A state of emergency has been declared after a huge oil spill occurred near the port city of Balikpapan in East Kalimantan, Borneo. Five people have died and an 80km oil slick now covers much of the Balikpapan Bay as a cleanup operation begins to reduce the environmental damage that this has caused. But just how ...
On Tuesday 10th April 2018, Iceland announced that it was to remove palm oil from use in its own-brand products. They cited the lack of clarity to recognise what is a sustainable or unsustainable source of palm oil. Iceland has argued that although there are sustainable palm oil plantations, it is impossible to say with certainty ...
Following the success of similar schemes around the world, the UK has announced that it will implement its own deposit-return scheme (DRS) on plastic bottles and aluminium cans. Michael Gove, the UK Environmental Secretary wants to implement the scheme as quickly as possible despite some reservations from the soft drinks industry. Scotland have already started ...
Last week, Europe's first plastic-free aisle opened its doors in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The Ekoplaza in Amsterdam will have around 700 plastic-free products on its shelves, including meats, rice, dairy and much more food that is typically found in plastic packaging in many supermarkets. Instead, packaging will be made out of biodegradable materials or materials ...
Having spent 24 hours flying from Southampton to Perth last week, it got me thinking as to the impact my travel and air travel, in general, is having on the environment. Air transport is currently responsible for about 1.3% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. It doesn't sound like much but air travel is doubled almost every ...
Whilst the UK Government announced a relatively poor attempt at banning the use of plastics by 2042, Scotland has taken a quicker and much more active step in reducing the amount of single-use plastic it uses. By the end of 2019, Scotland plans to ban the sale of plastic straws as well as the sale ...
Last Thursday morning I shared an article on Facebook and Instagram about research that has found a number of health benefits of those living in 'walkable cities'. The research found that there are a number of health benefits to living in a walkable city, including lower blood pressure and reduced hypertension risk. But what are ...
I don't know if it's me just becoming more aware of the issue since I've been writing, but the issue of single-use plastics seems to be being pushed further into the spotlight. The final episode of Blue Planet II also may have helped; the effects of plastics on the environment and marine ecosystems were highlighted ...
Droughts occur in places all over the world. However, in a couple of months, Cape Town in South Africa could become the first city to turn off the water supply to its four million residents in modern history. According to a website monitoring Cape Town's water crisis, the water supply will be turned off in 93 ...
Plymouth University is already one of the leading universities when it comes to sustainability and, in preparation for 'Green Week' at Plymouth University, they are launching their ditch the disposables campaign today! Over the past few months, a number of universities up and down the country have implemented their own policies that offer discounts, added charges ...
