Government disposable plastic bag cutdown
by Rachel Thomas
Today it was announced that governmental marketing will no longer continue to buy plastic bags for use in promotional operations. This statement, by the Central Office of Information, coincided with an article that was published in the Daily Mail by the prime minister that promised a cutdown on plastic bag use. This fitted with The Mail’s campaign against plastic bag use. Within his article, Gordon Brown made claims that ...
MPs denounce new pay-as-you-throw plans as a rubbish whitewash
by David Masters
The Communities and Local Government (CLG) committee of MPs has denounced Government pay-as-you-throw plans as a "messy compromise" made as a result of widespread media opposition. A new CLG report encourages government ministers to reconsider their initial plan of devolving powers for waste collection to local authorities rather than running a pay-as-you-throw pilot scheme. In May last year, the Government published the Waste Strategy for England, under which councils would have been ...
Eco-houses to be grown by farmers
by David MastersDelegates at Ecobuild, a green construction trade show, heard this week that environmentally damaging building materials could be replaced and improved upon by using renewable materials home-grown by Britain's farmers. Stephen Ryman, of Defra's renewable fuels and materials programme, and Dr. John Williams, technology transfer manager at the National Non Food Crops Centre (NNFCC) said that natural resources such as petro-chemicals and farm grown products offer a sustainable alternative to building ...
Social Capital: the key to strong communities
by David Masters
A year long study at King's College London has found that informal networks of social capital are crucial when it comes to communities responding to unexpected shocks. Social capital is glue that holds communities together, made up of the connections within and between social networks. Examples of social networks include the family, youth clubs, and religious groups. Researchers at the College discovered that social networks exist in even the most formal ...
London considers compulsory recycling
by David MastersCouncil officers in London have recommended enforced recycling to improve the city's recycling rates. Waste bosses from Bromley and Barnet councils, who have both introduced compulsory recycling, spoke at a conference organised by London Remade. They said that introducing enforcement had resulted in a 'step change' in their recycling rates, but added that any enforcement measures must be accompanied by a campaign to raise public awareness of the changes. Both John ...
Viable water into hydrogen fuel concept
by Alan Harten
It has long been known that plants, bacteria and algae are capable of turning sunlight into fuel. Now researchers at Penn State University have what is known as a ‘proof-of-concept device’ that is capable of splitting water to produce hydrogen, which can be used as fuel. Professor of Materials Chemistry and Physics, Thomas E. Mallouk said in a statement, "This is a proof-of-concept system that is very inefficient. But ultimately, ...
US promises agreement to international emissions commitment
by Rachel Thomas
Should India and China match the pledge, a white house official yesterday stated that the US would commit to a binding international agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions by this summer. Chairman of the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality, James Connaughton, held the opinion that accusations that the US is only concerned with setting voluntary emissions targets are, in fact, false. He discussed the idea that the US is willing to ...
Ireland delays road charging
by David Masters
The Irish government have said that nation-wide road pricing and congestion charging in Dublin will not be introduced until the country's transport network has been upgraded. Whilst launching the Sustainable Transport and Travel consultation document Ireland's Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said that until Transport 21 plans are fully implemented, charges for road use will not be put into effect. Dempsey added that it is crucial that the public and businesses are ...
Thom Yorke launches Big Ask Europe campaign following UK success story
by David Masters
A campaign to encourage the European Union to make annual emissions cuts legally binding was launched yesterday. Friends of the Earth campaigners were joined in Brussels by Radiohead singer Thom Yorke at the launch of The Big Ask Europe campaign. Yorke also held a meeting with the European Environment Commissioner Stavos Dimas. Big Ask Europe is calling for the EU to make a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions within Europe ...
Rainforest destruction surges in Brazil
by Alan Harten
In a statement on Wednesday, the Brazilian government has said that destruction of the Amazon rainforest has surged during the last 5 months of 2007. This announcement comes only weeks after the same government were claiming that it was making substantial progress in curbing deforestation in the Amazon. During August last year 94 square miles of the rainforest were destroyed, but four months later, in December that figure had risen to ...
Third-runway activists protest on Parliament’s roof
by Rachel Thomas
Protesters against the plans for Heathrow airport’s third runway today demonstrated on the roof of the Houses of Parliament. Gordon Brown today condemned the protesters during his weekly question time session, stating that decisions should be made within the house, not on its roof. However the security breach comes as a slight embarrassment to the government being that security has allegedly been intensified over the last few years as a response ...
New ’state-of-the-art’ recycling centre for Ireland
by David Masters
A new top of the range glass recycling facility has been opened in Ireland this week, and will process more than 50,000 tonnes of jars and bottles every year. It has the potential to save over 15,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. The €5 million Glassco recycling plant in Nass, County Kildare, was officially opened by environment minister John Gormley, who said at the opening: "I believe that the development of ...
Cotton bag giveaway in London highlights 2 billion bags of yearly waste
by David Masters
10,000 London shoppers were treated to a free cotton re-usable bags during a 3-hour giveaway in the centre of the city. The fairtrade cotton bags were given away on Regent Street and Oxford Street by thelondonpaper and Recycle for London as part of a campaign encouraging consumers to re-use plastic carrier bags. The campaign follows the Mayor's office calling for London's city dwellers to reuse their plastic bags and say no to ...
Seed bank to help preserve the world’s plant species
by Alan Harten
Deep within a hollowed out Arctic mountain the Svalbard Global Seed Vault has opened for deposits. Just like a regular savings bank, this ‘vault’ will take deposits and keep them for a ‘rainy day’. It is hoped that this new bank, funded by the Norwegian government will eventually stockpile over 100 million seeds from 100 different countries. These seed sample deposits will range from the world's major crops like wheat, rice ...
UN reveals the severe problems to be faced when aiding undernourished populations
by Rachel Thomas
Resulting from the massive rise in world commodity prices the United Nations warned that it no longer had sufficient funds to hold global malnutrition at bay. Head of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), Josette Sheeran, outlined the problem that is to come in future months should commodity prices stay at such high levels. Sheeran then continued by pointing out that simply to continue meeting current assessed needs would require ...
New regulations for fuel depots after Buncefield investigation
by David Masters
Following an investigation into the Buncefield disaster of 2005, experts from the Environment Agency have said that fuel and oil storage sites must improve their safety standards if they are to protect the public and the environment. The report was released after a three month investigation by the Competent Authority for the Control of Major Accident Hazards (CACMAH), which includes experts from the Environment Agency, Health & Safety Executive and Scottish ...
The world’s first biofuel flight
by David Masters
A plane powered only by biofuel crossed the North Sea this week in a short haul flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam. The flight was carried out by Virgin Atlantic, and used biofuel derived from Brazilian babassu nuts and coconuts to power one of the engines. The other engines were ready to use standard aviation fuel as a back up in an emergency, but were not needed. Virgin hopes that the flight ...
Can cars use exhaust fumes to help run themselves
by Alan Harten
In at the Cardiff School of engineering in Wales, UK, Professor Mike Rowe has spent many years studying thermoelectric generation. Basically, producing electricity from heat, using devices called thermocouples, that convert waste heat into electricity. This is not a new idea, by any means; you have a least one in your home as they are used in the control of refrigerator temperatures. As well as controlling a central heating system. The professor ...
Fairtrade really so ‘fair’ after all?
by Rachel ThomasLeading thinktank, the Adam Smith Institute (ASI), today proclaimed the fair trade movement as barely more than marketing hype, benefiting a marginal amount of farmers in developing countries at the expense of others. The critical report by the ASI was released to coincide with the beginning of the annual Fairtrade Fortnight. The report warns that fair trade seems to be a type of marketing that aims at continuing fair trade’s ...
Beijing must up its game to meet Olympic emissions standard
by David Masters
China must up its game if Beijing is to reach acceptable levels of pollution in time for the Olympic games later this year. Xinhua, a state owned media outlet, reported on Friday that government officials from the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau are implementing a Blue Sky plan to significantly reduce emissions from industries and vehicle exhaust fumes before the August games. The Blue Sky plan covers the city and its surrounding regions, ...