Author Archive
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Britain’s recycling stalls
British recycling is stalling: recycling rates rose just 0.2% between 2012 and 2013, partly because of the disjointed way recycling is organised across the UK. A new report from environmental think-tank, Green Alliance, claims the UK's recycling market isn’t working too well, to the extent that we are losing an estimated £1.7 billion in material and reuse value each year. Outdated policy means that a plastic bottle discarded at home is treated differently across the UK’s 376 ...
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Policy strengthening required to meet UK carbon budgets
A new report from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) concludes that the UK's carbon budgets can be met but only if the Government strengthens its key policies. The CCC’s latest progress report to Parliament says that the first carbon budget has been met but partly as a consequence of the recession. There has been strong progress in improving the fuel efficiency of new cars and the foundations have been laid for the electric vehicle market and ...
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Koi herpesvirus disease confirmed in Gloucestershire
Koi herpesvirus (KHV) disease has been confirmed in koi carp (Cyprinus carpio) in a fishery at Ford House Farm, Gloucestershire. The site is now subject to statutory controls to prevent or limit the spread of the disease.; fishery equipment disinfection and movement control measures are in place and anglers must ensure that they comply with all biosecurity measures within the designated area. The fishery owners voluntarily closed the affected water as soon as the disease problems began ...
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UK economy to overtake France by 2020
The UK will become the second-largest economy in the EU, overtaking France before 2020 and closing the gap with Germany, according to new projections from economists at PwC. By 2030 the UK’s economy is likely to have been leapfrogged by India but should remain the sixth-largest economy in the world based on GDP at market exchange rates. The analysis also looks beyond GDP making use of the ESCAPE index, which combines 20 indicators of performance across economic, ...
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HGCA grain quality research call
A new research call from HGCA aims to lead to a better understanding of grain quality and help match the pace set by improvements in crop yields. Dr Dhan Bhandari, HGCA Research and Knowledge Transfer Manger, explains: “Although the rate of varietal yield improvement has declined in recent years, quality still may lag behind if breeders and growers don’t have appropriate knowledge and tools at their disposal to measure and improve quality. “Milling, malting, brewing and distilling ...
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Unlicensed anglers called to account
The Environment Agency says its enforcement teams carried out more than 13,000 rod licence checks across England in May, and of the anglers checked, 965 were fishing illegally. May falls within the coarse fishing "close season" which runs from 15th March to 15th June and while some anglers without licences were fishing rivers , the majority were caught on stillwaters where fishing is still allowed. An annual licence costs £27 whereas a recent offender paid a penalty ...
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“Modest” amount of gas and oil in Scotland’s Midland Valley
The British Geological Survey’s report on gas and oil in the Midland Valley, Scotland, suggests only "modest" amounts of both are in place. The central estimate of shale gas in place is 80 trillion cubic feet; the central estimate for shale oil in place is six billion barrels; but exploratory drilling is needed to determine how much of the gas and oil can be technically and commercially recovered. Amounts are expected to be substantially lower than the ...
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Renewable electricity generation up 43%
Government figures out today show the progress made against the UK’s 15% target under the 2009 EU Renewable Directive. Provisional calculations show that 5.2% of final energy consumption in 2013 came from renewable sources; up from 4.2% in 2012. There was significant growth in the contribution of renewable electricity, up 30%; whilst renewable heating and renewable transport contributions also rose. In addition, renewables share of electricity generation (hydro, wind and other renewables) increased from 12.4% in 2013 Q1 ...
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Renewable energy seals sale of one of Scotland’s largest estates
Knight Frank has revealed that it has acted in the sale of one of the largest Scottish estates which had an £11 million price tag on account of significant income potential from generating hydro-electricity. The 28,300-acre Auch & Invermearan Estate in Argyllshire and Perthshire has the potential for 15 hydro-electric schemes, one of which has already been commissioned, generating a gross income of £245,000 in its first year of operation. According to the firm, the estate also ...
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Go-ahead for East Anglia offshore wind farm
The East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm has been given development consent by the Department for Energy and Climate Change. The installation will comprise up to 240 wind turbine generators with a capacity of 1200MW, to be located 43km from the Suffolk coast. It is expected to support almost 2,900 jobs and bring over £520 million of investment into the UK’s economy.
