News from 5 May 2006 on edie

Miliband fills Beckett’s shoes

News in Brief

The environment is key issue for voters

In what might be remembered as the year the political debate over the environment heated up, edie news trotted down to polling stations in two very different parts of London to quiz the voters on whether the planet mattered.

Name and shame campaign targets Australia’s water abusers

Residents of the drought-stricken Australian city of Toowoomba face being named-and-shamed in the press if they use too much water.

Offshore wind farm construction threatens dolphins

Noise from the construction of offshore developments like wind farms can cause serious harm to dolphins in UK waters, new research shows.

Rundown part of Brighton to turn into eco-estate

A derelict area around Brighton's disused fruit and veg market will be turned into a sustainable, zero-carbon housing and office complex, bringing 180 flats and hundreds of jobs to the area.

Builders target green belt land

Green belts around cities are under threat from companies buying up protected greenfield land for house-building, the Local Government Association has warned.

EU breaks battery deadlock

The EC has set targets for the recovery and recycling of spent batteries after the parliament and ministers from member states settled their differences to agree a compromise on the issue.

Irish farmers smash plastic recycling targets

The Irish Government has been forced to rethink its strategy to encourage recycling of plastic farm waste after take-up of a free collection scheme surpassed all expectations.

Sakhalin oil spill risk unacceptable – NGO

Sea ice could render any clean up operations ineffective for six months of the year at Shell's Sakhalin oil operation, according to a new report published by conservation charity WWF.

We should learn from asbestos mistakes – nanotech professor

A Scottish academic who is a nationally respected authority on nanotech has warned that without proper safety testing the tiny technology could come back to haunt us as asbestos did.

Day: 5 May 2006