UK must adapt to changing weather says Environment Agency

Britain must prepare better for more droughts and more floods in the future, says the Chairman of the Environment Agency. Some rivers like the Ouse and Tyne sank to historic lows and highs within a 4 month period. He said that the UK would have to look into increasing the amount of small reservoirs as well as improving th etransfer of water between dry and wet areas. He also said that more homes will have to be protected from flooding.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21651067

Construction to start on 93 new flood defences

The government has announced that construction will start on 93 new flood defences. 64,000 homes are expected to receive better protection at the cost of £2.3 billion. The flood defences are being improved in coastal and river locations.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21364056

EU Plans Fishing Reforms

The EU has voted to introduce reforms for the EU Common Fisheries Policy. The reforms aim to protect endangered stocks and to end discarding (throwing unwanted fish back into the sea). Discards are believed to account for about one quarter of all fish caught. It is hoped that depleted stocks can recover by 2020. It is hoped that this will happen by moving from the current bartering overs quota and moving to a system of maximum sustainable yield (MSY).


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21352617

Huge Energy Potential off Scotland's Coast

Giant waves off the Western Isles could offer enormous energy potential. Buoys placed 5 miles off the island of Lewis recorderd average wave height of 14 metres on Monday. The heighest wave was 23 metres in height. Scientists have calculated that "based on average wave power of 75kW/m and a 200km coastline from Butt of Lewis to Barra, the total mean power would be 15GW - equivalent to 12 modern nuclear power plants, such as Torness." However, based on Monday's waves this could rise to the equivelant of 120 nuclear power stations.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-21324654

60th Anniversary of Great Flood

Today is the anniversay of the great 1953 storm that killed over 300 people. The south east of the UK was hit by a wall of water caused by storm surges and spring tides. Unfortunately 60 years ago there was little warning and many perished. Today many lessons have been learnt from this storm; defences have been introduced along much of the coast and teh Environemnt Agency and Met Office coordinate their warnings and responses. However, some scientists are warning that without further investment, our coasts might be vulnearble again because of rising sea levels and stronger storms.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21258341

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21272289

Flood Warnings as Snow Thaws

Forecasters have warned that there might be localised flooding as warming temperatures thaw snow and rain moves in. Snow has covered much of the UK for over 10 days creating temporary surface stores. The melting snow will be unable to infiltrate as much of the UK is already saturated from a wet 2012. With no where to go the snow will run down hill to low lying areas and river valleys.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21217480

Andes Glaciers Melting Fast

A recent survey has found that Andean glaciers have shrunk by an average of 30-50% since the 1970's. The glaciers that provide water for millions of people living in South America are melting at their quickest rate in over 300 years. The IPCC say that glaciers are a key indication of climate change.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21163386





Snow Causes Problems Across the UK

Much of the UK is experiencing disruption today as up to 30cm of snow is dumped across the country. It is believed that South Wales will be hardest hit where schools and roads have already been included. Areas in South wales have a severe snow warning in place. Much of the snow could stay in place for days with tempertures forecasted to stay below freezing into next week. When the snow melts the temporary surface store could potentially cause localised flooding because much of the UK remains saturated from the second wettest year on record.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21071608

East Midlands Experiences An Earthquake

The British Geological Survey has confirmed that there was a 2.9 magnitude (Richter Scale) earthquake near Loughborough at 5.20am on the 18th January. The earthquake was 18km deep. Scientists have said that it was 1 million times weaker than the 9.0 that his Japan in March 2011.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21073263

Soot plays big role in climate change

Scientists believe that soot (black carbon) is having twice as much of a warming affect than first thought. This would rank it second only behind carbon dioxide and ahead of methane. The particles can be released from burning wood and from diesel engines. The amount of black carbon being released is increasing in many developing countries, but is also significant in many developed countries like the US and Canada. However, many scientists argue that the contribution of black carbon is complicated, because it can also cause cooling



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21033078

UK has huge tidal potential

Experts have estimated that up to 20% of the UK's energy needs could be provided by tidal power. Despite extremely high start up costs, tidal power is more reliable than alternatives like wind and solar. Two methods can be used, one involves building barrages across tidal estuaries, what such project is proposed on teh Severn Estuary. The involves planting turbines underwater in fast moving tidal streams. Areas around Cornwall and Scotland would be suitable for this.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20983645

Half of all Food Wasted

About half of the world's food (about 2 billion tonnes) is estimated to be wasted each year according to a UK based report. Food is believed to be wasted because over cautious sell by dates, fussy consumers and bulk offers. In the UK it was also claimed that up to 30% of vegetable were not harvested because of their physical appearence. The wasted food also means that other resources like energy and water are also being wasted in their production. The report calculated that about 550 billion cubic metres of water was wasted annually.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20968076

The Entire UK is Saturated

The past 12 months was the second wettest ever in the UK. There was 1,330.7mm, just 6.6mm short of the record set in 2000. The large levels of rainfall has meant that the UK has recovered from a widespread soil deficit in March to e fully saturated in December.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20898729

Hundreds Evacuated From Erupting Volcano

The Nicaraguan authorities have advised hundreds of people living near the San Cristobal Volcano to evacuate their homes. Nicaragua is located in Central America and is on the so called 'Ring of Fire' making it an extremely tectonically active country. The volcano started erupting ash over Christmas causing the evacuation alert. However, man farmers are refusing to leave the fertile soil around the volcano.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20848465