OVERSEER > Home. UK Environmental Law News and Press Releases. May 16, 2012 Legislation that protects the environment across the UK poses problems for people who have to use and comply with it, and is becoming increasingly fragmented across the UK, a new report finds (published on May 23rd).
The report highlights a number of specific problem areas and practices that adversely affect the coherence, integration and transparency of environmental legislation in the UK. It also highlights problems with legislative scrutiny processes. There are many reasons for these problems, from lack of integration and coherence at the European level (where most UK environmental law comes from), technical complexities, and fast moving policies that require legislation under tight deadlines. The report was researched and written by the UK Environmental Law Association, King’s College London and Cardiff University. Singapore’s Green-Roofed Marina Barrage Controls Flooding and Stores 10,000 Hectares of Rainwater. Singapore receives 100 inches of rain each year, making flood control and water supply preservation a big issue. The solution: an elegant, low-level dam, known as the Marina Barrage. The Marina Barrage is the nation’s 15th reservoir, but it is the first in the heart of the city.
Conceived by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew nearly two decades ago, the Marina Barrage creates a freshwater reservoir that increases the available supply of water and decreases dependence from imported sources. Together with two other new reservoirs, it has increased Singapore’s water catchment from half to two-thirds of the country’s land area. Intensive Agriculture Leaves Lasting Legacy on Soil Health - Crop Articles from The Crop Site. Featured Articles Intensive Agriculture Leaves Lasting Legacy on Soil Health 22 July 2012 The long-lasting and negative effects of intensive farming on soils persist even where complex animal communities have been reintroduced to the soil in attempt to restore the natural balance, according to a recent study.
The findings highlight the possible effects of historical land use on soils' ability to deliver ecosystem services. Converting natural land, such as grassland, to intensively managed agriculture land affects the soil. In addition, soil biodiversity is reduced. As part of the EU SOILSERVICE project, this study investigated whether the historical effects of intensive land use could be reduced by re-establishing soil animal communities, typically found in natural grasslands, in intensively farmed soils. In the laboratory, a series of pots were filled with soil taken either from an intensively managed wheat field or from adjacent grassland.
July 2012. Unveils improved way to estimate saltwater recreational fishing. Method improves accuracy of recreational fishing catch statistics January 25, 2012 Recreational fishing.
(Credit: NOAA) NOAA today announced it has begun to use an improved method to estimate the amount of fish caught by saltwater anglers, which will allow rules that fishermen follow to be based on more accurate information. Billionaire Father Of Fracking Says Government Must Step Up Regulation. Lakes Harmed From Global Warming. July 17, 2012 Image Caption: In the fall, the body of water already turns over at a depth of between zero and 20 meters and the Planktothrix comes to the surface from depths of 15 meters. It can form visible masses (blooms) at the surface. Credit: Limnologische Station, UZH Brett Smith for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online As average temperatures across the globe have ticked up, toxic blood-red algae are thriving in central European lakes–according to a new study out of the University of Zurich.
In a report published in Nature Climate Change, Swiss researchers assert that the warmest winters the country has seen in the past 40 years hampered the seasonal die-off of Burgundy blood-red algae, a photosynthetic bacterium that has bloomed en masse recently. PSU study finds 'caffeinated' coastal waters. Public release date: 18-Jul-2012 [ Print | E-mail Share ] [ Close Window ] Contact: David Santensantend@pdx.edu 503-725-8765Washington State University A new study finds elevated levels of caffeine at several sites in Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of Oregon—though not necessarily where researchers expected. This study is the first to look at caffeine pollution off the Oregon coast. UK's front gardens paved over for parking spaces. Millions of the UK's front gardens are being paved over to become parking spaces, according to new research published this week.
Almost one-third of the 20.8m homes with front gardens have turned them into hardstandings, amounting to just under 7m homes, an area roughly equivalent to around 100 Hyde Parks. The number of houses with paved-over front plots has almost doubled in the past 20 years. In 1991, just 16% of houses with front plots had turned them into hardstandings, compared with 30% in 2011, according to the report Spaced Out: Perspectives on Parking policy, published by the RAC Foundation, the independent motoring charity.
It states that the main cause for the increasing number is the significant rise in car ownership. The number of cars in Britain has grown from 21m in 1991 to 28.5m in 2011, a figure the report estimates could grow to 32m over the next two decades. The RAC Foundation says poor parking provision by councils is forcing more people to create spaces at home.