This week: Bath’s new Cycling Tsar, Sizewell’s dirty laundry, 40C summers, NIFYs and a greenwashing palm oil company...
HIGH COURT HALTS SPATIAL STRATEGY
The Government has been forced to put the South West Regional Spatial Strategy, which plans for up to 21,300 new homes in B&NES, on hold after the High Court ruled that its equivalent plans for the East of England failed to meet EU environmental planning regulations.
http://tinyurl.com/homes-on-hold
NEW CYCLING TSAR WANTS BATH TO GO DUTCH
B&NES has a new Cycling Champion – and Cllr Roger Symond wants us to “aspire to the cycling culture of our twin city of Alkmaar in the Netherlands”. That would indeed be great, so let’s hope he can get some real backing. For more about Cllr Symonds’ “Plan of Action”, plus details about how to make your views known to him, visit the Council website here...
http://tinyurl.com/cycling-champion
INTEREST FREE LOANS FROM CARBON TRUST
The Carbon Trust is offering small and medium-sized businesses free loans to upgrade to more energy-efficient equipment. Loans can be repaid over a period of up to four years, and the Trust says that many of their borrowers have found that their energy savings more than cover their repayments. Call 0800 085 2005 for details about the sorts of equipment that qualifies and for information about eligibility. Further details online here:
http://tinyurl.com/energy-saving-loans
TfL CHIEF TALK TO TRANSITION
Commissioner of Transport for London and chair of the Commission for Integrated Transport Peter Hendy is giving a talk to Transition Bath on Wednesday 24 June from 8pm at Widcombe Social Club. Should be interesting – he’ll be talking buses and about the powers available to local government to encourage people onto public transport.
40C SUMMERS ON THE WAY
And now the weather. Britain will soon face fearsome heat waves during summer, when rainfall could drop by between 11 and 27 per cent, meaning drought. Winter rainfall is set to rise by between 11 and 23 per cent, meaning floods. Crikey.
http://tinyurl.com/talk-about-weather
ELECTRIC CARS FACE DRIVING TEST
The Technology Strategy Board, the body that advises the Government on the exploitation of new technologies, is launching a £25 million test of the latest generation of electric cars on Britain’s roads to discover “what works and what doesn’t”.
http://tinyurl.com/electric-meter
AUSTRALIA IN POLITICAL TURMOIL OVER EMISSIONS MEASURES
Kevin Rudd, Labour prime minister of massively coal-dependent Australia, is facing stiff opposition from Conservatives over his ambitious domestic emissions trading scheme. The country now faces an early election with climate change the central issue.
http://tinyurl.com/oz-climate-row
DAVID MITCHELL BLASTS “NIMFYs”...
“In the face of environmental disaster, when councils are at last prioritising recycling in a way most scientists would describe as "much, much, much, much, much too slowly", people are moaning about ugly bins rather than grasping a fairly simple opportunity to do their bit,” the comedian rages in his Guardian column.
http://tinyurl.com/rubbish-over-rights
URANIUM RUSH
The worldwide rush to nuclear has caused a stampede to secure uranium reserves.
http://tinyurl.com/uranium-rush
SIZEWELL LEAK AVERTED BY DIRTY LAUNDRY
Meanwhile, a report has revealed how a serious nuclear leak at Sizewell was only averted by a chance decision to wash some dirty clothes. What!
http://tinyurl.com/brown-pants
BRITS FLYING LESS BECAUSE OF RECESSION
Proving that too much economic activity really is bad for us.
http://tinyurl.com/flights-down
FAST TRAINS CAN END PLANES, SAYS NEW MINISTER
The new transport secretary, Lord Adonis, says a 200mph high-speed rail network in Britain will spell the end for domestic flights and short flights to Europe. The Government will make a decision on a link from London to Glasgow in 2010. But will they tax air fuel? Without that it's hard to understand the economics of Lord A's prediction.
http://tinyurl.com/age-of-the-train
GREENWASH OF THE WEEK
Astra Agro, a subsidiary of British company Jardine, claims that a "concern for the environment" is "an integral part of all the company's activities". In fact, says the Independent, it is destroying lowland forest in Indonesia, the habitat of the last remaining orang-utans, to grow palm oil.
‘Sustainability’ page on Astra Agro website:
http://tinyurl.com/agro-wash
Story:
http://tinyurl.com/orangutans-plight
GREEN INVENTION OF THE WEEK
Researchers at the University of Leeds have developed a new washing machine that uses plastic beads to help wash a full load with just one cup of water. Is that greenwashing?
http://tinyurl.com/greener-whites
This week's Green Digest was compiled by Gideon Kibblewhite. Let Gideon know if you've seen a story you think he should cover. This digest appears every Tuesday, except when it's a bit late. To subscribe visit greenbath.org/og, create a user id if you don't already have one and subscribe to Bath Green News.
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