All posts tagged: change

Politics Home Article | Andy Burnham Says He Will Run A By-Election Campaign For “Change”

Politics Home Article | Andy Burnham Says He Will Run A By-Election Campaign For “Change”

Published by Sam Flores

Andy Burnham launched his Makerfield by-election campaign on Friday (Alamy) 4 min read2 hr Andy Burnham said he is running a by-election campaign for “change” in politics, the economy, housing, transport, and care, as he launched his bid to become the new Labour MP for Makerfield. Last week, Labour MP and former minister Josh Simons announced he would give up his Makerfield constituency – after being elected for the first time just two years ago – to allow Greater Manchester Mayor Burnham a shot at re-entering Parliament via a by-election. With Burnham now having been selected as the Labour candidate, the by-election will go ahead on 18 June. If he wins, the mayor is expected to challenge Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership.  “British politics is tired,” Burnham said, addressing a crowd of supporters at the Labour campaign launch in Makerfield on Friday morning.  “It needs a new script. And over the next four weeks, the people of Makerfield are going to write that script.” He repeatedly tapped into …

Circular economy actions could cut EU’s climate change impact by 22%

Circular economy actions could cut EU’s climate change impact by 22%

Published by skeptic

Three new assessments on circularity published by the European Environment Agency (EEA) have found significant benefits for both the economy and environment, if investment is accelerated to ensure policy targets are met. The assessments analysed and modelled 17 circular economy actions across sectors such as housing, mining, food, and mobility, and saw not only positive environmental impact, but also economic benefits. The briefing ‘The environmental and climate benefits of circular economy‘ saw that circular economy efforts had the potential to: reduce the EU’s impact on climate change by 22% reduce its impact on biodiversity loss by 19% and reduce air pollution (fine particulate matter) by 25%. Strategic investment could secure better access to materials and enable the creation of new businesses, reducing the EU’s reliance on raw materials from around the world. For example, the EU reliance on aluminium, nickel, and platinum group metals ores extracted in other world regions would decline by around 20%, and by 12% for copper. Better circularity means better materials In Europe, each person consumes 14.4 tonnes of materials each year …

How British beavers help fight flooding from climate change : NPR

How British beavers help fight flooding from climate change : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

This beaver was released on Oct. 11, 2023, in Greenford, England, as part of the Ealing Beaver Project. A family of five beavers, two adults and three kits, was released into the 20-acre Paradise Fields nature reserve in West London, becoming the first beavers in the west of the British capital in 400 years. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Dan Kitwood/Getty Images NPR is dedicating a week to stories and conversations about how local communities are moving forward on climate solutions LONDON — Until two years ago, West London’s Greenford Tube station used to flood whenever it rained heavily. The train tracks are aboveground, but the ticket office would often get inundated. Sandbags still line the corridor. But in October 2023, a new family moved in nearby, determined to halt the water. The family members built their house from scratch with local wood and kept odd hours, sleeping all day and working only at dawn and dusk. They even put their young children to work. The new neighbors were beavers. A beaver swims in …

Should you embrace your inner stonemason? Why our constant desire for change needs a rethink

Should you embrace your inner stonemason? Why our constant desire for change needs a rethink

Published by Sam Flores

When John, a stonemason working at Glasgow Cathedral, finishes repairing a section, the highest praise he can receive is that no one notices. “When we get things that come together you just see a couple of wee bits of stone”, he explains. “You don’t actually see the work that went into it. But it’s satisfying getting it to all come back as if it’s never been touched.” This is the paradox at the heart of skilled conservation work: the better you are at your job, the more invisible your efforts become. John spent years mastering complex stonecutting techniques precisely so his interventions will disappear. When all goes well, the building appears untouched. We live in a culture that celebrates creativity, innovation and leaving your mark. Disruption is praised as the highest achievement. AI companies sell us on their power to generate novel content. Tech executives move fast and break things. Politicians advocate for glorious revolutions and talk of progress. Even on the right, conservativism has recently been given an increasingly radical inflection. In the UK, …

Keir Starmer confirms huge new change for UK petrol and diesel drivers | Politics | News

Keir Starmer confirms huge new change for UK petrol and diesel drivers | Politics | News

Published by Sam Flores

An increase in fuel duty planned for September has been scrapped. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told MPs the 5p per litre fuel duty cut introduced by the Conservative government in March 2022 would be extended for the rest of the year. Rates were previously planned to increase from September, gradually returning to previous levels over the next five years. Iran’s restrictions on tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz means the average price of a litre of petrol and diesel at UK forecourts is 26p and 44p respectively more expensive than before the conflict started on February 28. Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said: “Although today’s news on fuel duty won’t have the immediate effect of bringing forecourt prices down, at least it shows that ministers have registered the financial pain caused by rampant pump prices for individuals and for business. “Since the start of the Iran conflict drivers have already paid a war premium of a staggering £3 billion in inflated fuel prices, half a billion of which …

David Mitchell and Robert Webb confirm format change for new sketches

David Mitchell and Robert Webb confirm format change for new sketches

Published by Daniella Wilson

David Mitchell and Robert Webb have announced the launch of a YouTube channel intended to expand the reach of their current Channel 4 sketch comedy. Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping launched on Channel 4 last year, seeing the comedy duo return to the format that propelled them to stardom on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Two in the 2000s. They partnered up with Ghosts alum Kiell Smith-Bynoe and rising stars Stevie Martin, Krystal Evans and Lara Ricote, with the mission to reinvigorate sketch comedy after a long period of stagnation. Their efforts were certainly appreciated, with Channel 4 revealing that Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping was its most-watched new scripted comedy for six years. A second season is on the way with a revised release strategy — an expanded presence on YouTube will accompany the Channel 4 broadcast, in a bid to attract new viewers from all over the world (via Deadline). Want to see this content? This page contains content provided by Google reCAPTCHA. We ask for your permission before anything is …

Sustainable materials need system change, not just substitution

Sustainable materials need system change, not just substitution

Published by skeptic

Roland Pluut from Solinatra outlines the main points to consider when making the shift from traditional plastics toward more sustainable materials Plastic has become one of the defining materials of modern society. Its rise is not accidental. It is the result of a powerful combination of properties: low-cost, high-performance, durability, and the ability to scale across global production systems. These characteristics have enabled decades of industrial growth, efficient logistics, and the widespread availability of consumer goods. Yet, the very system that made plastic successful also reveals its limitations. The price of plastic reflects the efficiency of its production, but it does not fully account for what happens after use or over time. Waste management, environmental persistence, and long-term exposure effects are only partially integrated into current economic models. This creates a structural discrepancy between production costs and what might be called full system costs. As long as this discrepancy exists, material markets remain incomplete. They optimise for short-term efficiency while distributing part of the cost across municipalities, ecosystems, and future generations. This is not an …

The Pennine hills are full of holes – here’s how they’re helping fight climate change

The Pennine hills are full of holes – here’s how they’re helping fight climate change

Published by skeptic

Thousands of holes are appearing in the Pennine hills, as part of efforts to improve carbon storage by restoring damaged peatland. Peat itself is carbon rich and so as it grows it will help to capture the CO₂ that is produced by industrial fossil fuel use that is warming the atmosphere. Meanwhile, damaged or drained peatlands turn into a carbon source, releasing greenhouses gases themselves. About 15% of the world’s peatlands have been drained, making these kind of restoration projects essential. But now a new project is attempting to bring these wetlands back to life. On Holcombe Moor in the West Pennines, 3,000 bunds were created in 2021, with a further 700 in 2024 as part of Natural England’s Nature for Climate Peatland Grant Scheme. Improvements are already starting to be seen. What’s the history here? The hills of the West Pennines are no stranger to holes, with a long history of lead and coal mining stretching back to the Roman period. Coal fired the mills nearby during the industrial revolution in cities such as …