Address the biodiversity crisis or die

The recent David Attenborough programme, Extinction -the facts, should have set alarm bells running across the world, not least because of the links made to the Covid -19 virus. Attenborough told how one million plant and animal species face extinction - one in eight of all species. Some 500,000 plants and animals and the same number of insects face extinction. The loss of habitats is the largest driver of biodiversity destruction. Some 90% of wetlands have been lost. Each year, 3.8 million hectares of forest are cleared. The demand for coffee, soy, cocoa, palm oil and beef that are the greatest drivers of biodiversity loss. It is the behaviour of one species driving this destruction - the human being. The consumption rates of human beings continue to grow, with the average UK citizen consuming four times more than an Indian citizen.The gap grows to a factor of seven, comparing a US citizen. Attenborough highlighted how humans increasingly destructive relationship with nature is making pandemics more likely. Some 31% of all emerging diseases come from land encroachment. Predators are destroyed, allowing disease spreaders like rats and mice to proliferate. There is ever closer link with animals carrying viruses. The Covid--19 virus has been linked to bats in south China, with transmission believed to have come originally from a Wuhun market. If human beings continue in this destructive way,destroying the planet on which we all depend to survive the future looks bleak. There are five new diseases every year effecting people. If pandemics of the Covid type become more commonplace, then the world economic system becomes unsustainable. The warning from David Attenborough was stark - the very future of humanity is at stake if we continue on the present destructive path. Governments have to take the environmental issues like biodiversity loss and climate change off the back burner and give them priority. The linkage of biodiversity destruction with pandemics like Covid should provide the motivation needed to act decisively. Responsible leaders will do so, irresponsible ones will no doubt deny the evidence and continue as before. This cannot be allowed to happen. People must vote in leaders who will act for the common good and save our planet. We must act at local level, cutting waste (particularly food), reducing meat and dairy consumption and educating everyone about environment and nature. At local level, we need to rejoin with nature, stop concreting over green spaces and expand wild areas. The pandemic is a double edged sword - it offers a space, a chance to reassess and change but also a stark warning as to what will happen if we continue on the present disasterous path.

West Ham comprehensively dismantle Wolves

West Ham 4-0 Wolves West Ham ran out comprehensive winners of this keenly fought Premier league encounter with Wolves at the London Stadium. It is a long time since West Ham have dominated a game to quite such a degree, with the visitors limited to a couple of meaningful shots. The first goal arrived 17 minutes into the game, with Declan Rice passing out from the back to Michail Antonio, whose tangle with Wolves Willy Boly saw the resulting quickly taken free kick swept wide by Pablo Fornals to Jarrod Bowen, who cut in beating one player before expertly placing his shot in the far left-hand corner. Ten minutes later the excellent Arthur Masuaka swung the ball in from the left, which saw Tomas Soucek’s shot turned wide by Wolves keeper Rui Patricio. Soucek then had a header saved by Patricio. Antonio was a constant problem for the Wolves defence, twisting and turning, whilst running at pace. It was one such manoeuvre that saw his shot pawed out by Patricio, for the incoming Fornals to fire over from a couple of yards. Wolves sole effort of note, came when a Ruben Neves shot was turned aside by Lukasz Fabianski. The second half saw more of the same from the home side extending their lead inside 10 minutes. Antonio running down the left, checking inside before laying the ball on for the incoming Fornals to crash his shot against the post from the edge of the penalty area. Fortunately, the ball fell to Bowen, who rammed home. The third West Ham goal came from a Aaron Creswell corner, that was met by a Soucek header but deflected in off Raul Jimenez. The final goal came in injury time, when a wMasuaka pinpoint cross was met by substitute Sebastian Haller, who headed home across the goalkeeper. Assistant manager Alan Irvine, confirmed that David Moyes, who tested positive for Corona virus on Tuesday, was in control of team selection and substitutions from home. He was in constant contact via phone with Irvine and his team. Whilst, Moyes was no doubt pleased with the result, he will be hoping that his captain for the night Declan Rice is still at the club, when he returns to pitch side. There has been much media speculation, linking Rice with a move to Chelsea before the transfer window closes in a weeks time.

Tackle pollution now

Wanstead Climate Action recently protested about pollution levels in the area. The well organised event saw Roland and two other fantastic horses parade along to Christchurch Green, where people protested about pollution. The tranquility of the scene with the horses was in marked contrast to the other side of the fence, where a steady stream of cars ploughed along the high street, adjacent to the farmers market. The scene really illustrated the problem, people don't want pollution but they don't want to give up their cars. Thousands of people die each year due to pollution. The annual toxic nitrogen level at Redbridge Roundabout is more than 50% above the national Air Quality Standard, according to Friends of the Earth. The pandemic has offered a strange window on the whole situation. Initially, under lockdown, traffic was drastically cut - in the air and on the ground. Polution reduced, people could breath the air and see the stars. Then lockdown was raised. People were encouraged to cycle and walk but stay off public transport and get in their cars. Today, more people are walking and cycling but more are also driving. The fume belching lines of cars are becoming more prevalent. Also, the stationery idling vehicles, which produce the equivalent of 150 balloons full of harmful chemical for every minute they are sitting stationery (UK government, 2019) abound. Cars that idle in this way can be fined £80 in Redbridge. Hopefully, as the pandemic passes, those driving cars, who previously used public transport will return to that mode of travel. Change has been happening, with schemes like the mini-hollands in Waltham Forest. In Redbridge, things are moving in the same direction, with the Quieter Streets programme. There are five schemes being rolled out in Ilford and Barkingside over September and October. Schemes for Wanstead and Oakdale will follow shortly afterwards. These schemes will enable everyone to move around more safely and breath cleaner air. There are already schemes coming into place in Wanstead to improve air quality, including, school streets, stopping cars polluting the area around schools at certain times of day. The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which cuts polluting vehicles, will come into effect in Wanstead next year. Redbridge Council are also keen to promote electric cars, providing charging points, where requested. There is also the partial pedestrianisation of Wanstead High Street on market days, cutting off some roads adjoining. It would be good to see this pedestrianisation extended. So things are happening to address the crisis but we need to speed up. The pandemic offers a real opportunity to reset the indices for a more healthy and sustainable world in the future. There needs to be a new normal, which cannot be the same as the old. It should be a place, where we can all live more healthy, active lives because there is clean air and safer, quieter streets

Return of the cows to Wanstead Park marks an important step forward for Rewilding

It is great to see cattle coming back to Wanstead Park, after an absence of two decades. The longhorn cattle will wear GPS collars, which give off a vibration, when the cow reaches the border of the area they have to stay within. The system has worked well in the different areas of Epping Forest, where it has been deployed. The plan for the park is that the cattle will be kept in an area on the Plain, in front of the Temple, for an initial two month period. A far cry from when the cows previously roamed the forest. In those days they were set free to go wherever they liked between spring and autumn, when they were taken in. I remember when growing up, the cows wandering around the park and Wanstead Flats. They would often wander into people's front gardens, munching the odd bush. There will be many readers who remember those days. They may also remember John Dexter, the park keeper, who lived with his family in the keepers houses behind the Temple. John's daughter, Anne, recently shared some pictures of John outside the house and in the park. John was a big presence in the area, on regular patrol, policing the park and doing some maitenance work. He retired in 1992 and thankfully is still going strong. Those were the days, John Dexter patrolling the park, cattle roaming free, water in the lakes and the sun shone all the time. Or is that a bit too much of the rose tinted spectacles? What the return of the cattle does signify is the continued evolvement of the ecology of the forest. The introduction of long horns is a definite move in the direction of rewilding. These cows will enable the forest pastures to develop. The Corporation of London deserve congratulation for the bold move. It must be hoped that other neighbouring boroughs will continue the effort to rewild the land. Rewilding is really about resetting the clock, letting nature breath and restore the natural indices that have so often been knocked out of sink by the behaviour humankind. It has been the supreme arrogance of the human being that has brought climate change and the extinction of so many species. It is great to now see some sanity being restored, with rewilding projects across the land. Let''s hope the arrival of the long horn cattle in Wanstead Park is the start of a real rewilding revolution in this part of the world.

Justice system must not be reduced to a populist clamour for vengeance

There have been worrying moves over recent years to reduce the justice system to a means for victims to exact vengeance over perpetrators. Victims have been given more input to the whole trial process. There have been positive outcomes in terms of the practices of restorative justice, though this usually comes after the trial process has completed. It can bring victim and perpetrator together in the same room. Each is then able to tell their story, see the hurt caused and give the victim some understanding of why the perpetrator committed the crime. The process has proved beneficial to both sides bringing healing and rehabilitation. What is more alarming are the expressions of vengeance by some victims through the media, after the trial. A family declaring the sentence was not long enough or the offence should have been different. Campaigns may then follow to change the law or create new law. No doubt the courts do get things wrong and the law often does need to be changed. There are ofcourse also miscarriages of justice. Some media outlets, though, stoke the process promoting certain campaigns to change the law. There is an argument for victims being kept totally seperate from the trial process. They are subjective not objective. Some understandably want vengeance but that is not what the justice system is there for. It is difficult to understand how imposing more suffering on another party eases the sense of loss of the relatives of the victim - it does not bring their loved one back. Sadly, nothing can. A situation where a populist campaign could result in heavier sentences for the perpetrators is not that far from lynch mob justice. What happens when we get an horrendous murder and the victims family call for the death penalty to be restored on the back of it? Right wing newspapers take up the call and before you know it socety has regressed to killing it's own citizens. It is a slippery slope. There is definitely a role for victims in the justice system but that process must not be turned into one of simple vengeance. The punishment is denial of liberty, according to law, not dependent on the subjective view of one party as to what the sentence should be in order to satisfy their own sense of loss and desire for vengeance.

Things they are a changin in the post pandemic world

Things they are a changing in the post pandemic world The world is rapidly changing as a result of the impact of the Corona virus. Two recent news headlines gave an indication how much. One declared how "One in seven Londoners want to leave the city because of coronavirus," the other, how: "Outer London high streets are bouncing back faster from coronavirus." People are not returning to city centres due to a combination of factors, with probably fear of the virus at the top of the list. They are, however, increasingly working from home, shopping and socialising locally. So outer London areas like East Ham, Ealing and Southall have seen boosts in shopping and people attending restaurants. The move toward working from home has been increasing over recent years, the pandemic has had the effect of accelerating that process. If people can work from home, then home can be anywhere, so the move to out of town and rural areas will increase. In terms of transport, the active travel concept, which promotes cycling and walking is moving ahead, with new cycle routes and walkways being laid out across the country. If these changes result in a real modal shift in means of travel it should also lead to a fitter, healthier population. The downside on travel is the reduction in the use of public transport, whilst car use increases. This development needs reversing, if the crisis of climate change is to be overcome. Air travel has been hit, with passenger numbers hugely down. Unless governments step in to shore up the airline industry it cannot sustain at pre-pandemic levels. A world of fewer and more costly flights beckons. Some of the developments in the airline industry have mirrored what has been going on elsewhere, with a lot of workers losing their jobs. The sort of huge changes seen as a result of the pandemic are bound to see changes in how we work and play. However, there are no doubt some unscrupulous employers using the crisis as an opportunity to cut staff. In some cases, they will seek to re-employ the same staff on worse terms and conditions. Equally bad employers may use home working as another way to transfer costs onto employees. These are the sort of developments that must be guarded against, with the role of trade unions in protecting workers rights crucial in the circumstances. What is for sure is that times they are changing - in some ways for good but others for ill. Perversely, the longer the pandemuc lasts, the greater and more irreversible the changes will be. The chances to return to how things were pre-pandemic recede with each passing day. One day the pandemic will disappear, then the question will be just what sort of a brave new world has been created.