Groups call on government to stop relying on burning wood for electricity

The practice of burning trees for electricity should be left in the past, leading environmental groups have said

Wessex Water pays £35k for sewage spill at Dorset nature reserve

The Environment Agency said the pollution had a ‘severe impact’ on aquatic invertebrates over a distance of around 100 metres, which deteriorated water quality

Bird is the word for offshore wind

A coalition of Scottish businesses have joined forces to convince a wildlife charity to abandon court action delaying a consented offshore wind farm. The 28 supply chain companies have written an open letter to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Scotland to appeal for the group to allow the £2 billion Neart […]

RSPB loses legal battle against £2bn offshore wind farm

A £2 billion offshore wind farm is expected to go ahead after RSPB lost a legal challenge against the plans. The Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm was one of four projects that received planning permission from the Scottish Government in 2014 but it was challenged in the courts by RSPB Scotland, saying it was […]

Wind farm is threat to wildlife claims RSPB

Nature conservation charity RSPB is urging people in Dumfries and Galloway to have their say on plans for a “damaging” wind farm before the consultation closes on 5 January next year. Under the plans for the Spango (Mid Rig) farm, 14 turbines will be built on moorland 4 kilometres north of Sanquhar, in the Scottish lowlands. Nature […]

Nature reserves “should quack not frack”

Peaceful habitats of protected birds, beasts and plants could be disrupted by fracking for shale gas, wildlife campaigners claimed this week. ELN reporter Vicky Ellis took a trip to the teeming wetlands to find out why they’re so vital for the UK.

Ban fracking near nature reserves say charities

Fracking for shale gas should not be allowed near areas of natural importance which are home to protected species such as pink-footed geese, it was suggested today. A report from six groups including the National Trust and bird charity RSPB suggests the UK needs stronger regulations for hydraulic fracturing or fracking for gas on British […]

RSPB opposes fracking, Church of England begs to differ

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has piped up with concerns about fracking for shale oil and gas in Lancashire over fears for local wildlife. The nature group is worried the drilling technique – cracking open shale rock deep underground with a highly pressured mix of water – could pose a risk to […]

Biomass ‘dirtier than coal’ based on “misleading information”

The report that suggested burning trees as biomass fuel is “dirtier than coal” is based on a paper which has “numerous factual errors”. That’s according to the Biomass Energy Centre, which commented after the RSPB, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace published a report, based on the Government’s own data, claiming biomass produces more emissions […]

Biomass produces more emissions than coal-fired plants

Power stations that burn trees as biomass fuel could be more damaging to the environment than coal-fired plants. That’s according to a new report by the RSPB, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, which using the Government’s own data, showed the use of whole trees could increase greenhouse gas emissions by at least 49% compared […]