Environment | Westminster World

Dec122022 by Francesco FioriNo Comments

Drivers complaint: ULEZ expansion will affect us badly.

Bus, economy, Environment, London, London Mayor, News, TFL, Transport, Tube, UK news, UK Political parties

Credit: David Hawgood Since 2019 ULEZ has been a program that is helping London in reduce Car Pollution. But how far can this program push people to change? Car pollution has always been a big problem for prominent cities and their citizen. In 2019 the UK Government decided to start a program for the city's centre named ULEZ. Whoever would transit for central London has to pay around £12 a day to transit. Those who do not pay the daily tax could get a fine of about £160. As reported on the government website, central London has raised £174k yearly from this tax, which is used to help London transport. By August 2023 ULEZ Zone will be expanded in all of Greater London. 80% of the consultation is against the ULEZ Zone and members of the movement No ULEZ is ready to

Dec122022 by Nneoma Ekwegh No Comments

Cold snap causes disruption across the UK

Climate, Environment, Explainers, London, Transport

A drop in the temperature on Sunday night has brought a Monday morning of fog, ice and snow which has caused major travel disruptions for commuters. Sunday 11th December, Photo Credit: Nneoma Ekwegh The Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Matthew Lehnert has said on the official Met Office website that cold weather conditions will remain during this week. He said: “In many places daytime temperatures will struggle to get above freezing, while overnight temperatures have the potential to drop below -10 C in rural parts of Scotland.” “While the freezing conditions remain drivers especially are reminded that freezing fog, snow and other wintry hazards will continue to create difficult conditions in places this week.” Transport for London informed commuters on their website that t

Feb142022 by Sarlota, subedited by SakshiNo Comments

How is clothes waste changing Chile’s desert into a fast fashion graveyard

Breaking News, Climate, clothes, economy, Environment, Explainers, Explainers

Fast fashion, producing more products at a lower price, has grown up a lot lately. It is generally known that it's a problem for our planet, however, why exactly? This explainer reveals the life cycle of fast fashion clothes and focuses on why Chile’s nature has to “pay” for its waste. Picture by: Pixabay Life cycle of fast fashion clothes Created by: Sarlota Touzimska Why Chile? Chile has for long been a centre for wasted clothes manufactured mostly in China. It is the biggest second-hand clothes importer in South America. “Unfortunately, we have transformed our city into the world’s garbage dump”, stated Mayor of Alto Hospico, Patricio Ferreira.The original idea was to help the economy , but things went wrong. As only a small part of the clothes is sold, the rest travels

How Fast Fashion is impacting Chile’s Atacama Desert

Breaking News, Climate, clothes, Environment, Explainers, Fashion, Worldnews

Fast Fashion is having a negative impact on the environment more than ever as popular online brands grow to keep up with the latest fashion trends. This explainer dives into the consequences that fast fashion is having in Chile and what we can do to minimise those consequences. Original Article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-60249712

Air pollution hitting deprived and POC communities hardest

Climate, Environment, Extinction Rebellion, extinction rebellion, Health, London, London Mayor, Politics, protest, Science, Transport, UK news, urban

Air pollution burdens low income and communities of colour resulting in major health risks. Source: Unsplash The British Heart Foundation found that 15 million Brits are exposed to toxic air. The majority of which are people of colour and those within deprived communities; a report conducted by Natural England in 2019 revealed Britons who are POC were exposed to particulate matter pollution rates at 19-29% higher than White Britons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt2OIcQ-7y8 Environmental racism is a form of systematic racism where communities of colour are disproportionately burdened with health hazards through policies and practices that force them to reside near or around polluted areas. Environmental Justice is not simply highlighting the discrepancies b...

‘Up the meat-eaters’: are Londoners willing to give up meat?

Animal Rights, Animals, Breaking News, Culture, Environment, News

Reports show meat consumption has decreased in the last decade. Westminster World asked Londoners if they give up meat to help fight climate change. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E_NAbJe-34 Credit: Skyler King & Bronwen Latham A major report published by The Guardian found that meat accounts for nearly 60% of global emissions and is a lead contributor to climate change. At Westminster World, we asked Londoners if they would be willing to give up meat to save the planet. A report by the Lancet Planetary Health found that overall daily meat intake across the UK has decreased 17% over the last decade. Daisy, a student from London, studying in Bristol, felt that eating less meat was a good way to reduce carbon emissions. “I don’t eat much meat, and my family d

Mar92021 by Lubna bin ZayyadNo Comments

Why sustainably sourced palm oil matters for the world

Animal Rights, Breaking News, Climate, Environment, Explainer, International, Worldnews

https://youtu.be/r3J3_v5E5m0 Palm oil is found in 50% of all supermarket products, from food to cleaning items to cosmetics. This includes things like bread, chips, chocolate, dish soap, floor cleaners, lipstick and even ice cream. Though affordable and versatile, this shelf stable crop oil is not stable nor sustainable for the environment, including humans and animals. The environmental cost for harvesting crop oil includes deforestation, displacement and degradation of local wildlife populations and even allegations of sexual abuse and forced labour on plantations. Some countries have responded by placing bans on palm oil, but is that the right solution or is there something else that needs to be done?

Mar82021 by Editor2No Comments

“The Great Reset” Explained

Business, Climate, economy, Environment, Explainers

What is the "Reset" all about? The world economy has suffered extreme blows by the pandemic, a proposed plan to reset may change everything. But is it for the best? “You will have nothing, and you’ll be happy.” This quote has been thrown around as if it is at the core of the World Economic Forum’s pitch for “The Great Reset”. Is that really what is at the core of the reset? Will we hit a button that evens everyone out so we all start from zero? Not exactly. “The Great Reset” is actually reseting the way we think about things. Capitalism seems like the enemy to many, but with the proposed shift, capitalism may be able to benefit the people it has ousted in the past. This reset would aim to fix the many problems facing us as a society today: econo

Mar82021 by Alejandra AnguloNo Comments

Is a circular economy the way out of the Covid-19 economic crisis?

economy, Environment, Explainer, Explainers, Explainers

Still from video explainer In January 2021, a joint report by academics from 11 UK universities critically explored the potential of a circular economy to tackle the economic impacts of Covid-19. The model appeared also in the last issue of Start Magazine from King's Entrepreneurship Institute as one of the technological breakthroughs that “can help accelerate societies towards a sustainable planet.” According to Professor Dr. Raimund Bleischwitz from UCL, countries are facing unprecedented challenges concerning climate change, urbanisation and globalisation. The current linear economic model and its “take-make-dispose” scheme are not sustainable. UK think tank, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, has been a leading promoter of the circular economy model. It points to inve

Mar82021 by Beatrice NerliNo Comments

Are electric cars worth the price? Pros and cons of plug-in vehicles

Climate, economy, ed-tech, Environment, Explainer, Explainers, Explainers, Law

Electric cars are becoming more common than ever in British roads, and they are also becoming a much more realistic alternative to gas fueled options. Everyone is talking about it, but a lot of people is still reluctant. The major reason? The price to pay upfront. Courtesy of Tesla, 2021 When talking about purely electric vehicles the first name that comes to our mind is Tesla. The company run by Elon Musk is considered to be the pioneer of this range, with four cars in the market and two on the way, promising a budget vehicle that could cost just 25’000$ in the next three years. With the improvements of battery lives, lower prices and the expansion of the charging network, 2021 becomes the best year to switch to an EV. It is essential to recognize that electric vehicles are