Environmental news

Published on Saturday 19 July 2008 19:36

ECO-TOWN BLOW

A proposed eco-town has suffered a setback after a medical research charity refused to hand over land to the project.

The Wellcome Trust owns 270 acres of the site earmarked for the Hanley Grange development, near Cambridge.

But following talks with developer Jarrow Investments Limited, the trust is refusing to sell.

SURFING BOSCOMBE

Work has started to build Europe's first artificial surf reef.

The 2.68m reef in Boscombe, Dorset, is expected to be ready for surfers by the end of October.

It will be one of four artificial reefs worldwide with the others being at Narrowneck, Queensland; Cables, Western Australia, and Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. Work has started at a secret location in Poole to construct the bottom layer. A mat, to minimise the structure sinking into the sand, will be laid out and sewn together.

BUTTERFLY LIFELINE

Sir David Attenborough has announced a network of Butterfly Survival Zones in a bid to save some of the country's rarest species from possible extinction.

The natural history presenter, who fears we are entering a "post-butterfly era", said a national strategy was needed to reverse the fall in numbers. Conservationists will set to work at 20 key locations, including Argyll, Perthshire and the Highlands, to try to re-establish suitable habitats and encourage new colonies.

Sir David said: "Almost unbelievably, much of Britain's countryside is a no-go area for many favourite butterflies."

DEAD ZONE SPREADS

The Gulf of Mexico's 'dead zone' – a stretch of algae-laden water with oxygen levels low enough to choke out marine life – will reach a record size this year, and the main culprits are rising ethanol use and massive mid-west flooding.

The dead zone, which recurs each year off the Texas and Louisiana coasts, could stretch to more than 8,800 square miles this year compared with 6,662 square miles in 2006, and nearly double the annual average since 1990 of 4,800 square miles.

FOREST WARNING

Booming demand for food, fuel and wood as the world's population surges from six to nine billion will put unprecedented and unsustainable demand on the world's remaining forests, it was claimed last week.

The US-based Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) said this massive potential leap in deforestation could add to global warming and put pressure on indigenous forest dwellers that could lead to conflict.