Andrew Urquhart

The whole point about chalk streams is that they need a constant flow driven by the water levels in the aquifers.

Getting all the rain in one weekend is no use at all

Don’t scrap the Windfall Tax

Rachel Reeves considering scrapping the windfall tax on oil and gas

What possible reason could there be for giving up a substantial tax income when we are supposedly so short of money for public spending?

Maybe it's those 'discussions' with the oil and gas companies

act.gp/4qQttNC

Milliband is right. If we want to regain the tiny percentage of agricultural land used for solar, we could convert golf courses back to farming.

We could also end the inefficient use of agricultural land to grow biofuels, and achieve far greater emissions reduction by converting this to solar

Wind power has cut £104bn from UK energy costs since 2010, study finds Reduction comes from energy generated from windfarms and lower cost of gas owing to lower demand

The cheapest generation mix now uses wind and solar, with gas only for backup. That's essentially what Clean Power 2030 is aiming for.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Climate disasters in first half of 2025 costliest ever on record, research shows LA wildfires and storms this year cost $101bn, new study by non-profit resurrecting work axed by Trump says

Think #NetZero is expensive?

The #ClimateCrisis will cost us, in more than money.

The extinction of the Slender-Billed Curlew should be a wake-up call.

The world is upside down: billionaires jaunt to the moon while wildlife vanishes.

Endless wealth for greed, scant care for what enriches all our lives.

Nature belongs to all of us—we must defend it.

British.

In our second monthly talk, Chris Dunham will discuss the environmental impact of food, covering links between diet, climate change and biodiversity, and looking at the options for the future

Wednesday 7th May 7:30pm

events.teams.microsoft.com/event/16c160...

Yes, we need the information to be clear. We are not tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis 'for the environment', as if the environment is some disinterested third party. We're doing it so that we have a place to live and food on the shelves.

Labour’s great nature sellout is the worst attack on England’s ecosystems I’ve seen in my lifetime | George Monbiot The horrifying planning bill, which rips up environmental protections, was drafted with CEOs in mind. We know because Keir Starmer told us, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

It's hard to get your head around the scale of the environmental vandalism the Labour government is hoping to unleash. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill is up there with Trump's executive orders. And the reason is the same: corporate power.
This week's column.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

‘They dictate the rules’: BBC tells PM’s Evan Davis to stop hosting heat pump podcast Presenter believes decision was taken due to the technology’s link with net zero after he was told he risked accusations of political bias

British Broadcasting Corporatn stops presenter doing podcast about heat pumps over fears of political bias

“As an impartial broadcaster, BBC shouldn’t be pandering to attempts by the right to turn the world’s most efficient home heating into a culture war issue”
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/a...?

Support Sian Berry’s #GoPesticideFree bill, scheduled for debate 25th April, which would ban local councils in England from using pesticides in public spaces. No more poison in our streets and parks! Contact your MP using the link below:
pan-uk.eaction.org.uk/edm-urban-pe... @sianberry.bsky.social

A fascinating database of lies

Did you cycle to the shops or to meet a friend as a kid? 🚲

Today’s children roam 97% less than their parents did. Let’s bring back freedom, joy and independence.

Join us in #StandingUpForCyclists.

Donate today for the future of tomorrow at www.cyclinguk.org/make-a-diffe...

Yes, fair enough, I was thinking more about the replacements than the relative scales of each

Isn't 'gas replacing coal' a fair description of the 1990s, but missing what's happening now? Longer term plot from DUKES 5.1.1

Lower Thames Crossing plan for Essex and Kent approved by government Heidi Alexander gives green light to controversial £9bn tunnel, Britain’s biggest single planned road building project

Hang on, didn't the Government say we're broke & having to slash support to the poorest people? Where did they find £9 billion to blow on a heavily polluting new road 🤔

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Garys Economics @garyseconomics is focused on teaching people about real world economics. Inequality Economist. Former Trader. Other Economists make predictions, but my ones are actually right.

Does everyone else already know about Gary Stevenson and Gary's Economics? Fascinating stuff, and worth a listen for any green-minded people who want to understand why it's so hard to create a fairer green economy when all the wealth is being sucked out of it.
www.youtube.com/garyseconomics

Very worrying...

Department for Education confirms launch of natural history GCSE Campaigners have been calling for the qualification for years but plan stalled despite a curriculum being drawn up

Brilliant news on a Friday afternoon: gov will launch new natural history GCSE. It's taken Mary Colwell, @carolinelucas.bsky.social & others years of campaigning. (I'm praying it'll be introduced quickly enough for my children!)
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

It wasn’t net zero — it was fossil gas that drove up UK electricity prices.

Spot on, @pilitaclark.bsky.social! Gas sets the price most of the time.

As @dharavyas.bsky.social Energy UK, says: "It’s the volatile cost of fossil fuels and our dependence on them that have driven up energy bills."

Net Zero by 2050 'impossible' for UK, says Kemi Badenoch The Tory leader says the target is impossible

Better headline:

"Badenoch declares Tories not capable of managing energy transition"

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The UK is alarmingly off track to meet its national climate targets and we’re seeing daily reminders that the climate crisis is here. That’s why we’re calling on the government to deliver a #BigClimatePlan that ensures a brighter future. Sign our petition: foe.uk/nnbkv

Yes, why not. And if compulsory purchase can be used to build roads, can it also be used to create cycle paths when vested interests prevent an obvious route?

London air pollution down since Ulez extended to outer boroughs, study finds Levels of deadly pollutants have dropped, with significant improvements in capital’s most deprived areas

So, ULEZ expansion has worked!

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

A message for Ed Miliband. I hope @joshdeanmp.bsky.social you have seen this too.

Rishi Sunak: Net zero should be 'noble ambition' rather than legal target Uncertainty surrounds Conservatives' commitment to net zero, as former PM joins Shadow Cabinet Minister Robert Jenrick in attacking UK's 2050 climate goal

Beyond enraging how same people who were happy to take an economic hit from Brexit because of sovereignty insist we can't take a smaller (and possibly non-existent) economic hit from net zero because it's only about protecting the only known habitable biosphere. www.businessgreen.com/news/4410408...

Take the LA fires for example. Where we see communities lost and habitats destroyed, corrupt corporations see a sales opportunity. Even better where all the local democracy has been removed so there are no pesky rules to get in the way.

Yes. There is only one science, and Trump, Farage etc know it just as much as we do. If they pursue policies that inevitably lead to climate breakdown, we must conclude this is what they want.

And we need to be clear that it's 'our climate', not 'the climate', as if we're not directly affected a