Largest Day of Climate Action in US History

Environmental News Network: Center for Biological Diversity Supports Largest Day of Climate Action in U.S. History: Scientists, Youth, and Citizens to Protesting the Capitol’s Coal-Fired fired Power Plant: Today the Center for Biological Diversity in Washington DC, along with more than 90 other organizations and individuals across the nation, will take part in the largest day of action on the climate crisis in U.S. history.

The Capitol Climate Action Coalition has announced that more than 2,500 people have registered to participate in the March 2nd Capitol Power Plant protest in Washington, D.C., ensuring that the event will be the largest act of peaceful civil disobedience on global warming to date.

In addition, the protest coincides with Powershift 2009, a climate conference for youth and young professionals. Also today, Powershift has planned for more than 10,000 youths to participate in a Lobby Day to call for swift action and climate legislation. The voices of concerned citizens and climate activists will be heard from the streets of Washington to the halls of the Capitol building.

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Oxfam Online Secondhand Designer Handbag Sale – 6 / 7/ 8 March

Tracey Smith: Oxfam’s Online handbag bonanza starts at 12noon on the 6th March with over 300 fabulous second-hand handbags for sale. High street names and designer names such as Lulu Guinness, Donna Karen, Burberry, Mulberry, Calvin Klein plus many others are all up for grabs – so you can shoulder the credit crunch and buy a gorgeous second-hand designer bag by shopping at www.oxfam.org.uk/handbags

This second handbag bonanza is for one weekend only, from Friday 6th March to Sunday 8th March. This is a great opportunity to step into Spring with a scrummy designer bag.

All purchases will help Oxfam to tackle poverty across the world. Visit www.oxfam.org.uk/handbags to view the collection with prices starting at £1.99 to £125.

China’s Artificially Induced Snow Closes 12 Highways

Reuters, Nick Macfie: China closed 12 highways around the capital Beijing on Thursday because of heavy snow brought on after seeding clouds with chemicals, state media said on Thursday.

All outbound highways were closed in Hebei, the drought-hit northern province surrounding Beijing, after heavy snow fell on Wednesday night, Xinhua news agency said.

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Featured Product: FSC Raised Beds

By Nature, Organic and Ethical Living: Our FSC raised beds are perfect to grow vegetables, herbs, fruits and even flowers. Multiple layout and stacking options bring endless possibilities.

They contain no noxious chemical wood treatment and come fitted with a unique “coppa-stoppa” slug deterrent. When slugs come in contact with copper, they get an electric shock, which repels them but doesn’t kill them.

Delivered flat-packed. Quick and easy to put together with predrilled holes and screws. Rectangle and square shapes available.

Sizes available (cm):

- Triangle (100 x 100 x 100 – Height 15cm)
- Triangle (100 x 100 x 100 – Height 20cm)
- Square (100 x 100 x 100 x 100 – Height 15cm)
- Square (100 x 100 x 100 x 100 – Height 20cm)

Prices from £29.95

Further information.

Lack Of Sunlight Could Increase Risk of Pollution-Related Asthma

The Telegraph, Rebecca Smith: Lack of the sunshine vitamin may increase risk of asthma caused by air pollution, scientists warn at launch of major investigation.

Thousands of children in London will take part in research to establish whether lack of vitamin D exacerbates pollution-related asthma.

Vitamin D which is made by the body from sunlight and a small proportion gained from diet is vital for good lung development in the womb and in childhood, it has been found.

Air pollution, which is higher in London than elsewhere in the UK and has among the highest rates in Europe, can trigger asthma and exacerbate symptoms in those who already have it.

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Greenwash: High Price for Greener Bus Travel

The Guardian, Fred Pearce: Efforts by Stagecoach to green its bus services mean nothing unless it slashes the prices and runs its buses at full capacity.

Stagecoach is going green – and don’t you forget it. Its boss, Brian Souter, may have a reputation for hard-nosed business, but it is now on a quest for “smarter, greener bus travel”.

Last year, the man with 7,000 British buses and thousands more in New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Montreal and other North American cities, launched the first carbon-free bus service. It runs from Edinburgh to Fife and offsets its emissions by planting trees in the Scottish Highlands.

Bus travel doesn’t have to be offset to be greener than most alternatives, but it depends on how full your buses are. I take regular journeys on Souter’s buses across the South Downs in southern England. And in my experience they are about the emptiest buses on the planet, with an over-sized carbon footprint to match.

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How Stately Home Land Could Soon Provide Your Allotment

The Independent, Cahal Milmo: National Trust says it will turn over land for the public to use as vegetable gardens.

For centuries the kitchen gardens of Britain’s stately homes were dedicated to producing fruit and vegetables destined for the mahogany dining tables of the ruling class. Now, the National Trust is turning over the one-time private greengroceries of aristocrats to the masses in the shape of 1,000 allotments.

In an attempt to encourage a renaissance in small-scale horticulture, the trust, which is one of Britain’s biggest landowners, will provide land ranging from small allotment-style plots to communal vegetable gardens at locations from Blickling Hall in Norfolk, the one-time home of Anne Boleyn’s family, to Kingston Lacy, the former seat of the Earls of Lincoln.

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Mercury Pollution Treaty Proposed

BBC News, Science & Environment: World governments have agreed to crack down on mercury pollution.

Environment ministers meeting in Nairobi have initiated a process that should end in a legally binding, international treaty.

The landmark decision was taken by more than 140 countries attending the governing council of the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep).

Mercury compounds can be damaging to the central nervous systems of humans and animals.

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Tips for Installing a Rainwater Collection System

Earth Easy, Greg Seaman: Homeowners can conserve water both indoors and outdoors by adopting simple conservation strategies, but many people overlook the opportunity of collecting and storing rainwater for use in the yard, garden and outdoor cleaning projects.

Simple catchment systems with storage capacities of 40 – 100 gallons, can be easily installed by the homeowner to collect rainwater for use in the yard and garden. This water is untreated and therefore not intended for drinking or bathing. More complex systems can also be installed which involve large cisterns, with up to 5,000 gallon capacity, a water pump and a treatment system if the water is intended for drinking or bathing.

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Tracey Smith Brings Sustainable Living to Dorchester Literary and Arts Festival

Dorchester Festival: The Dorchester on Thames Festival in Oxfordshire has just announced its programme for 2009.

This year’s  entertaining line of of eclectic events will take place between Friday 1^st and Sunday the 10^th May 2009.

There’s something to suit all tastes and ages with almost 40 events packed into the 10-day celebration of literature, art, music and dance.

Highlights include book readings from children’s author Julia Golding of Cat Royal, Dragonfly and Darcie Lock, and Jennie Nimmo, award winning author of the Charlie Bone series.