Times of Malta, 7th November 2008, by Fiona Galea Debono The disastrous state of Fort St Elmo is a “national shame” and emergency intervention is required to stop the irreversible damage at the unique monument, Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco told The Times. “We need to save St Elmo for future generations, and if we do not, in a few years’ time,...
Sunday Times of Malta, 9th November 2008, by Cynthia Busuttil – Selected roads will remain in darkness at night as part of a government national energy efficiency drive. Resources Minister George Pullicino told a news conference yesterday that retroreflective safety devices, like cat’s eyes, would be sufficient to ensure safety on little-used roads. The energy plan aims to reduce overall energy consumption...
Sunday Times of Malta, 9th November 2008, by Caroline Muscat – Malta has failed to prepare a plan on its climate change impact, vulnerability and adaptation – unlike other Mediterranean countries that “have prepared quite extensive climate change assessments”, according to the European Environmental Agency. In a report entitled ‘Impacts of Europe’s changing climate’, the EEA states that the Mediterranean is one...
Times of Malta, 6th November 2008, by Joe Felice Pace Visitors to the Balzan parish church lately must have noticed the restored small lateral dome dominating the chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary. Part of the painting peeled off on July 5, 2006 but it has now been restored by artist and restorer Alfred Briffa, helped by his son Chris. A technical...
Sunday Times of Malta, 2nd November 2008 – An article in the architecture magazine A10 focuses on the changing development priorities within European cities and argues that ecological and demographic changes will alter the way in which we intervene in urban environment. As birth rates across Europe fall and migration into major cities drops, a growing number of European cities are starting...
Sunday Times of Malta, 2nd November 2008, by Ivan Camilleri – Malta’s groundwater resources are under severe stress and might run out in the coming years, a new scientific report produced by the World Wildlife Fund has warned. The island has one of the highest water footprints in the world according to the ‘2008 Living Planet Report’, which measures the impact of...
The Malta Independent on Sunday, 2nd November 2008, by Michael Carabott Malta’s Blue Water reserves are under severe stress, with the highest usage and non-replenishment of natural water sources at 117 per cent, far outstripping other EU and non-EU nations, according to the World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Report 2008. The document contends that the world’s demands on natural resources overreach what...
Times of Malta, 16th October 2008 – Editorial In a wide-ranging talk to the Strickland Foundation some 18 months ago entitled Climate Change: Complacency Or Confronting The Challenges, Martin Scicluna, director general of the independent public policy think-tank, The Today Public Policy Institute, said: “In the next 20 years we are not only going to have to cope with adjusting to...
Times of Malta, 14th October 2008 – Heritage Malta said yesterday that the installation of temporary shelters over Ħagar Qim and Mnajdra Temples had entered its final stage and should be completed by the end of the year. The agency was reacting to media reports which said that the project was facing delays. “The installation of the two temporary shelters remains on track...