Energy secretary blames Lib Dem predecessor for solar industry crisis
Amber Rudd said her first job was get a grip on energy spending, but Tory policy has been blamed for closure of Southern Solar Amber Rudd has blamed a mounting crisis in the solar industry on budget overruns by her Liberal Democrat predecessors that had forced her to slash spending. Under fire from all sides […]
Forecasters predict El Niño will deliver changes to winter weather across the US
South expected to be cooler and drought-stricken California may get more precipitation than usual El Niño this winter will leave a big, wet but not necessarily snowy footprint on much of the United States, including parched California, forecasters said Thursday. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration issued its winter forecast and “the driver of this winter’s […]
Hunter accused over Cecil the lion hunt says charges should be dropped
Theo Bronkhorst, accused of failing to stop Walter Palmer’s illegal hunt of lion, says he believes he will be vindicated A Zimbabwean hunter accused of failing to stop the killing of Cecil the lion has said that his family and business were destroyed amid the outcry that followed the lion’s death and that charges against […]
Somerset startup turning bracken into biofuel gets thumbs up from Michael Eavis
New company, Brackenburn, harvests local bracken to create briquettes, encouraging biodiversity in the process In the days of Thomas Hardy, west country folk used to head to the moors and commons to cut the furze (or gorse) for kindling. More than 100 years on, a project has been launched to harvest another crop to keep […]
Green investment bank will be taken out of ministerial control
Business secretary Sajid Javid announces further step in government’s privatisation of bank designed to fund renewable energy and waste projects The government’s controversial plan to privatise the Green Investment Bank (GIB) has taken a major step forwards on Thursday, as business secretary Sajid Javid announced plans to repeal the legislation that gives ministers control over […]
VW to recall 8.5m diesel cars across Europe
Auto giant announces bid to remove emissions-rigging devices in vehicles after German authorities reject proposals for voluntary scheme Volkswagen is to recall 8.5m diesel cars across the European Union in the wake of the emissions scandal. The full extent of the work required by the manufacturer to deal with the defeat devices in its diesel […]
How Hilla Becher found beauty and dignity in industrial decline
The German photographer spent a lifetime, with her husband Bernd, recording the industrial structures that once defined the western landscape. It was a devotion that inspired generations of artists It feels strange to speak of Hilla Becher singly. Even after her death this week, she is so intertwined in the creative dynamic that was the […]
UK Volkswagen boss denies cars emitted higher pollution than expected
Managing director Paul Willis tells a committee of MPs that there is no indication of higher nitrogen oxide levels despite the use of cheat devices The head of Volkswagen in the UK has claimed the company’s cars have not emitted any more toxic nitrogen oxides than expected, despite the use of cheat devices which drastically […]
Bold bets: The venture fund that rewards the world's risk takers
The OS Fund backs entrepreneurs in emerging domains like synthetic biology, artificial intelligence and space exploration Small changes, it’s often said, add up to huge results. But don’t tell Bryan Johnson that. The 38-year-old technology investor has no interest in incremental improvements. His venture capital firm, the OS Fund, backs entrepreneurs who are working towards […]
Remanufacturing bill passed in United States
A bill designed to support and increase remanufacturing activity in the automotive fleets of the Unites States Federal Government has been passed by the House of Representatives. The Federal Vehicle Repair Cost Savings Act, which became law on the 10th October 2015, directs the head of each federal agency to “encourage the use of remanufactured […]