Climate Thoughts with Brian

Tag: environment

CHANNEL 4 NEWS EXCLUSIVE: KING’S PRIVATE ESTATE TRIED TO SELL TOXIC LAND TO COUNCIL

Image supplied by Channel 4 Channel 4 News has uncovered the King’s private estate tried to sell land contaminated with toxic illegal waste in Wigan to the local council. In January, Channel 4 News revealed the 25,000-ton site, dubbed UK’s “most dangerous illegal waste dump”, was on land largely owned by the Duchy of Lancaster…
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Review of ‘The Visual Life of Climate Change’ by Saffron O’Neill

‘The Visual Life of Climate Change’ is an enthralling exploration and evaluation of the efficacy of climate related images and challenges the reader to be more critical of the ideologies and narratives posed by any image. O’Neill makes the early point that, ‘Images are not simply facile illustrations accompanying the ‘serious’ work of textual communication,…
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Review of ‘Green Thinking- Unlearning Outdated Ideas in Science, Economics and Politics’ by Natalie Bennett

In ‘Green Thinking’, Natalie Bennett calls for a deep, transformative, ‘breaking the chains’ moment, to move us away from outdated ideas which promote harmful outcomes. It challenges assumptions and models and really is a ‘breakthrough book’- the transformative model that we need for the 21st-century. She argues that, ‘We are in the Age of Shocks-…
Read more: Review of ‘Green Thinking- Unlearning Outdated Ideas in Science, Economics and Politics’ by Natalie Bennett
RSPB offers new advice for feeding garden birds to prevent the spread of diseases

The results from the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch were published today and with over 9.4 million birds counted by some 650,000 of us, the RSPB is asking for the public’s help more to arrest the decline of certain species. Although there were not too many dramatic differences in the ‘top spot’ of birds which are…
Read more: RSPB offers new advice for feeding garden birds to prevent the spread of diseases
Halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 critical to avoid disastrous effects on human well-being

Immediate call for global action to shift world towards a “Nature Positive” approach is published today in Frontiers in Science. Harvey Locke @2026 ‘Human activities are driving a global decline in biodiversity and are interfering with the natural processes essential for human well-being. Achieving climate and development goals is impossible without keeping nature intact.’ This…
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National Emergency Climate viewings help to inform the public more about climate breakdown

Swinsty Reservoir in 2025 Following last year’s successful National Emergency Briefing on the climate to MPs, more action is still required from the Government to ensure that the public is informed, prepared and protected about the climate and nature breakdown. To ensure that this happens, multiple venues across the UK will host public viewings of…
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Review of ‘Birdland’ by Jon Gower

Gower takes us on a joyous journey around Britain in ‘Birdland’, as he celebrates both the ‘commonplace’ and the ‘rare’ miracles of birds. As Spring begins and the rush and flutter of bird life in gardens, parks, and balconies begins anew, Gower asks us to stop and notice nature. ‘Be an attentive audience member, even…
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Pollution pours into England’s rivers more than 290,000 times in 2025

‘An unacceptable amount of sewage’ still going into our waterways, despite an unusually dry 2025 Annual data released today by the Environment Agency indicated an appalling- though not surprising- picture of England’s waterways. Nationally, there were 291,492 sewage spills in 2025, with these spills lasting for over 1.8 million hours. This national data reflects a…
Read more: Pollution pours into England’s rivers more than 290,000 times in 2025
Earth’s climate swings increasingly out of balance

‘Planet Earth is being pushed beyond its limits’ UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The State of the Global Climate 2025 report, published today by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), confirms that 2015-2025 were the hottest 11 years on record and highlights that the Earth’s energy imbalance is at its highest in sixty five-year record. With 2025…
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PFAS pollution in Bentham, Yorkshire is revealed in new environmental report

Bentham, Yorkshire is a small picturesque town on the edge of North Yorkshire, close to the iconic Ribblehead Viaduct. In the past few years however, the media spotlight has focused on the PFAS contamination there and, to find out more, some local residents formed a campaign group- ‘Cleaner Bentham’- to attempt to discover the extent…
Read more: PFAS pollution in Bentham, Yorkshire is revealed in new environmental report