Just upgraded Wordpress and the template. Seems to be fine on IE7 and Firefox….
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Archive for June, 2007 Page 2 of 3
Hat tip Alan. This is a fascinating idea, urban vertical farms. Less space, locally grown produce reducing carbon footprints (But as we know, food can be produced in the U.K. , transported to the continent, for washing and packaging, and then shipped back to the U.K. 
), visually pleasing. But what about countryside? One for the National Rural Dimensions conference at the start of the month.
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The fall out from the announcement of a potential new Forest stadium continued today. The villagers of Gotham are reported to be against the development, stating that it will damage the environment and the picturesque nature of the Village. They are also worried about the sub-urbanisation of the village into the former council estate of Clifton. Forest have been stressing the potential benefits to the Clifton area, including employment and inward investment.
Forest have been offering further reasons for their decision including the lack of access to the city ground and the rising cost of redevelopment. The opinion within the fan base seems to be evenly divided at the moment, but some high profile individuals have been expressing their support.
I feel a lesson coming on…
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Interesting reading in the Nottingham Evening Post this evening. Nottingham Forest is planning an ambitious project to develop a new 50,000 seat out- of-town stadium; though we missed promotion to the Championship , it seems that we have clearly have ambition 
. The development will be linked to a new tram route and also include a hotel and leisure facilities. It is hoped that it could also be a potential venue for World Cup matches, if England bids to host the World Cup in 2018.
I’d be interested in the views of Forest supporters, perhaps even those Ram lovers… 
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Thanks to Tom Biebrach for highlighting this carbon footprint calculator from the W.W.F. (that’s the environmental group ).
My footprint is 3.08 planets, how do you do?
Nice to see some Geographers excelling during Sports Day this afternoon, congratulations!
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After a bit of coursework ranting by me, this was question we considered today . Fair Trade can be defined as when the producer is paid a price for their product that covers the cost of production. Fair Trade products certified by the Fair Trade Foundation are branded with the logo shown in the inset.
Fair Trade products are more expensive, not only because an above market price is paid, but because a social premium of usually around 20% is added to the price. Basically Fair Trade items are a niche market.
This social premium is used to develop the quality of life of the producers.
So what are the advantages of buying Fair Trade?
- You are providing producers in LEDC countries with a fair price for their product that covers the cost of production. Basically, they aren’t working for nothing.
- Fair Trade represents a different way of production. Producers are encouraged to work sustainably with the environment, are prohibited from using child labour, are encouraged to take collective democratic decisions through co-operatives, on behalf of their communities, they must provide suitable working conditions and allow the protection of workers rights through unions.
- The social premium may be used to fund social programmes like health and education, support small affordable loans to encourage diversification, and provide advice on marketing or improving yields.
- In buying Fair Trade, people hope that they are actively helping to reduce the inequality between the world’s richest and poorest people.
Fair Trade does have its critics
- Basic I know, but I have a limited budget!
- Fair Trade does nothing to tackle the root causes of the inequality that LEDC producers face, Trading laws that protect MEDC farmers. Fairer trading laws would allow access to MEDC markets, but are you willing to see a potential loss of employment in British farming?
- From an economic viewpoint, the price of certain products is low for a reason (We will consider coffee later.), overproduction, people suggest that it is unfair to subsidise these products by paying an over the market price for them. It disadvantages millions of farmers that aren’t involved in Fair Trade Co-operatives. Wouldn’t it be better to fund their diversification into differing products that demand a higher price?
- There have been recent concerns about the marketing of some products as Fair Trade by supermarkets, who in reality pay only a slightly increased premium to the producers and pocket the difference in profit.
- As Fair Trade is a niche market, doesn’t encouraging the movement to Fair Trade actually cause the value of the products to fall?
- People are also a little concerned that multi-nationals are producing and marketing their own Fair Trade products, this is slightly ironic, taking using one hand and giving using the other.
- In reality some people see Fair Trade as a guilt purchase, ‘I’ve done my bit…’ I don’t have to worry now’.
- Then there is the environmental impact, is it really environmentally friendly purchasing products from Africa? How does this impact on my carbon footprint? Though I reckon I might struggle for British coffee…
Anything I’ve missed here?
So, is it worth it?
As we have already seen, this ethical shopping has two sides….
We might be meeting tomorrow, all depends on the weather and Sports Day…
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Preamble.
Apologises for the blogging break, end of term is a busy place. Congratulations to those that completed their coursework, it was a tight finish for some. For those away or with extended deadlines due to absence, you must hand in your work as shown as possible.
We have now started People as Consumers, two key terms we have to understand
Producers are the people that produce a consumer product, this may involve extraction of a raw material and the subsequent manufacturing of a finished product.
Consumers are the people that purchase a product or service.
In reality we are all consumers..
We have been considering the issue ethical shopping, the complex decision making that some of us might make when considering a purchase. Our decision to purchase a product or service might be dependant on several factors…
- Its impact on the environment. E.G. Organic produce, Carbon footprints.
- The welfare of animals. E.G. Animal testing.
- The working practices employed by the company producing the product. E.G. Sweatshop labour.
- Our personal politics. E.G. avoiding products from certain countries, because we disagree with their policies.
Of course, many us may just be thinking price!
As we now know, ethical shopping can be a bit of a mine field, as my mate Jim said to me on Sunday, ‘You somewhat have to pick and choose your causes…’
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