Hot, Hot and Green

There are loads of interesting stories I've read over the last week that I've been wanting to write up, but I really haven't had time, so here's another small installment and I'll try and get the rest on here soon, if they're still relevant. For now, though...

I've seen this several places now, and have found a decent copy I can use without stealing bandwidth, so here it is. Silly, but fun.

Here, briefly (and in French, I'm afraid), is a report about protests that have been taking place in France. It appeared in French newspaper Libération and discusses the issues activists have been raising with Formula1 racing. They have been protesting for five years now to try to abolish Le Grand Prix de France and this year met at the Eiffel Tower last weekend. They have organised marches and lobbied parlimentarians as well as writing to the president. They are particualrly keen to quote former French Prime Minister, Pierre Messmer who asserted that car fuel should be well managed and used economically. He suggested that drivers' speeds be reduced and said 'Naturellement, cette limitateion de vitesse a comme conséquence que les courses automobiles et les rallyes seront, jusqu'à nouvel order, suspendus' (summary: a consequence thereof will be that motor racing and rallies should also be suspended).

Temperatures remain really high across Britain this week and there have been warnings of record temperatures, which some are attributing to climate change. This does seem reasonable to me, however, I think we should sensibly remain cautious and avoid jumping to conclusions on that score. I don't honestly doubt that it is in part due to global warming, but we should remember that one of the records that may be beaten was set in 1911, when our ozone layer and ice caps were in very different states. This is the BBC's coverage. This report offers ways of keeping cool in the rising heat that won't impact further on climate change, thus precipitating the very problem. Here's the Met Office's site and here's the Department of Health's advice on dealing with the heat waves.

I personally am really enjoying the heat, but it is worth noting that it is not only humans who are struggling with it. The RSPCA and other animal welfare organisations have been publicly campaiging to ensure owners take suitable precautions for their pets in the hot weather and have been receiving a large volume of call-outs from concerned members of the public. Here's their advice pages on the matter. Also, the Times printed this report on the problems faced by the fish in our waterways due to the heat. Thousands have already been killed and thousands more are expected to die. They are being suffocated by the explosion of algae in the water, caused by increased sun. Conservationists have been doing what little they can to help by pumping air into the water. The Environment Agency have suggested that this deoxygenation will become more widespread over the rest of the summer and has asked the public to notify them of sightings of distressed fish so that they might be able to aerate local water.

Many believe that the Green Party in France is set to announce its new candidate who will stand for the presidential elections in 2007. He or she will clearly not be expected to win, but it wil be interesting to see who it is and what campaigns will be unveiled. For those who might not know, the elections in France are run in two rounds, about six weeks apart from one another. It is highly unlikely that the green representative will graduate to the second round of voting, but we'll see... Here's a site giving a summary of them (in French, alas) and here's the report I read suggesting this.