Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1484591
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 20 NOVEMBER 2022 11 ALMANAC Nature Notebook 841. European Serin THE European serin (M. apparell) is a small yellow finch that looks rather like a canary (also a finch). It's a regular and common visitor to Malta in spring and autumn, often travelling in small flocks as they love company. They forage on farmland and gardens, looking for seeds but also insects, if in season! Serins are very vocal: to hear one chattering you'd think there's a bunch of them in the tree! A pair or two sometimes try to nest in a tall conifer somewhere but breed- ing is very irregular, over the past 50 years there have only been a handful of confirmed breeding records of serins in Malta (all at Bus- kett). Plus there's the small and hugely destructive matter of these birds being constantly lured and snared by a few thousand trappers whose frame of mind dictates that a wild songster deserves a lifetime behind bars. A fossil free future for the Maltese Islands Against the background of the COP27 climate change conference in Egypt, which took place over the past two weeks and ended last Friday, Friends of the Earth Malta has made public its demands for climate ac- tion and handed them over to members of the parliament as they arrive for the parliamentary session on Monday 14 November. Politicians, de- cision-makers and the general public are being asked to join the growing list of signatories to call for a fossil-free future for Malta. Because since 2019, when the Maltese government declared a climate emergency, nothing has happened. We call on the Maltese government to act immediately because the cli- mate crisis is happening now. We need bold and ambitious climate poli- cies to reduce our carbon emissions and ensure that we live within plan- etary boundaries. To meet national carbon emission reduction targets, we cannot continue to invest in fossil fuel infrastructure such as the pro- posed Melita gas pipeline which would tie Malta to a fossil fuel future. What we need is an investment in renewable energy, energy savings and a power of co-decision in the energy system for citizens. This will only be possible with a new and ambitious national energy policy that points the way to emission-free and clean renewable energy for the Maltese islands. Victor Falzon, Aron Tanti www.birdlifemalta.org Green idea of the week 729: Add your name to a growing list of signatories to demand a fossil fuel future for Malta https://foemalta.org/our-cam- paigns/climate-and-energy/ Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation – www.foemalta.org/donate Don't miss this The Malta International Christmas Choir Festival 2-4 December Place: Around Malta The Malta International Christmas Choir Festival 2022 will be organised over 3 days from the 2nd to the 4th December at various unique baroque churches in Malta. We invite you to experience these delightful Christmas choral traditions during the most beautiful time of the year. Give nature a voice. Become a BirdLife member Santa's World Malta Until 6 January Place: MFCC - Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre A unique experience for all the family members. Kids can get the chance to immerse into the magical world of Santa and his little helpers – the Elves. Join us and be part of the elves' day-to-day activities like visiting their bakery store, watch them do their laundry, visit their store, and also go to their hairdresser to get your hair styled in an Elfie way. Besides that, you shall also get the opportunity to visit their own Elfie cinema and watch the new released movies and visit the Elf on the Shelf museum - the most popular Elf on the planet! A GOOD WEEK Good Week/Bad Week A BAD WEEK The open-top bus Sir Paul McCartney and his band Wings used to take them on tour across Europe 50 years ago has been restored. He converted the double-decker for his post-Beatles band and their families, with the seats on the upper deck replaced by mattresses and bean bags. Tickets to see Taylor Swift live in concert sold so swiftly the general public never even had a chance to buy. Ticketmaster, the company selling seats to the singer's US tour, cancelled the public sale on Thursday, citing "extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory". Brad Earl, who worked on it, said he was "very pleased" with the restoration. It has already sold over two million tickets in pre-sales for select groups.