Renault has launched a “smart island” in Portugal that uses its Zoe electric vehicle, home batteries, smart charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2E) energy storage to run without fossil fuels. The idea is to make the Madeira island of Porto Santo energy independent and stimulate renewable energy production. “[We want] to build a model that can be carried […]
Tell us what the storms brought-in From Keith Hiscock ‘The severe easterly gales last week greatly damaged infrastructure and personal possessions (much loved boats etc.) but also washed-out a diversity of species that had been present in the shallow seas. The same sort of wash-outs happened in spring 2014 and I brought together observations from […]
Defra Leaving the European Union and the Common Agricultural Policy will give us the chance for reform. We want to know your thoughts on the future of agricultural policy in England. Click here to see the consultation document and supporting reports including one on ‘The Future of Farming and Environment – Evidence Compendium’ Once-in-a-generation opportunity […]
The Environment Agency are undertaking a review of monitoring activities to transform how they will commission, plan and deliver monitoring (the Strategic Monitoring Review or SMR). CaBA: The aim is to derive even greater value from investment in information collection and use, with a greater emphasis on catchment data needs, partnerships and engagement. The review […]
Climate change Update – Bruce Horton IPCC New Communications Handbook for Climate Change A new Communications Handbook, commissioned by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has been launched. It sets out six principles for effective communication, ahead of the IPCC’s 1.5 degrees special report, expected later this year. Artic Warming An alarming heatwave in […]
Valuing Natural Capital through consensus building. Professor Richard Tiffin, who is working with Defra on ways to value natural assets in his role as chief scientific officer at Agrimetrics, and who is also a professor of applied economics at the University of Reading, has criticised the idea of attaching a price tag to the environment. […]
The House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee is holding its first evidence session in its nitrates inquiry tomorrow when the Committee will hear from academics and Environment groups. The EAC launched its inquiry into nitrates pollution in December to consider the nature, scale and impacts of nitrate pollution in the UK on the environment and […]
National Water Vole Database and Mapping Project PART 1: PROJECT REPORT 2006-2015 Catherine McGuire and Deborah Whitfield December 2017 Executive Summary The National Water Vole Database and Mapping Project was established in January 2008 with the aim of collating and mapping available water vole data to: Assess population and distribution trends; Create a geographic information […]