Tag: climate-change

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As they once more accuse the Scottish Government of ‘failure’ why do the English and Welsh auditors never do that?

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increase in the number of children who require additional support for learning in schools. The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser closing on Friday, primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS  Who is actually responsible for the implementation of educational policy in school? Local councils and … Continue reading As they once more accuse the Scottish Government of ‘failure’ why do the English and Welsh auditors never do that?

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As energy prices loom thanks to Labour’s failure, how a Scottish Government call for closer energy links with Europe to cut bills was ignored by ‘Scottish’ media

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser closing on Friday, primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS  Posted just after midnight, on January 29th 2025, and so in plenty of time for consideration and publication, but there was none, the Scottish Government has called for closer … Continue reading As energy prices loom thanks to Labour’s failure, how a Scottish Government call for closer energy links with Europe to cut bills was ignored by ‘Scottish’ media

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Climate change targets in the country with 76% of the UK’s new tree planting – ‘Why don’t they do it as well as the Scots?’

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By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS Severin Carroll in the Guardian today, with a worried John Swinney photo: Scotland is likely to miss its legally binding climate target by up to 20m tonnes, according to official data seen by the Guardian. The Scottish government set itself the world-leading target of reaching net zero – the point where any excess carbon emissions are soaked up by trees, peat or carbon capture – by 2045. Successive first ministers, including Nicola Sturgeon and the current first minister, John Swinney, have described Scotland repeatedly as a world leader on climate and stated their … Continue reading Climate change targets in the country with 76% of the UK’s new tree planting – ‘Why don’t they do it as well as the Scots?’

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Drax the Destroyer of Worlds, Jackie Baillie, £10 exrtra on your bill and the UK’s biggest CO2 emitter

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC North Yorkshire, today: A UK power station that has received billions of pounds in government subsidies has failed more than once to report it burned wood from primary forests, BBC News has found. Drax Power Station, which burns wood pellets, is required to report where it sources its wood and whether it is from natural, previously untouched forests. BBC Panorama and BBC News has previously reported that Drax held logging licences in British Columbia, Canada, and used wood, including whole trees, from primary and old-growth forests for its pellets. These are natural forests that have … Continue reading Drax the Destroyer of Worlds, Jackie Baillie, £10 exrtra on your bill and the UK’s biggest CO2 emitter

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Will Anas Sarwar follow Sir Keir Starmer on this too – radioactive emissions through your windows and now floodwaters on your doorstep?

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Dottie, again, for alerting me to this. In the Guardian today: More than 100,000 new homes will be built on the highest-risk flood zones in England in the next five years as part of the government’s push for 1.5m extra properties by the end of this parliament, Guardian analysis suggests. Building on areas with the highest risk of serious flooding is supposed to be discouraged. Experts say development should be avoided unless absolutely necessary because there is a significant chance of regular deluges, which will flood the properties, cause hundreds of millions of pounds of economic … Continue reading Will Anas Sarwar follow Sir Keir Starmer on this too – radioactive emissions through your windows and now floodwaters on your doorstep?

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‘Justice needs to be done’: UK minister responsible for the Stonehaven rail deaths must face trial

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By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Herald today ‘Justice needs to be done’: Rail crash lessons learnt stalls – Victims affected by the Stonehaven rail tragedy say ‘heads should have rolled’ for happened what as it emerged more than half of the ‘lessons learnt’ recommendations of action demanded by investigators have still to be implemented, three years later. It has been confirmed that as of the turn of the year of 20 official recommendations for action over the crash made nearly three years ago, just nine have been closed – meaning action has been taken to totally implement them. Further down, … Continue reading ‘Justice needs to be done’: UK minister responsible for the Stonehaven rail deaths must face trial

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Labour UK copy SNP winning strategy on land use but only 14 years after

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Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this: From the Guardian today, in 2025: The environment secretary, Steve Reed, will announce a consultation into how the limited land in England should be used and where is best to farm, restore nature or build infrastructure. The finished blueprint will use the latest data to map where the areas with the best quality farmland and most potential for nature recovery are and be plugged into the planning matrix used by environment secretary, Ed Miliband, and housing secretary, Angela Rayner. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jan/31/land-use-plan-england-map-farming-nature-housing-solar-wind No target date for the finished blueprint is as yet noted. From the Scottish Government, largely … Continue reading Labour UK copy SNP winning strategy on land use but only 14 years after

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In its 45 year lifetime how many childhood cancers were caused by refuelling at this Ayrshire nuclear power station?

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By Professor John Robertson, OBA Thanks to JB for researching this. Hunterston B Nuclear power station, in North Ayrshire, Scotland, was in operation for nearly 45 years, from February 1976 until November 2021.1 In that time, there will have been around 30 re-fuelling instances2 and up to 300 inspections.3 During these events, there are spikes of radioactive emissions. Researchers in Germany, published this in 2011: According to the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in Germany, the normal emission concentration during the rest of the year is about 3 kBq/m³, but during inspection/refuelling (in the afternoon and evening … Continue reading In its 45 year lifetime how many childhood cancers were caused by refuelling at this Ayrshire nuclear power station?

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The lure of a negatively framed headline about Scotland’s environment to conceal what the expert actually said

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By stewartb So a highly experienced journalist with the Guardian – its Scotland editor no less – demonstrates how to manufacture a negative frame for a news story.  As you read on, is the editor revealing that it’s OK for journalists supposedly serving the public in Scotland to mis-report – to  manipulate – the content of an interview in order to create a damning headline? As it’s well know that headlines impact readers, is this a blatant example of seeking to influence by deception? Note the headline (from January 19, 2025): ‘We are resting on our laurels’: Scotland faces significant challenge … Continue reading The lure of a negatively framed headline about Scotland’s environment to conceal what the expert actually said

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There is no evidence of ‘regular’ care in extra beds and corridors in Scotland as BBC Scotland make up the numbers from a survey where less than 1% bothered to respond across the UK

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Professor John Robertson OBA In a 457 page report, On the frontline of the UK’s corridor care crisis, from the RCN UK, the word ‘Scotland’ appears only twice in the text and, other than that, as the page header of a section where there are anonymised statements from an unspecified number of respondents. I am not, of course, saying that events do not happen in corridors and that care never takes place there, in Scotland but I am saying that this report does not provide evidence of it happening regularly as BBC Scotland claims today. The report only suggests ‘more than 5 … Continue reading There is no evidence of ‘regular’ care in extra beds and corridors in Scotland as BBC Scotland make up the numbers from a survey where less than 1% bothered to respond across the UK