"STOP BLAIR!" SAYS NORTH WEST EURO-MP

A North West Euro-MP is calling on his continental colleagues to oppose UK government plans to have Tony Blair installed as the first new-style President of the European Council.  If the Lisbon Treaty enters into force early next year, EU governments will elect a full-time president to coordinate their work.  Glenys Kinnock, Britain's new Europe Minister, announced on Wednesday that the government would nominate Tony Blair for the position if Irish voters give the Treaty their backing in a referendum to be held on 2 October 2009.  But the suggestion has infuriated Liberal Democrat Euro-MP Chris Davies, who claims that the former British prime minister deceived Parliament in order to gain support for an "illegal" war against Iraq.  He said:- "So far as I am concerned Blair has blood on his hands. His actions are responsible for the death of tens of thousands of people, and far from being considered as a future European leader he should be facing prosecution at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.  Blair's first loyalty was always to George Bush and the United States of America. His policies did not did not unite Europe but divided it."  The MEP said that nearly 500 million people lived within the European Union and almost any one of them would make a more acceptable candidate for the role of President.

Merseyside gets ready to celebrate Love Parks Week

THE summer holidays are here, and what better way to entertain the kids than taking them to one of the many free events that are happening in parks throughout Merseyside as part of Love Parks Week.  The campaign takes place between Saturday 24 July and Sunday 2 August and is organised by parks charity GreenSpace to celebrate all that parks have to offer, with over 600 family-friendly events taking place in parks and green spaces across the country. Planned events in the area include a Scarecrow Festival at the National Wildflower Centre in Huyton, a brass band performance at Southport Botanic Gardens and a summer fun day at Derby Park in Bootle. Full event details can be found on the What's on guide at:- loveparksweek.org.uk.   Paul Bramhill, Chief Executive of GreenSpace, said:- "I am delighted that parks in Merseyside will be playing host to so many Love Parks Week events this year. The campaign is a great opportunity to celebrate what parks and green space mean to families and communities.  This year we want as many people as possible to show support for the campaign by attending an event and taking advantage of what these fantastic places have to offer, so it's encouraging to see that so much is planned in Merseyside during the week."

Government announces new Feed in Tariffs for wind and solar power

THE details of the proposed feed-in tariff for microgeneration that is energy generated from systems like small wind turbines and solar photovoltaics have been published. The new tariff will pay for all energy generated by your system, irrespective of if you use it yourself or sell it back to the grid.  Just to clarify, these amounts paid are in addition to any saving you will make by purchasing less electricity from your supplier and any income you earn from selling your surplus power to your electricity supplier.

The key points of the announcement are:-

* 36.5p/kWh for small solar photovoltaic systems up to 4kW and 28p/kWh for systems up to 10kW

* 23.0p/kWh for small wind turbines between 1.5kW and 15kW.

* Replaces the current ROC system which pays 10p/kWh.

* Effective as of the 1 April 2010, but all systems commissioned from now on will qualify.

* Systems installed from now until April 2010 will be eligible for both LCBP grants of £2,500 AND the new tariff.

A typical home solar photovoltaic system of 3kW will therefore earn around £1,000 per annum, plus the amount you are paid for your exported electricity, and the amount you save by using what you generate, dramatically reducing payback times. And these systems have performance warranties for over 25 years, but will last longer.

A 'Proven Energy' small wind turbine installed at a reasonably windy site will earn over £6,000 annum, this makes it a very economic investment proposition with likely payback times of less than 5 years on a typical site. And the turbines have a design life of 25 years, but will certainly last longer.

All of Eco Environments solar photovoltaic and small wind turbines installed from today onwards will qualify for the feed-in tariff and Eco Environments are a fully accredited Microgeration Certification Scheme installer for small wind and solar photovoltaics as required by the new tariff.