Brits aim for wind-powered, land speed record
by Alan Harten
Britain has a reputation for trying to push the envelope in exploration, daring feats and cutting edge technology; we love to try to be the very best at all kinds of wonderful extremes. In the latest feat of daring-do, two Brit’s will attempt to break the existing world wind-powered, land speed record. They have taken their Donald Campbell’s Bluebird inspired “Greenbird” over to Western Australia to break the current 116mpg world ...
Global warming threatens ‘boulder bunny’
by David Masters
Conservation groups in the US have filed two lawsuits today to protect the American pika, also known as the 'boulder bunny'. According to the groups filing the lawsuit, the future survival of the pika is threatened by global warming. Protection for the pika is being sought under the California Endangered Species Act and under the federal Endangered Species Act. Those filing the lawsuits are requesting that the Environmental Protection Agency begins regulating carbon ...
Small green businesses offered big prizes
by David Masters
Small businesses are being offered the chance to win up to £40,000 by pitching ideas to combat climate change. The Shell Springboard programme, now in its fourth year, offers awards of between £20,000 and £40,000 to UK businesses with great ideas to save the planet. To be in with a chance of winning, ideas must be innovative, commercially viable, and result in greenhouse gas emissions being reduced. James Smith, Chairman of Shell UK, ...
UK’s ‘water footprint’ is drying up the world
by David Masters
A new report by the WWF reveals that the UK's 'water footprint' is unsustainable, and threatens the world's water reserves. The UK is the sixth largest net importer of water in the world - only 38% of the UK's water is from its own resources. Other water is imported from other countries such as Spain and Morocco, many of which are already suffering from serious water shortages. The WWF report is the first ...
Lords seek end to “throwaway mentality”
by Alan Harten
I am not sure when the trend towards throw away consumer products began. I am not sure anybody knows; I think it possibly just crept up on us slowly but surely one product at a time. It possibly started with cheaper electronics and slowly progressed to other more expensive items. What I mean is, how long is it since anyone took an old toaster to be repaired? Well many of the people sitting ...
Biofuel racers: ‘Give grease a chance’
by David Masters
A group of environmental campaigners is encouraging the world to 'give grease a chance' by racing from London to Athens in vehicles powered by waste chip fat. In the 'Grease to Greece Rally', 25 competitors in ten teams are racing 2,500 miles to Athens in vehicles specially modified to be fuelled using chip fat. Competitors in the race will have to scavenge waste oil from chip shops and kebab joints on route. ...
San Francisco’s construction industry goes green
by David Masters
Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, has signed a code of conduct that sets in stone the most stringent green building laws in the USA. The code, which will be phased in by 2012, focuses on water and energy conservation, recycling waste, and reducing carbon emissions. It covers both new construction sites and the renovation of existing buildings. Regulations will apply to residential buildings of all sizes, new large commercial buildings, ...
US nuclear waste costs spiral upwards
by David Masters
The cost of a dumping site for all of America's nuclear waste is soaring out of control, with estimates now close to $100 billion. The US Department of Environment estimates that the research, construction and operation of the Yucca Mountain facility in the Nevada desert will cost $96.2 billion. This is 67% higher than 2001 government estimates of $57.5 billion. Washington officials say the rising costs are largely due to a 'substantial increase' ...
Charles’s claims over GM crops, prove it!
by Alan Harten
Prince Charles has described the spreading use of GM crops as a gigantic experiment with nature and humanity which has gone badly wrong. But now the government has hit back at the Prince’s statement and asked him to prove his claims with facts. The environment minister, Phil Woolas, says that such statements should only be considered if the Prince and like minded thinkers can produce some real evidence of the risks ...
Birds suffering from “time shift” egg laying
by Alan Harten
In yet even more bad news for common British creatures, our once highly familiar birds such as the Chaffinch, Blue Tit and Robin are suffering from something called “phenological shift". What this means is that the birds are nesting and laying their eggs earlier in the year than they used to. Admittedly this is not a big shift; in fact they are laying their eggs just about a week earlier than ...
New Manhattan skyscraper is eco-friendly
by Alan Harten
Michael Douglas as his alter ego Gordon Gekko in the 80’s movie 'Wall Street', would shudder at the thought of what they are doing to his beloved little corner of Manhattan. Some company is going to build a skyscraper that is environmentally friendly! Whatever happened to “Greed is Good”? A company by the name of Time Equities has broken ground on a new tower at “50 West Street”. This new addition ...
WWF gets Shell oil advert banned
by Alan Harten
The World Wildlife Fund’s complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), regarding oil company Shell’s newspaper advertisement that claimed that Shell was building a “profitable and sustainable future”, has been upheld. The ASA has now ordered that the advertisement or anything similar may not be shown again. The WWF made the complaint over several claims in the short advertisement that the WWF said were what it called “greenwash”, meaning that Shell ...
Prince Charles slams GM crops
by Alan Harten
One of the original celebrity “greenies”, Prince Charles, has hit out at the big food producers who in his opinion are messing around with nature and conducting experiments with GM crop production which have gone "seriously wrong". The Prince also stated that the soil around the world is being irredeemably damaged with GM food production techniques. He went on to state that instead of supporting GM tactics the government should be ...
Eat a kangaroo, save the planet
by Alan Harten
George Wilson, of the Australian Wildlife Services, will go down in history as the scientist who suggested that eating kangaroo meat would help save the planet. According to the calculations by Wilson, replacing beef burgers with kangaroo meat can significantly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The methane gas produced by the belching and flatulence of sheep and cows is more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of the damage it ...
Boris stops Ken’s hydrogen vehicles
by Alan Harten
In a U-Turn on London’s environmental planning, the new mayor of London has dropped what was possibly the largest ever order for hydrogen vehicles. “Red” Ken Livingstone had ordered 60 hydrogen vehicles, according to a report by Global Insight economic consulting. But now it seems not so “green” Boris has apparently canceled that order, the intention of which was to become the largest fleet of public owned hydrogen vehicles in the ...
UK IT departments counting carbon footprints twice
by Alan Harten
Fujitsu Services, who employ over 19,000 people across 20 countries including the UK, commissioned a survey to discover if IT managers at UK companies who employ over 1000 people think that not only should their IT carbon footprint count against the company, but that subcontractors' carbon footprints should be added as well. Fujitsu seem to be quite surprised by the results, as over three quarters of IT managers believe that the ...
Battle for Arctic oil and sea lanes looms
by Alan Harten
The battle to conquer the last great virgin territory on the planet and its inevitable march across the ice, is already beginning to shape the borders of the Arctic Circle. A team of scientists from the University of Durham yesterday published a map which details a possible division of the great mass of ice. The United States, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Russia will compete for their share of the oil ...
Flooding game shows UK cities drowning
by Alan Harten
Flooding throughout the country over the last few years has probably given many people pause for thought as to what may happen if a serious, or even catastrophic flood, were to take place in our home town or city. What would it mean to daily life, what would the landscape look like, would we be able to drive or go to work? These are all things that we can not imagine ...
Centrica contemplate British Energy merger
by Grant Draper
Centrica, the current owners of British Gas, contemplated a merger bid with British Energy, however, the merger could be threatened by a potential European-based cash bidder. Of course this will only occur if EDF abandon current plans for a takeover bid for the British nuclear power generator. EDF last week came the closest so far to agreeing a deal, although the verdict was no deal due to M&G and Invesco, who ...
Heavy rains bring sewage to beaches
by Alan Harten
The summer downpours have brought extra holiday misery for thousands of people on their annual getaways, from the south coast to Scotland. After rains kept people off the beaches and wandering around looking for inside entertainment, the holidaymakers now face a new holiday spoiler, polluted beaches. The heavy rains over the past few days have meant that raw sewage has been released into new sewage overflow pipes mostly installed over the ...