Month: December 2022

How venues can reduce their energy costs

North Yorkshire CC news release

Community and volunteer groups running venues including village halls, sports and leisure facilities, theatres and museums are being offered access to expert advice on how to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and save on running costs. Up to 50 buildings will be included in a free study, which will show members of community and volunteer groups how to reduce the carbon footprint of their buildings, enabling them to become more energy-efficient and to save money.

The project will be funded by £75,000 from the Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and is open to venues managed by the community and voluntary sector. Elderly people’s residential care homes are also included.

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Green washing from BP?

Barry White

If you watched ‘The Oil Machine’ on BBC iPlayer (see last story) https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m001gf42/the-oil-machine you may recall a statement by a spokesperson from BP stressing the importance of being part of the transition to a lower carbon economy. He went on to explain (at 43.05 minutes) that they are ‘ramping up’ their investing in non-oil and gas forms of energy.

Imagine my surprise when greeted by the headline ‘BP to invest twice as much in oil and gas as renewables’ (The Guardian 27 December 2022). The article by Energy correspondent Alex Lawson went on to explain that the company had earmarked up to $7.5bn (£6.2bn) for oil and gas projects, compared with a range of $3bn to $5bn for green energy see: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/dec/27/bp-plan-spend-billions-fossil-fuels-green-energy-oil-gas-renewables.

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Time off – why not watch ‘The Oil Machine’?

Barry White

In this festive season please find time to watch Emma Davie’s documentary film ‘The Oil Machine’. It’s very educational, covering the historical background as well as the environmental ramifications of oil drilling in the North Sea. It gives interviews with those from both sides of the issue, including environmental experts, executives of oil corporations as well as student activists. The film illustrates just how the black gold permeates every aspect of our lives.

You can read a review of the film (which is now in some cinemas) at: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/nov/01/the-oil-machine-review-timely-documentary-details-our-dependence-on-black-gold and watch it at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m001gf42/the-oil-machine .

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Photo: Mick Holder NUJ.

New UK air pollution targets ‘will fail another generation of children’

Martin Guttridge-Hewitt.  AirQualityNews. Com

Despite adding a raft of new goals to the Environment Act, Downing Street policy is still falling short of what is needed to protect public health from a toxic atmosphere.  Environmental law charity ClientEarth issued the warning as policymakers unveiled long awaited new limits on air pollution, which arrived two months after the initial deadline stipulated by the government itself — a delay critics say is indicative of the wider lacklustre response to the climate and air quality challenges the country faces.

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