La Mode Verte
Environmental Awareness Through Media ProductionsArchive for David Attenborough
Making London 2012 Plastic Bag Free
A couple of days ago, LMV director Ed Scott-Clarke added his name to a letter sent to the editor of the Daily Telegraph by Greener Upon Thames, an environmental charity that hosted the first UK screening of Plastic Shores. The letter called for a reduction of plastic bags used during the 2012 Olympics and other signatories included Zac Goldsmith MP, Sir David Attenborough, Dame Vivienne Westwood, and Jeff Bridges. Already Locog (London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games) has stated it will not use disposable plastic bags in its shops but there are many other stores that still need to follow suit.
Tory Peer Dismisses David Attenborough’s Climate Change Views
www.telegraph.co.uk 22nd November 2011
Conservative peer Lord Leach of Fairford has dismissed Sir David Attenborough’s views on climate change as not “worth listening to”. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph’s Tim Walker at the launch of his wife’s book in Holland Park, Lord Fairford said: “he’s very endearing but I don’t think there’s any truth to what he says — he has no idea about it. The fact is you can be jolly nice to monkeys but it isn’t the same as knowing what you’re talking about on climate change.” Lord Leach is a noted climate-sceptic and supports the BBC’s decision to drop an episode of Sir David’s new wildlife series Frozen Planet that focusses on climate change so that the programmes can be better sold abroad. The episode is now an ‘optional extra’, which foreign TV stations can ignore. Lord Leach has had success in gaining public support for his views. He was the chairman for the recent No to AV campaign that saw two-thirds of the British population vote against voting reform.
‘Twin Swapping’ helps Chinese Panda Success
www.independent.co.uk 6th December 2010
Numbers of captive pandas in China have risen above the critical 300 mark, allowing conservationists to begin releasing the bears into the wild. The success is due, in part, to an innovative breeding technique developed by Chinese scientists at the panda-breeding centre in Chengdu, Sichuan. Around 50% of panda births are twins but the mother invariably abandons one of the cubs. Experts at the centre have overcome this problem by incubating the abandoned cubs and swapping them with their sibling up to ten times a day. Apparently the mother panda cannot distinguish between the two and happily continues rearing the twins as if they were one. The centre, which is funded mostly by loaning pandas out to foreign zoos for a cost of $1 million a year, has been so successful in ensuring the survival of panda twins that almost all make it to adulthood. Other innovative action such as artificial insemination and careful study of the female panda’s ovulation cycle means that the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding alone will produce 140 cubs in 2010. Reintroduction of captive pandas is a contentious issue. The only previous attempt ended in disaster four years ago when a lone male was found dead, probably mauled by a rival. Panda habitats are also in peril due to ongoing human development. Much development goes ahead despite the designating of areas as conservation zones. Just 2,000 pandas survive in the wild due to poaching and habitat destruction.
The twin swapping technique has been captured on film by BBC2 in a documentary narrated by David Attenborough to be aired next week.
Annual Green Awards Tomorrow 2nd December 2010
The annual Green Awards are due to take place tomorrow (2nd December) in the Natural History Museum. The hugely successful event, launched in 2006 to widespread critical acclaim, was ‘set up to recognise and reward creative work that communicates the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility, sustainable development and ethical best practice in any sector and across any marketing discipline’. This year is the first time the awards have been opened up to a global audience and a few tickets are still available via the Green Awards website. A unique award at the event tomorrow is the Green lifetime achievement award dedicated to the documentary narrator and environmentalist Sir David Attenborough. Speakers at the Green Awards will be Chris Huhne, the UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, and Eric Falt, the Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Public Information at (UNESCO). More details of the event can be found at www.greenawards.co.uk.
