Tag Archives: United Nations

Plastic Bags To Cost 5p From 2015: Why It’s a Good Thing.

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It has taken a long time but there will finally be a charge for plastic bags. Plastic bags are to cost 5p in England in a bid to discourage their use. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will unveil the plan at the Liberal Democrat party conference this weekend. Scotland will charge from October 2014 and charges for single use plastic bags are already in use in Wales and Northern Ireland.

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The charges will apply to supermarkets and larger stores and the proceeds will go to charity. Watch the video below to learn why Frost thinks this is such a good thing. Plastic bags have a bad effect on the environment and can kill or hurt animals.

Here are our top 5 reasons why it is a good thing:

1: Stray bags choke and strangle wildlife around the world
2: Production of plastic bags requires millions of gallons of petroleum.
3: Less plastic bag use would significantly reduced carbon dioxide emissions.
4: In 2006, the United Nations found that each square mile of the ocean has 46,000 pieces of plastic in it. We don’t want to add to this.
5: There would be less plastic bags littered around, leaving the world a much more beautiful place. Over one trillion plastic bags are used worldwide each year and 3-5% of these are recycled

What do you think?

The Week in Syria

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There seems to be no let up for the people of Syria after another brutal week. Even Foreign Secretary William Hague described the situation as “bleak” and said that a peaceful resolution to the 17-month conflict looked “unlikely”. Kofi Annan quit as United Nations’ envoy to Syria.

Hague spoke as Syrian forces clashed yet again with rebels in Aleppo. Hague has yet to persuade Russia and China to back any international efforts for a path to peace.

Hague did not dismiss talks of Tony Blair to replace Kofi Annan. Annan said that his mission had failed.

Hague told Sky News: “It is a bleak time for Syria. This is, I’m afraid, the situation we warned about for some time. We won’t give up on the diplomatic work but given the situation we will of course step up our humanitarian assistance.

“We don’t want the situation to be resolved by violence. We want a peaceful transition in Syria. Sadly, we do not have the unity in the [UN] Security Council to put the decisive pressure on the Assad regime.

“Kofi Annan will be carrying on with this work until the end of August. Whoever takes on that role, it is going to need some change in the circumstances on the ground for Russia and China to change their position.

“If persuasion and argument was going to achieve a change of position, we would have done it by now.

“It might only be a further change of the circumstances – the further collapse of the regime, greater bloodshed – which brings Russia and China to change their mind.”

Hague said that the support Britain has given to Syria so far has been “non-lethal” and that Syria is now in a full-scale civil war.

“Here is regime that for 17 months now has waged war against its people. It has in many cases driven people to warfare and conflict.

“The prime responsibility for this situation lies on the regime. We are on the side of people who seek their freedom anywhere in the world.

“I do think it is right to support democratic movements in favour of the people.”

Meanwhile things have gotten worse in Aleppo as more than 20,000 government troops amassed around Syria’s second city, as the government warned the “main course” was yet to come.

Government artillery bases have fired mortars and rockets into the rebel held districts and in rebel-held Saheddin district, jet planes dropped bombs.

“The battle for Aleppo has not yet begun, and what is happening now is just the appetiser… The main course will come later,” a senior government security figure warned.

“All the reinforcements have arrived and they are surrounding the city… The army is ready to launch its offensive, but is awaiting orders.”

Argentina is to complain about Britain to the UN.

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Argentina is to complain about Britain to the UN.

It has now been 30 years since the war between Britain and Argentina over the Falklands, and the arguments are heating up. Argentina’s President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner has said she is going to complain to the United Nations about Britain.

The President is upset that Prince William has gone to the island, and that Britain has sent a warship, The HMS Dauntless, to the area. Prince William will be in the Falklands for six months working as an RAF search and rescue pilot.

However, the British government has said that this is “routine”.

The Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic have been ruled by Britain since 1833. In 1982 Argentina invaded the islands, claiming it had inherited the islands from Spain. Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister at the time and went to war over the island.

The war ended after 74 days when Argentina surrendered. Argentina still wants the islands back.

The Falklands have a population of 2,500.

The British government says it won’t discuss the issue because the people living on the Falklands want to keep it under British rule.

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Budweiser Asks Guys to Help Save a Million Gallons of Water by Not Shaving

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‘Grow One. Save a Million.’ Campaign Part of Budweiser’s Annual Celebration of World Environment Day

Budweiser is asking adult men across America to help save one million gallons of water by not shaving in the days and weeks leading up to World Environment Day (June 5). As part of Budweiser’s ongoing commitment to water conservation, the Grow One. Save a Million. program allows consumers to get involved and save roughly 5 gallons of water for each shave they skip.*

Consumers 21 years of age and older can visit Budweiser’s Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/Budweiser) to make a pledge and share the program with Facebook friends. Participants can commit to a range of options, from a few days to multiple weeks. Ladies can get involved by recruiting male friends or family members. The page also features a daily tracker of the gallons saved to date.

“Water is a key ingredient in the brewing of Budweiser and all our beers, which is why water conservation is a priority both inside and outside our breweries,” said Kathy Casso, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility at Anheuser-Busch. “In the past three years alone, our 12 U.S. breweries have reduced water use by 34 percent. Additionally, our employees and their families take action by volunteering to participate in local river cleanup projects in communities across the country.”

In 2010, more than 1,200 employees from Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch skipped shaving for one week prior to World Environment Day, helping to save about 42,000 gallons of water. This year, Budweiser is expanding the effort by inviting suppliers, partners, wholesalers, retailers and consumers to join the effort.

“Every gallon of water that we save makes a difference to our communities, so when thousands of people get together for one common cause, great things can happen,” said Chad Pregracke, founder of Living Lands & Waters and the face of the program on Budweiser’s Facebook page. “By pledging to skip shaving and ‘grow one,’ guys can literally wear their commitment to conserving our most valuable natural resource.”

In 1998, Pregracke founded Living Lands & Waters, a not-for-profit organization based in East Moline, Ill., dedicated to cleaning up and preserving our nation’s rivers. Today, the organization has grown to include 10 full-time employees. Pregracke’s crew travels and works in an average of 9 states a year along the Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri and Potomac Rivers, as well as many of their tributaries. Since the organization’s inception, over 60,000 volunteers have helped remove more than 6 million pounds of debris from our nation’s greatest rivers. For his efforts, Pregracke has received numerous national awards. Most recently, he was honored at the Points of Light Institute’s Celebration of Service in Washington, D.C. where all four former presidents were in attendance to celebrate the power of voluntary action.

As part of its annual recognition of World Environment Day, Anheuser-Busch and its Budweiser brand will again donate $150,000 to River Network to help support the organization watershed conservation projects in each of the company’s 12 U.S. brewery cities. These projects will include stream/river cleanups, education programs, tree plantings and various activities that support the environment and provide employees and local wholesalers the opportunity to volunteer in their communities.

World Environment Day is a day set aside by the United Nations to create awareness of the environment and encourage participation in sustainability programs. Anheuser-Busch and its parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, annually recognize this day and engage employees around the world to take action and get involved in projects that are beneficial to the environment and their local communities.