In what the government has said is an effort to speed up the works connecting the Carboneras desalination plant to local towns the Ministry of the Environment has waived the normal environmental impact evaluation that is a legal requirement in large scale public works. The ministry considers that the measures taken in the project guarantee its 'maximum environmental viability' according to the official state bulletin (BOE). The works in question involve the connections from the 'Carboneras-Valle del Almanzora, Fase I' pipeline, which is now complete, to the water storage deposits managed by the water company GALASA supplying Cuevas del Almanzora, Garrucha, Mojacar and Vera. These connections consist of a total of 27 kilometres of pipelines and the most sensitive area they have to pass through is the so called LIC (Lugar de Interes Comunitario – site of community interest) in the Sierra Cabrera, home to several protected species. To avoid the impact of the works there the pipes are to follow the routes of existing roads and tracks. This second phase of works, finalising the supply of drinking water from the desalination plant, is expected to be completed within twelve months.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Almeria motorway to get third lane
The government ministry has given the go ahead for plans to build a third lane in each direction on the A-7 motorway where it passes Almeria capital. The works are planned for 23 kilometres of motorway from the Viator junction at Km. 452 to the Roquetas turn-off at km. 429. This stretch of motorway has some of the heaviest traffic in the province and traffic jams are usual at rush hour or in the case of accidents or other incidents which lead to lane closures. The traffic on this road is expected to increase when the new motorway between Motril and Adra is completed – improving the connection with the province of Malaga. The tunnels to the north-west of the city were built with space for an extra lane thus avoiding the need for costly excavation work now. The new lanes are expected to cost around 55 million euros to build.
Fire interrupts Mojacar fiestas
A fire in the centre of Mojacar pueblo put a temporary stop to the town's fiesta celebrations at the weekend. The fire started at about five in the afternoon in the well known souvenir shop – 'Angelas' in the Plaza Nueva, location of the town's most popular viewpoint. The fire consumed all three floors of the building and residents of the neighbouring buildings were evacuated by fire-fighters for fear of the fire spreading. The top floor of the shop was used as a store for rugs and other textiles which made controlling the fire difficult and fire-fighters from Turre and Albox took three hours to bring it under control and clear the building of the dense smoke it provoked, the plume of which could be seen from Garrucha, Turre and Vera. The shop is owned by the ex-mayor of Mojacar Bartolome Flores.
Air conditioning will cause more than 2 million colds this summer
The Spanish Society of Lung Disorders and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR) has warned that about two million people will suffer colds, pharyngitis or bronchitic problems this summer as a result of the abrupt temperature changes provoked mainly by the incorrect use of air conditioning.
The SEPAR experts have offered some guidelines to help avoid what amount to twenty per cent of the respiratory disorders diagnosed throughout the year; wear light clothing to protect you from the cold while your body acclimatises to the temperature change, don't set air conditioning at too low a temperature – never less than 22º c., avoid the dryness caused by air conditioning – keep well hydrated drinking lots of water and keep the filters in the apparatus clean – dirty filters can harbour organisms including Legionnaire's Disease and fungal spores which can cause rhinitis, asthma or pneumonia.
Vera aquarium nearing completion
The works on the new aquarium in Vera are progressing well and should be finished on schedule the town's mayor told a visiting group of provincial government officials in a recent visit to the installations. The aquarium is being built next to the plaza known as the Glorieta de Vera close to the town's Guardia Civil building. The three story building is being built on a 185 square metre site and will have twenty salt water tanks displaying a variety of Mediterranean species ranging from those we might be more accustomed to finding on restaurant menus such as dorada (bream), salmonete (red mullet) or mero (grouper) to the more spectacular sharks, rays, octopus and jellyfish. There will be a special attraction of an area where visitors will be able to touch some of those creatures which will not suffer as a result of physical contact such as starfish or crustaceans.
The aquarium is being built next to the town's Botanical Garden and the latter can be accessed from the aquarium with plans to sell tickets which permit entry into the two attractions. The works are part of the Almerian Levante Tourist Plan.
Puffin saved on Vera Playa
The Guardia Civil nature protection service - Servicio de Proteccion de la Naturaleza (SEPRONA) - was given a Puffin last week which was found on a beach in Vera in obvious distress, unable to fly due to an injured wing and with injuries to one of its eyes. It was found by a member of the public who took it to the Guardia Civil building in Garrucha which has a SEPRONA section. After being cared for overnight it was sent to the provincial threatened species recovery centre (C.R.E.A.).
The Arctic Puffin (Fratercula artica), known in Spanish as Frailecillo which literally means 'little friar' breeds on the coasts of northern Europe, the Faroe Islands and Iceland, from well within the Arctic Circle to northern France. The winter months are spent at sea far from land and they habitually venture as far south as the Mediterranean but normally stay well out to sea.
Number of mortgages given drops dramatically
The figures just released for the number of properties given mortgages in Spain in the month of June show a dramatic decrease from last year. In the month of June 69,239 mortgages were awarded, a drop of almost 38 per cent from the same period last year. The average amount lent also fell 4.5 per cent to 141,939 euros meaning the total amount of money lent out fell 40.5 per cent to 9,827 million euros.
The figures in Andalucia roughly reflect the national trend with the number of mortgages given dropping 35.6 per cent in relation to June 2007 to a total of 22,107.
Albox town hall considering formula one race track
The mayor of Albox, Jose Garcia Navarro, has made quite clear his support for a project which has come before the Albox council. The Royal Medina complex is an ambitious plan which proposes the construction of a circuit for Formula One and Formula 1000, a go-kart circuit, a Moto-cross circuit an artificial lake for water sports, multiple sports facilities, a technological park (with an emphasis on research into electric vehicles and low consumption motors), a commercial area and tourist facilities.
The mayor has said that the council wants to classify the project as being of social interest for reasons which include the employment and economic advantages it could offer at a time when the national economy is slowing considerably. The mayor added that the town hall would support any projects and private initiatives which mean investment, employment, technological development and environmental sustainability in the municipality.
Vera police to take industrial action
The local police in Vera have decided in a meeting called by the CSI-CSIF (Central Sindical independiente y de funcionarios - a national union representing public employees) to take industrial action to protest against the treatment of two of their colleagues. The two police officers in question have been suspended from their duties without pay for taking leave due to the illness which the council has claimed they have feigned. According to the police officers' union the town council is prepared to take similar measures against more than half of the municipality's officers for abandoning their duties.
The action to be taken by the police includes; weekly authorised demonstrations outside the town hall, refusing to work overtime during the town fair due to take place in two weeks time, not imposing traffic fines until given the adequate means to do so, not carrying out any individual patrols, not patrolling in cars which are not police cars, not using personal mobile phones as a substitute for the police's own communications system which was acquired by the town council and has not been working for a month and has not been repaired ( the communications system cost the council 300,000 euros).
Negotiations have been going on between the police and the council recently over the conditions of the police force's work contracts and the union believes the council's actions have been taken to pressure the police officers into signing this contract.
Jellyfish – fertiliser, face cream or food?
The company Bionaturis, working for the Andalucia Technological Corporation, has just completed a scientific study of the causes of the 'blooms' of jellyfish which are common during the summer months and the possible industrial advantage that could be taken of the proliferation of this often undesired visitor off our beaches. The project counted on the participation of the Posidonia Sur research group from the University of Malaga and the Oceanographic Centre in Malaga and had the support of the Andalucian Research and Development Agency and the DAP (fishing and farming development) which let them use their ship the Regina Maris for the oceanographic studies.
The study concluded that the proliferation of jellyfish in recent years is the result of overfishing in the area and the reduction of turtle numbers both of which have reduced competition for food, and higher water temperatures (attributed to global warming).
The study concluded that the use of these creatures, 16,000 kilos of which were collected off the Andalucian coast last year, with most possibilities in the future is in the manufacture of fertiliser for use in agriculture. Their composition; 95% water and the rest almost all protein, with almost no fat, carbohydrates or cholesterol, makes them an excellent and healthy food source, something known in many Asian communities for centuries where they are often eaten in salads or made into a kind of biscuit, but unaccustomed as we are to such delicacies Bionaturis suggest using them for the manufacture of animal feed. The other alternative is their use in cosmetic products due to their high content of collagen. Have you ever seen a jellyfish with wrinkles?
Jellyfish Salad
Serves one.
Ingredients
125g (4 oz) Salted jellyfish
1 Cucumber,
60g (2 oz) Small peeled cooked prawns,
125 g (4 oz) Roast chicken, preferably breast,
2 tbs Vegetable or peanut oil,
1 Spring onion, finely chopped,
1 tbs Fish sauce (nuoc mam),
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped,
Black pepper,
Salt,
2 tbs Pickled carrot,
2 tb Roasted peanuts, chopped
Instructions
Soak the jellyfish in hot water for 2 hours, changing the water twice. Drain and cut into thin strips. Peel the cucumber, cut in halves lengthwise and slice thinly. Place in a dish with 1 teaspoon salt and leave for 10 minutes. Rinse and drain. Shred the chicken. Saute the chicken and prawns briefly in the oil adding the chopped onion and fish sauce. Add the jellyfish and toss in the pan. Remove and leave to cool, then mix with the remaining ingredients and pile onto a small plate. Enjoy!
Spanish supermarket fish sales ‘unsustainable’
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations three quarters of the world's fish stocks have been completely exploited or are overexploited and 88% of European fish populations are victim to overfishing. It is estimated that at a world level the populations of big predators such as cod, tuna or swordfish have diminished by 90%, mainly as a result of overfishing. Consumers in Spain spent a staggering 5,600 million euros on fish and fish derived products last year, and almost 70 per cent of that spending was in supermarkets, far outstripping that spent in high street fish shops. The purchasing power of the supermarkets puts them in an important position to influence the fishing industry but a report from the environmental group Greenpeace shows that the supermarkets are failing dismally in this field.
In other European countries such as Great Britain, Germany, Holland or Sweden supermarkets have adopted policies of buying their fish from sustainable sources and have stopped selling some or all of the species in Greenpeace's red list, a list (drawn up using a scientifically developed methodology and with versions for different countries) of species the stocks of which are exhausted or are on the point of collapse due to unsustainable fishing practices. In the survey Greenpeace made of the six largest supermarket chains here in Spain the only two that currently demonstrate any consciousness of the problem are Lidl and Carrefour although both fell far short of what could be described as a sustainable fish policy. Mercadona, the supermarket with the greatest share of fish sales in Spain showed a complete lack of awareness of the problem and according to the Greenpeace report makes no effort whatsoever to purchase fish from sustainable sources or restrict its sales of endangered species.
The Spanish ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is currently running a campaign raising awareness of the minimum permitted size of different species of fish so consumers can refuse or complain if offered immature fish. For example the minimum size for sardines is 11cm. which is the height of a coke can and for boquerones (fresh anchovies) it is 9 cm which is about the length of a five euro note.
Giant dinosaur find in Castellon
In what could be one of the most important dinosaur finds in Europe paleontologist have discovered the fossil of an enormous dinosaur that lived about 120 million years ago. Although the species of the find has not been identified it is of the sub order sauropod which included the largest animals ever to walk the Earth. Well-known sauropods include the Apatosaurus (formerly known as Brontosaurus), Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus. 'Sauropod' is derived from 'lizard foot' in Greek. The discovery was made in Morella which is about half way between Valencia and Barcelona. The scientists are currently working on uncovering the lower neck of the animal and the six vertebrae uncovered are about six metres long, one of the dinosaur's ribs would be about 2.5 metres long and indications point to the animal having a total length of some 20 metres.
The surrounding area is rich in fossils and is close to Teruel, the home of Dinopolis; Spain's dinosaur theme park.
Speeding campaign nets more than 30,000
During the month of August, from the eleventh to the twenty first of the month, the Guardia Civil have been waging their annual summer campaign against speeding. The Dirrecion General de Trafico (DGT), the government organisation responsible for road safety and driving in Spain coordinated the campaign in all of Spain except the Basque country and Cataluña which have independence from the central government in such matters. The Guardia Civil made use of 264 mobile radars to supplement the fixed radar speed traps which has meant a total of more than two thousand control points around the country. This effort caught a total of 33,898 drivers exceeding the speed limits, this number was 2.38 per cent of the more than 1,400,000 speed checks made. Six out of ten of those caught were informed there and then with the rest receiving a surprise a few days later in the post. During the fifteen day campaign eight drivers were clocked doing more than 80 km per hour more than the speed limit, a fact which takes the punishment from more than just a fine and a few points off their licences to a possible prison sentence and the loss of their licences. One car, an Audi A-8, was caught doing 226 km per hour on the R-3 motorway outside Madrid.
The DGT highlights the fact that in 27 per cent of fatal accidents excess speed is a factor and that if drivers respected the speed limits 900 deaths a year could be avoided.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Women in Almeria have most babies in Andalucia
The Junta de Andalucia has just published data on births in the region for 2007 with a total of 96,150 babies being born last year. The average number of babies per mother in the whole of Andalucia was 1.5 but the province with the highest baby to mother ratio was Almeria with 1.59 babies per mother. Almeria also has by far the highest proportion of children born to foreign mothers with almost a third of babies; 29.45%, being parented by non Spanish mothers, the province with the second highest proportion is Malaga with 19% of babies born last year having foreign mothers. Only ten years ago the percentages of babies born to mothers from outside Spain were 2.88 in Almeria and 4.43 in Malaga. On the increase too is the number of babies born to unmarried women, almost 35 per cent in Almeria last year, up from 15% ten years ago and 2.76% thirty years ago. Curiously all the provinces in Andalucia have a similar proportion of births to unmarried mums, around thirty per cent, except the two land-locked provinces; Jaen and Cordoba, which both have a figure of twenty per cent.
