The RSPB have asked the question, "when was the last time you saw a lapwing tumbling through the sky or a heard of turtle doves gently purring as you walked through fields" The loss of 44 Million Nesting Birds is hard to comprehend and is a direct result on the irresponsible actions of Human Beings! We must act now and care for these beautiful creatures in every way we can!

Those who cannot afford £75,000 can defer payment until after their death, and nobody would be forced to sell their home in their lifetime. But once the bill is settled by disposal of the property, many ordinary families will be left with little to show for what their relative has worked for all their life. In Liverpool, where the average home is worth around £132,000, there would be just £57,000 left over after settling the contribution to care costs. Stephen Burke, head of charity United for All Ages, called it “the dampest of damp squibs”. He added: “It is a con of the worst sort. There are fairer and better alternatives. The Government could have raised the capital threshold of paying for care to £200,000.” Labour peer Lord Warner, who sat on the Dilnot Commission, said members thought the cost cap should have been £50,000 at most. He added: “At that level, it would mean on average no-one would have to dispose of more than about a third of the value of their housing assets.” Shadow Care Minister Liz Kendall said the package was a “small step forward” as the assets people could own and still qualify for help had increased five-fold from just £23,250. But she added: “It won’t be fair for people with modest homes.”

Over one and a half million hydrogen powered vehicles could be on UK roads by 2030 according to a joint Government-industry study published today. The forecast is made in an interim report commissioned to evaluate the benefits of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) and ensure the UK is well positioned for their commercial roll-out. For more see: http://news.bis.gov.uk/content/detail.aspx?NewsAreaId=2&ReleaseID=422877&SubjectId=2

Over 30 000 pupils have taken part in their "Trading Challenge Workshop" in which students are split into teams of four and "introduced to the challenge of buying and selling oil on the 'International Markets'". This is full of blatant BP propaganda, misinformation and the obscuring of the full picture, as is obvious from the promotional video: http://www.netroadshow.com/custom/bp/bpflv3.asp?cf=090409b One pupil reported being removed from their scheduled GCSE lessons for two hours and threatened with being punished for truancy if they refused to participate in this workshop. In causing climate change, BP threatens the wellbeing and livelihoods of generations present and future. They threaten the survival of entire nations and peoples. That BP seeks to subject young people that are faced with the threat of the full effects of climate change to its propaganda is repulsive and morally repugnant. BP, or any other fossil fuel companies, should not be allowed to enter schools. We invite students, teachers, parents, governors, entire schools, Local Education Authorities, the Department for Education and others to stand up in opposition to this dangerous propaganda and ensure that oil companies are not allowed in classrooms over which you have control.

The wrongful arrest and detention of Palestinian children has a long history and is contrary to UN, EU and UK law The International Declaration of Human Rights protects and enshrines the rights of childre as does the UN constitution The treatment of Palestinian children in detention is in breach of both of these for further info please go to: www.palestinecampaign.org

There are alternative ways of dealing with our waste apart from land-fill. Incineration is an out of date method - an Aerobic digestor or composting would deal with food waste which forms a high percentage of household waste. . Cornwall Council are not trying to encourage separating easily biodegradable waste and have ignored a commissioned report by Eunomia Waste Experts, SITA is the waste giant Contractor who will make millions of pounds (rate payers money) over the next 30 years once they have erected their Incinerator. For more detail please Google St. Dennis Anti Incinerator Group.

Many agricultural chemicals are harmful to insect pollinators and other wildlife, but people typically think those intended for use in the garden are safe. However, many of these products contain ingredients that are known to be toxic to bees and other beneficial insects, as well as important soil bacteria. Safe alternatives are available and there is no need to use poisons in your garden. We encourage you to create a 'Bee-Friendly Zone' in your garden, where pollinators can safely live and forage. See www.beefriendlyzone.org for more.

Under government changes to the NHS, local Councils have become responsible for certain health services, and for overall scrutiny of others. We people of Southampton are therefore calling on Southampton City Council to defend our public NHS from the invasion of private services. Please note that for the Southampton City Council to view a signature as valid, the signer should either live, study or work in the area of Southampton City Council. For most of our lifetimes, the NHS has been a public service giving free healthcare whenever we needed it. Now it is being broken up and privatised piecemeal under government reforms. Already in Southampton over a dozen private companies are competing for contracts to provide health services. This will fragment the NHS and make it more difficult to provide joined-up treatment for patients. Private providers have shareholders to please so they will tend to think about putting profits before patient care. Their contracts are not made public because of commercial confidentiality. All providers, even those who already work with the NHS, now have to tender competitively for contracts. Not only is this an expensive process which will be easier for large companies with big budgets, but also it will waste money that could have gone on patient care.

The gradual withdrawal of services will eventually mean the end of local democracy as the council becomes ever more pointless and powerless. For example as part of its budget proposals Gateshead City Council is proposing reduction of branch libraries to 12 and the withdrawal of professional support for 5 libraries which may or may not continue being run by volunteers. This comes on top of massive staff cuts last year and more proposed in the future. Local government may not be perfect but it's better than a mish mash of services provided by charity or multinational companies like G4s or SERCO.

The shale gas is fossil fuel and is not long term solution. The method of fracking is highly controversial and it turns green fields into industrial sites. The cocktail of chemicals used in the process is highly toxic and if leaked is impossible to clean up ever. In many European countries such as France, Germany, Ireland, Bulgaria, also states from USA, including New York, the method has been banned or is under a moratorium until further studies on environmental impact are finalized. Scotland announced a moratorium on fracking as well. There have been numerous leaks in USA when using the method of fracking, which have caused pollution of water supplies and entire ecosystems.

On 30 January 2013 the executives of Cumbria, Allerdale and Copeland County Councils will vote on whether to continue with Government plans to build an underground nuclear dump in the Lake District of up to 25km square. Scientists from the Government’s Nirex investigation in the 1990s onwards have made it categorically clear that an underground nuclear depository is not safe in mountainous areas of high waterfall where radioactive waste is likely to leak into the water table, where the geology is unstable as in the whole of the Lake District region, with multiple cracks through which radioactive material could escape. There is no scientific evidence that an underground nuclear repository would be safe anywhere, and yet the Government is determined to continue with its plans to bury waste anywhere people can be persuaded to take it. Voting No would force the Government to take a more responsible attitude in its plans for nuclear expansion – burying the waste out of sight is not the safe answer to this dilemma. http://mariannewildart.wordpress.com/2012/10/12/truth-to-power-no-nuke-dump/ http://www.davidsmythe.org/nuclear/documents.htm http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/en/Publications/2010/rock-solid-a-scientific-review/ Please also sign the petition to the leader of Copeland County Council on 38 Degrees 'No Nuclear Dump in the Lake District' http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/no-nuclear-dump-in-the-lake-district We need to put pressure on all the Councillors who will be deciding on this issue.

We work at Animal Lifeline – a registered charity based in Stoke-on-Trent. In the thirty years it has been running, the situation with unwanted or abandoned dogs is the worst we’ve ever seen it. The problem is most critical with Staffordshire Bull Terriers and breeds associated with a macho image. Such dogs are often bred for fighting, and charities like ours are bursting at the seams with animals that have become too much of a handful for people to look after. We want to see a law enforced saying that no one can breed pedigree dogs without a license. The stipulations of that license need careful consideration but we’d recommend that: Any individual granted a license must follow a ‘Responsible Breeder’s Code of Practice’, All recipients must be properly home-checked, Spot checks are carried out on breeders by authorised authorities to ensure they adhere to animal welfare laws and the Code of Practice, A log book similar to the log book of a motor vehicle , to be passed on if the dog is transferred to new owners Please sign and share the petition. This trend of the overbreeding of 'macho-image ' dogs must be addressed.