With 20 years professional experience, I have written for Forbes, Utility Week and Classic Rock, among others. I am also a published author with several books available.
Meet The Youngest CEO Of A B-Corps In Britain
It can take a lifetime for some entrepreneurs to reach the goal of becoming the CEO of a B-Corps accredited business, but Lysander Bickham crossed it off his “bucket” list when he was just 16 years old.
Bickham started the Leo’s Box subscription service for sustainable beauty and cleaning products when he was just 15.
It was initially set up to help fight the war on waste and within the space of just three years, it has gained B-Corps accreditation, and attracted the attention of top corporat...
Laughing in the face of controversy: Uncle Watson’s Widow
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Uncle Watson’s Widow are a band on a mission. They’re going to drive a tsunami through the traditionally still waters of blues and rock, and then make it relevant for a modern audience. Forget the beer swilling cliches of old. Southern rock may never be the same again.
Featuring the crème de la crème of the North Carolina music scene – Steve Jones (vocals guitars), Jon Epstein (bass), Bekkah Moss (vocals), Kim King (guitars), Scott Williams (drums) and Steve Mowery (keyb...
Are Wood-Burning Stoves The Environmental Equivalent Of A ‘Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing’?
As the nights start to draw in, the idea of sitting down by a roaring fire can be hard to resist.
After all, what could be more natural than a log-burning stove and a cup of cocoa?
Despite the cosy images, many will argue they are a major source of air pollution - particularly airborne particles under 2.5 microns in size - otherwise known as PM 2.5.
Figures released by the UK government in February this year show that burning wood at home was responsible for more than a third (38%) of all the...
Are Air Pollution And Climate Change Two Sides Of The Same Coin?
It is often said that climate change is a broad church - a very broad church.
From conservation and protecting endangered species to developing sustainable methods of manufacturing, it now covers a multitude of issues, which are all now competing for our attention.
For many years, air pollution appeared to be one of those niche areas, which was frequently got overlooked.
But as global temperatures continue to rise, wildfires rage in various countries and countries try to get their heads aroun...
Polluting West Balkan Coal Plants Blamed For Thousands Of Deaths In New Report
Thousands of people in Europe have died because of Western Balkan coal power plants breaching pollution limits, according to a new report.
The report by CEE Bankwatch Network and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air claims 19,000 people have died over the past three years, as a result of air pollution caused by the plants in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro.
The report warns the pollution caused by these plants affects not only people in their ...
One In Three Tree Species Face Extinction, Study Finds
A third of the world’s trees are at risk of extinction as climate change and extreme weather events takes their toll, according to a new study.
The State of the World’s Trees report by the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) warns that 17,500 tree species – around 30% of the 60,000 around the world – are currently at risk of extinction.
It adds more than 440 tree species are right now on the brink of extinction, meaning they have fewer than 50 individuals remaining in the wild.
...
CFC Ban Saved The Planet From Becoming A ‘Scorched Earth’, Study Shows
This planet would already be facing the reality of a “scorched Earth” would it not be for an international agreement signed more than 30 years ago, according to a new study.
The study led by scientists at the University of Lancaster into the Montreal Protocol, which was first signed in 1987, concludes the agreement has had wide-ranging benefits in the fight against climate change.
The Protocol banned the production of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which were damaging the Earth’s ozone layer.
Th...
Isn’t It Time We Talked About Indoor Air Quality?
Whenever we talk about air quality and pollution, we tend to think about the great outdoors.
The reason we do this is very simple.
When we talk about the issue, we immediately see in our minds pictures of cars emitting dangerous fumes, giant plumes of smoke bellowing from power plants and the recent wildfires in the US and Europe.
These things are bad for the environment. We get it.
But as important as it is to improve outdoor air quality, particularly after so many heatwaves in cities around...
Are Living Walls The Key To Cooler Cities?
Whoever said the living was easy in summertime never lived in a city between the months of June and August.
Of course, higher temperatures in urban areas are nothing new, but the summer of 2021 has already proved to be a particularly sticky one with heatwave warnings in Japan, California and England.
The threat of global warming could see temperatures rise even further and as people try to return to work in major cities, the question remains what can be done to ensure they remain as cool as p...
Tree Planting Could Boost The UK Economy By £366 Million
Planting trees and other forms of greenery could boost the UK economy by £366 million, according to a new report.
The report, commissioned by the UK100 group, claims investing in woodland could create up to 36,000 new jobs around the country, as well as help Britain achieve its Net Zero goals.
According to the analysis, conducted by academic researchers with the Place-based Climate Action Network at Queen’s University Belfast, the economic benefit of planting a single tree ranges from £1,200 ...
Terror at 20,000 feet
A new global campaign and film asks whether the air we breathe on commercial flights is as safe as we think it is.
While the pandemic means the prospect of international travel remains very much up in the air (no pun intended), many of us have probably been dreaming of the day when we will be packing our bags and heading to warmer climes.
The aviation industry has always had an uneasy relationship with the environment, especially with the amount of fossil fuel consumed by flights all over the...
Has local government funding gone to pot?
More and more, councils are being encouraged to bid for various pots of cash but is this the best way to deal with issues like the environment.
There has always been much more to local government finance than just council tax and business rates bills. It is a strange, murky world full of acronyms and titles that can leave most ordinary people baffled and bemused, despite the fact it has a direct impact on each of our lives.
It used to be a relatively simple affair. Councils collected council ...
Interview: Professor Paul Watt, University of London
New Start speaks to Professor Paul Watt (pictured) from the Department of Geography, Birbeck College, University of London about his new book, Estate Regeneration and Its Discontent – Public Housing, Place and Inequality in London.
Based on extensive fieldwork and interviews with more than 200 residents living in some of the capital’s most deprived areas, Watt shows the dramatic ways that estate regeneration is reshaping London, fuelling socio-spatial inequalities via state-led gentrification...
The great hybrid car debate
While the debate around the decarbonisation of transport continues, a revolution is occurring on British roads.
The age of the hybrid is well and truly upon us, with glossy ads aplenty encouraging drivers to ditch traditional petrol and diesel engines and switch to a newer, greener and sexier form of transport.
And that revolution is gathering pace. Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT)
earlier this month show more than 40,000 were registered in October – o...
How clean air can give workers a sense of security
Air Quality News recently spoke with the team from CleanAir Spaces (CAS) about why indoor air quality matters and how its systems are helping combat Covid-19.
The international firm has worked over the last five years to build out a major presence in Asia with over 28 million square metres fitted out improving air quality working with CBRE, JLL, Google, Microsoft.
Air Quality News talked to Steve Skerrett, the founding partner and chief executive of the BioTech Group, and Pablo Fernandez, the...