Welcome to the Celtic Heritage Trust

Our Goal is to Assist in the Global Movement Toward Sustainable Development

This involves direct & indirect actions with individuals and communities. We are a catalyst for networking and better communications at all levels.

ONE SMALL STEP FOR MANKIND - ONE GIANT LEAP FOR NATURE

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The Celtic Heritage Trust had an excellent success story with respect to a rather 'horrific' experience which occured in the Wentwood Forest Easter 2007. This has been reported admirably and quite correctly via the SCHNEWS network- If you have never read schnews we firmly advise you to take a look!

READ MORE HERE

The Celtic Heritage Trust also extends their gratitude to the Law firm of Bindmans, Gray's Inn Road- London especially Martin Rackstraw and Stephanie who worked extremely hard to bring our appeal case together and with very little notice - we would also like to thank from the bottom of our hearts Barrister David Chidgey - who provided the most remarkable defence - it is indeed rare to find such committed individuals that are prepared to fight for the cause of civil correctness.

THANK YOU from all our Memebrs

ACID OCEANS WARNING - 19.10.07

Arctic Heat Wave

Stuns Climate Change Researchers

by Staff Writers
Kingston, Canada (SPX) Sep 27, 2007

Undergraduate Geography student Joshua See, a member of Queen's International Polar Year project surveys the shifting terrain on Melville Island caused by this summer's record high temperatures in the Arctic. Courtesy of Scott Lamoureux

One of 44 Canadian research initiatives to receive a total of $100 million (IPY) research funding from the federal government, Dr. Lamoureux's new four-year project on remote Melville Island in the northwest Arctic brings together scientists and educators from three Canadian universities and the territory of Nunavut. They are studying how the amount of water will vary as climate changes, and how that affects the water quality and ecosystem sustainability of plants and animals that depend on it.

The information will be key to improving models for predicting future climate change in the High Arctic, which is critical to the everyday living conditions of people living there, especially through the lakes and rivers where they obtain their drinking water.

Other members of the research team include, from the Queen's Geography Department: Paul Treitz, Melissa Lafreniere and Neal Scott; Myrna Simpson and Andre Simpson from U of T; and Pierre Francus from INRS-ETE, Quebec. Linda Lamoureux of Kingston's Martello School will work with the scientists to develop learning tools for schools in the north.

From their camp on Melville Island last July, where they recorded air temperatures over 20C (in an area with July temperatures that average 5C), the team watched in amazement as water from melting permafrost a metre below ground lubricated the topsoil, causing it to slide down slopes, clearing everything in its path and thrusting up ridges at the valley bottom "that piled up like a rug," says Dr. Lamoureux, an expert in hydro-climatic variability and landscape processes. "The landscape was being torn to pieces, literally before our eyes. A major river was dammed by a slide along a 200-metre length of the channel. River flow will be changed for years, if not decades to come."

Comparing this summer's observations against aerial photos dating back to the 1950s, and the team's monitoring of the area for the past five years, the research leader calls the present conditions "unprecedented" in scope and activity. What's most interesting, he says, is that their findings represent the impact of just one exceptional summer.

"A considerable amount of vegetation has been disturbed and we observed a sharp rise in erosion and a change in sediment load in the river," Dr. Lamoureux notes. "With warmer conditions and greater thaw depth predicted, the cumulative effect of this happening year after year could create huge problems for both the aquatic and land populations. This kind of disturbance also has important consequences for existing and future infrastructure in the region, like roads, pipelines and air strips."

If this were to occur in more inhabited parts of Canada, it would be "catastrophic" in terms of land use and resources, he continues. "It would be like taking an area the size of Kingston and having 15 per cent of it disappear into Lake Ontario."

The Queen's-led project is working with other IPY research groups including: Arctic HYDRA, an international group investigating the impact of climate change on water in the Arctic; Science Pub, a Norwegian group working on broad research from science to public education about the impacts of global warming; and CiCAT, a University of British Columbia-led group of 48 researchers investigating the impacts of climate change on tundra vegetation.

International Polar Year (IPY) is the largest-ever international program of coordinated scientific research focused on the Arctic and Antarctic regions and the first in 50 years

The EU has lost the majority of natural woodlands, more than half of its wetlands as well as a large proportion of its species-rich agricultural habitats.  Many marine ecosystems are also suffering from human derived impacts.

At the species level, 335 vertebrate species – including some sea mammals and 38% of bird species – are at risk of extinction, while many fish stocks are outside safe biological limits. 

Worldwide, over 11 000 species of plants and animals face a high risk of extinction in the near future, as species extinction is 1 000 to 10 000 times higher than the natural rate.

Recent studies predict that environmental degradation could lead to the extinction of an eighth of the world’s bird species, and climate change could make a quarter of all land animals and plants extinct by 2050.

Biodiversity loss undermines the livelihoods of the rural poor and is an impediment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals related to poverty eradication, health and environment.

The proportion of fish catches in EU-managed waters that come from stocks considered to be outside safe biological limits may indicate the status of marine biodiversity. In recent years this proportion has been around 40 to 60 % for demersal fish (like cod, hake and other valuable fish) and between 30 and 50% for benthic fish (such as flatfish, monkfish, and crustaceans).

The amount of waste generated throughout the Community has increased significantly over the last decades, but very few countries have yet shown signs of decoupling waste generation from GDP growth.

Soil loss continues to be of concern. 20% of European shoreline is retreating or has had to be artificially stabilised. Over the past 50 years the population living in EU coastal municipalities more than doubled to 70 million people (16% of the EU25 population).  Built-up areas are spreading across Europe and increasing much faster than the population. Built-up areas have a heavy impact on soil functions.

Fresh water is a finite and precious resource essential for sustainable life, for economic activities and for the environment. Equitable and sustainable water management is in the interest of society as a whole. The global water crisis threatens lives and even peace and security.