Climate Change archive

28.04.2005 Another new regional airport opens today near Doncaster. Whatever the politics of cheap flights, it is increasingly clear that the absence of VAT or fuel tax creates an absurd competitive advantage for aviation in an era of rising oil prices. The hasty upward revision of passenger projections is further evidence that this form of travel is out of control.

27.04.2005 The chain reactions set in motion by global warming know no bounds; scientists say that melting Himalayan snow ultimately reduces the harvest for poor Somali fishermen - and for good measure creates a nasty positive feedback loop in the climate change equation.

21.04.2005 The European Commission wants to consult widely about the quandary of aviation and climate change. Will the Eurocrats listen? You have to fill in the questionnaire to give them a chance?

18.04.2005 The Whinash windfarm inquiry starts this week and may become a marker for the debate between saving the planet and saving the view. Opponents claiming that the turbines create visual and noise pollution evidently cannot see or hear the adjacent M6 motorway.

05.04.2005 One of the final acts of the Labour government is the establishment of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, a public body which will take over the radioactive waste liabilities of BNFL. This leaves the nuclear generating company free to compete with renewable energy suppliers without worrying about the true cost of the clean-up.

04.04.2005 The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) today opens its public consultation process for the long-term management of UK nuclear waste. Opinions are invited on a shortlist of four alternative methods of disposal. But are any of these methods safe?

01.04.2005 As new figures show another rise in carbon dioxide emissions, the government's climate change policy is in disarray. WWF explains how the frequency of use of the Thames Barrier is one benchmark of global warming - and the projections look alarming.