openspaceman

It's interesting and and something to be wary about when using systemic herbicides. I doubt the myccorhyzal transport implied in the animation Kevin posted extends to moving herbicide, I also wonder how they researched this phenomenon. I have posted in the past a picture of a ring barked young scots pine that carried on growing above the lost bark until it managed to callus over the wound and carry on as normal. In this case it was a planting of beech over a former heathland site, the scots pine was self seeded and by year 12 was towering over the beech. The plan was to ringbark the selected dominant pine to avoid felling them and damaging the beech. It failed miserably because the neighbouring pine kept the ringbarked trees going and the new (LA) owner failed to do anything further to keep the beech so it's a predominantly pine woodland now.

Villiers so that's fracking, HS2 and new runways and no worries for ecology or climate change

Are word generators practising their artificial intelligence allowed to enrol into college as easily as one may subscribe to arbtalk?

I think the directors of southern water may be worrying a bit about this at the moment Southern Water faces prosecution after record £126m penalty | Business | The Guardian WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM Company must pay back £123m to customers over ‘shocking’ failures at sewage treatment sites

I thought it was related to earlier defoliating insect attack, the replacement growth being full of chemicals to make them less palatable which gives the colour. I saw the combines going in today so the timing is about right (though it was probably barley rather than wheat for the first loaf)

Here it was called shredding I got the impression it was mostly for a bit of a summer green forage in the lull between first flush of grass and the late summer regrowth.

In the residual waste bin and depending where you live that could first go to an incinerator then managed landfill or else straight to managed landfill where it should stay inert for a few thousand years in a sealed cell.

Yes and I intend to fit one soon but I think it will be a disposable element rather than washable. The problems I can see are people won't change them but rather remove them, a bit like people remove catalytic converters and diesel particulate filters, and there will be no MOT station to check for their presence. Also washing machines tend to have a life of around 10 years so it will take a while after manufacturers decide to fit them. Many people are unable to grasp the fact they are part of the problem. In the same way thieves disrupt life disproportionately to their number or their financial gain it only takes a few people unwilling to reduce their personal contribution to pollution to spoil the efforts of many. Maybe but somehow I doubt I'll be around to witness it.

I just went for cheap: Voche® 20W Industrial Commerical Large Electronic UV Insect Fly Killer Ultra Bug Zapper TOOLTIME.CO.UK High Power 23W Electronic Ultra Violet Insect Killer Seems to work Okay.

As one of the oil platform people on here have said that isn't going to be a problem for quite a while yet, anyway there are routes to all the plastics from organic means. A while ago I asked @eggsarascal if he could recommend a filter for the outlet of a washing machine to trap these small plastic bits. He hadn't heard of one at the time and I could only see them for sale in US (where the driving reason is to stop them contaminating septic tank workings). I have not yet found a good report on their effectiveness in stopping plastic fibrils getting into the sewage system.

stop at end of url needs removing

Quite an interesting guidance note: Natural environment - GOV.UK WWW.GOV.UK Explains key issues in implementing policy to protect and enhance the natural environment, including local requirements. "What are the Standard Criteria for Local Wildlife Sites? Standard CriteriaDetail Size or extentLarger sites are important for supporting viable populations of species, but smaller sites can be important as part of a larger habitat resource dispersed across the landscape. Smaller sites can be particularly valuable in areas lacking natural greenspace. DiversitySites should seek to reflect the diversity of wildlife, habitats, geological or geomorphological features that characterise the area. NaturalnessThe degree to which a site supports natural features, including rock exposures revealing underlying geology, or demonstrates active or past natural processes Rare or exceptional featureSites should comprise habitats or geological or geomorphological features that are rare or exceptional in the area. The local loss of a rare species or habitat may result directly in the reduction in its wider geographical range. Geological sites are often unique, formed in environments and processes that no longer exist, and their loss removes part of our understanding of the geological history of an area. FragilitySome habitats and geological features are more sensitive to change and are at greater risk of being lost or damaged due to the direct or indirect impacts of climate change, human activities or other influences TypicalnessAreas that exemplify a type of habitat, geological feature, or a population of a species, that is characteristic of the natural components of the landscape in which they are found. Recorded history and cultural associationsSites with links to land-use, industrial and cultural history, historic events, literary or other associations in art, and the history of natural environment research can reveal environmental change over time, changes in the use of natural resources or changes in perception of the natural environment. Connectivity within the landscapeSpecies may require habitat comprised of dispersed areas which are accessible and part of a functional network. Individual sites (both wildlife and geological) need to be considered in terms of the contribution they make to wider ecological networks. Value for appreciation of nature and for learningSites can provide opportunities for local educational use, enabling people of all ages to learn about, better understand, experience and enjoy local wildlife and geology. Sites with less intrinsic interest may be of nature conservation value for the opportunities they provide for the appreciation of nature. Sites may also provide opportunities for ecological or geological research." This connectivity thing is a hobbyhorse of mine in that I don't think any big projects, motorways, HS2 and roads in general have taken into consideration how meta populations of nimals can swap a few genes, hopefully this guidance can lead to some green bridges .

So what? It's a tiny proportion of the oil that comes out of the ground and there's no way you would want to go back to hemp ropes.

She didn't it was Etta James. I'm biased because I liked Christine, but never knew her, a chap in the class above mine left school to be her drummer. The words of the song became very difficult for me as that year my gran became blind and changed from being the backbone of the family, as my grandfather lost his mind after his son was shot down, to this helpless little lady who came to live with us.

Good but I still prefer Christine's version

Yes, the hole in the block isn't a big thing, as it can be stitched, but what got thrown out will be something major.

Now that's a good idea

Our local FC officer used the term "within the curtilage of a dwelling" and would say that was that land maintained for the enjoyment of the said dwelling, so would include managed bits like lawns, flower beds, vegetable plots but not necessarily tree s not formally managed. The act only says gardens and is open to a bit of interpretation, local landscape gardens have used this exception as have places like RHS where no domestic dwelling is involved. The public open space bit is restricted to those that fall under the 1899 open spaces act so not necessarily commons that became open spaces in the later 1925 law of property act. Yes but only if he is allowed the expense of a legal battle.

Yes some good points

Most conversations use verbs as do written notices.?

I suppose I'm an oddball but draw the line at darning holes in socks, I will sew ripped work clothes to make them usable. Most of my clothes are hand me downs from dead relatives so I have seldom bought new but get gifts of new clothes. However the issue is with what happens to clothes in and after use; after use they can be disposed of into landfill or incinerated for power, and never enter the wider environment, but in use they get washed, fibrils get beaten off in the wash and the water containing these microscopic bits of plastic and natural fibre mixes passes through the sewage system and into the sea. The natural fibres rot but the plastic bits get into the marine food chain very quickly. So the public outcry against plastics in the marine environment is about large visible waste, which will degrade over time to bits small enough to be ingested but the insidious stuff is these small fibrils from washing that are already small enough to enter the food chain immediately. Quite so and aside from the wastefulness aspect discarding clothes is not an issue as long as the disposal method is sound.

Gary it was worth the wait and just the sort of reply I was hoping for. Sad you weren't enjoying a holiday somewhere more exotic than bed-rest but good to see you on form.

A swallowtail butterfly, I don't think I have seen one in the wild.

Nice looking sticks but they'll be a pig to split by hand How come one ended up through the fence?

As far as I can remember all one.