Environment News – Fracking Suspended in UK After Tremor / Get Paid To Make a Wildflower Garden!
Some bite-sized pieces of news from the environment this week.
28 August, 2019
News snippets
As Greta Thunberg sails across the Atlantic instead of flying to attend a UN Climate Action summit, and flygskam (the Swedish word for flight-shaming) becomes more widespread, it’s good that people are reducing the amount they fly. France is introducing an “eco-tax” on flights from its airports, and the Dutch carrier KLM has launched a “fly responsibly” campaign, suggesting train journeys instead of short-haul flights. In the UK, Flight Free UK. encourages everyone to fly less and take other transport methods instead, as well as use video-conferencing for business instead of travelling to meetings. They have set up a pledge to go flight-free (or take fewer flights) in 2020.
I’m sure you’ve seen on the news the terrible sight of more than 70,000 wildfires in the Amazon rainforest. This has a direct impact on every one of us The world’s largest rainforest, spanning nine nations, is vital for storing carbon and slowing down global warming. It is the lungs of the Earth, producing more than 20% of our oxygen, and it’s home to more plant and animal species than any other place on the planet. Recent reports from Brazil show that deforestation is up 88% compared to a year ago. More than 1.5 soccer fields of rainforest are destroyed every MINUTE. Satellites show that most fires are in areas that have been deforested. Deforestation releases huge amounts of planet-warming greenhouse gases, worsening climate change over the whole planet..
more below……
more snippets
If you live in Minnesota, you can get paid to change your lawn into a bee-friendly garden of wildflowers, clover and native grasses – wonderful! The program will cover up to 75% of the cost for homeowners who convert their lawns, in a move to help protect the state’s declining bee population.
Fracking was suspended in the UK after a 2.9 magnitude tremor worried residents near Blackpool. The tremor was caused by Cuadrilla’s only active fracking site in the UK, and it is believed to be the biggest fracking-related tremor ever seen in Britain.
Both tremors easily breached the government’s 0.5 limit on seismic activity. Fracking companies say this limit is too low, and “stifles” fracking. The UK government is considering raising the limit – I hope it doesn’t. Safety must always come before profit and greed. Cuadrilla says it is “investigating” the incident, but then quoted “ground movement” saying that was within limits. That’s simply trying to distract people. Fracking is just wrong. You don’t mess with safety, and you don’t mess with our precious water – once it’s contaminated, it’s lost for ever.
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Warm regards,
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