Toxic Bioaccumation Ends Faroese Whale Consumption

Medical advisers on the Faroes Islands have announced that pilot whales should no longer be consumed because dangerous levels of toxins have been found amongst the islanders.

Traditionally thousands of pilot whales are killed each year for consumption by the Faroese, despite opposition from anti-whaling groups.

Toxins found in high levels in the islanders include DDT derivatives, PCBs and mercury. Toxic levels of mercury are known to cause damage to fetal neural development and immunity in children, increased blood pressure and increased risk of parkinson's disease; all of these symptoms have been found in the islanders.

The Faroese are not known to have contributed to the pollution in whales; the source of the toxins is widespread. However they have acknowledged the effect it is having on them and responded accordingly.

Ecology and Policy Blog Named in Top 50 Green Technology Blogs

The BES blog has recently been listed in the top fifty 'green technology' blogs, in a poll on a fellow green blog. The listing follows the continued rise in readership of the BES blog, having been recognised earlier in the year in The Times Top 10 eco-blogs.

The science policy team continues to try and inform readers of topical events and symposiums, upcoming enquiries, ecological issues of policy-relevance and topics of general interest to ecologists.

The science policy team would like to thank the readers for their continued support and recognising our efforts to promote the science of ecology.

Art Meets Ecology: Short Films Represent Ecological Challenges

Tuesday 4 November saw the launch of the RSA's Arts and Ecology showcase of STOP.WATCH. The event comprised of seven short films, alluding to the fragility of nature and artistically representing ecological problems.

The films were commissioned especially for the internet and represent a unique means of communicating issues the planet faces. Witty, thought-provoking and at times obscure; the films remained an eye-opening take on complex ecological issues. The soundtracks were particularly impressive and engaging on a number of the short stills, all of which can be seen on the Arts and Ecology website.

Most impressive of all was a poem written by Melanie Challenger, (Creative Fellow at the Centre for the Evolution of Cultural Diversity, University College London), about one of the short films entitled Shattered. Melanie spoke of the need to conserve, at the very least document, local, unique extant languages around the world. Languages contain words that convey a particular meaning to a social dynamic peculiar to a given location. When lost, for example a description of the properties of a particular plant or an ailment, then so to is all the associated local knowledge.

Overall, the event provided an opportunity to network with a crowd of interesting and diverse backgrounds, and demonstrated the variety in which scientific issues can be communicated effectively.

Forthcoming Conferences: September 2008

Two conferences are taking place in the next two weeks which may be of interest to readers of the Blog....

The BES Annual Meeting and AGM

The BES is holding its annual meeting next week, from 3 - 5 September (student session 2 September) at Imperial College, South Kensington, London. It is not too late to register for the event: simply turn up on the day you would like to attend and make your way to the registration desk. Day registration costs £100 for BES members, £160 for non-members and £70 for students.

Several talks are highly relevant to policy and there is a dedicated 'Special Session' on Thursday 4th September, organised by the BES and UK BRAG, bringing together policy-makers, ecologists and others to discuss the ecosystem approach. This will be followed by a networking drinks reception for participants.

Access full details of the BES meeting
Access the programme for the joint BES - UK BRAG session on the ecosystem approach

IALE (UK) Annual Conference

The International Association for Landscape Ecology (UK) is holding its annual conference at the University of Cambridge from 8 - 11 September.

To find out more and to register, visit the IALE website.

Parliamentary Links Day: Science in an Uncertain World

Yesterday, the BES policy team attended the Parliamentary Links Day today at Portcullis House, Westminster, hosted by the Royal Society for Chemistry.

Politicians and leading scientists gave talks throughout the day, followed by the opportunity to interact with them afterwards at the reception.

Speakers included Dr Brian Iddon CChem FRSC MP Member Commons Select Committee on Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills; Rt Hon John Denham MP, Secratary State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, former and present chief scientific Advisors Professor Sir David King and Dr Bob Crawford, and Professor Rosemary Hails of the Institute of Biology and CEH. Numerous politicians and representatives from NGOs were amongst the audience too, including Rt. Hon Tony Benn and Rt. Hon Kenneth Clarke.

Research and Development

John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, led the proceedings citing a doubling in the research budget in the last two years and the UK's leadership in scientific output - second only to the USA. Mr Denham ranked the energy programme as the chief scientific priority for the UK with Aging research and security coming second and third. The Living With Environmental Change programme was mentioned, being particularly topical since food supply, energy security and terrorism present challenging and uncertain prospects.

Climate Change

Sir David King put forward a compelling and urgent case for the reduction of carbon emissions globally, in light of a projected 2-3 degrees centigrade rise in global temperatures. Historically, some important global and local environmental issues have been identified by scientists, leading to policy change resulting in positive outcomes. These include London smog, addressed by the banning of coal fires in 1963, and global ban on CFC use in refrigerators and aerosols resulting in 'rebuilding' of the ozone layer. In this sense, Sir David King believes that, with global ratification of binding reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, through 'decarbonisation' of the global economy, the negative consequences of climate change can be abated.

Questions led by the British Psychological Society prompted Sir David to reiterate the need for government cabinets to really take on board the idea of decarbonising the economy. The need for a frameshift in national psychology, in that as a society we must stop idolising celebrity over-consumption, is imperative.

Ecosystems Approach

Professor Rosie Hails focused on the need for an ecosystems-based approach to valuing biodiversity in future development proposals, given society's dependence on nature's goods and services for food, materials and environmental regulation. This approach is also in accordance with the guidelines of the Millenium Ecosystem Assessment and the UNEP-Global Outlook-4 ProfessorHails called for an end to the extensive bureaucracy associated with GM crops applications on the basis of scientifically unvalidated safety and environmental concerns. Particular emphasis was made on the need for regulation that is proportional to benefits and risks, rather than sentiment.

Overall, the day presented the opportunity to both meet high profile scientists and key politicians as well as ascertain the hot scientific topics scientists are hoping politicians and policy-makers will act upon.