Monk parakeets invade Britain.

Summary:

Monk parakeets are rapidly taking over since they were released from captivity in the 1990’s. Originally from the Americas, have the potential to expand rapidly and could pose a threat to agriculture and public safety. The Royal Society for Bird Protection has called on the government to re-home rather than to shot the invasive birds. The RSBP realizes the threat they form, but do not believe in shooting birds, a spokesman said. The birds eat crops and fruits, which makes them a danger for the agriculture but also for other animals with the same diet. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural affairs has said that control measures are being taken, this includes trapping and re-homing, removing nests and shooting if necessary.

Comment:

I’m not quite sure what to make of this and if I should take this very seriously. Even though the birds seem to form a threat for agriculture, which seems serious, there is no source reporting how big the danger is etc. However, I always find that in a case like this, an argument like “the birds will wipe out native animals” is completely invalid. Things like that happen all the time in nature, and we should just keep our hands of it. We shouldn’t mess with natural patterns, the nature has it figured out and it will probably be okay, but of course people have to make a big deal out of it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/8471075/Wild-parakeets-living-in-Britain-to-be-shot-before-they-become-a-nuisance.html

Wimbledon increases prize money.

Summary:

The All England lawn tennis and croquet club have increased the total Wimbledon prize fund up to 6.4% to 14.6million pounds. Now, the Wimbledon singles winners will win a record of 1.1million pounds in 2011. The chairman of the All England club, Philip Brook, argues that leading international sport events like Wimbledon need to offer suitable rewards for the high quality performances of the athletes. The competitive top sport world is all about the quality of the players and Wimbledon has to offer something for the box-office appeal they bring to the event.

Comment:

I think it’s pretty outrageous that they think it’s necessary to increase the prize money in order to appeal. An event like Wimbledon has a big enough name and reputation to keep the appeal. Besides that, there are other reasons to get more appeal than to simply increase the prize money. I like tennis, and I’m a big fan of many of the athletes that come to Wimbledon, but I feel like they don’t need such a high reward. I think it’s a better way if instead of just giving them money, which will go to their sponsors, coaches and so on, is that there will come some sort of arrangement that will take care of successful athletes and satisfy their needs, so clubs like the All England Club can spend their money on other, more useful things.

http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/241689/Wimbledon-increase-winners-pot

M1 partially closed

Summary:

A part of the M1 motorway as big as 7 miles might not be completely open for traffic until the end of the week.  The motorway was badly damaged by a fire that started in a scrap yard under the bridge where the motorway is build on. A new bridge has to be build in order to allow the reopening of lanes.  It is unclear what caused the fire in the scrap yard and a police investigation has started investigated but has not released anything. Many football fans who are going to the FA cup semi-finals in Wembley have to change their travel plans.

Comment:

This is a very unlucky situation, especially with the coming semi-finals in Wembley. I’m very curious to what has caused the fire in the scrap yard, and what a scrap yard was doing under a high way, who owns the scrap yard or who is responsible. Because if it is so that the fire was caused by a person, that person is in for a unpleasant surprise. But it’s of course also possible that the fire had a natural cause.

Source:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/apr/17/m1-closed-until-monday

Blog entry #1

Summary:

A new high voltage DC cable between the Netherlands and the UK might be the first step to a European electricity grid. The network is seen as fatal for making a weather proof international electricity network. The cable will transport renewable energy and will allow the Uk into a much larger electricity market.  The cable will make it easier to export and import renewable energy, so they can buy and easily transport the energy when they need it and sell when they have too many.

Comment:

In my opinion the new HVDC cable is a great thing, it’s clean, safe and quick. It will make transporting energy safer, faster and it is a great step for  the UK’s energy security. On top of all that it will be used for renewable energy like wind, water and solar energy which is a good thing as well. There’s a financial factor as well, the cable will help stabilize the energy market as it makes it easier to sell, buy and transport energy to where it is needed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/apr/11/uk-netherlands-power-cable-britned/print

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