Nov.
Events
5th
Managing Closed Landfills: From Problem to Solution, Nottingham
5th
Sustainable Procurement - Level 3 of the Flexible Framework, Birmingham
9th-10th
International Conference on Professional Doctorates, London
10th
South Asia vultures: catastrophic declines & environmental impact, London
10th-12th
Protected Areas: Past, Present and Prospects, Suffolk
11th
IAQM AGM, London
11th
Burntwood Lecture, London
11th-12th
Biodiversity - Planning Obligations and the NERC Act 2006, Oxford
12th
Nitrogen Dioxide - Time for Compliance, Birmingham
12th
SCITECH Europe 2009: Innovation across Europe, Brussels
14th
A live performance & film work by Beth Derbyshire, Eden Project
18th
VOCs & Ground Gas Conference: Sampling, Risk Assessment & Remediation, London
19th
Earthwatch Debate: From Tsunami to Drought, London
19th
Powering Towards 2020: The Future of Energy Generation in the UK, London
19th
Science & Innovation 09, London
20th
A Safer Wales, Cardiff
20th- 21st
The Transition to Low Carbon: policy frameworks & community action, Wincester
24th
Nepal Conservation in Crisis Seminar, London
24th
Fragile Nepal, London
24th
The Guardian UK Cleantech Summit, London
24th
UK DMUG Group Meeting: Particles & Personal Exposure, London
25th
Conference on the Corby Reclamation Litigation Case, London
25th- 28th
Pollutec 2009, Paris, France
26th
Yorkshire RMetS Local Meeting, Leeds
26th
Know Your Waste, Reading
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For further
details on
these &
other events,
see the
events page
of the IES
website. |
October 2009
IES News
There are only a few tickets left for the Institution's flagship event, the Burntwood Lecture. Professor Bob Watson, Chief Scientific Advisor, will give this year's keynote address at the Royal Society in London on the 11th November. The theme of the evening is how environmental sciences have and should inform our strategic planning. This free event also features the presentation of the John Rose Award. To enquire tickets please contact Adam Donnan.
Office move
On 24th November the IES will be moving office from our current location at 38 Ebury Street to 34 Grosvenor Gardens, London, SW1W 0BH. We are hoping the move goes smoothly, but please be aware there may be some brief delays in responding to membership enquiries during the end of November.
EFAEP EMS ISO report
The EFAEP Environmental Management Systems (EMS) Working Group attended the ISO TC 207 meeting held in Cairo in June 2009. A report from the meeting is available here.
Copenhagen Help Needed
IES member Rolf Jucker is looking to write a statement for the Copenhagen Convention emphasising the role of all levels of the education system in any process to achieve reduction, mitigation and adaptation. If any members are trying to do something similar he would be grateful if you could get in touch with him.
New Intern
The Institution would like to welcome Anna Ranuzzi to the team as our latest intern. Anna recently graduated from the London School of Economics with an MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation. She is also fluent in English, French and Italian.
ES Links
 Planetary Boundaries
Human pressure on the Earth's natural systems has reached a scale where abrupt global environmental change can no longer be excluded. To continue to live and operate safely, humanity has to stay away from critical thresholds in Earth's environment. Scientists from the University of Stockholm have identified global biophysical boundaries that can define a 'safe planetary operating space' that will allow humanity to continue to develop and thrive for generations to come.
Strategy for Air Quality
The last 2007 Government strategy for air quality in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland estimated that air pollution reduced the life expectancy of every person in the UK by an average of 7-8 months with estimated equivalent health costs of up to £20 billion each year. The Environmental Audit Committee has now commissioned a briefing on air quality which will consider the adverse health and environmental effects for each air pollutant and will map them against their target values and the current performance of the UK in meeting these values. The briefing will summarise the various plans and programmes in place to meet the EU targets and limits, particularly those in place to ensure that EU limits are achieved by 2015.
 Sustainable City Awards
The City of London Corporation has thrown a challenge to all organisations from charities and family run firms to global multinationals and the public sector to compete for a ‘Green Gong’ and be recognised at the prestigious Sustainable City Awards. Now in its 9th year the Sustainable City Awards, organised by the City of London Corporation, recognise and reward outstanding achievement and innovation across all aspects of sustainability.
Getting to Zero: Defining Corporate Carbon Neutrality
Carbon neutrality is a goal to which many organisations aspire. This report from the NGO Clean Air and Forum for the Future helps explaining the various steps involved and gives good examples of what others have done.
Looking for a job?
There are a number of new jobs available for the IES job page, including positions for an Environmental Fate Modeller, an Ecological Risk Assessor and an Ecotoxicologist.
 Sustainable Intensification of Global Agriculture
The Royal Society has published a landmark study examining the contribution of the biological sciences to food crop production. Food security is one of this century's key global challenges. Producing enough food for the increasing global population must be done in the face of changing consumption patterns, the impacts of climate change and the growing scarcity of water and land. Crop production methods must also sustain the environment, preserve natural resources and support livelihoods of farmers and rural populations around the world.
UNESCO Global Report on ESD
It is UNESCO’s goal to inform and improve opportunities and provision in the Sustainable Development area across the globe through monitoring and evaluating progress. The organisation has released the UNESCO Global Report on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). The report documents progress towards learning and change for sustainability during the UN Decade in Education for Sustainable Development.
Corporate Influence on Science is compromising its Social & Environmental Benefits
It is no secret that links between the commercial sectors and science and technology are increasing. Many policy-makers, business leaders and members of the science community argue that this is positive for both science and society. But there is growing evidence that the science commercialisation agenda brings with it a wide range of detrimental effects, including bias, conflicts of interest, a narrowing of the research agenda, and misrepresentation of research results. This report takes an in-depth look at the evidence for these effects across five sectors: pharmaceuticals; tobacco; military/defence; oil and gas; and biotechnology. Its findings make disturbing reading for all concerned about the positive role of science and technology in our society.
Articles
Manufacturers call for radical overhaul of Government’s waste strategy
Manufacturers have called for a radical overhaul of government waste strategy to ensure business and the UK economy as a whole can benefit from opportunities through sustainable waste management and resource efficiency. read more....
World's first commercial passenger flight powered by natural gas
A Qatar Airways aircraft the 12 of October completed the world’s first commercial passenger flight powered by a fuel made from natural gas. The historic journey from London Gatwick to Doha took over six hours and was operated with an Airbus A340-600 aircraft using Rolls-Royce Trent 556 engines. read more...
18th century ships’ logs predict future weather forecast
 150 years ago Charles Darwin's ‘Origin of the Species’ revolutionised how we view the natural world - now his voyages on HMS Beagle are influencing modern research on the evolution of our climate. A ground-breaking partnership between JISC, the University of Sunderland, the Met Office Hadley Centre and the British Atmospheric Data Centre sees historical naval logbooks being used for the first time in research into climate change. The logbooks include famous voyages such as the Beagle, Cook’s HMS Discovery and Parry’s polar expedition in HMS Hecla.
read more....
ETI project to put UK at the leading edge of Carbon Storage Capacity Appraisal
The Energy Technologies Institute has launched an ambitious project which could see the UK as the first country with a comprehensive assessment of national CO2 storage capacity.
The project costing in excess of £3.5 million, will carry out a review of potential sites suitable for storing CO2 offshore and help to answer the question of exactly how much storage capacity is practically available in the UK.
The UK is potentially well served with offshore CO2 storage capacity in depleted oil and gas reservoirs and saline formations and, although various estimates have been made of the total amount available, those figures vary widely. read more....
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