Why is the list of issues to grumble about always long but good news items so few! Inadequacies of bureaucracy, poorly thought-out money saving measures, and failure to apply common sense abound. National governments nod in agreement with climate scientists’ dire warnings but do nothing. Rainforest destruction is accelerating to grow biofuels and palm oil (to make lipstick smooth and biscuits crispier). Natural England has been recast as the money-saving arm of Defra. Local government is as dozy as ever. Colchester and Ipswich Combined Museums Service, after a year of searching, has not so far found a natural history curator for the Ipswich Museum because it did not advertise the post intelligently (where candidates are likely to see it). See item on page 2. Norma Chapman has written a distressing article, ‘Polythene Hazards’ page 31, about the effects on deer of eating plastic bags. More than 17bn plastic bags are handed out by supermarkets a year, causing nearly 60,000 tonnes of plastic to go to landfill sites in addition to the ones that get blown around the countryside. The bags can take 400-1,000 years to break down, and like all forms of plastic they do not biodegrade. Instead they photodegrade, breaking down into smaller and smaller toxic bits that contaminate soil, waterways and oceans, entering the food chain when ingested by animals. However, this is an issue where just about everyone can make a difference, and the anti-plastic bag movement is growing quickly. London councils are pushing for a city-wide ban on plastic shopping bags. China is to ban the use of some plastic bags and force consumers to pay for others in its attempt to conserve resources and ease environmental pressures. We can all do our bit to help too - I don’t need to spell out how.

There is good news of course. For a start spring is on its way. Personally I am looking forward to it more than last year when I had the prospect of heart surgery hanging over me. There’s another excellent programme of SNS field activities detailed in this newsletter. An exciting innovation for 2008 is the opportunity to make a series of explorations and studies into the natural history of Milden Hall farm. This promises to provide many interesting and happy outings for members of all ages and levels of expertise. The geology group has another fine programme too.

Finally, a word of thanks to Andrew Toomey whose ‘Weatherfront’ column provided White Admiral with a different dimension over the previous eight editions.

      Editor

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no later than June 1st 2008

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