https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66985595

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/06/ive-gone-through-bereavement-hs2-bought-edward-cavenagh-mainwaring-land-for-what

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/66943731

Full report here. https://stateofnature.org.uk/

On a brighter note - last week I saw evidence of dormice in an area where the Residents' Association planted a mixture of native trees in 2012. We need to add a few more hazel trees.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/28/famous-sycamore-gap-tree-at-hadrians-wall-found-apparently-cut-down

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/26/give-britons-right-plant-green-public-spaces-gove-thinktank?CMP=share_btn_tw

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-66927242

https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/23804868.burnley-councillors-back-woodland-every-ward-scheme/?ref=twtrec

For those who like petitions.

The impact is a little unclear. "Modelling shows that if the whole of Europe switched to an organic or agroecological food and farming system, we would see a 40% drop in emissions. .." 40% drop in which emissions?

This is another aspect that does not appear to have been considered in the Government's Net Zero policy.

There are plenty of other reasons not to use artificial fertilisers.

https://act.soilassociation.org/fix-fertiliser?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social_organic&utm_campaign=fix_fertiliser&utm_content=oslaunch#

Yesterday I received a package I had ordered from a company called Grüum ( https://www.gruum.com/our-commitment-to-the-planet/
). They are a new(ish) company from Manchester producing and selling skin products.

When the package arrived it had a sticker on it telling me about the filling material inside the box. I'd not heard of it before so searched the Internet. I have no idea which company manufacture the filling, there were a few, but using the details on the label as my search criteria I found some similar products to what I was holding. I found out that if you soak the peanut it will biodegrade, so I tried it and had a sticky mess on my fingers, particularly after squeezing the water out.

I then wondered where to put it to get rid of it. It wasn't plastic so recycling waa a no, no.
It wasn't from the garden, so garden waste was out.
It certainly wasn't paper based so that was out.
It was made from cornstarch. Hmm! How about the food recycling?

At that point I decided to ring the council, that's a long haul job! It was answered pretty quickly and I worked my way through all the option buttons until I was told I had reached destination.
Good news!
Then I was told how many others had reached it before me - and they were still waiting to be answered as well. Bad news!

I stuck to it and eventually I was spoken to by a young sounding lady who actually listened when I explained that I didn't want to put them in land fill, nor any of the recycling options I had rejected. I told her about my search of the Internet and I was surprised she actually looked for the products. We had a good conversation about what she was looking at, after which she agreed that my conclusion was correct.

I thanked her for confirming it and she said "No thank you for teaching me something new".
She said the product had been news to her, but told me she would let the staff in Waste Management know that biodegradable peanuts were safe to put in the food bin.

I just wish they had been real peanuts!

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/restore-our-rivers-and-freshwaters-to-health-by-2030

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230308-how-light-pollution-disrupts-plants-senses

So lets start talking about them…https://www.positive.news/environment/12-ways-to-reduce-emissions-that-nobody-is-talking-about/

I thought this was an interesting article.

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?

A little bit of good news

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/aug/29/prehistoric-bird-once-thought-extinct-returns-to-new-zealand-wild

Before you celebrate, consider this - UU charge £1.988 per 1,000 litres of water supplied and £1.325 per 1,000 litres of water removed. That amounts to nearly £73m in additional income. Admittedly, they will have incurred some additional costs, but the fine looks like a bargain.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/united-utilities-water-limited-fined-800000-for-taking-too-much-water-from-the-environment

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/local-news/new-evidence-impact-hs2s-devastation-27397342?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar

Trees don't always need to be cut down because they are damaging a wall.
(Photo: Sandy De Born - Twitter, with permission)

At least they have to debate them...
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/636542?fbclid=IwAR2BiVYT0wLvFoDdamldNdKsYyLyFCxvkFtlFz-Em0IBpBujLcSV9TSzwuU

https://twitter.com/TheKentAcorn/status/1679906851125641217/photo/1

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-66164640

I must admit I’d never really thought about the sustainability of the tennis ‘industry’ so found this article enlightening but also worrying. It highlights just how much needs to be done to save the planet.
https://resource.co/article/new-balls-please-what-happens-one-billion-tennis-balls-discarded-every-year?

Science has found a way to make plastic self-destructing. Start at 19 mins in:
https://bit.ly/44Dh2Zl

https://www.clientearth.org/latest/latest-updates/news/reul-act-creates-uncertainty-for-uk-environmental-protections/?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=&fbclid=IwAR0az6ISjBc4zobKKTNgZsQ43KEaYMat8LMLZTt_S6gc7qaszN_kqdV3WlQ

"Government ministers have been granted sweeping powers to amend or revoke retained EU law until the end of June 2026, without any effective oversight from parliament. " So they don`t even have to debate or vote on protective laws they revoke!!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-66097906

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12260933/Cake-Box-tycoon-founded-35million-vegan-bakery-destroyed-132-protected-trees-build-mansion.html

https://campaigns.woodlandtrust.org.uk/page/130168/action/1?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=campaigning&utm_content=hermitagequarry

There is much of interest in this week's BBC Click:
https://bit.ly/46sUufQ

https://geographical.co.uk/science-environment/the-value-of-city-trees

https://www.wcl.org.uk/keep-beavering-away.asp

I like to focus on the innovative ideas and good news.

https://www.positive.news/environment/good-news-stories-from-week-24-of-2023/

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/kings-wildflower-meadows

https://blog.thediabetessite.greatergood.com/phthalates-diabetes-risk/?gg_source=DBS&gg_medium=house&gg_campaign=Ad-B-1200_Blog_phthalates-diabetes-risk_DBS&gg_content=2023-02%2Fb1200blogphthal_230220110916.jpg&_ga=2.95118236.1281624219.1683987910-129394423.1683988006

https://news.sky.com/story/the-black-gold-that-could-help-fight-climate-change-for-centuries-to-come-12890032

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/27/york-groundsel-bloom-again-britain-first-ever-de-extinction-event-natural-england?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR3C9yg03tbqawXLOJOzQe_Go23-NDX2qKGHnzYcjOuotpAERP2L8HT__XA_aem_th_ARUNtNbuFJWRCsCQbVu_lp3jbgyszlAhaTdEyh0g-bwZJOMRUy9L8g14S7KHpNs9c2c

Alex Prendergast has corrected the statement that York groundsel was the first de-extinction in the UK. The interrupted brome (Bromus interruptus) a flowering grass became extinct in the wild in 1972 and was reintroduced in 2004 .
https://naturebftb.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Bromus_interruptus_LOWRES-10.02.21.pdf

I love hearing about these new ideas. I feel there’s a momentum building.
https://www.positive.news/society/five-sustainable-product-ideas-to-blow-your-mind-not-your-carbon-budget/

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/apr/17/birds-vanishing-crisis-40m-birds?

https://news.sky.com/story/earth-day-2023-activities-history-date-and-the-story-of-its-founder-12843608

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/apr/21/farmer-jailed-for-damaging-river-lugg-herefordshire

The photos in this article show the extent of the destruction.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/farmer-jailed-handed-12m-costs-29769778

https://www.thebuzzclub.uk/hoverfly-lagoons

https://littlegreenspace.org.uk/news/dundreggan-rewilding-centre-opens.html

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/apr/10/david-attenborough-wild-isles-online-tv-british-nature?CMP=share_btn_tw

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0fd45w7

https://petition.parliament.uk/signatures/133187708/signed

https://action.greenpeace.org.uk/onshore-wind-ban?

https://nation.cymru/news/uk-government-accused-as-funding-fails-to-materialise-for-trailblazing-green-hydrogen-project/

https://www.positive.news/environment/the-plan-to-create-a-nature-recovery-site-in-every-english-county/

Nothing new here, but at least it has been said officially.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/29/uk-strikingly-unprepared-impacts-climate-crisis?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/28/thames-water-ordered-to-fix-leaks-before-pumping-millions-of-litres-from-rivers

Lawyers pledge to withhold their services from supporting new fossil fuel projects and acting against climate protestors exercising their democratic right of peaceful protest.
https://www.lar.earth/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/24/uk-government-launch-revamped-net-zero-strategy-oil-gas-capital-aberdeen

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/10/ex-tory-minister-tried-sell-off-forests-natural-england-role-caroline-spelman