climate change News

 

 

Stories of the week 14 October

 

Brexit

This week’s Brexit was all about movement and lack of movement.

The M26 may well become the ‘road to nowhere’ in the event of a no-deal Brexit. At least that’s what the government plans as they undertook secretive studies in night closures this week.

On the other hand, Nicola Sturgeon believes that Scotland is firmly on the move with talk of the SNP backing a second referendum on top of another Independence vote.

Much like a truck on the M26, Arlene Foster and the DUP are going nowhere over the Northern Irish border issue.  They threatened to bring down the government if they didn’t like the final deal.  Now there’s talk of May either dumping the DUP to get her deal through or paying them millions more to ensure their support.

 

 

Politics

This week was grim for the Conservatives on the domestic front.

Despite May promising the end of austerity, Universal Credit has been found to be a catastrophic mistake.  Warnings of riots when the system is rolled out similar to the Poll Tax were made by politicians from all sides.  To make matters worse, Esther McVey admitted people would be worse off under the new system.  To complete the bleak picture it was also revealed that McVey had made charities sign gagging orders to stop them talking about the failure.

 

 

Society

The Army has launched an investigation after videos and photos emerged of far right figurehead, Tommy Robinson, posing with British soldiers in uniform.

In more ‘shocking’ news, Banksy has been voted more popular than the Queen.

 

 

Environment

A UN report this week had a massive impact around the world. We have 12 short years to halve global emissions or face a bleak future.  Time is running out and we have to move fast or face potentially life-ending consequences.

Damaging his ‘green credentials’, Michael Gove did not attend the Climate Change Summit day after the UN report.

 

 

 

Middle East

More bad news for the Government after they were accused of changing the long-held British approach to the death penalty in order to appease Donald Trump.

Saudi Arabia have been accused of the torturing and killing journalist Jamal Khashoggi as the world considers sanctions.

 

 

Technology

There was a bumper crop of stories in our Technology section this week.

In a world first, MPs invited a robot to give evidence on the subject of AI.  The robot will be the first ‘non-human’ to appear before the UK Parliament.

In the US, the first robot farm replaces humans with intelligent machines.

And finally, an ‘alien base’ has been found Google tools.

 

 

Stories of the week 9 September

 

 

Austerity

‘Father battling cancer whose benefits were cut because he was ‘well enough to make a cup of tea’ died aged 56 with just £8 to his name, his family says’. The headline says it all.  There are many kinds of austerity wrapped up in this from universal credit to NHS cuts in finding.  Again, the headline says so much more than we could ever say.

 

 

Brexit

‘Brexit’ became associated with unexpected and exciting situations this week.  None of them were what Theresa May or arch-Brexiters might have wanted or expected.

EU Chief Negotiator, Michael Barnier, rejected May’s Chequers plan and suggested a counter-proposal himself. He was not the only one to reject May’s Brexit plan.  Apart from Labour, DUP leader Arlene Foster, David Davis and other hard-line Brexiters rejected it too.

All this against the backdrop of millions of Leave Voters switching to Remain since the referendum in more compelling evidence for another vote.

To make matters even worse for optimistic Brexiters, China called the UK ‘Washington’s sharksucker’ and accused it of provocation by sending the Royal Navy into the South China Sea.  The UK’s support of the US put any post Brexit trade deal at risk, Chinese state authorities confirmed.

 

 

 

Politics

With continuing calls for a Scottish Independence vote and a second referendum, the Scottish National Party (SNP) have more paying members than the Conservatives for the first time. Labour still have the largest paying membership.

Membership of the Conservative party wasn’t the only thing that wasn’t growing. After the summer heatwave, farmers became increasingly unhappy with Michael Gove and the government’s inaction with any support.

 

 

 

NHS

Just at a time when the NHS faces a severe shortage of nurses, figures show a large percentage of student nurses are dropping out before graduating their courses. This at a time when there are increasing job vacancies and increasing reliance on agency nursing support.

 

 

 

Environment

Two environmental stories this week focussed on the letter ‘H’ – humans and hedgehogs.

Humans. We may become extinct. Since every major rise or fall in temperature in the earth’s history has resulted in mass extinction, climate change could be the time for human beings to be no more according to biologists.

Hedgehogs are disappearing fast.  In fact most of the countryside is devoid of any at all according to scientists.

 

 

 

Technology

If you can’t beat them, join them.  Addicted to smartphones?  Can’t stop swiping. Road signs could be put on the ground so people looking at their phones can see them and reduce the smart phone accident syndrome.

 

^