Sign a petition – Write a letter
Michael Gove: Keep Climate Change in the Curriculum
From Esha, aged 15
Geography has always been my favourite subject at school. Volcanoes, globalisation, development, you name it. It has inspired me to realise that not only is the earth a beautiful place, but one that is in desperate need of our help.
Now the Government wants to remove the study of climate change from geography lessons for everyone under 14.
Read more and sign the petition at Change.org
A Call To Respond
We in Marinet hold it to be self-evident that nature reserves are a sensible thing.
They protect areas of exceptional and rare biodiversity, and they provide a reservoir and sanctuary for wildlife, in all its various plant and animal forms, where nature can multiply and then spread out naturally, and with man’s assistance, to re-colonise areas and landscapes that have been damaged.
On land, this need and practice is widespread. Modern agriculture and urban development has made it essential, and the abundance of nature reserves in all their various forms is legion. We have responded and created nature reserves, large and small, all over the country and whilst their abundance could still be improved they are in many ways a success story. They preserve wildlife, and the proof of their importance is evident and clear.
At sea, this need is equally great. Intensive fishing and other commercial uses of the sea have seriously reduced fish stocks and degraded both the diversity and the resilience of our seas’ ecosystems. Yet, marine nature reserves – Marine Protected Areas and Conservation Zones – have not been established in any way near the same abundance or with the sense of purpose as they have on land. Marine nature reserves are still the “Cinderella” of the conservation movement – a dazzling presence that is forever promised, but very meagrely supplied.
Click here to read more & support the call
Clyde marine station threatened with closure
“The Marine Biological Station at Millport, based on the isle of Cumbrae in the Firth of Clyde, is a world class research and educational centre which must be saved from closure” says Andrew Binnie, The Community of Arran Seabed Trust’s (COAST) Marine Project Officer. Andrew is one of many former Millport students appalled by the withdrawal of funding. COAST have prepared a petition to the Scottish Government to save Millport Marine Biology Station from closure
Stop the Frankenfish attack
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA is moving closer to giving final approval to a GM breed of salmon which is being developed by the US/Canadian company, AquaBounty. The FDA has already certified that this modification will have no adverse effect on those who eat it, and the FDA has now decided that it will have no adverse effect on the US environment.
Therefore approval of this GM salmon is imminent. It grows at twice the rate of its natural counterpart and contains genes from the Chinook salmon and the Ocean pout (an eel-like fish), giving the GM salmon extra growth hormones. The proposal is that the GM salmon will be used in fish farms
Sign the petition at Avaaz.org
Save the Antarctic Ocean
A positive move to turn the Antarctic ocean into the world’s largest marine sanctuary is in jeopardy as Russia, South Korea and other countries threaten to vote it down in an attempt to remain able to fish in said seas.
New talks are scheduled for July to make a decision on the potentially world-changing oceanic transformation. Avaaz are calling on a mass of signatures to isolate those attempting to block the sanctuary and sway the decision to favour it.
You can sign the Avaaz petition here.
