Archive for the ‘Environment’ category

A net gain for tree protection

Saturday, 23 March 2019

There have been a number of reports in the media about the practice of placing nets over trees in order to stop birds nesting, with individuals and organisations complaining about the effects on wildlife, even with petitions and calls to outlaw the practice. Surely they are missing the point. In many cases, the alternative to […]

Read the whole article...

Garden Bridge has fallen down

Saturday, 29 April 2017

At last a piece of good news. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has finally withdrawn support for the proposed Garden Bridge across the River Thames, effectively killing the project. After a report by a committee of MPs earlier this month said the bridge should be scrapped, any other decision on the part of the mayor […]

Read the whole article...

A natural, not nuclear, disaster

Sunday, 13 March 2011

I had felt it inappropriate to write a piece in support of nuclear power, which seems such a trivial matter when thousands of people have lost their lives in the earthquake and ensuing tsunami. However, it seems anti-nuclear groups in the UK and Germany, and no doubt other areas, are attempting to capitalise on the […]

Read the whole article...

Earth needs more than an hour’s switch-off

Saturday, 28 March 2009

At 20:30 GMT today, people have been urged to switch off their lights for 60 minutes for Earth Hour. Now I realise this gesture is supposed to be symbolic rather than make a significant impact on the world’s annual energy consumption. I just hope it doesn’t send out the message that by switching lights off […]

Read the whole article...

Save the Forth Road Bridge!

Friday, 21 December 2007

The announcement that a new bridge is to be built across the Forth Estuary barely received a mention in the London-based UK press. I only managed to find an article in the Guardian. There was also an article tucked away on BBC News. This is quite disgraceful, considering that it will be one of the […]

Read the whole article...

Didcot: where to enjoy a long, healthy life

Sunday, 9 September 2007

It is an unglamorous town in the south of England known for its rail junction, power station and nuclear research laboratory but today, Didcot in Oxfordshire enjoys a new and enviable reputation – as the place whose residents enjoy the longest, healthiest lives in England and Wales. Read the whole story in the Daily Telegraph. […]

Read the whole article...

Road charging: something people really oppose

Tuesday, 13 February 2007

The fact that over a million people have now signed an online petition against the introduction of a road pricing scheme just goes to show how much the public hates this idea. Even if there has been a lot of encouragement in the press and the blogosphere for people to add their names, and even […]

Read the whole article...

A day of excitement in Didcot!

Sunday, 5 November 2006

On Thursday morning’s news, it emerged that protesters from Greenpeace had targeted Didcot power station in an attempt to shut down the coal-fired plant. Some of them chained themselves to a conveyor belt carrying coal into the station, while others headed for the top of the 198-metre high chimney. By abseiling from the top of […]

Read the whole article...

Waste charging proposals are rubbish

Wednesday, 4 October 2006

A number of local authorities in the UK have started to fit microchips to dustbins so that they can monitor how much rubbish households are throwing away. Many commentators believe councils will eventually use the technology to charge households according to the weight of their waste. Now, I think charging according to the amount thrown […]

Read the whole article...

Do drink the water!

Saturday, 1 July 2006

A refreshing report from the Consumer Council for Water this week has praised the quality of British tap water and dismissed bottled water as a waste of money. It has long been my view that bottled water is a con, or an expensive fashion accessory at best. Tap water in the UK is always perfectly […]

Read the whole article...


By browsing this site, you agree to its use of cookies. More information. OK