Environment
Image of tiny insect living under massive mushroom has won amateur photographer a major award
This fascinating image of a tiny insect living under a massive mushroom has won an amateur photographer a major photography award. Duncan McNaught, 54, picked up the Royal Society of Biology photography award after snapping the unusual picture. The image -- titled Welcome to My Humble Abode -- shows a tiny toadstool, no bigger than the size of a small teacup, with a small bug inside. Duncan, who lives in Glenlee, Dumfries and Galloway, ventures to the forests near his...
Cornish beach covered in foam in freak effect of Hurricane Ophelia
This image shows how Hurricane Ophelia transformed a popular tourist beach into a white wonderland - by turning the sea into FOAM. Coastal areas in Cornwall are already feeling the effects of the strong winds with high tide yet to come. Penzance was the first to feel the storm's power as Ophelia made landfall in Britain this morning as high winds whipped up the sea by the habour. And these images and footage from photographer Sally Adams show the scene...
Teenager becomes first to move into £40K “Micro-Home” billed as a cure to Britain’s homelessness problems
A teenager has become the first person to move into an innovative "micro-home" built as part of a unique project to tackle Britain's homelessness. Kieran Evans, 18, was handed the keys to the cosy property on Thursday (12/10) after it was air-lifted into a back garden over the summer. The 186 square foot (17.25sqm) space - which takes inspiration from yachts and first-class aeroplane cabins - cost just £40,000 to build. A teenager has become the first person to move...
Cull marksmen left bloodied corpses of badgers on footpath for 12 hours…putting “dogs at risk of TB”
Cull marksmen left the bloodied corpses of three badgers piled up on a footpath for 12 hours - putting dogs at risk of TB, activists claim. The bodies of a family of badgers shot dead during the cull were abandoned beneath a tree, and were said to pose a "biohazard" to the public, if they were infected. Tuberculosis is spread through bodily fluids, and the open wounds had attracted hoards of blue bottles could have infected dogs or foxes, protesters...
World Egg Day: Protestors decry leading egg company’s caging of hens
Animal rights activists in chicken masks cage themselves in supermarket trolleys Animal rights activists donned chicken masks and caged themselves in ASDA supermarket trolleys today to protest Noble Foods’ use of cages for hens. Oxford-based Noble Foods, the UK’s biggest egg company, produces over 60 million eggs a week and owns well-known brands such as The Happy Egg Co. and Big and Fresh. Drawing attention to the plight of these sensitive, intelligent animals, The Humane League UK staff and volunteers...
Elderly tea-lady forcibly moved from her month-long post set up at a controversial fracking site by police
These pictures show the moment an elderly tea-lady was forcibly moved from her month-long post set up at a controversial fracking site by police. Great grandma Jackie Brookes, 79, set up shop at the Kirby Misperton site in Yorkshire where she provided provisions of tea and home-made cake to both protesters and police. According to North Yorkshire Police, she and other people were moved this morning because of fears that a nearby ten-foot high tower made of wooden pallets might...
Oxford set to become the world’s first Zero Emissions Zone after announcing a ban on ALL non-electric vehicles
Petrol and diesel vehicles are to be banned from a city centre in what is believed to be the world's first Zero Emissions Zone. The new zone in Oxford City Centre will see all petrol and diesel taxis, cars and buses excluded from six central streets from 2020. The area will then be expanded in 2025 and 2030 to encompass the entire city centre, and finally in 2035 HGVs will be banned from the same zone - making it what...
Water firm supplied water from reservoir with a parasite…possibly from animal faeces
A water firm has been ordered to pay almost £500,000 after supplying water infected with a parasite - leaving thousands of homeowners with unsafe tap water, a court heard. United Utilities used water from an underground rural reservoir which may have contained contamination from farm animal faeces after a heavy downpour. The reservoir had structural defects which allowed in microscopic parasite cryptosporidium and "inherent hazards" from the surrounding environment. Preston Crown Court, Lancs., heard the company's Franklaw treatment works had...
New mapping tool will enable cyclists to dodge POLLUTION
A new mapping project will combine Ordinance Survey routes with air quality data - to help cyclists avoid pollution hotspots. EarthSense are using Google Earth, along with fixed air pollution sensors, to produce the interactive maps, which will produce forecasts up to three days in advance. The air quality models highlight smoggier areas, often along busy roads, and allow users to identify cleaner air routes, such as through parks or along canal paths. A pollution map of Leicester where bike...