Local elections preview: The Conservatives
Struggling to decide who to vote for in the local elections on Thursday May 2? Don’t worry, as all this week, Blue & Green Tomorrow will be outlining the energy, environment and investment credentials of all five major parties. For a full list of local authorities that are voting,...
The growth, drivers and choice behind ethical investment
Mark Robertson recently left his post as head of communications at responsible investment research firm EIRIS. Here, in a valedictory article that originally appeared in The Guide to Ethical Funds 2013, he looks back on the rise in prominence of sustainable investment. 2013 marks 30 years since EIRIS was...
International Arctic forum launched to help alleviate region’s threats
Iceland president Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson has revealed that China, India and Singapore are among the countries that could join the Arctic Circle, a new forum designed to widen the attention of the region’s threats. The group’s inaugural meeting will be held in October, in Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik. Only eight...
EU rejects plan to reduce carbon footprint
The European parliament has rejected a plan to make polluters pay more as part of a carbon trading scheme designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Three hundred and thirty-four members voted against a proposal to freeze 900m tonnes of carbon dioxide emission credits between 2013 and 2015. Members voting...
Study shows boost in international climate change policies
Implementation and impact of policy related to climate change has significantly increased over the last decade according to a new study by the Climate Policy Initiative. The new report ‘The Policy Climate’ has put together 30 years of evidence from five key economies, China, EU, US, Brazil and India...
MPs call for more urgent marine protection
A committee of MPs has criticised lethargic action from the government over making 127 sites around the UK marine conservation zones (MCZs). The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has so far held consultations for 31 MCZs, but MPs on the science committee said that it appears...
‘We need to tackle the root causes of inequality and poverty’
The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better is a book that explores poverty and inequality, targeting the huge social and economic gap between the rich and the poor. Kate Pickett, co-author with Richard G Wilkinson, is director of the Equality Trust, and an inspiring voice in...
Why investing directly in renewables projects is a worthwhile venture
It’s a new tax year, and the opportunity to apply for 2012/13 ISAs has been and gone. But worry not; for Rebecca O’Connor, editor of Trillion Fund, is on hand to explain about the benefits of direct investment in renewable energy projects. In investment, ‘early adopters’ are those who...
MPs urge insecticide ban to save bees
A committee of MPs has said that the government should suspend the use of the neonicotinoid insecticides that have been linked to the declining bee population. The environmental audit committee’s report, Pollinators and Pesticides, outlines that although nobody knows for certain why two-thirds of UK bees have been wiped...
Lobby group attacks government over ‘absurd’ renewable measures
A secretive cross-industry lobby group has criticised the renewable energy policies in the energy bill, as it says these will boost consumer bills. With the energy bill going through parliamentary approval and royal assent later this year, the mysterious group, called Powerline, has started to criticise what it calls...
Are capitalism and conservation incompatible?
An article we wrote in February, Free markets need to be free, prompted a little Twitter debate when published. There is the honestly and strongly held belief that free markets are the implacable foe of sustainability. The demands of a free market economy are incompatible with the needs of viable...
Government promotes oil and gas investment as ‘vital for energy security’
Following a budget significantly short of green measures, the government last week announced a new wave of investment to boost the oil and gas industry. Improved research facilities and tax reliefs will help the UK exploit its “remaining resources and overcome an increasingly challenging production environment” in the oil...
Ditch energy subsides for a better world, says IMF report
A report published yesterday by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) explains that governments should reform their policy on subsidies if they want to see long-term economic growth and tackle climate change. Energy Subsidy Reform – Lessons and Implications explores the effects of the $1.9 trillion (£1.3 billion) global energy subsidies,...
Lies from politicians and the media ‘create harmful divisions in society’
A recent report by a coalition of religious institutions sought to dispel a number of myths relating to poverty. Kate Pickett, co-author of The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always do Better, writes about the unforgivable role played by politicians and the media in creating these misconceptions. The most...
Coalition’s green fatigue is a ‘betrayal of conservatism itself’
London Evening Standard columnist Amol Rajan has criticised the coalition’s green commitments, saying the environmental measures in George Osborne’s budget last week were “pitiful” and that the current government’s lethargic approach to the environment was a “betrayal of conservatism itself”. In his weekly column, Rajan emphasised how we had...
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Following the lead of The Independent (twice), The Week and The Sun, the Wall Street Journal has gi... - Alex Blackburne says
The nice folks at Skeptical Science have written a handy article, accompanied by an equally handy vi... - Alex Blackburne says
In a story that seems too ridiculous to be true, a senior BP executive is alleged to have looked up ... - Alex Blackburne says
A good question, and one that seems particularly apt on the eve of the presidential election. Mar... - Alex Blackburne says
It may seem like an obvious set of rules, but after uncovering some of the unusual things found in s...