Top articles of the week: September 6

This week on Blue & Green Tomorrow, fashion mogul and environmental activist Vivienne Westwood invested £1 million into renewable crowdfunding platform Trillion Fund.

We also reported on the revelation that drinking wells in the US state of Pennsylvania have been contaminated by fracking operations hundreds of times. In other news, a new study has found that sea levels around the coasts of Antarctica are rising faster than the global rate.

1. Sir David Attenborough warns of the ‘escalating erosion of wildlife’

Richard Heasman: Naturalist Sir David Attenborough has warned, ahead of the Conference for Nature in London, that the continued destruction of the environment “threatens us all”. However, he insists we still have a chance to save it. Read more.

2. E.coli bacteria turned into renewable fuel

Ilaria Bertini: British and Finnish scientists have created renewable clean propane from the intestine bacterium Escherichia coli, paving the way for future research into alternatives fuels capable of replacing traditional and carbon-intensive sources of power. Read more.

3. Vivienne Westwood invests £1m into renewable energy start-up Trillion Fund

Richard Heasman: Fashion mogul and environmental activist Vivienne Westwood has become a major shareholder in Trillion Fund, a renewable crowdfunding platform for wind and solar farms. Read more.

4. Pennsylvania drinking wells contaminated by fracking operations hundreds of times

Richard Heasman: The US state of Pennsylvania has revealed to the public 243 cases where drinking water has been contaminated by fracking operations throughout the region. Read more.

5. E-cigarette smoke contains higher levels of toxic metals

Tom Revell: Second-hand smoke from e-cigarettes contains higher levels of certain toxic metals than regular cigarette smoke, a new study has warned. Read more.

6. World must cut meat consumption to prevent climate change and food insecurity

Ilaria Bertini: Researchers have estimated greenhouse gas emissions from the food sector could rise by 80% by 2050, as the world increasingly adopts meat-based diets that are putting resources and food security at risk. Read more.

7. National Grid warns of possible winter power shortage

Ilaria Bertini: National Grid, the UK’s gas and electricity supplier and distributor, has called on energy firms to declare the amount of power reserves they can provide to cover peak winter times, as a precaution to avoid energy shortages during an “uncertain” season. Read more.

8. Antarctic sea levels rising above global average

Tom Revell: Sea levels around the coasts of Antarctica are rising faster than the global rate, caused by the accelerating melt of the continent’s ice sheets, a new study has found. Read more.

9. Sir Richard Branson set for Virgin Banking float worth £2bn

Richard Heasman: Virgin’s banking arm, estimated to be worth £2 billion by city insiders, is set to be floated on the financial markets later this year, with some hinting that the launch will come as early as October. Read more.

10. UN warns frequency of extreme weather will grow with climate change

Charlotte Malone: The UN is set to release a series of imagined, but probable weather forecasts to highlight how extreme weather events will increase in frequency and intensity over the next three decades. Read more.

Photo: Tom via Flickr