This seems like a good move. This is a Blue Diamond Garden Centre which I think is a chain. They do lots of peat free compost now as well.

Lots of applications for river bathing water designations declined. Could it be because the monitoring would reveal the water to be very poor quality, which would also make the country’s bathing water stats look bad?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64919789

A prog on the BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct3k5w? It's from January, so maybe it's already been posted somewhere . . .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64842402?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=KARANGA

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/06/sheffield-city-council-behaved-dishonestly-in-street-trees-row-inquiry-finds

The report can be found here. https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/your-city-council/independent-inquiry-into-street-trees-dispute?amp;amp;amp;amp

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/06/meat-dairy-rice-high-methane-food-production-bust-climate-target-study?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Floating solar panels, cleaning the Pacific rubbish dump, and recycling buildings.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001jjd9

I think it’s interesting to see what’s happening in industry - here’s one example of changes going on.
https://www.basf.com/gb/en/who-we-are/change-for-climate.html?

https://www.positive.news/lifestyle/octogenarian-folk-songs-restoring-romania/

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/against-saving-planet

This rally organised by XR is about showing the government through strength of numbers that people want action on fossil fuels. This is not about being arrested or damaging property, which XR admit have put many people off in the past.

https://extinctionrebellion.uk/the-big-one/?

One aspect of private solar installations having always been the emphasis on being able to sell any surplus power to the National Grid, I'd not previously heard that community solar power schemes apparently can't do so. If they have to give it to the Grid or invest in sizeable batteries to manage the excess, it must be much harder to make these schemes financially viable.
I don't agree with pestering MPs in person about this when a letter will suffice but there's every reason to sign up and get involved.
https://powerforpeople.org.uk/#sign-up

https://www.positive.news/society/councils-leading-on-climate-action/

Some really positive ideas here being put into practice. You can vote on the initiative you like best if you wish. You do have to give your email address but hopefully it’s just to send you a code to confirm your vote. https://www.positive.news/society/circular-economy-class-of-2023-meet-the-fresh-crop-of-waste-busting-startups/

HS2 Ltd miscalculating impact on nature - Wildlife Trusts https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64558664

Previously people would say no because of the grease marks from the pizza. But a section in The Guardian a few days ago about how you can recycle almost everything nowadays suggests its perfectly ok to put your pizza box in the recycling bin. A few grease patches makes no difference.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/06/garden-pesticides-british-songbird-decline-study

I found this article interesting. https://www.plantlife.org.uk/uk/blog/too-much-of-a-wood-thing-caution-and-consideration-when-planting-trees?

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/defra-trees-lobbying-national-farmers-union-land-value-trees/?utm_source=tw

https://www.planetmark.com/sustainability-trends-shaping-organisations-in-2023/

I think we had a post about this low-tech approach to marine pollution many moons ago. Well, it’s being rolled out more widely now.

https://www.positive.news/environment/the-bubble-barriers-that-stop-rubbish-reaching-the-sea/

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/news/trending/shoppers-to-soon-pay-a-deposit-when-buying-drinks-in-plastic-280801/

Outside the very centre of London, air quality is apparently improving somewhat - but clearly not along major transport routes. An extra reason to walk along back streets wherever possible.
https://londonair.org.uk/london/asp/AnnualMapsFullScreen.asp?species=NO2&LayerStrength=75

Single-use plastic: Takeaways face ban in October https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-64253130

Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, habitat destruction, deforestation & human-wildlife conflict, and is one of the leading causes of our climate emergency. And it's totally unnecessary. Shifting to plant-based diets drastically reduces our individual and collective negative environmental impact & helps mitigate climate change.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth

(note: the media constantly conflates 'plant-based diets' with 'veganism' - they are not the same thing at all.)

Also: Our planet is not dying. Its ability to support life as we know it is being compromised.

https://friendsoftheearth.uk/climate/myth-buster-china-and-indias-carbon-emissions?fbclid=IwAR15d6KREHVCIHnd6lZupeMW6V5pJISQQ5PyHfCVvDiiLFoAAO034G_SQJg

Probably not many Barnetonians here but for those that are this may be interesting to participate in or at least to follow.
https://www.barnet.gov.uk/news/barnet-council-launches-its-first-ever-citizens-assembly-climate-change?fbclid=IwAR2-4XsZxcSMhELDq6mIMZak78G_KbPOwFlTCM1tOl4DAvzXuGgtyvFcUR0

A change in tactics for the fight against climate change. Time to support the action?

https://extinctionrebellion.uk/2022/12/31/we-quit/?

Hatty has just posted about this in another loop. I think it’s a useful link.
https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/housing-and-land/improving-quality/warmer-homes?

https://www.positive.news/society/what-went-right-in-2022-the-top-25-good-news-stories-of-the-year/

John Lewis has begun a clothes recycling scheme so, instead of going along to their sales with empty carrier bags, one can earn a small extra discount by taking in some unwanted, 'preloved' clothes (five items at a time). If this takes off, they'll be inundated....
https://www.johnlewis.com/our-services/fashioncycle?originalSearchTerm=Fashioncycle

https://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/products/traidcraft-exchange/this-gift-is-not-socks/?utm_source=All+Constituents&utm_campaign=36b5d6c699-TTEMAIL_GFL_281022_COPY_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c18b31d37d-36b5d6c699-21240615

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/17/growth-addiction-climate-crisis-economic-policies?utm_term=63764c7567ab001640e9657b854d47a7&utm_campaign=

I can’t say I fancy it. I would prefer to be veggie.


Lab-grown chicken safe to eat, say US regulators https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-63660488

An interesting read.
https://www.kew.org/wakehurst/whats-at-wakehurst/millennium-seed-bank

Some interesting statistics on this website.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/266138/climate-change-the-countries-with-the-highest-achievements/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/11/what-is-the-fossil-fuel-non-proliferation-treaty?

https://www.theguardian.com/global/ng-interactive/2022/nov/10/climate-carnage-whose-job-is-it-to-save-the-planet-documentary?utm_term=636d11f47d561975cbb6a048
I hope you can all access it. It`s about 15 minutes long.

Drought-friendly plant can produce rubber good enough for Indy race tires

There's still a lot of petroleum hanging onto electric cars, specifically around the rims. It takes about seven gallons (26.5 L) of oil to make each standard car tire, and the world produces more than 2 billion tires every year. Now, some tire companies are turning to a desert shrub and a novel means of pulling natural rubber compounds out of it.

It helps that the rubber that comes from guayule is not some weaker, paper-straw alternative—it generally makes a better tire, especially in heavy-load applications like large trucks, airplanes, and race tires. Bridgestone's Firestone brand debuted sustainable tires at a pre-Indy 500 pit stop challenge, and they were an alternate offering at a Nashville street race in August. Bridgestone tested its guayule-derived tires for over a year on Indy cars and found it provided "similar or better performance" than traditional race tires.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/09/bridgestone-has-put-more-than-100m-into-eco-tires-made-of-shrubs/

https://www.positive.news/environment/how-can-i-help-stop-climate-change/

https://www.scooploop.com/thread/the-world-is-drowning-in-plastic-heres-how-it-all

Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4.
Interesting history in the first episode.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/m001ddd9

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/10/these-are-the-most-used-energy-sources-in-europe?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social_scheduler&utm_term=Energy
Holds out hope that it`s possible!

https://www.scooploop.com/thread/new-to-nature-programme-paid-work-placements-for

https://metro.co.uk/2022/10/18/maps-showing-parts-of-uk-underwater-in-30-years-will-shock-you-17586168/

If ever you’re near Machynlleth in North Wales check out CAT. We went there a couple of days ago. It’s an inspiring place. They offer a free information service. The one thing that I learned which made a big impression was that we don’t need any new technology to become carbon zero- we have all the knowledge and technology that we need - we just need to act.
https://cat.org.uk/

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/10/rspb-not-ruling-out-direct-action-to-defend-nature-from-government-policy?CMP=twt_a-environment_b-gdneco

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/08/liz-truss-facing-rural-rebellion-over-anti-nature-growth-push?CMP=twt_a-environment_b-gdneco

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/07/number-of-butterflies-in-uk-falls-to-lowest-since-surveys-began?CMP=twt_a-environment_b-gdneco

https://action.friendsoftheearth.uk/petition/stop-governments-attack-nature-protections?utm_source=twitter_share&utm_campaign=%5B2155%5D&utm_medium=share