Ben Eagle

‘’Do UK Farmers need the EU?’’

The title of this post was the question of a debate I attended yesterday at the Three Counties Showground in Malvern, Worcestershire. The Three Counties Farming Conference brought together George Eustice MP (Farming Minister at DEFRA), Stuart Agnew MEP (MEP for the East of England and UKIP’s agriculture spokesman), Mike Gooding (Managing Director of FAIContinueContinue reading “‘’Do UK Farmers need the EU?’’”

Rants for Change

This short post is to help raise awareness of a new channel on youtube which aims to give us all a chance to ‘rant’ for two minutes on a subject we are passionate about. As founder Emma Websdale puts it, ‘Nature, music, education, culture, poverty – you name it, we want to hear your viewsContinueContinue reading “Rants for Change”

Do Wildlife TV shows help or hinder the conservation movement?

On Friday, the Guardian published an article by Emma Howard which pondered the real value of nature programmes such as Springwatch and Autumnwatch in terms of their impact on practical conservation efforts. Martin Hughes-Games, presenter of the BBC’s Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch series, recently told the Guardian during an interview that such programmes created: “a formContinueContinue reading “Do Wildlife TV shows help or hinder the conservation movement?”

Don’t Panic! Hans Rosling on Population

The rising human population is one of those subjects that you will invariably hear an environmentalist discussing, often plotting a tale of inevitable woe. Population growth has implications for all sorts of sectors although, because of their direct role with the natural world, people working within or interested in the food, farming and conservation sectorsContinueContinue reading “Don’t Panic! Hans Rosling on Population”

The British Conservation Model: irrational, unambitious and afraid of nature?

A couple of years ago the Linnean Society brought together George Monbiot, Clive Hambler, Miles King and Aidan Lonergan from the RSPB, to discuss and debate future options for British conservation. The debate, including q&a lasted about an hour but is well worth a watch. It may be nearly two years out of date but theContinueContinue reading “The British Conservation Model: irrational, unambitious and afraid of nature?”