The recent U-turn by of some of the UK's leading environmentalists - and one-time nuclear energy opponents - on the issue of nuclear energy, has caused vigourous debate in the media. Their reasoning is that we simply don't have the capacity to produce enough renewable energy to meet our needs. But as this comprehensive Ecologist report from 2007 shows the UK is really a renewable energy powerhouse.
February 1968. From South Vietnam the explosive Teêt Offensive has dealt a final blow to shattered US troops and sparked a worldwide appetite for insurrection. Left destitute by standards of living and provoked by a three-year war on their ideological comrades, student leaders across Europe rise up with a single voice ‘We shall fight. We will win. Paris, London, Rome, Berlin.’ Within six weeks, 20,000 protesters will besiege the American embassy in London’s Grosvenor Square. It is the Spring of Discontent, and revolution is the air.
The answer to the ongoing Brofiscin saga lies not in the South Wales Quarry but in Doncaster. Jon Hughes explains the complex legal judgement that has paralysed the Environment Agency and undermined its raison d’etre; to make the polluter pay
The answer to the ongoing Brofiscin saga lies not in the South Wales Quarry but in Doncaster. Jon Hughes explains the complex legal judgement that has paralysed the Environment Agency and undermined its raison d’etre; to make the polluter pay
Sometimes, choosing not to think like a scientist can be a good thing. Jon Hughes sits down with the Harrisons, environmental activists and conceptual artists
Prominent critics of the failure of Environment Agency Wales (EAW) to pursue the UK’s interests against Monsanto in the US Bankruptcy Court have come under extraordinary attack over the past 10 days.
Prominent critics of the failure of Environment Agency Wales (EAW) to pursue the UK’s interests against Monsanto in the US Bankruptcy Court have come under extraordinary attack over the past 10 days.
Every year, each square metre of the UK receives between 900 and 1200 kWh of solar radiation. Capturing just some of this energy could make a significant contribution to fulfilling our energy requirements.
The UK has been described as the ‘Saudi Arabia’ of wind, with some 50 TWh of onshore and at least 450 TWh of offshore power available every year, well in excess of our current electricity demand.
There is much talk of the possibility of a future ‘hydrogen economy’, which will power all our vehicles and homes. It is important to remember that hydrogen is not an energy source; it is an energy carrier. To obtain hydrogen it must be split from either natural gas or water molecules. The former, most widely used, method not only requires energy but also gives off carbon dioxide (CO2) in the process. Hydrogen produced in this way requires more energy to make than will eventually be returned when it is used. It makes more sense from a climate perspective to burn the natural gas itself than to convert and re-convert it to hydrogen in this way.
Even among green campaigners, nuclear energy is quietly gaining ground as a potential solution to the impending energy crisis. However several issues – particularly those of raw materials, cost and waste – remain unaddressed within the mainstream of opinion.
Each year, UK livestock produce some 60 million tonnes of collectable faeces. If left to run into water-courses or even spread on fields, this waste can lead to the same problems associated with excessive fertiliser use – algal blooms and aquatic life starved of oxygen.
Clean Coal Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is the technology of stripping carbon dioxide from the exhaust gases of fossil fuels and then burying it as a liquid underground.
A ruling in the US courts at a meeting which the Environment Agency claims never took place has dashed all hopes of making Monsanto pay up for polluting Brofiscin quarry in Wales. Is the Agency guilty of obstructing the course of justice? Jon Hughes investigates
A ruling in the US courts at a meeting which the Environment Agency claims never took place has dashed all hopes of making Monsanto pay up for polluting Brofiscin quarry in Wales. Is the Agency guilty of obstructing the course of justice? Jon Hughes investigates
What does Douglas Gowan know that everyone else wants to keep hidden? For 40 years the story of Brofiscin Quarry – now the most polluted place in the UK – has been suppressed...
What does Douglas Gowan know that everyone else wants to keep hidden? For 40 years the story of Brofiscin Quarry – now the most polluted place in the UK – has been suppressed...
Football used to be a sport. A great one. Exciting, all-consuming – heck, we played, talked, lived and breathed it. Now it’s another commodity, traded among the super-rich. And, laments Jon Hughes, the Yanks have bought ‘my’ club
Just over one week ago, the Ecologist posted a story on its website detailing the Environment Agency's failure to sue Monsanto for dumping tonnes of highly toxic chemicals in a Welsh landfill site.