Scotch whisky goes green
by Alan Harten
As part of a new industry focused environmental strategy, Scotch Whiskey firms pledged to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels by approximately 80% within the next forty years, which they estimate will save about 750,000 tones of carbon dioxide from being released into the air. Richard Lochhead, the Scottish Environment Secretary welcomed the announcement that will have the same result as taking about 235,000 cars off the road. Fossil fuel reliance is ...
Climate change death toll hits 300,000 per year
by David Masters
Climate change is responsible for 300,000 deaths per year, a new report by the Global Humanitarian Forum (GHF) revealed this week. The report, 'The Human Impact Report: Climate Change The Anatomy of a Silent Crisis', is the most comprehensive ever on the human impact of climate change. Research for the report found that 325 million people are already seriously affected by climate change through damage to homes, crops, and livelihoods, at a ...
Supermarkets deny responsibility for rainforest destruction
by David Masters
British supermarkets have denied being “silent partners to crime” in the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Asda, and Marks and Spencer all deny purchasing beef products from cattle raised on illegally deforested land in the Brazilian Amazon. Their denial follows a three year investigation by Greenpeace, which discovered that meat from the illegally raised cattle is “laundered” to an “unwitting global market” by being processed and packaged into convenience ...
Charles turns Dalek on Grey squirrels
by Alan Harten
With 3 million grey squirrels spread across Britain and only somewhere around 150,000 red squirrels, Prince Charles issued a statement that said the foreign grey squirrels need to be exterminated if the native British squirrels have any chance at survival. His announcement is based on the thought that grey squirrels wreck the bark on trees, spread disease, kill birds, and destroy the natural habitat of the red squirrels, leading some conservationists ...
Climate change refugees offered rental islands
by David Masters
Indonesia is offering many of its 10,000 islands to climate change refugees driven off their homeland by rising sea levels – but only if the price is right. Indonesia's maritime minister has proposed renting out islands to communities displaced by climate change. The proposals must be approved by the Indonesian government before they are implemented. Pacific Island nations are among the hardest hit by rising sea levels, with more than half of the ...
Mediterranean heat in Eastern Europe by 2050
by David Masters
By mid-century, climate change will give Poland and Hungary weather patterns similar to Spain and Sicily, the World Bank warned this week. By 2050, the two Eastern European countries will experience 37 days per year above 30 degrees Celsius, up from 22 days in 1999. The World Bank's report examined what central Asian and Eastern European countries need to do to adapt to climate change. The report warned that the effects of climate ...
Cities are key site for climate battle
by David Masters
“The fight against greenhouse gas emissions will be won or lost in cities,” Toronto Mayor David Miller said yesterday in Seoul. Miller's words concluded a three day summit of leaders from the world's largest cities in the South Korean capital. In a summit declaration, the leaders stressed that half the world's population live in cities. Cities cover just 2% of the earth's surface, yet they consume 75% of the world's ...
China demands 40% emissions cut
by David Masters
China, the country pumping out more greenhouse gas emissions than any other, has demanded that the world's wealthiest nations reduce carbon emissions 40% by 2020. In a report published yesterday, China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) – the body responsible for the country's climate change policy – said the world's wealthiest countries need to cut emissions by at least 40% compared with 1990 levels. The report outlines China's stance ahead of ...
Using trees as a pollution barometer
by Alan Harten
If you want to know how much pollution is in the air, then look up towards the nearest tree. UK researchers from the University of Lancaster say that you can measure microscopic particles of pollution on urban trees, making the leaves of neighbourhood trees an accurate measure of pollution in the area. The pollution found on the leaves is left from car engines or factories that burn fossil fuel. This produces ...
In the bee world, black is the new Italian
by Alan Harten
Beekeepers have long favoured Italian honeybees since they are perceived to be more industrious, but with its population falling by about 30% in recent years, the black honeybee may be the better choice. In response, British beekeepers hope that by reintroducing the native black honeybees to hives, they may be hardier and thus useful in raising the number of bees in the country. The Co-operative Group agrees and has donated £10,000 to ...
Coke plant produces bottles made from plants
by Alan Harten
Coca-Cola has taken a step towards the ‘green’ side with their new PlantBottle, which is a plastic bottle much like the current packaging only it’s partially composed of plant compounds. The new PlantBottle is still recyclable and when compared with the typical petroleum based plastic it reduces CO2 emissions and is less dependent on a non-renewable resource. President of the World Wildlife Fund, Carter Roberts, lauded Coke for its PlantBottle, which is ...
SNP calls for nuclear sub leak investigation
by Alan Harten
The Scottish National Party has called for an investigation into the radioactive coolant that is said to have leaked into the Firth of Clyde from nuclear submarines three times in the past five years. The SNP leader at Westminster, Angus Robertson, stated that this is not one incident that can be dismissed, but is rather a compilation of many shocking failures and that if it had the power to close the ...
Honeybee thieves target UK hives
by David Masters
As the UK honeybee population declines, bees have become a valuable asset, and beekeepers are now being targeted by professional thieves who sell hives on the black market. A sharp drop in Britain's bee population has seen second-hand hives that used to sell for just £30 now fetch over £200 – a statistic that has not gone unnoticed by thieves. Rustlers in the north of England recently stole 12 hives from Whitby, ...
Growth of urban slums increases ‘megadisaster’ risk
by David Masters
The rapid growth of urban slums in developing countries coupled with extreme weather linked to climate change have significantly increased the risk of 'megadisasters', a UN body warned yesterday. Nearly a billion people worldwide live in shantytowns or makeshift developments in cities vulnerable to natural disasters such as flooding, cyclones, and earthquakes, the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction said in its new 200-page report. The report, which outlines strategies to reduce the ...
Coral reef could disappear by 2100
by David Masters
The most world's most important region of coral reefs is set to disappear by the end of the century due to climate change and overfishing, the WWF has warned. Unless decisive action is taken now, the Coral Triangle in Southeast Asia will be wiped out by 2100, the WWF said in its report, launched last week at the World's Oceans Conference in Indonesia. The Coral Triangle spans the coastlines of Indonesia, the ...
New York set to clean up Hudson River
by Alan Harten
The Upper Hudson River in the American state of New York will finally be dredged after a ceremony to mark the start of the project was completed last Friday in Fort Edward, NY, overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States. According to an agreement reached in 2006 between General Electric and the EPA, the electric company will have to clean out the large amount of PCBs that ...
Sex Pistol angers NZ butter makers
by Alan Harten
John Lyndon, recognised easily as Johnny Rotten of the former Sex Pistol, is used to facing the wrath of the establishment and he may be known for many things, but lately he is best known for his advertisements throughout Britain promoting the purchase of butter from local farms instead of New Zealand. In response, the Federated Farmers association of New Zealand has invited Lyndon to come down to New Zealand to ...
Police attempt to recruit eco-campaigner as spy
by David Masters
British police offered an environmental campaigner thousands of pounds to spy on her fellow protesters. Plane Stupid member, Matilda Gifford, secretly recorded meetings with police officers in which she was offered tens of thousands of pounds in exchange for information on the planned tactics and future demonstrations of the anti-airport expansion group. The officers, who claimed to be from Strathclyde Police Force, threatened the 24-year-old by claiming that she might struggle to ...
Benn tells US it must lead climate change
by Alan Harten
Hillary Benn, the Environment Secretary, met with United States environmental representatives in DC as well as the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday, to discuss several key environmental concerns such as food, green economy practices, and climate change. Benn spoke to many in the new Obama administration about sustainability issues emphasising that if they are not addressed at the upcoming UN conference on climate change there could be global implications. He also ...
Polluted US land gets $100m clean up
by David Masters
Contaminated land in the United States is to have a $100 million clean up. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has set aside $111.9 million for local communities to clean up and revive contaminated brownfield sites. The brownfield program funds will be used to revitalise former industrial sites, turning them into productive business and community areas. "Brownfields program funds are helping clean up distressed properties so they can be productively reused for community benefit," ...