Lord Drayson launches pollution sensor powered by radio waves
Businessman and Labour party donor’s FreeVolt project uses ambient wireless and mobile network waves to power CleanSpace tag for app designed for cyclists and pedestrians Lord Drayson, the millionaire businessman, Labour party donor and former science minister, has released a pollution monitor that he hopes will drive efforts to improve air quality around the world. […]
Weatherland by Alexandra Harris review – are seasons and colours the same for all readers?
How does the weather affect us? This is a splendid history of writers’ and painters’ reflections on the wind, rain and sun I learned this poem by Christina Rossetti when I was a very small child. I thought about it a lot. It was maybe my first thinking about weather in general. The wind was a […]
Emissions scandal: how the drive for diesel ran out of gas
Diesel, with its lower CO2 emissions, was a policy priority but NOx failed to fall despite the ‘stringent’ regulations From backroom deals between European leaders to the burying of the bad news of 23,000 premature UK deaths on the day Jeremy Corbyn was elected Labour leader, the scandal that has engulfed the diesel car is […]
Wide range of cars emit more pollution in realistic driving tests, data shows
Diesel cars made by Renault, Nissan, Hyundai, Citroen, Fiat and Volvo among others emitted far more NOx in more rigorous tests, research shows New diesel cars from Renault, Nissan, Hyundai, Citroen, Fiat, Volvo and other manufacturers have all been found to emit substantially higher levels of pollution when tested in more realistic driving conditions, according […]
Leave class out of the London cycling debate
Whatever you think about the capital’s cycle provision, jibes about ‘City boys’ or the middle class are a silly diversion from the real problems I’d like to propose an amendment to Godwin’s law, the notion that decrees whoever compares an opponent to the Nazis in an online discussion has lost the argument. My variant would […]
England's universities are losing steam on climate change
The majority of universities in England are set to miss climate change goals in 2020 – but say expansion is to blame More than three-quarters of England’s universities are set to miss carbon reduction targets for 2020, according to the latest analysis. Despite the introduction of initiatives to reduce carbon emissions and invest in sustainable […]
No long-term future in tar sands, says Alberta's premier
Rachel Notley supports a switch to clean energy to help Canada’s biggest oil-producing province move beyond fossil fuels within a century The leader of Canada’s biggest oil-producing province has declared she sees no long-term future in fossil fuels, predicting Alberta would wean itself off dirty energy within a century. In an early reveal of her […]
Ecomodernism launch was a screw-up of impressive proportions
Our attempt to launch a new environmental political movement in the UK was certainly ill-timed but is hopefully not doomed Well that was interesting. Last week I and a few other people attempted to launch a new environmental political movement here in the UK. If you count alienating most of your potential supporters on the […]
VW emissions scandal: 1.2m UK cars affected
German carmaker admits 1,189,906 British vehicles, including Audis, Seats and Škodas, were fitted with defeat devices Volkswagen has revealed that almost 1.2m vehicles in the UK are involved in the diesel emissions scandal that has rocked the carmaker, meaning more than one in 10 of diesel cars on the country’s roads are affected. VW said […]
Could Saltwater Batteries Provide Energy Storage Solution?
Storage has long been a primary question related to the transition from powering the global economy using fossil fuels to renewable energy. What are we supposed to do when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining? There are number of technological solutions to that problem, but one of the most promising recent innovations […]