Environment
Hinkley Point delay called ‘bonkers’ by union
A VIP tent was being set up at the site yesterday, but the champagne was literally put back on ice, as the nuclear plant at Hinkley Point was delayed today. Philip Hammond, gave his full backing to Hinkley Point C only two weeks ago, saying: “We have to make sure the project goes ahead.” Environmental groups will welcome the delay and will hope that this signals a cancellation in the controversial scheme. However, the GMB union has described the delay as...
London PR firm refused to share building with ex-offenders’ charity
A PR firm has taken a harsh stance against a charity who wanted to move into the same building as them. According to City A.M. Lee Publicity, a fashion and home PR business would not accept a charity that helps female ex-offenders to get into work, to locate themselves at the same address. The charity, Working Chance, was set up to provide workshops to women who have been in trouble with the law. They run seminars to help the offenders...
Most children living in poverty have working parent
A shocking new piece of research has discovered that the largest percentage of children who suffer “absolute poverty” actually have at least one parent who earns an income. The IFS (Institute for Fiscal Studies) discovered that young people who live under the poverty threshold actually have one or more parents in work. This news will worry the Government who constantly claim that there are more people in work in the UK than there has ever been. However, this work doesn’t...
There’s An Overpopulation Problem, But Not The One You Might Think
By Jimmy Pierson, spokesperson for The Vegan Society There’s an overpopulation problem all right, but not the one you might think. There are seven billion people on our planet, but times that number by 10 and you get the 70 billion farm animals driving the worst environmental crisis of modern times. The impact of our increasing human numbers will come under renewed scrutiny this World Population Day (11 July). Rightly so; the faster we grow, the faster we are knocking...
UWE Project Generates Electricity From Urine At Glastonbury
A University of the West of England project that generates electricity from urine has been installed at Glastonbury Festival. The ‘Pee Power ‘project, featuring the Dunster House Emergency Pissoire Superstructure, has been set up at the festival to highlight its application in urban or rural locations that do not have easy access to electricity and adequate sanitation, such as refugee camps. Professor Ioannis Ieropoulos, Director of the Bristol Bio-Energy Centre, Bristol Robotics Laboratory, at UWE Bristol said: “The festival presents us with the...
Fracking approval in N.Yorks could be unlawful, say campaigners
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor A hugely controversial council decision to allowing fracking in North Yorkshire may be challenged in court, an environmental group has said. Friends of the Earth said the plan to allow shale gas exploration in the village of Kirby Misperton could be taken in front of a judge. The decision last month to allow Third Energy, a fracking company, permission to test drill at the site was met with stiff local opposition. The site in Kirby...
Vote Beaver: Slow The Floods
Our MPs have just finished their inquiry into flooding and concluded that a “proactive approach to flooding is needed”. The report published this morning by the Environmental Audit Committee exposed the Government’s knee-jerk reaction to flooding. During the last Parliament funding was cut just before floods, only to be "increased" after the floods. The funding has fluctuated year by year. The Committee has demanded an action plan from the Government. Beavers should be part of that plan. Earlier this year, just one month after...
Rachel Riley Models Cars Of The Future Ahead Of Shell Eco-Marathon
Countdown’s Rachel Riley modelled a potential car of the future ahead of the Shell Eco-Marathon in London. The vehicles, weighing in at just 30kg, were designed by students competing in the world’s longest running student competition, Shell Eco-marathon, where vehicles are measured on how far they can travel on just a litre of fuel. The current record is 3771km/l - the equivalent of travelling from London to Helsinki and back! This year,the marathon will be showcased at Make the Future London – a...
Video – Fish can recognise human faces
By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor I was always told that goldfish have a two second memory, so assumed that fish were not the brightest of animals. It appears I was very very wrong. A team of scientists have shown that one tropical species of fish can recognise peoples' faces. Archerfish spit jets of water to catch insects, but the research team also found that they can also tell faces apart. In tests, by the team of US and Australian researchers,...