We can expect British summers to get drier as climate warms - but there is a catch. When it rains, it's more likely to come down in 'tropical downpours - causing devastating flash floods that overwhelm street drainage, streams and rivers.
… Our future summers - thunderstorms and flash floods … We can expect British summers to get drier as climate warms - but … streams and rivers. The state of the British summer has always been a constant source of …
England's 2015 trial badger cull will be moved to summer, writes Damian Carrington - when cubs are numerous and easy to shoot. The surprise move follows 2014's failed autumn culls, which missed their minimum kill targets.
… Badger cubs to be shot in new 'summer cull' plan Damian Carrington the … 2015 trial badger cull will be moved to summer, writes Damian Carrington - when cubs … to shift the controversial cull to early summer in 2015, the Guardian has learned. The …
The land grab by NuGen for its triple reactor Moorside site keeps on growing, writes Martin Forwood. The 'biggest construction project in Europe' is expanding from Nugen's original 200 hectare site to 552 hectares of farmland reaching right up to two villages and an 11th Century church. But with compulsory purchase on the cards, there's nothing locals can do except keep on fighting the entire deeply flawed project.
… from the photograph (above right) of the VC Summer site in South Carolina where just two … being built The de-forested and bulldozed VC Summer construction site some five years after … sprawl receding into the background of the VC Summer site - adding considerably to the …
Camping needn't mean crowds, drunk people tripping over your guy ropes and queues for school-style washblocks. Find yourself a tiny campsite, says Dixe Wills, and you'll have an altogether different holiday
… say for certain is that it was a beautiful summer's day seven or eight years ago. I'd … on a glorified car park? Fast forward to last summer and I'm criss-crossing the country, … to your sprogs GREEN LIVING Eco chic summer t-shirts PHOTO GALLERY: The Ecologist …
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.
… alone The cost of 2007's wettest-ever summer? 7,000 businesses and 48,000 homes were … Pitt published its review the following summer. It found that around 10% of properties … Roughly a quarter of properties flooded in summer 2007 had been built in the last 25 …
In its haste to get fracking, the UK Government is neglecting safe, clean alternatives that could be providing low-carbon gas and heat energy, writes Keith Barnham. The technologies are already well established in other European countries and are picking up fast here too - so why the insistence that only fossil fuels can deliver the UK's energy needs?
… rocks as a heat store to save up the summer's heat for winter. The latest drilling … the building particularly air conditioning in summer (warming the heat store). Due to the … in winter, providing air conditioning in summer, and keeping the all-important freezer …
The UK's community energy sector was badly hit by the financial regulator's sudden decision this summer to disallow renewable energy co-operatives, writes Tammy Calvert. A consultation on the topic ends tomorrow, Friday - so get your views in quickly while you can!
… financial regulator's sudden decision this summer to disallow renewable energy … companies limited by shares. But last summer the Financial Conduct Authority …
When fracking came to Balcombe in West Sussex in 2013, it divided village opinion, writes Joe Nixon. But the community is now united in its commitment to locally owned renewable energy, with solar projects on schools and farm buildings, and plans just in for a new 5MW solar farm.
… just in for a new 5MW solar farm. In the summer of 2013, Balcombe - the picturesque … lining. I moved to Balcombe in the late summer of 2012, it looked like a great place …
The UK government’s decision this week to allow fracking undermines its commitments to tackle climate change and reduce fossil fuel use. It came just days before the government’s own data showed renewable electricity hit a record high last year. JOSEPH DUTTON reports
… high last year. JOSEPH DUTTON reports This summer has seen devastating weather across the … year. Renewables investment Even before this summer, the UK population was worried about …
What with rising rainfall in the west, and hotter, drier summers in the east, British farmers place plenty of challenges from global warming, writes Anna Bowen. But there are also positive opportunities for agricultural innovators to adapt their farming systems to changing conditions, make their operations more resilient and sustainable, and make themselves part of the solution.
… rainfall in the west, and hotter, drier summers in the east, British farmers place … fly numbers, increasing the incidence rate of summer mastitis and fly-strike. All of these … fly numbers, increasing the incidence rate of summer mastitis and fly-strike. …
A 'rotten borough' election in Oxford has won Labour a councillor on the lowest turnout in British electoral history - robbing the Greens of a winnable seat. The by-election in a mainly student ward was timed for the summer vacation - disenfranchising 60% of voters.
… in a mainly student ward was timed for the summer vacation - disenfranchising 60% of … Oxford Labour have done it three times this summer. They know it's easier to hold …
The short haired bumblebee was declared extinct in the UK 30 years ago. But now the species is being re-introduced in the flower-rich meadows and field margins of Kent, writes Michael Parker - helped along by sympathetic local farmers.
… 'key to the project's success' While the wet summer of 2012 meant the reintroduced bees did not fare well, following last year's warm summer Gammans found worker bees for the first …
Two Councils at the front line of fracking protests - Greater Manchester and West Sussex - have pension funds investing in the major fracking operators - while decisions on planning applications to frack are pending.
… which made the news headlines in the summer at Balcombe. Greater Manchester Pension … to continue its controversial work from last summer with a series of flow tests to assess …
Last week David Cameron backed down over his plans to bring back fox hunting by 'fatally amending' the Hunting Act, writes Dominic Dyer. The way he spun it, it was all about SNP interference in English law, but the real problem was opposition within the Conservative Party, which increasingly sees blood sports as a barbaric relic that alienates voters of all persuasions.
… week to weaken the Hunting Act before the summer recess and test the water for full … sports. As Tory MPs prepare for the long summer recess, they are making it very clear … Robbie Marsland. As Tory MPs prepare for the summer recess, they are making it very clear …
Just when the UK's government might want to be boosting its green credentials it has chosen to do the precise opposite, writes Steffen Böhm: giving tax breaks and subsidies to oil and gas, while attacking renewables and energy efficiency. We must unite to oppose these destructive and short-sighted policies
… Unfortunately that's exactly what the summer budget introduced last week by UK … a rollback of green policies. In his summer budget, Osborne promised continued tax …
The Greens are now running at 12% in the polls - 2% more than the LibDems, and up 3% in as many days - in the run up to Thursday's elections, reports Elise Benjamin. And their policies are the most popular of all the UK's parties. The Greens are breaking through!
… 15%? I am old enough to remember the second 'summer of love', as it became known, in 1989. The long hot summer led to a rise in massive outdoor …
As nuclear projects using the EPR design run into long delays and huge costs overruns, industry hopes are pinned on the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor, writes Chris Goodall. But with eight AP1000 projects around the world going the way of the EPR, is it really a wise choice for the UK's Moorside nuclear site?
… Vogtle', two AP1000s) and South Carolina ('Summer', two AP1000s). I focus here on the … three-year delays have also happened at Summer in South Carolina, where serious cost … these: How many of the problems at Vogtle, Summer and elsewhere are inherent to the …
It's time to halt the loss of the nation's front gardens to dreary paving, writes Jenny Jones. Green gardens protect against floods, provide homes for wildlife, keep cities cool in summer, and help us all feel happier. Now, with 7 million gardens already paved over, we must protect those that remain.
… homes for wildlife, keep cities cool in summer, and help us all feel happier. Now, … as the 'urban heat island effect' during hot summer nights, central London can already be …
The UK Government is planning a coal-free energy future by 2025, writes Deniz Kemal. But it has failed to take the first step to make it happen: give clear guidance to local planners to block new coal mines on climate change grounds - like one application going to public inquiry this summer for a huge opencast mine on the Northumberland coast.
… one application going to public inquiry this summer for a huge opencast mine on the … considered at the public inquiry this summer should be the grave impact burning coal …
It's National Insect Week in the UK and the conservation charity, People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), is looking for Citizen Scientists to take part in its annual survey to record sightings of the stag beetle. Here's how to take part.
… They emerge from now until the end of the summer months, and do so in order to find a … are most likely to be spotted flying on warm summer evenings. Stag beetles are prevalent …
From birds to whales, Europe has plenty for wildlife watchers to love. William McLennan rounds up some of the best
… corals and a colony of grey seals. In the summer months Lundy’s waters are often visited … watching boat trips run daily during the summer. The Dinaric Alps to the east are a … you can see the greater flamingo. During the summer months, the Camargue is home to as many …
A 'summer of protest' is brewing as campaigners vow to protect seals from shooting by salmon farmers in Scotland and managers of wild salmon fisheries, writes Dominic Dyer. The RSPCA's 'Freedom Food' system is driving animal welfare advances on salmon farms - now the model must be extended to wild salmon.
… Animal Welfare seal-scapa-flow-cut.jpg A 'summer of protest' is brewing as campaigners … between the marksmen and the animals. This summer is likely to see a number of protests …
Combining great nightlife and delicious organic food with a fascinating past and friendly locals, Belfast is the perfect place for a British weekend break
… by investment services company, Mercer, last summer, Belfast was voted the second most … which are perfect for styling up your summer picnics. It’s also close to the …
Toshiba, the 60% owner of NuGen, has announced it will build 3 AP1000 reactors at Moorside, England - much faster and cheaper than Hinkley C. But the whole proposition, writes David Toke, is seriously implausible.
… construction in South Carolina, the V.C. Summers project - and it is doing little … Delays And Construction Woes Bedevil V.C. Summer Reactor Project In S.C., Says Friends …