Farmers offered pollution advice and grants
by David Masters
The England Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative is set to enter its second phase, with Defra budgeting a further £13 million for the scheme. The initiative aims to reduce farming pollution of rivers, streams and lakes due to the run-off of farming waste and chemicals seeping through the land. It also encourages farmers to work together to tackle pollution, so that the government doesn't have to impose legislation. Farmers who take ...
Happy World Environment Day!
by David Masters
World Environment Day 2008, on June 5, was hosted by New Zealand, one of the world's first countries to pledge a carbon neutral future. The theme of the day this year was "Kick the CO2 Habit". Organisers hoped to encourage people to cut back the amount of CO2 they emit, and to increase awareness that CO2 is a key contributor to global warming. The UN began World Environment Day in 1972 to raise ...
‘No’ 3rd runway at Heathrow
by Grant Draper
A contradiction to current targets sees plans for Heathrow expansion from its existing state to incorporate a 3rd runway, generating an extra 900 flights a day, not to mention endless noise and physical pollution for locals. The Make a NOise Carnival and its thousands of visitors made their views known by marching in their thousands from Hatton Cross to Sipson village. Upon reaching their destination the protestors held up banners and formed ...
Whaling begins, while ban remains
by Grant Draper
Due to the Whaling Commision's ban on commercial whaling activities, the likes of Norway and Iceland, main players in the Whaling industry, have not been exporting Whale meat since the 90’s. According to new reports, this has recently been changed, and Norway and Iceland are said to be fully active in Whaling, and the export of Whale meat in the form of Minke and Fin, to Japan, despite the fact that ...
Banana wars for supermarkets
by Grant Draper
Recent supermarket price wars publicise the lack of awareness, or care, for Fairtrade standards. In an effort to gain market share, ASDA got the ball rolling with a 5p price cut per KG, with Sainsburys and Morrisons followed immediately, and eventually Sainsbury's did the same, although their banana stock consists of only Fairtrade bananas. The recent price cuts are not realistic margins for supermakets to be retailing, and in the end its ...
MEPs: Airlines must pay for emissions
by David Masters
The European Parliament voted this week to include aviation in the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), one year earlier than previously planned. MEPs overwhelming backed the new proposals, which mean that from 2011 airline operators will be legally obliged to purchase a license for every tonne of CO2 they emit. This includes flights to EU and non-EU countries. Previous proposals allowed the aviation industry to be exempt from the ...
Breakthrough technology recycles CO2 vehicle emissions
by David Masters
New technology that recycles the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted from car engines is to be unveiled later this month at a Green Car exhibition in Liverpool. Developed by Origo Industries, the system captures CO2 emissions from a vehicle's engine and saves them to be transformed into bio-oil. The bio-oil can then be used to re-power the car, or even to give free energy in the user's home. Bio-oil is created by regenerating the ...
Name change for ActionAid
by Grant Draper
ActionAid Recycling have now changed their name, which apparently better describes the company, to Greensource Solutions, effective June 1st. Greensource Solutions recycles technology such as mobile phones laptops and ink cartridges, all resold in their online shop. By purchasing items such as the Ink Jet Cartridges, £2+vat goes towards action aid projects, which may be education or charity related.
Mini Cans, Big Ben
by Grant Draper
Robert Bradford has completed his quest to help recycling awareness by using 10,000 cans to make a recycled sculpture of Big Ben. The sculpture stands 20ft high and is made from 10,000 mini Coca-Cola cans, and will be displayed in Gateshead.
Amazon put in jeopardy by clean air
by David Masters
A team of scientists from the UK and Brazil have made a startling discovery: the Amazon rainforest is in jeopardy and is likely to become a grassland savannah by the end of the century. Even more startling is the reason behind the Amazon's impending doom: cleaner air. The study, published in the journal 'Nature', and based on a joint research effort by scientists from Exeter University, the Met Office and the Brazilian ...
Increase in recycling
by Grant Draper
New figures in Edinburgh suggest plans are working to reduce waste, with an increase overall of 3.4% on previous years recycling rates. This indicates that the awareness of recycling is increasing, with household collections dropping 4.7% in the same period, and continues on the path to the overall 40% recycling rate of household waste.
West Berkshire hit with recycling rates
by Grant Draper
West Berkshire will be distributing free green wheelie bins to its residents, hoping that composting green waste will reduce land fill, but the county will increase its local recycling rate. This is the latest effort to increase recycled waste to 49 percent and to reduce landfill by up to 20 percent. A 25 year contract has been given to a contractor for the collection of kerb side waste in the area.
Launch of Scottish Waste Resources Awards
by Grant Draper
Eventful Scotland have developed and launched a new awards ceremony, which will see a new level of participation from Scotland in the recycling celebrations for Recycle week. The awards, 2008 Scottish Waste Resources Awards, will allow entries, and present awards in four categories including waste, recycling, resource management and innovations.
Shanks bosses act on landfill cost
by Grant Draper
Britain is undoubtedly, one of the biggest participants in land filling in Europe, and Shanks Group are trying to reduce their presence within the problem. Shanks Group's profits have more than doubled from its previous year, and it will see a bigger increase in profits when the British waste management company recycles more of the firm's waste, due to the ever rising cost of landfills. UK profits are up 109% at £6.9m, ...
Bush doesn’t want US emissions reductions
by Alan Harten
The U.S. Senate will this week debate a bill to cut greenhouse gas emissions that President George W. Bush has already threatened to veto. The upper house decided to begin the debate by 74 votes to 14, despite opposition from the White House and Republican leaders in Congress, who argue that the measures contained in the bill hurt the U.S. economy and not benefit the middle environment. The bill intends ...
Fairtrade Foundation expansion
by Grant Draper
A Managing Director has been appointed for the Fairtrade Foundation, as part of its five year plan for change. The position, which was taken by David Lowbridge, a managing director at both Country Casuals in 1987 and Austin Reed Group plc, will make the staff count eight, in the ever expanding structure of the organisation. With David now appointed, the Deputy Director will now have enough free time to concentrate on the ...
Fairtrade awareness increases 13 percent
by Grant Draper
The Fairtrade mark continues to hit new heights, with the latest poll indicating a 13% increase in awareness of it in 2007, from 57% to 70%. The new facts also indicate in general the purchasing of Faritrade goods is on the increase, with more and more consumers regularly or occasionally buying related products. The 2008 sales figure for fair-trade products will be greatly anticipated and hopefully on the increase, as it was ...
Fuel protest in London
by Grant Draper
The heat continues to boil, as over 300 owner operated lorry drivers protest against the cost of diesel, which is now in excess of £1.25 in some areas. The main route to and from the west to central London, the A40, had a lane closed to accommodate the drivers on their way to deliver the petiton. The protest, which was held in London, hopes to achieve the scrapping of Alistair Darling's proposed, ...
UK CO2 emissions rise faster than EU average
by Grant Draper
Plans to cut emmisions with the EU carbon trading scheme by 20% by 2020 may have to be altered, with an overall European increase of under 1%, but still equating to 16 tonnes of CO2. New figures show Britain’s emmisions increasing by 2.2%, and Germany's and Spain's also on the increase. The EU are looking to point fingers, and who better than Germany (an increase of 8.99 million tonnes), Spain (an increase ...