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Fish Fight - Half of all fish caught in the North Sea is thrown back overboard dead

URL:  http://www.fishfight.net/index

Hugh needs help to stop half of the fish caught in the North sea being thrown back dead, sign up to stop the waste!

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Devon Eco town gains approval

Amplify’d from www.planningportal.gov.uk

Cranbrook, believed to be Devon’s first free-standing settlement since the Middle Ages is now set to climb off the drawing board following the green light from East Devon District Council. The project is also the first of the last Government’s “eco-town” projects to obtain planning consent.

Following the signing of a section 106 agreement, outline planning permission for the first 2,900 homes of the new community and up to 300 affordable housing units in the first phase, has now been issued by East Devon District Council to the New Community Partners, (Hallam Land Management, Redrow, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon), The development consortium says construction work is on course to begin in the early part of next year.

Councillor Sara Randall-Johnson, leader of the local authority, said “The planning permission confirms that Cranbrook will include a low carbon district heating scheme, a dedicated bus route to and from Exeter, a multi-purpose building which will be home to the first library and community facilities until the town centre is built, two primary schools, a secondary school and a new railway station on the Exeter to Waterloo line.”

She added: “All of these facilities will have a high-quality landscape setting to include a country park, public open space with play areas, a skateboard park and other recreational facilities.” Read more at www.planningportal.gov.uk

 

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Defra vows to help farmers prune greenhouse gases

Amplify’d from www.businessgreen.com

Multimillion-pound research programme to identify low-carbon farming techniques

The government has today announced the launch of a new £12.6m research programme designed to develop new techniques for measuring and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector.

According to government figures, agriculture accounts for eight per cent of the UK's greenhouse gas emissions, including 76 per cent of UK nitrous oxide emissions and 38 per cent of methane emissions.

However, the figures are calculated using what Defra admits is a simplified approach based on generic emissions values and national statistics for livestock numbers and fertiliser use. As such, they fail to take into account how different farming techniques can help to curb emissions.

For example, some farms are piloting new feeding techniques for livestock that are thought to reduce methane emissions, while there is also a school of thought that using fertilisers on certain crops at different times may reduce nitrous oxide emissions.

In particular, the research will focus on improving emissions data collection across the sector and better understanding the factors that effect methane and nitrous oxide emissions.

Farming minister Jim Paice said that the research programme would aim to develop a more granular understanding of agriculture's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and identify those techniques that are best at cutting emissions. Read more at www.businessgreen.com

 

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Local authorities urged to raise revenue from green energy projects

Amplify’d from www.businessgreen.com

Councils ready to usher in 'brave new world' of renewable energy, but Local Government Association warns members will need funding to drive renewables revolution

Councils are hugely enthusiastic at the prospect of generating and selling renewable energy, but they will not be able to deliver green energy projects without improved easy access to funding and better information about local renewables potential.

That was the message from the Local Government Association (LGA) at an event in London this morning on how the public sector can take advantage of recent changes in legislation that allow councils to sell energy back to the grid.

Councils are already entitled to keep the business rates of any energy generation they own and following last week's spending review they have been granted more power to raise their own revenues from green energy projects.

Although the proposed changes to legislation are yet to be finalised, the reforms raise the possibility of local authorities setting themselves up as proxy energy companies or working with the private sector to operate localised renewable energy generation. Read more at www.businessgreen.com

 

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Germany Unveils Bold Energy Plans

Amplify’d from www.elrst.com

Yesterday the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, announced a bold plan to slash the use of fossil fuels by 2050. The plan calls for renewable energy to supply 60% of the country’s energy needs by 2050.

As the environment minister Norbert Röttgen stated, it is “the most ambitious energy programme ever seen, not only in Germany”.

The plan will also extend the life of nuclear power plants by an average of twelve years. Nuclear plants built before 1980 will be able to operate eight years longer than planned, and plants built after 1980 will produce electricity up to 14 years longer. This will enable the country to close its last nuclear reactor sometime in the 2030’s.

Although it is an unpopular move locally, as Germans strongly oppose nuclear, this decision will enable nuclear to be a bridging technology between today’s electricity generation which relies heavily on coal and lignite (more than 40 percent) and the future.

This will also bring important sums of money to finance renewable energy projects as the operators of the nuclear power plants will pay large taxes. More will be needed as the Financial Times notes Read more at www.elrst.com

 

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10:10 Car Share

Amplify’d from www.liftshare.com

Welcome to the 10:10 liftshare scheme Could you save 10% of your emissions by car-sharing to work? The typical commuter who car-shares every day cuts their emissions by a tonne a year – about 10% of the UK average! It’s a sociable and money-saving contribution to your 10:10 commitment. There are 38 million empty car seats on the UK’s roads every morning... fill yours (or someone else’s!) with 10:10’s free car-sharing scheme. Free to use - you simply share the travel costs Links drivers and passengers together online Part of the largest car sharing scheme in the UK Reduces the pollution and congestion on our roads Read more at www.liftshare.com

 

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UK cuts ribbon on world's largest offshore wind farm

Amplify’d from www.businessgreen.com

Swedish energy giant Vattenfall today cut the ribbon on the world's largest offshore wind farm, situated off the Kent coast, and celebrated by revealing that it is pushing ahead with plans for an even larger offshore wind development.

Energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne joined Vattenfall executives in Ramsgate to cut the ribbon on the 300MW Thanet wind farm, which will power about 200,000 homes and take the UK's total wind energy capacity to 5.1 gigawatts (GW), cementing its position as the leader in offshore wind energy.

According to trade body RenewableUK, the UK now has more offshore wind capacity than the rest of the world put together. While the global total excluding the UK is estimated at 1,100MW, the UK now has 1,341MW. Read more at www.businessgreen.com

 

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Chateau Adventure

Amplify’d from www.chateau-adventure.com

Make Chateau Adventure     your "french entrée" to adventure sports holidays and eco-holidaying!

Immerse yourself in the history, style and facilities of our original boutique chateau at very affordable prices.  Join in activities around the chateau as we begin our transformation to self-sufficiency.  Meet up with like-minded people, cook together or get a delivery of delicious local cuisine if you don't feel like cooking & share experiences...Let yourself 'shift gear' with any of our adventure, relaxing, 'back to nature' & eco-activities. And with only about 16 guests, you will have plenty of space for your own privacy too.

Set on the edge of the fascinating Dordogne region of France, near the medieval town of Argentat, 'Chateau de Cautine is like stepping straight into a film' as one of our guests put it. Full of original antiques, cosy furnishings, sleigh beds, huge open fireplaces it has a 15-metre salt-water pool, 34 acres of fields and woods and its own stream. Read more at www.chateau-adventure.com

 

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New UK Wind Energy Record Set

Amplify’d from www.windenergyplanning.com

National Grid confirmed that a record was set this week for the amount of electricity generated by wind turbines in the UK.

Graham McQuarrie at the National Grid’s press office said that at 8.30pm on Monday 6 September that 1860 Megawatts was being generated from wind energy mainly from Scotland – accounting for 4.7 per cent of total generation at the time.

Over the 24 hours for the day between midnight and midnight, wind generated 5 % of all electricity – 40GWh out of a total 809GWh.

National Grid also believes that if embedded wind generation is taken into account, about 10% of the UK’s power was generated by wind on Monday. Read more at www.windenergyplanning.com

 

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