Were CLARO rattled by J Longman's Cala Mosca Letter ?

In March I posted an article entitled What's the true reason behind the CLARO 'Save Cala Mosca' camapaign following the receipt of a letter from a James Longman of Orihuela Costa, and followed this up with The Le@der publishes 'Save Cala Mosca' letter .

Today I along with representatives of the PSOE and PP as fellow addresses, received an email from James Longman informing us that the Leader newspaper had published the following letter from him under the title of Cala Mosca Row .

"WOOOOOOW - I seemed to have rattled CLARO over my views about the value of and the real reason for their 'Save Cala Mosca' campaign to such an extent that I get a mention in their latest newsletter.

"We will not be deterred by the criticism and scepticism expressed recently in letters to the Editors of local newspapers from those from other parties, apparently the Greens and the Socialist party, who would have us give up the fight to save Cala Mosca. Here is an extract from a letter by our Executive Committee colleague Jimmy Badal defending C.L.A.R.O’s standpoint.

EXTRACT OF LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE LEADER

“After reviewing the difficulties in saving Cala Mosca, Mr. Longman comes to the conclusion that it cannot be done and states that C.L.A.R.O. must agree. WE DO NOT AGREE and are not going to be content with doing nothing. I am happy to say that over 3,000 (NOW 4,000) people who have so far signed C.L.A.R.O’s petition obviously do not agree either. There are possibilities of saving this last green area on Orihuela Costa and we will, and are, exploring them all. It is late but it is not too late to do something."

Unfortunately I haven't been able to read the full text of his letter and reply to it.

If I am so far off the mark - why did Jimmy Badal bother to reply, via the Le@der newspaper, to counteract my views? Why not ignore them as the ramblings of an individual.

Surely the general public wouldn't consider the views of one individual above that of such an illustrious and auspicious party as CLARO!

Perhaps there is an element of truth in what I said that worries the leaders of CLARO.

Let me 'claro-fy' that the views expressed were personal and not on behalf of any political party, either PP, PSOE, the Greens, or others that are not known to me.

Come on CLARO tell us what these "possibilities of saving" Cala Mosca are, don't keep them a secret, or haven't you thought of them yet!

It is too late to still be thinking about them and exploring them. You have already started the campaign and leading people to believe you have the solution. Your are in my opinion still misleading the people again.

(Why didn't J Badal make reference to the PP "from other parties, apparently the Greens and the Socialist party, who would have us give up the fight to save Cala Mosca." in this quote."

He said in the email " It will be interesting to see what response, if any at all, there is from either Bob Houliston, Jimmy Badal, Norah Bond (coordinator of the campaign) or any other member of CLARO's executive committee.

Perhaps the public might get some truth as to what the "possibilities of saving this last green area on Orihuela Costa and we will, and are, exploring them all." are!"

He further added, "You might also be interested in looking at the Weblog http://notclaro.blogspot.com ."

Cocaine was found in the air of Madrid and Barcelona

In April of this year we learnt from a study by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia that Madrid and Barcelona have the worst air and are the most polluted regions in Spain.

Air pollution has been a fact of life for a long time in the Spanish cities, but now scientists say it is not just the smog that chokes the population.

A new study has revealed that at least five drugs were found in the air of Madrid and Barcelona the principal being Cocaine and in addition to this they found trace amounts of amphetamines, opiates, cannabinoids and lysergic acid, a relative of LSD.

The Superior Council of Scientific Investigations, a government institute, said on its Web site there was no reason for alarm. It went on further to clarify that the tests were done in areas where drugs were likely to be consumed. In Madrid, the test site was close to a ruined building believed to be frequented by drug dealers. And in both Madrid and Barcelona, the studies were carried out close to universities with results of the study showing higher concentrations of the components on weekends, suggesting that drug consumption was up in these periods. What a surprise!

A researcher who worked on the project said the levels were far higher than those found in similar studies in Europe. A study in Rome and Taranto in 2007 revealed cocaine levels in the region of only 12% of that in the two Spanish cities.

According to the U.S. State Department, Spain is Europe's largest consumer of cocaine and hashish. It is also a major transit point for narcotics shipments from South and Central America as well as Africa.

'Los Verdes - Grupo Verde Europeo' - European Election Campaign Launch

The 'Los Verdes - Grupo Verde Europeo' chose to launch their campaign for the European elections at the Biocultura 2009 exhibition of environmentally friendly products held this week in Barcelona.

The 'Grupo Verde Europeo' is the coming together of various regional Green Parties within Spain to form a coalition to present a united list of candidates for the European Parliament elections on the 7th June.



The list is headed up Kristien Lesage, who is spokesman for Los Verdes del Mediterráneo. Originally from Belgium, Kristien is now resident in Mislata in Valencia. She is a member of the Heerlen Group, a network of members of different Green Parties of Europe that work to promote the direct participation in taking European decisions.

Position two on the list is held by Esteban Cabal, a writer. In 1991 he was the first Los Verdes Councillor to be elected in the Madrid Comunidad. In 1999 he headed the list of European candidates and obtained the support of 150,000 votes. Professionally his links are in the field of natural and alternative therapies.

Josep Lluis Freijo, founder of 'Els Verdes de Cataluña' holds the third position and in addition is the coordinator of the electoral campaign. As a green entrepreneur, his work is related to the field of bio-and ecological projects.

The three candidates, accompanied by a group of members and supporters, toured Bioculture 2009, the natural products trade show being held in Barcelona, where they unveiled Green Party proposals to emerge from the ecological crisis.

All of them wore a green work helmet as a symbol of the 20 million jobs which could be created in Europe if the European Union implements the proposal from the European Green Party entitled "Green New Deal", an ambitious public investment in energy alternative and sustainable business sectors. "

The candidates of the 'Los Verdes - Grupo Verde Europeo' pledged to boost , from the EuroChamber, organic farming and the market for natural products, as well as bio-construction and the recognition of natural medicines.

The 'Los Verdes - Grupo Verde Europeo' expects to achieve half a million votes in the European elections of June 7, which will surely result in becoming the third political force in Spanish politics and give them representation in the European Parliament.

Think Again Vote Green

For those Ex-Pats in Spain who are going to vote for the European elections in the UK - Think Again Vote Green.

'Smart Turbine Blades' To Improve Wind Power

ScienceDaily (2009-05-08) -- Researchers have developed a technique that uses sensors and computational software to constantly monitor forces exerted on wind turbine blades, a step toward improving efficiency by adjusting for rapidly changing wind conditions.

Bioelectricity Promises More 'Miles Per Acre' Than Ethanol

ScienceDaily (2009-05-08) -- Biofuels such as ethanol offer an alternative to petroleum for powering our cars, but growing energy crops to produce them can compete with food crops for farmland, and clearing forests to expand farmland will aggravate the climate change problem. How can we maximize our "miles per acre" from biomass? Researchers writing in Science say the best bet is to convert the biomass to electricity, rather than ethanol.

Think Big - Vote Green European Green Party 2009

Sir David Attenborough calls for more protection for orang-utans

Sir David Attenborough has called for greater protection for the wild habitat of orang-utans amid fears "emotional" television programmes about rescued apes have failed to raise awareness of the need to protect the rainforests where the animals live says Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent in her article in the Telegraph.

"Every bit of the rainforest that is knocked down is less space for orang-utans. They have been reduced very seriously in the past decade, and we must do all we can to reverse this devastation. I fully support World Land Trust in its bid to save this important land!" Sir David is quoted as saying, in the article.

This picks up the theme of the consequence of the destruction of the rainforest habitat and survival of the orang-utans for the production of palm oil highlighted in the previous article 'How Britons fuel destruction of the rainforest'.

How Britons fuel destruction of the rainforest

"British consumers are fuelling the rising demand for palm oil, speeding up the destruction of rainforests and killing off orangutans."

A thought provoking article by Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent of The Independent begins "A cooking oil that is driving the destruction of the rainforests, displacing native people and threatening the survival of the orangutan is present in dozens of Britain's leading grocery brands, an investigation by The Independent has found".

The article concludes with a list of manufacturers and their products that are fueling the genocide of the environment and animals. I like millions of consumers would not realize the damage we cause when purchasing our comfort foods.

I remember the old advertising campaign for Mars bars, 'a Mars a day helps you work rest and play' (not used now) but now I look at it with the view that a Mars a day destroys the world in its way.

Half A Glass Of Wine A Day May Boost Life Expectancy By Five Years

ScienceDaily (Apr. 30, 2009) — Drinking up to half a glass of wine a day may boost life expectancy by five years—at least in men, suggests research published ahead of print in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

The researchers looked into how much alcohol the men drank, what type it was, and over what period, in a bid to assess whether this had any impact on the risks of their dying from cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and from all causes.

The researchers found that men who drank only wine, and less than half a glass of it a day, lived around 2.5 years longer than those who drank beer and spirits, and almost five years longer than those who drank no alcohol at all. Drinking wine was strongly associated with a lower risk of dying from coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and death from all causes.