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Scottish greenwash: Dirty claims on clean coal
Fred Pearce, Guardian
The Scottish government is planning to green its electricity generation by burning more coal. Yes, you read that right. Coal is green, say ministers in Edinburgh, who in December announced a climate policy that they declared to be the world’s most advanced.
And if you can’t get your head round that, you are not alone. Nasa’s famed climate scientist, Jim Hansen, last week wrote an open letter to the first minister Alex Salmond declaring the policy a “sham”.
Should anyone south of the border, or indeed on another continent, care? Well, yes.
(5 February 2009)
Is it selfish to have more than two children?
Margaret Ryan, BBC News
Parents who have more than two children are “irresponsible” for placing an intolerable burden on resources and increasing damage to eco-systems, says a leading green campaigner.
Curbing population growth through contraception must play a role in fighting global warming, argues Jonathon Porritt.
This week, the Optimum Population Trust (OPT), of which Mr Porrit is a patron, launched its “Stop at Two” online pledge to encourage couples to limit their family’s size.
(19 February 2009)
Dumped in Africa: Britain’s toxic waste
Cahal Milmo, The Independent
Tonnes of toxic waste collected from British municipal dumps is being sent illegally to Africa in flagrant breach of this country’s obligation to ensure its rapidly growing mountain of defunct televisions, computers and gadgets are disposed of safely.
Hundreds of thousands of discarded items, which under British law must be dismantled or recycled by specialist contractors, are being packaged into cargo containers and shipped to countries such as Nigeria and Ghana, where they are stripped of their raw metals by young men and children working on poisoned waste dumps.
In a joint investigation by The Independent, Sky News, and Greenpeace, a television that had been broken beyond repair was tracked to an electronics market in Lagos, Nigeria, after being left at a civic amenity site in Basingstoke run by Hampshire Country Council. Under environmental protection laws It was classified as hazardous waste and should never have left the UK.
(18 February 2009)
