STOKE ENVIRONMENT GROUP
Stoke St Gregory, Somerset, England
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(Quite) Good News
Do you ever think “Why do I bother - we’re all doomed anyway?”Although there's a lot to be worried about when it comes to the climate and the environment, let’s not lose hope. We have to be aware of all the dreadful things happening on and to our planet, but we have to stay positive. Small achievements of our own and other people need to be recognised. This isn’t a ‘greenwash’ - it’s a statement of hope for the future generations.
Plastic Bags
They are everywhere - littering our streets, clogging up our rivers, and choking wildlife in the ocean. But after years of campaigning from environmental groups, many places have banned them entirely. Over 100 countries now have a full or partial ban on single-use plastic bags.
Bangladesh became the first country to introduce a ban on plastic bags back in 2002. Globally, bans are imposed with various degrees of severity. In Kenya, manufacturing the bags - which clog the country’s infrastructure and cause flooding - can land you with up to four years in prison or a €36,000 fine.
A range of polluting single-use plastics will be banned in England, Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey announced in January. The ban will include single-use plastic plates, trays, bowls, cutlery, balloon sticks, and certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers. This ban will be introduced from October 2023, allowing businesses time to prepare. According to estimates, England uses 2.7 billion items of single-use cutlery — most of which are plastic — and 721 million single-use plates per year, but only 10% are recycled. If 2.7 billion pieces of cutlery were lined up they would go round the world over eight and a half times (based on a 15cm piece of cutlery).
See a more detailed discussion HERE
Coal
Although Cumbria’s new coal mine will emit fifteen times more methane than estimated by the developer, the last decade and more has seen a major reduction of coal usage. In 2010 the UK’s power supply was heavily dominated by fossil fuels, with coal alone generating almost a third of UK electricity. However, in just over a decade the UK’s power system has been transformed: coal now generates just over 2% of the UK’s electricity. See more HERE
Beavers are making a comeback in London for the first time since they were hunted to extinction 400 years ago.
They will be released in Ealing’s Paradise Fields – an eight-hectare site of woodland and wetlands minutes from Greenford Tube station – as part of a project to protect against urban flooding and create diverse wetland habitats.
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See the full story HERE
And don't forget - lots of things going on here in Stoke St Gregory. Think Global, Act Local. Come and see what's happening locally at the ENVIROFAIR on Saturday 3rd June See HERE