Shrinking Lake Chad Highlights Environmental Change

Quite startling images of Lake Chad in today's papers really bring home the impact of humankind on the global environment. Sattelite images indicate that since 1963 the lake has reduced in size by 95%. The Scotsman ran an article on this very topic and also mentioned that Mount Kilimanjaro has lost 80% of its ice cap in the past 100 years and that the Dead Sea is 25 metres lower than it was 50 years ago. You can read the article at:

http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1398802007

Anyway, don't want to say too much on the topic (just a quick blog today and I have written an article for the SNP Student Wing newspaper on the issue of climate change, and don't want to spoil that for you when you all rush out to read that!) but the pictures of Lake Chad were one of the starkest examples of the change to the Earth's environment in the last decades.

I am aware that there are those who question humankind's role in global warming, and I am hardly an expert in this field, although I do note that the vast majority of mainstream scientific opinion does seem to be in support of the viewpoint that we have and continue to play a determining factor in this trend. However, those who question our role have to ask themselves the question, can we afford to gamble that we haven't played any part? Wouldn't it be safer to assume we have and act accordingly and strive to make environmental improvements.

Anyway, I'm off to play my part by saving some energy by ending this post and turning off my computer for the night.

Time to Lock Up Drug Dealers

A couple of articles in the press in which I am quoted today (and a quite shockingly bad photo of me in the Daily Record, but we will skim over that) in relation to the proportion of those convicted of supplying illegal drugs serving jail time.

The articles can be found at:

[i] http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1391282007

[ii] http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/news/tm_headline=msp-jail-all-drug-dealers&method=full&objectid=19718926&siteid=66633-name_page.html

Anyway, the articles come on the back of an answer I received to a written question (S3W-3093 if you are interested in having a look at the Scottish Parliament website) with the government which indicates that whilst in 1985-86 some 72% of those convicted of the supply of illegal drugs served a custodial sentence, by 2005-06 this proportion had dropped to a mere 46%. Less than half of those convicted of peddling drugs are doing jail time!

This statistic is despite the fact that in the same period the number convicted of the offence has risen from 244 in 85-86 to 1,562 in 05-06.

It all indicates that Kenny MacAskill is on the right track with his attempts to ensure that those in prison are the ones that should be in prison. It is a nonsense that we send people like fine defaulters to jail (frequently at a cost well in excess of the fine that has not been paid in the first instance) when only 46% of those convicted of the supply of illegal drugs face a custodial sentence.

Dusting off the Cobwebs

I was out and about in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth earlier today distributing some community surveys and finding out some views of local people about their area and on Scottish politics in general.

This will doubtless be the first of many "workdays" for me as we build towards the expected Westminster general election - possibly this Autumn, but more likely a bit further down the line I suspect. It was good to get out and about after what has been a busy Summer in the office and to hear a few views being expressed from more than a few local people.

Anyway, as I say, there will be more of this type of activity in the not too distant future, so if you are interested in coming and giving us a helping hand then just drop me an e-mail and let me know.