Summer flood pollution mars Britain’s beaches
by David Masters
The number of Britain's beaches given the top rating for water quality fell by record levels this year. The poor water quality is being blamed on last summer's floods, which washed raw sewage, animal waste and street debris into the seas around Britain. Compared to 2007, 10% fewer beaches have been awarded with top quality water levels in the 2008 Good Beach Guide, published by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS). ...
National Geographic team up with flash memory maker
by Alan Harten
The National Geographic Society has selected PNY Technologies, manufacturers of flash memory and USB drives, for a three year worldwide joint venture as a Mission Partner and "Flash Memory of Choice”. PNY intend to work with the select group of corporate partners using National Geographic's strong brand identity and retail and distribution channels to help inspire people to care about the planet, as part of the Emerging Explorers Program. The partnership ...
UK-bottled wine cuts carbon emissions
by David Masters
A programme in the wine industry to cut the carbon footprint of importing wine has been a huge success, with carbon emissions reduced by 28,000 tonnes in less than two years. The first phase of the Glassrite Wine project launched in the summer of 2006, and ran until March of this year. It saw major co-operation between UK retailers, the international wine industry, and glass manufacturers, all keen to reduce ...
All Green Motor Show
by Grant Draper
Motorists continue on their quest for a greener car, and not necessarily to protect the environment. Petrol and Diesel are currently hitting all time highs, which has a knock on effect on the overall cost of motoring. Green-Car-Guide 2008 is the UK’s largest green motor show and will be the home to a massive selection of green cars, starting from 12th June 2008 at the Arena & Convention Centre in Liverpool. Amoung other ...
192.com releases saynotophonebooks.com
by Grant Draper
192.com is calling for the government to implement a scheme, for UK citizens to opt out of receiving phonebooks. With survey results showing the internet is quicker for finding information and phonebooks date too quickly, the gains of a phonebook are outweighed (no pun intended) by the 75,000 tonnes of waste, that three phonebooks per household, creates. Add to the above that nearly 50% of people are unaware of facilities to ...
California - pollution causes 24,000 premature deaths
by Alan Harten
California Environmental Authorities reported that air pollution causes about 24 thousand premature deaths and investment of up to 70 billion dollars annually in medical care by health effects. The state Office of the California Air Resources stated in a report that the estimated premature deaths from air pollution is almost three times what until now had been calculated. Scientist Bart Croes, who wrote the report, said that when taking into ...
G8 set to reduce CO2 by 50%
by Alan Harten
Meeting in Kobe, Japan, the environment ministers of the G-8 are close to an agreement to halve emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050. The deadline of 2020 is to be the subject of further discussions. The ministers of the G-8 and eight other developing countries, began Saturday, a three-day meeting in Kobe, in central west of Japan, to discuss new ways to fight against global warming, while new data indicates a ...
EU launches ‘Green Capital of Europe’ award
by David Masters
The European Union has now officially recognised the importance of changing urban lifestyle habits if its targets for reducing carbon emissions are to be achieved. The European Commission yesterday launched a new European Green Capital Award to coincide with world biodiversity day. Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas signed a declaration in Brussels last night establishing the award scheme. The award will be given annually to cities that are at the leading edge of environmentally ...
Science museum displays ‘eco-friendly’ aeroplanes
by David Masters
A new exhibition at the British Science Museum, London, encourages visitors to consider the environmental impact of flying. Open until November this year, the 'Does Flying Cost the Earth?' exhibition displays cutting edge models of environmentally friendly aircraft. Technological improvements displayed include lightweight aircraft sheels, advanced engines, and green fuels. The eco-jet, Easy Jet's display at the exhibition, cuts emissions by 25% compared to current aircraft, and could be soaring through the skies ...
Queen goes for world’s biggest wind turbine
by Alan Harten
The property company of the British royal domain, the Crown Estate, owned by Queen Elizabeth, has decided to invest in the largest wind turbine in the world, which will have a capacity of 7.5 megawatts and will be installed in a wind farm off the coast of the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth is clearly making a big green investment in the tallest wind turbine in the world, according to the ...
45 Australian children suffer lead poisoning
by David Masters
400 children in Australia have been tested for lead poisoning following concerns that they may have been living on contaminated land for years. 45 of the children tested were found to have levels of lead in their blood that could impair their intellectual and behavioural development. The tests followed a warning by Dr Mark Taylor of Macquarie University, Sydney, who has been studying the area since 2001. In 2001 he found that the ...
Britain, and its environment’s favourite car?
by Grant Draper
Co-operative Insurance recent research proves that the average UK driver will lean towards a green car purchase, with the top ten consumed cars greener than the gas guzzlers we hear about in the press. A UK favourite seems to be the the Ford Focus which, with its eco-friendly redesign, produces only 114 g/km CO2, slightly better than the Peugeot 207, which came seventh based on popularity. Family cars including the Vauxhall Vectra, ...
Saving polar bears disastrous for US economy
by Alan Harten
Because of the increasingly rapid melting of polar ice in the Arctic, the U.S. government is to declare polar bears an endangered species. U.S. Minister of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne warned in Washington that the polar bear could be at risk of extinction in the foreseeable future. Kempthorne’s comments are based on satellite images showing that the polar ice surfaces have become smaller than ever before in the history of ...
Why you should recycle your mobile phones
by Fion MacCloudDid you know there are schemes in place that will allow you to recycle your old mobile phones, but get paid to do so? Most recycling and reuse schemes depend entirely on the good will of the person providing used goods for recycling. There’s no cash incentive, just a sense of trying to do something right. Re-use of mobile phones is different because it actually provides a cash incentive to recycle, which ...
British Energy still talking to Suez and others
by Alan Harten
British Energy confirmed on Friday that it has received several bids for the 35% that the State has in its capital, some of them at a price higher than the stock market closing on Thursday, of 680 pence per share. This means valuing the entire company (whoever wins the bid must launch a takeover offer for 100%) at 14,000 million Euros, 11,144 million pounds. Although, in their statement, the British ...
Australian businesses offered green grants
by David Masters
The Australian Government is to provide AUS$90 million (£44 million) in grants to fund energy efficiency improvements for businesses. Grants of up to $200,000 will be available to help businesses retrofit more energy efficient lighting, air conditioning and heating. Business can apply for grants to cover up to 50% of the cost of installation. Priority will be given to large buildings of over 5,000 square metres, as these have the biggest ...
New Brazilian minister wants troops in Amazon
by Alan Harten
The environment minister of Brazil, Carlos Mincer, said today that he will propose the participation of the Armed Forces to protect the Brazilian Amazon. The current secretary of the Environment in Rio de Janeiro, said that caring for parks and indigenous reserves in the Amazon region will be his main challenge. He believes that the army should participate in the care of the largest reserve of tropical forests on the ...
Eco-boat set to smash round-the-world record
by David Masters
The Earthrace eco-boat is currently on track to beat the world record for a powerboat navigating around the globe. Earthrace set off from Spain on April 27th. The boat is now travelling across the Pacific ocean, and will dock in Hawaii soon. Powered by renewable biodiesel held in its 13,000 litre fuel tank, Earthrace is a 24 metre tri-hull wavepiercer with a maximum speed of 40 knots. The vessel is ...
Ireland unlikely to meet landfill targets
by David Masters
A new report from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) in Ireland has revealed that the country is unlikely to meet its EU targets for carbon emissions and waste. Despite current environmental legislation, which is becoming increasing stringent, ERSI say that the amount of waste sent to landfill and incineration is more likely to increase than decrease. Currently 80% of waste in Ireland is sent to landfill. This is compared ...
London Mayor backs down on desalination
by David Masters
Boris Johnson, the new Mayor of London, has withdrawn a legal challenge against a desalination plant that will provide London with drinking water from the Thames Estuary. The £200 million plant to be built in Beckton, East London, was opposed by Johnson's predecessor, Ken Livingstone, on the grounds that it was too energy intensive. Johnson has now agreed a series of environmental protection measures with the plant's owners, Thames Water, and has ...