SUPERMARKETS MUST STOP USING PLASTIC PACKAGING, SAYS FORMER ASDA BOSS

The former boss of Asda, one of Britain’s biggest supermarkets, Andy Clarke, is calling for supermarkets to stop using plastic packaging. He says that billions of pounds of investment in recycling have failed to resolve the world’s plastic crisis. Andy Clarke said the only solution was to reject plastic entirely in favour of more sustainable alternatives like paper, steel, glass and aluminium. Supermarkets should create plastic-free aisles. Efforts to recycle more plastic have failed to stem the plastic crisis, said Clarke, who stood down as Asda CEO last year.

A recent investigation established that consumers around the world buy a million plastic bottles a minute and plastic production is set to double in the next 20 years and quadruple by 2050. In the UK less than a third (29%) of the 5m tones of plastic used each year is recovered and recycled. In the world more than 8m tones of plastic end up to the oceans. A recent study found that billions of people in the world are drinking water contaminated by plastic. Between 5m and 13m tones of plastic end in the world’s oceans each year to be ingested by sea birds, fish and other organisms. Scientists at Ghent University in Belgium recently calculated people who eat seafood ingest up to 11,000 tiny pieces of plastic every year. 

Our environment forms our home. Our world is our source of life and we can't damage it. The plastic is one of the elements that is more difficult to recycle, reason why we need to pay more attention. 

Link of the news: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/12/supermarkets-stop-using-plastic-packaging-former-asda-boss-andy-clarke

TEENAGE HACKER JAILED FOR MASTERMINDING ATTACKS ON SONY AND MICROSOFT

Adam Mudd was 16 when he created the Titanium Stresser program, which was used to carry out more than 1.7 million attacks on websites. He earned the equivalent of more than £386,000 in US dollars and bitcoins from selling the program to cybercriminals. During the trial he showed no emotion and he was sent to a young offender institution. The court heard that Mudd, who lived with his parents, had previously undiagnosed Asperger syndrome and was more interested in status in the online gaming community than the money. The Aspenger syndrome is a developmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication. Polnay,  the prosecuting said there were more than 112,000 registered users of Mudd’s program who hacked about 666,000 IP addresses. Among the targets was the fantasy game RuneScape, which had 25,000 attacks. Mudd pleaded guilty to one count of committing unauthorised acts with intent to impair the operation of computers. Ben Cooper, defending, said Mudd had been sucked into the cyber world of online gaming after withdrawing from school because of bullying.

Personally, I believe that the problems who had suffered the boy all throughout his life have greatly influenced with the crimes he has committed. Because of his disease and for the problems that he has suffered in the society, he has acted of this form. 

Link of the news: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/apr/25/teenage-hacker-adam-mudd-jailed-masterminding-attacks-sony-microsoft

THE GOVERNMENT JUST ANNOUNCED A GAMECHANGER FOR CYCLING IN ENGLAND

THE GOVERNMENT JUST ANNOUNCED A GAMECHANGER FOR CYCLING IN ENGLAND

The government has said it can achieve its goal of doubling cycling, and is now legally bound to do so. The government’s intention to launch a CWIS (the publication of the cycling and walking investment strategy) was first announced in January 2015. The CWIS has been the result of years of pressure from cycling and walking groups and the concerted efforts of a small but dedicated group of civil servants. The CWIS promises up to £1.2bn will be spent on cycling and walking by 2020/21. We can expect £26 per head to be invested in cycling and walking over the next four years for everyone in England outside of London.  With so much funding for cycling and walking it is absolutely crucial and in the areas where it will have the most impact. There’s some excellent guidance for councils on how to begin planning and delivering comprehensive cycling and walking networks in their areas. This is supported by the government-funded Propensity to Cycle Tool, which allows local authorities to map the potential for increased travel by bike under different scenarios. The government has said it can achieve its goal of doubling cycling with half the recommended amount. The people want their local roads and streets to be well designed, well maintained and, above, all safe and attractive for everyone to use. The health, environmental, economic and quality-of-life benefits of doing so will be enormous.

I think that it is a good initiative on the part of the government. That will be the best option because, in this way, the people who wants to be kept in shape, will be able to do it. It also will encourage another people to practise cycling or walking.

Link of the news: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2017/apr/26/the-government-just-announced-a-gamechanger-for-cycling-in-england

AIR POLLUTION PLAN CANNOT BE DELAYED, HIGH COURT TELLS GOVERNMENT

The government has been ordered to publish tough new plans to tackle air pollution after the high court rejected attempts by ministers to keep the policy under wraps until after the general election. In the latest defeat for ministers over their continued failure to tackle the UK’s air pollution crisis, which is believed to be responsible for 40,000 premature deaths a year The new measures are likely to include the imposition of multiple clean-air zones across the country, where drivers will face fines if their vehicles do not pass roadside emissions tests. The judge said the government’s own figures showed that nitrogen dioxide pollution is linked to the premature deaths of 23,500 people a year in the UK. The court decided that the threat to public health constituted “exceptional circumstances”. The nation’s dirty air is one of the most important public health issues in recent times. The high court’s decision recognises the need to urgently tackle this crisis. The plans included five clean-air zones where diesel drivers faced charges if their cars did not pass emissions tests.

Be careful of our environment is crucial for our health and for the maintenance of our planet. The environmental pollution can cause many deaths every year. For this it is important that the governments raises awareness about this problem and try to solve it.

Link of the news:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/27/air-pollution-plan-election-campaign-bomb-court-government

WORLD FACES WORST HUMANITARIAN CRISIS SINCE 1945

A senior United Nations official has warned about that the world faces the largest humanitarian crisis since the end of the second world war. More than 20 million people are fighting with starvation and famine. The children will have serious problems of malnutrition and would not be able to go to school.

UN and food organizations define famine as when more than 30% of children under age 5 suffer from acute malnutrition and mortality rates are two or more deaths per 10,000 people every day. The largest humanitarian crisis is in Yemen, where two-thirds of the population need aid and more than seven million people are hungry.

In Somalia, which O’Brien also visited, more than half the population need humanitarian assistance and protection. He warned that close to one million children under the age of five would be acutely malnourished this year. In north-east Nigeria malnutrition is so pronounced that some adults are too weak to walk and some communities have lost all their toddlers.

The hunger in the world is a issue that effects a lots of countries. People who suffer chronic hunger don’t have the option of eating when they are hungry and they do not get enough calories, essential nutrients, or both. They have very serious problems to feed their children today and tomorrow. Hunger kills more people every year than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined, and, for this, is important that every It is important that everyone knows the consequences of hunger to try to help people who suffer from hunger.

Vocabulary:

Face (verb)

Starvation 

Aid

Link of the news: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/11/world-faces-worst-humanitarian-crisis-since-1945-says-un-official

HOPES FOR SAVING SCOTTISH WILDCAT REST ON CAPTIVE BREEDING PLAN

The experts believe that fewer than 100 Scottish wildcats now exist in the wild. About 80 captive wildcats in zoos, wildlife parks and private collections around the UK now hold the key to the successful re-establishment of viable populations.

Genetic testing of all those captive cats was completed in October. Data is now being fed into a new molecular stud book which will determine which captive cats are related and which are best matched for breeding. Mixed with genes from cats already in the wild it will produce a population of wildcats suitable for release into the wild. It is hoped the first trial releases will happen within five years.

The Scottish wildcat is listed as critically endangered. The main threat has been hybridisation. Those in the wild tend to have less gene purity than captive cats not exposed to hybridisation. Captive cats selected for possible release will be transferred to special conservation breeding enclosures. 

There are many animal species which are living in nature that are in danger of extinction. So I think it is important to be alert to animals and seek ways to save their species. In this way we will have a more varied population of animals. 

Vocabulary:

Wildcat

Endangered
Hybridisation

Link of the news: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/26/hopes-for-saving-scottish-wildcat-rest-on-captive-breeding-plan