Archive for January, 2008
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
The Costa Del Sol isn’t immune to some strange behaviour and even stranger views on life.
A recent survey carried out by the Costa Del Sol city of Granada’s City Council revealed that despite the law stating that a crash helmet must be worn on mopeds and motorcycles, a staggering seven out of ten young people who live there don’t wear helmets when on their motorbikes.
The main reason they give for not wearing a crash helmet?
Because they don’t want to spoil their hair-dos! Many also said that they find wearing a crash helmet ugly or uncomfortable.
Of those young residents who do wear a crash helmet, a crazy 70% of them don’t actually fasten them. They ride with their crash helmets on but unfastened not for safety, but in the hope of avoiding fines. The survey was part of a Costa Del Sol safety campaign aimed at 14 to 16-year-olds (who are legally able to ride mopeds), called: “Your life can change in a second”.
On the Costa Del Sol, that has a very true ring to it.
PS: Costa Del Sol
Posted in Costa Del Sol | 3 Comments »
Sunday, January 27th, 2008
In the Costa Del Sol city of Malaga, 4,000 litres of used cooking oil has been collected by specially adapted containers in the first month of the initiative to reduce the amount of this oil dumped into the sea. That is the equivalent of eight days worth of oil flowing into the sea from the city of Malaga alone.
This is the amount of recycled cooking oil that has been collected throughout the past month in special containers that are placed in Costa Del Sol streets and key areas in the program initiated last month by the non-government association, Madre Coraje. In total, 17 containers have been installed In the Costa Del Sol’s Malaga area with 500 litres capacity each.
The manager of the Madre Coraje association, Fernando Almarez said that containers located in the Costa Del Sol markets of Churriana, Cuidad Jardin and El Palo were the ones to have collected the most used oil. Where other areas were having two weekly collections, these areas were having to be collected from weekly.
This the first assessment of how well the system has been working, so it has to be taken into account that Costa Del Sol schools local to many of these containers have been closed for the Christmas holidays, meaning that the containers were not accessible for around two weeks.
The association has managed to come to an agreement with residents of the local Costa Del Sol communities as well as restaurants that have shown an interest in placing close to them the special 60 litre containers.
Almarez said “They have already been installed in Cuidad Jardin and Jacinto Benavente and the Ecologists in Action association has asked for one, as well as the El Cenachero and El Consul restaurants. In casesd like this, our own association volunteers collect the used oil.”
The Costa Del Sol based program aims to recycle around 200,000 litres of used oil, thereby preventing it from reaching the sea while transforming it into soap that will be destined to be sent to Peru. The remaining oil will be sold on to companies that convert the used oil into bio-diesel, further reducing the environmental impact on the Costa Del Sol.
More informacion can be obtained from the Madre Coraje association at www.madrecoraje.org.
PS: Costa Del Sol
Posted in Costa Del Sol Environment | 3 Comments »
Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008
The Costa Del Sol is well known and well loved as a tourist haven for sun seeking Britons and other Northern Europeans. However, things are apparently hotting up more than is wanted. As a follow up to our previous post entitled: COSTA DEL SOL ECOLOGICAL FARMING ENCOURAGED, we now report on climate change on the Costa Del Sol.
The 2007 Sustainability Report which was prepared by a cooperation between Malaga University and the provincial government gives a stark warning that hotter summers which are caused by climate change could well have an adverse effect on essential tourism to the province.
There are several obvious signs of climate change, the main ones being decreased rainfall, which an expanding population and its resultant increase in water consumption has not helped and higher summer temperatures. Added to that are colder winters which have raised electricity consumption by around 32% since the year 2000.
The growing population has also resulted in a similar increase in petrol consumption in the same period which has raised CO2 emissions. To add to the problems, the amount of rubbish produced in the last seven years has increased by just over 50%.
None of this is good news for residents here in the Costa Del Sol and with the recent massive increase in building projects in the region the potential for an even greater permanent population increase in the next decade could add to the already strained water stores.
PS: Costa Del Sol
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Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008
The Costa Del Sol isn’t well known for its ecological stance on anything especially environmentally friendly agricultural policies, seeing as how most farmers in the area use an absolute ton of chemicals on their crops. Its a wonder anything grows at all in some places, such is the level of poisons leeched into the soil.
However there is some light at the end of this very long and dark tunnel. According to the Rural Development Group (GDR) here on the Costa Del Sol, a mere 10% of the agricultural products in the Guadalhorce Valley - which consist of mainly olives and citrus fruits - can be classified as ecologically friendly.
As a result of this study and to attempt to rectify this in some measure, the GDR has launched an advisory service to encourage the use of natural production methods to other crops here on the Costa Del Sol. This will affect the areas of Alhaurín el Grande, Coín, Alora, Pizarra, Cártama, Valle de Abdalajís and Almogía/Casabermeja.
A GDR spokesman said that a higher production level would benefit both producers and consumers on the Costa Del Sol.
Of course it would, as the bottom line in getting farmers on the Costa Del Sol to do anything to change their bad habits is to dangle a big enough carrot in the form of a potential increase in their earnings.
PS: Costa Del Sol
Posted in Costa Del Sol | 3 Comments »
Monday, January 21st, 2008
PS: Costa Del Sol has just hear that the teen idol of the fifties and sixties, Paul Anka to perform live in Malaga. His schedule is to include at two venues in Spain this year.
The first will be at the Auditori Barcelona on the 13th of April. The second will be at the Cervantes Theatre in Malaga on the 15th of April.
These concerts are to promote his new CD, Classic Songs. He is also rumoured to be performing many of his hits from his 50 year old career, such as his own compositions, Diana, Puppy Love, and Put Your Head on My Shoulder.
Paul Anka recorded his first single, I Confess, at the tender young age of 14. In 1957 he travelled to New York City. There, he auditioned for Don Costa at ABC, singing a lovestruck verse he’d written to a former babysitter. The song called Diana brought instant stardom for the young Paul Anka as it shot to number one in the charts. Interestingly, Diana is one of the best selling 45s in music history.
He followed Diana up with four songs that all made it into the Top 20 in 1958. This made Anka, at just 17, one of the biggest teen idols of that time.
He later toured Britain and then, with Buddy Holly toured Australia. Paul Anka became a prolific hit writer, creating the Holly’s massive hit “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” as well as the well known theme for “The Tonight Show” starring Johnny Carson. He went on to write Tom Jones’ big hit record, “She’s A Lady”, and the English lyrics to My Way, made so popular by Frank Sinatra and becoming his signature song.
The Costa Del Sol is in for a rare treat by the coming of Paul Anka and the lucky residents of Malaga will have him right on their doorstep!
At PS: Costa Del Sol, we’ll keep you posted as to further information on the coming concert.
PS: Costa Del Sol
Posted in Costa Del Sol Entertainment | No Comments »
Monday, January 21st, 2008
Here on the Costa Del Sol, we have been long known for our relatively reasonable prices for those essentials, coffee and beer. It appears that Costa Del Sol Coffee and Beer are up 20%!
However, according to the Andalucian Consumers’ Union, coffee, beer and tapas have become 20% more expensive than one year ago. The greedy owners of Costa Del Sol bars, hotels and restaurants here on the Costa Del Sol have been accused of raising prices without giving any thought for consumers. In their defence, these bar, hotel and restaurant owners claim they have made every effort to keep prices down in the last year.
This very month, however, they backpedaled and complained that the price of the raw materials had forced them to raise the price of coffee and beer from one euro to 1,20€. The Costa Del Sol is not as cheap as it once was, but it is still good value overall, even though Costa Del Sol coffee and beer are up 20%!
What is the world coming to?
PS: Costa Del Sol
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Monday, January 21st, 2008
Here on the Costa Del Sol, now that Christmas and New Year are already a distant memory, several towns in the province of Andalucia’s Costa Del Sol area are already getting prepared for Carnival, which will fall in early February of this year.
Costa Del Sol Carnival plans are already well advanced in the inland town of Antequera where the ayuntamiento (town council) has invested some 30,000 euros in the many different activities. These are scheduled to start at midday on February 2nd with a children’s fancy dress competition.
The Carrusel procession will set out that evening at 9pm from the bull ring and continue on to the main square where all the fun of the adults’ fancy dress competition will be held.
PS: Costa Del Sol
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Picture by G J Allen
