By Leo Hickman / The Guardian Oil companies operating in the North Sea have been fined for oil spills on just seven occasions since 2000, even though 4,123 separate spills were recorded over the same period, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (Decc) has confirmed. The disclosure came as Decc said on Thursday that the … Continue reading North Sea suffers 4,123 oil spills since 2000; only seven resulted in government fine→
By Laurie Tuffrey / The Guardian Greenpeace activists shut down 74 Shell petrol stations in Edinburgh and London in a protest against the company’s plans to drill for oil in the Arctic that saw 24 campaigners arrested on Monday. The campaigners are attempting to shut off petrol to London’s 105 Shell stations and Edinburgh’s 14. … Continue reading Greenpeace shuts down 74 Shell stations in UK to protest Arctic drilling→
By Fiona Harvey / The Guardian Climate change researchers have been able to attribute recent examples of extreme weather to the effects of human activity on the planet’s climate systems for the first time, marking a major step forward in climate research. The findings make it much more likely that we will soon – within … Continue reading Scientists say climate change responsible for recent extreme weather→
By Alexandra Topping / The Guardian Sexual harassment is a persistent and dangerous problem on Britain’s streets, women’s charities have warned, as a poll reveals that more than four in 10 young women were sexually harassed in the capital over the last year. A YouGov survey of 1,047 Londoners commissioned by End Violence Against Women … Continue reading Survey finds that 43% of young women in London were sexually harrassed in public last year→
By Rob Edwards / The Guardian Hundreds of sites across England and Wales could be contaminated with radioactive waste from old military bases and factories, according to a new government report. Up to 1,000 sites could be polluted, though the best guess is that between 150 and 250 are, says a report on contaminated land … Continue reading Nuclear waste contaminating hundreds of sites in the UK, investigation reveals→
By John Vidal / The Guardian Air pollution is prematurely killing 13,000 people a year in Britain compared with fewer than 2,000 deaths a year from road accidents, a major study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has concluded. Of these, cars and lorries are thought to be responsible for 7,000 deaths, aviation almost 2,000, … Continue reading Study finds that air pollution is killing 13,000 people a year in the UK→
By Fiona Harvey / The Guardian Britons’ consumption of goods such as TVs and mobile phones made in China has “outsourced” the UK’s greenhouse-gas emissions, and is leading to a net increase in global emissions, according to a report from an influential committee of MPs. While the UK’s own greenhouse-gas emissions have been tumbling, people … Continue reading UK claims greenhouse gas reduction, while outsourcing carbon emissions to China→
By Karrie Gillett / Press Association Sixty-nine oil and chemical spills in the North Sea have been reported in three months. Eighteen companies were named in a table published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. The most recent incident was a gas leak at Total’s Elgin platform on 25 March. Professor Andrew Watterson, … Continue reading In 2012, North Sea has been suffering oil and chemical spills more than five days a week→
By Jamie Doward / The Observer Britain is exporting surveillance technology to countries run by repressive regimes, sparking fears it is being used to track political dissidents and activists. The UK’s enthusiastic role in the burgeoning but unregulated surveillance market is becoming an urgent concern for human rights groups, who want the government to ensure … Continue reading US and UK exporting surveillance technologies to nations with “poor human rights records”→