The is important to the locals, the villagers, holidaymakers as well as the wildlife coming for the woodlands, the beach and a quiet place to live. Foolowing the letter about speed in last week's Crail Matters, I am giving people another chance to voice their feelings about this matter. In addition, many people have found the manager of the site unnessarily rude and confrontational for no apparent reason Simply go to this website and have your say: https://bit.ly/2PzUvYd If you are not online, give your name and postcode to me [email protected] Tracy Fryer

Humans have already caused irreversible climate change and ecological devastation. The impacts of which are being felt around the world. Global temperatures have already increased by 1.1 degree Celsius from pre-industrial levels. Atmospheric CO2 levels are above 400 parts per million (ppm). This far exceeds the 350ppm deemed to be a safe level for humanity and all the other species that we co-exist with and depend on; In order to reduce the chance of runaway global warming and limit the effects of climate breakdown, and ecocide, it is imperative that we as a species reduce our CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions from their current 6.5 tonnes per person per year to 1 tonne as soon as possible, and live within the resource means of our planet.; Councils around the world are responding by declaring a ‘Climate Emergency’ and committing resources to address this emergency and Orkney is in a unique position to contribute to cutting emissions through its leading role in developing renewable energy. The full text of a motion that we will ask the Council to pass will be published on the Extinction Rebellion Facebook page.

Dr Herds Veterinary Rehabilitation Clinic and Veterinary Accident and Emergency Clinic was a first in Scotland , It was closed due to contamination and burning of controlled waste fire from a contaminating car repair Garage. This could have resulted in the death of Dr Herd, indeed it closed her clinic . Both these Agencies should have acted sooner to protect Lesley and the surrounding environment , Please help me get this national disgrace investigated . These public bodies are using law to protect them from legal action .. It is in the public interest to hold them to account . See more here: https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgow-vet-forced-practice-garage-15264540

Plastic pollution is one of the biggest threats to our planet and wildlife, for years big companies have been criticized for their contributions to waste. Recently Macdonald's introduced paper straws in an effort to reduce their plastic waste, this resulted in a petition to 'bring back plastic straws' which so far has gained nearly 40,000 signatures, if you think this is ridiculous please sign and show your support.

McDonald's sells over 1 Billion happy meals every year around the world. Included in these are hard plastic toys inside plastic packaging, millions going to landfill every year, especially in the western world. We need to educate our children that this fast, throw away attitude is killing the planet. Put pressure on to McDonald's to stop this tradition that has no place in today's world.

Amazon describes itself as the world's largest online retailer, and any small changes it makes could have a substantial impact, for better or worse, on a significant scale. Although Amazon's packaging has long had a tendency to be wasteful, recently matters have become even worse when the company switched from using cardboard sleeves and packets that could be recycled relatively easily to using plastic envelopes and packets that are mostly impossible to recycle. These are harmful to our natural environment in many ways: first, the manufacture of plastic packaging causes toxic micro-plastics to be released into the environment, especially waterways where they can end up poisoning marine life and thus the entire food chain. Next, after use, in the rare cases where the end consumer is able to get the plastic packaging to the appropriate recycling facility, more micro-plastics are released into the environment by the recycling process. Failing that, the packaging ends up in landfill where it will take centuries to break down, or worse still, dumped in developing countries or in the growing toxic monstrosity of plastic choking our oceans. Amazon should listen to the desires of its customers and behave with responsibility towards current and future generations. By choosing packaging without plastic that can be recycled relatively easily, Amazon could make a meaningful difference while setting an excellent example for other online retailers. If Amazon continues to show such disregard for our natural environment, it will continue to do untold harm.

Caged farming on land or water is innately cruel and severely damaging to our environment and the natural habitat of other species. Overcrowding leads to stress, disease and high mortality. Chemicals ineffectively used to treat disease and parasites such as sea lice, (which also transfer to wild fish populations) along with the large amounts of waste material (faeces) pollute the waters, destroy the seabed and biodiversity, wash up along the shore lines and beaches and give rise to health risks to humans and other animals. Dawnfresh Farming Ltd has announced £16 million plans to double their Scottish Trout production, but Rainbow Trout are not native to Scotland (they are larger than our native fish and when they escape their cages predate on the smaller fish). This proposed expansion at Ardentinny and into the Firth of Clyde would be at huge cost to the environment, the existing marine mammal population and human wellbeing and enjoyment of the beautiful coast lines of the West Coast of Scotland adversely affecting Tourism. The intensely populated cages would attract interest from predators such as seals and birds who can became entangled and die in nets and if deemed to be a persistent threat they are shot. An existing seal colony, established over many years and thriving at the proposed site at Ardentinny, Loch Long, would be at significant risk. Loch Long and the Firth of Clyde is one of the last thriving ecosystems for migratory salmonids in the west of Scotland, however Sir David Attenborough has recently accused fish farms of 'threatening the very survival' of wild salmon which is already in decline like everywhere else. The three proposed Firth of Clyde sites (Isle of Bute, Great and Little Cumbrae) at such a narrow point of the Firth means all fish coming from the Atlantic on their way to the river Leven and Loch Lomond are going to pick up sea lice. Loch Long and the Firth of Clyde has seen an increase in populations of porpoises, seals and even pods of dolphins and orcas at times seen far up into the Firth this would be thwarted by use of sonic deterrents at the above proposed sites to protect their stock. Please sign this petition and support me and other concerned parties in protecting our environment for future generations both human and non-human to enjoy safely.

Extinction Rebellion have shown how Waterloo Bridge could function as the people's Garden Bridge. Without traffic the bridge turned into a venue for cycling, walking, gathering, talking, singing and eating. Let's make it permanent.

Southampton airport wants to fell and reduce the height of trees at Marlhill Copse in order to allow shallower take off to the south. This will cause increased noise and nuisance to the whole of Southampton. In 2019 there was a High Court injunction protecting Marlhill Copse from any tree-works, but solicitors from both the airport and city council managed to overturn this on 2 July. The airport were due to submit a planning application to demolish around 20 large pines and hope it could be approved by a single Council officer with the minimum of formal public consultation. The planning panel has effectively agreed to a total of 219 trees having their height reduced - 93 trees by more than 10 metres. Marlhill Copse is a conservation area with Tree Preservation Orders. It is vital that any request for felling or crown-reduction is subject to the utmost scrutiny and that decision-making is absolutely transparent. There should be the fullest public consultation as it would be absurd to demolish the very carbon-capturing organisms that a Green City should be cherishing . The fate of Marlhill Copse is too important to be delegated to an officer or the planning panel. Marlhill Copse is a whole-city issue. It needs a whole-city response. If you can pledge to a fighting fund please email: [email protected] For updates please visit: https://sites.google.com/view/protect-marlhill-copse/home

Insect numbers have plummeted by 60% in the last 40 years. Biodiversity has reduced through poisoning with pesticides and the over-management of grassland areas. Kirklees owned land could become a haven for insects and other wildlife. Citizens could be made aware of the positive approach to biodiversity that has been adopted by the council and, as a bonus, it would save money by reducing the amount of times areas are mowed and ceasing the purchase of pesticides. There are other methods to control weeds where this is absolutely necessary, such as hot foam application and manual cutting. Hundreds of councils are already pesticide free, including Wadebridge, Lewes and Hammersmith so there is a precedent.

Glyphosate-based herbicides such as Round Up and Touch down pose a real risk to the public, our environment and horticultural workers. Calderdale’s Wildflower areas have all been treated with glyphosate to prepare for new seeds. This is irresponsible towards our people and insects. Roundup kills beneficial insects, it has been proven to cause mortality of live beneficial species including bees, thrichgramma, predatory mites, lacewings, ladybugs, and predatory beetles. Glyphosate in soil takes 140 days to break down to half its toxicity and will continue to be taken up by plants from the soil for 2 years and longer. It’s toxic to earthworms and inhibits mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhizal fungi are essential for tree health, collecting nutrients and water to feed their host plant and protecting tree roots from harmful fungi and root rot diseases. Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that it was “probably carcinogenic”. Recently a break through court case against Monsanto was won by a man who developed cancer after using Roundup. He was awarded $289 million in damages. We know that in Hebden Bridge, Calderdale Council have sprayed Glyphosate each year on the following sites: Calder Holmes Park - wildflowers lawn Stubbings wharf – Heptonstall Turning circle wildflowers microsite Oldgate – wildflowers lawns In 2016 Calderdale Council announced a plan to reduce the use of glyphosate by 15% year, however figures show that in 2017 the amount used increased. Other councils now use the eco-friendly alternatives such as non-toxic Foamstream.

We want to safeguard our public spaces and local wildlife for all generations and encourage biodiversity in our environment by eliminating the use of pesticides in the Wychavon District. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that over 350,000 people die every year from acute pesticide poisoning. Moreover, this figure does not include deaths from cancer or other chronic diseases caused by pesticide exposure. Glyphosphate has been identified and declared by the WHO to 'probably' cause cancer, but it has also been linked to infertility problems, respiratory issues and birth defects. Whilst Glyphosphate has more publicly been subject to scrutiny, in the most recent UK-wide survey, there were a reported 38 different types of pesticide used in the towns and cities of the UK. Pesticides can also easily contaminate the air, ground and water having a devastating effect on our local wildlife (insects, birds, animals and aquatic life) and the environment. Pollinators such as bees and butterflies are also suffering severe population losses too. There is a wealth of information and research available from other controlled studies to show that it is possible to control unwanted weeds and pests with pesticide-free methods. One of these adopted by other UK councils is the use of Hot Foam. This has been put into place by Lewes District Council, Wadebridge town, Glastonbury council and Hammersmith and Fulham. So, why not Wychavon, too? We want our children, families, pets and visitors to our local parks and public places to be able to live, work and play in these areas safely without the risk of exposure to potentially harmful chemicals. More information can be found on the Pesticide Actions Network UK website: http://www.pan-uk.org