Environment

Despite the idiots who complained about the 5p plastic bag charge (viewing it as another tax rather than an incentive to actually use/waste less), single use plastic bag use by shoppers in England has plummeted since the introduction of the charge eighteen months ago. It is estimated that plastic bag consumption has dropped by around 85%. Even though plastic bag use has fallen, they are still used and thrown away in huge numbers and with reckless abandon (around 500m of them every year...

Independent living provider Welbeing has stepped in to help people home from hospital as the NHS struggles to keep up with winter demand. Welbeing provides well-known red pendants for elderly and vulnerable people which are monitored round-the-clock and automatically raise an alarm if help is required, for example in the event of a fall. The organisation is working with the British Red Cross which is helping to transport patients from hospital back to their homes in Shropshire, freeing up much-needed...

A father captured these stunning images of multicolored pillars beaming up into to the sky after waking up at 1.30am and thinking aliens were invading. Timothy Joseph Elzinga, 33, got out of bed when two-year-old son Gibson started crying - and he noticed the incredible light show outside. He thought someone from Star Wars was ''trying to beam people up'' - and quickly ran outside to investigate the yellow, green, red and blue lights. The amateur photographer captured the incredible light...

If you’re anything like me and can’t seem to remember to actually water the plants in your house, you might be looking for an alternative to brighten your home with greenery. A home isn’t a home without some plants. With the ability to instantly provide visitors to your home with a something interesting to look at, succulent plants are a great way to liven up any room in the house. This, combined with the fact that they’re incredibly easy plants...

Fantastic renewable news from our Dutch neighbours, as they have announced that, as of January this year, all of their passenger trains are now powered by wind energy. This is great news for the environment, but also puts the UK to shame, which is currently suffering with strike action and ticket increases to the most expensive fares in the Europe. There was another day of strike action today at Southern rail, and regardless of your political allegiances, it doesn’t put...

A road in South London has already reached, and breached, the annual pollution limit for the entirety of 2017 just five days into the new year.  Brixton Road, the busy main road that cuts through Brixton, nitrogen dioxide levels have already exceeded EU limits set for an entire year. The road is often full of buses passing through Brixton into Central London, often leaving a large number sitting in traffic jams as the road bottlenecks, as it goes through the...

A report has revealed the shocking level of loneliness of the elderly people in the UK. Figures from Age UK found that for half a million people aged over 60 for up to 6 days a week without speaking or even seeing anyone. There is a hidden army of people who are totally isolated from society and are suffering in silence. In response Age UK has launched a report titled “'No one should have no one: working to end loneliness...

It sounded like good news when the government made the announcement that they are going to build thousands of “cheap” starter homes, to help first time buyers into the property market. Housing Minister, Gavin Barwell, announced the first phase of the home building scheme will be completed in 2017 across 30 local authority areas. So far so good, however what the Tories think is affordable and what the average person on the street thinks seem oceans apart. Housing Charity Shelter...

Many environmentalists were worried about Donald Trump becoming US President after a number of comments seemingly dismissive of global warming and its dangers to the planet. In one tweet he wrote: "The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive." On Jan 29th 2014, Trump also Tweeted: "Snowing in Texas and Louisiana, record setting freezing temperatures throughout the country and beyond. Global warming is an expensive hoax!" And if that...