Wednesday 16 January 2008

Wednesday notes

Bright and sunny morning - in between the showers. The showers should disappear shortly, leaving us with at least a half-decent day to enjoy. Same goes for Gloucestershire in southwestern England, which was once again affected by flooding last night.

The Arnish Fabrication Yard, 1 mile west of me across the water, will have received a commitment to build the turbine towers for the North Lewis Windfarm. I hope this never comes off the ground, but that's in the hands of Scottish ministers. Even without the windfarm, Arnish should have plenty of work, what with all the windfarms they're building all over the world.

A Japanese whalingfleet is in Antarctic waters, with the intention of killing 900 whales, ostensibly for scientific research. Two vessels, manned by environmentalist campaigners, are following the fleet. Crewmembers from one ship boarded a whaler and were detained by its crew. Negotiations are grinding on to return the detained crew to their ship under mutually acceptable conditions.
From my perspective, the Japanese excuse for whaling is a load of rubbish. Any research on whales can be conducted without killing, and the numbers required are abhorrent. The whales caught by this fleet will end up on people's plates. I am one of the first to acknowledge the differing traditions of nations across the world, but I think it is time the Japanese woke up to the fact that there will be no whalemeat left for them to eat at all if they don't change their habits.
I appreciate the efforts of the activists from Greenpeace and other organisations to halt international whaling, although I'm not always happy with their methods.

4 comments:

  1. 900 whales for "research", what a load of BS!  I was a member of Greenpeace for a number of years but thought they were getting a bit too radical - but as you said, I totally appreciate their efforts.  I hope they succeed.  I can't believe WWF ~ World Wildlife Fund hasn't become active in this as well.  
    Lisa

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  2. WOW 900 whales?? That's crazy! They are idiots!
    Pam

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  3. I agree, the death of 900 whales is excessive. There are some cultures who have depended on whale meat for generations as their main source of food.  All of the sea animals should be taken in conservative numbers, lest they become extinct.  They are part of the seas eco system and this should not be taken lightly.  Linda in WA

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  4. Japan is such a mixed bag. They've apologised for war crimes, they've initiated a fund of millions to help countries with combating global warming...yet they take to sea and harpoon close on 1000 whales annually....bizarre. Any action taken to stop them is welcome...Greenpeace and other organisations set their lives up against this sort of activity. Another point i find curious is the apparent disinterest from other countries. Or am i ill informed...and other countries are remonstrating?

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