National Campaigner of the Year: Joanna Lumley (for The Gurkha Justice campaign, and climate change campaigns)

Unsung local hero: Francis McCrikard (Myddleton Grange meadows and woodlands)

International Campaigner of the Year: Malala Yousafzai (education for women)

Travel Award: Unseen Tours

Lifetime Achievement Award: Lenny Henry (for Comic Relief)

Ecover Young Green Champions: Queen Elizabeth II High School, Isle of Man (Grow Your Own Clothes)

Well Dressed Award: Rosalind Jana

Arts & Culture Award:  Beasts of the Southern Wild

Business Initiative Award: Virgin Atlantic with Lanzatech (alternative sustainable aviation fuels)

Products and services Award: Colalife

Retailer Award: Riverford

Big Idea Award: Loowatt (real energy from waste – toilet waste!)

The Judges Panel included James Wong (botanist and BBC Science presenter), Lily Cole (model and campaigner), Alice Wilby (stylist and editor of Eco Age), Lucy Siegle (Observer columnist), TV presenter Ben Fogle, Julie’s Bicycle CEO Alison Tickell, musician and campaigner Tim Burgess and poet and novelist Ben Okri.

I

Greener, smarter, more sustainable – the GO Group credo is becoming more and more important to the European events industry. Festivals from all over the continent take part in the process and we really want to see all the others follow. EXIT Festival and GO Group are proud to announce the first „GO Group Workshop for eastern European Festivals“ taking place during this year’s EXIT Festival. We offer this interactive, open and communicative workshop format to stimulate exchange, cooperation and inspiration – between event organizers, suppliers and all other parties involved in an event’s organisation.

The 2-day workshop at the Town Hall of Novi Sad on July 11 and 12 2013 is for free to eastern European events invited personally by EXIT Festival or GO Group – binding registration by mail required. The GO Group Workshop for eastern European festivals will provide a wider view on sustainable event management, case studies from major European festivals (Exit, Glastonbury, Sziget and Rock For People) and initiatives (such as A Greener Festival, Green Music Initiative and GreenEvents Europe), best practice examples and more.

Please register here for your participation or register automatically by booking one of the accommodation packages below.

This is interesting for festival managers and people working in production as well. We are trying to show an overall approach for those not yet deep in the topic, presenting reasons, solutions and fields of action as well as festival case studies from events you probably all know!

Program: (subject to change)                The workshop language will be English.

Day 1
Thu 11 July 2013
14.00 – 14:30 Opening & first round-up (30)
14:30 – 15:15 „Groove To Save The World“ Jacob Bilabel (45)
15:15 – 16:00 „A Greener Festival“ Claire O’Neill (45)
16:00 – 16:15 coffee break (15)
16:15 – 16:45 „Sziget“ case study Fruzsina Szep (30)
16:45 – 17:45 Group sessions (60)
17:45 – end Results & Q/A

Day 2
Fri 12 July 2013
14.00 – 14:30 „Exit Festival“ case study Vladimir Vodalov (30)
14:30 – 15:15 „Good Practise & Great Examples“ Holger Jan Schmidt (45)
15:15 – 16:00 „Glastonbury Festival“ case study Ben Challis (45)
16:00 – 16:15 coffee break (15)
16:15 – 16:45 „Rock For People“ case study Stepan Suchochleb (30)
16:45 – 17:45 Group sessions (60)
17:45 – end Results & Q/A

speakers

Jacob Bilabel, Green Music Initiative, DE
Prof. Ben Challis, Glastonbury Festival / A Greener Festival, UK
Claire O’Neill, A Greener Festival / Association of Independent Festival, UK
Holger Jan Schmidt, GreenEvents Europe Conference, DE / Yourope
Stepan Suchochleb, Rock For People Festival, CZ
Fruzsina Szep, Sziget Festival, HUN
Vladimir Vodalov, Exit Festival, SER

Travel and accommodation: We can offer you two packages incl. arrangements for accommodation and travel together with the workshop and the festival itself:

193 € (Yourope members discount price 153 €) travel from Belgrade airport. The package is incl.:

• 2 nights at the Hostel Residence Hall,
• transport from/to airport
• Go Group workshop (automatic registration by booking this package)
• 2dinners with all GO Group attendees
• Festival VIP-pass

223 € (Yourope members discount price 183 €) travel from Budapest airport. The package is incl.:

• 2 nights at the Hostel Residence Hall,
• transport from/to airport
• Go Group workshop (automatic registration by booking this package)
• 2dinners with all GO Group attendees
• Festival VIP-pass

AND DON’T FORGET GO GROUP’S TRIP TO THE OYA FESTIVAL ON THE 8TH AND 9TH AUGUST – MORE HERE http://www.agreenerfestival.com/2013/05/go-group-a-field-trip-to-oya/ - looking at best practice at live events – and communications and behavioural change.

But more on the Committee: Tim Yeo, Conservative MP and chair of the Energy and Climate Change Select Committee, has stepped aside after undercover reporters alleged he had admitted to coaching a CEO who had appeared in frOnt of the Committee. Yeo has referred himself to the parliamentary standards watchdog. And in the wake of the this, it seems a number of other MPs on the Commitee have links to energy companies: Peter Lilley (Conservative) has received £23,500 from Tethys since last November according to the Times; Dan Byles (Conservative) received £1,600 from Primer Group, a liquid fuel storage company; Sir Robert Smith (Lib Dem) has declared shareholdings in Rio Tinto, the mining group, and Shell and was a guest of BP’s at the 2012 Olympics and the Royal Opera House; Christopher Pincher (Conservative) is a consultant for  a vehicle and equipment disposal company; Dr Phillip Lee (Conservative) has declared donations totalling £10,000 from the owner of two local petrol stations; Yeo himself has received more than £235,000 over the last three years from two companies that develop biofuels and other alternative energies and has shares worth £583,000 in low carbon companies.  Sir Robert Smith will replace  Tim Yeo as chairman.

One of Britain’s biggest power providers, SSE, has said that Government should tear up its Energy Bill and simplify subsidies for green energy projects saying that they are concerned with the complexity of a market based approach. Current plans would provide subsidies to offshore wind farms and new nuclear power stations – funded by a levy on consumer energy bills.

Jupiter’s Green Gauge bulletin points out that whilst the  investment industry is increasingly short-termist, environmental investing remains a ‘long game’ but green business are making significant inroads into the mainstream economy as they become more economically viable choices for both businesses and consumers. The Report also says that demands of a rising population will remain a key driver for growth in environmental investing – the World’s population has risen from 5.1 billion in 1987 ti 6.5 billion in 2005 to an estimated 7.1 billion in 2013 – with the cost of staples such as wheat and oil rising from $3 a bushel and $18 a barrel to $6.87 a bushel and $ 97 a barrel in the same period. Princes for corn and soya have also increased and extreme weather is expected to play a significant part in future economic trends  - as will pollution, land degradation and water scarcity one fo the reason China has accelerated environmental investment and has become a World leader in environmental technology.

The Renewable Energy Association has published the results of a survey which shows that 68% of the British public support wind farms: All well and good but a number of commentators have questioned whether or not those surveyed were ‘well informed’ about the intermittent nature of energy generation from wind – and the fact that in the UK 90% of the population is urban and hardly in a position to question the day to day effects of wind farms. Noise, sleepless nights and environmental blight are all issues – both on rural communities themselves – and on our treasured landscapes.

More on wind power: The UK has a “once-in-a-generation” chance to attract major companies to build factories that will supply the fast-growing offshore wind energy sector, according to a report published today. However, the study, published by the wind power association RenewableUK and The Crown Estate, also warns that unless the UK seizes this unprecedented opportunity, the manufacturing advantage will be lost to its European competitors.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has urged governments to adopt four policies that it claims will stop growth in energy-related emissions by 2020 at no net economic cost.  A new IEA report, Redrawing the Energy-Climate Map, presents the results of a ’4-for-2°C scenario’, in which four energy policies that are capable of driving emissions reductions by 2020 and rely only on existing technologies. The policies have also been adopted successfully in several countries, says the IEA.

Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) will be one of the European Commission’s top priorities in its effort to reduce resource consumption and the EU’s environmental impact, says the European Commissioner for Environment. Talking to edie.net at Green Week in Brussels, Janez Potocnik said that it was essential to focus much of the European Commission’s attention on SMEs because “they are the drivers of our development”.  http://www.edie.net/news/6/EXCLUSIVE-EU-Commission-to-focus-environmental-efforts-on-SMEs-says-Potocnik/

Minister for School Education, Early Childhood & Youth and much-loved Australian rock legend Peter Garrett will give the keynote address at the inaugural event for TILT (Tomorrow’s Ideas Leading Today), an initiative of The Australian Institute of Music bringing together some of Australia’s brightest minds in entertainment to discuss the future of the industry in the face of rapidly changing technology. The event takes place on Friday July 5th at the Australian Institute of Music (AIM) in Surry Hills. http://www.aim.edu.au/

The UK Government has announced that it will put up £5m of funding for towns and cities in England to help reduce pollution from local buses. Local authorities will be given the chance to bid for grants of up to £1m from the Department for Transport’s Clean Bus Technology Fund. This will then be used to upgrade local buses with pollution-reducing technologies such as cleaner engines or exhaust after-treatment equipment.

UK MPs narrowly voted not to include an amendment in the third reading of the Energy Bill that will commit the UK to a near- carbon free power sector by 2030.  However, as the voting margin was so slim, many believe the amendment will be scrutinised rigorously at the House of Lords, as the energy bill moves to its next stage.

New dialogues need to be brokered between designers, suppliers and waste management companies to facilitate the level of collaboration required to transform thinking around end-of-life materials. This was one of the key messages to come out of a report released this week by the RSA and Technology Strategy Board that investigates the role of design within the emerging circular economy.  The document summarises the learning of the first phase of the Great Recovery project – an initiative which is bringing key stakeholder groups together to deepen understanding around eco-design and material use.  http://www.edie.net/news/5/RSA–Radical-action-waste-design-brief-circular-economy/

Local authority collected food waste was singled out as the most important feedstock to help accelerate biomethane production for the transport sector. Speaking at the UK’s first biomethane and gas vehicle conference, ADBA’s chief executive Charlotte Morton said that 60% of the potential feedstock in the future could come from food waste and 26% from crops.

The future of nappy waste recycling in the UK appears uncertain despite plans for a new treatment facility to come on-stream later in the year. Last month the UK’s only existing plant for nappy recycling, operated by Knowaste (Midlands) in West Bromwich, suddenly closed.  The Canadian-owned company claimed the closure of its 36,000-tonne facility was necessary to ensure it could meet capacity going forward, and said it was looking to set up a larger infrastructure network elsewhere.

Recent floods in central Europe are likely to increase for several reasons including climate change, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). In addition, the EEA says that floods, storms and other hydro-meteorological events account for around two thirds of the damage costs of natural disasters, and these costs have increased since 1980.  Recent assessments carried out by the organisation reveal that extreme weather events are mainly due to land use change, increases in population, economic wealth and human activities in hazard-prone areas and to better reporting.  However, the EEA says that in order to confirm the exact role played by climate change in flooding trends in past decades, it would be necessary to have more reliable, long-time series data for rivers with a natural flow regime.

PRS for Music

The round table is moderated by Sophie Heawood, VICE columnist and writer for The Times, Guardian, Independent and NME. The other names confirmed are:

• Gemma Cairney (presenter, BBC Radio 1)
• Mira Calix (composer, Warp Records)
• Deborah Coughlin (composer and director, Gaggle Choir)
• Elizabeth Sankey (singer/songwriter Summer Camp)
• Kate Hutchinson (music writer for Guardian Guide, Q, Time Out and Mixmag)
• Laura Martin (director, Real Life PR, ex Anorak Director)
• Emily Cooper (director Everything Counts PR, ex-Anorak director)
• Kate Riding (co-founder Bang On PR)
• Angie Somerside (general manager, Red Bull Records)
• Katrina Larkin (co-founder The Big Chill)

Paulette Long, PRS for Music Foundation Vice Chair, commented: “I know as a music publisher how much the industry is evolving but there is still an inequality which doesn’t quite add up. So many women are developing big talent or writing enormous worldwide hits but PRS for Music research still shows a vast divide. We can work together to help women into the industry and this event is a perfect place to start, especially given the collective wisdom and experience of those involved.”

PRS for Music presents Women in Music will run from 10am – 2pm, focusing on songwriting, production, live music, festivals and music journalism. Lunch will be provided and guests will be given an opportunity to look around the Red Bull studios. to attend  please email: olivia.chapman@prsformusic.

The environmental movement has become politicised, urbanised and is ‘full of profound deep ignorance’ says UKIP leader Nigel Farage. In an exclusive interview with edie.net Farage says he has been a keen supporter of environmental issues since the late 1980′s but attacked those driving the movement today, claiming that it has turned into an ‘industry’ saying  “This industry has managed to bully weak minded politicians into making a series of decisions that actually aren’t good for biodiversity, sustainability or the environment”. Hmmmmm – I think the oil, coal and coal industries are a bit better at bullying – but anyway – it’s all here http://www.edie.net/news/6/EXCLUSIVE–Green–industry–has-bullied-weak-minded-politicians-says-UKIP-s-Nigel-Farage/

There again, UK MPs have voted not to include an amendment in the third reading of the energy bill that will commit the UK to a near-carbon free power sector by 2030. The anticipated defeat saw a narrow win by the Government with 290 MPs voting against the target and 267 voting for. UK MPs have also made moves to exclude agriculturally-produced biofuels from the UK’s existing biofuels support mechanism, the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO). Issued alongside the publication of its report on Global Food Security, the International Development Committee claimed that agriculturally-produced biofuels are having a major detrimental impact on global food security by driving higher and more volatile food prices. http://www.edie.net/news/6/MPs-call-to-scrap-biofuels-support-in-face-of-rising-food-prices/

Europe’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions fell by 3.3% in 2011, which led to the lowest level of emissions in reports going back to 1990. The European Union’s (EU) total greenhouse gas emissions in 2011 were 18.4% below 1990 levels, according to the EU greenhouse gas inventory. In less good news, evidence shows that air pollution shortens each EU citizen’s life expectancy by an average of eight and a half months – highlighted in a report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). The EEA has a new boss as Belgian Hans Bruyninckx  replaces Jacqueline McGlade who held the position for 10 years.

The recent severe flooding in Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria has led to authorities in the city of Halle in Eastern Germany to tell 30,000 residents to evacuate. And water poured into the village of Deggendorf in Bavaria after two levees broke along the Danube and Isar rivers. 16 people have died after rivers reached their highest ever recorded levels and in Dresden flood defences were being reinforced as the Elba rose above 8 metres – 6 metres higher than usual. Now Hungary is bracing itself for the ‘worst floods of all time’  after the dnube in Budapest was expected to surge to a record level of 8.6 metres on Monday 10th June as the crest of flood waters moved East. The mayor of Budapest said up to 55,000 people may need to be evacuated and prime Minister Viktor Orban declared a state of emergency.

Industry chiefs in the UK have warned the Government that heavy industry will be by the penalty-to-pollute levies that are being introduced. The CBI warned the Treasury that the so called ‘carbon tax’  has landed the steel, chemical and other energy intensive industries with spiralling energy costs, whilst carbon costs across the rest of Europe have plummeted in recent months. The CBI wants a new compensation package to protect up to 200,000 jobs. The carbon tax will nearly double next April to £9.55 per tonne, pushing energy prices up by an estimated 9% and meaning the tax is four times European equivalents.

The Prince of  Wales has unveiled plans for 60 ‘coronation meadows ‘ –  existing wild flower meadows which will be used to seed new meadows to mark the Queen’s 60th Anniversary. 97% of wild flower meadows have been lost since the 1930s.  The plan will chart meadows that still remain and use them as ‘springboards’  for the restoration of other sites. Image from http://flowerwild.info/wild-flowers-england/

New powers to allow local communities to block on-shore wind farms have been announced by the UK Government. The plans also include a five fold increase in the financial inducement offered to communities that do agree to host turbines – worth an average of £400 per annum off energy bills.

The Scottish Government has launched its District Heating Action Plan, which aims to reduce carbon emissions and energy bills while giving a boost to businesses and creating jobs . District heating is the supply of heat by hot water to a number of buildings through a heat network of underground pipes.

Unilever has pledged to do more to help cut food waste within the hospitality sector ahead of World Environment Day, which is highlighted the issue as its focus theme this year. Unilever’s food solutions division announced it would support key industry-led targets to reduce waste outside of its own value chain – most notably among restaurants, hotels, pubs, caterers and food manufacturers.  Working with WRAP through its voluntary hospitality and food service agreement, the company is seeking to help cut food and associated packaging waste by 5% and increase recycling to 70%.

Coffee farmers participating in a sustainability programme run by Nespresso enjoy better economic and social conditions, new research from an independent study, carried out by Colombian organisation CRECE, suggests. The report looked at a variety of social, environmental and economic conditions among 1,000 farmers growing coffee in the country under Nespresso’s AAA sustainable quality programme.  It found that in 2011, participating farmers received a net income more than 40% higher than those not on the scheme. This level of earning also led to greater productivity, as those on the plan were able to invest in more fertiliser and resilient coffee varieties.

The University of Cambridge has been fined £28,000 after slurry from a farm it owns twice polluted tributaries of the River Great Ouse. The University pleaded guilty to two counts of pollution offences at Cambridge Magistrates Court. Investigations from the Environment Agency revealed that in both cases, slurry had entered the tributaries via an unknown drainage pipe.

Meanwhile Bradford University has launched the world’s first circular economy professional business degree in partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and leading firms including B&Q, BT, Cisco, Renault and National Grid.  http://www.bradford.ac.uk/mediacentre/news-releases/title-96143-en.php

More here  http://www.eea.europa.eu/highlights/about-us/what/public-events/competitions/waste-smart-competition

Happy world environment day everybody! A good chance to remind you of the 

And the international campaign has started and last weekend saw Love Your Tent at the first festivals this year: Wychwood Festival (UK), Beatpatrol & Tommorow Festivals(Austria) – thanks to them!  About 30 ither festivals have already signed up to the campaign and will share the message at their events. These include the Isle of Wight Festival , Glastonbury, Reading/Leeds (all UK), Pukkelpop (BE),  Melt! (DE), FM4 Frequency (A), Open Air St.Gallen (CH), Taubertal Festival (DE) and many more

If you organise a festival you can Join us, too!

This year’s international initiative/campaign, which was initiated by Eco Action Partnership with the support of Yourope(the European Festival association), GO Group (Green Operations Europe), A Greener Festival and Sounds For Nature! 

And Bucks New University and A Greener Festival are supporting the initiative by carrying out two surveys for event organizers and audience which will provide focussed subject related information to be disseminated at a future events and be up on the Internet all summer (until September). Please take some time, answer the first one of you organise an event, and if you go to events – its the second one! organizers survey or audience survey

And take a look at 100.000 tents clip 

More at www.go-group.org and www.soundsfornature.de

EU countries have finally agreed to a tough new Common Fisheries Policy, hopefully with a now firm commitment to set quotas for fishing using hard scientific evidence – to stablise rapidly declining fish stocks and achieve growth. By 2015 the EU will revise its ‘discards’ policy which will be extended to all marine species by 2020. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall who has led the ‘Fish Fight’ campaign called the move a ‘tremendous achievement’ and Greenpeace hailed the move as positive saying the policy had the potential to turn “Europe’s destructive and over sized fishing industry into a sustainable low impact sector”.

EU leaders have agreed it is crucial to further intensify the diversification of Europe’s energy supply and develop indigenous energy resources to ensure security of supply, reduce the EU’s external energy dependency and stimulate economic growth. During the EU Summit in Brussels EU leaders discussed energy issues, including energy security and upgrading the EU’s energy infrastructure.  The discussions also tackled issues such as energy efficiency in the EU and the need for climate and energy policies that go “hand in hand”. And the United Nations (UN) has called for stronger scientific alliances to understand and protect natural water resources, warning that unless greater efforts are made to reverse current trends the world will run out of freshwater.

Edie and sister title Sustainable Business are have announced that entries are now being accepted for the 2013, RSA-accredited Sustainability Leaders Awards scheme. Recognising excellence in 12 distinct categories, some of which are new for 2013, the Sustainability Leaders Awards focus on specific aspects of sustainability and the environmental and business improvements they drive.  More here http://www.edie.net/news/6/Sustainability-Leaders-Awards-2013-open-for-entry-/

Scottish Ministers have approved the installation of the world’s largest wave farm off the north-west coast of Lewis in Scotland. Once completed, the 40MW wave farm will have the capacity to power nearly 30,000 homes.

A 55-year old man was arrested on the runway of Heathrow airport as he tried to flee the country to avoid paying back the proceeds of his illegal waste business. Amrik Johal has now been jailed for three years after he was stopped while boarding a flight to Delhi on May 16 without paying the full amount of a £881,513 confiscation order – money he needed to cough up for waste crimes he was convicted of in 2010. The Environment Agency brought a case against Johal in 2008 for running an illegal waste site in Slough, Berkshire. Noisy activities at the site, which included the crushing of cars, the burning of diesel and dumping of waste between January 2006 and March 2007, caused misery for his neighbours.

Labour peer Lord Drayson is aiming to smash the 40 year old land speed record for an electric vehicle, which stands at 175 mph over a mile. The record attempt will take place at Elvington airstrip near York.  Next year Formula E starts with races at ten cities – including a Grand Prix in London where Drayson Racing will compete.

The UK Government is providing £12m funding for 213 new low carbon buses in a drive to cut carbon emissions and encourage economic growth. According to the Government, passengers in England are set to benefit from cleaner, greener bus journeys as part of the fourth round of the Green Bus Fund announced by Local Transport Minister Norman Baker.  The Green Bus Fund aims to cut greenhouse gas emission levels and encourage bus operators and local councils to make the switch to more environmentally-friendly buses.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) specialist Agrivert has struck a multi-million pound deal with Grundon Waste Management to finance its third AD plant at Trumps Farm near Chertsey in Surrey. Construction has already begun on the new facility, which is expected to be fully operational by spring 2014.

It’s toilet talk on Treehugger – with a great article called “5 ways that urine can help save humanity” here http://www.treehugger.com/clean-water/5-ways-urine-can-help-save-humanity.html and an article on home composting toilets here http://www.treehugger.com/bathroom-design/composting-toilets-are-coming-home.html

The short haired bumble bee, one found across much of England and declared extinct 13 years ago, is being given another chance: A new generation, collected from Sweden, are being reintroduced across 700 acres of a re-shaped wild flower habitat at Dungeness on the Kent coast.

Dame Ellen McArthur, the former round the World yachting star, is championing the concept of a ‘circular economy’ through her own Foundation, saying that a move away from planned obsolescence to a new circular model would, at current rates of growth, produce £415 BILLION of economic benefits. Now that just MIGHT prompt some change!

Writing in the Observer magazine, Jay Rayner (a lovely chap, once gave me an organic apple in High Wycombe High Street, and writes nice things about my friend Stephen Harris’s restaurant, the Sportsman, in Seasalter) points out that ‘local’ food isn’t always the most economic with the carbon – “getting your lamb from New Zealand isn’t hurting the planet and buying your potatoes from the other end of the country is fine”. It’s all about the overall carbon cost – not just food miles. So strawberries grown outdoors in Spain  in good soil without fertilisers may well be more carbon efficient than fruit grown in heated glass in the UK – lamb, apples and dairy products produced  in New Zealand and shipped to England can have a smaller carbon footprint than the equivalent products produced in the UK. There is a study by NZ academics Caroline Saunders, Andrew Barber and Grey Taylor –  Comparative Energy/Emissions Performance of New Zealand’s Agriculture Industry - which explains all! It’s not just food miles and to accurately work out the true cost of food you need a Life Cycle Analysis – food miles, petro chemicals used in farming and fertilisers, the energy to build tractors and farm buildings, fencing and so on – and then compare this to the yield!

Are British summers the curse of English festivals – of course they are ‘ a good read is ‘Knee deep in mud at an English festival? Give me Spain any day” – all here http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2013/may/26/music-festivals-give-me-spain

The British government is preparing to oppose attempts to update the EU’s renewable energy target, calling it “inflexible and unnecessary”, and opting instead to pledge deep emissions cuts. The climate and energy secretary, Ed Davey has said “There are a variety of options to decarbonise any country’s economy. In the UK, our approach is technology neutral and our reforms will rely on the market and competition to determine the low carbon electricity mix. We will therefore oppose a renewable energy target at an EU level as inflexible and unnecessary.” The current goal, of generating 20 percent of energy in Europe from renewable sources by 2020 has been seen as incompatible with George Osborne’s “dash” to build more than 20 gas-fired power stations over the next decade. There is concern that this policy may alienate investors in renewable energy. David Kennedy, the chief executive of the Committee on Climate Change, the body set up to advise ministers on meeting climate targets, said in April 2013: “The government has committed to low-carbon support mechanisms to 2020, but they have said after that we might have a dash for gas – and this is destroying the confidence of investors, particularly in the renewables sector.” http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-05/26/renewable-targets

May 23rd was World Turtle Day. It is a day of celebrating the many unique and ancient species of turtles and tortoises around the world, and bringing awareness to their need for protection. Of the 207 species of turtle and tortoise alive today, 129 of them are listed by IUCN as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. That’s an incredibly 62% of species! The species may wear a suit of armour, but they are incredible fragile and in need of protection by humans, from humans. http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/11-critically-endangered-turtle-species.html

clouded leopard

And May 17th was Endangered Species Day. amongst the most threatened are the beautiful felid species around the world that are in danger of becoming extinct. The plight of these amazing relatives of our well-loved domestic cats are highlighted by the  snow leopard. This iconic cat lives in the unbelievably cold habitats of alpine and subalpine areas Central Asia and is rarely ever seen in the wild based in part because of its elusive nature and in part because there are so few left in the world. The estimated population of this endangered species is somewhere between 4,000 and 6,5000 individuals. Other cats under threat include the Iberian Lynx, Fishing Cat, Bornean Bay Cat (quickly disappearing due to the deforestation of its habitat for commercial logging and oil palm plantations), the Tiger and the Clouded Leopard. http://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/natural-sciences/cats-are-going-extinct-12-most-endangered-feline-species/

Only in New York? A new scheme which launched a public cycle hire service is being threatened by a £1.9 million law suit against sponsors Citibank, arguing that the bike racks at docking stations are a danger to children and the elderly. The law suit is from wealthy residents of Bank Street who also say the bike rack will lower the value of their flats. Other protests have been made by taxi drivers and street vendors. Unlike the successful  Boris’s Bikes scheme in London, no public money is involved as Citibank and MasterCard have stumped up just over £31 million to fund the scheme (Barclays bank sponsor the London scheme). with 6,000 bikes and 330 docking stations, one of the first riders was Talking Heads’ frontman David Byrne. 24 hours hire costs $9.95 (£6.30) for New Yorkers (London is £2 per day or £10 for seven days).

FISHLOVE, the project which highlights over fishing in Europe’s seas, has just released a new set of photos showing stars that included Tara Fitzgerald, steven Berkoff, Simon Callow, Melanie Laurent and Zoe Tapper wearing not much – but fish and shellfish! French actress Laurent said “the fishing crisis is quite complex and difficult to understand, but this was so simple. it said everything that anyone needed to know about the fishing crisis: if we don’t start protecting fish, they will die out”. http://www.fishlove.co.uk/

Investing in a portfolio of low-carbon technologies between 2020 and 2030 rather than gas-fired generation will offer “significant economic benefits”, new analysis from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) shows. In a report on the Electricity Market Reform (EMR), the CCC finds that investment in a portfolio of low-carbon technologies could save consumers £25bn-45bn, rising to £100bn with higher gas and carbon prices.  It warns that the only way a strategy of investment in gas-fired generation through the 2020s will offer significant savings, is if the world abandons attempts to limit risks of dangerous climate change.

MPs charged with monitoring the progress of the Green Deal have reacted at DECC’s failure to provide a well-defined set of expected outcomes.  MPs on the Energy and Climate Change Committee have t0 published a report – The Green Deal: watching brief – which sets out how it will scrutinise the Government’s flagship energy retrofit policy in the coming years.  The report sets out areas the MPs will monitor, including public awareness and value for money, which have been heavily criticised.

For the first time, the BBC will be live-streaming six key music stages – the Pyramid Stage, Other Stage, West Holts, The Park, John Peel  including the BBC Introducing stage, reflecting over 120 acts being filmed  ranging from the newest talents to the biggest headliners, and amounting to more than 250 hours of live coverage and streaming.

The BBC’s coverage will be available on multiple platforms across TV, radio, and online, on four screens: PC, mobile, tablet and connected TV (including smart TVs and games consoles), as well as BBC Red Button. Music fans will be able to watch and listen to a huge range of performances live, wherever they are, and relive their favourite festival moments or ones they’ve missed on BBC iPlayer.

The BBC’s Glastonbury presentation team

Bob Shennan, BBC Controller of Popular Music, said: “Glastonbury is one of the greatest pop music events in the world and we want to make this year’s coverage the next best thing for everyone who can’t make it in person to Worthy Farm. We aim to broadcast more of the festival than ever before, and reinvent music coverage as only the BBC can for music fans at home and on the move.”

Mark Friend, BBC Controller, Multiplatform across Radio and Music, said: “Just as we did with sport at the Olympics, our ambition this year is to bring our audiences even closer to the music they love at Glastonbury, with access to all the BBC’s coverage – live and on-demand – at home, at work and on the go. Not only will this be the first truly digital Glastonbury, this will also be the first mobile Glastonbury – we expect mobile and tablet viewing and listening to reach unprecedented levels, particularly over the weekend.” The BBC will stream to four screens – PC, mobile, tablet and connected TV. A wealth of content will be available at bbc.co.uk/Glastonbury, as well as more info about the line-up, acts, stages, photo galleries and interviews. BBC iPlayer Radio will be the place for all music on the go with a dedicated tab in the mobile app for iOS and Android devices.

On BBC iPlayer, all the action from BBC One, Two, Three and Four will be available live or as catch-up for 7 days after broadcast. In addition, you’ll be able to catch up on all the full sets from the main stages. On TV, three additional red button streams will offer more content and highlights from the festival, and the BBC’s Connected Red Button service available on Virgin Media’s TiVo service will bring viewers all the live streams and on-demand video seamlessly on their TV.

Festival founder and organiser, Michael Eavis, said: “The BBC have stuck with us through thick and thin since 1997 and they’ve earned their stripes the hard way. It’s been quite a journey since 97 and to have a complete record of what we’ve been up to over the years is music history gold dust.”

Coverage will kick off on Friday 28 June and continue until after the final headliners on Sunday 30 June. Across the weekend it will feature on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, Radio 1 and 1Xtra, Radio 2 and 6 Music. Acts playing at the Festival include the Arctic Monkeys, Mumford & Sons, Primal Scream, The xx, Chase & Status, Dizzee Rascal, Portishead, Jake Bugg, Public Enemy, Chic with Nile Rogers, Kenny Rogers, Crystal Castles, Bobby Womack, Foals and the legendary Rolling Stones.

BBC Worldwide is the international distributor of the Glastonbury Festival. A highlights package of performances from throughout the weekend will be broadcast on numerous stations around the world from August 2013. In addition, BBC Worldwide’s Global Channels, have commissioned a bespoke Glastonbury programme that will be broadcast on its international channel portfolio, BBC Entertainment (Asia, Latin America, Poland, Nordics and South Africa), BBC Knowledge (Asia), BBC HD (EMEA and Latin America) and UKTV (Australia and New Zealand).  Glastonbury 2013 for the BBC Global Channels will be a six-hour television spectacular, taking global audiences to the heart of the action. Starting at 18:00 BST on Sunday 30 June – the final day of the festival – the six-hour broadcast will run without a break and feature highlights from Friday, Saturday and Sunday performances