Farmers are throwing away tonnes of fresh food because supermarkets only accept “perfect” fruit and vegetables of an exact shape and size. The supermarkets are worried misshapen potatoes put customers off. But we are their customers - so let’s tell them we’ll buy fruit and veg that looks the way mother nature intended it. A huge petition, powered by shoppers, could convince supermarket bosses to stop rejecting perfectly good food.

Air pollution from road traffic causes tens of thousands of people every year in the UK to die prematurely. Children's health is suffering too. Norwich has several air pollution hotspots. These include Castle Meadow, where diesel buses contribute to unsafe air quality. Signing the petition below would put pressure on Norfolk County Council to promote clean green buses. 5,000 signatures are needed to trigger a debate by a Full Norfolk County Council meeting. As the local transport authority, Norfolk County Council can influence the emissions standard of bus vehicles run by private bus companies; for example it can specify bus vehicle standards: - when letting Park and Ride contracts - in providing bus priority measures - by creating low emissions zones. Thank you for your support.

Andrew and Claire Stoddart have been farming in East Lothian for 22 years. During this time they have invested heavily in infrastructure and buildings on their farm at Colstoun Mains, creating a profitable and well-managed business. The Stoddart family are an integral part of the community. Andrew and Claire are well liked, and their 3 children go to the local school, as do the 4 children of their employees. The Stoddarts have been asked to leave the farm by the end of November. Once evicted, the Stoddart family will be forced to move from the local area, laying off their two employees, and taking their children away from school and friends. They are to be given very little recompense for the investments they have made over their lifetime, leaving them both homeless and unable to buy a farm elsewhere. I urge you all to show your support by signing this petition to ask the Scottish Government to intervene and stop the forced eviction of the Stoddart family. I address this petition to Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland, and Iain Gray, MSP for East Lothian. Some of the issues around this eviction are highlighted in the channel 4 news item below. You can see what Andrew Stoddart has to say at 6:33 minutes. https://youtu.be/E-6DzKzmFtA Thank you for your support.

As can be seen in this new report by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, The amount of fresh vegetables wasted because they do not meet the cosmetic standards of these supermarkets is monumental. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34647454?SThisFB Other reports show that conditions such as scurvy, malnutrition and rickets are on the increase. To dispose of food produce that is perfectly edible but is deemed not saleable simply because they do not conform to the right size and dimensions while people go hungry through not being able to afford or access such produce is criminal. I have previously petitioned you to stop disposing of foodstuffs that are still edible but out of date and some responded stating they had a policy to send food to charities that asked for it. I am now asking you to create a policy that provides an avenue for these fruit and vegetables to be made accessible. I am not asking you to give them away. Wastage of this produce is causing financial harm to the farmers that grow it. I find such an attitude that creates this waste abhorrent when so many are going hungry.

We are a group of Hackney residents and parents of children at Colvestone Primary School. Without consulting the Education Department, and in the face of 70 objections from local people, Hackney Council’s Planning Committee has approved a development proposal that will significantly overshadow the nursery school next door. More than 30 children every year, and for generations to come, will be robbed of sunlight in the outdoor space of the nursery so that a developer can build “light-filled” private studio flats above the proposed ground floor and basement café. We are outraged by this decision. We expect the Mayor to put the education, health and well-being of the children first. • We have an independent expert review of the proposal which concludes that the building would cause “an increase of three to four times the existing levels of overshadowing” • A local resident, Judith Watt, has launched a legal challenge to the Council’s planning decision • We are urging the Council to act now to enforce historic property covenants that protect sunlight to the school's land. Please, Mayor, do the right thing.

After reading Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's article (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34647454) about the rejection of perfectly edible vegetables I knew that something really needs to be done. On average 30% of edible food is wasted in the UK. This is due to many factors such as passing the 'best before end' date and cooking too much. However a huge proportion of food is wasted even before it reaches the supermarket's shelves. According to the British Retail Consortium, 3 million tonnes of food is wasted before it leaves the farm. For example parsnips not having a perfectly straight shape are thrown away. 4 million portions of parsnips are wasted every year from a Norfolk farm because the Supermarket Client isn't happy enough with the shape. It is very frustrating for so much to be wasted when it could for the very least be donated to food banks. Strict standards apply for 10 of the most popular types of fruit and vegetables, including tomatoes and strawberries. Please sing this petition to show that you don't mind buying misshapen produce and feel that it is wrong to waste so much. Many families are struggling to provide food every day when thousands of tonnes are being thrown away.

RWE Innogy have submitted a planning application to dam the river Conwy and build a hydro electric power plant. The Afon Conwy is a unique & nationally important river designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a famous salmon & sea trout fishery and classic white water kayaking and canoeing resource. The section of the river that will be affected by the dam includes the famous Conwy Falls waterfall a significant visitor attraction and the iconic Fairy Glen. Photo ©Andy Teasdale

THE FACTS At the beginning of November DMBC are planning to fell the 64 lime trees on Bawtry Road in Tickhill and replace them with 80 oak saplings. The rationale for felling the trees is based on an inaccurate and out of date report that suggests that the trees are slowly dying and that, as a consequence, they pose a health and safety risk. However, recent independent reports confirm that these trees are actually healthy and do not pose any threat to health and safety. Nevertheless, Doncaster Council firmly believes that Tickhill residents support the decision to fell the trees - so, if you don’t support this decision then your voice needs to be heard! OUR CONCERNS 1.VISUAL IMPACT – There will be a huge visual impact on the approach to Tickhill as the new oak saplings with take decades to mature 2.ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND ANIMAL WELL BEING - The acorns from the new trees are poisonous to horses and will impact equine businesses in the local area. Furthermore, bats and their roosts are legally protected and the tree felling could potentially have a detrimental impact on these 3.COMMERCIAL IMPACT - Loss of the trees may also enable a larger warehousing facility to be built in the vicinity, which will increase goods vehicles on the road and through the village The trees were planted more than 100 years ago to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria so that generations gone by and generations to follow for the next 100 years can enjoy their beauty and remember their historical significance.  It would be a travesty to remove them, especially if it was completely unnecessary.

The 3 mile limit was done away with by Margaret Thatcher. since then this indiscriminate fishing has decimated undersized stocks, wrecked the sea bed and coral reefs, and ruined the vital breeding grounds for many marine creatures. Fishing using pots and creels could continue as these cause little damage and undersized catch are returned.

I, and my children, are rather averse to choking on the effluent of 'big business': there will be NO big business if we all choke or end up massacred in 'emissions' trade wars!

To help prevent the incidence of cancers, altzheimers disease, and other "epidemics" of disease that have appeared recently, which may have a connection to the cocktail of pesticides/herbicides and pesticide/herbicide residues which everyone consumes on a daily basis.

This is important because people should not have to inhale the smoke or vapour from these as they still contain nicotine and sometimes horrible smells, (alternative tobacco products, such as e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and waterpipes may cause serious potential health problems, including cancer, because of the chemicals and toxins they contain, ( info from www.cancer.net)) As public spaces increasingly become smokefree, anecdotal reports show some people are using e-cigarettes indoors and in smokefree public spaces, including bars, restaurants and on public transportation. While e-cigarettes do not produce smoke, they do expose others to secondhand emissions. Little is known about these emissions or the potential harm they may cause. Two initial studies have found formaldehyde, benzene and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (all carcinogens) coming from those secondhand emissions. Other studies have shown that chemicals exhaled by users also contain formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and other potential toxins. There is no evidence that shows e-cigarettes emissions (secondhand aerosol) are safe for non-users to inhale, and now there might be some containing cannibis which everyone in the place where they are smoked will be subject to it no matter how little it contains. They are already being banned in Wales and in some USA States, and other places. I have already had cancer and do not want myself or others who have suffered this horrible disease to have to endure the stress these can cause when they are having a meal out in a restaurant, as has happened to me each week, or in the cinema, theatres, etc, also they could make young teens and children become addicted to them as I do not think there is an age limit on them.