I digress … thoughts on fish & the environment
Spain’s fishing fleet has long been a creature of the State subsidies. Today, it is the EU taxpayer and not Spain, who pays for much of the Spain’s bloated fishing industry. During the 1930’s, fascist governments in Spain built up the fishing industry to provide protein for the people and provide jobs for the poor. … Read more
I get the feeling that the DG Environment has last its way. From a political and legislative power house of the Commission in the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century, it has backed away. Until a 7th Environmental Action Programme is adopted, the only clear, although not perhaps coherent record of what Europe’s … Read more
An interesting piece in Chemical Watch on how regulators and politicians see the chemical industry. I worked on the survey. REACH could improve industry’s reputation, says top executive CEFIC agm debates reputation; survey shows over 80% of Brussels policymakers mistrust chemicals 30-Sep-2011 REACH offers the European chemical industry the opportunity, in the long term, … Read more
After years of overfishing fish a group of wealthy fishermen switched to fishing for subsidies. The madness of taxpayers money being shifted from productive to too often unproductive and often illegal uses is shown by Greenpeace’s excellent report on where fishing subsidies in Spain are going. You can read it @ http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/oceans/exposed-organised-crime-sea-20111002 Tens of millions … Read more