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United Kingdom: Nuclear waste site consultation was rigged to favour Sellafield, say experts
Posted by Guardian: Jamie Doward on January 18th, 2014
Guardian: The government stands accused of drafting the consultation process to select the site of a multibillion-pound nuclear waste storage facility to favour a location that some geologists claim is unsuitable for burying radioactive material.
Two leading geologists told the Observer that they believed the government was keen to push through Sellafield as the site of the facility, a subterranean tunnel network that would be the size of Carlisle, despite an official inquiry demonstrating that its geology...
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United Kingdom: Wind turbines, a new airport and an atomic plant threaten historic wetlands
Posted by Guardian: Jamie Doward on March 24th, 2013
Guardian: In the picturesque town of Lydd, the museum records the fate of two smugglers arrested at the turn of the 17th century. The men were locked in a room at a inn on the edge of Romney Marsh, a few miles from the English Channel, where they were guarded by six armed customs officers.
But the officers were unprepared for the militancy of local residents. Hours after the arrests, more than 100 from the surrounding marshes confronted the guards, freeing the men. More than a century later, residents confirmed...
British farmers face hardship as floods wipe out crops in ‘worst ever year’
Posted by Guardian: Jamie Doward on February 23rd, 2013
Guardian: Stephen Watkins farms in Elgar country. He has 400 hectares, or nearly 1,000 acres, in the Worcestershire countryside that boast sprawling views of the Malverns, the brooding hills that inspired the composer to capture the essence of rural England in music.
With a picture-perfect Victorian farmhouse replete with Aga and two black Labradors, Watkins seems to be living the good life. He farms sheep, winter wheat, spring barley, mint, coriander, parsley, spinach, hand-picked peas, onions, lettuce...
United Kingdom: Apathy over planning law changes could put countryside in danger
Posted by Guardian: Jamie Doward on September 10th, 2011
Guardian: Fears that the coalition's relaxation of the planning system will result in urban sprawl have been reignited after it emerged that the vast majority of people are unlikely to participate in the government's newly created local forums that allow communities to block housing developments.
A YouGov poll, commissioned by the National Trust, found that few people were aware of the government's proposals to alter the planning laws dramatically, and even fewer had the inclination to address planning...
‘Water poverty’ to rise in the UK as scarcity pushes up bills
Posted by Guardian: Jamie Doward on February 20th, 2011
Guardian: "Water poverty" will become the new fuel poverty for an increasing number of households as scarcity of supply pushes up bills, according to an influential thinktank that says Britain must deal urgently with climate change.
A report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, one of the largest social policy research-and-development charities, says that low-income households are at particular risk because of new methods being introduced to increase the efficient use and distribution of water. It defines...