Environment

A new report has indicated the EU zone may be able to vastly increase its share of renewable energy into its overall energy mix by 2030. The report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena) concluded that renewables could add up to 34 per cent into energy mix, more than double it’s current level. However, it would come at a price. To reach the 34 per cent figure the EU would need to pump in £55bn per annum into the...

Published today (19 February), the largest study of its kind measuring the subjective wellbeing of 2,263 looked after children and young people across 16 local authority areas has revealed that 83% feel being in care has improved their lives, and that the longer children and young people have spent in care, the more likely they are to have moderate to high levels of wellbeing. However, whilst the majority of young people are positive about their experiences of care, the findings...

Parliament clamps down on MPs who carry out sexual harassment and bullying. Under new plans, drawn up by a cross-party committee after widespread allegations of sexual harassment, any MP who has been found guilty of harassment and bullying of staff will have to undergo training and write a letter of apology. If the case is found to be of a very serious nature they could lose their jobs or be suspended from office. The new rules will also apply to...

Awe-inspiring footage shows the incredibly rare Super Blue Blood Moon rising over an historic windmill in front of stunned stargazers. David Clarke, 62, was able to capture the dramatic 43-second footage from the top of a hill around half-a-mile away from the Chesterton Windmill in Warwickshire. The dad-of-two, of Wellesbourne, Warks., had to wait an hour before capturing the rare lunar event at around 5.10pm on Wednesday (31/1) on his Olympus E-M1 Mark II. In the video, a passerby can...

Yellow meadow ants weighing more than an African elephant have completely changed the landscape of one Royal Park in just a century - with half a million ANTHILLS. Citizen scientists studying Richmond Park in south west London found that three billion ants had created anthills in the 17th Century park, some of which are more than 150-years-old. The Royal Parks’ Mission: Invertebrate project saw 55 volunteers count and measure the size of mounds built by the yellow meadow ant in...

A tanning salon has sparked outrage after it installed anti-homeless SPRINKLERS to stop rough sleeping outside its shop. The automatic system comes on in the evening and drips water from the roof making the area unusable for rough sleepers until it shuts off in the morning. Any homeless person who decided to sleep outside the Consul tanning salon on the Horsefair in Bristol would wake up to find themselves soaking wet. Owners say the sprinklers were the least aggressive way...

Simon Dudley the council chief who found himself in a media storm for hoping homeless people would be moved off the streets of Windsor in time for the royal wedding has survived a vote of no confidence. In his letter to police, he complained about "aggressive begging and intimidation", and "bags and detritus" on the streets. Dudley had controversially asked the police to use their powers under the 1824 Vagrancy Act and the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014...

Major cities running out of water is becoming the new normal according to The Climate Council. From 1st February residents in Cape Town will be allowed to use no mare than 13.2 gallons of drinking water a day in an effort to avoid "Day Zero." If "Day Zero" does arrive, many people would have to go to collection points guarded by security forces for a daily ration of 6.6 gallons. Taps are expected to run dry on April 12th in the...

Rail bosses are investigating after a group of residents apparently chopped down trees on an embankment - to give them a better view. The wooded area above a train line has disappeared after years of locals in large townhouses asking Newtwork Rail to remove them. Locals say their repeated requests to have them chopped down have been declined by officials because the trees stop landslides and are home to bats and badgers. It is thought a group of around ten...