More stories by Maryking

In a move criticised as biased, scientist Sir David King has advised the UK government that they should cull badger populations in an attempt to prevent the spread of tuberculosis among cattle, disregarding evidence that such a move is unworkable.

Rating: 3/5

The consensus from our two reviewers is: go and see this film, it’s worth the trip to the cinema, but walk, don’t run.

Emma:

Less of an awakening, more of a gentle nudge – with the possibility of a full English (and only then if the café’s still open).

Europe has been resistant to products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), insisting on the worlds toughest labelling regime and outraging the US who accuse them of violating free trade agreements over the products.

Now it is thought that EU ministers will approve a GMO sugar beet variety this month.

Tomorrow there will be meetings in eight cities around the UK in which more than a thousand people will be asked to assess the case for and against nuclear power and vote on its use.

DeSmogBlog are running a photography competition for The Greenest Photo Ever.

Interpret the challenge as you will: "It can be literally a really green photo (but not of a green dress, that’s cruel). Or it can be a metaphorically green photo, whether that’s ecological or ‘green with envy’ or any other angle you can think of.

“Don’t buy anything from the supermarket,” advises Chris Goodall, author of How to Live a Low-Carbon Life. Supermarkets supply three-quarters of all the food consumed in the UK, and many of us accept this without question. However, our supermarket-reliant culture makes the food production process hugely damaging to the environment.

1) Supermarkets are driving farmers out of business

In January the Competition Commission released a report stating that the trading practices of the biggest supermarkets may be leading to the loss of farmers and small shops.

Plans to show a TV special on climate change have been scrapped by the BBC under fighting over impartiality. Senior BBC executives protested about the plans for “Planet Relief” which would devote a full day to programmes about the environment, claiming it was “not the BBC’s job to lead opinion on climate change” and that this could breach impartiality guidelines.

It looks like the Bay of Bengal could be the victim of the next major tsunami. A report published in the Nature journal today suggests that there is “compelling evidence” for tsunami-triggering earthquake activity in the region, north of the area where 2004’s tsunami hit.

Geologists say the warning should be taken seriously.

The Bay of Bengal is a densely populated area, and a large-scale natural disaster could put more than a million people at risk.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that most clothes on sale in the high street originate in sweatshops, or at least in places with very unsavoury work conditions. In addition to the human suffering caused by exploitative manufacturing processes, garments have often been transported around the world at cost to the environment, and chemical treatments and dyes pollute rivers all over the world.

In a step greeted with relief by environmental campaigners, Iceland have announced that they will issue no new quotas for commercial whaling. Fisheries minister Einar K Guofinnsson said that “I will not issue a new quota until the market conditions for whale meat improve and permission to export whale products to Japan is secured.

The US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC) publishes its data on conditions in the Arctic at the end of every summer, or “melt season”. This year’s details, released yesterday, show that levels of ice in the Arctic Ocean are lower than ever before.

Arctic specialist Dr Mark Serreze comments that “It's amazing.

Friends of the Earth have spoken out against the current European Union proposals to include aviation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The charity commissioned a study of the proposals which reveals that “the Commission's plans to bring aviation into the Emissions Trading Scheme hardly scratch the surface of the problem and will not come close to delivering the necessary emissions’ cuts.

Thirty years ago British red kites were on the brink of extinction. Now the RSPB estimates numbers at 450 breeding pairs throughout the country, and the population is growing thanks to an exceptionally successful conservation campaign – the world’s longest running protection programme, launched in 1903.

Red kites can reach a wingspan of 5 feet and have a distinctive reddish-brown body and forked tail.

The number of solar power photovoltaic systems in Europe will triple by 2010 due to efforts to fight climate change, the European Photovoltaic Industry Association announced yesterday.

“We would like to go forward to have, in 2010, an installed capacity in Europe in the range of 3 gigawatts, (up) from about 1 GW last year,” Winfried Hoffman, EPIA President told press.

Rebel soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo have seized control of large parts of the Virunga National Park. Conservationists fear for the park’s population of rare mountain gorillas, which comprises half of all those that remain in the wild – only about 700.

It seems last week’s UN climate talks in Vienna may have covered some important ground. On Friday the conference concluded with agreement on some key elements which hopefully will enable December’s summit in Bali to be of maximum productivity.

After a series of health warnings and recalls about Chinese-made products, China has agreed to clamp down on the use of illegal chemicals.

Sun Zhengcai, Chinese Minister of Agriculture, told consumers that they had no reason to fear eating most of the nations produce. However, the country has struggled with bad press throughout the year, combined with a bad track record on pollution.

It looks like something out of Harry Potter, but a real monster spider's web has been found in Lake Tawakoni State Park in Texas, USA. Apparently the web, stretching 180 metres, is the result of millions of spiders working together, to the mystification of park rangers.

The web is proving effective in controlling the mosquito population. Donna Garde, park superintendent, said that “There are times you can literally hear the screech of millions of mosquitoes caught in those webs.”

A study shows that national parks in Africa are failing in their task of protecting the wildlife within their boundaries. Published in the September issue of the African Journal of Ecology, the report by Tim Caro and Paul Scholte states that: “For years, wildlife managers and biologists in Africa have known that large mammals were disappearing outside reserves. [Now]…we are losing species from many of Africa’s national parks.”

We reported recently on the trade in illegal wildlife goods being brought into the UK.