“Lost Life: England’s Lost and Threatened Species” claims that the Chalkhill blue butterfly is just one of a number of species extinct within the region.

Natural England. the national agency who compiled the “most complete” audit of hundreds of years of wildlife in the United Kingdom, also states that more species may die out if action is not taken as soon as possible.

The Birmingham Post, in reporting the news on their website, outlined the key reasons as to why the region had lost so many of its species:

While a few “big, hairy and scary” animals such as bears and wolves were hunted to extinction, most vanished species have gone because of land management changes including the industrialisation of farming, habitat loss, persecution and pollution.

And even where species have not become extinct at a national level, many have disappeared from some parts of the country, leaving populations fragmented and more at risk from threats including storms and a changing climat

Although many species have died out within the country, Lost Life has categorised many of them by regions where their presence has been eradicated. In the West Midlands, extinct species include the Twite Marsh, hister beetle, and bog orchid.

The report circulated throughout the evening via Twitter, with many giving their thoughts on the issue.

jpglavenvalley wrote:

i suppose this does happen but to [sic] quickly

And billygrammar added:

Sad to see hundreds of animal and plant species near extinction. More than two die out a year in England, Natural England says.

The plans received the final stamp of approval by the council in February and the redevelopment is due to start at the end of this year until 2015.

The ambitious redevelopment project will aim to lure people away from the not so eco friendly cars that reap the city with carbon emissions and create a happy network with links all across the city, not just in the centre.

The new station will give passengers an all together more comfortable experience as well as reaping £2bn economic benefits for the city.

Disagreements

It’s not all sweetness and light though, before the final stamp of approval the development faced these issues from the council committee, they felt the positioning of a new footpath that would lead up the moor street station needed to be looked into as it would block the rear entrance of some local businesses.

Despite this rumble the process continued and the planning permissions were approved.

Support

Network Rail, Birmingham City Council, Centro, Advantage West Midlands and the department of transport are all working as part of the Redevelopment.

Jo Kaye, route director for Network Rail, said:

“New Street station will be transformed into a a 21^st century transport hub. With the backing of the planning authority we are one step closer to realising this vision.

We will continue to refine our plans so that we five New Street the new start it deserves and keeps the impact on peoples journeys to a minimum.”

The new station is not only boasting start of the art new technologies but also all together better links and pedestrian links all across the city.

Benefits

For the well travelled people of Birmingham this will mean better connections and ease to their working day.

Leader of Birmingham City Council Mike Whitby said:

“The redeveloped New Street Gateway will provide a focal point for far winder regeneration of the entire city over the next 10-15 years, and is one of the main components of the city’s £6 billion worth of publicly funded regeneration projects currently on our books.”

Brompton bicycles are currently producing 600 of their famous ‘folding bicycle’ a week and anyone who wants one can be expected to wait up to 11 weeks to receive it.

With transport being revolutionised through the production of high speed trains and eco friendly cars it seems unreal for the bicycle industry to be excelling.

However the bicycles, that aim to be mostly made from British only parts, incorporate patented technology that aim to make parts 25% lighter.

The bicycles retail at anything from £600 to £2500 and are considered the bicycles of Saville Row.

Although the price may seem steep  Tom Bradshaw, who currently rides a Brompton, said that:

“They are expensive, but they are worth it.

I cycle from the railway station, and then commute on the train for an hour before cycling the rest of the to work.

They are extremely well designed.”

With such a positive attitude about cycling and a government tax incentive to “Cycle to Work”, donning a suit and a bike could be the new way to get to work.

Simon Jenner, who owns the coffee shop along with Amir, says:

‘When we started looking at the coffee businesses we realised that the high street stores were sending a serious amount of used coffee to landfill every year which just didn’t make any sense.

The impact that has on the environment is significant and a massive waste, especially when you consider how easy it is to recycle the used coffee.

So from day one we decided to recycle as much coffee as our customers could take.

Our biggest challenge has been educating our customers how they can use the coffee and getting them to take it away on a regular basis.’

How can you re-use the coffee?

The most obvious place to start would be garden compost, liquid fertilizer and applying directly to plants, but some of the more bizarre ways to use the coffee is to touch up furniture scratches or use as a skin pack!

To find out exactly how all this works visit the Urban Coffee Company blog and of course Urban Coffee itself.

The official reason for the microchip scheme is to show which house each wheelie bin belongs to, presumably in order to reduce wheelie bin theft.

However, privacy campaigners and members of the public are becoming concerned that the Government will use the microchips as a way of spying on waste consumption and recycling habits; resulting in ‘pay-as-you-throw’ taxes.

In the past year, the number of Councils using microchip technology in Wheelie Bins has increased to 68.

Big Brother Watch

Privacy campaigners, ‘Big Brother Watch’ have put together a report entitled ‘Lifting the Lid’, which shows which councils have introduced the scheme; why and the results.

Speaking of the microchip scheme, Dylan Sharpe, Campaign Director of Big Brother Watch has said,

‘In the past 12 months we have witnessed 26 councils install microchips in their residents’ bins, yet no council has dared to start charging for the amount we throw away.

With central government and the EU putting councils under pressure to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, it is only a matter of time before the majority of bins are microchipped and ‘pay-as-you-throw’ schemes become commonplace’.

Birmingham

The nearest area to Birmingham that is part of the microchip scheme is Tamworth, as Birmingham doesn’t even use wheelie bins.

When asked if Birmingham would ever use wheelie bins and if they would be chipped; Birmingham City Council refused to comment.

Salons like Hushhair and Aveda are taking energy saving measures and encouraging recycling.

Such policies are encouragement by magazine Hair Journal, who informed salons that owners have a great responsibility to establish efficient enterprises that in no way damage the environment.

Hushhair

Leading the way, Hushhair, an exclusive salon located in Birmingham’s City centre, has taken various steps in becoming environmentally active.

Joe, a hairdresser at Hushhair has stated that by undertaking these improvements to the salon it is not only advantageous for the environment but also encourages others to do be conscious of how they too can help the planet.

They continue by saying that saving energy and reducing the amount of waste helps the environment which in turn also benefits Hushhair financially, a crucial factor in this current economic climate.

These improvements, that many other salons are likewise adopting, include energy saving light bulbs, water reducing jet nozzles in hair cleansing stations, reusable bags in addition to recycling all bottles used.

Furthermore, Hushhair’s newest initiative, set to inspire customers and salon owners alike encourages customers to bring in their bottles to be refilled for a discounted price of 25% off.

Aveda

Aveda, a prestigious organisation which specialises in skin and hair care in the Bullring, has launched an impressive new campaign entitled ‘Aveda Earth Month 2010’.

Hoping to raise £3.5 million internationally, Aveda is urging people to donated in support of WaterAid and their projects situated in Nepal and Ethiopia.

The forest works closely with the Butterfly Conservation and the Forestry Commission to manage projects concerning butterfly conservation.

Phil Rudlin, who works at Wyre Forest, said:

‘We’re linking the areas that are butterfly ‘hotspots’ in order to encourage more butterfly activity and ensure none of the butterflies found in the forest die out

If a species of butterfly does die out then we can easily re-populate them thanks to the corridor links

Butterflies need sunshine in order to thrive and that’s why we’re generating more open spaces.’

How the open spaces are being created

Volunteer Conservation Groups run every last Sunday of the month at the forest and they have a slightly harsh sounding but effective way of clearing the land.

The main aim is to clear areas of trees by generating controlled fires making sure that the land is dry instead of turning muddy with rotten tree stumps.

This means increased plant growth that leads to more butterflies.

Other butterfly conservation projects at Wyre Forest

Butterfly conservation is something Wyre Forest has been committed to since the 1980s and they’re determined to keep it going in the future.

Within the last several years ‘The Back To Orange’ project has been concentrating on protecting some of the endangered butterflies out of 32 species that can be found in the forest.

Phil added:

‘Some of the rare and endangered butterflies we’re helping to conserve here at the Wyre Forest are both the large and small variety of Pearl Bordered Fritillary and the Woodwhite species’

More information about Wyre Forest can be found on their visitor centre site.

For contact information for their Volunteer Conservation Groups visit the volunteer page.

West Midlands Regional Observatory found that over 70,000 people from the Midlands are already working in environmental technology.

Approximately 400 companies were surveyed and half of them are looking to recruit more staff.

Andy Phillips who is Head of Skills Research at the Observatory said it is only a matter of time before companies look to take on more people.

Opportunities

“There will be a significant number of job opportunities in the future and companies will expect a rapid growth in the number of staff.

We are still coming out of the Recession but within the forthcoming months, job opportunities will occur.”

Converteam, Veolia, and Valeswood were some of the companies that were interviewed in-depth. The Observatory also managed to conduct an online survey to find out basic information about various organisations.

Effects

Phillips also believes that a rise in jobs created will have a huge affect on the people of the West Midlands.

“Companies are still looking to employ people and recruitment will gather momentum within the next couple of months.

The jobs that are made available will strengthen links between businesses and universities to help development.

It will also raise awareness of careers in environmental technology companies.

There will be jobs that will require highly skilled people. However there will also be jobs for students that have left school.”

The majority of approved members are currently in London or worldwide.

A spokesperson for The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) said:

“We don’t currently have any signed up members in Birmingham, although we are in discussion with some Birmingham restaurants to sign them up to the future. “

Accreditation

The association addresses the industry’s questions about the ethical sourcing of ingredients, bottled water, fair staff wages, seasonal produce, packaging and paper recycling and their energy policies.

They want as many restaurants as possible involved across the stretch of Britain, aiming for up to 30,000.

To be accredited restaurants have to tick a set of sustainability criteria, which are listed here.

Membership

It doesn’t stop there, once a restaurant has been signed up, they have to continue to meet the criteria they were initially praised for, as well as meeting the standards of more criteria which are added over time.

Restaurants can go on to be awarded gold, silver, bronze, depending on their dedication and commitment to the accreditation. Restaurants then marked with this stamp of approval send a message to their customers to how committed they are to these policies.

Benefits of being accredited

Recent research conducted by the SRA found that over 70% of customers were more likely to eat a restaurant that had this accreditation than one without it.

Founders of the association, Giles Gibbons, Mark Sainsbury and Henry Dimbleby said:

“We set up the scheme because we knew that restaurants thrived to improve their sustainable performance and consumers wanted to know more about what their eating establishment were doing to improve their performance. ”

It will look no different from the standard black cab we see on the roads today but will sport top class hydrogen fuel cell technology. You can see what will really be under the bonnet here.

The fuel cell taxi will hit the top speed of 81mph, go from 0-60mph in 14 seconds and has a range of more than 250 miles on a full tank of hydrogen.

They are quite simply the super equivalent of the electric cars that have recently been released.

They will be based in London and it has yet to be announced whether the cabs will be trialled in the West Midlands.

However if the trial goes well it may be expanded to other cities including Birmingham.

Simon Wood from Lotus Engineering, the team behind the project, said:

‘There is a global drive to reduce C02 emission levels and this is something we are dedicated to, for both Lotus Cars and our engineering clients.’

The trialling of these taxis in London will tell us more about what this will mean for Birmingham travellers.