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Rising temperatures could make it hard for crocodiles to dive for food

Glen — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 16:28:51 +0000

Researchers at the University of Queensland believe that rising temperatures could trouble crocodiles, hampering their ability to dive for food.

It’s been noted that crocodiles have more problems in this regard during summer months, therefore climate change could affect them to a degree throughout the year.

They point out that crocodiles dive not just for food, but to escape predators when they are young. While adult crocodiles are at the top of the food chain, smaller ones are vulnerable to birds of prey and evade them by diving and hiding in crevices.

A water temperature rise of even a few degrees could have a substantial impact, meaning crocodiles were able to spend less time diving. A rise in temperature increases their metabolism and the resulting increase in oxygen that they consume has a knock-on effect on how long they can remain submerged.

Climate scientists cleared of fudging results

Elizibeth — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:23:44 +0000

Following a six-month investigation, it has been found that the scientists at the centre of what is annoyingly being termed ‘climategate’ did not fudge results and nor did they silence critics. However, the review did suggest that they could have been more open with their work.

Allegations surrounded the subverting of the peer review process, but the report found no evidence of this. However, it was suggested that the scientists in question were unnecessarily coy and defensive when people requested information and it is also believed that emails had been deleted to prevent them being seen in the event that they were requested later on.

Climate change could lead to lemons in the South-East

Elizibeth — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:27:39 +0000

Hadlow College, in Kent, has put on a display of the county’s past, present and future agriculture.

The future part of the garden features peach trees, lemons and nectarines, reflecting the fact that the Kent climate could become more Mediterranean in the coming years. As temperatures rise, the regions in which to grow certain crops are moving steadily towards the poles.

It has already been noted by some experts that Champagne is no longer the best place to grow the grapes for that particular wine. In reality, the most suitable climate is the very north of France and into the southern parts of the UK.

UN climate change report gave worst-case scenarios

Elizibeth — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:21:54 +0000

An investigation has found that a UN report into climate change could be considered misleading as it often wasn’t clear that it was referring to worst-case scenarios.

The findings were made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It also suggested that the report should have included the fact that there could be benefits to an increase in temperatures. The report was considered one-sided and alarmist.

An example given was that the report stated that regular bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef was anticipated for 60 per cent of it by 2020. However, this was a worst case scenario and not a realistic projection.

Electric cars could be taxed to fund power stations

Elizibeth — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:15:58 +0000

While electric cars are pushed as a greener form of transportation, they do need some source of fuel and it is thought that Britain will need additional power stations if the Climate Change Committee’s view that we should have 1.7m of them on the roads by 2020.

The national grid is already struggling to provide the electricity that we need and electric cars would demand a great deal extra. A suggested fuel duty of 10p per mile for these vehicles would fund up to 10,000 new wind turbines each year.

Renewable energy funding is currently at a low due to financial nervousness. However, a taxation on electric cars would put some people off who might be tempted by what is theoretically a cheaper form of transport.

Drought Order could be brought into the UK during this Summer

Glen — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:00:05 +0000

This year, Britain has had its driest start to the year in just over 80 years. This seems hard to believe, especially for those living in the Lake District who experienced devastating floods at the beginning of the year, which saw bridges swept away and communities cut off from the rest of the UK.

However, although we all enjoying the hot summer weather at the moment, the reservoirs across the Lake District and the Pennines are below average for the time of year. These reservoirs are the core of the water supply to the North West of England and this shortage could lead to a drought order being brought in for the remainder of the dry weather.

BPs Cleanup Operation Effects Endangered Sea Turtles

Glen — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:50:21 +0000

As BP try to contain the effects of the oil leak disaster it seems they are doing even more harm. BP have created “burn fields” of 500 square miles to contain the oil. This has however trapped many endangered turtles as well as other sea creatures, who are being burnt alive within these fields.
The turtles which only narrowly avoided extinction in the past could see BP in an even deeper legal battle.
Environmentalists are demanding that the oil company stop blocking the rescue of the turtles and are also pressing the Obama administration to put a halt to the burn fields.
BP have placed one turtle spotter on the burn vessels but this doesn’t go anywhere near as far as the environmentalists want to go in their attempt to save the turtles.
Killing, or harming a turtle currently carries a fine of £33,000, and so it looks like more legal action will be taken against BP.

A New Ocean is Born in Africa

Peter — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:32:25 +0000

We all know that the tectonic plates are shifting, but the effects of these shifts are often only visible over thousands and thousands of years as countries and continents, move closer together or further apart. In Africa however the effects of the plates shifting is visible for everyone to see.

Scientists have explained this 60km crack in Ethiopia as the birth of a new ocean. They predict that in around 10 million years the continent of Africa will be split into two. Scientists studying this wonder of nature are hoping that it will help them to better understand the structure of the earth and ultimately hazards such as earthquakes and erupting volcanoes.

Could the BP Oil Leak Have Been Prevented?

Glen — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:55:48 +0000

BP are still very much in the headlines, especially after their Boss, Tony Hayward, took this weekend off from the Oil scandal to go sailing with his son. The problems for BP just seem to be getting worse and worse and a deepwater horizon rig worker has now spoken out claiming that he had spotted a leak in the safety equipment of the rig, just weeks before the explosion.

There still seems to be a blame culture throughout the whole episode with BP stating that the rig owners Transocean were responsible for testing and maintaining the safety equipment. Had all the safety equipment been working as expected, a piece of machinery known as the Blow Out Preventer (BOP) should have cut off and sealed the wells pipe.

BP’s total cost as a result of the disaster now totals $1.34 billion and is set to cost a lot more as the clean up procedure continues and the investigation into what went wrong and who is to blame continues.

Green Britain Day

Elizibeth — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:01:28 +0000

Team Green Britain are a team of individuals across the county who are doing their best to go green and reduce their carbon footprint. Every year the team celebrates Green Britain day, in which they encourage others to take up the green challenge. There are great prizes involved for those who go that extra mile and the group have also encouraged lots of schools to take part.

Green Britain day is on June 17th so why not make a difference and show your support by changing your normal routine for a green one. Whether it’s cycling to work or saving water by having showers instead of baths, every person can help.