Greenpeace Blog

Keeping the lights on - without new coal

Posted by bex — 1 August 2008 at 5:57pm - Comments

Keeping the lights on

Keeping the lights on - without new coal

"[U]nless we want to risk our security of supply and face greater cost burdens, stations such as Kingsnorth must be part of the energy mix."

 

"Currently, we have to use a mix of energy sources to power our country - fossil fuel, renewable energy and nuclear power. Together they provide us with a reliable electricity supply. And although the use of low-carbon energy sources is growing, fossil fuel will continue to generate power, not just here but around the globe."

 

Senior government and Big Energy have been working hard to propagate the idea that, to keep the lights on, we need to build new coal plants.

So, is it true?

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, energy, energy efficiency, energy gap, nuclear power, poyry, solutions

Bid for Britain's nuclear power stations goes piff paff poof

Posted by jamie — 1 August 2008 at 3:13pm - Comments

It's usually poor form to laugh at another's misfortunes, but in this case I feel a slight chortle is more than justified. EDF's bid to takeover British Energy - the semi-state owned company charged with looking after the UK's nuclear power stations - has been kicked out, throwing a spanner of cosmic proportions into our government's plans for a new atomic age. Oops, butterfingers.

Article tagged as: british energy, climate change, EDF, energy, nuclear power

Make some sweet forest loving

Posted by jamie — 31 July 2008 at 3:53pm - Comments


The bad news is that the vote on illegal timber amongst members of the European Commission has been delayed (they're looking at legislation to ban dodgy wood from Europe) and now probably won't take place until September. The good news is that it gives us all a chance to have some fun in the meantime (and do some creative campaigning at the same time).

We all love forests and we want you to show the powers that be in the EU just how much. The forests have already made their own effort, but here's what we'd like you to do:

Article tagged as: EU, european commission, forests, illegal timber, take action, videos, what you can do

Whale meat scandal updates

Posted by jossc — 30 July 2008 at 11:48am - Comments

Get the latest updates on the whale meat smuggling scandal

Updates on the scandal involving the corrupt and powerful Japanese whaling industry (which is funded with taxpayers' money). Plus ways in which you can support our two activists, Junichi and Toru, who are still awaiting trial for intercepting a box of stolen whale meat, and delivering it to the police.

Full story on Greenpeace International website »

Article tagged as: japan, japanese fisheries agency, southern ocean, whale meat, whaling

Camp for the climate at Kingsnorth

Posted by jossc — 30 July 2008 at 9:46am - Comments

Kingsnorth coal-fired power station, Kent

See all Climate Camp updates.

This summer's Camp for Climate Action takes place next week at Kingsnorth in Kent, where German utility company E.On aims to build the UK's first coal-fired power station for decades. If the government gives the go-ahead, which could happen in October, the CO2 emissions from this one new plant would equal that of the 30 lowest emitting countries in the world combined.

Coal is the most polluting of all fossil-fuels, and if Kingsnorth is built then plans for six similar plants are likely to be approved, emitting a colossal 50 million tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere each year. So this decision is crucial, which is why activists from all over the country and around the world will be coming to make their voices heard.

Article tagged as: climate camp, climate change, co2 emissions, coal, eon, fossil fuels, kingsnorth

Blogging the meltdown of the nuclear industry

Posted by bex — 29 July 2008 at 5:12pm - Comments

Nuclear Reaction

For three weeks, Brighton-based writer Justin McKeating has been quietly working on a new Greenpeace blog, Nuclear Reaction. Now it's ready to open its doors to the world.

The purporse of the blog, in Justin's own words, is to record and comment on "the various incompetencies, radioactive leaks, cover-ups, accidents, spin, radioactive leaks, empty promises, contamination, massive cost overruns, radioactive leaks, substandard reactor construction, and radioactive leaks that dribble and gush from the nuclear energy industry."

So it's been pretty busy. Come on in.

Article tagged as: nuclear power

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