Our appetite for farmed fish has many consequences, few of them beneficial. Fish farms pollute their immediate environment and require huge amounts of feedstuff in the form of other marine life, as well as so called ‘cleaner fish’. They provide only a few jobs locally, being heavily automated, and are usually owned by multinational corporations so that the profits go elsewhere. We have just received the news that The Scottish Salmon Company (SSC) has resubmitted its application to expand the St Molios salmon fish farm in Lamlash Bay with even larger cages than the first (withdrawn) application..
Meanwhile Sue Weaver from Kildonan has reached the Port of London on her circumnavigation of Britain in the sailing vessel Sea Dragon, researching and highlighting the major problem of plastic in the ocean.
Both of these issues, fish farm pollution and plastic pollution, require changes at governmental and individual levels. Only when we as individuals begin to object to single-use plastics such as in bottled water and soft drinks and supermarket wrappings, and begin to look more closely at how our food is produced, will manufacturers and governments take notice.
We have more on both of these stories in this edition of the Voice, and much else besides.
Homage to Edwin Morganby Roy Fisher
When Scotland shall secede, and lift itself
clear of the yelping South, let the boundary
be drawn again with tact. There must be room
for the lately abandoned counties of England
and the defectors drifting north.
So have the southernmost frontier post
set at the bridge by Derby
where the ’45 petered out. My house sits
forty miles to the north, so I can show
ways through Derby by back roads in darkness. Pay me
with sure asylum and a strong border;
don’t let me go to London any more.
I know of real Scots Fishers; my first name
comes from the Gaelic. I’ll learn to spell it.
And I invoke your gods. First, in his wobbly bowler,
the Burry Man at South Queensferry, then,
at the South Queen Mary Ferry — Burns!
The Merry Queen; the Whittrick (where
in hell did that come from?) — Hey! Suddenly
there’s a man at the Queen’s south fur . . .
Oh furry Queen of Scots! McGonagall
should bring anew your softness to the breasts of Englishmen,
and respectfully remind you of how our Buxton waters, gently mineral,
used to help your arthritis considerably, now and again.
Please note that, due to a clash with the McLellan Festival, the date of this film has changed to Sunday September 17th.
The film on 10th 17th September is American Honey (2016, UK, directed by Andrea Arnold, 150 mins, Cert 15).
Star, a teenage girl with nothing to lose, joins a travelling magazine sales crew, and gets caught up in a whirlwind of hard partying, law bending and young love as she crisscrosses the Midwest with a band of misfits. Stunningly filmed by this award winning British director, the film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Jury Prize.
On Saturday 23rd September, Arran residents and visitors alike will have an opportunity to enjoy the talents of an array of young musicians nurtured by the island in recent years. It is an opportunity not to be missed. The concert, under the auspices of the Isle of Arran Music Society, will be headlined by the brilliant young pianist Iain Clarke, performing music by Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Stravinsky and Mozart. Iain will be ably supported by Olivia Barker, singing items from Handel to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Les Miserables. Finlay Murchie will be playing saxophone, and also scheduled to take part are Mungo Paul on guitar, and Lucy Walsh on the flute.
We are still looking to recruiting for a Hub Manager to take on Blackwaterfoot. If you are interested please send your CV or an email through to ecoprojectmanager@gmail.com and we can set up a call to chat through the role and requirements in some more detail.
Pirnmill
Lochranza hub space at the field centre is not quite ready yet but that's not stopping us from using the hall for workshops.
CORRIE ECO HUB OPENDAY: Saturday 30th of September - more details coming soon - Our Corrie Hub members will know that our Corrie hub has been open every Monday, however this is changing to every other THURSDAY 10:30-12pm starting from 7th September.
Denier-in-Chief Trump Should Read NOAA's Frightening New Climate Report; with "highest concentration of CO2 in the air in 800,000 years," how much more proof does president need? By Jake Johnson, staff writer at Common Dreams
With a climate denier in the Oval Office, a "fossil fuel puppet" heading the Environmental Protection Agency, and Big Oil lobbyists filling the ranks of secretive deregulatory teams, a new report by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed that 2016 was the hottest—and in some ways most alarming—year on record.
The Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF) has welcomed the Scottish Government commitment to continue the process reforming crofting legislation within this parliamentary session, as indicated by the consultation launched this week.
Yes as the ground water temperature would be nowhere near the air temperature and would only have a minimal loss of efficiency in the colder weather.
A two well system could be accommodated in almost any garden providing the holes are at least 6 metres apart.
In Scotland the water table in low lying areas is no more than 20 to 30 metres down though this can vary significantly. It is always advisable to undertake a desktop survey to find any data relevant to your plot.
A ground source system can typically be 3 to 4 times more expensive to install than an air source. A borehole can cost from £4,000 to £6,000 to drill and a trench system could cost £3,000; and there is access for the drilling rig to consider.
My life changed completely on November 4, 2014 when I was helicoptered to the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh for a liver transplant. I’d been ill and on the waiting list for almost four years for a suitable donor.
It’s been a gradual recovery and I have to be patient about the things I can’t do and grateful for the things I can. I’m fortunate to have weekly access to keep fit, chair yoga and t’ai chi classes and the occasional swim.
Reviewed by Stephen BrownPreface"breathtaking inanity""presents students with a religious alternative masquerading as a scientific theory"Introduction"Darwin matters because evolution matters. Evolution matters because science matters. Science matters because it is the preeminent story of our age, an epic saga about who we are, where we came from, and where we are going.""To many, evolution gnaws at their sense of self. If evolution offers a lesson, it seems to be that we’re not only related to other creatures, but, like them, also the product of blind and impersonal evolutionary forces. If humans are just one of many outcomes of natural selection, maybe we aren’t so special after all. You can understand why this doesn’t sit well with many people who think that we came into being in a different way from other species, as the special goal of a divine intention. Does our existence have any purpose or meaning that distinguishes us from other creatures? Evolution is also thought to erode morality.""For those who oppose Darwinism purely as a matter of faith, no amount of evidence will do—theirs is a belief not based on reason"."Consider what is at stake – science itself and the benefits it brings to society".
Vodafone UK customers on parts of the Isle of Arran can now enjoy 4G mobile data speeds as well as a more reliable 3G voice signal thanks to recent network improvements.
