Environment

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...

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,...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Saddening footage has emerged from Loro Parque in Spain’s Canary Islands, of Killer whale Morgan lying next to her tank as tourists leave stadium after another show. As it finished the whale beached herself leaving one viewer to write: “Looks to me as if she’s trying to take her own life, I don’t blame her.” Another added: “’Shame on humans who exploit whales.” If a killer whale is beached for too long the weight of their body...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Would the earth survive without us? If every human suddenly vanished, left the planet or were wiped out (cheery thought) what would happen to the planet? A video has been produced that illustrates what they think would happen, and the earth does pretty well without us to be fair. It is a pretty harsh start with domesticated animals passing away but things do improve. Our towns and cities will become covered in foliage and vegetation....

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Investment in green energy was higher for poorer countries rather than wealthy nations for the first ever time. India, China and interestingly Mauritania are leading the record levels of investment. Developed nations are being left behind in the green race to sustainable energy. A reliance on fossil fuels could leave them lagging in terms of access to energy in years to come. Overall £196.5bn was invested in renewables globally, according to the Renewables 2016 report...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor In 2017 a fantastic experiment will take place in the Netherlands, a hi-tech village will be built and will live totally off the grid. It is hoped it will be 100 per cent sustainable. Currently industrial agriculture techniques for crops and livestock damage the environment, the earth needs to find a way to sustain itself without destroying the planet. This new community, in Almere twenty minutes from Amsterdam, will have one hundred homes and will...

“Fossil fuels are so inherently dirty and toxic, that they require sacrificial people and sacrificial places, they always have.” These are the words of environmental activist Naomi Klein, delivering the Edward Said lecture in London earlier this month. As if following her cue, yesterday an alliance of fossil fuel politicians and lobbyists overruled the villages and voices of Northern England. The land and its people have been sacrificed. Underground rock will be drilled and pumped with high pressure chemicals, sand and water. Local communities...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor The first fracking application in England for five years has just been approved by North Yorkshire Council. Their planning committee voted seven against four in favour of the fracking plans, by Third Energy a UK firm. Now the company will go ahead and frack for shale gas near the North Yorks village of Kirby Misperton. There have not been any fracking planning approval since 2011, after a series of tests on the Fylde coast in...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor It is widely accepted there is a housing crisis across the country especially in the capital, with the chance for people to own their homes out of reach from even the professional class. So in an effort to alleviate some of the pressure on the housing market, a new programme is helping communities by assisting them to build their own homes. The scheme has been launched by Locality, using funding from the Nationwide Foundation. Locality...