A new report, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), attempts to bring to the world’s attention the truly great economic value of ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as the benefits of taking these into account when making policies.

The value of the world’s natural ecosystems and biodiversity is something lacking in most economic analyses. Lack of value for what is truly priceless doesn’t just hurt the environment, however. It is also a sort of economic suicide. This new report, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme and supported by key EU, UK, German, Swedish, Dutch, and Norwegian bodies, attempts to bring all of this to our attention more and show some positive case studies of how taking the environment into consideration can actually save us money.

As the report says: “the failure of markets to adequately consider the value of ecosystem services is of concern not only to environment, development and climate change ministries but also to finance, economics and business ministries.”

Read more of this story »

Some of you may not be aware of the intricacies of the British parliamentary system, but one of its stranger quirks is something called the House of Lords - an amalgam of hereditary aristocrats, ageing bishops and a range of other assorted oddballs.

Over the years (centuries), this ‘upper house’ has cultivated something of a reputation for eccentricity - but the latest outburst from Conservative Lord McColl takes the biscuit. In order to tackle the safety risk posed to pedestrians by quiet electric cars he suggested the following proposal:

“My Lords, does the Minister accept that there might be a simpler solution? When I purchased one of these cars a few years ago, my wife, being very practical, said that the answer would be to put on the front of the car a small Swiss cowbell….”

Read more of this story »

British company e-Motive has launched a range of electric scooters in the UK and, at prices starting from just £1399 ($2300), is hoping to kickstart a zero-emission revolution.

The e1, e3 and e5 debut models are powered by the latest electric motor and battery technology, are road tax exempt, and cost as little as one pence per mile to run.

Speaking about the launch, e-Motive Managing Director, Paul Williams, gushed, “The reliability, rideability and all-round consumer package that comes with these scooters finally makes owning and running a zero-emissions vehicle affordable, supremely practical and desirable.”

Read more of this story »

For those eager to absolve the carbon guilt caused by yet another international flight, Heathrow airport is trialling an innovative electric car shuttle fleet to ferry passengers to and from the business car park.

Seeing as Heathrow is the world’s busiest international airport, I suppose the effort is a little bit like launching an attack on a saber-toothed tiger with a blunt knife, or maybe a feather duster… But hey, maybe I’m being unfair - I suppose you’ve got to start somewhere right? And I admit, the system does seem a bit nifty - if not quite as good as the Johnny Cabs (video) in Total Recall.

Read more of this story »

Cops based near Oxford in the UK have revealed that they are unable to to use flashing blue lights on their new electric car - in case it drains too much power from the battery.

The Thames Valley police force is testing out the £20,000 ($33,000) Mitsubishi iMiev in an effort to improve its environmental credentials. Apart from this quite obvious setback, they have been pleased with the silent, emission-free car, capable of travelling 100 miles on a single charge (with the lights off).

Read more of this story »

Britain’s first IVF white rhino calf has been born at the Colchester Zoo.

The history-making calf is named Zamba, and was welcomed into the world on October 3, following a 16-month pregnancy. His mother, 11-year-old Cynthia, was in labor for three hours and was able to deliver the calf on her own. Zamba’s father, Simba, had died in April at the age of 41.

Read more of this story »

UK company AFC Energy claims to have developed fuel cell technology that can “generate and export electricity to a grid as efficiently as traditional electrodes.”

AFC tested its alkaline-based technology in Germany recently and found that its efficiency matched that of traditional platinum-based electrodes that cost more. This high efficiency moves the company one step closer to full-scale production of its fuel cell technology.

Read more of this story »

Looking to create products for the real world as soon as possible, a new research center in the UK is aiming to speed up the development and installment of a variety of low carbon technologies to ensure a greener future for us all.

This new £50 million ($80 million) center hopes to do this through more coordinated and focused efforts from four universities and a regional development agency. The four universities that have teamed up are Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and Yorkshire, and they are working with the regional development agency Yorkshire Forward. The name of the new center is Centre for Low Carbon Futures (CLCF).

Read more of this story »

Once widespread in the U.K., the hazel dormouse population has declined by 39% since 1992, due to loss of hedgerows and fragmentation of woodland habitat. Now this tiny mammal is vulnerable to regional extinction.

To help locate hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius ) habitats and gather data about these elusive creatures, the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) has invited the public to participate in its third annual “Great Nut Hunt.”

Read more of this story »

A new report released today says that if we shift our economy — to a greener, low-carbon economy — we will have more jobs, not fewer.

Earlier this week, Tony Blair (former prime minister of the UK) and the Climate Group reported that if we worked to avoid climate change we’d create 10 million new jobs by 2020 — worldwide. Another recent study by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council says that such a shift could increase employment in the EU by 2.7 million jobs by 2030.

One more report, released today by the Global Climate Network (an alliance of nine influential think tanks) comes to similar conclusions.

Read more of this story »

A new energy fund in the UK is looking to improve wave and tidal energy technologies and help put them into use. The new Marine Renewables Proving Fund contains about $36 million worth of new grants.

Read more of this story »

A new water dispensing technology created by UK designer Oliver Craig could change the way that European shoppers and commuters drink water, and it’s a technology that could help eliminate water bottle waste that’s cluttering international landfills greatly due to increased convenience.

Read more of this story »

In a move praised by environmentalists fighting to protect vulnerable species, thousands of restaurants across the UK and Ireland have taken 69 fish off their menus.

The Compass Group, world’s largest contract caterer, is setting an example in addressing fisheries’ sustainability and helping to reduce demand for over-exploited fish. According to today’s Guardian, the 69 species on the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) “Fish to Avoid” list will no longer be served at 6,500 outlets across the UK and Ireland supplied by Compass.

Head of conservation at MCS, Simon Brockington, in the same article, praised the company’s decision, calling it a “crucial step in ensuring the long-term survival of vulnerable fisheries.”

Currently, a decision on whether or not to offer “official advice” to consumers on eating ethically is under consideration by the government’s Food Standards Agency. If the agency moves forward with the decision, it will encourage consumers not to buy or eat endangered fish,as well as direct them to the MCS and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

Read more of this story »

Smooth snakes are to be released in Devon, where they have not been seen for over 50 years.

Ten smooth snakes (Coronella austriaca) will be collected, under license, from several populations in Dorset, and released at one of the RSPB’s heathland nature reserves, under a project organized by Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, East Devon Pebblebed Heaths Conservation Trust and the RSPB, with support from Natural England, according to The Mid Devon Star.

Conservationists have found the East Devon heaths to be in “superb condition.” This made it possible for a site with “excellent quality of heath” to be chosen for the smooth snakes - a site that will provide the best opportunity for the species to expand into a much wider range.

Read more of this story »

The Hazel Dormouse, once widespread throughout the UK, is now vulnerable to regional extinction. Fortunately, an ongoing reintroduction plan is helping to increase the numbers of Britain’s only native dormouse species.

Loss of hedgerows and fragmentation of woodland habitat has nearly wiped out the Hazel Dormouse from Britain. But, thank to the PTES’ Hazel Dormouse Biodiversity Action Plan, this species is being reintroduced to the wild.

At the latest dormouse release organized by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES), 11 male and 14 female Hazel Dormice were released “somewhere in Warwickshire.” These young dormice were comprised of animals from wild animal parks and several private breeders, ensuring genetic diversity in the new population. They have been microchipped to enable ongoing monitoring.

For the first two weeks, the dormice will live in large cages as they become accustomed to their new surroundings, receiving food and water daily. Then, the cage doors will be open and the little mammals will be able to explore the surrounding woodland on their own, and eventually live independently.

Read more of this story »

A UK company has launched a new device that allows users to cut-off their water supply at the flick of a switch, drastically reducing wasteage and giving a significant boost to water conservation efforts.

Instead of scrabbling around looking for the stopcock, the new Surestop device allows users cut supply instantly, saving water loss, and consequent damage, whilst giving householders direct control over water consumption.

Now the company hopes to expand into areas crippled by drought, where water conservation is a pressing priority.

Read more of this story »

Huw Irranca-Davies, the British Fisheries Minister has joined a list of actors, celebrities and activists demanding the Japanese restaurant Nobu stop serving the endangered bluefin tuna on their menus.

Read more of this story »

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., within the Renault-Nissan Alliance, announced today that it will be building two European plants to manufacture its advanced lithium-ion batteries - each plant manufacturing a projected annual capacity of 60,000 units. With agreements between Nissan and Portugal and the United Kingdoms, the Renault-Nissan Alliance makes significant steps towards producing batteries for its European Zero Emission Mobility Program.

Nissan will receive financial assistance from both countries’ respective governments, as well as other forms of support, in order to ensure that the plants will be located within the countries. The hope is that the two plants will have both immediate and long-term effects on the health of both national and regional economies by boosting jobs, pioneering the manufacture and sale of zero emission vehicles in Europe and contributing to the automotive industry.

Read more of this story »

Previous civilizations dependant on irrigation of dry soil have failed. The gradually increased salinity in irrigated dry soil has ended civilizations even though they solved the engineering and logistic problems of designing, building, and maintaining irrigation systems, but neglected the long-term effects of salinization.

We’ll have no choice but to learn to farm in salty water, as the next few centuries’ climate change dries up growing areas from California, Florida and the Middle East, to Africa and China and Australia - - and as seawater increasingly infiltrates crops on low-slung island nations.

So the research findings of a group of scientists from the University of Adelaide in Australia and Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, UK. attempting to learn to grow crops in saltwater is very good news.

The team has succeeded in keeping salt out of the leaves of the first plant species tested:

Read more of this story »

Researchers at the University of York have recently come up with a method of recycling that seems like it fell from the pages of a science fiction novel. They want to turn discarded television screens into components for biomedicine.

Read more of this story »