My four strange but true green stories for New Year

With the New Year a few days away now is a good time to look back at four of this winter’s amazing but true green stories.

Ron Fox, of Noreus Ltd on the University of Keele Science Innovation Park, (www.noreus.co.uk), picks his favourite recent environmental tales.

1.  More than 50 per cent of all food at National Trust cafes in the UK will be vegan within two years. The decision to reduce meat and dairy items was carried by a vote of almost three to one at the charity’s annual meeting in November. A total of 57,498 members voted for the motion while 20,111 voted against. As Europe’s largest conservation charity with 5.37 million members, Trust cafes serve more than two million scones and crack three million eggs each year at its 300 food and drink outlets. Supporters of the move said the shift to more plant-based food will help the National Trust become carbon neutral by 2030 while farmers have accused the organisation of “wokery.”
2. The London Tube network could soon be powered partly by solar farms. Transport for London (TfL) is planning to team up with a company to build solar farms that could be connected to the capital’s facilities directly, so bypassing the national electricity grid. TfL is the largest electricity consumer in the capital, using about 1.6 terawatt-hours per year – the equivalent to the power used by 420,000 homes. The transport group is hoping to generate 64 megawatts of solar capacity which would supply 5 per cent of the electricity needed to run the London Underground and help the London Tube to reach its target of sourcing all its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Last year the Government estimated solar farms provided the second cheapest form of electricity at a cost of £41 per megawatt-hour (MWh), compared to £38 per MWh for onshore wind and £114 for natural gas. Since 2010 the price of solar electricity has fallen by more than 90 per cent.
3.  Mud along Britain’s coasts may soak up more carbon than all of the UK’s forests, say scientists. A report, commissioned by the green group, WWF-UK, or the World Wide Fund for Nature, found that sediment, seagrass, saltmarshes, kelp forests and other seabed habitats could lock away 13 million tonnes of organic carbon every year. Britain’s forests absorb 4.8 million tonnes of carbon annually but cover a much smaller area. However, the study which was carried out by Newcastle University, the University of St Andrews and other researchers, also found that 244 million tonnes of carbon have already been locked away in the bottom of the seabed. “It just shows how critical our coasts are in the climate change battle and how these habitats need protecting,” concluded Ron.
4. The biggest tree in the world is thriving and is helping cut carbon emissions, according to research published in the Royal Society Open Science journal. The giant redwood, which was introduced to the UK more than 160 years ago, has more trees in Britain than its native California and each tree can remove up to 85kg of carbon from the atmosphere per year. The estimated 500,000 trees are thriving in the UK compared to the west of America where forest fires and drought have put the tree’s future in jeopardy. Fewer than 80,000 giant sequoias are thought to be still standing on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains. But the largest single UK specimen, which stands at nearly 55 metres tall in the Centre Parcs Longleat Forest is still small compared to the oldest USA trees which can reach 90 metres and live for 30,000 years.

“I never cease to be amazed by the brilliant and imaginative ways people and organisations are finding to help save the planet and cut global warming,” said Ron.

He added: “If you want any energy advice, contact me call Ron on 0845 474 6641 or go to www.noreus.co.uk – but do have a green and happy New Year holiday.”

Caption: Growing tall – giant redwood trees in Stone, Staffs.