News: Community, environment, regeneration

31.03.2004 The oldest trees in St David's Wood, Blackwood, Wales, were among the last to fall. But, say locals and supporters, the resistance is not over. The trees may be dead, and the road itself underway, but there is still the question of the two bypasses, which are due to connect to the road.

24.03.2004 Patenting the genetic make-up of England's wildlife could lead to companies commercialising genes without any benefit for the British public or the environment and should be resisted by the government, according to Friends of the Earth. The warning comes as English Nature is said to be "on the verge of striking a deal to bio-prospect some of Britain's most famous Nature reserves".

18.03.2004 WWF Cymru has warned the National Assembly of Wales that its position as a world leader on sustainable development is being threatened by inappropriate industrial developments that fail to protect the environment in the same way as the economy.

09.03.2004 London Mayor Ken Livingstone has given his support to setting a global cap on greenhouse gas emissions, beyond which damage from climate change would be unacceptable, and a system of trading emissions reduction quotas between countries, in his recent energy strategy.

08.03.2004 One in three food products UK supermarket shelves are directly contributing to the destruction of the world's rainforests, a new report by Friends of the Earth reveals today.

05.03.2004 A powerful committee of MPs have slammed the UK government’s plans to allow GM crops to be commercially grown. The government is expected to give qualified approval for GM maize next week.

03.03.2004 Britain’s aviation industry’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions look set to reach 75% by 2050, despite government targets to cut emissions to 60% by this date, according to the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution.

02.03.2004 Airport departure taxes should be scrapped and replaced by a duty on every plane leaving Britain - both passenger and freight - to make the polluter pay, Charles Kennedy has declared.

02.03.2004 Northern Ireland's new water legislation has been labelled "weak and extremely disappointing", by the Freshwater Task Force - a group of environmental NGOs. The group believes that the law in its current state will offer little benefit to local rivers, coastal areas and wetlands, which are in urgent need of protection.