Environment

Government figures to be published today are expected to show that the price paid for electricity from offshore wind farms has dropped by more than 50 per cent in under five years - making offshore wind the lowest cost option for large-scale, low-carbon power. The UK’s offshore wind sector has transformed over the last decade. Government support, huge strides in home-grown innovation and increases in both turbine efficiency and blade sizes, have placed the UK as number one, globally, for...

One of the world's largest leatherback turtle's has been found dead in a Cornish harbour. The animal, whose species is 'critically endangered', was found on Friiday (8/9) in Portreath by amateur photographer Bob Philips, 73. The turtle washed up in Portreath, Cornwall. It is around six feet long and weighs around 200kg (31 stone). Retired taxi driver Bob said: "I'm amazed at how big it is and decided to take a photograph of a man who was stood close by...

This is potentially the largest corporate scandal in history, but it hasn't been widely reported This is a story of deception on an unimaginable scale, but the UK mainstream media has been strangely mute. This year average global temperatures continued to break records. Devastating flooding, mud slides and forest fires were seen throughout the world. Simultaneous harvest failures occurred in several key regions. Glacier melts continue at alarming rates, and the largest split in the Antarctic ice shelf left the...

Every new Jaguar Land Rover will be electrified from 2020 as the British car giant responds to increasing demand for eco-friendly models. The Midland-based manufacturer has been famous in the past for building sports cars and off-roaders with gas-guzzling petrol engines. But in recent years they have slashed carbon dioxide emissions - and they are now following in Volvo's footsteps by introducing electric technology to its entire range. The firm, which is owned by Indian conglomerate Tata, says all models...

First Minster Nicola Sturgeon was at the Riverside Museum, Glasgow, Scotland, to launch a £60m innovation fund to develop a low carbon infrastructure, such as electric battery capacity and electric vehicle charging in Scotland. The Scottish Government wants to end all diesel and petrol usage by 2032. The First Minister said: “For centuries, Scotland has been home to many great inventions and I want this technological innovation to be renewed for the future. I want us to be world leaders...

A bug's life was one previously thought to be blighted by poor eyesight - not so say university boffins. But a new study has found insects can see the world in much finer resolution than previously believed. Scientists had long thought insects could not see images in high resolution because of their compound eyes - which together capture thousands of pixelated images of the surrounding world. However, researchers from Sheffield University's Department of Biomedical Science together with scientists in Beijing,...

There has been concern over a number of years over the amount of pesticides and other toxins used in our fruit and veg production. Now an official investigation has found that 84 per cent of fruit and veg given out to school kids have tested positive for toxic chemicals. The tests found traces of pesticide in apples, bananas, carrots, pears, satsumas, tomatoes and raisins destined for four to six-year-olds. Two million kids get free fruit every year as part of...

It doesn’t seem five minutes since the weather reporters were getting almost excited at the prospect of warmer weather arriving to the UK for the summer; the smell of freshly cut grass, along with the busy humming of many a pollinating insect filling the air. Now, as we enter the ninth month of the calendar year, the temperature will soon plummet and the nights will begin to draw in. This is not a time to be down, quite the opposite....

Women were the key to spreading culture and knowledge around Europe 4,000 years ago, according to new research. The study revealed European women traveled far and wide from their home villages to start families - bringing with them new cultural objects and ideas, while men tended to stay near where they were born. Researchers found that at the end of the Stone Age and in the early Bronze Age, families were established in a surprising manner in the Lechtal area,...