The majority of the British public is still not convinced that climate change is caused by humans – and many others believe scientists are exaggerating the problem, according to an exclusive poll for The Observer.
The Observer: Poll: most Britons doubt cause of climate change
A Border Collie puppy came into our lives on Sunday 11th August 1996 rather sooner than expected. We’d agreed to buy him for £50 a couple of days earlier after we saw him at Rabbit Farm in Criccieth, North Wales. When we went to see him again on Sunday, we were told that we could take him away there and then, so we did. There we were with a new puppy on a Sunday with no food, bowls, or lead and there were few shops open. I remember that he cried all the way during the car journey back to our touring caravan that we kept at my in-laws sea-side home in Dinas Dinlle. We left him with our two children and went off to purchase the essential items.
Too small to climb onto the caravan seat!
I should point out that we didn’t follow the sound advice for purchasing a puppy, such as seeing the puppy’s parents, using a Kennel Club registered breeder, and not taking a puppy that is under 8 weeks old. However, he was cute and we loved him already. My wife wanted to call him Diesel, but our daughter Michelle wanted to name Lucky after the dog in the cartoon film 101 Dalmatians. Michelle won and our new puppy was duly named Lucky.
Lucky with ‘Boomy,’ his favourite toy
Lucky turned out to be a great dog. On his walks he played alternately with a plastic, squeaky boomerang (boomy) and a ball. Everyone who knew him liked him, and he liked them too. He didn’t like most other dogs, not helped by the fact that he was attacked by two Staffordshire Bull Terriers as a young dog. For 12 years he gave us the unconditional love, entertainment and companionship. So many happy memories.
Retrieving sticks from the sea
Worn out after playing on the beach during his last trip to North Wales in May 2006.
A couple of weeks before we went on holiday to Spain he seemed to be lame in one of his rear legs, following a slip on the laminate floor in our hallway. We thought a week at my mother-in-law’s bungalow would give him chance to recover whilst we were away in Spain. On our return we would review the situation, and if there had been no improvement we would take him to the vet. He did seem to improve a little in our absence, but the day before our return his lameness got worse and his back legs were giving way. My wife Sue took him to the vet on Friday 13th June where he was sedated in order that he could be X-rayed. Around mid-day the vet ‘phoned Sue with the bad news. Lucky had advanced Bone Cancer (Osteosarcoma) in his left leg, and it has also spread to his chest. He had days or weeks rather than months to live. We really had no choice but to have Lucky put to sleep. The vet brought Lucky out of the anaesthetic so that Me, Sue, our son Michael, our daughter Michelle and her partner could spend some time with him at the surgery. Sue and I remained with him, fussing him while the vet put Lucky peacefully to sleep. The pain was all ours.
So, goodbye dear old friend, we will always miss you. You made each day that much better, and from now on each day will be that much worse.
LUCKY
June 1996 – 13th June 2008
Paul and Sue Biggs are members/supporters of the Border Collie Trust GB, a Registered Charity (1053585) which relies on public support to assist Border Collies in the UK.
Thanks to the staff at the Mercia Veterinary Surgery for attending to Lucky’s medical needs over the past 12 years.
Walkies in the Spring Snow, 6th April 2008:
https://jennifermarohasy.com.dev.internet-thinking.com.au/blog/archives/002901.html
Victorian premier John Brumby extolled the virtues of drought-tolerant GM wheat under development in Australia at an international biotechnology conference in the U.S., explicitly linking the new varieties and their potential to help combat climate change.
“Drought-tolerant wheat developed in Victoria is returning yields up to 20 per cent higher than non-GM control crops, Premier of Victoria John Brumby announced today at BIO 2008 in San Diego, California:”
VICTORIAN DROUGHT-TOLERANT WHEAT YIELDS UP 20 PER CENT
A few climate-change chickens may be coming home to roost. As people become concerned about global warming, a concern promoted by activist groups themselves, it seems to be having the unintended consequence of allowing policy makers and the public to see GM crops as being more acceptable if they might “help”.
Drought tolerance, salt tolerance and yield-increasing GM traits may start to be seen less unfavourably, even though they are a producer benefit not a consumer benefit, since they’ll at least be better for the environment and this climate change issue that people keep hearing about.
Greenpeace for example, seem to have less credibility now when they call a drought-tolerant, higher-yielding wheat variety “unsustainable” as they did on ABC radio on Friday (although not repeated in their press release, below).
Greenpeace: Genetically engineered wheat not the solution to drought
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD has worked in industry and government. She is currently researching a novel technique for long-range weather forecasting funded by the B. Macfie Family Foundation.
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