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Newport still the UK's greenest city
7:12pm Sunday 4th May 2008
NEWPORT is still the greenest city in the UK according an ecological index released by a leading environmental charity.
Last October, WWF, formerly the World Wildlife Fund, placed Newport and Plymouth at the top of a green league table of 60 cities around the UK. And the latest index places the two cities jointly at the top of the list again.
WWF analysed the impact of the world's ecology of the average resident of each city - their ecological "footprint".
Newport used the equivalent of 2.78 "planets" of resources, because of the level at which residents recycled, used less energy in their homes, used public transport and bought locally-sourced produce.
Newport's recycling record - including ventures such as Wastesavers - are a key part of the city's success.
Newport East AM John Griffiths said the city was doing a lot of good things such as being in the forefront of recycling.
"I think the people of Newport have bought into this idea that it is crucially important all us think very hard about the way we live and we have a responsibility to recycle, use less energy and use our cars less," he said.
He said the report was encouraging and showed the city was going the right way. He hoped people would continue make changes so even more progress could be made.
However, even Newport will still go into what WWF calls "ecological debt" for 2008 on May 11 - more than seven months before the end of the year.
WWF, says UK cities will have far exceeded their fair share of the earth's natural resources for this year by next month.
Winchester residents were the first to over-exploit their "ecological credit card" on April 10.
WWF-UK's head of campaigns Colin Butfield said the battle for the environment would be won or lost in the cities which had the highest potential for eco-living.
He said the solution lay in addressing the careless consumption of energy but it was not just about consumers; government and businesses had to play their part.
Your Say YourGwent
vince marenghi, newport,gwent says...
1:14pm Mon 5 May 08
Branman, Cwmbran says...
6:10pm Mon 5 May 08
john77, newport says...
8:36pm Mon 5 May 08
samstrange, newport says...
1:19am Tue 6 May 08
Are you mad! how much copper does the average person have. When I wonder down the road to work I see recycling lots of palstic and paper. Never once have I seen any Copper!? You must have a very different sor tof rubbish from most people. Maybe your a plumber.
Unfortunatley If you are genuinley standign for council, its not a good sign.
Hywel Jones, Newport says...
3:41am Tue 6 May 08
And encouraging thousands of people to travel to Newport in 2010 (the year of 'peak oil') to watch some silly golf matches just goes to show that Newport councillors really don't know which end is up.
But the shame of this latest gaff falls on WWF. It sounds to me as though WWF has a few screws loose...
BOB, NEWPORT says...
7:47am Tue 6 May 08
Branman wrote:We get more spin and misleading information from Newport Council then we ever got from Blair.
"Newport still the UK's greenest city"....should read...Newport, where the car is King.
Any idot can see that Newport is a long long way from being Green. In fact its one of the most polluting areas in the UK
Perhaps now that most of the Labour councillors have beenbooted out they will think about what they say. They should listen to the electorate instead of dicatate to them and they should be accountable. Sadly I don't see that bunch changing at all.
They also foist that undemacratic Quango Newport Unlimited on us who appear to be running the show in Newport.
I hope and new administaration puts this organisation in its place. It has served Newport very badly and there seems to have been an unhealthy tie up between Newport Council & Newport Unlimited with contracts being awarded without going through the normal tendering process.
The new administartion should review this and ensure all contracts go out to tender.
John, says...
9:35am Tue 6 May 08
Who gives a stuff about how many tons of CO2 etc is going into the atmosphere?
Most people are worried about just 'making ends meet'
Do you think that the Chinese, Indians and Americans give a stuff? Answer no. They just pollute with impunity while we make absolutely no recordable difference whatsoiever to the situation.
This talk is for the 'loony liberal open toed sandaled liberal left' who harp on about it at every opportunity and of course the government, who can justify the imposition of even more punitive taxes.
I have had enough of the 'green lobby' telling me what I should be doing with my life.
If you can get the rest of the world on board then I might be persuaded, but until then I frankly couldn,t care less how green Newport is.
The powers that be would do better to concentrate on the crime in the area, rather than claiming their 'green credentials'.
bmw, says...
12:55pm Tue 6 May 08
And now I read scientists are saying global warming is on hold for 10years, it might actually get cooler !!
Simon, Newport says...
1:02pm Tue 6 May 08
Now if someone can justify wastage, then I feel sorry for you all...
Hywel Jones, Newport says...
6:13pm Tue 6 May 08
See:
http://video.google.
com/videoplay?docid=
-2058273530743771382
One of the first and most oft-cited definitions of sustainability, and almost certainly the one that will survive for posterity, is the one created by the Brundtland Commission, led by the former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. The Commission defined sustainable development as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
The Brundtland definition thus argues for the rights of future generations to raw materials and vital ecosystems to be taken into account in decision making.
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Dave Yates, Bishton says...
11:11am Mon 5 May 08
Where is the intergrated public transport in Newport?
We should be seriously reducing the amount of energy we use,as well as investing in renewables-and I don't mean the Severn Barrage !