Blue & Green Daily: Tuesday 12 August headlines

Blue & Green Daily finds and summarises the top sustainability stories around the web every morning. We start with our own picks from Blue & Green Tomorrow.

We can help influence positive change be being in a growing movement

Is the pop up boom good for business and the environment?

Ofgem blamed for ‘reducing competition’ and raising energy prices

Massive emission reduction needed by 2030 to limit climate change damage, reports UN

Scottish government lays out green benefits of independence

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12 August headlines

Extreme weather becoming more common, study says

Extreme weather like the drought currently scorching the western US and the devastating floods in Pakistan in 2010 is becoming more common, according to new scientific research. The work shows so-called ‘blocking patterns’, where hot or wet weather remains stuck over a region for weeks causing heatwaves or flood, have move than doubled in summers over the last decade. Guardian.

Navitus Bay: wind farm seabed research under way

The company behind a proposed Jurassic coast offshore wind farm has started drilling investigative boreholes ahead of a planning decision. The Navitus Bay wind farm would have 194 turbines up to 200m high. Cores of seabed material are being extracted to determine the most suitable type of turbine foundation. BBC.

EDF shuts down two UK nuclear plants amid safety fears

EDF Energy has been forced to shut down two of its eight UK nuclear power stations amid safety fears, after discovering “unexpected cracking” in a boiler unit of one of its reactors in Lancashire. The French-owned energy giant said it had shit down its Heysham 1 and Hartlepool plants, each of which compromise two reactors, after confirming there was a “defect” in a boiler unit at Heysham 1 Reactor 1. Telegraph.

Pay delay hits Green Deal providers

Companies carrying out work under the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund say delays in payment are ruining their businesses. Vouchers worth up to £7,600 should be paid by the government within 10 days. However, contractors have said they have been waiting up to four weeks, leading to the businesses stopping work and laying off staff. BBC.

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Interesting picks

Does fracking reduce house prices? – Guardian

The era of the mega-bank is over – it’s time to let them fail – Telegraph

The battle for sustainable investing – Financial News

Fracking: what you need to know – Telegraph

Photo: Sanja gjenero via Freeimages