Better

Posts Tagged ‘Better’

Dogfriendly Apple App – the best just got better!

Posted by admin on March 23rd, 2013

The UK’s biggest and best Dog Friendly mobile app has just got bigger and better!

First launched in November 2010, the Dog Friendly UK app has become a favourite for thousands of dog owners looking for the best places to take their dogs

The new app increases the number of searchable dog friendly directories from eight to nineteen, with an extra 10,000 venues added, making a total of nearly 30,000 venues where dogs are made as welcome as their owners.

Detailed listings include dog friendly hotels, self-catering, camping and caravan sites, pubs, beaches, days out plus dog friendly businesses such as vets, groomers, pet supplies, walkers and sitters.

In response to customer feedback, the app has been made even more user friendly with nearby, town and county search by category for planned journeys and immediate needs

Results include name, address, phone number, email address, web site and route maps with essential information not available in other directories, to help dog owners find the best places and businesses for themselves and their dogs.

Priced at £1.99, the app is available now for iPhone on the App Store, search for Dogfriendly UK.

To find out more about the Dogfriendly App, visit the Dogfriend App Site

Ends

Press information is available from [email protected]
Telephone 07908 705188

Web site
Facebook
Twitter

Dogfriendly was started in 2003 by husband and wife team Steve and Linda Bennett, when they struggled to find anywhere to go on holiday with their three large rescue dogs.

Dogfriendly now has more nearly 30,000 venues listed on their on-line databases. They also publish three books a year, and the Dogfriendly Out and About Magazine six times a year.
Custom Release Wire

EPA Recommends New Recreational Water Quality Criteria to Better Protect Public Health (HQ, AK, CA, CT, DE, DC, FM, FL, GA, GU, HI, IL, LA, ME, MH, MD, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, PA, PR, RI, SC, VI, VA, WA)

Posted by admin on November 26th, 2012

Release Date: 11/26/2012
Contact Information: Julia Valentine (News Media Only), [email protected], 202-564-0496, 202-564-4355

WASHINGTON — Pursuant to an order from a U.S. District Court and as required by the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act of 2000, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today recommended new recreational water quality criteria for states that will help protect peoples’ health during visits to beaches and waters year round. The science-based criteria provide information to help states improve public health protection by addressing a broader range of illness symptoms, better accounting for pollution after heavy rainfall, providing more protective recommendations for coastal waters, encouraging early alerts to beachgoers and promoting rapid water testing. The criteria released today do not impose any new requirements; instead, they are a tool that states can choose to use in setting their own standards.

The criteria provide states and communities with the most up to date science and information that they can use to determine whether water quality is safe for the public and when to issue an advisory or a beach closure. EPA has provided a variety of other tools to help states evaluate and manage recreational waters.

The new criteria are based on several recent health studies and use a broader definition of illness to recognize that symptoms may occur without a fever, including a number of stomach ailments. EPA also narrowed from 90 days to 30 days the time period over which the results of monitoring samples may be averaged. This produces a more accurate picture of the water quality for that given time, allowing for improved notification time about water quality to the public. This shortened time period especially accounts for heavy rainfall that can wash pollution into rivers, lakes or the ocean or cause sewer overflows.

The strengthened recommendations include:

- A short-term and long-term measure of bacteria levels that are to be used together to ensure that water quality is properly evaluated.

- Stronger recommendations for coastal water quality so public health is protected similarly in both coastal and fresh waters.

- A new rapid testing method that states can use to determine if water quality is safe within hours of water samples being taken.

- An early-alert approach for states to use to quickly issue swimming advisories for the public.

- Tools that allow states to predict water quality problems and identify sources of pollution, as well as to develop criteria for specific beaches.

More information: http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/criteria/health/recreation/index.cfm

U.S. EPA News

Using ecosystem services for better decision-making

Posted by admin on October 11th, 2012

Nepal has piloted a new practical ‘toolkit’ for assessing ecosystem services (BCN)

At the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP11 in Hyderabad, India, Dr Krishna Chandra Paudel (Secretary, Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation in Nepal) has launched a report entitled Conserving biodiversity and delivering ecosystem services at Important Bird Areas in Nepal.

The report—the first of its kind—presents the results of a three-year Darwin Initiative study conducted by Bird Conservation Nepal (BirdLife Partner) who piloted a new practical ‘toolkit’ for assessing ecosystem services (the benefits that nature provides, such as clean water and crop pollination) at 27 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) across the country. It is designed to help decision-makers recognise the value of nature, increasing awareness of the consequences of human actions, and ultimately leading to a more sustainable future in which biodiversity is conserved and the benefits from ecosystem services are better realised and more equitably distributed.

“The Government of Nepal has long recognised the economic, health and social benefits provided by ecosystem services, particularly to the poor communities whose day-to-day living directly depends on them. However, it’s clear that we are losing biodiversity and we need a more integrated approach to ecosystem management. This report is an important milestone in improving our understanding of how to tackle this issue”, said Dr Paudel at the Side Event at which the report was launched.

The data presented could contribute to the revision of Nepal’s National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan (NBSAP)—a process that has already been initiated. At the conference, the BirdLife delegation is urging Parties to recognise the importance of updating and implementing NBSAPs in line with the CBD’s new Strategic Plan 2011–2020, and to develop national indicators to measure progress towards the 20 ‘Aichi Biodiversity Targets’.

“Assessing ecosystem service delivery at IBAs can help to demonstrate the benefits of conservation beyond species”, said Ishana Thapa, Senior Conservation Officer, Bird Conservation Nepal and one of the research team.

“We believe that by effectively managing the network of IBAs, we can also safeguard ecosystem services which are vital for local livelihoods. In our recent study we have established a baseline which will help us to monitor progress towards Target 14 which has a focus on ecosystem services”, she added.

Bird Conservation Nepal plans to work with the Government to build on the recommendations put forward in the report. The challenge now is to integrate these into key policy sectors so that the true value of Nepal’s diverse ecosystems are taken into account when considering, for example, management of the protected area system, the expansion of the tourism industry and plans for climate change adaptation.

Visit the Ecosystem Services Spotlight to find out how other BirdLife Partners are also engaging in ecosystem services work around the world and demonstrating how conserving sites, their habitats and species, provide benefits that are directly relevant to people.

‘State of Nepal’s Birds’ launched A major new report has been published entitled State of Nepal’s Birds 2010. Produced by…
Nepal leads the way in valuing nature The Nepalese Government has pledged that the country will lead the way in developing global…
Saving Rara for the future Bird Conservation Nepal, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, and staff from BirdLife…

BirdLife Community

Garden designer Andrew Fisher Tomlin calls for better large garden advice.

Posted by admin on October 4th, 2012

Leading UK garden designer Andrew Fisher Tomlin has made a call for more advice to be available to those people with larger gardens to encourage them to make productive use of their asset and not sell off for development.

Andrew said “As a company we are lucky enough that much of our work is in the green belt around London but increasingly we are finding clients are daunted by the prospect of keeping up a large garden. It might seem like a great problem to have but eventually some of these people start thinking it would be better to sell off part of the garden to developers and whilst we need space for new homes we are also losing a great natural asset.”

Fisher Tomlin believes that whilst there is plenty of focus on small garden design and landscaping there is a growing need to support large garden owners. “ Often the owners of these gardens are coming up for retirement and want the tools to know how to look after the garden as they get older. There are some great organisations like Thrive helping people carry on gardening but more advice on low maintenance ideas would help enormously.”

Andrew’s top five tips for reducing the maintenance and cost of a large garden include:

• Cut out weekly lawn cutting by establishing longer grass areas, planting wild flower plugs and bulbs to encourage wildlife.
• Turn over neglected areas of the garden to orchard trees.
• Share your garden with young people who don’t have their own garden on the basis of sharing the produce that they harvest.
• Introduce more shrubs into borders to reduce the maintenance that has been created by the trend towards big perennial borders.
• Plant with water wise methods using dense planting to retain moisture in the ground and cut down the need for irrigation.

-Ends-

Further Information

Fisher Tomlin create gardens from their offices in Wimbledon, London and Chobham in Surrey. The company provides design and horticulture services for residential gardens and parks across Europe and beyond for which they have received a number of international awards.

For further information please contact Andrew Fisher Tomlin on
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +44(0) 1276 855900 or +44 (0) 7957 855457
Website address : www.andrewfishertomlin.com
Custom Release Wire

Organic Crops May Not Be Better For The Environment

Posted by admin on September 5th, 2012

New research has revealed that organic crops may not necessarily be better for us or the planet.

The green credentials of organic produce have been questioned after a team of scientists recently concluded that food grown organically may not actually be any more nutritious than their conventionally grown counterparts.

Crystal Smith-Spangler of Stanford University, California led the team responsible for the findings, which were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Investigations were carried out into the nutritional value of organic food and the effect that it had on its surrounding soil.

Organic Crop Studies

17 human studies took place alongside 223 nutrient and contaminant analyses comparing organic and non-organic food. Three of the human studies looked at the clinical outcomes that came from eating the different foods, and found no significant differences between the food types in the development of allergies such as eczema, wheeze, atopic sensitization, or symptomatic Campylobacter infection.

Children consuming organic produce were found to have lower pesticide levels in their urine in two of the studies, but no significant differences were found in studies of biomarker and nutrient levels in serum, urine, breast milk, and semen in adults.

Overall, only phosphorous levels were significantly higher in organic foods than conventional produce, though even this result was not deemed “clinically significant”.

The levels of pesticides found in organic produce was discovered to be less than conventional foods, though the latter example was still within limits of detectable pesticide levels. Farming method was not found to be related to bacterial levels in chicken or pork, though organic versions of these meats had a lower risk of isolating bacteria resistant to three or more antibiotics.

The paper concluded that: “The published literature lacks strong evidence that organic foods are significantly more nutritious than conventional foods. Consumption of organic foods may reduce exposure to pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.”

Organic Food in Environment

Elsewhere, Hanna Tuomisto of the University of Oxford and colleagues reviewed 109 papers to establish the true effect of organic farming on the soil.

It was found that although organic produce is in fact often more polluting per unit of food produced, organic farms are less polluting for a given area of land, and had better soil quality that housed more species.

Tuomisto reported: “An ‘organic’ label is not a straightforward guarantee of the most environmentally friendly product.”

These findings could mean that integrated farming is a potential way to go. This method combines elements of existing farming practices.

Dale Sanders, director of the John Innes Centre in Norwich, explains: “Advanced breeding technologies, combined with the best farming practices from organic and conventional systems, could have the best overall impact in terms of improving crop yield and sustainability.”

Image Copyright mercedesfromtheeighties Courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Enviro News – News

Better communciation of science to the public is critical to tackling major environmental challenges

Posted by admin on August 30th, 2012

There is a pressing need for researchers to better communicate science and technology developments to the general public, says Alan Leshner, chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, in a publication last week.

Currently, public engagement tends to be an afterthought, says Mr Leshner, meaning that the general population and, critically, policymakers, frequently “misunderstand, misrepresent or disregard” complex issues such as climate change and GM food.

Improving public understanding and involvement in these issues is critical, as solutions to tackle them often depend on a strong policy response and widespread buy-in from the general population. GM foods, for example, cannot be successfully introduced without the support of the public, as was demonstrated by the rejection of a genetically-modified aubergine variety in India in 2010.

To help researchers with the challenge of communicating often complex scientific findings, Mr Leshner points to recent empirical research which reveals information about how public attitudes to scientific knowledge are shaped.

He also stresses the importance of ‘issue-framing’ in determining the reaction of the public and policy-makers and suggests scientists can learn from ‘antiscience forces’ which often significantly simplify the information in order to tell a convincing story. People care most about issues that might affect them personally, so the strongest tool in effective science-communication may be tailoring the message to a particular audience’s concerns.

However, in adopting this approach, Mr Leshner stresses, science faces a particular challenge; researchers must make sure to always “stick to the facts” so as not to in fact counter-productively undermine science’s credibility in the public eye.

The original article was published on www.sciencemag.org on 22nd August 2012

Tags: evidence-based policy, policy making, Public Engagement, public trust in science, Science Communication, Science Policy

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 30th, 2012 at 1:33 pm and is filed under Climate Change, GM, Public Engagement, Research, Science Communication, Science Policy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

BES Ecology & Policy Blog

Cough Up For Better Sweeping Equipment: The Reward Is Cleaner Air

Posted by admin on August 29th, 2012

The American Lung Association Urges Communities to Control Air Pollution in Every Neighborhood, and Universal Site Services Responds With Regenerative Air Sweepers

MILPITAS, CALIFORNIA–(Marketwire – Aug. 29, 2012) - State-of-the-art parking lot sweeping and street sweeping equipment is one of the answers to the problem of air pollution in local neighborhoods. Although everyone deserves clean air to breathe, most communities are bombarded with so many air contaminants that people with serious lung ailments often wear facemasks to try and filter out the worst of it.

Apparently the USA is paving more space than ever before, which contributes to reduced air quality. A study by researchers from Purdue University in 2005 calculated the number of parking spaces for 155,000 residents in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, covered an area bigger than 1,000 football fields. That’s a lot of paving and a lot of air pollution, and the problem continues to grow.

The Pacific Southwest Research Station at the University of California, in 2010, confirmed a serious air quality problem in cities, citing tailpipe exhaust and evaporative emissions from parked cars as big contributors. It also pointed to coal-tar-based seal coat sprayed or painted on parking lots and driveways as another pollutant, which contributes to the higher concentrations of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) in the air and now found in household dust.

“We are certainly aware of the public’s mounting concern with the quality of air in their neighborhoods and we are addressing those concerns with our system of parking lot sweeping and street sweeping,” said Gina Vella, President, Universal Site Services. “We are proud to have been one of the inventors of the regenerative air sweeper, which is more environmentally friendly than any other sweeper, and it certainly helps control air pollution.”

World Sweeper.com reported in December 2011 that sweepers using a regenerative air technology are more environmentally friendly than vacuum or mechanical broom sweepers. The reason is very easy to grasp: regenerative air sweepers employ a closed loop system that vacuums up debris, drops it into a container, and re-circulates (regenerates) the air internally which is then blasted into the sweeper head, opposite to the inlet tube.

“The amount of pollutant-laden exhaust is so much less than with other sweepers, municipal governments and parking lot managers are always enthusiastic about our use of this equipment on local roadways and parking lots,” stated Mrs. Vella.

With increased focus on air pollution by the USA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which estimates an annual 30,000 people dying and 1,000,000 more suffering serious lung damage because of pollutants attached to small-micron sized dust particles, we will probably see a lot more of these regenerative sweepers pressed into service.

About Universal Site Services

Universal Site Services is a full service property maintenance and site services company serving clients in California, Arizona, and Nevada. Founded in 1958, Universal is one of the largest family-owned, full-service outdoor maintenance companies on the West Coast. Universal was one of the inventors of the regenerative air parking lot sweeper. Services include parking lot sweeping pressure washing, day porter, landscaping, property maintenance and graffiti removal. For more information about Universal, please visit www.universalsiteservices.com or call: 800-647-9337.

Marketwire – Environment

Buy Into a Better Environment: Green Purchasing Tips

Posted by admin on August 28th, 2012

Aug. 28, 2012

Residents and businesses in Fairfax County can buy into a better environment by thinking green when purchasing products that are commonly used, including back-to-school supplies. In most cases you also will save money. Fairfax County’s Department of Purchasing and Supply Management’s green purchasing program has reduced costs and the county’s environmental impact since it was implemented in 2009. The agency offers these green purchasing tips for home, school and work.

Look for recycled content in the products you buy. Using paper that has recycled content is an easy choice. Fairfax County Government’s copy paper contains at least 30 percent recycled content. This simple switch is estimated to save about 2,700 trees each year.

Try a new take on existing technology. For example staple-less staplers cut out a tiny strip of paper and uses it to stitch up to five pages together.

Look for ways to extend the useful life of a product. Refillable pens eliminate the need to recycle the products after their short life. Refill the pens; use them over and over and save some space in the landfill.

Buy remanufactured products, for example printer cartridges. Fairfax County Government recently made the switch to remanufactured printer cartridges. Reusing parts of old cartridges reduces waste and the county is projected to save approximately $ 200,000 annually.

Research products and the companies that you buy from the most. Look for green certification on products, such as Energy Star. Call or look online to see if companies have environmentally friendly goals and practices in place. Do they have green purchasing programs?

Change the way you do things incrementally for a big impact and big savings. For example, use a water bottle with a filter rather than disposable water bottles. A filter can be used for up to 300 bottles of water before it needs to be replaced. At an average cost of $ 10, it is much cheaper than buying bottled water.

Buy used (and keep your unwanted stuff out of the landfill). For many items you buy, the thrift store can be a gold mine and save you a lot of money. You can also check the county’s public auction site for great deals on everything from exercise bikes to tables and chairs. Getting rid of something? Instead of throwing it away, think about what you can donate to a thrift store or post on a website that advertises items that people can pick up for free.

Eliminate waste in your purchasing process. You can reduce wasteful printing by asking companies to stop sending you catalogs, coupons, credit card offers, phone books and circulars. Sign up with Catalog Choice and other free services to help junk the junk mail. Through similar efforts, many Fairfax County Government agencies have reduced junk mail by 90 percent.

If possible, return the packaging from a product to be reused. Some companies will take back their boxes for reuse, which saves you the trouble of recycling them and reduces the energy needed to create a new box. If you get a lot of boxes from a company, call or email them to ask. Fairfax County’s current office supplies contractor offers a box reuse program for customers.

For more information on environmental efforts in Fairfax County, go online and friend us on Facebook .

Fairfax County Environment News and Information – Fairfax County, Virginia

Information for Innovation: Building better channels for knowledge exchange in environmental science

Posted by admin on August 2nd, 2012

The British Library and the Environmental Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network (ESKTN) are organising a free one day workshop on 28th September to explore how knowledge exchange can be improved in the environmental sector.

What is lost in translation between the researcher and the innovator? Is information access a barrier to innovation in environmental sciences? The workshop will look at the medium and the message, identifying barriers to the flow of information, and examining ways in which knowledge exchange is facilitated in different parts of the environmental sector. The workshop will develop case studies of good practice and identify ways to achieve a more joined-up landscape for environmental science information.

The organisers are particularly interested in looking at the role that information access plays in the knowledge exchange process, and are thus keen to work with audiences, such as SMEs, local authorities, and charities who are often at the ‘receiving end’ of knowledge transfer—and who often have considerably less traditional access to information than academics. The aim is to produce a report with case studies of good practice and recommendations for stakeholders and policymakers; the organisers have also been invited to present on these findings at the Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) conference in November.

Access further information and register for this event here.

Tags: British Library, Environmental Sustaina

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 2nd, 2012 at 11:00 am and is filed under Environment, Event, Workshop. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

BES Ecology & Policy Blog

EPA and USDA Announce First-Ever Microbial Risk Assessment Guidance / Guideline will help better determine health risks from food and waterborne pathogens (HQ)

Posted by admin on July 31st, 2012

Release Date: 07/31/2012
Contact Information: Latisha Petteway (News Media Only), [email protected], 202-564-3191, 202-564-4355

WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) today announced the first-ever Microbial Risk Assessment (MRA) Guideline. This new MRA Guideline lays out an overarching approach to conducting meaningful assessments of the risks to Americans posed by pathogens in food and water. Pathogens ingested in food and water can result in acute gastrointestinal-related illnesses; some gastrointestinal-related illnesses can result in long-term and permanent health effects as well as premature death. This new guideline will improve the quality of the data collected by public health scientists charged with protecting Americans from pathogen-related risks in food and water.

“This guidance contributes significantly to improving the quality and consistency of microbial risk assessments, and provides greater transparency to stakeholders and other interested parties in how federal agencies approach and conduct their microbial risk assessments,” said Dr. Glenn Paulson, EPA Science Advisor. “Based on the success of this project, we are seeking further opportunities to combine our technical expertise in our continuing efforts to protect the Americans’ health.”

“The microbial risk assessment guideline developed by FSIS, the EPA and our other public health partners will help protect consumers by allowing us to uniformly assess and reduce health risks from pathogens,” USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Elisabeth Hagen said. “We’re proud to have worked with our partners on this guideline that will provide our risk assessors with a transparent and scientifically rigorous document to use in protecting public health.”

Formal risk assessments for food, water, and environmentally-relevant chemicals have been undertaken for decades. However, an overarching microbial risk assessment guideline has not been available until now. The guideline announced today meets this need by providing comprehensive, yet specific and descriptive information for developing assessments of microbial risk in food and water.

More information on the guideline: http://www.epa.gov/raf/microbial.htm