The True Face Of An Eco-Tycoon...

An eco-tycoon and his wife who were filmed destroying a community flowerbed amid a bitter row with his green-fingered neighbours over plans to build a gym at his home has finally settled the case and left the country.

Oh dear, how sad. But what sort of 'eco-tycoon' destroys nature?  

Oh, silly me, the ones that build the bird-choppers do. I suppose, Maybe this isn't as bizarre a story as I first thought when the headline caught my eye...

Michael Hodgson, 55, of Gwaenysgor, near Prestatyn, North Wales, was charged with criminal damage listed at a value of £178 over the incident in the village of around 230 residents in August last year. He and his wife Shirin Pootschi, 57, were caught on camera in a furious rage pulling up a bed of wildflowers outside his house just 24 hours after they were planted.

Insane! 

At the time locals said it was the culmination of a 10-year planning row between Hodgson and his neighbours, ongoing since he first moved to the village 11 years ago. Hodgson had put in three separate planning applications to build a home gym and office adjoined to his £500,000 home - but each time it faced fierce opposition from neighbours.

And he lost the argument: 

Hodgson has since donated an unspecified amount of money to a local church as part of an out of court community settlement order. Prosecutor Mrs Jackson told the court Hodgson has since moved out of the UK, although still maintains a property in the village. It is unclear where he and his wife are now living.

Beware if you've recently acquired neighbours! 

Defence lawyer Selina Woodward said: 'The community resolution was to pay a sum of money to the local church. That was paid.' She added: 'This gentleman and his wife have been through an absolute nightmare.'

 No, they caused one, they aren't the victims here, though I'm sure that's what they are paying you to say.

The lawyer said a PC in the case had stopped responding and she sought an adjournment. District judge Gwyn Jones adjourned the case until next month for North Wales police to liaise with Hodgson about the outstanding aspects of the community resolution.

Meaning they skipped town before fully complying? What lovely people... 

'Sustainability' Is A Humpty Dumpty Word...

...it means whatever the ecomentalists want it to mean. How else to explain this sort of thing?

 

The state government touts the highway's "sustainable" credentials, but some locals and conservationists are outraged at the environmental impact. The Amazon plays a vital role in absorbing carbon for the world and providing biodiversity, and many say this deforestation contradicts the very purpose of a climate summit.

And they'd be right. We had to give up plastic straws and  plastic bottle tops that you can remove fully for this abomination? 

H/T: Ian J via email 

It’s Not Like We’d Listen To Them Any More…

Environmental organisations “are still very white, especially at the top”, the co-director of Greenpeace has said as research showed little to no improvement in the ethnic diversity of their workforces. Areeba Hamid’s comments came as the third annual racial action on the climate emergency (Race) report into diversity among environmental charities found fewer than one in 20 of those working in the sector identified as people of colour or as other racial or ethnic minority groups. The average among the UK workforce is 16%, or just more than one in eight.

Quite why they believe this is necessary I don’t know - it’s not as if I’m going to pay any more attention to their nonsense if it’s spouted by a brown face rather than a white one… 

“Environmental organisations are still very white, especially at the top,” Hamid said. “I find myself in CEO meetings where I’m the only person of colour in the room, and it just doesn’t feel right in 21st-century Britain. ”

It would have felt very right just a few decades ago, I can’t help but think. 

The lack of improvement comes despite environment institutions’ apparent efforts and willingness to engage. Researchers said 161 – the highest number yet – had provided data, including all the UK’s largest environment NGOs. Together they represented 28,600 employees, more than double the number of workers accounted for in the previous year’s report, giving researchers the best picture yet of racial diversity in the sector.

Manu Maunganidze, part of the team that published the report, said: “The more we uncover, the more we realise there’s still much work to do – but that’s not a setback, as long as we stay committed and grounded in why racial diversity matters in the first place.”

 Why?

“People of colour may be minoritised in the UK but, globally, they’re on the frontlines of climate change. Those most affected by environmental disasters – floods, wildfires, rising tides – are too often those who aren’t given a seat at the table. This is why representation is so critical.”

So you need more diversity because those in the home countries are suffering? Well, why not go do it in those countries and not the UK? 

We Built It, But They Didn't Come....

In a statement from Stagecoach, the consortium said: "We are proud to have achieved a world first with our CAVForth autonomous bus service, demonstrating the potential for self-driving technology on a real-world registered timetable in East Scotland."

Hurrah! How did it go? 

Built at an estimated cost of more than £6m, partly funded by the UK government, the fleet of five single-decker buses had the capacity to carry 10,000 passengers a week but needed two crew on board for safety reasons. In a brief statement, Stagecoach said that actual passenger numbers “did not reach expectations” and suggested this was a delay to the technology’s rollout rather than a setback.

Oh. Guess I shouldn't have asked. 

The Scottish government has set a target to cut car usage by 20% by 2030 but the latest data shows that is a long way from being achieved.

It'll never be achieved. It's King Canute legislation. But hey, the Sassenachs are paying! 

Surely They Should First Ensure That It Is..?

The government must urgently reassure consumers that feed additives given to cattle to reduce methane emissions are harmless, and a vital tool in tackling the climate crisis, the chair of an influential parliamentary committee has warned.

But is it? Is anyone who isn't already a die-hard 'anthropogenic global warming' fanatic claiming that it is?

Lady Sheehan, chair of the environment and climate change committee of the House of Lords, called on ministers to step up as a row has blown up over the prospective use of the additive Bovaer in British dairy herds supplying Arla, the dairy company.

“The government has the evidence it can use” of the product’s safety, she said. “I can see why the government wouldn’t want to throw its weight behind recommending one of the feed additive options out there because there are others, but the government can point to the evidence to date that the FSA has licensed it and has reassured [consumers] that it is safe.”

Unfortunately, love, the government insisting something is safe doesn't hold as much weight as it once did... 

She said seaweed, willow and maize added to cattle diets were also showing promise in reducing methane, and should be further explored.

So we no longer know whether our tea tastes funny because the milk's off, or it's got a tang of seaweed? 

Arla announced last month it would start trials of Bovaer in the UK, but an online backlash ensued with some people claiming they would boycott the dairy. Arla and the manufacturer of Bovaer, DSM-Firmenich, have been forced to make public statements that the additive – which has been developed over 15 years and was certified by the UK’s food safety watchdog over a year ago – is safe.

Consumers don't want to buy your product with this stuff in it. What's hard to understand about that?  

Sheehan put the row down to “misinformation and disinformation” spread on social media. She added: “The government needs to continue with the trials that it’s doing to stay on top of this, to make sure what the long term effects are.”

So if it's a 'trial' and they don't know what the long term effects are already, how can you claim it's safe? 

"Licensing private hire jet skis is not something the council has done before."

But you can practically see the pound signs in their eyes, can't you?

The use of private hire jet skis on waterways in Suffolk has been scrutinised after a district council decided it would launch a consultation on whether it should be licensing them or not.

Members of the East Suffolk Council licensing committee met on Monday to discuss the issue following the launch of a business in the area earlier this year.

Well, at least they decided to consult, I suppose...

Oh, wait!  

Under Section 94 of the Public Health Act Amendments Act 1907, jet skis let out for hire must be licensed by the council.

Then...why the consultation? 

The consultation will only focus on jet skis let out to hire and not those used by private owners.

The ones not for hire run silently and produce no pollution, I suppose? 

Bathers, be sensible! Build your nests somewhere else! You too, seals...

 
H/T: Dave Ward via email

It Worked In WWII, But I Don’t Think It’ll Work Today…

 

Scientists have called for people to go “urban mining” after a study revealed that old cables, phone chargers and other unused electrical goods thrown away or stored in cupboards or drawers could stave off a looming shortage of copper. The research found that in the UK there are approximately 823m unused or broken tech items hiding in “drawers of doom” containing as much as 38,449 tonnes of copper – including 627m cables – enough to provide 30% of the copper needed for the UK’s planned transition to a decarbonised electricity grid by 2030.

Patriots in WWII contributed their spare metal objects to help build Spitfires for the war effort, and clearly, this inspired a PR bod to try the same thing, with a far more imaginary foe than the Nazis.

Scott Butler, from Recycle Your Electricals, which produced the study, called on the public to start recycling their unwanted electrical goods.

Nice try, I suppose.