As some of you may have noticed, we have been making a mad dash around all of the campuses trying to inform students and staff about the Universities participation in Water Amnesty Month.
We have had a few weeks of events promoting water saving, some of you were lucky enough to get a bag full of helpful water saving tips. As part of water Amnesty On 10 Nov 1pm – 2pm in C402 Cavendish, there will be a lunchtime discussion on water: You’ll get to hear about latest innovations and water sourcing projects. Bring your questions and your own lunch with you and we provide coffee/tea, biscuits and water. Please RSVP: csr.westminster@gmail.com .
Additionally, if you want more information on Water Amnesty month please go to the Universities Sustainability site at: http://www.wmin.ac.uk/page-16980
look forward to seeing you there!
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Friday 16 October 2009
Forthcoming
Bionic Ear Show
Wednesday 21 October, at 2pm in LT2 in the LRC in Harrow. Free entry. No need to book.
Look after your ears now…enjoy music forever...
The Bionic Ear Show is particularly relevant for those who are interested in music and reliant on good hearing for their careers.
The Bionic Ear Show tells the story of sound as it travels through the ear to the brain, what happens in different parts of the hearing system, and how each part of the system can fail or break down.
The show aims to raise awareness of the importance of hearing, how it can be damaged and what you can do to protect it.
During the show, the presenter builds the world’s largest ear on stage – a huge outer ear on one side and a giant brain on the other. In between, interactive demonstrations and models illustrate every stage of the hearing process.
Anyone who wants to know how to protect their hearing or who might be experiencing age-related hearing loss and wants to know more about the condition will find the show fun and informative.
For further information, contact Niamh Nelson, Safety Health and Environment Team Ext 3937 N.Nelson@westminster.ac.uk
Presented by Deafness Research UK Registered charity number: 326915
Seasonal Flu Vaccinations
Marylebone Health Centre, who provide our Student Health Service, will be supplying seasonal flu vaccinations for students and staff again this year, at a cost of £18 per injection.
The Central London vaccination session will be held at the Student Health Service Room M320 Marylebone 3 - 6pm Wednesday 21 October.
The session at Harrow will be held at the Student Health Service Room EG5 11.30am - 1pm on Thursday 29 October.
Further information is available from Jeanette Creaser at Marylebone Health Centre on 020 7935 6328.
It is important to note that the seasonal flu vaccine will not protect against swine flu.
There is no need to book for this service.
Stop Smoking Classes
You're four times more likely to quit smoking for good if you use NHS Stop Smoking Services.
These free classes are run by the NHS at the University, and are open to staff and students.
All sessions start at 1pm and last approx 45 mins. You should aim to attend all six sessions.
Places are limited and strictly first come, first served.
You can get confidential, specialist advice and receive medication (patches, gum, lozenges etc)
Please be aware that an NHS prescription charge will be payable if you pay for prescriptions.
Staff: Please book a place on a course via MyHR or by emailing staffdev@westminster.ac.uk
Students: Please book a place on a course by emailing N.Nelson@westminster.ac.uk
Go to the NHS Smokefree website, or call 0800 022 4332 to find your nearest NHS Stop Smoking Service.
Harrow:
27 October - 1 December
Tuesdays, 1-2pm
Location A 5.3
Regent and Cavendish:
29 October - 3 December
Thursdays, 1-2pm
Location Regent RS 357
Marylebone:
3 November - 8 December
Tuesdays, 1-2pm
Chalk Suite Meeting Room 2
For further information, contact Niamh Nelson, Safety Health and Environment Team on Ext 3937 N.Nelson@westminster.ac.uk
Wednesday 14 October 2009
Of protests and climate change
The MP's certainly had a an original welcome party upon their return to the House of Commons after the summer.Last Sunday (11th October), some 35 Greenpeace activists breached Parliament security using ladders and scaled the roof of the House of Commons to make their message heard. Passerbys, tourists, politicians, and the general public of London witnessed the silent but extremely clear message: a change in politics is desperately needed if climate change is to be tackled.
Perhaps not the most legal or safe way to go about getting your voice heard, but effective nonetheless, this manifestation of sorts was abruptly ended yesterday and the activists were put behind bars.
Without scaling roofs and putting ourselves in mortal danger or behind bars, there's a lesson to be learnt here: we're all a part of saving the climate, and doing our bit means engaging our individual responsibilities. Perhaps that way the climate can be saved from below.
Tuesday 6 October 2009
The Point of No Return
In the past couple of years, the media has been very vocal about the fact that the polar ice caps are melting. To most of us in the UK as well as elsewhere is the world this seems ominious enough, but all the same, a distant reality, almost something out of a science fiction movie.
Understandably so, because we are not directly affected by it, or rather not yet affected by it.
The fact still remains that near or far, each one of us on this planet contribute to this unalterable effect of climate change. Yet we understand so little of what is actually happening.
The Earth's polar ice caps are as we know located in the North and the South poles. The North Pole is covered by floating pack ice over Arctic Ocean. Portions of the ice that don't melt seasonally can get very thick, up to 3–4 meters thick over large areas, with ridges up to 20 meters thick. One-year ice is usually about a meter thick. The area covered by sea ice ranges between 9 and 12 million km². In addition, the Greenland ice sheet covers about 1.71 million km² and contains about 2.6 million km³ of ice. The land mass of the Earth's South Pole (in Antarctica), is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet. It covers an area of almost 14 million km² and contains 25-30 million km³ of ice.
The all time low for ice cover in the Arctic was reached in 2007. This year, ice cover is up by 23%. However most of this is fragile one-year ice and nevertheless represents the same risks to the eco systems of the North Pole. The backbone of the poalr icecaps are mutli-year ice sheets which are steadily in decline. Once lost these can never be refound, as they have taken 12,00 years to be formed.
The effects meting ice in the North Pole are numerous. Obviously, it causes sea levels to rise, putting whole communities close the Artic Sea at risk. Secondly, harmful effects on the natural habitat of Arctic animals such as the polar bear are quite serious. Most importantly, if a warmer Artic ocean emits heat into the atmostphere which affects global cimate pattern, to which no counrty or place, however distant is an exception.
This is where the story comes full circle: greenhouse emmissions cause our plane to heat and thus the polar ice caps to melt. Therefore, by cutting down on C02 emmissions every individual on this planet can help prevent irreperable damage to the polar ice caps.
Understandably so, because we are not directly affected by it, or rather not yet affected by it.
The fact still remains that near or far, each one of us on this planet contribute to this unalterable effect of climate change. Yet we understand so little of what is actually happening.
The Earth's polar ice caps are as we know located in the North and the South poles. The North Pole is covered by floating pack ice over Arctic Ocean. Portions of the ice that don't melt seasonally can get very thick, up to 3–4 meters thick over large areas, with ridges up to 20 meters thick. One-year ice is usually about a meter thick. The area covered by sea ice ranges between 9 and 12 million km². In addition, the Greenland ice sheet covers about 1.71 million km² and contains about 2.6 million km³ of ice. The land mass of the Earth's South Pole (in Antarctica), is covered by the Antarctic ice sheet. It covers an area of almost 14 million km² and contains 25-30 million km³ of ice.
The all time low for ice cover in the Arctic was reached in 2007. This year, ice cover is up by 23%. However most of this is fragile one-year ice and nevertheless represents the same risks to the eco systems of the North Pole. The backbone of the poalr icecaps are mutli-year ice sheets which are steadily in decline. Once lost these can never be refound, as they have taken 12,00 years to be formed.
The effects meting ice in the North Pole are numerous. Obviously, it causes sea levels to rise, putting whole communities close the Artic Sea at risk. Secondly, harmful effects on the natural habitat of Arctic animals such as the polar bear are quite serious. Most importantly, if a warmer Artic ocean emits heat into the atmostphere which affects global cimate pattern, to which no counrty or place, however distant is an exception.
This is where the story comes full circle: greenhouse emmissions cause our plane to heat and thus the polar ice caps to melt. Therefore, by cutting down on C02 emmissions every individual on this planet can help prevent irreperable damage to the polar ice caps.
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