I don't want this place to become a haven for lambasting the BBC's poor quality of news reporting, but sometimes I'm just in one of those moods. In fact I'm not sure if the quality is necessarily that bad all told but my yearly head-cold is making me distinctly grouchy

First up in this potential repeat series is local news for me about Bristol's waste problem. Apparently it is getting worse, though no studies have been cited whatsoever as of course with the BBC biased sources of information are perfectly acceptable. What gets me though is that there is no reporting whatsoever into Bristol City Council's inability to deal with the waste problem. On the nights I go out I usually end up sharing a pizza from Pizza Palace, a pizza takeaway holding up the end of a row of about 4 or 5 takeaways, across the road from at least three officially council licensed fast food vendors that seemingly have no obligation to bring waste management solutions along with their trailers. The council is happy to pick up their rent but not the responsibility for picking up the rubbish they haven't made provisions for it seems.

Just a short one to muse about the Bali summit that is being tipped to be close to a deal of kinds involving all the key parties involved.

I think it's absolutely fantastic that we are close to an international consensus on the targets we should be aiming to achieve. That's right, the compromise deal is one reportedly where everyone absolutely understands and agrees to take into account a report that says reduction in emissions of 25-40% would be required to keep global warming within a 2 degree range by 2050. So what if it doesn't specifically mandate some targets on people?

Today Newsbeat on Radio 1 has rekindled the never ending issue about raising the minimum age for consumption of alcohol to 21, staying pretty much in line with previous BBC hosted polls that put the population as being half in favour and half not for the changes. This issue is a particular bugbear of mine, not only with drinking but also with the age of sexual consent and entertainment certification as more than a guideline. As someone who believes in personal liberties I find it discomforting that I should be viewed in the same light as the rest of the population my age and assessed in a generalised manner as to what I can personally deal with; I like to think that kids actually affected by these legal limits feel somewhat the same.

This isn't to say that I don't understand the need for basic levels of protection, to protect rebellious children from themselves if their parents are unable to give them the supervision and guidance they require, however to try and claim that arbitrary age limits on performing certain actions are successful in that task, I feel, is naive and short sighted.

In this article:

• Alcohol limits
• Teen pregnancy and age of consent limits
• Why limits don't make sense