This white paper examines the current challenges for clean energy infrastructure and identifies solutions that industrial clusters, transport and logistics industries, and the wider clean energy value chain can jointly explore in order to accelerate its deployment. Thirteen new industrial clusters from Australia, Brazil, Colombia, India, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, …
Toxic nanoparticles from air pollution have been discovered in human brains in “abundant” quantities, a newly published study reveals. The detection of the particles, in brain tissue from 37 people, raises concerns because recent research has suggested links between these magnetite particles and Alzheimer’s disease, while air pollution has been …
BRITAIN became the first country Saturday to unveil plans to impose a legal ban on the sale and manufacture of microbeads used in cosmetics and personal care products. According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the aim is to introduce the ban on microbeads by 2017, …
Pressure is growing on the UK government to ratify the Paris climate change deal immediately. A spokesman for the prime minister told the BBC the UK would ratify "as soon as possible", but did not suggest a date. But Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP and the Greens say the UK …
Ancient woodland is under threat from invasive rhododendron, experts have warned as they revealed the “aggressive” weed now covers woodland the size of 150,000 football pitches. The plant has spread rapidly and covers 98,700 hectares - roughly 3.3 per cent - of Britain’s total woodland, a report by the Forestry …
Environmentalists fear Brexit could see European rules on water cleanliness being undermined. But could leaving the EU result in filthy coastlines and smelly beaches? Until recent decades, swimming in the sea off the coast of Britain could be a perilous and unhealthy activity. "We were frequently surfing in poo," says …
The effects of climate change and variability on river flows have been widely studied. However the impacts of such changes on sediment transport have received comparatively little attention. In part this is because modelling sediment production and transport processes introduces additional uncertainty, but it also results from the fact that, …
Majority of the Salvation Army’s sites, third of Quaker meeting houses, and 2,000 churches belonging to 16 Catholic dioceses switch to renewable energy More than 3,500 churches across Britain have moved their electricity supply to renewables, or are planning to do so, according to data released on Thursday. Those switching …
The small tortoiseshell was once a common garden butterfly but has declined by 73% since scientific monitoring began in the 1970s. Perhaps gardens have become tidier with fewer crucial nettles for their caterpillars. But nitrate pollution has helped nettles proliferate and more gardeners plant late-summer fuel like buddleia (cut them …
MPs warn that the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles is too low to meet national climate change targets The government is falling behind on its commitments to switch a proportion of Britain’s car fleet to electric vehicles, an influential committee of MPs said on Thursday. Take-up of electric vehicles has …
The British government should take a tougher stance against Volkswagen after its emissions fraud, as well as increase the use of electric cars and reduce air pollution from transport, a parliamentary environment committee said on Thursday. Almost a year after U.S regulators found that Volkswagen (VW) (VOWG_p.DE) had cheated in …
Around 50,000 people die every year in the UK across England and Wales due to unfit breathing air caused by pollution from cars, trucks and buses, according to a new research. This death toll is far higher than the number of deaths caused by traffic accidents, which stood at 1,713 …
The British government should take a tougher stance against Volkswagen after its emissions fraud, as well as increase the use of electric cars and reduce air pollution from transport, a parliamentary environment committee said on Thursday. Almost a year after U.S regulators found that Volkswagen (VW) (VOWG_p.DE) had cheated in …
Dentists prescribe approximately 10% of antibiotics dispensed in UK community pharmacies. Despite clear clinical guidance, dentists often prescribe antibiotics inappropriately. This cluster-randomised controlled trial used routinely collected National Health Service (NHS) dental prescribing and treatment claim data to compare the impact of individualised audit and feedback (A&F) interventions on dentists’ …
Air pollution in UK cities has failed to improve because politicians prioritise road safety and economic growth instead, research suggests. The research, to be presented to the Royal Geographical Society, says the issue of traffic pollution falls between the transport and environment departments, but is neglected by both. It says …
Conservationists are warning of the decline of one of the UK’s best-loved butterflies. Numbers of the small tortoiseshell – which is one of the most recognisable and widespread in the country – appear to have plummeted this summer. This year numbers have been worryingly low as the cool spring and …
A power company in Shetland has claimed a breakthrough in the race to develop viable offshore tidal stations after successfully feeding electricity to local homes. Nova Innovation said it had deployed the world’s first fully operational array of tidal power turbines in the Bluemull Sound between the islands of Unst …
Rubbish from this weekend’s Notting Hill Carnival in London is expected to generate 97,200 kWh of electricity As revellers recover from Notting Hill Carnival, which took place this bank holiday weekend, rubbish from the street party is making its way to waste recovery sites across London to be recycled or …
The next time you're enjoying a trip to the seaside, turn your mind away from the ice-cream vans and sand dunes for a moment and spend a few minutes looking beneath your feet. If you're on a touristy beach such as Bournemouth, swept clean every morning by teams of litter …
An overwhelming majority of the British public polled want new post-Brexit laws protecting wildlife and the countryside to be at least as strong as the EU rules currently in place, according to a opinion poll published on Thursday. Many also want a new farming subsidy regime to emphasise environmental protection …
As firm submits its response to government legal arguments, lawyers warn official air pollution projections could be out of date The legal battle with the government over its air pollution plans took a twist this week, as law firm ClientEarth alleged Ministers' predicted compliance date for clean air laws could …
