Brexit and the Environment

So here we are, the six month count down to us officially leaving the EU has started and whilst all the talk all over the media has been about immigration and business I've been wondering about the environment (a particularly vague subject when it comes to the information we've been getting).  Information has been scares and without any final outcomes from the talks yet it's difficult to know exactly where the environment stands on this Government's agenda.

There are some things to be positive about, such as the fact that the UK Government has actually been one of the main driving forces at setting higher climate change ambitions and in attempted to green up the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).  This government has made quite a few noises about a 'greener Brexit' producing their 25 Year Environmental Plan (25YEP) in January of this year and lots of positive noises coming from ministers' speeches with Teresa May insisting the Brexit will not mean the lowering of environmental standards.  This could also be seen as an opportunity to improve what are now the CAP and Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), both of which are associated with environmental problems and unsustainable overproduction.  

However, the Conservative Party hasn't exactly got a great reputation when it comes to the environment and climate change, with a number of their politicians hinting that this Government, despite the rhetoric, is actually wanting to lax the policies we already have in place.  In fact, our own Environment Secretary, Michael Grove, stated that he believes the EU Bird Directive and Habitats Directive should be reformed or overturned once we leave the EU. Worrying.  And then there's the 25YEP.  On the surface it seems good (it's 155 pages and quite dry, but stick with it), but then you look at it closely it's pretty vague on details with a lot of lovely sounding goals and not a lot of information on how we're going to get there or what is going to be put in place to ensure they happen.  Call be cynical but I don't really trust politicians when it comes to words without any backing.

So here are the things that I'm worrying about:

• CAP and CFP.  As I've said before, whilst there have been attempts to improve both of these policies throughout the EU, there has been some issues with how 'green' and sustainable they have been and leaving the EU could be a great opportunity for us to improve on these in the UK.  As always we are getting mixed messages from the politicians on this one, but the thing that worries me to most is trade.  It sounds weird I know, but here's the thing.  If (or more probably when) we open our market up to more people other then the EU we will open the probability that we will be seeing products from other areas which are much cheaper due to their lower standards in environmental and social polices, undercutting our domestic products.  Whilst I would love to believe that we as a nation would support our homegrown products by buying the more expensive, more environmentally friendly items we all know how that is actually going to go.  The result is likely to be a lowering of our environmental policies to allow domestic trade to compete with the international trade.  Not only would this mean no improvements on CAP and CFP, but a reduction in the policies we already have in place.
• Fighting Climate Change.  On the surface this is an area we possibly don't need to worry too much about, after all we are part of a number of international commitments, including the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCC - you would think they would find a shorter name), have our own UK Climate Change Act (CCA) 2008, and an independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) which advises our government.  However, the EU has much stricter goals and timescales then the international community, and acts as a way of keeping track of our progress as well as providing the proverbial stick whenever we fail in the goals set.  Whilst the CCC is great at advising the government it has no actual enforcement powers to ensure we actually carry out the work needed, and this means that there is no real incentive to actually fight climate change once we leave the EU.
• The EU Birds Directive and EU Habitats Directive.  Unlike climate change there is no real international agreement on these which could hold the UK accountable.  Whilst we do have sites that are classified as SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) they don't necessarily stop development in the same way these EU Directives have done (anyone remember that particular golf course built on part of Foveran Links, a SSSI site in Aberdeenshire, which is now 'partially destroyed').  The RSPB have suggested in a Guardian article that since the Natura 2000 and Habitats Directive have come into place they have reduced the loss of protected sites from 15% per year to just 1%.  The loss of these will be quite a blow and this is perhaps the area where the most pressure will need to be put on the Government to ensure that these areas remain protected after 2019 with policies that don't just fall away when money and development come knocking.
• Funding.  The UK has received a large amount of funding from the EU for research.  Figures from The Royal Society has shown that we received 8.8 million Euro between 2007 - 2013 and Greenpeace has shown that in the EU budget for 2014 - 2020 the UK will have received around 5.8 million Euro to funding projects supporting the environment and the fight against climate change.  This funding will need to found from the UK's own coffers and the worry that the money may be put 'to better use' reducing our ability to help protect our environment both locally and globally.
• Accountability.  Perhaps the thing that worries me the most is who is going to hold us accountable.  Whilst we are in the EU we have standards we have to adhere to and which are monitored and scrutinised with all the necessary reports.  There is no hiding what we are doing or not so subtly looking the other way, and if we do not adhere to these standards then there is the Court of Justice of the European Union, an independent justice service that can fine us substantial amounts for failing to comply.  One example of this happened at the beginning of this year when the UK failed to comply with EU air quality laws.  To ensure we stay on track when it comes to climate change and environmental protection we have to ensure that a new, independent watchdog is put in place which is able to work over all four UK countries and has the power and resources to be able to scrutinise and enforce the policies put in place.

One article I found particularly interesting in my research into Brexit and the environment was put together by Friends of the Earth on 'UK Environmental Policy Post-Brexit: A Risk Analysis'.  This report looks at the possible risk to the environment of five possible Brexit scenarios as well as the implications on Environmental Protection.  Whilst this covered most of the areas I'd already been looking at the one things it reminded me of, and which I had forgotten about, is that the UK has a devolved Government.  This is especially true when it comes to policies on energy, agriculture, and fisheries and this could be a sticking point when it comes to the UK Government putting together environmental policies after we have left the EU.  'In fighting' between the separate Governments could mean that areas remain unprotected for extended periods of time whilst the policies are put intp place and there is even more of a distraction from reaching our climate goals then already exists with the work on Brexit.  Not really something we can afford to do.

So these are my worries about us leaving the EU and what I've noticed so far in the proceedings when it comes to the environment and climate change.  Please let me know if you think I've missed anything when it comes to these issues and if there are any articles you think I should read - I'm always up for learning more.  From what I can see it'll be a waiting game until Brexit actually happens......and then we might have a fight on our hands to help protect our most valuable resource.

Path Work - Carn Crom, Derry Dam Bridge circuit, Clais Fhearnaig, Quoich Water path, Mount Keen, & Scolty Hill

We're now doing into are sixth month of maintenance and these few weeks as seen us doing a variety of different jobs, mostly on Mar Lodge.

Before

After

Before

After

Doubling a waterbar and adding a couple of step rises.

The last week in August was where we finished the work we were doing on Carn Crom of step rises and doubling water bars.  

We also cleaned the waterbars and cross drains on the Derry Dam Bridge circuit, 

and the Clais Fhearnaig path that crosses from Glen Quoich to Glen Lui.

That week we also carried out some work on what I am going to call the Glen Tilt path which works its way south from the Bynack Lodge ruin on Mar Lodge. 

Before

After

Stone let

This entailed clearing the water features but also adding in a stone let and raising the path slightly on a section that was having an issue with water logging on the path.

We tend to come across quite a bit of rubbish doing this job, just because of how we move around the sight, and never leave behind what we can pick up.  This is just a selection of the random things we found on that path - someone must have had a very bad bike day.

As well as cleaning the cross drains on the path to Carn an Fhidhleir (otherwise known as Carn Ealar) from the Geldie Lodge ruin.  We also checked the path to see if there was any damage which was not an issue right now but would need to be worked on in the future.  

Like many Cairngorm path this one travels from one estate to another and I love the way it just disappears as it leave Mar Lodge - like you're going into the unknown.

We also got to check out some amazing stone culverts put in by a contractor a few years ago.  Quite a piece of construction that is still holding up now and with stones found in the surrounding area.  That is quite a skill and I take my hat off to the people that put this together.

The next week saw us working on a construction contract rather than maintenance on a path beside the Quoich Water on Mar Lodge.  Here the bank on which the path sits has been eroded by the river, especially after the large storm a few years ago that caused large flooding in the area.  Walkers had made their own path through the area after the main path disappeared, but even this was now falling into the river and a completely new route was needed.  This has meant cutting a route through the heather, digging a tray through the remaining vegetation, roots, and peat, and then adding small stones, cobbles, and surfacing to make it a solid usable path which will hopefully last a while whilst the river carries on in its natural behaviour.  We're still working on this so I don't have any after pictures at the moment, but that will come.

The second week of September was another mixed week, with us clearing the waterbars and adding step rises to the south side of Mount Keen.  This meant me walking right up to the top as the waterbars start pretty high on this Ben and I don't think I've ever been so wind swept in my whole life.

We also worked on the waterbars on the paths around and over Scolty Hill near Banchory.  This is a lovely little selection of paths in a wooded area and is a little gem of the area.  However, there were a lot waterbars and a lot of ferns to have to shove yourself into the clean everything out properly.  I was very happy to not have to see another waterbar that week.

The last days were spent back at Quoich Water working on the construction of that path as was this week as well.  Unfortunately this week was cut short by Storm Ali with the sheer amount of rain brought in causing the river we have to cross repeatedly to get to the site rising beyond what our vehicle could handle.  We'll be doing a longer week next week and this will hopefully mean finishing this path so that it's completely usable for walkers again.  We'll just have to wait and see.  At least the vegetation is getting the watering it's been needing these last few months.

Deer and mist over the River Dee

I have no idea what these gelly like globs are in the little lochan
found on Glen Derry.  If you know please let me know.

As usual there were stunning scenery to look at, even in bad weather, and wildlife most of which I have no idea the identify of.  

Even the hostel we have been staying at in Braemar has its little visitors that make any bad weather worth going through.

Book Review: Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet

Six Degrees is a non-fiction book about climate change.  The author, Mark Lynas, looks at the scientific journals published on climate change and summarises them here with each chapter being an increase in a degree.

Topics covered in this book are how positive feedback will accelerate climate change, carbon cycle feedback, destruction of the corals and rain forests, desertification, and the specific effects of methane is having on the warming of our planet.  Perhaps the most eye opening part of this book is how a rise in five or six degrees could lead to the tropics and subtropics being completely uninhabitable with shortages in water and food, and a mass migration of billions of people to the north and south of the planets with devastating outcomes.

This book was first published in 2007 and I first read this the next year, and have read it again since.  The information described in Six Degrees is still pretty accurate to the updated information being provided by the scientific community today and, there's no point beating around the bush here, it is quite stark.  It is also worrying to realise that we have already had a temperature rise of 1 degrees (making that chapter even more pertinent to read).

Perhaps the thing that is most amazing about this book is the fact that we have known about the effects these temperature rises will have on our planet for over 10 years now and yet we have carried on as normal with our head in the sands.  It seems odd to me that we haven't made the changes we need to make to swerve away from these scenarios and are now heading into a 3 degree rises.  

This book is a definite read for everyone, if only to prepare yourself for the world we are heading to, and a good way of giving yourself an incentive to make the changes we need to prevent us from reaching the worst that climate change will bring.  For me climate change is really about the world we leave for other species that share this planet with us, but if you are all about the humans this is a very good look at just how much it is going to effect us.  It is also important to be realistic about how humans behave in highly stressful situations, and it's no always with humanity and understanding.  We really need to fight climate change now and Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet is a good incentive to do so.

What's In My Bag

This is quite a popular video on YouTube and I thought I would give it a go in my own version in blog form.  I am trying to minimise everything in my life, but at the moment my bag is not one of those areas as I try to get through / use up a number of items and reduce my waste when out and about.  The bag itself I got from an army surplus store, is a cross body strap, made from 100% cotton, and is very sturdy (which is just as well as it's been washed regularly, hence the fact its no longer really blue).  It is falling apart a little bit, but I still think it's got a few years left in it. 

So this is what I carry........

I try and make sure that I have a re-usable water bottle with me at all times as I'm needing to drink more water and I don't want to buy plastic water bottles as it's expensive, environmentally unsound, and there is evidence of hormone-like chemicals leaching into the water.  This is one is glass and has a silicon casing, though I don't know if that would actually protect it from anything particularly vigorous.

There is, of course, the usual assortment of keys.  A set of house keys (the minion key ring), car key (black sheep key ring), the key for my bike lock, and one of those coin substitute to unlock the supermarket trolleys.  They're all attached to an extension lanyard as I'm constantly losing them in my bag. 

I always keep headphones in my bag as I sometimes find that noises (especially in cities) a little bit too much and this allows me to listen to something a bit more soothing as I'm walking around.  I like keeping it in this lucky cat case which my Mum gave me for Christmas, though it has unfortunately lost the bell now. 

This little case is something that I have in my bag as part of my 'use up project' containing the lipstick I'm using at the moment.  I keep a mirror in the case as well, not surprisingly, so it seemed like a good place to keep my tweezers.  The case is another Christmas present from my Mum.

At the moment I carry two wallets in my bag.  The one on the left is my main wallet and is from Lifeventure.  I got it when my previous wallet started to fall apart and I was looking for a small, simple wallet that only contained the basics.  This fitted the bill and is also RFiD protected.  The second wallet contains all the store cards that I have at the moment.  I'm keeping an eye on these and all the ones I don't use anymore or only use now and then I'm going to get rid of.  The hope is that in the next year I'll be down to just the one wallet. 

Sunglasses are something I have in my bag at all times as I can get headaches from the sun (yes, even in Scotland especially in winter when the sun is low and almost always low).  I used to buy very cheap sunglasses but they were constantly breaking and it seemed to be a very wasteful practise.  These are the Foster Grant's Mac glasses, have all the UVA and UVB protections, and I think I paid around £12.00 for them.  I really like this style and they have lasted a long time, despite the fact that I accidentally drop kicked them one day.  I can't remember where I got the case from, but it's blue with polka dots and that's my favourite colour and style.

I wouldn't normally carry a pencil case around with me everywhere but I am trying to use up the stationary I've been ferreting away for years.  This pencil case is one I've had since I was a child and was given to me by a friend.  In it I have a number of pens and pencils, which I will replace with my fountain pen and mechanical pencil once they're done.  I also carry my hole punch / ruler that is for my Filofax.

Two diaries is also not something I would normally carry with me, but for a couple of years I've been using a traditional diary over my Filofax, but I miss having the additional sections where I can store and work on projects.  At the moment I use a diary for my to-dos (I use a digital calendar for appointment etc) and my Filofax for the projects I'm working on, but next year I will also put all my to-dos into the Filofax as well.  This one is the Metropol Pocket Organiser and I think the colour is kingfisher blue, though I don't think you can get this anymore.

I always like to keep reading material with me for when I have some free time to read.  This is especially true as I'm trying to read a lot more this year and reduce the number of books I have in my home, just sitting there unread.

The last thing in my bag is a sort of catch all bag that I got from New Look.  This contains a number of little things I use on a daily basis.  Starting from the top left I always have a sanitary towel (this one is an organic cotton pad from Natracare) and some plasters as I'm forever cutting myself.  As my work is outside I always keep to tick removers with me just in case I find one on me (it's making me itch just thinking about it) and some hand cream as it drys out my hands quite a bit (this one is The Body Shop's Hemp hand cream).  For eating out and reduce waste I have this spoon / fork camping cutlery and a metal straw.  As I always have a runny due to allergies I keep a spare hanky with me in a re-purposed Ecotools travel case.  I always keep it in the case as it keeps the dust of it, which is one of the things I'm allergic too.  Also as part of my allergies I keep eye drops for dry eyes.  As my hair is fine it tangles easily so I have this wooden comb which I got from Tebay services, as well as a selection of hair grips and clips.  The little tin with the cats on is my pill tin where I keep my Ibuprofen (for headaches) and Ibuprofen plus (which contains codeine for the migraines I get now and then).  I keep these in this tin as they always pop out of the container for some reason.  I have this nail file as well, but I haven't used it in a very long time so I think it's probably time to say goodbye to it.  It's also metal which means it's not the best thing to use on your nails any way.

So that is everything in my bag.  I'd love to know what's in your bag?  Let me know in the comment box below. 😸

Project Use Up Update #8 and Other Products

As expected this month has been a no use up on the project front so this is going to be a pretty quick blog.  I have, however, managed to use up other products over this month.  

Let's start with the never ending Barbara Day even smoother eye primer in Vanilla. I've been able to scrape more from around the sides but it still doesn't look like there is much change here.  I'm half tempted to scrap what's left into a jar so I can actually see any changes, but that might be at the end of the year.

Next is the NYX Dark Circle Concealer Corrector in Light / Pale.  I'm still working on one side of the product, which has gone down a bit this month to the point where I think I will have reached the packaging by the end of the coming month.

Still slow and steady on the Living Nature eye liner in Midnight front.

I decided to set a goal of wearing MUA lipstick in Raven at least once a week in the last two weeks in August and that's had a real impact on getting through this product.  I'm going to keep this goal for the next few months and should be able to get this lipstick finished by the end of the year.  Despite using the other two lipsticks over August they don't seemed to have gone down at all.  I am going to try and get these finished by the end of year, but it will be a push.

Lastly the Argan Oil hair treatment.  Now that I've got into the habit of using this every time I wash my hair I'm starting to see actual progress on this product (though I couldn't get a photo that actually showed the line here).  I have excepted that this product will take a few years to get through, but at least it's on its way out.

I'm also putting my Urban Decay Naked original palette into this post as it's the palette I've been concentrating on this year.  I have decided to only use this palette for the rest of the year as I am thinking about getting rid of it at the end of 2018 as the formula is beginning to change.  There is pan on two of the shadows and I think I can hit pan on two others as well.

Now for the additional products.  Let's start with the Georganics Coconut Oil Toothpaste in English Peppermint.  I've really enjoyed using this and it worked well on my teeth.  It wasn't a big deal using the spatula every time I brushed but I would like to try some of their products which don't need the spatula.  This product is vegan and cruelty free, and definitely worth a look.  Right now I am using some Lush toothtabs, but I will definitely return to Georganics  once these are gone.

And there's the Juice Beauty Green Apple Peel Sensitive.  This is my third tub of this, I really love it as it is very effective at removing dead skin and making my skin soft.  Sensitive obviously as I have sensitive skin, this is vegan and cruelty free.  I will definitely buy this again, but only after I have finished my other face mask.

My progress so far:

• Project Use Up 2018
• Project Use Up Update #1 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #2 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #3 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #4 
• Project Use Up Update #5 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #6 and Other Products
• Project Use Up Update #7 and Other Products