CDP-Cities-2012-Global-Report.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

The Carbon Disclosure Project, Cities-2012 has just been published.  I have only skim-read it, but one glaring error is the fact it has a report from Greater Manchester not the City of Manchester.  Further down in the Appendix, it does have the City of Manchester but the data relates to Greater Manchester.  So, how reliable can we believe this document to be.  As usual it is mostly about what City Authorities say they are going to do, not what they have actually achieved.  With regards to the City of Manchester, basically nothing.

CDP-Cities-2012-Global-Report.pdf (application/pdf Object).

The did issue a report criticising the UK Governments lack of action on making reporting of carbon emissions mandatory.

Lack of UK Government action on mandatory reporting disappointing

Friends of Chorlton Meadows

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

There is an event on at Chorlton Ees which some people may be interested in:

Wildlife taster session – Sat 2nd June 10.30 to 12.30 at Chorlton Ees. This will be an introduction to the From Grey to Green project, explaining why it is important to record flora and fauna. There will be a walk around the local area demonstrating how the course will teach people to identify and record wildlife. The aim is to explain to people how they can contribute to protecting sites and conserving species through recording and to encourage people to sign up for future courses.

Friends of Chorlton Meadows.

Interview: Mary Heaney of MMU

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

My thoughts on Manchester Climate Monthly’s recent article on Manchester Metropolitan University.

manchesterclimatemonthly's avatarmanchester climate monthly

MCFly co-editor Arwa Aburawa interviews Mary Heaney, Director of Services at Manchester Metropolitan University, whose responsibilities include the environmental sustainability agenda

Besides saving money, what are the reasons MMU is taking green action?

Money isn’t actually the top priority for us in terms of sustainability – it’s our corporate social responsibility. We are an organisation that devotes it self to the next generation and we think it’s absolutely incumbent upon us to be responsible in the way we operate and look at the way that we function from everything from the amount of chemicals the cleaners use to me pulling down the blinds when I leave that this room is bearable the next day to the way we operate our labs. It’s about being part of the solution, I guess.

Another top motivator that MMU talk about is that preparing students for new realities and embedding green thinking makes them…

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New Statesman – Acknowledging the scale and urgency of the challenge we face

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

An article from John Broderick from the Tyndall Centre raising awareness that to combat Climate Change, we urgently need to reduce our energy consumption and how we use that energy.  Something the Government and Manchester City Council do not seem to understand.  Manchester City Council continue to let property developers build to the lower energy efficiency standards and ensure they include measure like rain water harvesting and grey water recycling.  Walk around Manchester after midnight and see all the wasted energy from unnecessary lighting on, in buildings and outside them.  The profusion of illuminated and automated advertising hoardings.  And yet, the Council still talk about their ‘Manchester – A Certain Future’, without taking any real action.

New Statesman – Acknowledging the scale and urgency of the challenge we face.

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

In Manchester we have the council investing in the expansion of Manchester Airport, promising it will bring jobs and improve the local economy. Neither is true, especially when the majority of people who work at the Airport do not come from Manchester. And Airports suck money out of the local economy, with people flying and spending their money abroad. Manchester City Council has made very little progress towards a low carbon future, even though Siemens has it one of it’s Headquarters in Manchester.

Green Alliance blog's avatarInside track

This post is by Nick Mabey, chief executive and a founder director of E3G. It was first published on Guardian Sustainable Business.

Walking into Westminister tube station, members of parliament currently find themselves surrounded by a phalanx of purple adverts announcing that “The road to economic growth is … a flight path”. This is just the most visible manifestation of a massive business-led campaign arguing the importance of increased airport capacity to the UK economy.

At one level you have to admire the chutzpah of the British Airports Authority (BAA) in making this argument. New airport capacity is irrelevant to UK economic recovery and will not provide a single additional job before the end of the decade. With business passengers making up only 12% of total UK flights it is also clear that absolute capacity constraints are not a material business issue. But at least BAA’s opportunism is understandable…

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ALEC’s Top Five Anti-Environment “Model” Laws

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

Here is an article posted by Truthout about a lobbyist group funded by Big Energy to water down environmental laws.  Unfortunately, this is happening in the UK with lobbyists funded by Big Energy trying to get the UK Government to water down environmental laws, Health & Safety regulations and reduction in funding to renewables.

ALEC’s Top Five Anti-Environment “Model” Laws.

Don’t Frack Ohio! » Fr. Neil Pezzulo – Fracking: Contrary to the Common Good And Simply Bad Public Policy

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

A blog from the States about ‘fracking’.

Don’t Frack Ohio! » Fr. Neil Pezzulo – Fracking: Contrary to the Common Good And Simply Bad Public Policy.

What’s the truth about fracking? | Environment | The Guardian

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

More links to studies about the environmental dangers of ‘fracking’, but they are way down in the article:

What’s the truth about fracking? | Environment | The Guardian.

Missed renewable energy targets will cost UK dear, warns study | Environment | The Observer

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

Another news article about the failure of our politicians.  They refuse to support renewables and insist on maintaining their addiction to fossil fuels and nuclear.  All non-sustainable and economically prohibitive.  It is time the British public woke up to the fact they need to show the main stream parties the door.

Missed renewable energy targets will cost UK dear, warns study | Environment | The Observer.

Coalition makes U-turn on nuclear energy subsidies | Environment | guardian.co.uk

Posted on by Patrick Sudlow

People wrongly believe that their energy bills are high due to subsidies to renewables.  Nothing could be further from the truth from Corporation Tax exemption for North Sea oil and gas rigs to hidden subsidies to nuclear.  It is not renewables that are causing a rise in energy bills has they receive a very small fraction of Government funding:
http://www.mng.org.uk/gh/nn.htm

So, it has now been revealed that this Government will continue with their subsidies.

Coalition makes U-turn on nuclear energy subsidies | Environment | guardian.co.uk.