The French Parliament has voted 287-146 to ban hydraulic fracturing or fracking, a crucial part of the shale gas extraction process that activists say is harmful to the environment, according to France24. The bill will be voted on by the Senate on June 1 before it becomes a law.
The bill to ban to fracking, but not shale gas exploration itself, was drafted by France's ruling UMP party and the vote comes after months of protests by environmentalists who are concerned that the process contaminates the water table. Earlier this year, the government granted energy giants exploration permits for work without public consultation, but announced a temporary freeze on shale gas exploration in February.
France could become the first country to ban the controversial practice that involves using 'slick' water a combination of water, chemicals and mud, to fracture the rock with hairline cracks and prop open underground fissures.
Fracking fluids can be fatal. In Louisiana fracking fluid made it to a pasture killing 17 cows at the farm.
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Saturday 21 May 2011
Friday 20 May 2011
Neville out to make game greener
Gary Neville yesterday placed himself at the head of a campaign to make football more environmentally sustainable, declaring that he wants to drive change in fan behaviour in the same way that the Kick it Out campaign has driven out the scourge of racism.
Neville, who will devote a large slice of the revenue from his testimonial game against Juventus next Tuesday to the environmental cause, told The Independent that he would engage football's governing bodies to reduce carbon emissions and drive home an environmental message.
"Sport is such a powerful [vehicle for change]," Neville said. "If Manchester United want to get a message across in something, they will do, they have that power, and so do the Premier League. It is worldwide – watched by 1.15 billion people every week. While United have 75,000 people coming every week, there is an audience there that means sport can be at the forefront of this. We have a team of people behind this to make sure we can become as powerful as possible in the next few years."
full article
Neville, who will devote a large slice of the revenue from his testimonial game against Juventus next Tuesday to the environmental cause, told The Independent that he would engage football's governing bodies to reduce carbon emissions and drive home an environmental message.
"Sport is such a powerful [vehicle for change]," Neville said. "If Manchester United want to get a message across in something, they will do, they have that power, and so do the Premier League. It is worldwide – watched by 1.15 billion people every week. While United have 75,000 people coming every week, there is an audience there that means sport can be at the forefront of this. We have a team of people behind this to make sure we can become as powerful as possible in the next few years."
full article
Wednesday 18 May 2011
Is Britain really getting greener?
The Government yesterday signed up to cutting Britain's greenhouse gas emissions by nearly half – but with no clear agreement on how to achieve the target.
The Green Investment Bank
Unveiled in the budget, the Green Bank is the centre-piece of the Coalition's promise to be the "greenest government ever". It will invest exclusively in low-carbon infrastructure, renewable energy and financially support the development of new clean technologies. Current Government proposals stipulate it will not have powers to borrow or raise money (such as issuing ISAS and bonds) until 2015. Until then it has £3 billion of public money to invest. Not allowing it to borrow earlier, green groups say, is disastrous as investment decisions on replacing Britain's power generation plants need to be taken long before 2015.
The Green Deal
The Green Deal will allow 14 million UK households to apply for up to £10,000 to pay for energy efficiency improvements on their homes such as insulation, double glazing and energy-efficient boilers. The money will be provided upfront by the private sector and paid back in energy savings by homes over a 20-year period. The first Green Deals are expected to appear in Autumn 2012 after consultation and review, so for now it isn't working at all.
Investing in renewable energy
Greening our electricity is key to reducing emissions. The need for a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy has long been accepted by everyone but the harshest climate sceptics, and in response the Coalition Government is pursuing multiple options including on- and off-shore wind farms and nuclear power subsidies. The CCC's report last week recommended developing multiple new technologies. Initially there would likely be a focus on cost-effective nuclear power plants and wind farms across the UK. The Coalition claims this could feasibly result in renewable sources providing up to 40 per cent of all our energy by 2030.
However, while Britain is locked in an ongoing battle between communities and environmentalists trying to protect the countryside, Germany has forged ahead with plans for a huge wind farm in the Baltic, and Denmark and Finland are aggressively pursuing alternative energy.
Green Transportation
The Coalition has put transportation policy at the heart of its pledge for energy and climate change. Fossil fuels would be restricted in the air by opposing a third runway at Heathrow; by the prevention of additional runways at Stansted and Gatwick; and by replacing air-passenger duty with per-plane duty. They would also be restricted on the ground by the Barclays' bike campaign in central London; by more emphasis on public transport; and by encouraging widespread use of electric cars.
Is it working? Aviation policies have had some success. The third runway at Heathrow has been scrapped. However, the per-plane duty promised in the Coalition agreement was not introduced, instead the Chancellor promised a "consultation on the reform of air-passenger duty", which had already risen by 55 per cent in the previous year.
Take-up of electric cars is still small – but the technology is rapidly developing and they are likely to be a familiar sight in the Britain of 2015.
However, rail fares rocketed and there is no sign that gas-guzzlers are on the way out just yet.
full article
The Green Investment Bank
Unveiled in the budget, the Green Bank is the centre-piece of the Coalition's promise to be the "greenest government ever". It will invest exclusively in low-carbon infrastructure, renewable energy and financially support the development of new clean technologies. Current Government proposals stipulate it will not have powers to borrow or raise money (such as issuing ISAS and bonds) until 2015. Until then it has £3 billion of public money to invest. Not allowing it to borrow earlier, green groups say, is disastrous as investment decisions on replacing Britain's power generation plants need to be taken long before 2015.
The Green Deal
The Green Deal will allow 14 million UK households to apply for up to £10,000 to pay for energy efficiency improvements on their homes such as insulation, double glazing and energy-efficient boilers. The money will be provided upfront by the private sector and paid back in energy savings by homes over a 20-year period. The first Green Deals are expected to appear in Autumn 2012 after consultation and review, so for now it isn't working at all.
Investing in renewable energy
Greening our electricity is key to reducing emissions. The need for a shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy has long been accepted by everyone but the harshest climate sceptics, and in response the Coalition Government is pursuing multiple options including on- and off-shore wind farms and nuclear power subsidies. The CCC's report last week recommended developing multiple new technologies. Initially there would likely be a focus on cost-effective nuclear power plants and wind farms across the UK. The Coalition claims this could feasibly result in renewable sources providing up to 40 per cent of all our energy by 2030.
However, while Britain is locked in an ongoing battle between communities and environmentalists trying to protect the countryside, Germany has forged ahead with plans for a huge wind farm in the Baltic, and Denmark and Finland are aggressively pursuing alternative energy.
Green Transportation
The Coalition has put transportation policy at the heart of its pledge for energy and climate change. Fossil fuels would be restricted in the air by opposing a third runway at Heathrow; by the prevention of additional runways at Stansted and Gatwick; and by replacing air-passenger duty with per-plane duty. They would also be restricted on the ground by the Barclays' bike campaign in central London; by more emphasis on public transport; and by encouraging widespread use of electric cars.
Is it working? Aviation policies have had some success. The third runway at Heathrow has been scrapped. However, the per-plane duty promised in the Coalition agreement was not introduced, instead the Chancellor promised a "consultation on the reform of air-passenger duty", which had already risen by 55 per cent in the previous year.
Take-up of electric cars is still small – but the technology is rapidly developing and they are likely to be a familiar sight in the Britain of 2015.
However, rail fares rocketed and there is no sign that gas-guzzlers are on the way out just yet.
full article
Sunday 15 May 2011
The electric scooter that costs only 1p per mile to run
Similar in classification to 50cc scooters, they can be driven by anyone with a pre-2001 driver's licence or who's taken the compulsory basic training (CBT) course.
The Scoot is very cheap to insure and exempt from road tax and the congestion charge, making it ideal for dodging commuting hell.
You'll have to supply your own helmet, but that could be the only thing about it which isn't impressively stylish.
full article
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