should have known how to behave as his philandering had ended the previous four. This time, though, it was his wife, Patrice, who was having an affair with Tarpin, a horny-handed Essex builder who knew nothing about cavity-wall insulation.Beard waited for Aldous to collect him. Gosh, how he hated the polar bear rug in the hall. Still, everyone would soon have one, he supposed, if the polar ice-cap continued to melt. Not that Beard was yet wholly committed to the climate- change agenda, but having won the Nobel prize for his Beard-Einstein Conflation on Photovoltaics, an idea he was very thankful he was never asked to fully explain, he had been happy to head the New Labour Climate Change Laboratory."I'm afraid it's not a Prius," Aldous said. "I'm not surprised, as they were only sold outside Japan in 2001," Beard replied. Aldous was one of his pony-tailed post-docs who was being forced into working on the New Labour cul-de sac of wind turbine energy. Beard nodded off. He was very familiar with the McEwan Conflation of cramming loads of dull facts about climate change into a book and calling it fiction."Tarpin hit me," said Patrice. "He hit me too," Beard replied as he went off to visit an endangered glacier in the Arctic for 30 pages. He returned to find Aldous in his flat. "I admit I'm having an affair with your wife," said Aldous, "but I've worked out that your Conflation can satisfy the world's energy needs." At which, Aldous slipped on the polar bear rug and died, a victim of climate change."I could make it look like Tarpin did it," McEwan thought. He had no real experience of writing comedy and the gags creaked as much as the plot. But it was an improvement on his previous books, so the judge mercifully sent Tarpin to prison.2005 As his plane stacked over New Mexico, Beard passed the time unnecessarily recalling his childhood before patting his gut. He had put on 35lb. He couldn't stop consuming; it was almost as if his size was a metaphor for the world's greed for natural resources. Still, there had been something in Aldous's calculations after all, and he was looking forward to seeing the photovoltaic laboratory the Americans had built for him.Back in England, Beard looked angrily at the man who was helping himself to his crisps and snatched them away. Only later did he realise they were actually the other man's crisps! "That's the oldest comedy plot twist in the repertoire," said Melissa, his new girlfriend. "I know," Beard shrugged, "But Ian thinks that, like climate change, it may be old but it doesn't mean it can't happen." "Really," Melissa yawned.Beard reckoned it was time to move to the safer ground of rehashing large chunks of climate-change data and inventing an unlikely intellectual disagreement. "I don't think the serious climate-change sceptics are fighting over feminism and postmodern relativism," Melissa said. "By the way, I'm pregnant."2009 Beard had put on another 90lb and his belly was as over-extended as the metaphor. Worse still, the plot was falling to pieces. One of his American lovers, Darlene, had rung Melissa to say they were getting married, and Tarpin had been let out of jail."I took the rap for Patrice," Tarpin said. "I know she killed Aldous because he was beating her up." Beard looked quizzically at McEwan. "I'm sorry," Ian said. "I'm OK on the climate-change stuff, but I don't really understand human psychology or comedy. Do you mind if Tarpin smashes up all your solar panels?""We've had enough," said the New Mexicans. "We don't mind you being sued for stealing Aldous's ideas, it's just we think David Lodge does this kind of story so much better.""Oh dear," Beard said. "Maybe I should go back to climate change. Perhaps nuclear power is the answer. Or how about a bit of pathos with my daughter?" "Enough trees have died for this already," Melissa sighed.Digested read, digested: Solar Power: No Thanks.Climate changeIan McEwanJohn Craceguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-09 Huw Irranca-Davies on introducing an insect predator to attack Japanese knotweed Huw Irranca-Davies, wildlife minister, tells Jon Dennis about a plan to introduce an insect predator to attack Japanese knotweedJon Dennis   guardian.co.uk   2010-03-09