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Illegal Hotel in National Park Action in Spain

Concerns over censorship and freedom of speech in Spain as the coasts collapse

There is an ongoing debate in Spain after the Spanish government yesterday decided to censure 2 min footage of a TV series that exposed severe coastal damage in Spain. The story was published in Spanish national newspaper El Pais (after being picked up by newswire EFE). Today the Ministry of Environment has apparently given the go ahead to the series after causing a stir in Spain, raising concerns over censorship and freedom of speech. What is not clear is whether the polemic footage will appear untouched. The article opens with the following line "the Ministry of Environment had a very complicated day yesterday." But the complications have just begun. Pilar Marcos, head of Greenpeace Coast, said the case was "just the tip of the iceberg of the many policies of coastal management that have been paralyzed".

You can see a summary of the controversial chapter of the Spanish series 'Banks of the Sea'.

Coast destruction in Spain has remained latent for many years with land speculation taking over the coast. Last year sixty Spanish activists from Greenpeace covered the illegally built hotel El Algarrobico which was constructed in protected in a conservation area. It’s license is still being discussed. Click here for more details.

Photo credit: © Greenpeace / Mario Gomez

"Ocean fertilization" failure

The BBC reports on a study revealing that fertilizing the oceans with iron to absorb carbon dioxide could kill marine mammals. In 2007 scientists came up with a 'solution' to remove excess CO2 from the atmosphere by adding extra iron to the ocean. This would stimulate the growth of algae which would absorb CO2 from the air. Now it has been found that the 'quick fix' is killing sea life. Past studies had already indicated possible ‘killing’ properties of the 'iron solution'. In principal, the algae produce a toxin- domonic acid- which can accumulate in fish and other marine life.

The article goes on to say that last year's Lohafex expedition –“ found that despite depositing six tonnes of iron in the Southern Ocean, little extra CO2 was drawn from the atmosphere. Nevertheless, one company - Climos - aims eventually to deploy the technique on a commercial basis”.

Winter Olympic plans, a danger to the environment

The UN has criticized Russia over environmental destruction in Sochi. Russia is not taking into account the environmental impact that some of the projects it is planning to undertake for the 2014 winter Olympics will have. United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) recommended a "comprehensive assessment of the overall impact of the Olympic and tourism projects on the ecosystem." The UNEP added that activists from The World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace Russia triggered a visit to Sochi and the following investigation. The UNEP report says that, when assessing the possible impacts of construction plans the Russian government "did not take into account the cumulative effects of the various projects on the ecosystems of the Sochi region and its population."

Environmentalists are waiting for Russia's response…