Birds and Bees

Only after the last tree has been cut down, Only after the last river has been poisoned, Only after the last fish has been caught, Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.
-- Cree Indian Prophecy
 

 

This doco is a must see.. What the bleep do we know 

 

 Choose your language to translate the website

The Big Garden Birdwatch report this year shows some gains but in general bird numbers are down again this year in UK.  Butterflies, moths, bees and other invetebrates are also once again reduced in number.  UK gardens cover about 270,000 hectares, which is more than all the National Nature Reserves combined and could be a haven for these species, whilst also providing us with food.   Even in the smallest garden much can be achieved (see my garden on the tab above) and adds to our wildlife corridors. We can also produce our own power through wood burning stoves, solar panels and small windmills among other things.  You can find out more about this from links on this site, which is here to help and inform.  This will not only help you as an individual but go someway to help global warming and stop the increasing extinction of wildlife.  

The Bad Stuff

I initially created this site to inform people about the increasing world wide decline in the insect population in general and the honeybee and butterfly in particular, and show easy things you can do to help, cos every little bit added to another little bit makes a bigger bit!  However, this has also become about global warming and keeping people informed of what is really happening and what technologies there are to combat it, some of which we can now use in our homes.   I am also lobbying government to act quickly on this issue and to back efforts to create wildlife corridors across the UK.

I expect you also tired of hearing about the problems of global warming with no solutions so I am attempting to provide them through links to informative web sites and feeds (right).  There will also be things that take a bit more effort for those with more time and inclination. 

 

So back to the bees.  Recently a book was published on the subject of the honeybee decline, bottom of line of which is that without the bee mankind will not survive, and their numbers are decling fast.  A documentary is now being made exploring the problem, and hopefully the solutions.  Click here for why it matters.   The situation has become so bad in Sichuan Province of China  that they are forced to hand pollinate, which is ultimately unsustainable.  Sir David Attenborough has also recently launched a campaign to highlight the increasing butterfly decline.  This is of course also affecting our birds and small mammals as they have nothing to eat, and so their numbers are down too, and so it goes on.  There are unfortunately people who say this is not a problem (see GMTV report).  Reminds me of the people who said there was no global warming! 

On the positive side there are beekeepers who are trying to breed bees that are resistant to the varroa mite that is believed to be one of the causes but it needs more government funding.  As of today (18th August 2008) the funding for Defra's bee health programme is £1.3 million each year and this has remained the same for the last 5 years. They are allocating a further £190,000 over the next year.  Meanwhile the National Lottery funded our Olympic team to the tune of £230 million and predicts £400 million for 2012 in London. Now I have really enjoyed the Olympics 2008, but I quite like to eat too! 

You only need look on Google Earth or Google Maps to see how little there is in our cities to feed the insects, if we all just had a little something for them it would soon add up. Unfortunately its not much better out in the countryside, particularly in the more intense farming areas.  

 

 

This is not just about bees, but the birds too.  I was shocked, when returning from New Zealand (a very environmentally aware country having lost many of their native birds) after 20 years, to find that here in the UK things had got so bad that we too, were loosing our birds,  albeit for a different reason.  The Starling was pretty much a pest when I left.  Now they are rarely seen inland.  Sparrows! There used to be hundreds of them!  Where have they gone?  Loss of habitat, loss of food and effects of global warming seems to be the problem.    Help the insects and you help the birds and small mammals and on up to us.  Interestingly, the solutions for this are much the same as we need to combat global warming, A two for the price of one deal!


 

 

The Easy Stuff

Stop using insecticides  They kill bees and butterflies too!  All insects are needed to feed the birds and small mammals. So let the flies live. You can always put up a screen or net curtain to stop them getting in the house, or just let the spiders catch them naturally! 

Check out easy things to do in your garden on the Breathing Places website.  They really are simple things and actually less work.

Check out what I am doing generally and in my own small garden, mistakes and all,  and the wildlife that it has attracted. But you don't even need a garden... a window box will do.

There are various sites here  where you can get further information or donate money if that is easier for you.

See also Bee Friendly Plants,  Roof Gardens and wild flowers.

 

 

If you sign up to the website in the feed above, and it costs nothing, they will plant a tree for you.  They also have some great tips. 

For further sites you can sign up to, click on Support Sites tab above, and Green Technology tab for the latest developments.

 

 

Check this out!  Click once and see the cities and towns people visiting this site are from, click again and see the countries, click again and you can see your own town... thats you!

 For the more Proactive

Write to MPs, councillors Senators Congress or your local representatives in whatever country you reside.  Give them the power to push central government to look at other fuel methods NOW, not in a distant future when it may be too late. They can't do anything unless you let them know what you want. You don't necessrily need a petition with hundreds of signatures, just write to them yourself.  That will be enough.   Biofuels may or may not be the answer, but there are many more ingenious ideas out there including using water, wood and air to as fuel for cars (see Green Technology tab above).  If nothing else, there are tips to reduce car emissions here.

 

The Bigger Picture

 

Don't you wonder sometimes what it will take for governments of the world to act on global warming?  They failed to make a real mark at Kyoto and now we have another chance for change at Copenhagen.  We have seen the loss of coastal towns and cities (New Orleans), countless lives lost through Tsunami, heat waves (14000 in France died from the 2003 heatwave), drought in Australia, increased hurricane activity, ice caps melting (can't watch those polar bears dying out at sea.. too distressing), extinctions on a major scale...well the list goes on and on.  The insects I believe are the last warning. We, individually really have to do something now.  Earth Charter is a call to all people of the world to lobby governments, easier still add your voice to the We can solve it site.  For more sites click on the Support Sites tab.  I believe we can turn things round with that spirit that was shown at the Beijing Olympics.   One World, One Dream .  You can register your vote on Copenhagen below.


 

There are still people all over the world who are surprisingly still quite ignorant of the full implications of global warming.  With the technology we now have most people in the world can at least be informed of these changes, via internet, TV, consols or phone, and make a personal choice as to what they can do. Which is one of the goals of this site, so please pass this on to your contacts, they might not know!. The feed on the right shows the latest alternatives to fossil fuels, which may also be used in our homes!  Every little bit helps.  See further links at green technology.

 

 

 

An interesting find in S. America is a substance they call Terra Preta which could change the need for fertilizers if used properly. Perhaps an idea would be for the richer nations to chip in and pay people to look after the rain forests throughout the world for us?  They are the lungs of the world after all.  Maybe that extra tax on our cars could be used for that... perhaps not but you get the idea.   As they say in New Zealand, 'Think outside the box'.

 

I belive that it is now our personal responsiblity to act, that this is in our hands and each little thing we do IS making a difference.  Really think about those car trips. Walk, cycle, skateboard, its much better for you. Keep on buying the green and organic products.  I know.  I stopped too thinking that they were all the same, they are not!  Better still,  you can get Martin Lewis's book Thrifty Ways For Modern Days , which will tell you how you can clean most things using (amongst other things) vinegar!    There are many more ideas on the Green Living Tips site which is excellent.  Many councils in UK provide compost bins and water butts at reduced prices, or you can make a dirt cheap compost bin. And just so you know that I don't just talk the talk you can see what I am doing here.   :)

 

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