The Royal Society of Edinburgh is currently undertaking an inquiry into how they can best respond to climate change in Scotland. They are holding a number of public meeting over the coming months, with the first one in Dundee on the evening of the 14th January 2010. This event will take place at the Steps Theatre, Dundee Central Library, The Wellgate and will commence at 6.00pm with an exhibition and tea and coffee available from 5.30pm.

Further information, an event flyer and other venues and dates can be found here.

Technorati Tags: Climate Change, Dundee, The Royal Society of Edinburgh

Nearly missed an important Scottish Government press release issued on the 2nd November 2009 following the devastating floods throughout Scotland on the 1st November 2009.

02/11/2009

Commenting on the floods that have hit parts of Scotland over the past 24 hours, Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham said:

"Once again we have seen the misery and destruction flooding can cause. Our thoughts are with those whose lives and livelihoods have been affected by the overnight floods. I have asked to be kept fully informed of developments and will be keeping in touch with the councils affected. I’d like to thank all those who have again responded so quickly and effectively to minimise the impact of the floods.

24-hour Floodline
0845 988 1188

"Climate change is clearly happening on our doorsteps and flooding events such as these are likely to occur with increasing frequency. Everyone needs to be aware of the increased risks and, as we have seen in the last 24 hours, that doesn’t just apply to those living in areas where there is a history of flooding.

"Through SEPA we are continuing to invest in flood awareness and flood warning schemes to try and minimise the impact flooding has on families and businesses. I launched the latest SEPA awareness campaign only last Friday.

"We also need to take radical steps to tackle our carbon emission levels and to ensure communities get the protection they need, which is why we have recently pushed far-reaching climate change and flooding legislation through Parliament."

See it here.

Fine words and an admirable sentiment but we need to see more funds and thereafter further proactive action out on the frontline of flooding!

Technorati Tags: climate change, flood, flooding, Roseanna Cunningham, Scottish Government, SEPA

The Herald and other news sources are reporting the visit of Prince Charles to meet the flood hit communities of Moray in the north of Scotland. He spent two hours meeting families put out of their homes due to the recent flooding. It is welcome to see Prince Charles taking such an interest in flooding which is on the increase due to climate change, another area of interest for the Prince.

If only we’d thought of him when Freuchie got flooded! It would have saved us the wasted effort trying to get a Minister for the Environment to visit us.

Technorati Tags: climate change, flooding, Freuchie, Minister of the Environment, Moray, Prince Charles, The Herald

The Climate Change (Scotland) Bill passed stage 3 in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 24th June 2009.

A Bill to set a target for the year 2050, an interim target for the year 2030, and to provide for annual targets, for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; to provide about the giving of advice to the Scottish Ministers relating to climate change; to confer power on Ministers to impose climate change duties on public bodies; to make further provision about mitigation of and adaptation to climate change; to make provision about energy efficiency; to make provision about the reduction and recycling of waste; and for connected purposes.

Another piece of world leading legislation.

Technorati Tags: climate change, Climate Change (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Parliament

Earlier this evening Alex Hill of the Met Office kindly joined us here in Freuchie to present a talk on Climate Change to Freuchie Flood Action Group. People travelled across from Falkland to join the residents of Freuchie in listening to a compelling case for climate change being a real man-made phenomenon. This has to be one of the best presentation so far to be delivered at a FFAG meeting.

John A Thomson, Chairman of Freuchie Flood Action Group commented:

We cannot thank Alex enough for venturing all the way to Freuchie to deliver this thought provoking talk. Even although it contained alarming facts and figures, we can take much from it in our ongoing campaign for flood prevention and protection for Freuchie. It was a privilege to be in the audience while he patiently took question after question,  from both sceptic and believer alike, responding with thought provoking answers that covered not only the scientific elements, but also the political, social and economic aspects of climate change.

It was also very welcome to see Paul Hendy of the Scottish Flood Forum turning up to support Alex and FFAG. Paul is doing sterling work in Scotland with flood affected communities… keep up the good work Paul.

Once again we have to give special mention to Ronnie at the Lomond Hills Hotel for the use of the facilities. We did try to increase Ronnie’s bar takings a little last night.

Alex has graciously made available a PDF version of his presentation for us to share. We heartedly recommend you take a look as it will be time well spent.

Presentation deck for the Climate Change Talk by Alex Hill of the Met Office

And finally…

Even although it has been 14 years since Alex was a TV weatherman, the star struck amongst the attendees insisted on getting their photo taken with him. Fame is indeed everlasting!

Photo: John A Thomson (Chair of FFAG), Alex Hill of the Met Office & Cllr David MacDiarmid

Technorati Tags: Alex Hill, climate change, Freuchie, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Lomond Hills Hotel, Met Office, Paul Hendy, Scottish Flood Forum

Alex Hill is confirmed, the Lomond Hills Hotel is kindly hosting us again and everything else is in place for next week’s Climate Change talk.

This is event is free and open to anyone that wishes to attend.

Full information on our previous blog post announcing the talk.

Technorati Tags: Alex Hill, climate change, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Lomond Hills Hotel

Freuchie Flood Action Group is proud to announce Alex Hill, the Met Office’s Chief Advisor to Government in Scotland and Northern Ireland, is coming to Freuchie on the evening of Thursday 30th April 2009.

We’re lucky to have secured Alex to deliver this presentation and  to answer questions on Climate Change. Of course we’ll be especially interested in the flooding aspect of the changes in the climate.

Biography
Alex is a native Glaswegian who, after Strathclyde University, joined the Met Office in the early 1970s. He has held a variety of posts working amongst others as a forecaster at RAF Leuchars, Glasgow Weather Centre, Senior Forecaster London Weather Centre, and ITV National Weather. 

After a spell as Head of London Weather Centre Alex moved back north and is currently the Met Office Chief Advisor to Government for Scotland & Northern Ireland.

Date and Time
7:00 for 7:15pm on Thursday 30th April 2009

Venue 
Lomond Hills Hotel – Freuchie 

Registration 
This event is free and open to the general public.

It would be appreciated if you could send us a message just to let us know you’re coming along. It helps us plan the logistics of the event.

Additional Info
People may remember Alex Hill as the face of ITV weather back in the late eighties and early nineties. Need a memory jolt? Try this video of him presenting the ITV weather report back in 1989.

Technorati Tags: Alex Hill, climate change, flood, Freuchie, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Met Office

Freuchie Flood Action Group has organised a short presentation and demonstration from UK Flood Barriers of their flood prevention and protection product offering. This will take place at 2pm on Sunday 29th March 2009 at Freuchie Cricket Club.

Anyone affected or at risk from flooding is welcome to attend, whether they be from Freuchie or other affected communities in Fife and beyond. Please just let us know you’re coming using our online Contact Us form.

Alan Ure of UK Flood Barriers will also be available to perform a free home survey to anyone that is interested. Again, Contact Us to arrange a suitable time for a survey.

In our opinion their airbrick protection product is the industry leader, as it is fully automatic, and the “Floodshield” barrier door is very simple to use. There are massive price reductions coming down the pipeline in a few weeks, compared with those indicated on the website at the moment, thereby making the products substantially cheaper than any of the competition. Fully protecting your home is now going to be very affordable at a price that won’t empty the wallet. 

Some additional information from UK Flood Barriers:

“Flood Prevention & Protection”

UK Flood Barriers Ltd have had a very busy summer due in no small part to recent appalling weather.   We work together with construction companies and housing associations, as well as assisting locally formed flood groups in villages throughout the country to decide on the most appropriate measures they can take to protect their homes and businesses. 

UK Flood Barriers specialise in offering solutions to the ever-increasing problem of water ingress into homes and businesses.  Climate change is here to stay and the signs are not looking favourable; the UK has suffered two of the wettest summers in a row, and flash flooding is sadly a common occurrence. 

UK Flood Barriers has a range of innovative “fit and forget” flood defence products, which, used in conjunction can prevent homes and businesses from flooding.  The benefit of our “fit & forget” range enables householders and businesses to be prepared well in advance of flood warnings, without having to panic-fit airbrick covers or experience the misery of sewage backflow.  Our door barriers complement the range and can be fitted in just two minutes.  They are strong and lightweight (weighing between 4.8 and 5.8kg each) and come ready to use, with no permanent fixtures or fittings required to the property.

UK Flood Barriers are constantly striving for improvements in innovation. We pride ourselves on providing user-friendly and cost effective solutions for our customers, to give them peace of mind that whichever flood solution they have chosen they will be covered in the event of future flooding.

Technorati Tags: airbrick, climate change, flood, flood defence, Floodshield, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Flood Action Group, UK Flood Barriers

SNIFFER (Scottish & Northern Ireland Forum For Environmental Research) has recently published their findings into “Differential Social Impacts of Climate Change in the UK”. More information, including the final report, can be found HERE.

Technorati Tags: climate change, SNIFFER

Interesting news article from the BBC, which has some alarming facts on climate change and how it is impacting on natural disasters, including our area of interest: flooding.

Technorati Tags: BBC, climate change, flooding, natural disasters