Tag: environment

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As UK Government fails 7 out of 10 targets for England, Scottish Government initiatives push Scotland well ahead of the rest of the UK in preserving nature but this is all they have to criticise it weeks before the Election

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The Guardian’s Severin Carroll today has: MSPs not told about collapse of funding deal for Scottish nature restoration Exclusive: Ministers accused of trying to keep investment firm’s withdrawal from partnership with NatureScot under wraps. A funding deal to raise £100m from private investors for urgently needed nature restoration in Scotland has fallen through without the Scottish parliament being told. The Guardian has learned that Aberdeen, the investment firm, decided to withdraw from a partnership with the agency NatureScot to raise at least £100m for conservation projects from commercial and private investors late last year. Scottish government ministers did not disclose that when the Highlands … Continue reading As UK Government fails 7 out of 10 targets for England, Scottish Government initiatives push Scotland well ahead of the rest of the UK in preserving nature but this is all they have to criticise it weeks before the Election

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How UK Labour might follow the Trump Administration ‘doing something horrifying to workers at nuclear facilities’

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In Futurism, yesterday: It isn’t just the guys handling plutonium who need to worry about radiation — every US nuclear worker, from the plumbers patching leaks to the janitors mopping floors, has a reason to be on guard. New reporting by High Country News detailed the startling impact the Trump administration is having on the safety of nuclear energy workers. As part of the administration’s “nuclear renaissance,” the US Department of Energy (DOE) has begun stripping back effective safety regulations that had previously limited workers’ exposure to deadly radiation. “They’re pulling away from what’s kept us safe all these years,” Bradley Clawson, a former nuclear … Continue reading How UK Labour might follow the Trump Administration ‘doing something horrifying to workers at nuclear facilities’

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Never mind those terribly inconvenient ferry delays, Scotland has by far the highest level of fuel poverty ANYWHERE in Europe after 50 years of theft by Labour and Tory governments in London

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The above is frankly shocking and would still be so even if it were not for this: Why Scots have a ‘critically low’ democratic well-being score – the 50 years theft of their energy supplies for one thing? Carnegie UK today have reported (previous TuS post) that Scots have a ‘critically low‘ democratic well-being score of only 40%. Who is surprised? I’m surprised it’s not zero, same as mine. If you are at all aware of Scotland’s 300 year plus and current predicament in the Union, how could you get anywhere near 40%. Given their many problems with crap governance but at … Continue reading Never mind those terribly inconvenient ferry delays, Scotland has by far the highest level of fuel poverty ANYWHERE in Europe after 50 years of theft by Labour and Tory governments in London

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Ed Miliband to change law so that new nuclear power stations can be build closer to home despite clear evidence they bring increased breast cancer for mature women and childhood leukaemia

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In the Guardian today: Miliband reveals plans that could mean nuclear power plants built near homes Changes to regulation to speed up development could also make it easier to build on sensitive nature sites. Ed Miliband has unveiled plans that could make it easier to build nuclear power plants closer to homes and on sensitive nature sites, as he attempts to speed up the development of energy infrastructure. The energy secretary set out changes to nuclear regulation, to be carried out this year, which would mean a “win-win for building critical infrastructure while protecting nature and the environment”. However, ministers … Continue reading Ed Miliband to change law so that new nuclear power stations can be build closer to home despite clear evidence they bring increased breast cancer for mature women and childhood leukaemia

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BBC Scotland wildfires report ignores the role of the big private grouse estates to blame you, me and the SNP

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON In a BBC Scotland report yesterday: Scotland facing escalating threat from wildfires – report https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx28wez183eo There’s not a word criticising the big grouse estates or their practice of muirburn and its role in wildfires. There is also, a complete failure to report the steps the Scottish Government is taking to manage that: From the Scottish Government in October 2025: Link – https://www.gov.scot/news/muirbuirn-licence-scheme/ This diplomatic account conceals, I feel sure, a determined policy by the SNP to reign in grouse moor owners … Continue reading BBC Scotland wildfires report ignores the role of the big private grouse estates to blame you, me and the SNP

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Could a huge data centre revitalise Ayrshire – or ruin it? How Scotland’s massive water and electricity resources make it the perfect location for an industry which we could, after independence, tax fully

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON BBC Scotland, Glasgow & West today has: Could a huge data centre revitalise Ayrshire – or ruin it? Supporters talk of it revitalising the region, bringing new jobs and investment that would be ploughed back into the community. But the plans have met strong opposition from locals concerned about the impact on the wider area. Some of those opposed have contacted BBC Your Voice, and say the firm has not provided concrete details about a building that would dominate … Continue reading Could a huge data centre revitalise Ayrshire – or ruin it? How Scotland’s massive water and electricity resources make it the perfect location for an industry which we could, after independence, tax fully

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French owned Somerset nuclear power station delayed by 13 years with construction costs soaring from £18bn to more than £50bn and to produce electricity costing more than 3 times that of wind power

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this: From the Guardian today: Britain’s first new nuclear plant in a generation at the Hinkley Point C site will face further delay, at a cost of €2.5bn to the French utility company EDF. EDF said the first reactor at the site in Somerset will begin operations in 2030, a year later than planned – almost 13 years after construction work began – after a series of delays to the project. The latest … Continue reading French owned Somerset nuclear power station delayed by 13 years with construction costs soaring from £18bn to more than £50bn and to produce electricity costing more than 3 times that of wind power

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News houses built in flood risk areas – 1 in 9 in England but only 1 in 200 in Scotland

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON In the Guardian today, the above, and: One in nine new homes in England built between 2022 and 2024 were constructed in areas that could now be at risk of flooding, according to new data. The figures show the number of homes being built in risky areas is on the rise – a previous analysis showed that between 2013 and 2022, one in 13 new homes were in potential flooding zones. The research comes with the government under huge … Continue reading News houses built in flood risk areas – 1 in 9 in England but only 1 in 200 in Scotland

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Scottish homes will probably not have to be abandoned: how climate crisis has reshaped RumpUK’s flood risk

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Support Talking-up Scotland to keep rebutting the lies almost every day of the year, at https://t.co/xFcIcegHTy In the Guardian today: ‘Homes may have to be abandoned’: how climate crisis has reshaped Britain’s flood risk https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/jan/31/climate-crisis-flood-risk-britain There’s only one mention of Scotland: But it is not just the south-west facing ever more floods as the climate crisis bites. Environment Agency data estimates 6.3m properties in England are at risk of flooding, rising to 8m by 2050, with Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland also hit hard. Wow, impressive research there…not. In the Guardian 14 October 2025, the above maps showing only two wee bits of Scotland … Continue reading Scottish homes will probably not have to be abandoned: how climate crisis has reshaped RumpUK’s flood risk

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School suspensions fall again to only one-tenth of the level in England and a quarter of that under Scottish Labour as SNP policies embed

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On BBC UK’s Breakfast show this morning, a piece on the shocking increase and overall level of temporary suspension’s and permanent exclusions in England’s schools. There were 10 900 permanent exclusions! They didn’t mention other parts of the UK and BBC Scotland did not cover the issue despite having had frequent reports on various supposed crises in Scottish schools based on supposed evidence from the opposition parties. This may be why they’re not going there: Last year in Scotland’s schools there were 10 647 temporary exclusions, down from 11 672 the previous year and nearly 40 000 (39 553) when … Continue reading School suspensions fall again to only one-tenth of the level in England and a quarter of that under Scottish Labour as SNP policies embed