The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee has just begun to take oral evidence from a very select group of witnesses, writes Paul Mobbs in this open letter. Sadly its choices betray a systematic bias to industry and establishment figures - while community groups are entirely excluded.
… which the Royal Society and other subsequent reviews, due to prematurity or through taking … carried out such a study. In my view, what reviews of Government policy have taken place …
A leading member of the climate change-skeptic Global Warming Policy Foundation has resigned from his post in the wake of a Greenpeace investigation that exposed its phoney 'peer review' process. But he insists: 'nothing going on here!'
… about the council's claims to conduct peer reviews of its publications. McKitrick said: …
Medact, the organization of health professionals for a safer, fairer and better world, has called for a five year moratorium on fracking due to its serious hazards to public health, writes Paul Mobbs. Their new report is a powerful challenge to government policy that cannot be ignored.
… review considers a number of existing reviews of the evidence of 'fracking' on … actually reviewed the evidence The report reviews a number of existing studies from … and public health than the Government's reviews have been willing (or politically …
President Trump's recent executive order could open an area of America's most precious landscapes bigger than Yellowstone to oil drilling and coal mining, write Lawrence Carter & Joe Sandler Clarke. The 27 monuments 'under review' harbour huge volumes of oil, gas and coal: just what's needed to fuel Trump's vision of fossil fuel-led development - never mind the cost to scenery, wildlife, historic sites and indigenous cultures.
Trump's National Monument order could open 2.7 million acres to oil, gas, coal Lawrence Carter Joe Sandler Clarke Greenpeace Energydesk | 12th May 2017 News USA Fossil Fuels Oil Gas Coal Climate …
Elizabeth DeSombre and J. Samuel Barkin’s readable prose makes unpicking the complex politics and economics behind the fishing industry look as easy as shooting fish in a barrel
… review: Fish Ben Hudson | 15th December 2011 Reviews Fish Fishing Politics Hugh Fearnley … Whittingstall Project Ocean Conservation Reviews Books fish.jpg Elizabeth DeSombre and …
Coal leases on public lands operated by the US Bureau of Land Management are responsible for 40% of US coal production and 14% of total US CO2 emissions, writes Mike Gaworecki - yet their environmental impacts have not been reviewed in 35 years.
BLM sued - no environmental review of coal leasing since 1979 Mike Gaworecki | 8th December 2014 News Climate Change Law USA Coal Fossil Fuels powder-river-trains-cut.jpg Coal leases on public lands …
Little publicised government plans to 'reform' court costs are intended to foreclose access to environmental justice for all but the wealthiest individuals and communities, writes Paul Mobbs. Meanwhile cuts to agencies and regulators will make it ever harder for them to do their jobs - making public participation in environmental protection all the more important.
… "Consultations, impact assessments, audits, reviews, stakeholder management, securing … this. Here's how: "Cutting back on judicial reviews. "Reducing government consultations. …
Their grasp of science can’t be faulted but William Antholis and Strobe Talbott need to offer solutions too, says Mark Newton
… Warming Mark Newton | 20th October 2011 Reviews Climate Change Politics Kyoto Copenhagen USA China India Brazil Reviews book-jacket.jpg Their grasp of science …
Cumbrian campaign group granted permission for judicial review of county council’s approval of coal mine.
New coal subject to 'full legal scrutiny' Staff Reporter | 11th February 2020 News Change Makers Keep Cumbrian Coal In The Hole Coal Energy Emissions Legal Action …
From slave labour to armed conflict, our thirst for natural resources has created serious problems for Africa. Pádraig Carmody’s latest book attempts to unravel the moral morass, says Mark Newton
… for Africa Mark Newton | 9th May 2012 Reviews Books Reviews Africa Minerals Natural Resources …
Clear and well written, Julie Hill's opus sheds light on the issues of waste and consumption but provides solutions that are too simplistic to be of real use, argues Ruth Styles
… Life of Stuff Ruth Styles | 20th January 2011 Reviews Waste Recycling Consumption Reviews Green Alliance Politics Tax …
Pro-GMO US senators have a dastardly plan to deny states the right to require GMO labeling, writes Steven M. Druker, by attaching their DARK Bill as a rider to the Appropriations Bill next week. Now is the the time to wake up senators to the Bill's true intent, and to the deceit, illegal behaviour and scientific falsification that has kept the dangers of GMO foods a well kept secret - so far.
… of Genetically Modified Foods '. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 49: …
The government's surprise delay in signing the contract with EDF to build the Hinkley C nuclear power station has opened up a the space for a forward-looking UK energy policy, writes Jonathon Porritt - one that moves us into the world of low cost renewables, and smart new technologies vital to the global clean energy transition. But is Business & Energy Greg Clark for real? Don't rule it out!
… on which to draw out such a vision; when he reviews the policy carnage in this area (on …
The anti-fracking movement scored a great victory when Lancashire councillors refused planning permission for two fracking wells, writes Damien Short. But dig deeper and the triumph was all the greater, as it overcame not just Cuadrilla, but a morass of pro-fracking bias and legal and scientific misrepresentation from those meant to be providing impartial advice.
Lancashire's fracking victory was even greater than we knew Damien Short | 21st July 2015 News Fracking Energy Politics Human Rights Law Science camp-frack-cut.jpg The anti-fracking movement scored a …
It's all change in Canada with the dramatic ousting of anti-environment Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, writes Carol Linnitt. Under the new Liberal PM Justin Trudeau things are looking a lot better for climate, science, environment, transparency and First Nations. But Canada is still set to go into the Paris climate talks with the same weak level of commitment.
… The party promises to establish new, credible reviews for proposed development that are … 'outside the relevant scope' of pipeline reviews. The federal Conservatives also fought …
The UK government hates to be held accountable in court when it breaks environmental laws like those on air quality. So it has created new rules - coming into force today - that expose environmental litigants to unlimited financial liabilities. Now three leading NGOs have done to the High Court to argue that the rules themselves are in breach the UK's international obligations.
Government tries to puts itself above environmental law Oliver Tickell | 28th February 2017 News Law UK Pollution Politics FOI london-smog-2-cut.jpg The UK government hates to be held accountable in …
The Grizzly bear hunting season is under way in British Columbia, Canada. The government claims that the decision to open the hunt and the kill quotas are 'science-based' but as Kyle Artelle writes, science doesn't get a look in - and the Grizzlies' are in serious danger.
… and revising their work in light of reviews by independent experts, politicians …
Public opposition to nuclear power in Japan remains strong, writes Jim Green, but piece by piece, Shinzo Abe's right-wing government has been putting the country's infamous 'nuclear village' back in control - boosted by draconian press censorship laws, massive interest-free loans, and a determination to forget all the 'lessons' of Fukushima. Is another big accident inevitable?
… the Framework for Nuclear Energy Policy. Two reviews, very little change - and far from …
Judicial review is often the only way to challenge unlawful government acts and policies on the environment, writes Gillian Lobo. But proposals to double cost caps, or even remove them altogether, threaten the ability of both individuals and NGOs to hold government to account. Theresa May's new administration must urgently rethink!
Challenging government's unlawful acts is a legal right - not a privilege! Gillian Lobo ClientEarth | 6th September 2016 Comment Law Finance Politics smog-cut.jpg Judicial review is often the only …
100 years ago a new political movement swept across Europe, as a vision of agrarian democracy gripped a newly emancipated peasantry, writes Simon Fairlie. Betrayed by dogmatic socialists and crushed under the Nazi boot, it failed to leave a lasting mark on history. But could its time be coming once again?
… democracy Simon Fairlie | 20th May 2015 Reviews Farming Politics Europe Reviews marx-against-the-peasant.jpg 100 years …
A massive expansion of coal leasing by the US's Bureau of Land Management will release tens of billions of tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere, a new Greenpeace report reveals - completely at odds with President Obama's stated climate objectives.
… to increased coal exports. However, the reviews "fell far short of a comprehensive …
Somerset is experiencing its most significant flooding in decades. As the political right calls for ever more dredging, Karen Potter trawls Defra's archives ... and finds a shocking history of sound policy sacrificed to short term political expediency.
The inconvenient truth: houses built on floodplains could flood Karen Potter | 4th February 2014 News UK Flooding Economics Politics Housing flooded-house.png Somerset is experiencing its most …