Home/Posts Tagged ‘london’
Posts Tagged ‘london’
Uncategorized, Aug 7th, 2012,
The hackney carriage, better known as a black cab, has been synonymous with London for around 100 years. Though they’ve changed design over the years, becoming less spacious in the process, black cabs are still recognizable. Now they’ve gone electric. A Nissan electric black cab, which looks a bit like a mix between a soccer mom’s minivan and a traditional black cab (4 door saloon car), is set to hit London streets as early as next year. From the Guardian: Nissan has promised that its new London taxi, a van-like vehicle, can eliminate 20% of the capital’s exhaust pollution caused by…
Tags: black cab, electric, london
Pollution, Weird Stuff, Apr 3rd, 2012,
Photographer and urban historian Steve Duncan explores and documents hidden aspects of urbanization and industrialization, from disused missile silos in the United States to the archaeology of Ancient Rome. In a series for National Geographic, Duncan investigates urban underground rivers. These rivers are not natural phenomena, like some subterranean waterways that run through cave systems, but rather the result of human engineering. For purposes of urban development, for hundreds of years mankind has changed the courses of rivers and streams, covering them up and forcing them underground. Most of the rivers examined in the series are in New York and…
Tags: london, National Geographic, New York, river, subterranean, underground, waterway
Green living, Jan 11th, 2012,
Honey from Newcastle, vegetables grown in Nottingham and London cheese are just a few examples of urban produce now being grown and sold in British cities. All across the country, people are increasingly choosing to grow their own food for reasons of economics, health and in order to feel a connection to their food and the land. Sustain, a UK alliance for better food and farming, has launched an online project called City Harvest for ‘demonstrating and promoting the benefits of Urban Agriculture’. Sustain’s scheme Capital Growth, funded by the Mayor of London, includes some 1,500 growing spaces in London…
Tags: agriculture, farm, farming, food, london, sustain, UK, urban
Politics, Nov 3rd, 2011,
Protests movements often have trouble gaining the sympathies of the masses of people whom they actually represent. Corporate media, bragging politicians, the well-funded propaganda of big business and a pervading desire of most people to maintain the status quo (or at least not rock the boat) usually win out over principals of fairness, equality and even the self-interest of the masses themselves. My inner conservative (read: cynic) thinks that the middle classes as well as the ‘relatively comfortable poor’ will usually choose not to risk what security and wages they have, preferring to go it on their own and stay…
Tags: 99%, Cameron, Conservative, Greece, london, oakland, occupy, protests, robin hood tax, wall street
Green living, Oct 21st, 2011,
The London 2012 Olympics is being touted as the “greenest games ever” – though I imagine a more accurate label would be the “greenest Olympics of the last few, relatively speaking”, which is just not as catchy. The London Olympic project is on the cutting edge of green innovation, however. Carbon emissions have been cut by 100,000 tons, wetlands restored and construction of largest urban park built in Europe for the last 150 years is underway. One green (or green-ish) project of London 2012 is an entire new neighborhood, called Strand East, being built by Swedish furniture empire IKEA. It…
Tags: 2012, consumerism, environmental, ethical, Green, IKEA, london, olympics
Climate Change, Health, Videos & Documentaries, Sep 1st, 2011,
Researchers from Kings College London are studying the symbiotic relationship between coral and algae living in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. They found that in order to survive in strong sunlight, coral produces compounds that act as a natural sunscreen. Scientists hope to use genetic engineering to recreate the compounds in a laboratory back in the UK and eventually develop a sunscreen in pill form. Since the compound is already present in the food chain in the coral reefs – small fish ingest it while feeding off the coral, larger fish eat them and so on – the scientists hope it…
Tags: australia, coral reefs, king's college, london, pill, sunscreen
Conservation, Nature, Videos & Documentaries, Aug 2nd, 2011,
Check out “Astonish Me”, a short film set in London’s Natural History Museum. The film stars Bill Nighy and Gemma Arterton, and highlights the discovery of new species around the world. “Astonish Me” celebrates the 50th anniversary of the WWF and was released in select UK cinemas on July 29th. But you can see it right here! A magical tale of adventure and discovery showcasing some of the extraordinary species recently found around the world. ‘Astonish Me’ has been created by acclaimed writer Stephen Poliakoff and director Charles Sturridge to celebrate our 50th anniversary. For more…
Tags: astonish me, film, london, Natural History Museum, WWF
Pollution, Videos & Documentaries, Jul 19th, 2011,
From London fog to LA smog, citizens groups are up in arms over air quality in the big city. In the 80s Los Angeles was famous for its smog, caused by endless highways choked with the exhaust of millions of cars. Like the Missing Persons song says, “nobody walks in LA”. Apparently everyone has asthma instead. Things have gotten better since the heady 80s and emissions standards have become stricter, but LA is still really smoggy. One study even found that air pollution kills more people in the region than even auto accidents. Los Angeles is the smoggiest region in…
Tags: LA, london, Los Angeles, Pollution, Smog
Videos & Documentaries, May 27th, 2011,
Everything starts right here right now – so get ready for more gripping dystopian teenage fiction from Saci Lloyd, author of the breakout novels The Carbon Diaries 2015 and 2017. Here is a sneak peak at Saci’s epic new novel Momentum, in the form of a video trailer. Momentum’s got free running/parkour, environmental and social crises, young love and the deft mix of humor, adventure and prescience that so impressed reviewers of Lloyd’s previous work. Check out the blurb and the vid. London, the near future. Energy wars are flaring across the globe – oil prices have gone crazy, regular…
Tags: Carbon Diaries, free running, london, Momentum, novel, parkour, Saci Lloyd
Green living, Pollution, May 26th, 2011,
In not-so-olden times London used to be known as “the Big Smoke” due to all the coal fires that befouled its air and choked its inhabitants. Coal produced the famous London fog, which in reality wasn’t fog at all. A “Pea souper” was a particularly ghastly kind of yellowish smog that belched from the city’s chimneys. Less metaphorical was the Great Smog of 1952, when a combination of cold weather, winds and pollutants created the worst air pollution in the history of the UK, causing as many as 12,000 deaths. The Great Smog was soon followed by the Clean…
Tags: big smoke, charging points, coal, electric cars, Green Party, london, London Fog, scheme, UK
Climate Change, Weird Stuff, Oct 7th, 2010,
Books like Stephen Baxter’s Flood, Saci Lloyd’s Carbon Diaries 2015 and 2017, Ronald Wright’s A Scientific Romance, and Maggie Gee’s The Flood and Ice Age have depicted a future London either in the violent throws of climate change or after such a radical change has already happened. These books are members of a growing cannon of science or speculative fiction about an often grim future that is difficult for most to conceive of: a vastly altered landscape, a flooded, tropical or frozen London which presents challenges that either crush or ignite the humanity of its inhabitants. Though most of these…
Tags: Climate change, exhibit, futures, london
Nature, Sep 18th, 2010,
And you just thought you lived over a tube line. The threat of earthquakes in London is far greater than previously estimated, according to the British Geological Survey. Though not exactly an earthquake hotspot, the southeast of England should be more prepared for seismic activity that could cause damage to buildings. Back in 1931 a 6.1 magnitude quake occurred of the coast of Yorkshire, but was powerful enough to knock the head off of a wax figure in Madame Tussauds in London. In 1580 two people died and many buildings were damaged due to tremors originating on the Dover Strait….
Tags: British Geological Survey, earthquake, london, quake
Green living, Politics, Sep 15th, 2010,
The top cities in England for green transport include Nottingham, London, Brighton, Hove and Manchester. Nottingham came out top in a study of UK cities that gauged the East Midlands town to be the least dependent on cars and have the best public transport. The CBT, a green lobby group, judged the cities on accessibility and planning; quality and availability of public transport; and how pedestrian and cyclist friendly they are. From a report by the Press Association: The findings showed that in many cities people have little choice but to drive cars. Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) used a…
Tags: Brighton, car, city, Green, london, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, public, tram, transport
Videos & Documentaries, Weird Stuff, Sep 5th, 2010,
From the sublime to the ridiculous, but mostly somewhere in between, France24 reports on ‘extreme greens’, i.e. those who go that extra mile for the environment. Sometimes its silly, like throwing seed bombs so that illegal vegetation grows in Europe’s concrete-covered cities, at other times it’s couples making a serious lifetime commitment to not have children – but it’s all for the sake of the planet. Check out the following video report from France24: Extreme Green
Tags: extreme, France24, Green, guerilla gardening, london
Green living, Politics, Jul 28th, 2010,
On Friday London begins its well-publicized bicycle rental scheme, introduced by mayor Boris Johnson, run by London Transport and sponsored by Barclays plc. Over the past few years London has become more cycle-friendly with more bike lanes and cycle paths, reducing stress on public and private transport – which have both become more costly, thereby encouraging more people to travel by bike. But despite recent growth in cycle traffic, London still trails other British cities and lags astronomically behind the European bicycle Meccas of Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Enter Barclays Cycle Hire, which resembles bike rental schemes in other European and world cities,…
Tags: Barclays, bicycle, bike, Boris, cycle, cyclists, European, hire, Johnson, london, private, public, rental, scheme, UK
Conservation, Pollution, Jul 27th, 2010,
Mining giant Vedanta Resources will be having its annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday in London, where the company is headquartered. But this year, shareholders will be met by a well-publicized protest. Activist groups including Amnesty International have consistently criticized Vedanta for human rights violations and poor environmental practices, particularly in the Indian state of Orissa. From an article in the Observer: […] a damning Amnesty report criticised Vedanta’s record in Orissa, where it runs an alumina refinery at the foot of the Niyamgiri hills, alleging river pollution and damage to crops. The hills are home to around 8,000 Dongria Kondh…
Tags: activist, Amnesty, Avatar, Dongria, India, international, Kondh, london, Na’vi, Niyamgiri, Orissa, protest, shareholders, Vedanta
Climate Change, Jun 27th, 2010,
Today’s temperatures are predicted go as high hit 30C (85F) making it the hottest day of the year in England, with temperatures highest in London and the southeast. World cup fever – and the more civilized pursuit of eating strawberries and cream whilst watching a considerably smaller yellow ball move backwards and forwards at a much faster rate than a football ever could when North Korea are not playing – is gripping the country. But so is a heatwave. According to an article in the Guardian, ‘MeteoGroup weather forecaster Steve Ellison said the heatwave was caused by a ridge of…
Tags: Climate change, England, global warming, heatwave, london, skeptic, temperatures
Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Jun 22nd, 2010,
Raccoon dogs from East Asia, yellow-tailed scorpions from Italy, ringnecked parakeets from India and Australian red-necked wallabies are some of the more exotic non-native species now residing – and often thriving – in parts of the UK. Common invasive pests that folks often moan about include grey squirrels and minks from North America, which eat or outcompete some native species. No complaints about small numbers of Chinese muntjac deer, now endangered in Asia, however. Many non-natives walk the line between exotic curiosities and invasive pests, such as wallabies in Scotland and colorful parakeets in London parks. I doubt many Brits…
Tags: animals, exotic, indigenous, invasive, london, native, non-native, parakeets, Scotland, species, threat, UK, wallabies, wild, wildlife
Nature, Wildlife & Flora, Jun 14th, 2010,
The UK – particularly London – has been buzzing with wildlife news of late. There’s been a lot of man vs. beast, invasive beast vs. native beast and even man vs. himself. The biggest of these stories has to be the case of the urban fox attacking twin baby girls in an east London house. The young fox slipped into the open house one unusually warm evening and viciously bit the babies about the arms and face as they slept in their upstairs bedroom. The incident has inspired strong reactions – sometimes bordering on the hysterical – public debate and…
Tags: Britain, endangered, fox, foxes, grey, invasive, london, moles, red, species, squirrel, UK, urban
Nature, Weird Stuff, Wildlife & Flora, Jun 12th, 2010,
I have traveled a lot throughout my life. I’ve been camping, crashed on friends’ couches, and have stayed at an ungodly amount of hotels. Very rarely have the accommodations ever reached 5-star status (as they are typically out of my price range). It almost makes me wish I was a London insect—they’re getting a choice of 5-star accommodations for free. Yes, it certainly sounds strange and bizarre, but check this out. To continue the celebration of 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity, British Land and The City of London Corporation have teamed up to create the Beyond the Hive…
Tags: 5-star, accommodations, architecture, Beyond The Hive, British Land, bugs, design, eco-friendly, Green, hotel, insects, london, The City of London Corporation, UK, vote
