posted by Cptn
The voice of youth will be heard in the House of Lords on Friday May 2, when the 300 members of the Youth Parliament descend on the House of Lords chamber to kick around, mull over, muse and cogitate the issues which are facing young people.
The three Devon members, Alex White, 15, from Chumleigh; Annalisa Palmer, 14, from Kingsbridge and Brittany Munday, 14, from Exmouth, will be there as the six debating issues
- the abolition of university tuition fees;
- a national public transport concession card for young people under 18;
- the creation of one single age at which young people are deemed an adult;
- lowering the voting age to 16; the Your Future, Your World, Your Fight – recycling / environment campaign;
- and ensuring fair and accurate representation of young people in the media
are whittled down to the three campaigning issues.
Alex White, UK Youth Parliament Member for North, West Devon and Torridge, told the PRSD: “I am extremely excited about being invited to the House of Lords with the youth parliament.
“It is the first time we will be able to debate in the House of Lords. We will be selecting on our three aims for the year. We will have a debate and then vote on the issues we would like to campaign on for the year.
“This is our opportunity to show everybody that we take politics seriously and want to have an active part in decisions that affect our lives. I hope this is a sign of things to come and perhaps one day we will get the opportunity to sit in the House of Commons.â€
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April 29th, 2008
posted by Cptn
Ba-arp, barp-barp. This is planet Earth.
If you’re keen to know more about this hunk of rock we call Earth, you should shuffle off to one of campuses of the University of Exeter’s Geography Department, which is celebrating the United Nation’s International Year of Planet Earth with a series of free evening lectures on the past, present and future of Earth.
“There’s a growing sense that science should be doing more to explain the world around us,” co-organizer professor Chris Turney of the university Geography department told the PRSD. “In this lecture series, we will be exploring the dim and distant past and looking towards the possibilities for the future. We’re really looking forward to sharing our passion with local people.â€
The events spin into action on Thursday 1 May on the University of Exeter’s Tremough Campus, Penryn where Dr Richard Jones will take us to ancient China to reveal why human impact on the environment may not be such a new phenomenon after all.
Dr Jones told us: “Very little is known about the long-term effects of human activity on the environment. Our research shows that human impact on the environment can be traced back thousands of years. This is a long-term research project for me and we are just beginning to find some of the answers, but I am excited to have the opportunity to share what I have discovered so far with local people at Tremough.â€
List of events
Thursday 1 May, 6.30pm Tremough Campus, Penryn (Lecture Theatre A)
Richard Jones: Farming, Floods and Dragons - Human impact in Shangri-La over the last 10,000 years
Thursday 29 May, 6.30pm Streatham Campus, Exeter (Moot Room)
Chris Fogwill: Antarctica, an isolated continent? Some lessons from the past
Thursday 26 June, 6.30pm Tremough Campus, Penryn (Lecture Theatre A)
Larissa Naylor: Rock coasts on the move: effects of the March 2008 storms
Thursday 31 July, 6.30pm Streatham Campus, Exeter (Moot Room)
Tim Quine: Use and abuse of land resources
Thursday 28 August, 6.30pm Tremough Campus, Penryn (Lecture Theatre A)
Bridget Woodman: Energy Policy for a Changing Climate
Thursday 25 September, 6.30pm Streatham Campus, Exeter (Moot Room)
Stewart Barr: ‘Doing Your Bit’. Can we change our lifestyles to help the Planet?
Thursday 30 October, 6.30pm Tremough Campus, Penryn (Lecture Theatre A)
Jasper Knight Climate Change and Sandy Coastlines
Thursday 27 November, 6.30pm Streatham Campus, Exeter (Moot Room)
Chris Turney: Ice, Mud and Blood: Lessons from Climates Past
Thursday 11 December, 6.30pm Tremough Campus, Penryn (Lecture Theatre A)
Chris Caseldine: Iceland - living on the margin
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April 29th, 2008
