Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/413175
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 NOVEMBER 2014 42 THIS WEEK A weekend of action packed activities continues today Fort Rinella in Kalkara by Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna to commemorate the 100th anniversary from the be- ginning of World War One. The programme includes live historical re-enact- ments, film shows, guided tours, a reconstructed mili- tary trench complete with barbed wire entanglements, a military head-gear exhibi- tion and the firing of a the Armstrong 100-ton gun. Also for this occasion, FWA will be holding a dedicated hands-on lecture about WWI Gas warfare & equipment; exhibit and fire the iconic WWI Vickers 18-pdr British field gun and have a full infantry section kitted out in the 1902 Brit- ish winter uniform as used throughout WW1 on all fronts. Programme of the event Gas mask display: 10:00- • 17:00 (throughout the day in between displays) Bayonet Exercises: • 11:30hrs Sword Exercises: 12:30 • Lunch break: 13:00-14:00 • Foot Drill Display: 14:00 • Cavalry Display (includ- • ing tent-pegging compe- tition): 14:30 Battle simulation: 15:30 • Firing of the 100-ton gun: • 17:00 Entrance fees: Adults/AOPs & students: €10, Children u/16yrs: €2 Free to all paid up FWA members. Opening to public: 10:00 At just seven hectares it's decidedly minuscule, but Ghadira is almost the only spot in this macho land where a flamingo can rest without getting itself killed for being a thing of beauty. While we hear almost daily about swathes of land being given over for building projects, we never hear of anywhere being given over to nature. The idea of having places where nature gets exclusive rights is still alien to many of us, but with more than a third of the land already under concrete it's high time we woke up to the notion. The concept 'nature reserve' is hazy: we get people visiting Ghadira who expect to find a zoo or a manicured garden, a petting farm even. At first they may be disappointed not to find gaggles of wildfowl all over the lake, but after a walk in the trail listening for robins and blackcaps, spotting the elusive chameleons, smelling samphire flowers, or spending quiet time in the hide watching sandpipers patrol the edges of the sand islands, they always come away satisfied, the image of masses of domestic birds forgotten. Ghadira is now open again to the public on Saturdays and Sundays (10.30am to 4.30pm) and BirdLife people will give you a free tour. Oh, and there's two flamingoes as well... 429. GHADIRA NATURE RESERVE GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 331: CURTAINS CUT BILLS – Now the nights are drawing in, draw your curtains to reduce heat loss through windows when it gets dark. Try curtain lining to keep rooms even more cosy - or get a second pair of curtains from a charity shop to act as lining material. The adequacy of new EU climate targets for 2030 was further undermined by the findings of the UN climate science panel's latest report released earlier this week. The report – the most comprehensive climate science review ever produced – emphasises how current climate action is dangerously inadequate, and will fail to stabilise climate pollution or avoid the worst climate impacts. The "Synthesis Report" builds on three reports released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) throughout 2013-2014. The IPCC is a senior UN panel made up of thousands of scientists, and this report marks its fifth assessment since 1990 of the state of climate science and knowledge. The report says that current levels of climate action put us on track for as much as 7.8°C of warming by 2100 – that is an unimaginable disaster. Political decision makers and polluters must take urgent action to drastically cut fossil fuel use, and clean up the mess we have created. Last month, the EU announced its new climate targets for 2030. A 40% emissions reduction target to be broken down into 28 nationally binding targets will work alongside targets of 27% for renewables and energy efficiency. The renewables target will be binding at the EU level, and there is no clarity how it will be implemented. The energy savings target is only indicative. Friends of the Earth Europe described them at the time as "far below what is necessary", and the new IPCC report reaffirms this with its findings that greenhouse gas emissions can no longer merely be reduced, but instead must be totally phased out. New targets that are merely extensions of existing policies are a continuation of the status quo, and a long way away from the radical shift in energy production that is needed. The report itself calls for such fundamental changes in energy systems in order to stabilise the concentration of climate-change causing emissions at low levels – meaning leaving polluting fossil fuels in the ground, ramping up energy efficiency targets, and putting clean, citizen-run energy systems at the forefront of energy production. At the international level, the transfer of resources and technology in the order of hundreds of billions of dollars a year will be necessary to make this transformation happen. This is known as the 'climate debt' of the global North to the global South. To effectively meet this global responsibility, Friends of the Earth Europe believes three strong binding targets is the only option. Emissions must be reduced by at least 60% by 2030 to deliver the EU's fair share of action and be in line with the latest science, and there must be binding targets to reduce energy use by 50% and increase the share of energy produced by renewables to 45%. Climate scientists: our energy system needs urgent reform Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us www.foemalta.org. You can also support us by sending a blank SMS donation on 50618070 (€4.66) or 50619223 (€11.65). Text Victor Falzon | Photo Francesco Tanti 12th Edition of the European Film Festival in Malta WWI day of activities continues at Rinella THE European Commission Representation in Malta with the collaboration of the Euro- pean embassies in Malta and Rome is again organising another edition of the European Film Festival. The Festival will be launched on November 14 and between November 15 and 30, a differ- ent film will be screened every evening at Eu- rope House, St Paul Street, Valletta. This 12th Edition of the European Film Festival is being held in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Malta's EU membership. The festival builds on the success of the previous editions. It presents a vast array of European films and closes with a selection of Maltese short films. Seventeen films from six- teen countries – Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain – will be screened giv- ing local audiences a taste of Europe's diver- sity and creativity. This year's Festival covers a wide selection of different film genres with an exciting variety of cinematography, visually recounting sto- ries of love, hatred, courage and resolve for an audience which, from one edition to another, reaches new peaks of appreciation for Euro- pean film-making. The European Film Fes- tival provides an opportunity for showcasing the diversity of cultures in the EU: films from many different countries, in a great variety of languages, yet all distinctly European. No entrance fee will be charged but dona- tions in aid of Hospice Malta are welcome. The films will start at 18:30 and run without interval. Seats are on a first-come-first-served basis. Light refreshments will be offered after- wards. For information on the film schedule visit the Representation's website: www.ec.europa.eu/ malta; Facebook: KummissjoniEwropea, or by calling: 2342 5000