More people should support Oxfam!

First of all I would like to thank you for taking an interest in our blog. You may or may not know about what Oxfam does but we hope to be able to make more people aware and possibly support the organization. We also hope that if you didn’t already agree with what Oxfam does we hope to have changed that.
After reading our blog we hope that you have come around to our way of thinking and support in what they do. An example of something they do would be…

As you probably know, a little while ago there was a horrific earthquake devastating millions of lives in Haiti. Oxfam had helped to save over 420,000 earthquake survivors in Haiti. They provided them with clean water and sanitation, education, shelter and support. Several months on and there are continuing to help provide these people with an income and continuing the services they provided while working to rebuild their communities. We think that Oxfam is an inspirational organization that helps many people who are in difficult situations. A few examples of these are:

• Climate change
• Conflict and Natural disaster victims
• Health.
• Education.
• Debt and Aid.
• Gender equality.
• Rights.
• Trade.
• Global economical crisis.

Despite the broad amount of help Oxfam covers, we are focusing on child poverty. We feel very strongly about this issue and would like to do everything we can to help them. We think that everyone deserves an amazing childhood and when you live in poverty, this just doesn’t happen. Children have to slave away doing chores and trying to earn money so that they might be able to eat that day. Oxfam strive to help them but they can’t do it without our help. Again we would like to thank you for reading and taking an interest in our blog, It would also be very much appreciated if you could please take some time to post answers to a few questions for us.

1 Had you heard of Oxfam before reading this blog?
2 Do you now feel more informed about these issues?
3 Would you be prepared to make a donation to Oxfam?
4 Would you tell your friends and family about Oxfam and encourage them to donate?

Thank you!

If you would like some more information on Oxfam please visit http://www.oxfam.org.uk/

Please Read Our Recycle Recital!

Hello, thank you for taking the time to read our blog. Our aim is to raise awareness of this environmental issue and encourage you to embrace the changes to our rubbish collection services by Torbay Council who aim to be recycling 50% of our rubbish by 2012 ~ 5 years ahead of schedule.

At the moment, recycling is a big local issue with the launch of the new recycling scheme. All households have been provided with 3 new boxes for different kinds of recyclable materials and this will reduce the amount of rubbish ending up in landfill sites ~ which has to be a good thing!!!

Reduce, Re-use, Recycle!

Reduce the amount of landfill!

Re-use as many everyday items as possible. For example, carrier bags, printer cartridges (by re-filling them), plastic water bottles etc.

Recycle-make use or your new recycling boxes!

Did you know .............

• 9 out of 10 people would recycle more if it were made easier!
• 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials.
• The largest lake in Britain could be filled with rubbish from the UK in 8 months!!!
• Plastic can take up to 500 years to decompose!!!!
• Glass is 100% recyclable and can be used again and again.

Both shocking and interesting! ... and only a few reasons to kick start your recycling habits! Sorting your rubbish may seem inconvenient but it has just been made a whole lot easier ~ just sort it, leave your boxes outside and someone comes to collect it ~ what could be easier?? So, start making a difference, spread the word and do your bit in getting everyone involved in helping our world survive. If we don’t act now, the world will slowly fade away, and eventually die.

Thank you for reading our blog. I would be extremely grateful if you would leave your comments below. Please would you take your time on answering these questions:

• Has your opinion changed on recycling as a result of this Blog? If not why?
• Have you recycled before? If not why?
• Would you now be more prepared to spread the message of recycling to others to help?

“Don’t complain, in vain, about the aim, of the game....... which is to ........
....... SAVE OUR PLANET!!!”

Thank you

We should burn less coal!

Thank you very much for showing an interest in my blog. Burning coal may be quite easy, but it is very bad for the environment. I feel very passionately about helping the planet, and I would like to think that I can try to change the opinions of other people. When you have read this blog, I hope that you will be more aware of the problems that burning coal has on the earth, and how we can change what we to do help it.

Burning coal is bad for the following reasons:

1. To get the coal, people have to mine it. Coal mining causes a number of harmful effects. These include the release of many harmful gases, which can kill plants and animals.
2. Coal mining is the cause of many miners’ deaths.
3. Coal mining is very dangerous, for instance, the Chilean miners that were trapped 600m underground were mining for coal. These people could so easily have died.
4. When burning coal, many poisonous gases are given off. Coal waste products, include fly ash, bottom ash, and boiler slag, contain many heavy metals. These heavy metals include lead, mercury, copper, zinc, radium, and more, which are dangerous if released into the environment. Coal also contains low levels of uranium, thorium, and other naturally occurring radioactive isotopes whose release into the environment may lead to radioactive contamination.
5. Coal will run out one day.

Thank you so much again for taking time to read this blog. I would be very grateful if you would post me a response with your thoughts. Please could you answer these questions in a comment below.

* Have you already heard about the bad side of burning coal?
* Are you more aware about it now that you have read my blog?
* Do you now feel more informed about this problem?
* Do you have a log burner, open fire, garden chiminea or solid fuel heating system?
* If yes, would you now be prepared to use less – or even no – coal to fuel your fires?
* How much on average do you spend on coal/logs in a winter?
* Would you be interested in buying something more eco-friendly?
* Will you be willing to tell your friends and family about this, and try and persuade them to read this blog?

Thanks again!

People Should Be More Aware Of Access Issues to The River Dart

Thank you very much for wanting to read my blog! Gaining full access to the river Dart, (a river local to Torbay and Dartmoor,) is something I feel very strongly about! Very few people seem to be aware of access problems to the rivers of England and Wales, let alone their local rivers. At the moment over 98% of these rivers do not have any access rights for the public. After you have read my blog, I hope you will have learnt a bit more about why we should have all year access to the Dart, and even want to find out more about access to the Dart, or rivers local to you.

Here are some of the main reasons why I believe we should have all year access to the River Dart:
• As Scotland has ‘Permission to Paddle,’ which means that they have access to all rivers in the country, all year round, it would not be hard to extend this towards the whole of Great Britain.
• Having these access opportunities would benefit not only canoeists, but fishermen, swimmers and other waterway users.
• Being able to make use of the river Dart in the summer would also be likely to boost family outings to the said Dart, as both the water and air is warmer in those months which we currently have no access to the river.
• Having access to all rivers would create a fitter, healthier nation, as all water sports require a certain amount of physical participation.
• Having access to a river is like having access to a natural classroom, as you can learn so much from the surrounding habitat and local habitat.

At the moment there is an agreement between canoeists and the land owners of the river Dart, which says that they can paddle the dart during the winter months, when the angling associations aren’t using it, and when the fish aren’t spawning. The Rivers Access Campaign would like, if not all year access, then at least a flood agreement. A flood agreement means that you can only have access to the river at a certain time, when it is in-between two different heights. This means that you don’t damage the spawning grounds, or paddle at dangerous times, like when the river is in flood.

Thank you very much for reading my blog, please do post a comment with your thoughts. It would be great if you could answer a few of the questions below, and it would help a lot.

1) Have you heard of access problems to rivers before?
2) Do you feel more informed on this topic after reading my blog?
3) Would you now be prepared to take further direct action to help gain access to the river Dart? E.g. sign a petition.
4) Are you likely to research more information about access to the river Dart, or another local river?

We should consider banning greyhound racing

Firstly, thank you for taking interest in my blog. I hope that after you have read it, you will be more aware of the subject or your views may have changed. For my citizenship GCSE, I am trying to advocate an issue that I am really interested in - the area of greyhound racing. I would like to raise awareness about why many of these greyhounds are allegedly being cruelly beaten or killed for maybe a reason that isn’t always obvious. If possible, my aims are to change your opinions about the way they are treated and to raise awareness to the people who have little experience in this area.

In major businesses where greyhound races produces a large profit, dogs are not necessarily cared for as a pet – some are treated harshly. Approximately in all of the greyhound racing businesses, they have around 13,500 dogs. Sadly, a huge 4000 of many greyhounds go missing every year, many responsible owners have them put to sleep by vets when they are past their working life, but some have been found in flooded quarries that have been killed abruptly by a sudden shot to the head or a large brick. According to some Animal Pressure Groups, when the dogs are registering for the races, only 20% can sometimes qualify as racers. The other 80% ‘disappear’.

I think we should do as much as we can to stop this for the following reasons:
* Who would agree with the cruelty that is inflicted on these unfortunate breed of dog, such as in the image above?
* These dogs are fast, but just because they loose a couple of races, it should not mean that they should be killed in case they lose again.

Thank you very much for reading my blog. I hope that this had made you more interested in this particular area of cruelty to animals. I would really appreciate it if you left your response below telling me your thoughts and opinions about cruelty to some greyhounds. If you would like to know more about this subject, go to www.league.org.uk. Please help to support the greyhounds so that they can live there lives again.

Here’s some questions for you to think about. Please comment on these as a posted response:
1. Had you heard about how many greyhounds go missing every year and did you know about the type of cruelty that some receive?
2. Do you now feel more aware about the issue of greyhound racing?
3. Has your opinion changed from what you already knew about the issue?

If you feel quite strongly about the issue of the greyhounds now, would you be prepared to:

1. Support the campaign with the league against cruel sports and help to stop greyhound racing?
2. Make a donation to the league against cruel sports by clicking on the “Donate” tab once you are on the website and support them?
3. Inform your family and friends about the issue of the greyhounds being killed and try to persuade people to join the cause?

Thanks again!

We must save our Countryside!

Hello my name is Amelia and thank you ever so much for choosing my blog to read. In this blog I will be talking about Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust. I’m sure the majority of you live reading this live in or around Torbay, so the problems they are helping to prevent will most likely affect you directly!

Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust are a local independent group which is helping to look after our countryside and local heritage sites. One the projects they are working on are to help look after Berry Head. Berry Head is Torbay’s most important Heritage site due to its rare wildlife and archaeological remains, but, it is under risk, because gradually the archaeological remains are being worn away and maybe rare plants and animals are dying out due to the constant amount of visitors. To stop this, Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust have set up a 3 year project worth £1.6 million. They have currently raised £1.5 million. This is just one issue they are dealing with.

The issue they are dealing with that will most affect you is the maintenance and protection of the coastal paths. If you’ve ever been on a walk around Torbay countryside, you will probably have taken one of these footpaths and routes. Torbay coast and countryside trust manages 22 miles of coastal path from Maidencombe to Sharkham.

Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust raise money through donations and through events that they organise around Torbay. A lot of these events are around Cockington and Occombe, their events are for everyone and raise a lot of money for their projects, and they do clubs and events aimed for young children as well and events for adults such as the Occombe beer festival.

I would appreciate it if you would please take the time to now answer these quick questions.

1. Have you heard of Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust before reading this blog?
2. Are you affected by any of these issues/any issues they’re working on? Please explain briefly?
3. Do you now feel more informed about these issues?
4. Have I changed your views in anyway? Please explain briefly.
5. Are you now willing to go to some of Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust’s events or make donations?

Thank you!

We should do more to stop the spread of TB in Cattle on Dartmoor

Thank you for showing interest in my blog. I am trying to raise awareness of badgers spreading TB (Bovine Tuberculosis) to cattle on Dartmoor and why this issue is significantly important to cattle farmers in Devon. This is something that I feel strongly about as we do not realise the devastating effect it has on the farmers when they lose cattle to TB. When you have read my Blog I hope that you will know a bit more about the effects of badgers spreading TB to cattle and also the effects on the farmers.

This is the fate of many bulls, cows and calves that fall victims to TB after the disease spreads from badgers to cattle. Cattle can become infected by the badgers with TB in several ways. One way is that Badgers often eat and drink out of the cattle’s feed and water troughs during the night. The badgers leave the harmful bacteria behind in their saliva and in the morning when the cattle use the same feed and water troughs the cattle become infected with TB.

Even though not all badgers are infected with TB it can be very hard for farmers to keep them away from their land as cattle farmers tend to have a large amount of grazing for their cattle, badgers can get in through gates and lift up the bottom of fences with their snout. Once one cow in your herd is infected with TB it is not easy to tell until the next test for the disease-and by that time your whole herd will be infected. Every 60 days the vet injects your whole herd twice with a chemical that reacts to an infected animal, 2 days after the vet injected them the vet comes again and every cow has two lumps on its neck the vet measures the lumps on the cow’s neck and if the top lump is larger than the bottom lump then that cow has TB if your whole herd is not infected with TB then you have to have your herd tested in another 60 days and if they are all clear after that test then it will be 120 days till your next test this will carry on every 120 days until after 6 more tests (providing your herd is clear) you will not have to have another test for 1 year. HOWEVER if one of your herds becomes infected with TB then you go back to square one. Cattle can become infected with TB via:

• Cattle, which come into nose-to-nose contact with an infected animal, may breathe in the bacteria which cause the disease.
• Cattle which are kept in winter housing with an infected animal, may become infected because the bacteria which cause the disease can be carried in moisture droplets and therefore breathed in by other cattle or spread via feed and water troughs.

Thank you so much for reading my Blog! Please would you post just a few words to give me feedback-it will only take minute.

1. Have I made you aware of the issue?

2. Have I told you:
a) What TB is?
b) How TB is spread
c) How it effect's the cattle farmers?

3. Do you now feel that badgers should be culled (selectively killed) to help stop the futher spread of TB?

Thank you again for looking at my blog and taking the time to answer the questions. Further details of the TB in cattle can be found at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/farmanimal/diseases/atoz/tb/

Thank you very much

COAST AND COUNTRYSIDE CATASTROPHE?

Hello and thank you for taking interest in my blog. I am trying to raise awareness of issues surrounding Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust, this organisation helps restore Torquay’s coast and countryside. Why is this important you may ask? But it is, much of Torquay’s lush countryside is being affected by building and tourist attractions, Cockington Country Park is also part of TCCT and is very important to me personally because I live there. The Beaches in Torbay are greatly affected also by litter and pollution and it can make Torbay look shabby and unclean which could affect the economy long term, so let’s not let our countryside go to waste, and even if you don’t live here this problem could build up and eventually reach you so any contribution would be a great help!

What Torbay could look like without our help, littering beaches is bad as it makes beaches look horrible and it also makes it unsafe for anyone to go on the beaches and also bad for wildlife that come across the litter, Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust do litter picking projects on Torbay’s beaches to contribute, many people get involved.

This is what is happening to a lot of country side in the Torbay area, people are building upon the land which destroys it and makes it very unattractive; it even kills animals and gives them nowhere to live. Many people visit Torbay for its countryside and if we destroy the countryside then not many people would want to visit, which means eventually affecting the economy.

Torbay Coast and Country Side is a great organisation and you can become a member and contribute to the organisation or you can support, they have many projects such as cake sales and festivals up at Occombe farm and different holiday events, they raise as much money and awareness as they can to help the coasts and countryside of Torbay, I want to support this cause as I feel it is very important to look after our surroundings.

Thank You for reading through my blog and I greatly recommend you to go and inquire about Torbay Coast and Countryside as it’s a great cause. Could you now please post some responses to these short questions:

1. Have you heard about the work of Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust before reading my blog?

2. Do you now feel more informed about the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust?

3. Would you be prepared to support the work of the Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust by supporting their fund raising events?

For more information go to: http://www.countryside-trust.org.uk/ or ring 01803 606035.

People living the Bay area should give their full support to DARE

Hi, my name is Katie & I think that DARE is doing a brilliant job – and that you should too!

DARE is a Pressure Group that helps stop recreational land being developed unnecessarily. They do much more to protect the land we live. They give the community of Dawlish and many others the chance to speak out against the council. They give us as people a chance to express our feelings. They are recently working on saving the sand dunes in Dawlish Warren., as they are unfortunately eroding a way, this is serious and massive problem. But luckily Dare are trying to save them meaning in 10 years we could still have the sand dunes we love today.

DARE help hundreds of people by stopping houses being knocked down, train tracks being built through farmers fields, manor houses being closed and being knocked down. They will try and help your issues in any way.

You can contact DARE By visiting there website:
www.darefordawlish.btik.com/news

Thank you for reading my Blog and I’d be very grateful if you now please answer the quick questions below.

1) Had you heard of DARE reading my Blog?
2) Do you now think DARE is a worthwhile Pressure Group to support?

You wouldn’t want your home area to turn out like this would you?

We shouldn’t judge people and we should accept the Youth Centre.

Thank you very much for opening my blog! Being with my friends is something I really enjoy doing, but I notice most of the time, that if any of my friends wear ‘hoodies’, then they’re judged negatively. I also found out about the Ivybridge Youth Centre – which I think is a great place where teens can go to have fun/enjoy themselves etc. However it seems some people disagree.

I hope when you’ve read my blog you’ll understand my viewpoint on this situation and hopefully have spare time to share your own views with me, which I’d love to read!
I feel a lot of teenagers are judged inaccurately because of how the media represent them as. Here are a few examples:

1. A lot of teens wear “hoodies” (jumper+hood=generally spoken of as a “Hoodie”) and in the media It seems that a lot of teens that get into trouble wear “hoodies” so a lot of people assume that any teen wearing a hoodie is trouble.
2. In the media you may have videos of teens using foul language wearing a hood, so most people consider teens impolite and unsocial.
3. Media may show videos of teens wearing hoods having bad habits such as smoking and alcohol. So now a lot of people see teens wearing hoods are addicts!?

My other issue was about the Ivybridge Youth Centre Project. The situation is that Ivybridge had a Youth Centre constructed. Some people thought this was a waste of money. In my home area we have a Youth Centre, and I think it made a really big difference to our lives because we had more to do, and it made the evenings more fun when I came home from School.
Here are a few reasons why I think that the Ivybridge Youth Centre was a good idea:

1. Teens can come off the streets and take part in activities, chill out, or just meet new people.
2. It keeps teenagers from lingering around the street with nothing to do – keeps them out of trouble/ stops them from being at a risk of getting into trouble falling into the ‘wrong crowd’)
3. People are no longer intimidated by a group of friends hanging around on street corners.

Thank you again for visiting my blog. If you have any spare time, please could you read and answer the following questions? Thanks!!

a) Do you think “hoodies” are sometimes/mostly/never or always represented badly in media?
b) Do you agree or disagree that the Ivybridge Youth Centre Project was a good idea, or could the money used on the project, been used more efficiently on something else? Why??
c) If you have a child, or would like one in the future, would you consider taking them to a Youth Centre to see if they’d enjoy it?
d) Have I made you think that some teenagers are not as bad as you thought, before this survey and what do you think of teenagers wearing “hoodies” now?
e) Do you think that a “Hoodies” dress code affects people’s judgement? Why?
f) Have you ever been intimidated by/scared of “Hoodies”? Do you think, now you’ve read this blog that you wouldn’t be as intimidated by/scared of “Hoodies”?

Sherelle

You should Help Poorly Pets by supporting the PDSA

Hello, my name is Shona and thank you for visiting and taking an interest in my blog! I have set up this blog to raise awareness about the British animal charity PDSA. I think that people need to support it more, and learn more about their work before deciding to not bother about it, or thinking it’s just the same as the RSPCA or the Blue Cross. Plus I feel animal welfare is really important!

First of all, the PDSA stands for Peoples Dispensary for Sick Animals and is the UK’s leading veterinary charity. It...
* Provides free vet care to those who can’t afford it-8,800 pets a day to be precise!
* Promotes good pet health care
* Provides emergency health care and re-homing for stray animals

The PDSA help over 2 million animals a year! That isn’t cheap. In fact, it runs up a bill of about £53 000 000! So that’s all well and good, you may say, but stop! The PDSA rely entirely on the public’s donations, which means if you guys stop giving, so does the charity! And if the charity stops giving, thousands of poor helpless animals suffer.

OK so you’ve given me the facts, but now what do I do? Well, there are many ways to help...
* Buy some items in one of the many PDSA charity shops
* Donate clothes, books, toys and all sorts of good condition things to the shops
* Give a little money- even if it’s just 10p put into a collection box, it will make a difference
* Go to one of their many sponsored events around the UK, or make up your own challenge
* Give them old mobile phones, ink cartridges, foreign coins and stamps! Even they’re useful!

Thanks again for visiting my blog! Before you go, it would be so useful to me if you answer a few short questions...
1. Have I changed your opinion about the PDSA?
2. Before reading my blog, how likely were you to donate to the PDSA on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the lowest, 10 the highest)?
3. After reading my blog, how likely are you to donate to the PDSA on a scale of 1-10?
4. Would you be willing to tell other people about my blog so they can come and help me too?

Thank you very much for answering those! Please visit http://www.pdsa.org.uk/ for loads more details!

Shona

Breast Cancer – please show you care

Hello, my name is Sapphire and I feel very passionately about the breast cancer illness and support. I’m trying to make you more aware about breast cancer.

• One in nine women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives, this could be you, if this was to happen to you, you will want all the support you can get from everyone around the UK. We are all at risk of developing breast cancer, so isn’t it right to support a cause which could benefit you in the future?
• Last year alone, Cancer Research UK spent nearly £45 million on life-saving research into breast cancer.
• Millions of people DIE each year from breast cancer.
• Early detection saves lives therefore the money spent on breast screening service is money well spent.
• Race for life is a great way of supporting and raising money for the trust.

I’m hoping that my blog has made you more aware of breast cancer, I believe it’s a very important trust to support, if you would like to donate money go too their website or arrange with myself; http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/breastcancer/about_us/aboutcancerresearchuk/

Please spare a moment to answer these questions;

Had you heard/thought about this issue before reading my blog?
Do you now feel more informed about the breast cancer illness?
Have I changed your opinion about it?
Would you now be prepared to try and raise money or awareness yourself about the issue?
Would you now be prepared to donate some money to the trust?

Thank you very much for your time!

Saphire

Meat is murder

Hi, thanks for taking time to look at our blog. We’re advocating against meat eating because we feel very strongly about the issue. We want to inform people about where their meat really comes and the benefits of being a vegetarian.
Also, at the end of our blog there are a couple of videos for you to watch if you still need some persuading!

Vegetarianism is beneficial for the following reasons:
• Vegetarian food is often cheaper than meat.
• You can eat good wholesome food without feeling guilty.
• It can reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, food poisoning, strokes, cancer and many more fatal illnesses.
• Help save the planet- rainforests are cleared for grazing, methane from livestock causes global warming.

Factory farming is also an issue we feel very passionate about, the majority of meat comes from factory farms as it is cheaper and easier to produce. However, the conditions of factory farms are appalling (you will see this in the factory farm video attached to this blog). There are no signs of animal rights in these places-animals are crammed in to small cages where they barely have room to turn around and they are often still alive when their throats are slit. Chickens beaks and claws are often taken off without first being stunned.

Becoming a vegetarian is the perfect way to campaign against meat eating and it’s easier than you think!

Thank you for taking time to read our blog. We would be really grateful if you could please spare a moment to post some responses to the questions below.
1. Have we changed your opinion on vegetarianism in any way? Please explain
2. Are you now more sympathetic to the cause of vegetarianism?
3. If you are not a vegetarian already, would you be prepared to consider becoming a vegetarian?
4. Would you be prepared to support vegetarianism by telling other people about the benefits of being a vegetarian?

Thank you

Ruby and Hannah

You should help Christian Aid if you possibly can

Our names are Mollie and Sophie; we would really appreciate if you could have a look through this blog and tell us what you think.

Before Christian Aid, hundreds of people suffered, although many still suffer, Christian Aid has made a huge impact on the numbers. Christian aid helped out loads.
Helping out with the Pakistan Flood is just one of the many disasters that they have helped with. things that Christian Aid helped with, they provided food parcels, tents and hygiene kits.

Christian Aid is hard working and love a challenge. They help so many people, but do not have enough support to help everyone. When they don’t have enough support, they can’t help as many people, which mean more suffering.

This blog will hopefully make you more aware of the issues Christian aid face & you can find out much more on their website at:- http://www.christianaid.org.uk/
It would be great if you could please try and support them! Please can you now post us a response to the questions below:

1. Had you heard of Christian Aid before reading our Blog?
2. Has your opinion on Christian Aid changed as a result of reading our Blog? Please explain.
3. Would you now be prepared to make a donation to Christian Aid or help out in any other way such as telling other people about the charity or becoming a volunteer?

Thank you!

Molly & Sophie


It would be great if you could leave any comments and tell us what you think x

Swap Your Choc!

We thank you greatly for deciding to take a look at our blog. Fair Trade is a global issue which affects many third world countries. We are interested in what you have to say about Fair Trade, and in particular Fair Trade chocolate. We are sure you all enjoy chocolate every now and again, but first how does Fair Trade actually benefit the farmers?

• Farmers benefit from fair trade since they can receive more payment for a better quality of goods.
• Fair Trade promises farmer better wages for their production of goods. This benefits farmers in poor, developing countries. This way, farmers get more pay for goods. Now farmers can support their families.

So if we all convinced the big companies such as;
• Galaxy (http://www.galaxychocolate.co.uk/ )
• Milka (http://www.milka.com/ )
• Milky Way (http://www.milkywayredcarbluecar.co.uk/)

To change to Fair Trade like Cadbury’s have then we would be helping the farmers and enjoying the chocolate bars that we love! So it’s a win, win situation  If you would like more information on Fair Trade and the products they sell please visit http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/.

Thank you so much for taking an interest in our blog. If you would care to leave a comment on as to what you think about Fair Trade and/or Fair Trade chocolate. That would be greatly appreciated. We especially want to know (a) Have you heard about Fair Trade before? (b) Have we changed your opinions about Fair Trade – if so how & why? (c) How you now be more prepared to buy Fair Trade products like chocolate – please explain?!

Thanks you

We should we take an interest in Girl Guiding!

Thank you for taking interest in our blog. We are trying to raise awareness of the services provided which is girl guiding. We would like you to be more aware of what is being offered to you, and hopefully change your opinion of the incorrect stereotypical thought of girl guiding.

When you’ve read our blog, we hope you will try to find a way of considering taking part in girl guiding, if you’re not already!
So, why should you go to girl guiding?

* It is an amazing way to meet new people and be more sociable to prepare you for social challenges that you may face in the future.
* Go to learn about the environment and what you alone can do to reduce your carbon footprint.
* Instead of being at home watching TV on a rainy night, when that’s all that seems achievable in such conditions, you could be having fun and learning at a guide meeting.
* Issues that are discussed in the meetings, may give you a head start or insight into a subject that may well be discussed at school, or be an issue which you haven’t heard of and feel strong enough about to do something about it.
* It’s a great time to be able to take time away from any troubles you’re having at school or at home.

For any further information on girl guiding visit their website; http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/home.aspx

Thank you again for taking time to check out our blog, it would be most appreciated if you could now leave your comments and views below to the following questions.

1. Have you heard about Girl guiding before reading our blog?
2. If yes, do you already take part in girl guiding? Or have you considered taking part? Why/why not?
3. If no, do you now have any wishes to find out more about our cause?
4. Have we changed your opinion on this topic?
5. Would you now be prepared to raise more awareness by telling family and friends about this topic?

If you have any questions about our advocacy please leave a comment and we will try and get back to you as soon as possible.
Thank you so much!

Megan, Felicity, Jenny & Alethia

Hello, Are names are Katie and Maddie.
Thank you very much for taking interest in our Blog. Littering affects many life forms, but mainly it affects animals. Are you are the selfish person that goes and drops litter, and doesn’t think about the effects that the tiny piece of litter you have just dropped will have on the wildlife and environment? If we are honest, we have all dropped some litter at some time in out lives …

Numerous animals are affected by littering, marine and land wildlife. So many animals go extinct because of our carelessness and selfishness. We damage their homes with our litter and we rip out their homes because we haven’t got enough homes for ourselves! We drop 2.2 million pieces of litter every day! This costs £858,000,000 to clean up.

Animals depend on your support for survival and without you and me they’d be nowhere, but without us dropping litter they wouldn’t need your support. Devon wildlife Trust helps and takes care of animals that have been affected by litter and humans and it also is there for you to join and to help them with the money to help animals in need.

Lots of people are the culprits to animals in pain and everyone has dropped some litter in their life. It would make the world of difference if you stopped dropping litter, but imagine if everyone stopped dropping litter. Animals would stop being caught and hurt and killed by litter and we would have a cleaner world to live in. We are the ones who can make the difference to animals survival and there are hundreds of animals gone extinct we could of stopped. Now they’re gone we can’t focus on the past put we can make the difference in the future to stop more animals going extinct.

Many people know what’s happening but refuse to do anything about it and we should be the ones to get up off our chairs and get out there and do something good for our world that’ll make a difference today and in the future.

Please take a minute to think about what that bit of litter will kill and harm next time you think about dropping something! Thank you for reading our Blog. We be very grateful if you could please take a moment to answer the questions below.

1. Have we made you think a little more carefully about your littering behaviour?!
2. Are you less likely to drop litter in the future?

We must save the world’s whales & dolphins!

Welcome to our blog and thank you for taking an interest in our advocacy! We are supporting a charity called ‘Campaign Whale’, the aims of this organisation are basically to try and stop whale and dolphin killing and fight for the rights of these animals.

It may be fairly unheard of to eat dolphins or whales here in England, or in fact even have real life contact with them. However, in parts of the world such as Japan and China, mass slaughter occurs daily, hidden in a secret Cove, where the shocking truth can’t reach the naive and misinformed Japanese community. This place was the subject of a brilliant & shocking film called – The Cove: watch it on DVD now!

Our goals are simple: raise awareness. With our issue being one involving the killing of thousands of dolphins daily, the mistreating of dolphins and whales in ‘swim with dolphin programmes’ and the production of whale and dolphin meat distributed on the open market, people feel a great emotional and moral obligation to support us. Our campaign doesn’t involve much persuasion, our campaign involves knowledge and fact, and spreading it to as wider audience as possible. So, we aim to get the message out in as many forms of media as possible. We aim to bring home the shocking truth to a nation living in denial. We aim to get as much support as we possibly can so we can put pressure of the industries behind it all, and help make a change for the animals affected.

We have been in to Torquay town centre handing out leaflets and questionnaires, we have made a petition we will soon hopefully be putting up around school, we are soon to be making posters, and on year 9 advocacy day, we will hopefully be giving talks to primary schools.

We need support, and we need evidence, to prove that it isn’t just us that see the Cove (the place where the dolphins are slaughtered and the water turns red) as morally wrong, so if you happen to come across our petition for Campaign Whale and/or any of our other forms of media, please, show you care and give us your support, we would greatly appreciate it. If you feel strongly about the issue, as we do, please do not hesitate in visiting Campaign Whales website URL: http://www.campaign-whale.org/ and take the next step by donating or helping raise awareness as we are.

Thank you again, for showing an interest in our blog and thanks for reading, we hope we have gained your support in this issue and we hope you will be signing our petitions at the next possible opportunity, before it’s too late. Will you also please take a moment to answer the short questions below.

1. Were you aware of the continuing slaughter of whales & dolphins in some parts of the world before reading our Blog?
2. Have we changed your opinion about this issue – if so how?
3. Would you now be prepared to support campaign whale by signing a petition, making a donation or joining a protest?

Leah, Leksey & Danielle

People living the Bay area should give their full support to DARE
Hi, my name is Katie & I think that DARE is doing a brilliant job – and that you should too!

DARE is a Pressure Group that helps stop recreational land being developed unnecessarily. They do much more to protect the land we live. They give the community of Dawlish and many others the chance to speak out against the council. They give us as people a chance to express our feelings. They are recently working on saving the sand dunes in Dawlish Warren., as they are unfortunately eroding a way, this is serious and massive problem. But luckily Dare are trying to save them meaning in 10 years we could still have the sand dunes we love today.

DARE help hundreds of people by stopping houses being knocked down, train tracks being built through farmers fields, manor houses being closed and being knocked down. They will try and help your issues in any way.

You can contact DARE By visiting there website:
http://www.darefordawlish.btik.com/news/21010116056.ikml

Thank you for reading my Blog and I’d be very grateful if you now please answer the quick questions below.

1) Had you heard of DARE reading my Blog?
2) Do you now think DARE is a worthwhile Pressure Group to support?

You wouldn’t want your home area to turn out like this would you?

Save the Orangutans – they Can’t Save Themselves!

Thank-you very much for showing interest in my blog. I really like Orangutans and I feel passionate about saving them. I believe many people just think that this is a plea they have heard again and again about trees being cut down but really it is much more. I want people to know that the rainforest is being affected in many ways and we need to put a stop to them. I hope this blog will inform you better of the situation and hopefully convince you to support my advocacy.

Deforestation is not just the cutting down of trees, it is also:
• Oil Palm Plantations
• Illegal Logging
• Forest Fires
• Illegal Mining
Not many people are aware of this.

• In the past 100 years 80% of the Orangutan population have died due to deforestation and many experts have estimated that all Orangutans will be extinct in just 25 years! If we try to stop deforestation we will help keep a whole species alive and save them from the brink of EXTINCTION! Why should they be sacrificed?
• Experts estimate that by 2022, 98% of Indonesia’s rainforests will have been destroyed taking the Orangutan population with it. So if we keep destroying the rainforest at this rate, we would have used up all our resources and used up a whole species completely! Is it all really worth it?
• What is even the point of destroying the rainforest, it is no longer filled with lush green trees, the sound of the animals, the sound of life. You are just left with dull bare land, the sense of death and certainly no sound of life. What good could come from this result?
• Think of all the benefits you would get from keeping orangutans alive. You could carry on watching brilliant documentaries about the beautiful orangutans, you can see pictures of them enjoying their lush green rainforest habitat or see them in zoos across the world for many years to come and maybe even see them in the flesh in the wild if you’re lucky! But if there was no habitat, there would be no orangutans, and with no orangutans there would be nothing to look at, admire and enjoy.
• Don’t forget that all of this will affect you too! Orangutans are vital cogs in the workings of the rainforest and the rainforests are vital cogs in the workings of the eco-system. But without the rainforest and therefore without the orangutans, global warming happens and with the rates of the deforestation getting faster and faster it is speeding up global warming, which is the last thing we need!

Now that you have read my Blog please will you take a few minutes of your time to fill in your answers to the questions bellow or leave a comment about my Blog, Thank-you

* Had you heard of The Orangutan Foundation before reading my Blog?
* Do you now feel more informed about the issue, if yes, which particular part did you learn the most from?
* Have I changed your attitude or opinion towards the issue, if yes, how and why is this?
* Would you be prepared to donate, fundraise or spread the word about my advocacy and the issue?
* Would you consider telling your friends and family about my work and informing them of the issue?

Once again Thank-you for taking time to read my Blog and I hope you have learnt something for reading it.

We should save suffering animals

Thank you for taking an interest in my blog. I would really appreciate it if you could please read the text fully and answer the questions at the bottom. I feel very strongly that animal cruelty is wrong and should not happen anywhere in the U.K. Because of this I have decided to advocate and support the RSPCA. After you have read my blog, I hope I have changed your mind in some way about animal cruelty and you are more persuaded to support and make donations.

Just look at this poor helpless dog in the picture above. Why would someone do something like this? People have a hard time looking after their animals more often nowadays due to the credit crunch. They are short of money and cannot afford to pay for the animal’s food or medical treatment (if needed). Therefore some abandon their animals and never come back for them. Some just Torment them for fun. This has to stop now. Animals are our friends. They deserve to be treated like us. They deserve a fair life.

The RSPCA help injured and lonely animals and find a loving home for them. They make them happy again. Here are a few shocking facts about animal cruelty worldwide:

• Scientists estimate that 100 species go extinct every day! That's about one species every 15 minutes.
• Eighteen red foxes are killed just to make one fur coat.
• In around 3/5 of the UK’s farms, animals, such as hens, are kept in tight spaces with hardly any room to move.
• Animals in circuses are kept in unhygienic conditions for long periods of time and do not get medical aid when they are ill or hurt.
• More than 70,000 animals where badly treated last year alone, and 20,000 of these died.

I hope that I may have moved you a little bit! I’d be really grateful if you could please now answer these questions:

1. Have you heard about the RSPCA before reading this blog?
2. Do you now feel more informed about animal cruelty?
3. Would you be prepared to make a donation or tell family and friends about this issue?
4. Have I changed your opinion on animal cruelty? If yes then why? If no – why not!
5. Would you know join the RSPCA cause?

Thanks again for reading my blog. I hope I have made you more aware on this issue.

Emma

We must do more to help chickens in bad conditions

Hello, thank you very much for taking the time to read this blog. We are trying to support and raise awareness of British Hen Welfare Trust (BHWT). Their aims are to make the UK a free range country and to rescue as many Battery hens during this process. We feel very strongly about this issue and we hope that after reading this blog you will too.

The conditions that battery hens for commercial use are kept in are traumatising. They are stuck in cages less than an A4 piece of paper with no room for flapping their wings, forced to mass produce eggs. They are unhealthy and unhappy and most never get to see the outside world. The BHWT fights for the hens- by writing letters to the government, rescuing chickens from their cages, re-homing them and making the UK as aware as possible.

We are not forcing you into adopting a hen! We just feel that not enough is being done for the chickens. Although buying free range eggs is slightly more expensive, the benefits it brings are phenomenal.

* There are approximately 16 million caged hens in Britain alone, laying cheap eggs for consumers’ benefit
* 70% of eggs produced in the UK still come from battery hens.
* Nearly 60% of caged eggs end up ‘hidden’ in processed food products such as cakes, pasta, confectionery and ready meals.
* A RSPCA survey showed that 86% of the public are opposed to the quality the caged hens live in.
* Over 200,000 ex-battery hens have been rehomed through the British Hen Welfare Trust.

Thank you for reading our blog, we would now be extremely grateful if you could answer some of the following brief questions:

1. Had you heard of the British Hen Welfare Trust (formerly Battery Hen Welfare Trust) before reading this blog? Were you aware of the conditions caged hens live in?
2. Do you now feel more informed about the issue of battery hens eggs being consumed?
3. Have we changed your opinion on battery hens eggs? If so how and why?
4. Would you be prepared to support the BHWT by donating money or adopting hens? Would you be prepared to only buy free range produce?
5. Do you feel the UK has been informed enough about this issue?

Thank you for taking your time to answer these questions,

Emily & Shona

You will lose the person inside - Alzheimer's Disease

Thank you very much for showing an interest in my blog! Alzheimer’s is a disease which affects just over 400,000 people in the UK alone. I believe that everyone who suffers with the disease or cares for who someone with Alzheimer’s should be entitled to help and support to ensure they get the best out of life and this is what the Alzheimer’s society aims to do.

People need to become more aware of what Alzheimer’s disease is because by the time they reach 85 they will have a 50% chance of being diagnosed with it. Here is a short piece that briefly describes what it is like to have or to care for someone with Alzheimer’s.

Dementia is a devastating disease. It robs you of all your faculties. They say it is like a second childhood. But it isn't.
A child is a developing person. A man with dementia is a disintegrating person. He was a man. He lived alone. He had a family, a wife, and children. He was gay. He was black. He was white. He was a successful businessman. He was someone who didn't do what he wanted.
He spent his adult life getting washed, dressed, going to the toilet, shaving, eating. He could speak. He could laugh at a joke. He could look after himself.
Now, bit by bit he slides into dependence. It is not childlike. The infant takes her care for granted. He fights against his. The baby loves having her nappy changed. His incontinence pad shames him. The toddler gladly takes the other's hand. He cannot abide being lead from place to place. Or if he can, you cannot bear to see it.
You cannot bear to see the man who walked with you through the park becoming someone who no longer knows what a park is.
The change comes slowly. Who is to say that this is the moment at which you stop seeing him as himself? He loses his dignity when you stop treating him with dignity.
If your mind goes do you go with it?

Thank you so much again for reading my blog. Please now post me a response of your thoughts in particular, it would be greatly appreciated if you could just write a few words to answer the questions below & help in any way you can. Please help to preserve peoples loved ones for longer.

Had you heard about the Alzheimer’s society before now?
Do you now feel a bit more informed about what the illness does to people?
Would you be prepared to do any of the following things?

1. Make a donation to the society
2. Join a fundraising event
3. Sign up to the monthly newsletter at www.alzheimers.org.uk
4. Become a volunteer at your local Alzheimer’s society centre
5. Join the sponsored walk that I am running in September

Thank you Emily

We must help prevent cruelty to animals - today!

Hello, I’m Ellie, and thank you for taking an interest in my blog! Please take a moment of your time to read about what the RSPCA do and how they help, and also answering the short questions at the end. As you may or may not know, the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) helps give animals a voice, and helps keep strays off the streets, runs worldwide campaigns, and re-homes lots of pets every year. Without the RSPCA, where would our relationship with animals be today?

The RSPCA are not just local, they have had connections with multiple animal welfare organisations abroad for over 150 years. They help in Europe and also East Asia by giving anything from animal welfare classes, to stray dog management, they even go to emergency situations such as oil spills in other countries. I know you’re thinking okay so yeah, this is another country we’re talking about, why does that concern me? Well, if you help by fundraising, donating or even volunteering, you could help animals all over the globe.

As the leading animal welfare charity, they are constantly getting calls, and saving animals everywhere. They rescue animals from:

• Cruelty and abuse
• Accidents and injury at home or in the wild
• Abandonment and neglect
• Disasters.

The RSPCA in 2009 alone, successfully rescued 135,295 animals. In disaster circumstances they rescued: a flock of stranded sheep in a field, six cattle and 20 sheep in flood areas, eight cats and a collapsed dog from flooded houses, and a horse trapped in a flooded paddock. They also raised one million dollars when the Haiti earthquake struck to help the animals.

Now, you can help! Whether it’s doing a sponsored walk, a car boot sale, or even selling cakes, you can raise money to help the RSPCA in their battle to make the world a better place for animals.

Please take a minute to answer these simple questions:
1. Did you already know who and what the RSPCA do before reading my blog?
2. Do you feel more informed about the organisation?
3. Has your opinion on the organisation changed? If so how ?
4. Would you be prepared to donate or fundraise for the RSPCA?
5. Would you now inform you family and friends about the RSPCA and what they do to help?

Thank you for reading.

Ellie

People should be more aware of the risks of speeding in country lanes

Thank you for opening my blog, my name is Ella and I am trying to raise awareness of the issues of speeding in country lanes and that there should be more ways of preventing this. I also aim to change the attitudes of people speeding, to make them think before they act.

I propose that an increased number of speed bumps, and cameras, in country lanes would be much more affective in reducing speeding than speed limit signs. These are my reasons:

1. When speed cameras were first introduced to West London, a 10% drop in speeding resulted in a 40% drop in serious accidents. This proves that speed cameras do work.

2. People ignorant enough to speed need motive to persuade them not to. Speed
cameras provide the motive of losing money if caught speeding. Furthermore, speed bumps cause a nasty jolt if driven over too fast, this would cause a person to consider slowing down. A simple speed limit sign does not give the motive needed.

3. Country lanes are full of blind bends and high hedges, as shown in my picture, because braking distance gets greater the faster you are travelling if you drive fast around a blind bend and cannot see on coming traffic, you may brake too late to be able to stop.

4. Drivers should remember that they are sharing a high hedged, non paved, narrow lane with; pedestrians, horses and riders, cyclists, wildlife and slow farm vehicles (e.g. Tractors). Horses can be unpredictable and easily spooked by fast moving cars, causing them to buck, rear or bolt, which can be dangerous for the horse, the rider and the driver of the car.

5. Dangerous hazards are regular on country lanes. These include; fallen tree branches, pot holes and blind bends. Hazards like these make speeding even more dangerous.

I would like to thank you once again for reading my blog. If you could please take just a few more minutes of your time to answer the following questions and post a response I would be very grateful.

1. Had you considered the problems with speeding in country lanes previous to reading my blog?
2. Has my blog informed you on the issues of speeding?
3. Has your view on speed bumps and cameras changed in any way? If so how and why?
4. If you ever speed would you now consider driving slower?

The nations cat's need you!

Hi everyone! I’m Eleanor, and firstly I’d like to thank you for showing an interest in my blog on the Cats’ Protection. The Cats’ Protection is a charity that aims to look after, and home, cats that have been brought in, found, or are unwanted. They are based in the UK and have 29 adoption centres nationwide. Most of the staff are volunteers that give up their free time to help the nation’s cats. I feel that we should all do what we can to help the CP, as they do a lot of work to help cats. If it weren’t for the generous people who have donated their money, time, and effort to help, many more cats will have been treated cruelly, left to starve, abandoned, and left homeless. Here are some facts and figures showing what the Cats’ Protection has done over the years:

1. They have over 7, 000 cats or kittens in their care at any one time
2. They rehome and reunite 55, 000 cats every year
3. They help to neuter 160,000 cats per year
4. They have around 7,000 active volunteers
5. They have over 250 branches run by volunteers nationwide

There was one story of a car that was about to be crushed, and just before it was due, some kittens were found in a box inside the car. If these unfortunate kittens had not been found they would have been crushed with the car. Thankfully, they weren’t left and were given to the CP.

But the CP doesn’t just help the cats in the adoption centres, they also provide free neutering for those who can’t afford it, so their cats won’t produce more kittens. There are enough unwanted cats in the UK; we don’t want to add to it. Unwanted kittens are a great problem as some cruel owners might leave them to fend for themselves or drown them. The lucky ones that are taken to places like the CP are taking up time, a cat cabin, and money which could have otherwise been put to a better use. So as you can see, neutering your cat greatly improves cat welfare.
Here is another impact that your consideration has on the cats in the adoption centres:

£3 can help pay for vital supplies such as food and vaccinations
£5 can contribute towards a kitten’s initial heath check with a vet
£10 can help pay for urgent veterinary care and life-saving medicines
£15 can feed one abandoned cat every month
£20 can pay for one cat to be neutered.

Thanks for reading my blog, and I would be very grateful if you would answer these few questions using the comments box:

1. Did you know about the CP (Cats’ Protection) before reading this blog?
2. What were your opinions on the CP before and after reading this blog?
3. Would you now consider being or volunteer or donating to the charity?
4. Would you now adopt a cat from the CP?

Thanks for your time, and I hope you will help the CP in future,

Eleanor.

We should all Recycle far more!

I am currently doing my GCSE in Citizenship and I have chosen to help to local environmental issue - recycling and the deposit of waste. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Here in the Bay, we are lucky that there aren’t very many rubbish dumps in the local area, but if we don’t recycle enough the nearest rubbish dump will be fill by 2012 and that means we will be seeing more of them appearing. To help this environmental problem we should all try to recycle as much as we can and waste as little as possible.

Did you know that you can recycle all these items?
• Some Plastics, e.g. Bottles
• Paper, e.g. Magazines, Newspapers.
• Books and other old items to the charity shops.
• Batteries, Mobile phones, and Printer Cartridges.
• Tin cans and Aerosols.

One of the best ways of getting your whole family evolved is having a compost heap. This makes everyone participate and help the local environment. It also helps your plants and garden.

If you don’t recycle that’s another bin full of waste to be added to the rubbish dumps, eventually the rubbish dump will fill up and then there will have to be another one made to accommodate the waste products – a vicious circle, which can be delayed when recycling.

If we don’t start to work together and recycle we might well be seeing more of these dirty, smelly rubbish dumps, due to the others filling up and not coping with the amount of waste.
We want to be seeing more of this happening to help the world.

Please will you take a few moments to fill out these 4 questions, using evidence from my blog:
• Do you now know more about what items can be recycled?
• Have I changed the way you feel about recycling and the deposit of waste products?
• Would you be prepared to recycle more and maybe have a composted heap in your garden?
• Will you tell your family and friends about the environmental issue?

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I hope it makes you think about what you need to do to help save the environment and make this world a better place to live in.
Charlotte

We Should Save Paignton Monastery

Thank you so much for taking an interest in my blog. Saving my local monastery is very important to me and my community as it is an historical building and it is very beautiful. Not many people will know about the monastery as it is in a quiet road and there is no place for the very young to the old to go and get together as a community or as a youth club. My aim is to raise awareness to the people in my community and change the attitudes and opinions of the council and residents nearby. By the end of this Blog, I hope that you will know a bit more about the monastery and whether or not it should be saved from destruction.

The whole building is locked up and not in use any more as no one has treated it well and it needs much work doing to it and the council don’t have enough money to repair it yet they have to pay for the destruction of the building and then for houses to be built and have electric and water to be put in each house. The council have not made a decision yet on what to do with the building, but the whole project has been shelved as the building isn’t that important for the council at the moment. The people of the community have tried a few years back but the group that they had formed disappeared into the background and for the past few years nothing has been done and now I want to make a change and save this building. Here is why I think this building should be saved.

1. This building dates back to the 18th century where the Marist fathers who were catholic priests and they came to England where they found that many English Catholics had to travel quite far to attend mass. So they bought this building and turned it into a chapel for the Catholics in the town. This building is the oldest in the area and is a part of this town’s history and it would be a shame for it to be knocked down and made into more houses.

2. I think that this building has a lot of character and it can be used for so many things such as baby clubs, youth clubs, bingo, drama clubs, tea and coffee mornings, art clubs, heritage clubs, indoor skittles, dance club, summer clubs or it could be used for meetings. This would make the building be used more often and it would change the councils views so they would fix up the windows which are all bordered up and cracked.

I would be very happy if you could please provide evidence on how successful my blog has been by answering these short questions.
• Had you heard about Paignton Monastery before reading my blog?
• Do you now feel more informed about saving Paignton monastery?
• Have I changed your opinion about saving Paignton monastery? If so how &why?
• Would you now be prepared to any of the following things to help save Paignton monastery....?

1. To support my campaign to save Paignton monastery?
2. Tell your family & friends about the monastery & try to persuade them to join my cause?

Thank you for taking your time to read my blog and I hope that you have taken into consideration how important this building is for my community.

Beth.

Please Read My Recycle Recital!

Hello, thank you for taking the time to read my blog. My aim is to raise awareness of this environmental issue and encourage you to embrace the changes to our rubbish collection services by Torbay Council who aim to be recycling 50% of our rubbish by 2012 ~ 5 years ahead of schedule.

At the moment, recycling is a big local issue with the launch of the new recycling scheme. All households have been provided with 3 new boxes for different kinds of recyclable materials and this will reduce the amount of rubbish ending up in landfill sites ~ which has to be a good thing!!!

Reduce, Re-use, Recycle!
Reduce the amount of landfill!
Re-use as many everyday items as possible. For example, carrier bags, printer cartridges (by re-filling them), plastic water bottles etc.
Recycle-make use or your new recycling boxes!

Did you know .............
• 9 out of 10 people would recycle more if it were made easier!
• 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials.
• The largest lake in Britain could be filled with rubbish from the UK in 8 months!!!
• Plastic can take up to 500 years to decompose!!!!
• Glass is 100% recyclable and can be used again and again.

Both shocking and interesting! ... and only a few reasons to kick start your recycling habits! Sorting your rubbish may seem inconvenient but it has just been made a whole lot easier ~ just sort it, leave your boxes outside and someone comes to collect it ~ what could be easier?? So, start making a difference, spread the word and do your bit in getting everyone involved in helping our world survive. If we don’t act now, the world will slowly fade away, and eventually die.

Thank you for reading my blog. I would be extremely grateful if you would leave your comments below. Please would you take your time on answering these questions:

• Has your opinion changed on recycling? If not why?
• Have you recycled before? If not why?
• Would you spread the message of recycling to others to help?
“Don’t complain, in vain, about the aim, of the game....... which is to ........
....... SAVE OUR PLANET!!!”

Thank you

Amy xxx (:

We must help save Japan’s Dolphins!

We must help save Japan’s Dolphins!

Thank you very much for showing an interest in my Blog! The acts to stop the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan are something I feel very strongly about. The topic is not often heard about and the Japanese’s cultural methods and principles of slaughtering are very controversial.

When you’ve read my Blog, I hope that you will have come around to my way of thinking & perhaps help save Japan’s dolphins.
I think helping to save Japan’s dolphins is important and necessary for the following reasons;

1. In Taiji, Japan, the fishermen round up and inhumanely slaughter roughly 23,000 dolphins putting them at risk of extinction.
2. The dolphin meat is often sold for human consumption branded as ‘whale meat’, even though it is tainted with toxic industrial pollutants such as Mercury, DDTs and PCBs, all known to be hazardous to human health.
3. They are cruelly hunted as they are speared to death and continually stabbed until the water turns blood red. Other dolphins witnessing this become stressed and vulnerable, making them an easy target. Other dolphins are dragged out of the water, their noses tied with rope and sometimes dragged for miles where they will then be hung until they die. Some Japanese fishermen claim ‘”The more savage, the nicer the meat tastes.”
4. The dolphins which are not slaughtered will be sent to petting zoos and ‘swim with dolphins’ programs. In captivity they are often poorly treated. Many people who have seen dolphins in captivity think they are happy as they see the dolphin smiling. However, a dolphin’s smile is world’s greatest deception. The features of a dolphin make it appear that is happy however this is often not true.
5. In captivity the dolphins life expectancy is much less than if they were in the wild. The average life span of a dolphin in the wild is 45 years; yet half of the dolphins which are put in captivity die within the first two years.

Thank you so much again for thinking about my views! Please do now post me a response with your thoughts. In particular, it would be great if you could write a few words in answer to the following questions:

* Before reading my Blog were you aware of the topic of dolphin slaughtering, if so what was your opinion?
* Do you now feel more informed about why we should save dolphins?
* Have I changed your opinion about dolphin slaughtering & if so, how & why?
* Would you support my campaign to protest against people who believe dolphin slaughtering is ok?
* Make a donation to ‘Campaign Whale’ at http://www.campaign-whale.org/support-us/donate
* Tell your family & friends about how awful dolphin slaughtering is, & try to persuade them to join my cause.
* What is your opinion on dolphin slaughtering after reading my Blog?

Thank you very much again for reading my Blog. I would greatly appreciate it if you left any comments below.

Amelia.

Please be an organ donor!

Thank you very much for taking interest in my blog. Organ donation is a topic I feel strongly about, mostly due to the fact that you can save someone’s life after you are dead. Not everyone knows about organ donation and many others don’t know the truths about it and have been falsely informed about donating their organs. Thank you once again for reading my blog! If you want to share your views please comment below.

Organ donation is the gift of an organ to help someone who needs a transplant. The generosity of donors and their family’s enables over 3,000 people in the UK every year to take on a new lease of life. The first successful kidney transplant was in 1954. The first heart transplant took place in 1967. Kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, pancreas and the small bowel can all be transplanted. Techniques are improving all the time and doctors may soon be able to transplant other parts of the body to help even more people.

Here are my views on organ donation
• You don’t HAVE to donate your organs, but if you don’t need your body once you are dead, why not help other people live?
• If you expect someone to give you or your loved ones organs when needed, then you should be prepared to be an organ donor too!
Organ donation is a very touchy subject, it often has controversy surounding it.
Here are some rumours surrounding organ donation
Myths:

• One, if I agree to donate my organs, the attending physician or emergency room staff won't try to save my life. They'll remove my organs as soon as possible to save somebody else. {Reality: When you go to the hospital for treatment, doctors focus on saving your life — not somebody else's.}

• Two.what if I’m not actually dead when they sign my death certificate? It'll be too late for me if they've taken my organs for transplantation. I might have otherwise recovered. {Reality: Physicians are not going to declare a person dead without first going through the necessary internationally agreed well researched formal testing to ensure that the donor is brain dead }

• Three. People under eighteen years of age are too young to make this decision.
{Reality: That's true, in a legal sense. But the minor’s parents can authorize this decision. If you are under eighteen, you can express to your parents your wish to donate, and your parents can give their consent knowing that it's what you wanted. Children, too, are in need of organ transplants, and they usually need organs smaller than those an adult can provide.}

• Four. I want or my loved one wants to have an open-casket funeral. That can't happen if his or her organs or tissues have been donated. {Reality: Organ and tissue donation doesn't interfere with having an open-casket funeral. The donor's body is clothed for burial, so there are no visible signs of organ or tissue donation. For eye donation, an artificial eye is inserted, the lids are closed and set during embalming, and no one can tell any difference. For bone donation, a rod is inserted where bone is removed. With skin donation, a very thin layer of skin similar to a sunburn peel is taken from the donor's back. Because the donor is clothed and lying on his or her back in the casket, no one can see any difference.}

• Five Elderly people are not candidates for organ donation. {Reality: That’s false. There's no defined age limit for donating organs. Organs have been successfully transplanted from donors in their 70s and 80s. The decision to use your organs is based on strict medical criteria, not age. Don't disqualify yourself prematurely. Let the doctors decide at your time of death whether your organs and tissues are suitable for transplantation.}

• Six. I'm in poor health or my eyesight is weak. Nobody would want my organs or tissues. {Reality: Overall, that’s not true. Very few medical conditions automatically prevent you from donating organs. The decision to use an organ is based on strict medical criteria. It may turn out that certain organs are not suitable for transplantation, but other organs and tissues may be fine. Don't automatically count out donation if it’s something you want to do. Only medical professionals at the time of your death can determine whether your organs are suitable for transplantation.}

Since 1 April 2009:
* 502 People have donated organs (after tragic deaths)
* An additional 1,114 people have donated corneas (anterior covering of the eyeball)
* 1,557 people have received the gift of sight
* 1,403 people have received transplants
* 8,141 people are still waiting for transplants

STOP LIVES BEING WASTED AND BECOME A DONOR TODAY! So how do you register? On your next visit to the GP pick up a organ donation form, if you still have unanswered questions about organ donation, you can ask your GP as well. You can register online, here is the link http://www.uktransplant.org.uk/ukt/how_to_become_a_donor/registration/consent.jsp

You can get a leaflet from your local library too. Thanks very much for getting to the end of my long Blog – you can see how passionate I am about this issue! If you could please take a moment to answer these few final questions I’d be very grateful!

1. Have a made you more aware of the benefits of organ donation? Please explain briefly.
2. Would you now be prepared to tell other people about the benefits of organ donation?
3. Would you now consider being an organ donor your self? Please explain your answer.

We should think more carefully about how we look after our cats!

Hello, thank-you for taking an interest in our blog about the Blue Cross charity and cat abuse. Our names are Aisling, Lotte, Emma and Amelia, and we all feel very strongly against cat abuse and the fact that many people are still abusing cats behind closed doors. So for our citizenship GCSE project, we have decided to support the Blue Cross and try to change people’s minds about cat abuse, and that it’s not just something we should take for granted and pretend it’s not happening.

First of all; if you do own a cat then you may be thinking that you’re not abusing you’re cat, so it’s ok and doesn’t include you, but if you’re not taking proper care of your cat then that could be a form of cruelty. Sure, you may feed your cat every day, but underfeeding isn’t the only problem, it’s overfeeding too. Some cats eat too much and become obese, causing them to get heart disease. Other ways that you could be mistreating your cat are not letting it outside or inside, not playing with them or not grooming them if needed. I’m not saying that you abuse your cat, but you should think about how often you feed, groom and play with them.

Would anyone even think of hurting a cat? Well some people do, and they enjoy it! A lucky cat from Teignmouth survived the torture of what its owners uncle put it through. The four-year-old boy’s uncle put the cat in a microwave, shoved it in a tumble drier, stuck it a freezer and tried to drown it in a bowl of dishwater. The police was alerted when shocking phone footage was shown to them and they immediately took action, arresting the man and placing the cat in care of the RSPCA. One police officer said that the cat was smoking after it had come out of the microwave it had been in for 10 seconds. This is just one of the terrible cat abuse that has happened and maybe not the worst!

Please may you have a go at answering the questions below. Thank you!

1. What is your opinion on cats not being fed or cared for?
2. On a scale of one to ten how strongly do you feel about people mistreating cats and why?
3. Have you learnt anything more from this blog and has this changed your opinion on mistreating cats and why?
4. Do you think you will give more support towards this issue in the future and why?

Recycling - yes you can help !

Thank you very much for taking an interest in my blog! I feel very strongly about recycling and land fill sites. Everyone seems to know about recycling and land fill sites but we could all try and do more.
When you have read my blog I hope to change your views, if you didn’t already agree with recycling. I hope that you can then be bothered to help the world by doing your bit!

These are the views I have about recycling and land fill sites;
• Our planet and environment are being destroyed and eroded by not dealing with our waste in an environmentally friendly way.
• Most people do not know how important it is to stop throwing rubbish and not attempting to recycle, as you can see in the picture to the left we are overfilling land fill sites and it needs to stop!
• Recycling is very easy, it wouldn’t take you any extra time to make a difference and instead of throwing rubbish away in your normal household waste you could just put it in a recycling bin.
• Many household things can be recycled like cardboard, paper, bottles, cans/tins, cartons and you could also have a compost bin!
• I think this issue has been around for many years, it is time to change and make a DIFFERENCE! The main culprit is human but all of the effect is environmental.

Again, Thank you so much for taking your time and reading my opinions about recycling and land fill sites. I would be very grateful if you could now comment with your thoughts. In particular, it would be great if you could just write a few words in answer to the following questions:
* Have I changed your opinion on recycling? If not why?
* Did you already recycle? If not why?
*Would you now be willing to tell other people like family and friends about recycling and maybe ask them to help me and comment on my blog?
* Finally, would you be willing to support my petition? And help the world!!

Thank you

Aimee-Jane x

We should all support Toybox!

Hello, and thank you for taking an interest in my blog! Toybox is something I feel passionate about, and I believe that many people do not know about the wonderful things Toybox does.

When you have read my blog, I hope you will come round to my way of thinking and perhaps even volunteer to help Toybox yourself!

I think Toybox is a fantastic charity that helps children on the streets in Latin America. Street children stay alive by their wits, stealing and scavenging, begging and sleeping rough in parks, shop doorways and in dumps. Children are orphaned, abandoned, neglected or abused, often running away to a worse plight on the streets. But Toybox believes that every child needs the opportunity to experience life in all its fullness.

Just before christmas, Michael used to live on the streets until Toybox found her. Today, Michael says: "I do not sniff glue anymore and I feel good. I could have been on the streets as a junkie, but now I know I can have a better life."

These are a few reasons why people should help Toybox;

• Every child deserves a childhood.
• Children should not be exposed to violence that they receive.
• One of the Rights of the Child is: "Every child has the right to express his/her own views freely in all matters affecting them." But being on the street they can't do this.
• Children die at such an early age because of abuse and the use of drugs.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog! Please post me a response with your thoughts. In particular, it would be great if you could write a few words in answer to the following questions:

• Had you heard about Toybox before reading my blog?
• Do you now feel more informed about my issue?
• Would you now be prepared to make a donation to Toybox?
• Would you tell your family and friends about this charity and try and persuade them to help their cause?

If you want to make a donation to Toybox, call 0845 466 0010 or visit www.Toybox.org to find out more!