Sponsorised links
March 2009
Elastoplast solution to African water crisis not working
Hundreds of thousands of people are without reliable access to water across Africa because the wells drilled to supply them are falling into disrepair because they are not being maintained.
Every year thousands of boreholes and motorised hand pumps are put in place across the continent, either through national programmes or global aid agencies.
Spend more on trees and less on roads - advisors to Government
Bodies set up to advise Government on the built and natural environment are calling for a shift in emphasis on public spend, with more cash needed for green spaces and urban tree planting.
This funding could be made available by cutting the cash spent on 'grey' build such as expanding the road network.
This is the conclusion not of radical green groups, but of key government advisors The Commission for Architecture & the Built Environment (CABE) and Natural England.
Submit your url for free to the web4water directory
If you have a water-related page you wish to add to the web4water bookmarks directory then submit the url here. Subjects include reduction | well rehabilation | industrial wastewater treatment | hydrographic surveying | desalination | greywater | deionisation | screening | water | grey water | sedimentation | ion exchange | clarifiers | activated carbon | sedimentation tank scrapers | digestion | liquid | screens | irrigation | de-aeration | groundwater remediation | liquid separation | vacuum floatation | and more!
US stimulus includes £4B for water and wastewater
The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has welcomed President Barack Obama's economic stimulus bill, signed on 25 February, which provides over £4B for water and wastewater projects. While admitting that the funds represent only a fraction of the need, executive director Gary Zimmerman said, "AWWA is optimistic that the investment in water will jump-start many critical projects and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs." He continued, "We applaud Congress's decision to waive requirements that states provide matching funds, which would be difficult in today's economic climate and will speed distribution of funds."
Thoughts from the Kerbside
A thoughtful and sometimes humourous look at the world of waste, brought to you by LAWR's editor, Maxine Perella. We'd like to create a vibrant blogger community going forward, so if you'd like to become a regular blogger for LAWR, please get in touch - we'd love to hear from you!
Australian govt conditionally approves Melbourne desalination plant
The seawater desalination plant which will supply up to 150 million m³/year of drinking water for Melbourne was given conditional approval by Australia's environment minister Peter Garrett on 20 March 2009. Under the national environment law, the minister was required to assess potential impacts on the Western Port Ramsar wetland of the Victoria state government's proposed plant near Wonthaggi, including threatened species and protected ecological communities.
Peacekeepers told to watch their ecological footprint
The United Nations has told peacekeeping forces and aid workers that they must consider their environmental impact or risk aggravating problems in areas where they are active. The environmental damage caused by wars is well documented but the drain on natural resources posed by peacekeepers is considered less often.
Countrystyle makes a difference in Maidstone
The Countrystyle Group is supplying Maidstone's largest shopping centre with a series of large compactor bins and wheelie bins for on-site waste segregation and recycling. Countrystyle will be working closely with the centre, known as The Mall, to introduce as many initiatives as possible to aid on-site recycling. To start with, the company has provided The Mall with a variety of wheelie bins for segregation - these will work alongside the centre's facility to bale cardboard for ease of removal.
Australia's GHD to work on Carlsbad desalination
Australia's GHD will work with US-based Butier Engineering on the US$ 300 million Carlsbad seawater desalination project in the USA. GHD announced on 16 March 2009 that the company will be providing oversight and independent assessment of the performance of the engineering procurement construction contractor and specialist knowledge and technical skills in sustainable water management practices.
Film brings climate threat home
A new film highlighting the potential impact of inaction on climate change has received critical acclaim for driving the message home. The Age of Stupid, from the director of McLibel Franny Armstrong, takes the audience 50 years into the future and reflects on the mistakes made by the previous generations that failed to do enough to tackle climate change.
Sponsorised links
November 2008
Fungal diesel could be new fuel source
A fungus that makes biodiesel as part of its natural lifecycle has attracted the attention of American scientists wishing to tap into its potential.
The fungus has been discovered living in trees in the Patagonian rainforests and is believed to be unique in its ability to synthesize a variety of substances useful in fuel production.
Sumitomo consortium gets Ras Azzour approval
After complaining about premature announcements of its preferred bidder, Saudi Arabia's Water & Electricity Company (WEC) finally confirmed at the end of October that the consortium of Sumitomo Corporation/Aljomaih Automotive Co/Malakoff International was its First Ranked Bidder for the Ras Azzour independent water & power plant (IWPP).
July 2008
Mitsubishi announces 5% price rise
AIR-CONDITIOINING manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric is raising the price of its City Multi VRF equipment by between 3-5% to cope with the global rise in the cost of manufacturing.
Robert Welch settles with M&S over cutlery pack
Cutlery designer Robert Welch has reached a settlement with Marks & Spencer in a dispute over look-alike packaging.
In a joint statement the companies said:
"Cutlery and gifts specialist Robert Welch Designs Ltd and Marks & Spencer plc have reached a confidential settlement to the satisfaction of both parties involving a design dispute...(more)."
Government acts to stem housing crisis
A series of further measures and reforms designed to help alleviate the current challenges in the housing market and to support the vital delivery of more homes over the long-term, were announced yesterday by Housing Minister Caroline Flint.
EXCLUSIVE: Color Expert buys Robert J Hall
Parent company of HallsBeeline and Stanley Decorating team announces acquisition by German-based painting and decorating tools firm.
The agreement will see Color Expert take sole ownership of both HallsBeeline and Stanley decorating products divisions, including offices, warehouses and manufacturing facilities on both Leeds and Morecambe.
How to make Absinthe, the easy way
This recipe is based on a few on the net that I found, and merged into one. The active ingredient, Wormwood or Absinthium (Artemisia absinthium) can be found in specialist shops, mail-order, or on a holiday to North Africa, for example.
Virgin voice activated misery
Getting hot under the collar with Virgin's new voice-automated booking and enquiry telephone system? Can't speak to an operator? Getting a message 'Sorry, due to a technical issue we are currently unable to process your request' on the website? Just what is happening to Virgin trains?
Food firms pledge to cut mileage
Companies behind some of the biggest brands on UK supermarket shelves have pledged to slash the environmental impact of transporting their goods.
About 40 food and drink companies have signed up to the Food and Drink Federation's (FDF) Environmental Checklist and Clause for Greener Food Transport.
Business urged to avoid flights
Businesses across the world should switch to video conferencing to cut emissions from transport.
That was the recommendation from Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), as he spoke to members of the All-party Parliamentary Sustainable Aviation Group on Thursday.
June 2008
Cleaner air 'threatening' Amazon
Cleaner air is threatening the survival of the Amazon rainforest according to a group of prominent UK and Brazilian climate scientists.
February 2008
Some February Carnival of Culture dates for your diary
Some dates to brighten up your February!
Sat, 2nd of Feb, 11-5 - Creative workshop day - Carnival/Maggot
material will need creative hands - Gregson - Meeting Room upstairs
Wed, 6th of Feb, 7.30pm - Public networking meeting - Gregson -
Meeting room upstairs
Sat, 16th of Feb - Street Performance - City Centre
Wed, 20th of Feb, 7.30pm - Public networking meeting - Gregson -
Meeting room upstairs
Sat, 23rd of Feb - Flyering town - City Centre
If you would like to get involved, or just want more details, then see http://carnivalofculture.wordpress.com/about/
Don’t be shy, all are very welcome!
A column named ‘link’ already belongs to this DataTable
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If this was working fine before, then perhaps your feed has suddenly changed. For our team, we had recently added (at the request of other websites) the following information...
Doomsday vault receives its first seeds
An international seed bank built to safeguard the genetic diversity of the planet's crop plants through and global calamity - including the worst ravages of climate change - has received its first seeds. The Svalbard vault will be used as a seed library of last resort.
January 2008
E.coli in Irish drinking water 'unacceptable'
More than a third of private drinking water supplies and 8% of public water supplies in Ireland were contaminated with E.coli during 2006-07. Report identifies more than 300 public water supplies to be assessed.
