I’m sure I signed up for Manchester is my planet last Summer, and the first mail out only arrived this week. I guess they’ve been spending the time collecting many more pledges, 13,749 at last count.

The site is clean and well designed. You can read a booklet detailing what Greater Manchester councils are doing to go Green, check your eco-knowledge or enter competitions to win A-rated household appliances. I just wish I hadn’t been faced with a gurning Fred Talbot on every page of the quiz.

Cross-posted from City Hippy

Technorati tags:
cityhippy
green
environment
Manchester

What? Oh, it’s mummified mummy. My mistake. When I read the headline I had images of her slouching around El Brujo with great big hoop earrings complaining that Shane had put chilli in her chocolate again and them bloody Spaniards ‘ave come over ‘ere and stolen all our gold.

The presence of fine items such as gold jewellery indicates the woman was an important person, anthropologist John Verano of Tulane University in the US said.

But the presence of war clubs surprised the archaeological team.

“Perhaps she was a female warrior, or may be the war clubs and spear throwers were symbols of power that were funeral gifts from men,”

Maybe I wasn’t wrong.

Technorati tag: Mummy, Peru

I’m not surprised that Tony Blair has come out and basically said he’ll be ordering new nuclear power stations without waiting for his own energy review or listening to any of the arguments against. I am very angry, though, particularly as it’s mostly posturing.

BBC political correspondent Carole Walker said she believed Mr Blair had been happy to stir up a “whole storm of controversies” this week, on issues such as animal experimentation.

She said the prime minister wanted to show he was ready to take on controversial decisions.

She said: “He cannot afford to be seen as somebody who is simply languishing in Number 10 while people are waiting for his days to be over.

“He is trying to distract from all the speculation there is about when he is going to go.”

I’m with CND chairwoman Kate Hudson-

“Nuclear power does not make economic or environmental sense. The amount of money invested in producing nuclear power could produce far more sustainable energy, much more rapidly.”

It’s been pointed out that many ministers who were for a more sensible energy policy were dumped in the post-local election reshuffle. The former environmental minister has made his feelings on the matter known.

[Elliot Morley] told The Guardian newspaper the energy review, which is headed by Department of Trade and Industry Minister Malcolm Wicks, might well point to renewable sources of energy if it was “open, transparent and fair”.

He complained that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs had not had the involvement it should in the technical aspects of the review.

He had seen no official government figures on the real cost of nuclear power.

Mr Morley said: “To have new nuclear power is going to involve very large sums of money.

“If nuclear power was so great then you would have the private sector willing to invest in it.

“The reality is that economically the risks are great and the returns are low.

“No private sector company is going to take on the long-term risks, the cost of decommissioning, the storage, reprocessing and the responsibility for the waste.”

I despair, I really do. Time for Tony Blair, and the rest of his government for good measure, to go.

Technorati tag: Nuclear Power, Energy Review, Tony Blair, Tony Blair is a Liar

Did you know you can get Council Tax rebates for doing energy saving renovations to your house? I’m not a homeowner, so I hadn’t looked into it (and if I was and had it still hasn’t been extended to Manchester yet). 21 councils across England and Wales are offering one-off council tax rebates to any householder who spends more than £250 on cavity wall insulation. British Gas pays for £50 of the rebate and councils can top the amount up to £100. Scottish Gas is calling for a change to Scottish law so they can run a similar scheme.

To find out about other grants for energy saving go to the Energy Saving Trust site.

Technorati tag: Energy Saving, British Gas, Council Tax

But not in a rude way, okay.

Moderate stress during pregnancy does not harm the unborn child but can instead aid its later advancement, US research suggests.

The team asked 137 healthy women with low-risk, normal pregnancies to report on their stress between the 24th and 32nd week of pregnancy.

The study in Child Development found the children of those who reported more stress were more advanced at age two.

Earlier studies suggest stressed out mothers can pass it on to their babies.

They also suggest high stress levels can lead to restricted growth and birth defects in the unborn child.

Technorati tag: Pregnancy, Stress