A carbon "tax" will raise £100,000 across government departments in the UK to compensate for the 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide caused by extra air travel associated with Britain's presidency of the G8 and the summit at Gleneagles last year, The UK-based The Independent newspaper reports. The money will go towards environment projects in the developing world over the next three years to offset the harmful effects of the air travel by G8 leaders, but that is seen as a small sum to pay for global warming.

The loss of wetlands around the world is forcing wild birds that may have avian influenza onto alternative sites like farm ponds and paddy fields, where they come into contact with chickens, ducks, and geese, finds a new report commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Restoring the tens of thousands of lost and degraded wetlands could help reduce the threat of an avian flu pandemic by providing wild birds with their preferred habitat, according to the report authored by Dr. David Rapport of Canada.

Whistleblowers under the Protected Disclosures Act (PDA) are not being safeguarded enough against reprisals from their employers. Alison Tilley, of the Open Democracy Advice Centre, says that even though corruption is widespread in South Africa, not enough employees are coming forward to disclose what they know about wrongdoing in the workplace. Recently, Randgold & Exploration released a forensic audit showing R2bn was stolen while Brett Kebble was CEO, and JCI indicates R500 million was misappropriated.