Flood insurance cover – homes most at risk in the UK

At estimated 200,000 households will face insurance problems when the government’s protection agreement ends in 2013, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). This agreement currently ensures insurance cover for those properties most at risk from flooding.

In anticipation of this, the ABI has identified those areas most at risk of flood damage in the UK. These also represent the areas where some residents may struggle to find adequate insurance cover.

Anyone worried about flooding should speak to their home insurance provider to find out what their policy covers and any exclusions.

Greener cities – the future

Are greener cities the future?

There is a common misconception that during tough economic times we must abandon ‘nice to haves’ in favour of harsh commercial realities. That green initiatives and environmental concerns must take backseat.

A recent study by GreenWise, however, dispels this myth. Not only is investment in green initiatives justified but actually delivers real economic benefits. According to the study, cities in the UK that adopt a green stance can realise a return on investment within 4-5 years, whilst potentially saving billions of pounds in energy use and creating thousands of new jobs....

Will carbon dioxide emissions defer the next Ice Age?

Climate sceptic groups who oppose limiting greenhouse gas emissions have already begun citing this research as a reason for continuing with industrialisation and carbon emissions (ironically including some who had previously disputed that carbon emissions contributed to global warming!) Read more

Urban tree planting programme launched

A £4.2m scheme to plant one million trees over the next four years has been unveiled by the government. The scheme involves planting trees in urban areas of England that need them most, and is the first government tree-planting campaign since the 1970s.

Led by Defra, alongside the Forestry Commission and organisations such as the Woodland Trust, the aim of the scheme is to halt the decline in the number of trees being planted in towns and cities. Trees for Cities and the Tree Council will also be involved in the Big Tree Plant scheme.

Indian mines company accused of unlawful deforestation

According to the BBC, a subsidiary of the Vedanta mining group in India, Sterlite Industries, has cleared forest land in violation of Supreme Court orders. The trees were cut down while constructing a new power plant in Chhattisgarh state. Two government reports - dated October 2010 - said that trees were cut down in an area owned by the state government which is officially designated as forest land in government records.

Fracking hell

Fracking is the process of injecting a high-pressure mixture of sand, water and chemicals thousands of metres into hard shale rocks to shatter them and release the natural gas inside. The concerns around this controversial technique surround its potential to contaminate water aquifers and poison drinking water. It will also simply extend our reliance on fossil fuels and contribute further to greenhouse gas emissions....