and Sustainable Development
In praise of ... maize | EditorialGuardian Unlimited | 10 Apr 2011One of the world's most successful food crops, maize could also prevent greenhouse emissions from flatulent cowsIt has a ring to it, but that is the only sound the world will hope to hear from the latest use for one of the world's most successful staple foods. Research at Reading University has found that increasing maize silage in the diet of cattle reduces the flatulence which accompanies their gentle rumination of the cud.
England | Agriculture | Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Livestock | Science and Environment Nitrogen footprint warning from European agencyGuardian Unlimited | 10 Apr 2011New study says nitrogen pollution costs every person in Europe £650 a year in damage to water, climate, health and wildlife. Nitrogen pollution is costing every person in Europe up to £650 a year in damage to water, climate, health and wildlife, a study warns. Scientists behind the research said nitrogen was needed as fertiliser to help feed a growing world population - but suggested that eating less meat could reduce the amount of pollution caused by agriculture.
England | Agriculture and Fisheries | Biodiversity | Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Health Haven't we had 'global cooling' lately?Guardian Unlimited | 28 Mar 2011The planet did cool slightly from the 1940s to the 1970s, mainly in the northern hemisphere and most likely a result of the post-war boom in industrial aerosol pollutants that bounce sunlight away from the Earth. Despite a flurry of 1970s media reports on an imminent ice age, there was never anything approaching a scientific consensus on the likelihood of further cooling, and it appears that greenhouse warming has long since eclipsed the mid-century cool spell.
England | Climate and Atmosphere | Greenhouse Gas Emissions Budget 2011: Osborne's green bank attacked from all sidesGuardian Unlimited | 23 Mar 2011Business leaders, campaigners and investors slam chancellor's flagship green policy due to its limited borrowing powers. Business leaders, campaigners and investors slammed George Osborne's flagship green policy on Wednesday, reacting angrily to his decision to severely limit the powers of the new green investment bank. The bank - to be funded with £1bn from taxpayers and up to £2bn from sales of government assets – is the centrepiece of ministers' claims to be "the greenest government ever".
United Kingdom | Globalisation | Environment | and Sustainable Development | Governance EU emissions trading: the cap that does not fitGuardian Unlimited | 17 Mar 2011Markets that trade carbon pollution permits are meant to cut emissions. So why did the carbon dioxide vented in 2010 under Europe's scheme go up? An update on the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme and just how loose the cap on emissions is now, following the economic crash ...The latest analysis from Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows that last year, carbon emissions from the energy, steel, concrete and manufacturing facilities in the ETS rose by an estimated 1.8%.
England | European Union and Environment | Greenhouse Gas Emissions Investor confidence in renewables boostedGuardian Unlimited | 15 Mar 2011Shares in renewable energy sources rocket as public and investors recoil from nuclear. As Japan's nuclear crisis unfolds, energy and environmental experts said that investor confidence in the technology was already beginning to wane, with renewable energy and fossil fuels the likely beneficiaries. "Shares in renewable energy industries yesterday rose while most other energy stocks fell," said Clare Brook, fund manager of leading green investment group, WHEB, in London.
England | Environmental Impacts | Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Recycling | Renewable Energy