The nuclear industry and their friends are stepping up their propaganda war but their terrible track record shows that new reactors are still not the answer to reducing emissions or supplying affordable power. The UK Committee on Climate Change, official …
Ocean rescue
There was much coverage over the weekend about the creation of an historic UN agreement to protect the world’s international oceans. There is also much to do to protect Scotland’s seas. The world’s nations agreed in 2012 at the Rio+20 meeting …
Climate culture
Serious action on climate change means big changes in work, homes, travel, leisure and diet. If we are to survive the changing climate and the changes we will need to make in our lives, creativity, art and storytelling are an essential …
Climate in court. Again
Legal action on climate change is stepping up a gear, with those in charge of oil companies now in the firing line. Three years ago, in one of my more feisty columns, I said top oil industry people should be …
Deposit Return Scheme whingers should shut up
Despite more than 5 years of notice, businesses are still whingeing on about the new Deposit Return Scheme, due to start operating in mid-August. The Deposit Return Scheme or DRS will put a 20p deposit on plastic, glass and metal …
Climate and collective insanity
If aliens are watching our antics on climate change from afar they can surely only conclude that our species is collectively insane… Report to the Galactic Accession Committee, from the Chief Anthropologist Background – we have been observing the planet …
Oil boss is COP boss
Pressure is growing on the United Arab Emirates to replace their choice of the head of the state oil company as the President of the next climate talks, COP28. Countries almost always give the job to their climate or environment minister, …
Air pollution progress – good but not enough
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s annual round up of air pollution found that, in 2022, all the main monitoring sites in Scotland met legal standards set to protect health. This has only happened once before, when the pandemic lockdown drastically reduced …
What the Energy Strategy really said about fossil fuels
In response to last week’s Scottish Government Energy Strategy one newspaper ran a front page headline announcing the end of the oil and gas industry. The truth is less clear. The long-awaited new Strategy is a draft and public responses are …
Home insulation war effort needed
Last week an influential committee of MPs called for a national ‘war effort’ to insulate people’s homes. Although the Scottish Government has been consistently better on this that the UK Government, much more needs to be done. The Environmental Audit Committee …
The Braer disaster 30 years on
30 years ago today Scotland’s worst ever pollution event began. But it could have been so much worse. Just after 11am on 5th January 1993 the oil tanker MV Braer lost her battle with a massive storm and hit the rocks of …
The environment in 2022
In the midst of war and a cost of living crisis, some good things were achieved for the environment but we also went backwards in 2022. The climate scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change produced a report on …