Environment – Page 18 – Slugger O'Toole

When satellites collide..

Pete Baker on February 14, 2009, 3:45 am

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The last time there was an addition to the debris field around the Earth it came courtesy of a modified SM-3 missile. The latest addition to the approximately 12,500 trackable objects in orbit around this planet was the result of the first known collision of two large satellites – US telecommunications satellite Iridium 33 and defunct Russian military satellite Kosmos 2251. As the BBC report notes, the risk to the International Space Station is believed to be low. Meanwhile, the …

“Mute Meadow” to be Foyle Public Art

Pete Baker on February 14, 2009, 12:57 am

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The current Northern Ireland Arts Minister, the DUP’s Gregory Campbell, has revealed the £800,000 “inspirational piece of public art that will reflect the spirit, creativity, history and diversity of this city and its people” that will be the Foyle Public Arts Project announced in January last year. The project’s website never did take off but the BBC report has some details of the winning design by Vong Phaophanit and Claire Oboussier. And there should be an animation somewhere.. From today’s …

Celebrating Charles Darwin

Pete Baker on February 12, 2009, 9:13 pm

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On the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, and in the year of the 150th Anniversary of the publication of On the Origin of Species, a New York Times op-ed offers a timely thought, “The cultural opposition to evolution was then, as now, scientifically irrelevant.” [added emphasis]. The BBC is covering the anniversary with an impressive series of programmes and a dedicated website. The Natural History Museum has more information and events. And Scientific American has a Darwin …

Committee has “no confidence” in Environment Minister

Pete Baker on February 12, 2009, 5:25 pm

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The Northern Ireland Assembly Environment Committee has passed a motion of no confidence in the Environment Minister, the DUP’s Sammy Wilson, by 6 votes to 4. The Alliance Party’s David Ford abstained. But given the polit-bureau’s stranglehold on votes in the NI Assembly perhaps of slightly more significance is the last line in the BBC report – “The committee agreed to write to the Office of First and Deputy First Minister to seek clarification on the Executive’s climate change policy.” …

“our party’s policy is that the Bill is necessary.” – redux

Pete Baker on February 9, 2009, 11:53 pm

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One interesting point of the Northern Ireland Environment Minister, the DUP’s Sammy Wilson’s views on man-made greenhouse gases, including CO2, and their contribution to climate change is that he is in opposition to the NI Executive, which is fully signed up to the UK Climate Change Act, and he is in opposition to his own party, which supports the Act. But he wasn’t opposed to the extent that he claimed during the studio discussion with Green Party MLA Brian Wilson …

The advert Sammy Wilson tried to ban..

Pete Baker on February 9, 2009, 9:48 pm

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If Stormont Live can defy the Northern Ireland Environment Minster, so can we.. [Let’s see him put a ‘postcode lockout’ on Slugger – Ed]. Adds Here’s a related post on some of those sceptical “international scientists”. And On misleading arguments. Pete Baker

There’s [more] gold in them thar hills!

Pete Baker on February 6, 2009, 3:55 am

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Apparently.. At least according to the RTÉ report. For their part Conroy Diamonds and Gold say that the samples taken at the Clay Lake target [pdf file] in County Armagh contain “average gold-in-soil values [] twice the average of those recorded at Clontibret.” The press release states – “More than 80 soil samples were collected at Clay Lake, returning average gold-in-soil values of over 50ppb, with six greater than 100ppb and a highest value of 1,531ppb”. That’s parts per billion …

“I have authorised a Notice of Opinion to approve the National Trust application.”

Pete Baker on January 27, 2009, 7:20 pm

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As the BBC has reported, Northern Ireland Environment Minister, the DUP’s Sammy Wilson, has issued a Notice of Opinion to approve the National Trust’s planning application for a Giant’s Causeway Visitors Centre. Seymour Sweeney’s appeal against the refusal of his planning application is expected to continue. Now, Minister, about those other developers.. Adds Which is, more or less, what Jim Fitzpatrick asked him on Stormont Live. Pete Baker

“Reading the briefs provided to them..”

Pete Baker on January 27, 2009, 5:40 pm

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Perhaps with the background of the ongoing conversation about making Question Time in the Northern Ireland Assembly more engaging [or more accountable? – Ed] in mind, BBC NI political editor Mark Devenport comments on the jargon-filled “cure for insomnia” that was questions to OFMDFM yesterday – “reading the briefs provided to them by officials without an awful lot of insight into what it’s about.” The example being discussed, an answer by the NI deputy First Minister, Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness, …

“I warned the planners on Friday afternoon..”

Pete Baker on January 26, 2009, 11:38 pm

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On Stormont Live today, DUP MLA Jim Wells called on the Northern Ireland Environment Minister, the DUP’s Sammy Wilson, to take action against a property developer who demolished a victorian terrace house in Newcastle, County Down, at the weekend without planning permission.. when there was no-one in the NI Planning Service office.. Adds The BBC’s Mark Simpson’s report is here. [new link] Update Additional BBC report. And what the NI Environment Minister has to say. Pete Baker

“We have to understand the planet we live on..”

Pete Baker on January 22, 2009, 4:55 pm

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Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister, the DUP’s Arlene Foster, has introduced television presenter Iain Stewart at a lecture on Geoscience at Methodist College, Belfast. Perhaps she will also introduce Professor Stewart, for it is he, to her party colleague, the NI Environment Minister.. Just a thought.. Pete Baker

“the first transnational Geopark in the world..”

Pete Baker on January 16, 2009, 9:24 pm

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Speaking at an event attended by Irish Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD, the Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster, has welcomed the launch of the UNESCO approved expansion of Marble Arch Caves Geopark into County Cavan, making it the world’s “first transnational Geopark” [No passport required – Ed]. The [NI] minister said: “Today’s expansion announcement places the Marble Arch Caves firmly on the map as the first transnational Geopark in the world. “Geoparks are territories where …

Gormley’s Liffey sculpture gets 10 year planning permission

Pete Baker on January 16, 2009, 6:40 pm

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The Irish Times reports that Antony Gormley’s Dublin Docklands vision has been granted planning permission by An Bord Pleanála. There is a caveat. Permission has only been granted for the 46.2m high steel-lattice figure for 10 years, after which further planning permission will be required if it is to stay in place. Which might be suitably cautious.. or it might risk running into the same problem of Another Place.. From the Irish Times report “The condition, highly unusual in relation …

“people within the system must not be allowed to resist that because of their own prejudices..”

Pete Baker on January 11, 2009, 10:27 pm

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Not content with lobbying his own departmental officials, on behalf of individual planning applications, the Northern Ireland Environment Minister, the DUP’s Sammy Wilson, has now publicly criticised Planning Service for refusing a planning application for what would have been Belfast’s tallest building – the 109 metres tall, 37 storey, Aurora tower. From the iol report The East Antrim Assembly member, who is also a Belfast City councillor, said if he had the power to the make the call on the …

“we could pay up to a maximum of £3m..”

Pete Baker on January 9, 2009, 8:11 pm

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Northern Ireland Water have revealed that it will cost up to £3million to alter the £70million seven-year contract with the Xansa-led Crystal Alliance consortium for the provision of a customer billing and collections system for water charges – previously noted here. It was part of the recommendations of the 2007 review of water and sewerage services. It’s a small price to pay to allow the semi-detached polit-bureau to claim that they haven’t introduced an additional water charge – since it’ll …

“They indicate there was an extra-terrestrial event on Earth 12,900 years ago..”

Pete Baker on January 3, 2009, 5:02 am

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Whether or not the finding of nano-diamonds along with impact material such as iridium and magnetic microspherules – as well as an abundance of diamonds in carbon spherules – confirms the hypothesis of meteor strikes in north America triggering the Younger Dryas “Big Freeze”, after a period of global warming, is less important, overall, than the implications for those who would rely on past fluctations in global temperature, not to mention the global conspiracy, as evidence for denying the anthropogenic …

Might never happen..

Pete Baker on December 31, 2008, 1:25 am

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Via the Telegraph blog, here’s a fun video to ponder as we head into another New Year.. seems to be popular too.. It’s why some people are keeping an eye on those Near Earth Objects [not to mention the potentially hazardous asteroids.. – Ed] That and those past Extinction Level Events.. Meanwhile the Professor mentions that the Yellowstone supervolcano caldera is being notably tremorous.. Adds more here. Pete Baker

“harsh and craggy pile of Scottish-Tudor stone”

Pete Baker on December 29, 2008, 10:34 pm

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Members of the Presbyterian Mutual Society probably have other things on their minds right now, but the not-completely-independent Northern Ireland Environment Agency has awarded the “single biggest grant award ever given under the Historic Buildings Grant Aid Scheme for repairs to listed buildings” to Church House in Belfast’s Fisherwick Place, the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, originally built in 1905, renovated in 1992 – Church awarded £1million to repair HQ. Meanwhile, the 12th Century Athassel Abbey in County …

Big Wheel keeps on turning?

Pete Baker on December 24, 2008, 1:56 am

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Interesting BBC report on this. The not-completely-independent Northern Ireland Environment Agency has objected to an application by World Tourist Attractions, operators of the Belfast Wheel, to further extend planning approval at its existing site, at Belfast City Hall, until August next year – the current planning approval runs out on New Year’s Eve. Belfast City Council, who would [already?] receive £4000 per month from the operators, supported the application and, apparently, hoped to have the Wheel moved to the Titanic …

“first time we have been able to prove the mammoth scale of the event..”

Pete Baker on December 23, 2008, 8:27 pm

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Thanks to joeCanuck for the link to this update on the Canadian meteorite that fell to Earth a few weeks ago, “Approximately 130 well-substantiated meteorites have been found totalling about 40 kg, but probably double that number, weighing more than 50 kg, have been recovered.” Meanwhile, in Scotland, they’re uncovering evidence of an even larger event 470 million years ago which “followed a “catastrophic event” in an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter” [Professor John Parnell ] added: “Our research …