The People’s Choice: Cast your vote in the Green Flag Awards

Cast your vote in the Green Flag Award People’s Choice 2017

Following the huge success of Love Parks Week, you now have another chance to show your love for your park.

Help find our country’s top 10 favourite parks by casting your vote for one of the 1,797 Green Flag Award winning parks – voting is open until 30th September and the top 10 People’s Choice parks will be announced on the 11th October.

To vote simply visit the Green Flag Award website, use the map to find your favourite park and click the ‘vote’ button.

Your favourite park is worth shouting about, so make your voice heard!

 

Join Wardie Bay Beachwatch this weekend

Sunday 17th September 1.30 – 4pm

It’s the Great British Beach Clean (GBBC) this weekend (15 – 17 September) That’s the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) annual nationwide beach clean and data collection event which goes global once a year!

Wardie Bay Beachwatch is holding it’s seventh Beachwatch event of 2017  this Sunday (17th September) from 1.30 – 4pm and we want to see as many budding citizen scientists join in as possible!

Last year, in Scotland, 1,744 GBBC volunteers took part on 121 beaches around the coast. Overwhelmingly, the most found item was plastic. Plastic never goes away . It just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, known as microplastics.

MCS takes found evidence to Government, campaigning for effective legislation to better protect our marine and coastal environment.

Current campaigns include Don’t Current campaigns include ‘Don’t let go’ ,aimed at asking councils to ban the international release of balloons and lanterns; ‘Hang on to your Tackle‘, which aims to reduce litter from discarded fishing kit at popular angling site,h them and ‘Wet wipes turn nasty (when you flush them)’, calling for clearer labelling on non-degradable wipes that are clogging up our sewers and contaminating our beaches.

Furthermore, microplastics are an urgent issue globally. MCS has been successfully campaigning to ban the microbeads in all personal care products. Microplastics simply pass through filters in waste water treatment facilities, ending up as ocean pollution.

Nurdles are also a major hazard to marine and coastal life. The nurdle is the lentil-sized plastic pellet used to create all of our plastic products. Billions are manufactured each year and millions carelessly split in transit or at the factory, ending up again as marine pollution.

In Scotland, many campaigners have found a spike in nurdle numbers in the Firth of Forth. Last Friday (9th September), joined Fidra MCS and others to clean up a slick of pellets contaminating the Kinneil Nature Reserve which neighbours Grangemouth petrochemical plant.

Karen Bates, Wardie Bay Beachwatch volunteer and organiser, said: “It isn’t right that volunteers are here cleaning up after industry. How is it that there is so little accountability to stop pollution at source? Where it is clear that industry’s own backyard is polluted, why is the responsibility for clean-up not mandatory?

“If it was an oil spill they would certainly be made to compensate. More stringent legislation needs to be enforced to ensure zero loss of nurdles and microplastics into our environment. I want to see industry redesign entirely so fewer new pellets are manufactured from raw materials.

“We don’t need more single-use plastic from yet more fossil fuel. We need more responsible handling of our resources to stop threatening the balance of nature.”

Wardie Bay Beachwatch will welcome back Ben Macperson, MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith, to our event on Sunday. Ben’s invaluable support on the Have You Got the Bottle? campaign calling for a Deposit Return Scheme on drinks containers helped ensure it’s success.

Anna Lagerqvist Christopherson, owner of Boda Bars, a champion of the DRS campaign and regular volunteer at Wardie Bay, will also be joining us. Not prepared to wait for action, Anna brilliantly launched her own recycling rewreward scheme across all Boda Bars.

Then on September 5th, we were all delighted to hear Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement in her 2017-18 Programme for Government that a DRS would be implemented across Scotland, ahead of the rest of the UK.

MCS Beachwatch results are vital in turning the tide on litter. They have helped influence changes to laws on the disposing of waste at sea, and resulted in investment in better sewage treatment at the coast. Local volunteers at Wardie Bay have found on average 32.6% sewage related debris (SRD) at our Beachwatch events since March 2017, finding as much as 45.2% of the total waste collected on our first survey. The Great British Beach Clean results for 2016 showed the UK figure to average 7%! The Scottish average for SRD last year was 75 items per 100m of beach surveyed, with the UK average currently at 45 items per 100m.

Karen said: “Inspiring work is being done to encourage behaviour change and to promote the circular economy. We can all refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle and make sure we only put the 3Ps down the loo – but we need industry to step up before all life suffers further feedback.

“It’s been brilliant seeing all the volunteers prepared to make a difference at Wardie Bay over recent months, helping to spread the word on the need for better recycling and waste management. By acting locally, hopefully we can help to create change and then be part of that sea change on a national and even global scale.”

Anyone wanting to take part in the beach clean at Wardie Bay can find out more by contacting Karen Bates, emailwardiebaybeachwatch@gmail.com or you can sign up at: www.mcsuk.org/beachwatch/beach/wardiebay/event/20170917 . 

You can also find us on facebook @WardieBayBeachwatch and twitter @wardiebaybeach

The changing world of work

An end to nine ’til five?

The British workplace landscape will be changing substantially over the next five years as nearly 3 out of 4 (73%) office workers envisage that working flexibly will be the norm according to a new survey. The survey will be discussed at a House of Commons event to mark the launch of the 9-2-3 Club today (Wednesday 13th September). Continue reading The changing world of work

Bridge Inn is CAMRA’s Scottish Pub of the Year

The Bridge Inn in Peebles has been named the winner of CAMRA’s Scotland & Northern Ireland Pub of the Year competition for 2017. Judged by CAMRA members, this competition recognises the exceptional standard of pubs selling real ale across Scotland & Northern Ireland. Continue reading Bridge Inn is CAMRA’s Scottish Pub of the Year

50% off offshore wind power in just two years

Latest Government figures, published by BEIS and National Grid, have shown that the price paid for electricity from offshore wind farms has dropped by more than 50% in just two years. Surpassing all expectations, Offshore wind is now the lowest cost option for large-scale, low-carbon power.

The UK’s offshore wind sector has transformed over the last decade. Government support, huge strides in home-grown innovation and increases in both turbine efficiency and blade sizes, have placed the UK as number one, globally, for installed capacity.

Wind turbines have more than doubled their power capacity since 2007. The current generation of 8MW turbines have 260 foot blades, spanning an area the size of the London Eye. With a single rotation, these blades generate enough energy to power a home for 24 hours. By the mid-2020s turbine capacities are set to double again, reaching 15MW. These advances in turbine technology are a big part of what has driven recent reductions in costs per megawatt hour.

Offshore wind farms can be built in just two or three years, minimising the risk of cost overruns and ensuring that technological advances are adopted quickly.

The sector is already delivering thousands of jobs in regions of the UK with some of the highest unemployment figures. UK offshore wind is also attracting billions in foreign investment, and securing hundreds of international contracts for British companies. Future growth potential is enormous as the global market is set to boom over the next decade.

The UK needs a growing supply of affordable and secure energy. At this record low price, offshore wind power is a great deal for UK energy.

Footage of actress Emma Thomson explaining the significance of this moment is available at https://we.tl/LPF4xnJ5zw

Matthew Wright, Managing Director for DONG Energy UK, said: “This is a breakthrough moment for offshore wind in the UK and a massive step forward for the industry. Not only will Hornsea Project Two provide low cost, clean energy to the UK, it will also deliver high quality jobs and another huge boost to the UK supply chain.

“Successive governments deserve great credit for providing the certainty for continued investment in offshore wind, enabling it to become the thriving renewable industry it is today. Costs are falling rapidly, long-term and highly-skilled jobs are being created across the North of England and the UK supply chain is going from strength to strength. We’re now really seeing the benefits of this commitment to offshore wind and there is still so much more to come. Indeed, it has the potential to play a key part in the realisation of the UK’s industrial strategy.”

Jonathan Cole, Managing Director for Offshore Wind at ScottishPower Renewables, said: “These ongoing cost reductions show that offshore wind is in pole position to be the foremost low carbon power source, with the UK as the global market leader. A strong offshore wind sector powers our economy with reliable and affordable clean power. It is creating highly-skilled jobs in industrial and coastal communities that will really benefit from such significant investments.”

Paul Cooley, SSE’s Director of Generation Development, said: “As a UK-based energy company, SSE is proud to be investing in much needed energy infrastructure that contributes to UK growth. With offshore wind becoming an affordable form of large-scale, low-carbon energy, we believe that the UK as a whole will benefit from these cost reductions.

“Investment in offshore wind creates opportunities to develop the wider UK supply chain and brings value to local economies and local communities. Already Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited has helped foster UK and Scottish supply chains for the offshore sector and has had a positive impact on local lives and livelihoods. We aim to deliver the same again through both the Dogger Bank and Seagreen offshore wind projects and hope that similar economic benefits will be replicated across the UK offshore wind industry.”

Piers Guy, UK Country Manager, Vattenfall, said“We believe offshore wind has a big role to play in delivering low cost, competitive, fossil-fuel free power as the UK transitions to the smart, clean, cheap energy system of the future. Today’s auction result sees offshore wind continue on its dramatic cost reduction pathway, whilst providing great prospects for the tens of thousands of British workers in the industry. Vattenfall is investing in UK offshore wind for the long term and we are confident that our Norfolk Vanguard, Norfolk Boreas and Thanet Extension projects will be even more competitive than today’s successful projects.”

Hannah Martin, Head of Energy at Greenpeace UK, said: “This record breaking price drop from offshore wind marks a huge moment for the UK energy sector. The price of offshore wind power is 50% cheaper than just two years ago, this means we are witnessing a revolution in UK energy.

“Offshore wind already powers 4 million homes in the UK, and will power more than 8 million by 2020. It has also created jobs, regional development and export opportunities. And official polls show that 80% of people are in favour of offshore wind. The government needs to seize the opportunities of this great deal, which they themselves have helped to create.”

 

Misuse of disabled parking spaces: more can be done, says Holyrood committee

Scotland’s disabled parking legislation is working well but more can be done to stop the misuse of parking places, a Holyrood Committee has claimed. In a report published by the Local Government and Communities Committee today, MSPs set out key recommendations to improve the Disabled Persons’ Parking Places (Scotland) Act. Continue reading Misuse of disabled parking spaces: more can be done, says Holyrood committee

Hurricane Irma: UK aid reaching stricken communities

UK continues to urgently deliver vital aid to the victims of Hurricane Irma

Shelter kits provided by UK aid are being distributed in Anguilla to help those left homeless by Hurricane Irma. The kits, transported by Britain’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Mounts Bay, are being delivered to people in need by the Anguillan Red Cross. Continue reading Hurricane Irma: UK aid reaching stricken communities

Affordable homes boost but Greens offer radical alternative

The number of affordable homes approved over the year to the end June 2017 has increased by 30% on the previous year, bringing the total number of approvals over the year to 10,612. The government says the figures show good progress but the Scottish Greens will put forward their own plans to improve housing stock in a Holyrood debate later today. Continue reading Affordable homes boost but Greens offer radical alternative