Round-up of some of the weekend's news

A few more stories that came to light on Friday, firstly...
More reports of ill or dead fish in Britain's rivers spark a request on the part of the Environment Agency (see links) for anglers to report any unusual observations in the West Midlands. This is believed to be due to the hot weather reducing Oxygen levels in the water.

Here's the latest on the Stone Henge story and whether or not it will be possible to maintain the Unesco site whilst also providing adequate transport links.

More reports on the whale trade in St. Vincent in the Caribbean. Fisherman are hunting both pilot whales and dolphins, and it would appear that the International Whaling Commission has no power to make any changes, despite believing that they are at risk and in serious decline. This BBC report also discusses ecotourism on the island as well as the links with Japan, who are heavily investing in such hunting and making it increasingly finaically viable for the islanders.

On a related note, the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting is underway in St. Kitts. Although pro-whaling Japan lost two important votes, it seems the vote could still go either way, so there's a lot of work ahead for the environmentalists. Japan has also threatened to leave the IWC altogether, unless there is a move back towards commercial whaling. Japan's fading results surprised many, as several key representatives, expected to vote pro failed to arrive and others changed their vote. The rest of the week will see several more key votes, however... It remains to be seen how far the pro-conservation movement will have spread among the smaller, developing nations. Talks will finish on Tuesday.

The Guardian, covering the same story, focused on Japan's methods for coercing pro-whaling votes (even from land-locked nations!) and its reasons for the extreme pro-whaling stance. The UN Environment Programme (see links) also warns of the gravity of the overfishing situation. Here's Conservation International's take on the current overfishing problems.

Anglers have once again been called upon to help study the state of fish stocks. The Environment Agency (see links) is producing logbooks for fishermen in the Northeast to record their catches. This is aimed at identifying necessary conservation projects. Though I'm not pro-fishing as a harmless passtime, it's good that we are making efforts to be responsible about it, so here's the link.

One final fishing story (I promise) is about South Cumbria and the Environment Agency's ten-year plan for local fisheries. They aim to consider issues for aquatic ecosystems and shows priorities for future development.

This article rounds up the basic information on the current situation with hosepipe bans in the UK, especially in the South. It lists the current problems and attempted solutions, discussing who's most affected.


This story reports BP's plans to begin investigating biofuels and their potential. It is welcomed by many, however, Greeenpeace (see links) remain cautious. Whilst biofuel seems to present environmental solutions to our carbon crisis, there are concerns that the landspace they require will lead to inevitable deforestation and competition with biomass spaces. Here's BP's press release on the matter and the Research newspaper's report on it.