Tag: nature

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Scotland does a better job of monitoring bathing water quality than England does

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this: In the Guardian today, the above map, and: England’s swimming waters five times more likely to be polluted than in EU, research finds Experts warn country is in danger of becoming ‘dirty man of Europe’ as it falls to bottom of bathing water leader board. The campaign group Best for Britain analysed the quality of bathing waters under UK and EU standards and found that across all four nations of the UK, holidaymakers are less likely to enjoy “excellent” quality waters than in the EU. Their research found … Continue reading Scotland does a better job of monitoring bathing water quality than England does

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The slavering feeding frenzy on Scotland’s west coast ferry system is a ‘never-ending storm of deception’

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Professor John Robertson OBA The slavering feeding frenzy on Scotland’s west coast ferry system is a ‘never-ending storm of deception’ in places like the Herald and the Scotsman, today above: Passengers on one of CalMac ’s busiest routes are facing a “never-ending storm of disruption” by being forced to switch several times between ports 15 miles apart. They’re talking about the Arran ferry which thanks to a failure to maintain and improve Ardrossan harbour, owned by a millionaire Manchester billionaire, cannot take the new larger Glen Sannox ferry. The nature of the ‘disruption’ is not clear but elsewhere has been … Continue reading The slavering feeding frenzy on Scotland’s west coast ferry system is a ‘never-ending storm of deception’

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English expert says – “I would say Scotland does a better job [of monitoring water quality] than England does.” 

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Professor John Robertson OBA What will look bad at first sight, above and in much media coverage a the time, for some, is a classic example of misleading reporting of percentages. Scotland has 18 743 km of coastline compared to England’s 8 982, only one-tenth of the population and, crucially far fewer areas requiring monitoring. Dr Simon Boxall of Southampton University, a leading expert on water quality, explained this in the National, in August 2022: An overview of the most obvious data on bathing water quality superficially appears to show Scotland actually has poorer-quality bathing spots than England. But this … Continue reading English expert says – “I would say Scotland does a better job [of monitoring water quality] than England does.” 

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Another Orkney Saga….   62.4% identify as Scottish ONLY so expense isn’t important in deciding to stay in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland today, the above and: Orkney Islands Council has accepted it must remain part of the UK – after spending two years exploring opportunities for greater autonomy. Officials looked into various models for “alternative governance”. These included changing their status in the UK or even potentially becoming a self-governing territory of Norway. A report to councillors concluded the proposals were too difficult and too expensive and members agreed to investigate a single authority model to reform how public services are delivered instead. Two years ago TuS reported on this and the following was written … Continue reading Another Orkney Saga….   62.4% identify as Scottish ONLY so expense isn’t important in deciding to stay in Scotland

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Our ferries are subsidised at nearly £1 billion, never full and the Arran vessels are mostly less than half full, but are they grateful? Well yes they are if you read the previous posts

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Professor John Robertson OBA We regularly see media reports of long car queues for Scotland’s ferries presented as if somehow the Scottish Government has failed to run the service properly. We never, to my knowledge, see these basic facts about the actual utilisation of car deck space and passenger seat take-up despite the presence of such data in the public domain, published by CalMac because they are legally obliged to. They paint a very different picture of the capacity of the service we all fund at considerable expense for no apparent thanks from those island ‘representatives’ regularly platformed across the … Continue reading Our ferries are subsidised at nearly £1 billion, never full and the Arran vessels are mostly less than half full, but are they grateful? Well yes they are if you read the previous posts

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Massive seagrass project – Scottish Government provides core funding for this high profile project but you’d never know that from the reporting

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By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC UK had this story and it’s getting fairly wide UK media coverage. I see little ‘Scottish’ media coverage but maybe they’re not up yet. What’s it all about? Seagrass is a wonder plant, the only true flowering plant in the sea. The meadows it creates in shallow and intertidal waters are home to a bewildering array of wildlife and are often likened to rainforests because of the thousands of species they provide food and shelter for. Scottish seas are a special place for marine habitats like seagrass, with our coast stretching 18,000 km and … Continue reading Massive seagrass project – Scottish Government provides core funding for this high profile project but you’d never know that from the reporting

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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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Fireworks Night a ‘damp squib’ as offences plummet except in Pacific Quay

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The BBC Scotland report on last night’s fireworks events is one of the simplest best examples of media bias and you could use it with 11 year-olds. It’s so naked and simple, you might force a wee ironic snigger. It opens with Firefighters attacked on Bonfire Night as crews take 1,000 calls and goes on with 32 (count them) paragraphs describing incidents, interspersed with images, including those of masked hooded youths with big fireworks. Then and only then from paragraphs 33 to 36, we hear: Overall, the force said the incidents of serious disorder had fallen this … Continue reading Fireworks Night a ‘damp squib’ as offences plummet except in Pacific Quay

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Not climate change this time – Brechin’s flood misery in 2023 and the next time can be blamed on private landowners burning grouse moors upstream

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By Professor John Robertson BBC Reporting Scotland this morning and all day today are back on the October 2023 Storm Babet and the flood damage to Brechin, with locals complaining of a ‘ghost town‘ and an implied accusation of the Scottish Government not having done enough to prevent the floods in the first place or to help locals in the subsequent year. There is only a simple acceptance here of climate change and the need for more flood defences, to stay in the same place. There is no mention of research suggesting another, more scientific and forensic explanation and an identifying … Continue reading Not climate change this time – Brechin’s flood misery in 2023 and the next time can be blamed on private landowners burning grouse moors upstream

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Scotland’s rivers far more likely to be clean

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From the Guardian, typically Anglocentric, today: England’s rivers are likely to remain in a poor state for years to come because the government is failing to put in place EU clean water laws post-Brexit, the watchdog has found. When Britain was a member of the EU, the government was required to follow the water framework directive (WFD), standards for waterways that have been credited with cleaning up Europe’s dirty water. Since Brexit, the UK (sic) is no longer required to match EU regulations, and has its own watchdog, the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP). Under the WFD, all rivers are supposed to … Continue reading Scotland’s rivers far more likely to be clean