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What impact will climate change have on Scotland?
Posted by Scotsman: None Given on May 25th, 2015
Scotsman: While climate change is no longer news to anyone, it can seem like an arbitrary concept; a term bandied about by politicians and cited by campaigners. But its effects, caused by all of us, will be felt by all of us. Scotland -- its wildlife and landscapes -- is already experiencing the consequences of our changing climate, and we are only likely to see more of these if the changes continue at their current rate. Here are some of the ways Scotland will feel the impact. Coastal habitats could be lost...
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Call for wider fracking moratorium in Scotland
Posted by Scotsman: None Given on February 22nd, 2015
Scotsman: AN alliance of community and environmental groups has called for the Scottish Government`s moratorium on fracking to be extended to cover underground coal gasification.
Almost 30 organisations and individuals, including residents’ associations, academics, Friends of the Earth and Unison Scotland, have made the plea in a letter to energy minister Fergus Ewing.
Campaigners welcomed the moratorium on unconventional oil and gas developments announced by Mr Ewing last month but say it does not go...
Fracking fears must be addressed
Posted by Scotsman: None Given on February 1st, 2015
Scotsman: SCOTTISH energy minister Fergus Ewing’s decision to place a moratorium on the granting of new licences permitting shale oil and gas exploration is, from one perspective, an opportunity for all interested parties to voice their support or raise concerns on the future of fracking in Scotland.
At first glance this announcement had the potential to cause serious consternation from those who believe fracking will be an important part of the energy mix which keeps the lights on in the UK – an approach...
United Kingdom: Weather blows a warning for our future
Posted by Scotsman: None Given on January 4th, 2014
Scotsman: Storms lash Britain again, bringing flooding, power cuts, and general misery to thousands. Across the Atlantic, the eastern United States and Canada are weighed down by huge snowfalls and temperatures more akin to the Arctic. In the southern hemisphere, Australia has just experienced the hottest year on record, sparking ferocious forest fires. Some may see this coincidence of extreme events as just that, an unlucky happenstance. They, however, are increasingly in the minority. The evidence now argues...
UK can benefit from shale revolution
Posted by Scotsman: None Given on December 8th, 2013
Scotsman: IT IS almost impossible to overstate the impact of the shale gas and shale oil boom in the United States.
Here are some numbers: the US has increased its oil production by 23 per cent in the last two years; gas production has increased by 30 per cent in the last five years; US wholesale gas prices have dropped 75 per cent in five years. At the same time, the US has reduced its CO2 emissions, while emissions have increased in both Germany and Japan.
This transformation did not happen overnight....
Animals could shrink with climate change
Posted by Scotsman: None Given on November 2nd, 2013
Scotsman: Global warming could lead to dwarfism in animals, according to new international research.
Fossil evidence shows many mammals became significantly smaller during ancient warming events, and now scientists are predicting the same thing could happen in response to climate change caused by humans.
Palaeontologists had long known that early ancestors of monkeys, horses and deer showed a dramatic decrease in size during a period of warming called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), which...
United Kingdom: Extreme weather to blame for £1.3bn loss
Posted by Scotsman: None Given on January 1st, 2013
Scotsman: ALTHOUGH the official figures will not be released until later this month, the English National Farmers Union estimates that the extreme weather has caused a staggering £1.3 billion loss in farm income in 2012 as a result of extreme weather problems.
And the union warns that might not be the final tally as many farmers currently have land under water or are facing a double-whammy of huge feed bills for their livestock.
With farmers reeling from both the physical and financial challenges from...