Hi Patty,

As a nutritional consultant you should know that " a lack of insulin causes low blood sugar" is incorrect. A  lack of insulin causes HIGH blood sugar. Please get it straight, you give us vegan's a bad name.

Mary Ann

Vitamin C is one of the most important vitamins. It keeps us away from colds and flu. Pineapple is a very good source of Vitamin C same as oranges. Also, fruits are very helpful to keep our body fit at all times. Eating fruits at all times is a healthy diet.

Millions of people around the world joined forces today to make WWF’s Earth Hour, an annual global event that highlights public support for action on climate change, the biggest switch off ever.

In total, all seven continents, 125 countries, and more than 4,000 cities and towns took part in the event, which asked people to sign up and switch off their lights for one hour, to show that they care about tackling climate change.

The world’s great man-made marvels and natural wonders were plunged into darkness, from the Eiffel Tower, the Las Vegas Strip and the Empire State Building, to Table Mountain, Mount Rushmore and the Sydney Opera House. Key participating UK landmarks included Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Number 10 Downing Street, Edinburgh Castle, Belfast City Hall and Wales Millennium Stadium.

“The largest ever number of countries, people and landmarks joined forces for Earth Hour this year. It was a visible demonstration of the enormous level of support there is around the world, for a united effort to tackle climate change,” said David Nussbaum, CEO of WWF-UK. “WWF now asks that World Leaders listen to the millions of people who took part, and finish the job they started in Copenhagen last year by creating a fair and ambitious global climate deal.”

UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, praised the event, saying:

“Earth Hour is both a warning and a beacon of hope.  By switching off non-essential lights for an hour, people will join a symbolic display that can inspire the change we so urgently need.  As we watch the lights go out from continent to continent, let us reflect on the fragility and importance of our natural heritage and pledge to protect it for a sustainable future for all.”

Highlights of Earth Hour 2010 included:

• Earth Hour has consistently been trending in the top three topics on Twitter for the last 24 hours
• In the 24 hours before Earth Hour, Google registered 56.1 million mentions of Earth Hour
• Major icons in Paris went dark for Earth Hour including the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame and the Louvre as well as every single bridge across the Seine
• Brandenburg gate led Germany’s Earth Hour, joined by Munich, Hamburg and Cologne
• The Fontana de Trevi and Jet d’eau in Geneva joined the  Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Coliseum, Acropolis and the Parthenon
• The Bosphorous Bridge in Turkey connecting Asia with Europe went dark for EH
• The Pyramids and Sphinx, the Citadels in Oman and Cairo, the world’s tallest building in Dubai and city of Casablanca, Morocco all joined Earth Hour this year.
• The Blue House (residence of the President of Korea) takes South Korea’s involvement from 43 buildings in Seoul last year to more than 100 cities and towns this year.
• Mexico City and Cancun headed up EH in Mexico with 11 states participating and major icons going dark including Angel of Independence and House of Government
• In Brazil, both the Federal House of Representatives and the Federal Senate participated
• In Tuvalu the government asked that no vehicles should be on the road during Earth Hour.
• The Prime Minister and President of Pakistan turned off their lights for EH.
• 31 State Governors supported Earth Hour in the US and icons switching off include Empire State, Las Vegas Strip, Golden Gate Bridge and Mount Rushmore

IMAGES AND SPOKESPEOPLE AVAILABLE – PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION
 
- ends -

Editor’s notes

Interviews with WWF spokespeople are available – please contact:
Benjamin Ward, Head of Press, 07837 134 193

Where to source WWF photography of global switch-off:

Images will first be uploaded to the address below:
• Imagery and video showing the switch off around UK and the globe will be available to download from http://earthhour.panda.org and http://www.flickr.com/photos/earthhour_global immediately as available.
 
They will also later be available on the FTP site listed below:
• UK images will also be available by FTP.
  
            Host name: adl.wwf.org.uk
            Username: earthhour
            Password: wwfea2010

If there are any problems, please contact Jo Sargent, Senior Press Officer,  07867 697 519

About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative.  Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour each year, in order to show their support for action on climate change.  The event began in Sydney in 2007, when 2 million people switched off their lights. In 2008, more than 50 million people around the globe participated. In 2009, participation swelled to hundreds of millions as 4159 cities, towns and municipalities in 88 countries and many of the world’s best known landmarks participated.

About WWF
WWF-UK is the UK arm of the WWF Network, the world’s leading environmental organisation founded in 1961 and now active in over 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. Using our unique combination of practical experience, knowledge and credibility, our 300-strong staff work with governments, businesses and communities both here in the UK and around the world so that people and nature thrive within their fair share of the planet’s natural resources.

Jo Sargent
Senior Press Officer, WWF-UK
01483 412 375
07867 697 519

 

The Government’s Heathrow policy is in tatters this morning after the High Court ruled that ministers’ decision to give a green light to the proposed third runway does not hold any weight.  The judge dismissed the Government’s claims to the contrary as ‘untenable in law and common sense’.

If the Government wants to pursue its plans for Heathrow expansion it must now go back to square one and reconsider the entire case for the runway.

The implications of today’s ruling are profound, not just for Heathrow but for airport expansion plans across the UK.  Lord Justice Carnwath ruled that the 2003 Air Transport White Paper – the foundation of expansion plans across the country – is obsolete because it is inconsistent with the Climate Change Act 2008.

The judge expressed real concern over the “hardship caused to the local community by uncertainty” over the third runway. The coalition which brought the successful legal challenge is now calling on the Government to end the uncertainty and scrap the runway plans once and for all.

The judge ruled that:

• If the Government decides to push ahead with the runway project it must now review the climate change implications of Heathrow expansion, the economic case for a third runway, and the issue of how additional passengers would get to a bigger airport.
   
• The Government’s entire aviation policy must now be reviewed to take into account the implications of the 2008 Climate Change Act. The judge found that “the claimants’ submissions add up, in my view, to a powerful demonstration of the potential significance of developments in climate change policy since the 2003 Air Transport White Paper. They are clearly matters which will need to be taken into account under the new Airports National Policy Statement.”(1)
   
• On the economic case for Heathrow expansion he would be ‘surprised’ if the recent tripling of the estimated cost to society of emitting carbon did not have ‘a significant effect’ on the economic case for the runway. The judge also said that “it makes no sense to treat the economic case as settled in 2003.”
   
• On the issue of surface access he said the claimants’ case – that there is no credible plan in place to transport millions of extra passengers to an expanded Heathrow – was ‘justified’. Significantly, he noted that the Government was “unable to provide a convincing answer” in court when it was pressed about over-crowding on the Piccadilly underground line that would result from construction of a third runway.
   

The judge is now inviting the Government to sign a legally binding undertaking that it will not base future aviation policy solely on its 2003 white paper. A further court hearing is expected to take place next month to examine the Government’s response to the judge’s request. At the same hearing the coalition will seek costs and fully expects to recover those costs from the Government.

Cllr Ray Puddifoot speaking on behalf of the local councils said:
“This is a spectacular victory for our residents. The Government had been trying to close down debate on the true economic impact of a third runway by presenting it as a done deal.”

Today’s ruling has blown that position apart. The Government just did not want to have to take on board the real consequences of new climate change laws. The judge made it clear the figures just did not add up.

“If after this ministers are still intent on pressing ahead with expansion they will have to go back to the beginning and justify the whole economic case in public. Knowing what we now know about rising carbon costs this is an argument they cannot win.

“The third runway is effectively dead because it cannot survive the proper economic and environmental scrutiny which the Government tried to avoid. As local councils we call on the Prime Minister to do to the decent thing and bury this discredited policy.”

Geraldine Nicholson, Chair of NoTRAG, said:
“As local residents, we now demand that the Government drops all plans for a 3rd runway and sixth terminal at Heathrow so that we can cast off the 8 years of blight and start to rejuvenate our communities.”

Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said:
“This ruling leaves the Government’s Heathrow decision in tatters. Ministers will now have to go back to the drawing board and conduct a broad consultation on key issues where their case is extremely weak. The third runway was already on life support, but with this ruling it’s hard to even find a pulse. This shows that David Cameron and Nick Clegg backed the right horse when they pledged to scrap the third runway, and it makes any Conservative U-turn after the election all but politically impossible.”

David Nussbaum, CEO of WWF-UK, said:
“We are delighted with today’s judgement. It deals a body blow to the third runway, but more than that it makes it clear that the Government’s whole policy of airport expansion must be reviewed in order to bring it into line with the Climate Change Act.”

“Today’s landmark ruling has implications that could resonate far wider than the aviation sector. For a judge to tell the Government that it cannot build huge pieces of carbon-intensive infrastructure without considering the long-term consequences is a resounding win in the fight to tackle climate change. It is also a further indication of the need for the UK to make a swift transition to a low carbon economy. WWF would now urge the Government to focus on green investment, encouraging alternative ways of connecting with people wherever possible, such as high speed rail and videoconferencing, rather than relying on carbon-heavy methods such as flying.”

Shaun Spiers, Chief Executive of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, said: 
“The Government said there could be no argument about the need for a third runway. This was undemocratic and it was wrong.

“We were forced to bring this legal case to give people the right to challenge the expansion of Heathrow. The High Court has now made clear that a fundamental review of aviation policy is needed. This not just a victory for people living around Heathrow or around other airports, it is a victory for everyone who wants a tranquil countryside and a democratic planning system.”

HACAN Chair John Stewart said:
“This is an utterly damning verdict for the Government.  It not only raises very serious concerns about a third runway at Heathrow, it also calls into question the Government’s entire aviation policy.  This really could be the final nail in the coffin for a third runway.”

Martin Harper, the RSPB’s Head of Sustainable Development, said:
Right from the start, we have argued that building a third runway at a time when we are battling to reduce our carbon emissions made no sense.

“Climate change threatens many species with extinction and we are already seeing its impacts with catastrophic declines in seabird numbers in parts of the North Sea.

“Concerns about climate change are at the heart of today’s judgement. The clear message from the High Court is that Government must now take those concerns into account.”

ENDS

Contacts:
For the London councils: Steve Mayner 020 8871 7524 / 07860 481 368/ Emma Marsh 01895 556 064 and 07780913334
For Greenpeace: Ben Stewart – 07801 212 967
For WWF: Jo Sargent – 01483 412375/ 07867 697519
For local residents: John Stewart – 07957 385 650/Geraldine Nicholson – 07710 523369
For Campaign to Protect Rural England: Ralph Smyth – 020 7981 2825/ Jack Neill-Hall 07739 332 796 (out of hours)
For RSPB: John Clare on 01767 680551

NOTES TO EDITORS

National Policy Statements (NPSs) are a key part of the new planning system that was established by the Planning Act 2008. They are strategic planning documents will set out the  national  need for major infrastructure developments  such as power stations, ports, airports, roads  and transmission lines. When an application is submitted for such a development above a certain threshold, there will be a presumption in favour of granting permission. The Government has said it intends to publish a draft Airports NPS next year.

Six local authorities in West London (Hammersmith and Fulham, Hounslow, Hillingdon, Richmond upon Thames, Wandsworth and Windsor & Maidenhead) are claimants to the challenge, alongside   the local residents group (NoTRAG) and the national campaigning group against airport expansion HACAN. WWF-UK, Campaign to Protect Rural England and Greenpeace are also claimants. Transport for London is an independent party supporting the claim. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is an expert witness. The challenge is also supported by Kensington and Chelsea and the Mayor of London. The local authorities are all members of the 2M Group which comprises 24 local councils opposed to Heathrow expansion with a combined population of 5 million.

The legal challenge was launched in April 2009 and the case was heard in the High Court at a rolled-up hearing on the 23^rd – 25^th February 2010.

In February 2007, Greenpeace won a Judicial Review against the Government’s energy review which backed a new generation of nuclear power stations. As a result the government was forced to re-run the public consultation.

If a third runway at Heathrow airport were to be built, the airport would become the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide in the UK. Unrestrained airport expansion would make it impossible for the UK to play its part in tackling climate change. The Government has committed the UK to cuts of at least 80% in CO2 emissions by 2050. Research from the respected Tyndall Centre shows that if the industry is allowed to expand as predicted, aviation emissions alone would make it impossible to meet this target.

Aviation has a number of high-altitude impacts that increase its total warming effect on the climate. The Committee on Climate Change has recently suggested that aviation has a Global Warming Potential of around two, meaning that its total warming effect is twice that of its CO2 emissions alone.

In December 2009, the Committee on Climate Change published a report with recommendations of how the Government target to reduce aviation emissions to 2005 levels by 2050 could be met. The Committee recommended that aviation growth needs to be limited to around half of that planned in the White Paper, but warned that the target may need to be further tightened in the future.

All the claimants are represented by Harrison Grant (solicitors) instructing Nigel Pleming QC of 39 Essex Street, Nathalie Lieven QC and David Forsdick of Landmark Chambers.

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Tanzania, Zambia ivory sales requests fail at CITES

Tanzania, Zambia ivory sales requests fail at CITES

Doha, Qatar – Requests from Zambia and Tanzania to hold one-off sales of their ivory stockpiles failed during a United Nations species trade meeting today that comes during a worldwide poaching crisis.

Governments participating in the United Nation’s Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES) rejected proposals by Tanzania and Zambia to relax trade restrictions on their elephant populations by moving them from Appendix I – the highest level of protection under the Convention banning all international commercial trade – to Appendix II.

The two countries had also initially, asked in addition to their downlisting requests, that they be able to hold a one-off sale of their ivory stockpiles.

No commercial ivory sale is permitted if their elephants remain in Appendix I, but are possible with the Appendix II listing, which allows some regulated international commercial trade.

But neither country was given permission to sell their ivory at this stage or relax trade controls on their elephant populations. The decisions come amid a poaching crisis destroying elephant populations in Asia and Africa.

Governments rejected Tanzania’s downlisting and ivory sales request. They also voted against Zambia’s request to move their elephant populations off Appendix I – a decision which came despite an amendment by Zambia to remove the request for a one-off sale of their ivory stockpiles from their original proposal.

“While the issue of whether sales should be allowed to proceed or not has dominated much of the discussions here in Qatar, WWF and TRAFFIC believe the key driving force behind the ongoing elephant poaching is the continued existence of illegal domestic ivory markets across parts of Africa and Asia,” said Steven Broad, Executive Director of TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network of WWF and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS) also was formally presented to delegates at the meeting.

The report found that the illicit trade in ivory, which has been increasing in volume since 2004, moved sharply upward in 2009 and there continues to be a highly significant correlation between large-scale domestic ivory markets in Asia and Africa and poor law enforcement, suggesting that illicit ivory trade flows typically follow a path to destinations where law enforcement is weak and markets function with little regulatory impediment.

“Poaching and illegal ivory markets in central and western Africa must be effectively suppressed before any further ivory sales take place,” said Elisabeth McLellan, Species Programme Manager, WWF International.

ETIS, one of the two monitoring systems for elephants under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) but managed by TRAFFIC, comprises the world’s largest collection of elephant product seizure records. The latest analysis was based upon 14,364 elephant product seizure records from 85 countries or territories since 1989.

In the middle of a poaching crisis

According to new data released today from park rangers and WWF field staff on the ground in Cameroon, for example, there has recently been an increase in poaching and use of high-calibre weapons.

In February, two unarmed game guards and 14 elephants were gunned down in Bouba Ndjidda National Park in northern Cameroon. During the past few months at least 40 elephants in and around protected areas were killed for their ivory and it is estimated that about 400 elephants have been killed within the last four years in three national parks in Cameroon alone.

The grim situation in Central Africa will not be addressed until domestic markets in that region are brought under control, WWF said. The sight of ivory openly on sale in many cities of Central and Western Africa sends a potent signal to poachers, smugglers and consumers that it is legal to buy and sell unregulated ivory.

Monday’s decisions follow the release last week of a new analysis of elephant trade data showing that coordinated enforcement in Central and West Africa and South-east Asia is crucial to addressing the illicit ivory trade.

Detailed regional summaries of the data held in the Elephant Trade Information System (ETIS), the world’s largest database on ivory seizures, highlighted the failure of law enforcement in key elephant range states facing an increasing threat from organised crime and the presence of unregulated markets.

ETIS is compiled by TRAFFIC on behalf of CITES, and comprises more than 15,400 ivory seizure cases compiled over the last 21 years.

The re-analysis of the data was made by region rather than by country, and was carried out to align the data with another CITES-tool used to monitor poaching, which also shows that the Central African region is losing the most elephants.

For more information, please contact:
Rowan Walker, Press Officer WWF-UK, tel: 01483 412 387

About WWF
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with almost 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

About TRAFFIC
TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, works to ensure that trade in wild plants and animals is not a threat to the conservation of nature. TRAFFIC is a joint programme of IUCN and WWF.
www.traffic.org

To mark World Water Day, WWF and M&S have launched a Water Stewardship guide, offering agricultural businesses practical information on assessing and reducing the impacts of their water footprint.

The guide ‘Good Water Stewardship: guidance for agricultural suppliers’ outlines how suppliers can go beyond on-site water efficiency measures to address the full range of water-related risks to their businesses. It also identifies the simple steps that will assist in reducing a business’s environmental impact, demonstrating the business rationale behind these measures.

Dave Tickner, head of freshwater programmes at WWF, said: “Globally, agriculture uses more water than any other economic activity. This means that food and farming businesses are having considerable impacts on rivers and wetlands around the world. Equally, the continued success of many of those businesses depends on well-managed water supplies. By publishing this guide we are offering solutions that will lead to improvements in water efficiency along the M&S supply chain. We hope that these improvements will ultimately contribute to reducing the pressure on some of the world’s most valuable freshwater ecosystems.

”We would encourage other organisations to follow our lead to help address the devastating impacts that mismanagement of water can have both on their business and on the environment.”

The guide, which is the latest output from the ongoing partnership between M&S and WWF, details how the risks associated with water usage in the supply chain are shared with other water users. It sets out practical case studies of how businesses across the world have worked together collectively, engaging stakeholders beyond farm gate and factory walls to address shared risks.

Dr Tom MacMillan, executive director, Food Ethics Council “As the world’s biggest water users, food and farming businesses are very exposed to risks from water scarcity and have a key role to play in addressing it. The point of water stewardship is that you can’t go it alone. We all share water with our neighbours, so it’s vital that we work with them to look after it.

WWF is helping M&S assess its water footprint and identify key risk areas geographically and supporting their development of practical solutions to drive change in its supply chain in these “high risk” regions

Through it’s Plan A initiative, M&S has shown its commitment to encouraging good water stewardship in its supply chain by working with suppliers to address direct water usage and engaging in community dialogue to ensure sustainable management of freshwater resources.

I PUT DIFFERENT VARIOUS NUTS IN SANDWHICH BAGS AND GRAB ONE OR TWO AND PUT IN MY PURSE. A HANDFUL OF ALMONDS TAKES THE STOMACH GROWLS AWAY ESPECIALLY THE CAROB COATED ONES.