DG ENV informed the Group about the EU Ecolabel scheme, which has been in place since 1992. The scheme has to be reviewed and the Commission has proposed appropriate amendments to the Regulation – and the Ecolabel scheme would now cover food and drink products as well. This will not be implemented now, but only after a study has been made by the end of 2011. The study will involve consumers and assess whether the Ecolabel will be compatible with the EU organic logo.
CIAA, IFOAM and COPA-COGECA expressed their concerns – including the major risk that consumers would be confused and misled and they called for some kind of communication strategy.
ECVC pointed out that the Ecolabel scheme has been used more traditionally and this calls for cautiousness and that the creation of a new scheme would not benefit anyone. In FairTrade’s view it would be essential not to devaluate the organic EU-logo. CIAA suggested that not only consumers become involved in the study but that the Commission
used other alternatives such as round table meetings. They also presented the argument that the study should not be rushed through with the sole purpose of carrying out new initiatives. EOCC addressed the certified system; separated or single out for the revised scheme.
DG ENV stated that the criteria will be improved and strengthened every 3-5 years and that the Commission was aware of the dilemma between fair trade end eco. The Chair concluded that the Group needs to be informed, so that the concerns can be addressed.
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Answers on a postcard and have a great bank holiday weekend
But, it is not until after the hindsight has kicked in that one really realises just how and what audioboo has helped. This was kicked off by Bernie, via podcast of course.
I followed Bernie’s path with my thoughts on podcasting and in particular audioboo as my tool of choice.
So what can you take from this? A good start, from a gardeners perspective, can be made by taking a trip over to audioboo.fm and after that it’s up to you whether you choose to add to the conversation or simply listen. Either or one cannot disagree that the listening to alone is giving radio, maybe of a different format, an entirely fresh and most welcome new lease of life.
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Of course it would not have been possible without the people behind the scenes….
Personally, I like this little chat of a podcast that was recorded just after Bernie, Mark and myself had completed our deep dive audioboo sessions. On top of the National College of Ireland.
Still unsure… my numbers below, the coffee pot is on or you can send me an email or leave a comment below
For me personally, I just find it amazing that an entire post is put together by seperate audio clips, taken over varying days that join together and make complete one blog post. Could I have done this one year ago ? Possibly….
Who are Scotts? Paying particular attention to the clause of the first sentence, according to their own website:
ScottsMiracle-Gro is dedicated to a beautiful world with industry-leading lawn, garden and outdoor living products and services. Through our innovation focus, strong retailer relationships and drive to improve the consumer experience, we have been instrumental in growing the $8 billion global consumer lawn and garden market and enhancing our leadership position.
I’m sure that new Chevy will help the beautiful world. Moving on. In Ireland, According to corporate watch:
Scotts acquired the Shamrock brand of UK and Irish peat products from Bord na Mona, Ireland. This gave the company “preferential access to Bord na Mona’s extensive peat reserves and an option to supply the shamrock brand in the leading continental European markets.
According to the company’s annual report, Scotts’ brands are supported by an annual investment of approximately $100 million in advertising. In the US nearly 4 out of 5 advertising messages in the lawn and garden industry come from Scotts.
Moving on. From a horticultural perspective, the organic matters website notes:
In Ireland Paraquat it is sold to farmers under several brand names including Gramoxone, and to amateur gardeners as Pathclear and Weedol. The Dept. of Agriculture has no plans to ban the chemical but its re-registration is currently under review by the EU. Within the EU it is banned in Austria, Denmark, Finland and Sweden. Ironically it is also banned in Switzerland which is the home of Syngenta,the multi national company which is the worlds major manufacturer of Paraquat.
But according to Reuters, Paraquat, previously one of the main ingredients of weedol, has been banned.
EU court reimposes ban on paraquat weedkiller LUXEMBOURG | Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:40am BST
(Reuters) – Europe’s second highest court banned the weedkiller paraquat on Wednesday, criticizing the European Commission for poor health and safety assessments when it authorized the chemical in the EU in 2003.
The ruling handed down by the Court of First Instance (CFI) endorsed an appeal by Sweden, which banned paraquat in 1983 until it was forced to comply with the EU approval issued 20 years later. More than 10 other EU countries had also banned it.
Paraquat, a fast-acting and acutely toxic chemical, became widely known when it was sprayed on Latin American marijuana fields in the 1970s as a defoliant.
Paraquat is marketed globally as Gramoxone by Swiss agrochemicals group Syngenta but is also available under other brand names.
Critics say it is impossible to handle paraquat safely and claim the chemical harms the lungs, skin and eyes of workers handling it. Paraquat producers deny these charges, saying that it provides safe and effective weed control, when used properly.
In its ruling, the CFI said the Commission’s authorization for paraquat — a directive dated in December 2003 — had failed to apply proper procedures and was not properly thorough in its assessments of paraquat’s effects on human and animal health.
“The Court of First Instance annuls the directive authorizing paraquat as an active plant protection substance,” it said in a statement.
“The Commission’s handling of the file does not satisfy the applicable procedural requirements and the directive fails to satisfy the requirement of protection of human and animal health,” the statement added.
And In Ireland it was. According to Teagasc paraquat was removed from use in Ireland on 11 July 2008. See the March 18, 2008 posting on this Teagasc site. You will have to scroll down or word search paraquat.
But it seems now another ingredient of key Weedol products in their line of herbicides is glyphosate. There are however warnings in a January 2010 organic and non gmo report [[well worth the read] about its usage. To the point were, comments by Don Huber, emeritus professor of plant pathology, Purdue University actually scared me.
He notes that the introduction of such an intense mineral chelator as glyphosate into the food chain through accumulation in feed, forage, and food, and root exudation into ground water, could pose significant health concerns for animals and humans and needs further evaluation.
What do your weedkillers actually contain. According to The Love The Garden [?] Website [a scotts miracle grow website as a by the way]:
Weedol® Gun!™ Rootkill Plus™ Contains glyphosate and pyraflufen ethyl
Weedol® 2 Contains diquat
Weedol® Rootkill Plus™ Concentrate Contains glyphosate and pyraflufen ethyl
Weedol® Gun!™ Max® Contains pelargonic acid
Weedol® Max® Contains pelargonic acid
Pathclear® Gun!™ Weedkiller Contains glyphosate, oxadiazon and diflufenican
Pathclear® Weedkiller PC Contains glyphosate, oxadiazon and diflufenican
Pathclear® Weedkiller LC Contains glyphosate and diflufenican
Yummy! This of course is the same website/ chappie who gave you this video:
Of course here it says you can see the effects of the weedol in 2 days.
There was however a complaint lodged with ASAI. Funny how in Ireland whilst the bogs have been bought and the chemicals continue to be sold into our soils, someone manages to come up with this form of complaint.
The advertisement featured a man and woman discussing the need to wash a car and clean their driveway.
Wife: “Quick Eileen is coming around later to see my new car!”
Husband: “What’s that got to do with me?”
Wife: “The driveway is covered in weeds and moss, I can’t let her see it like that”
Husband: “Relax I’ll get some Weedol super fast, the new formulation is so fast acting you can actually see results in one hour.”
Wife: “That fast? Great that will give you time to give the car a wash.”
Husband: “What? Its brand new and the football is starting?”
Wife: “Well if you are as fast as Weedol superfast, you’ll be finished in time for the second half.”
Voice-over: “Weedol superfast see results in just one hour.”
Complaint:
The complainants considered the advertisement offensive as they said that it stereotyped the roles that husbands and wives play in the home.
One complainant said that the implication was that women complain and manipulate men. The other complainant said the advertisement inferred that females should talk down to their husbands or partners.
2006 Code
2.16 2.17 2.18
2002 Code
Response
The advertisers stated that the advertisement had received clearance from the RTE Copy Clearance Committee and that they had not received any complaints.
They said that the interaction between the husband and wife was good-humoured typical family behaviour. They said that couples with different priorities tended to bargain with each other and compromise in order to accommodate each other’s wishes.
They said that no homemaking roles were described in the advertisement; the woman was not standing and complaining or being manipulative rather she was asking for her partner’s assistance.
Conclusion
Complaints Not Upheld.
The Complaints Committee considered the detail of the complaints and the advertisers’ response. The Committee noted the complainants’ concerns in relation to sex stereotyping in the advertisement.
They acknowledged that advertisers should be careful to avoid causing offence on grounds of gender. They should equally avoid sex stereotyping and any exploitation which could be considered demeaning to either men or women.
On balance, however, they did not consider that either character had exercised control over the other or that any issues of equality arose.
I saw this article this morning in the guardian which is copied in full below. I have no issues with greenpeace, as such. In fact they do quite well in highlighting issues with PR stunts. I also understand why BP are an easy target and possibly more importantly to Greenpeace, easy PR. But if you are going to close down petrol stations – close every single one of them, including BP.
Here’s my thoughts on the matter.
A Greenpeace activist puts up a banner as they block off a BP fuel station. Photograph: Alastair Grant/AP
BP petrol stations across central London were temporarily shut down by activists today in a move they said was designed to make the troubled oilcompany adopt greener policies.
Greenpeace claimed supporters had at one time stopped the pumps at 46 outlets by stealing parts of safety switches in forecourts – action the company said was “childish and irresponsible”.
Greenpeace executive director John Sauven said: “The moment has come for BP to move beyond oil. Under Tony Hayward the company went backwards, squeezing the last drops of oil from places like the Gulf of Mexico, the tar sands of Canada and even the fragile Arctic wilderness … They’re desperate for us to believe they’re going ‘beyond petroleum’. Well now’s the time to prove it.”
About 50 protesters were involved in the action today, including three teams of 12 who moved between BP sites attempting to remove pieces of safety equipment which they intended to return later.
Greenpeace said it had been unable to halt the flow at a handful of stations and some had got services back on line quickly because of back-up equipment. The action is not thought to have led to any arrests by police, whom a Greenpeace spokesman deescribed as “relatively friendly and reasonable”.
But BP said the protesters had interfered with safety systems that allowed emergency services to switch off power to the pumps. “To interfere with them is just childish and irresponsible,” a spokesman said.
The company believed up to 30 stations had been affected.
UPDATE:
I thought the telegraph made a fair point personally
Peter On: