Gvt call in Druridge Bay open cast mine approval This decision taken by the council seemed to fly in the face of the Government’s climate change commitments, the phase out of coal and the AONB status of the area. If the Government do block it won’t this set a precedent in relation to fracking? It […]
Torridge and North Devon Councils have established a new Water Quality task team to monitor and improve the water quality of the Taw and Torridge Estuary. Working in partnership with the North Devon Biosphere, Environment Agency and South West Water the group will be looking to bring the quality of the water in the region’s […]
South-west beach & offshore sediment dynamics study – NERC – Gerd Masselink Cornishman ‘The beaches of the Westcountry have still not fully recovered after they were battered by the ferocious storms of 2013 and 2014. Now a new research project is setting out to discover why much of the sand on Devon and Cornwall’s chief […]
The race for vast remote ‘marine protected areas’ may be a diversion Peter Jones The seas around Hawaii are set to become the world’s largest marine protected area, US president Barack Obama has announced. The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument will be expanded to more than 1.5 million square kilometres – that’s as big as France, […]
SAMS viewpoint The seaweed production business is booming around the world, prompting a new call from a UN agency for stricter policies to safeguard the industry. The seaweed business is “undergoing a rapid global expansion,” according to a new report released Saturday by the United Nations University, a global think-tank headquartered in Japan, with institutes […]
MMO English Marine Plans Evidence requirement RO27: Describe, quantitatively and qualitatively, economic situation in the North East, North West, South West and South East marine plan areas. MPAs The MMO requires information on the economic and social baselines of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This should be achieved through the development of a framework for social […]
Brexit Petition debate This Petition got 4 million + votes and so was deemed worthy of a debate, albeit that the initial proposers were from the leave side. It is interesting given the ongoing debate by many about the constitutional role of Parliament in the decision making process and Theresa May’s thinking that seems set […]
BusinessGreen ‘To understand the significance of today’s news that the US and China have ratified the Paris Agreement it is important to cast your mind back 12 months to the build up to the UN’s New York Climate Summit, which was intended to inject some much needed impetus into negotiations ahead of the Paris talks. […]