Not by the Bush administration, although I wouldn’t put it past them…

Actually the Bush admin and Republican Party have constantly denied that there is global warming and now a government scientist has issued a warning that the polar bears are threatened by the changing climate. But as the article says the administration is still not doing enough, if anything about the threat to the bears.

Item via the Beeb:

US lists polar bear as threatened

The United States has listed the polar bear as a threatened species, because its Arctic sea ice habitat is melting due to climate change.

US government scientists predict that two-thirds of the polar bear population of 25,000 could disappear by 2050.

However, the government stressed the listing would not lead to measures to prevent global warming.

Environmentalists have expressed disappointment that more will not be done to protect the bear’s habitat.

US Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said the government had made the decision on the advice of scientists, but he suggested the impact of the move would be limited.

“While the legal standards under the Endangered Species Act compel me to list the polar bear as threatened,” he said, “I want to make clear that this listing will not stop global climate change or prevent any sea ice from melting.”

He said that could only be achieved through action by all of the world’s major economies.

Mr Kempthorne also said he was taking measures to make sure the listing was not “abused” to make policies on climate change which would cause “harm to the society and the economy of the United States”.

‘Limited victory’

A federal judge had ordered the US government to make a decision on the issue by May 15.

Environmental campaigners described the listing as a limited victory.

“Protecting the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act is a major step forward,” said Andrew Wetzler of the Natural Resources Defense Council in a statement.

“But the Bush administration has proposed using loopholes in the law to allow the greatest threat to the polar bear - global warming pollution - to continue unabated,” he continued.

» Full article

Posted on MetaFilter - This is a useful article to bookmark for study and/or research:

Animal Rights History - source documents and more

Animal Rights History collects quotes and original source documents from historical figures concerned with animal welfare, animal rights and vegetarianism throughout history, including John Locke on kids’ cruelty to animals, Voltaire on vivisecting dogs, the author of history’s first protected species list, lots about Pythagoras, timelines, a survey of anti-cruelty laws and more.

» Original post

More MetaFilter:

- Posts tagged with vegetarian

- Posts tagged with animal rights

Sefton Park is getting renovated, but will there be any wildlife still there afterwards ?

Via the Daily Post:

Anger as work disrupts wildlife breeding season at Sefton Park

May 13 2008 by Richard Down, Liverpool Daily Post

WILDLIFE is being threatened by delayed dredging work round Sefton park lake which has coincided with the breeding season, a wildlife group claimed last night.

Nature lovers set up Sefton Park Nature Watch specifically to keep a watchful eye on the renovation work.

They are angry that contractors Birse Civil have won a licence from Natural England “to destroy nests, eggs and chicks of wading birds if they prevent work from occurring.”

Group member Dr Janice Sear, of Croxteth Gate, claims promises made during the consultation phase have been overlooked.

She said: “Given that the islands have been hacked to pieces, with trees felled and shrubs cut back in large quantities, while waterways have been denuded of reeds, the recommendations made during the consultation have not been adhered to.”

She claimed the group had been given assurances that breeding seasons of species would be taken into account to minimise disturbance.

While Dr Sear claims swans have been afforded special consideration due to their status as royal property, other waterfowl have been hit hard at a key time of year.

» Full article

Update - Another item:
Fears over park conservation area

This is literally a stomach churning story. The Guardian talks up the newest trend - eating grey squirrels:

The ultimate ethical meal: a grey squirrel

It tastes sweet, like a cross between lamb and duck. And it’s selling as fast as butchers can get it

Caroline Davies
Sunday May 11, 2008
The Observer

It’s low in fat, low in food miles and completely free range. In fact, some claim that Sciurus carolinensis - the grey squirrel - is about as ethical a dish as it is possible to serve on a dinner plate.

The grey squirrel, the American cousin of Britain’s endangered red variety, is flying off the shelves faster than hunters can shoot them, with game butchers struggling to keep up with demand. ‘We put it on the shelf and it sells. It can be a dozen squirrels a day - and they all go,’ said David Simpson, the director of Kingsley Village shopping centre in Fraddon, Cornwall, whose game counter began selling grey squirrel meat two months ago.

» Full article

I know that the grey squirrel is a pest, but this is disgusting and sickening.

The PETA Proggy Awards have been err… awarded and the previously mentioned Bourgeois Bohème won an award for Best Cruelty-Free Online Vendor. Click on the image below to view all the award recipients.

Via the Beeb:

Man jailed for stabbing pet puppy

RSPCA officers found the dog’s body in a shallow grave

A man has been jailed after stabbing his dog to death and burying him in a shallow grave in his back garden.

Sean Bushell-Clarke, 26, of Bulford Road, Liverpool, attacked Benji, a Husky-Labrador Cross, after getting a rejection letter for a job.

Liverpool magistrates sent him to prison for four months and banned from keeping animals for five years.

Bushell-Clarke admitted punching the four-month-old puppy about 10 times before stabbing him in his back.

‘Merciless cruelty’

Magistrates heard Bushell-Clarke then wrapped Benji’s body in two black bin liners before burying it in his back garden.

RSPCA inspectors were alerted by a member of the public.

Jonathan Brooks, an RSPCA inspector, said: “This was a shocking and wanton act of cruelty, carried out mercilessly and without provocation. The sentence reflects the callous and cruel nature of this case, and I’m very pleased with the result.

“There’s no excusing what this man did. He showed complete disregard for the life he was taking, or the suffering he caused in doing so.”

> Full article

I spotted this article too late - the show aired last night (Thursday), but I found out that it will be repeated on Saturday.

The Channel 4 TV show Come Dine With Me, the one that our Niki starred on has changed format and is no longer a half hour programme on for five days. It’s been slimmed (budget cuts ?) down to a weekly one hour episode.

Good too see that it’s still going though and great to see Tony Wardle, one of the Viva! co-founders making an appearance. This is the 2nd vegan to be on the show. Let’s hope that they feature more vegetarians and vegans in the future.

Article via IcWales:

Dining out vegan style!

May 8 2008 Victoria Richards, South Wales Echo

VEGAN campaigner Tony Wardle knew he had his work cut out when he agreed to appear on Channel 4 reality TV show Come Dine With Me.

The father of three, 69, is the associate director and co-founder of animal campaign group Viva! and health charity Vegetarian and Vegan Foundation.

A vegan for the past eight years, he believes his diet is a healthy one and wanted to convince others too.

He said that he went on the reality TV show expecting a fight – but was pleasantly surprised by the open- mindedness of the other contestants, previously all strangers from South Wales, who took turns to cook each other meals in their homes and be scored on how they fared.

“It was a very boozy experience!” he said. “I’d never seen the programme before and I wouldn’t dream of doing it normally, but I saw it as an opportunity to talk about certain issues.

When you’re a vegan and you meet people, you’re never sure how they’re going to react and whether you’re going to have a battle on your hands….

» Full article

Additionally: Niki’s show will be repeated again his Sunday, on more4.

Two separate subjects which I found of interest via the Guardian:

How to Freecycle your way to an ecoconscious social life

Having nattered online with virtual strangers through an environmental forum, Gemma Taylor finds out what can happen when you put the laptop down & social network face to face, finding out how much fun – or otherwise - you can have going with the green flow…
» Full article

Get green, get composting

To highlight compost awareness week, Jane Perrone looks at the variety of ways to recycle household food waste – from basic wooden boxes to bins disguised as beehives – and offers useful advice…

» Full article

Websites mentioned in the above articles:

- Freecycle: http://uk.freecycle.org/

- Compost Awareness Week: http://www.compostawarenessweek.org.uk/

A follow-up on that Greenpeace protest at Unilever on April 21st - The soap giant has listen and will make changes.

This via the Echo:

PROTESTS at Unilever’s Port Sunlight plant has led to a policy change by the company.

Sixty Greenpeace members, some dressed as orang-utans, invaded the Wirral site in April protesting over the use of palm oil from Indonesian rainforest.

They claimed the forest was cleared for the oil – affecting the orang-utans’ habitat.

Now, Unilever chief executive Patrick Cescau has pledged that the company will use only certified palm oil from sustainable sources.

It plans to have all the palm oil it uses in Europe fully traceable by 2012.

Environmental lobby group Greenpeace welcomed the move. UK director John Sauven said: “Every day that Unilever keeps buying palm oil from these suppliers, orang-utans are pushed closer to extinction.”

» Full article

and this via the Post:

Unilever factory invasion was a success claim Greenpeace

May 5 2008 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

GREENPEACE has claimed success following an invasion of a soap factory on Wirral to raise awareness of the threat against south east Asian rainforests.

The environmental organisation welcomed Unilever’s call for a moratorium on rainforest destruction in Indonesia that is wiping out orang-utans and devastating the climate.

Around 60 Greenpeace activists – many dressed as orang-utans – stormed into the Port Sunlight factory last month and some chained themselves to production lines of the soap and detergent factory.

It coincided with a similar protest in London when campaigners scaled ladders on to a balcony at Unilever House, on Victoria Embankment.

The group had been highlighting the company’s use of palm oil and the protests coincided with a report called Burning Up Borneo.

Greenpeace said the report showed how companies that supplied Unilever with palm oil were destroying the rainforest in Indonesia – depriving the orang-utans of their natural habitat.

At Prince Charles’s May Day Business Summit, which aims to encourage company executives to take steps towards a low-carbon economy by taking action within their own firms – Unilever chief Patrick Cescau said they would be taking action on the supply of palm oil.

Mr Cescau told the conference his company had set a target to obtain all of its palm oil from certified sustainable sources by 2015.

Patrick Cescau said his company uses a substantial amount of palm oil and “want to be an agent for positive change” and they would require their suppliers to show the palm oil came from sustainable sources.

He said: “We also intend to support the call for an immediate moratorium on any further deforestation for palm oil in Indonesia.”

» Full article

Two different years quoted in each article - 2012 and 2015. Which is it ?

At least they are taking a step in the right direction.

There’s been some buzz about this on the ScouseVeg mailing/discussion list, plus I’ve seen lots of mentions on the web. - Next time you are down the smoke (especially our Niki !) you can pop into the Bourgeois Boheme shop !

Press release about the opening »

London’s First Vegan Footwear and Accessory Shop Opens

Bourgeois Boheme, one of the UK’s most well-known online and animal-friendly fashion companies is opening London’s very first animal-friendly footwear and accessories retail outlet.

On May 17th 2008, just a couple of days ahead of UK National Vegetarian Week, Bourgeois Boheme will celebrate the official opening with an open day at the shop in Richmond, London.

Known for its quality and stylish vegan footwear and accessories, Bourgeois Boheme is responding to customer requests for a physical retail location. Bourgeois Boheme founder and Director, Alicia Lai and has found that 90% of returns from online sales relate to shoe-fitting issues.

Alicia says, “Unless you shop online, vegetarian footwear is difficult to find: it’s a dismal choice of either low-quality, cheap and environmentally-challenging shoes or Stella McCartney – gorgeous fashion no doubt, but very much beyond the pocket of many a style-conscious vegetarian/vegan.”

Its an environment that has served online sales well and, having already built up a dedicated and growing following of online and mail order customers, Bourgeois Boheme is giving shoppers what New York and other fashion capitals around the world gave their consumers years ago – a stylish home for animal-friendly fashion.

Bruce Friedrich, Vice President at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) says, “All of us at PETA welcome the news of a Bourgeois Boheme storefront. We enjoy ordering from BoBo online, but we’ll be even more delighted to have a place where we can try on the shoes, examine the bags, and have a compassionate shopping experience.”

Visitors will be able to buy Bourgeois-Boheme’s exclusive labelled styles as well as ethically sourced products from other companies; not only footwear, but also bags, wallets and belts for women and men, and cosmetics.

Alicia says, “Our shop is an extension within our office premises, it’s a humble start but it’s a first step towards our greater dream of having lush and exclusive Bourgeois Boheme boutiques in the world’s fashion capitals”

Now customers can find a perfect fit in every sense- true to their size, philosophy, style and ethics.

» Website/more info

The address of the new store:
Hydrex House, Garden Road, Richmond TW9 4NR

Their hours:
Mon-Fri 9am - 5pm; Sat 10am - 2pm; by appointment.

(ooh very posh)