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The PFM Environment thread

Environment Agency has ‘no idea’ how much water is taken, says whistleblower
Exclusive: most extraction points for rivers and groundwater not metered, so government relies on users’ honesty

“They’re not going to log an illegal number,” said the insider. “That’s why there’s so little enforcement on water abstraction, they’re not going to dob themselves in.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ea-how-much-water-is-taken-says-whistleblower
 
More than 110 experts raise alarm over WHO’s ‘weak’ PFAS limits for drinking water
Independent scientists raise concerns about apparent industry influence and distortions of the science in WHO guidelines

"Some further alleged the process of developing the guidelines was corrupted by industry-aligned consultants aiming to undercut strict new PFAS limits proposed in the US, and weaken standards in the developing world. The chemicals have been called “forever chemicals” due to their longevity in the environment."

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-world-health-organization-who-drinking-water
 
gavreid said:
Environment Agency has ‘no idea’ how much water is taken, says whistleblower
Exclusive: most extraction points for rivers and groundwater not metered, so government relies on users’ honesty

“They’re not going to log an illegal number,” said the insider. “That’s why there’s so little enforcement on water abstraction, they’re not going to dob themselves in.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...ea-how-much-water-is-taken-says-whistleblower
Click to expand...

Not many people dig oversize reservoirs due to cost so we do have a basic relationship between licenced quantity and the size of the hole you have to fill.

The picture is becoming less relevant as summer abstraction is ending; you'd have to be brave to plant potatoes relying on a summer licence as they can be suspended in a drought.

It's all metered out here esp on tenanted land because we pay landlords by water used.
 
How tide has turned on UK tidal stream energy as costs ebb and reliability flows
Investors are seeing rising potential in tidal power as turbines become more powerful and easier to deploy

"The cost of generating power from tidal streams has fallen by 40% since 2018 – and a report published last month by a government-backed research centre, Offshore Marine Catapult, forecasts prices could fall below nuclear energy in little over a decade, with one-megawatt hour of power due to cost as little as £78 by 2035 compared with £92.50 for the new Hinkley Point C power plant."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/23/tidal-stream-energy-costs-ebb-reliability-flows
 
gavreid said:
How tide has turned on UK tidal stream energy as costs ebb and reliability flows
Investors are seeing rising potential in tidal power as turbines become more powerful and easier to deploy

"The cost of generating power from tidal streams has fallen by 40% since 2018 – and a report published last month by a government-backed research centre, Offshore Marine Catapult, forecasts prices could fall below nuclear energy in little over a decade, with one-megawatt hour of power due to cost as little as £78 by 2035 compared with £92.50 for the new Hinkley Point C power plant."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/23/tidal-stream-energy-costs-ebb-reliability-flows
Click to expand...

I do like the way that research is heading.
Some ideas such as building a dam across the severn estuary and using the trapped tide for hydro would / will cause and environmental nightmare for so many of the creatures that inhabit the entire coastal area there.
Those turbines can be deployed pretty much anywhere with a strong tidal flow (Menai Straits would produce a bit!) and I hope they come to fruition.
I cant see any new nuclear station coming on line as quick as these things can be.
 
This is a weird one. I'm not sure if it's more appropriate to put this here or on one of the politics threads:

"Two women who raised questions about sewage pollution with West Dorset MP Chris Loder have had police visits to their homes"

https://westcountryvoices.co.uk/sew...Ro6LIvvaAy5znz4wfT8vfY08VUCvgrC8zXP2hBjYgIHII

FYI Chris Loder is the Conservative MP with funding connections to shooting estates who didn't want the police to investigate the illegal killing of those sea eagles in Dorset (link), and said that he wanted police to concentrate on serious crime like county lines gangs.......or being concerned about sewage and pollution in our rivers which is clearly an outrageous criminal offence!
 
Thats disgusting.
Mp's now have a new tool in their box for the avoidance of highy relevant, and very difficult questions that would make them look like what they actually are.
 
Livestock farming polluted rivers 300 times in one year
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63961659

EA, NFU and farming representatives say that they're improving things. I certainly hope so. I live in Somerset quite close to the levels, surrounded by dairy farms, and I think this is part of why I have such negative feelings about UK farming. Some farms around here are a far cry from the cutesy ones they show you on Countryfile.
 
calorgas said:
Livestock farming polluted rivers 300 times in one year
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-63961659

EA, NFU and farming representatives say that they're improving things. I certainly hope so. I live in Somerset quite close to the levels, surrounded by dairy farms, and I think this is part of why I have such negative feelings about UK farming. Some farms around here are a far cry from the cutesy ones they show you on Countryfile.
Click to expand...

Indeed! Countryfile is a massive BBC propaganda sham on behalf of industrial farming. I don't see the impartiality in there at all.
 
gavreid said:
Indeed! Countryfile is a massive BBC propaganda sham on behalf of industrial farming. I don't see the impartiality in there at all.
Click to expand...

The BBC is far, far from neutral. Politically it is a NATO mouthpiece. For instance, in the Balkan war all the BBC news was word for word from Jamie Shea in the Nato press office. I remember it well.
 
My burning shame: I fitted my house with three wood-burning stoves
George Monbiot

Wood burners are incredibly bad for the environment – and flood our homes with toxins, too. I wish I’d known that in 2008

"I am now convinced that the sale of wood-burning stoves and pellet boilers should be banned, and their use phased out (with help for the very few people who don’t have an alternative source of heating)."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/27/wood-burning-stove-environment-home-toxins
 
gavreid said:
My burning shame: I fitted my house with three wood-burning stoves
George Monbiot

Wood burners are incredibly bad for the environment – and flood our homes with toxins, too. I wish I’d known that in 2008

"I am now convinced that the sale of wood-burning stoves and pellet boilers should be banned, and their use phased out (with help for the very few people who don’t have an alternative source of heating)."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/27/wood-burning-stove-environment-home-toxins
Click to expand...

Good grief, what an idiot! I could have told him that in 2008 and I'm not an environmental journalist. I hate smoke and have never been too shy to ask neighbours to extinguish their filthy bonfires.
 
Sonority said:
Thats disgusting.
Mp's now have a new tool in their box for the avoidance of highy relevant, and very difficult questions that would make them look like what they actually are.
Click to expand...
“Take back control”
 
gavreid said:
My burning shame: I fitted my house with three wood-burning stoves
George Monbiot

Wood burners are incredibly bad for the environment – and flood our homes with toxins, too. I wish I’d known that in 2008

"I am now convinced that the sale of wood-burning stoves and pellet boilers should be banned, and their use phased out (with help for the very few people who don’t have an alternative source of heating)."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/27/wood-burning-stove-environment-home-toxins
Click to expand...

Yes this is where we fell flat on our faces when it comes to doing our best to minimise our contribution to the demise of the planet (and possibly protect our health too). Our cottage had night storage heaters and the remains of an old range in a partially blocked fireplace when we moved in. We hoofed out the storage heaters as the house was only warm during the day when it was empty (a source of regret seeing as I now work 100% from home) and had a boiler stove system put in. This year I spent £750 on logs for the winter and I feel uncomfortable just looking at that stack of logs. I was seriously thinking of getting the stove system pulled out and replacing it with electric radiators early this year, but the uncertainty of energy costs and alleged possibility of power cuts made me think twice. We'll probably be looking at it again next year.
 
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