Rob Edwards

We are going to miss climate targets, says Scottish government

from Sunday Herald, 25 November 2012 

Scotland is on track to miss virtually all its legally-binding targets to cut climate pollution for the next 15 years, according to the Scottish government’s senior energy official.

Even if ministers adopt all the measures they have currently proposed to cut carbon emissions, Scotland will still fall eight million tonnes short of the target reduction mandated by parliament for 2027.

The revelation, which comes as Scotland seeks to promote its “world-leading” climate targets on the world stage, has been greeted as “potentially disastrous” by environmentalists. They are demanding a “step change” in policy.

Next weekend the Scottish environment minister, Paul Wheelhouse MSP, is flying to Doha in Qatar for crucial international talks on combating climate change. Before he goes he is due to give a speech in Edinburgh about Scotland’s efforts to boost global “climate justice”, in place of the First Minister, Alex Salmond, who had to pull out for a funeral.

Yesterday, Wheelhouse pointed out that in the past Scotland had cut carbon emissions more than most other countries in the European Union. Between 1990 and 2010, Scottish emissions fell by 22.8%, compared to an average of 14.3% for 27 member states.

Outrage as RBS and Shell shortlisted for green awards

from Sunday Herald, 25 November 2012

Two multinationals regularly criticised for their environmental record are up for the title of Scotland's most environmentally friendly business at the nation's leading green awards.

The Edinburgh-based bank, RBS, and the British oil multinational, Shell, have both been shortlisted for the government-backed 2012 Vision in Business for the Environment of Scotland (Vibes) awards, to be announced in Glasgow this week.

The selection of the two firms has infuriated environmentalists, who label them as among the world's worst polluters. They are demanding that the companies’ nominations be abandoned.

“To suggest RBS and Shell are paragons of virtue and to brand these awards as green is to corrupt the meaning of the word,” said the Green MSP, Alison Johnstone. 

The environmental reputation of RBS was “shredded” and Shell was guilty of major oil spills, she argued. “I don't know who decided on the shortlist for these awards but they're astonishingly out of touch.”

Coastal beauty spots at centre of campaign for first marine national park

from Sunday Herald, 18 November 2012

By Rob Edwards and Iain S Bruce

Five of Scotland's most famous stretches of coastline have been put forward by a campaign to create the country's first coastal and marine national park.

Spurred by the results of a new survey from the National Trust for Scotland, leading experts and environmental organisations have called upon the Scottish Government to consider conferring national park status upon one of the nation's best-known coastal areas.

The leading contenders being touted for protected status are: the Solway Firth; the Argyll Islands and Coast; Ardnamurchan, Small Isles, and the South Skye coast; North Skye Coast and Wester Ross; and North Uist, the Sound of Harris, Harris and South Lewis.

Citing figures revealing that a majority of the population strongly favour conserving wild marine landscapes, campaigners believe that unless action is taken, some of the country's most beautiful stretches of coastline could be endangered.

Marine expert Dr Richard Luxmoore, senior conservation adviser to the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), said: "Most of us live within 10 miles of the coast and the sea has always been a major source of income for coastal communities. Increasingly this is delivered through tourists who appreciate its scenery and wildlife, and it is vital that we recognise this golden goose through better protection."

The call for action came as NTS shared the first results of a poll on Scotland's landscapes with the Sunday Herald, which found that 58% of Scots feel that wild coastal areas need to be conserved for future generations.

Nuclear submarine corrosion caused by cost-cutting, says leaked MoD memo

from The Guardian, 17 November 2012

by Nick Hopkins and Rob Edwards

A confidential Ministry of Defence memo says the corrosion on the UK's new fleet of hunter-killer submarines was caused by cost-cutting and warns that quality controls have been ignored, the Guardian can reveal.

Written by a senior analyst at the MoD, the memo says the corrosion is a "cause for major concern", and that the first three Astute-class boats are likely to experience "severe problems" in the future.

"Has the objective been the prevention of corrosion in submarine components or was it just a cost-cutting exercise?" the memo asks. "It seems a decision has been taken to keep the painting to a minimum in Astute class build to reduce costs."

The memo was written in June and sent to a number of senior figures in the MoD's submarines team, including the chief engineer on submarines, Dr John van Griethuysen.

The disclosure comes after a Guardian investigation revealed that HMS Astute, the first of seven new hunter-killer boats, has been beset with problems during sea trials, raising questions about its performance and reliability.

The £9.75bn fleet was commissioned 15 years ago to become a cornerstone of the UK's naval attack capability, but a range of design and construction flaws have emerged.

Revealed: the cancers that could be linked to radioactive contamination

from Sunday Herald, 11 November 2012

Government scientific advisors have discovered a near-doubling in the incidence of cancers among people living near Dalgety Bay in Fife, which is contaminated by radioactivity.

An expert report for a Department of Health advisory committee on radiation has found a marked increase in liver and blood cancers close to the site of the contamination, the Sunday Herald can reveal.

The scientists have recommended an investigation into potential links between the radioactive site and cancer levels.

The report pointed out that liver cancers were concentrated in communities near the polluted foreshore. This “reinforces the suspicion” that they were linked to the discarded radium that has littered the area for decades, it said.

Yesterday, the revelations provoked concern amongst local residents, who demanded a in-depth inquiry. They were backed by their local MP, the former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who also called for further investigations.

The MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath told the Sunday Herald last night: "Local residents will rightly want and expect more detailed studies done with the greatest of precision to reassure them about their safety."

Big rise in cyclist and pedestrian injuries puts ministers under pressure

from Sunday Herald, 11 November 2012

The number of cyclists and pedestrians seriously injured on Scotland’s roads has risen sharply, putting ministers under mounting pressure to cut accident rates by investing in more safety measures.

The latest official figures from the government’s Transport Scotland agency reveal that there was a 13% jump in the number of cyclists suffering serious injuries in 2011, compared to 2010. There was a similar 12% increase in the number of seriously injured pedestrians.

This has prompted a barrage of angry demands from politicians, transport campaigners, cycling and walking groups for Scottish ministers to boost funding for cycleways and footpaths, better roads and tougher speed limits. Otherwise, they warn, more cyclists and pedestrians will be needlessly injured or killed.

The revelations come at the end of a week that saw two of the UK’s most famous cyclists knocked off their bikes. On Wednesday evening, Bradley Wiggins, the winner of the Tour De France and a four-time Olympic champion, was hit by a van near Wigan in Lancashire.

He spent a night in hospital, and was discharged with a bruised hand and ribs. Coincidentally, the head coach for Britain’s cycling team, Shane Sutton, was in a collision with a car in Manchester on Thursday morning, putting him in hospital with bleeding on the brain and a fractured cheekbone.

The two crashes highlighted the dangers that cyclists face, and led to multiple calls for better safety provisions in England. But the new figures unearthed by the Sunday Herald show that there are also escalating and alarming risks in Scotland.

Are we failing to protect our most precious wildlife sites?

from Scottish Wildlife Trust magazine, November 2012

Vivid red in the dark water, arctic charr have been swimming round Loch Rannoch since the last ice age. But a millionaire property developer wanted to build a seven-storey underwater restaurant for the rich in the middle of their spawning grounds.

The up-market eatery, an artificial island supposedly modelled on an Iron Age crannog, was to be one of the main attractions of an exclusive, £1.3 billion, holiday resort planned for the Dall Estate in Perthshire. It was to be accompanied by a luxury hotel, two golf courses, a concert hall, a shopping centre and a cosmetic surgery clinic.

Staying at the resort would be “hideously expensive”, promised the estate’s owner and developer, Malcolm James. Visitors would have to pay £2 million to join a club, £500,000 in annual membership fees and up to £14,000 to stay the night.

He claimed the development would be “completely environmentally friendly” and would cause “zero pollution”. But in the end few believed him: after more than 1,100 objections, his planning application was thrown out by Perth and Kinross Council in June 2010.

As well as threatening the rare arctic charr in the loch, the resort would have damaged the adjacent Black Wood of Rannoch, one of Scotland’s few remaining fragments of ancient Caledonian pine forest. Both habitats are protected under European law because they have been designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs).

Scotland’s trees threatened by rapid rise in alien diseases

from Sunday Herald, 04 November 2012

Scotland’s renowned and historic woodlands are under threat from a multiplying plague of alien bugs, an investigation by the Sunday Herald has revealed. 

As well as ash dieback, which could wipe out virtually all the country’s beloved native ash trees, there are at least another five imported diseases and pests now afflicting Scottish trees. A further ten, which could pose future dangers, have been detected in England and Wales. 

So far in 2012, four outbreaks of new tree diseases have been recorded in the UK – more than in any previous year. According to the government’s Forestry Commission, the rocketing number of previously unknown diseases is creating “unprecedented threats”.

One government scientist was quoted yesterday warning that there was a “tidal wave of pathogens” entering the UK. “It is terrifying,” said Martin Ward, a plant health officer at the Food and Environment Research Agency. “It will be very difficult to stop them coming in.”

A fungal disease called Phytophthora austrocedrae, which kills juniper trees, was found earlier this year in Glen Artney in Perthshire. Ash dieback, or Chalara fraxinea, is now suspected at four sites in Scotland, while sweet chestnut blight and Asian longhorn beetles have infected trees in England.

Landowner accused of damaging ancient pine forest

from Sunday Herald, 04 November 2012 

A Highland landowner accused of “blatant vandalism” in a protected ancient Caledonian pine forest is under investigation by the Scottish government’s wildlife agency.

Michael Bruce, the owner of the 10,000-hectare Glen Tanar estate on Deeside, is to be visited by officials from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) tomorrow after complaints that forestry operations had damaged trees, killed plants and scarred the landscape.

The alleged damage was discovered by Aberdeen mountaineer, Derek Pyper, during a cycle ride up Glen Tanar on 17 October. When he reached Halfway Hut, he was shocked to see that wide tracks had been bulldozed into the woods.

“There was a large area of what had been attractive woodland reduced to deep mud – not a pretty site,” he told the Sunday Herald.

“Many mature trees had been deeply scraped with a large machine, which virtually sentences them to death. At one side of the machine track, a beautiful, old Caledonian pine had some of its large branches broken and left hanging.”

“After my initial shock at this blatant vandalism, I felt sad that an estate like Glen Tanar had allowed this to happen,” he said. “I’ve always thought of Glen Tanar as being one of the more public spirited and environmentally aware estates in Deeside and Donside. It seems I’m wrong.”

400 Fukushima safety recommendations not yet met in UK

Exclusive, O1 November 2012

More than 400 of the recommendations made to improve the safety of British nuclear plants after the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan last year still have to be implemented, according to the government’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR).

Military sites like the nuclear bomb factory at Aldermaston in Berkshire and the nuclear submarine yard at Devonport in Plymouth have been the slowest to match the ONR’s timetable. Of the 178 recommendations that apply to UK defence sites, 70% (120) have so failed to meet ONR’s expectations.

The French company, EDF Energy, also has a large backlog of safety issues at its nuclear power stations. According to ONR’s latest progress report, it has yet to complete half of the recommended changes (62 out of 126).

Overall, 58% (426) of all the 747 safety recommendations made for all UK nuclear sites are defined by ONR as not yet closed. Nearly a third (265) are described by ONR as needing “further development or provision of evidence/information before ONR can be content that they adequately address expectations.”

The recommendations are designed to improve the ability of nuclear facilities to withstand extreme weather and severe accidents. They include better protection against floods, fires, storms, snow and earthquakes, as well as improved back-up power supplies in emergencies.