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Southport & Mersey Reporter® covering the news on Merseyside.

Date:- 29 October 2007

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Liverpool better than national average for cities in the UK

RESIDENTS in Liverpool have less impact on the environment than the national average, according to a new green league table of mainland UK cities by WWF. But if everyone in the world consumed the same amount as people in Liverpool then we would need nearly three planets to support us.

The average resident’s footprint in Liverpool is 2.92 planets, coming 21st with Nottingham in the ranking.  The report ranks the 60 cities in England, Scotland and Wales by the average ecological footprint of their residents. These results show a damning picture for the UK, as even those cities at the lower end of the scale are consuming more than their fair share of natural resources.

Liverpool resident Chris Hayes said:- “I’ve already tried to lead an environmentally-conscious lifestyle such as recycling waste but I still managed to reduce my footprint further from 2.7 planets to 2.26. To achieve this I’ve signed up to a local fruit and vegetable box scheme run by my milkman, I’m avoiding heavily processed foods as much as possible and I got a free compost bin from the council for my kitchen waste.”

Merseyside resident Sarah Cable was already a keen recycler and car-sharer but since measuring her footprint, she’s taken further steps to reduce it from 2.78 planets to 2.18. “I’ve changed all my lightbulbs to low energy ones, turned my central heating down, I’m buying more local and seasonal food and I don’t leave any electrical appliance on standby.”

Colin Butfield, head of campaigns at WWF-UK, said:- “The battle for the environment will be won or lost in our cities. They have the highest potential for eco-living due to local facilities, public transport links, dense housing and shared public resources. Whilst all cities and city dwellers could do more to reduce their impact on the environment there are some great examples of good practice on areas such as transport and housing around the UK.”

Ecological footprint is made up of the land and sea area required to feed, provide resources, produce energy and to absorb their waste and pollution. The main factors affecting an individual’s ecological footprint are: housing, food, consumer goods, public and private services and transport eg one return flight to Australia uses as much energy as it takes to heat and power your home for 6 years.

Sunderland uses the least of its footprint on consumer items whilst Winchester uses the most. Leicester has the lowest food footprint in England, whilst Durham has the highest.

The report recommends steps individuals can take to reduce their footprint. These include: calculate your footprint at www.wwf.org.uk/calculator  and devise a plan to reduce it, join a green community group, holiday closer to home and try to reduce energy use in your home and save money on bills in the process.

Butfield added:- “We are currently depleting the earth’s natural resources quicker than it can replace them, causing problems such as disappearing forests, declining fisheries and climate change.  However, even the most green city resident, can on average only reduce their footprint by one third – moving from a UK average of a three planet lifestyle to a 2 planet lifestyle. This clearly indicates that the one planet challenge is not just about consumers - government and business must also play their part to avoid the most devastating impacts on the environment.”

PREPARE FOR CHANGE, URGES SOUTHPORT MEP

A Southport Euro-MP has hosted the first meeting of a new EU network intended to encourage governments and public bodies prepare for the effects of climate change.

Disasters as a result of global warming such as floods, droughts, earthquakes and fires are a major threat to life and the economy. While much attention is focused on reducing carbon emissions that cause climate change, moves also need to be made to adapt to the challenges it brings.

Politicians from around the world will meet in Bali in December to agree stricter carbon emission standards. But Liberal Democrat MEP Chris Davies, who will represent the European Parliament at the talks, says that even if rigorous emission reductions are agreed we still need to deal with an upset climate for at least 50 more years.  He said:- "While moves are being made to cut carbon emissions we still have to deal with the fallout from the global warming already working on the atmosphere."

Mr Davies says it is important for all new investments and policies to be 'disaster proof' and this need not require extensive work.   "It is not acceptable for a new hospital to be built in a flood plain, when moving it 100 meters up would extend its life by tens of years."

The network will be used to keep lawmakers and interested groups in touch and informed on key developments in the area of disaster impact reduction.

Commission should investigate supermarket food price increases

MEPs believe supermarket mark-ups are outstripping commodity price rises.  Conservatives are calling on the European Commission to investigate food price increases, as consumers face cost hikes of 30 to 40% in their weekly shopping bills despite just a 10% rise in wheat prices.

The cost of wheat amounts to only 10% of a loaf of bread and 5% of a French baguette, yet shoppers are being hit by substantial price rises on these products and many others at the till.  Conservatives have co-sponsored a resolution in the European Parliament on the matter, which will be debated in Strasbourg.

Sir Robert says:- "Food prices will naturally rise and fall in the marketplace, but we are concerned by the massive discrepancy between the relative small increase in the price of wheat and the massive increase in supermarket prices.  Consumers and farmers are the victims of food price hikes. For the first time in 25 years, food security is becoming an issue again. The European Union must take action to guarantee food supplies, ensure pricing at supermarkets is competitive, and keep prices down for the most vulnerable consumers for whom food is a big part of their household budget."

 READER HELP US KEEP SITE LIVE...

WE would like to thank the person who contacted us, (His phone number ends 9036...), about an error that occurred for a few hours, affecting some access to last weeks edition. We don't often have system errors on the site, but sadly this one was as a result of adding our new news database and it was corrected very quickly after the call. If anyone does spot errors, please do let us know, as we are still evaluating the new system.  The new system will very soon allow even more access for you, the reader, from your mobile phones and from any PDQ. Without our readers help, we cannot deliver the high standard we normally provide. Once again we would like to thank the caller for his help in identifying this problem.

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