UK to be first in, first out with coal

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♻️ This week’s sustainability news

The UK is about to stop using coal-powered electricity

What’s happening: In late September, the United Kingdom will shutter the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station. The station is the country’s last operational coal-fired power plant and its closure will mark the end of 142 years of using the fuel for electricity. London had the world's first coal power plant in 1882. Now, the UK will be the first G7 country to stop using coal for electricity. The Ratcliffe-on-Soar station received its last fuel delivery in July, and its boilers, which used to get as hot as 1,000°C (1,832°F) when running, are now cold.

Why it’s happening: Scientists, activists, and regulators have been pushing to stop using coal because it releases much more carbon dioxide when burned compared to fossil gas. Additionally, the rise of affordable, clean energy has made coal less economically viable in many areas, weakening the case for its continued use. These financial problems, worsened by climate rules, have pushed coal out of the UK's energy system. This supports the country's plan to stop using coal by the beginning of October. The quick shift happened because the UK started embracing the use of wind power, both on land and at sea. In the past ten years, wind power in the UK has grown from making about 8 percent of the country's electricity in 2013 to 29 percent in 2023. At the same time, coal use has dropped from 36 percent of power generation to just 1 percent last year, and now it's almost gone.

Why it’s important: Gas and renewable energy each provide about a third of the UK's electricity, with nuclear and bioenergy providing the rest. The country's efforts to clean up its power grid are happening while electricity use is going down. In 2023, the UK used 17% less electricity than in 2013. This is because people are using more efficient appliances, natural gas prices have increased, and the economy has moved away from jobs that use a lot of energy. Even with the growing use of heat pumps and electric cars, electricity demand is still falling. Because the UK is using less electricity and moving away from fossil fuels, emissions from its power sector have dropped significantly. This has helped the country lower its overall emissions to the lowest levels since 1879, which was three years before the first coal power station was built. However, fossil gas, which warms the planet, is still a main source of electricity in the UK. The country has already moved away from one type of polluting power, but now it needs to do the same with fossil gas to meet its goal of having a clean energy grid by 2035.

📖 Read the full article: The UK is about to stop using coal to produce electricity

Prescribing nature leads to better mental health results

What’s happening: A major project in England helped people feel better by connecting them with nature. A report on the project, supported by the government, showed that doing activities in nature improved mental health for thousands of people. Over 8,000 people joined in activities like nature walks, community gardening, tree planting, and wild swimming. This is believed to be the largest project of its kind in the world.

Why it’s happening: The seven green prescribing pilot projects started in 2020 with £5.7 million from the government. Doctors, mental health teams, and social workers sent people who needed help to these programs.

Why it’s important: The results showed that after participating, people's happiness and sense of purpose increased to almost the national average, and their anxiety levels dropped significantly. The project also found that a ‘green prescription’ cost about £500, cheaper than other treatments like cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), which costs about £1,000 for 10 sessions. Mental health services are struggling to meet demand as part of the National Health Service. The seven pilot programs that were part of this report are likely to receive new funding to help them grow and support more people.

📖 Read the full report: Preventing and Tackling Mental Ill Health through Green Social Project Prescribing Evaluation

🌐 Travel to Spain

Plan a sustainable trip to beautiful Barcelona

The best things to do: Read our ultimate guide to learn how to explore the many famous wonders and hidden charms of this amazing city while making a positive impact and avoiding the issues of mass tourism.

😇 People doing great things

Whistleblower saves Florida state parks

And lost his job as a result: James Gaddis worked for two years at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. That was until he leaked information about the state’s plans to build golf courses, 350-room hotels, pickleball courts and more at nine state parks. As a result of his actions, the state agency sent him a letter advising that he was being fired for releasing ‘unauthorized’ information to the public. Gaddis said he spoke out for two main reasons: the secretive and hurried planning of the park plans, and the large amount of environmental damage that would happen if the plans went ahead. He found two proposals especially concerning due to the total loss of habitat that would result from their construction: the golf course at Jonathan Dickinson State Park and the 350-room hotel at Anastasia State Park. The directives for the plans came straight from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ office. After the leaking of the information and subsequent media coverage, DeSantis said during a news conference on Wednesday that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection would start over with the state park plans and that no more work would be done this year. Gaddis is a single father of an eleven-year-old daughter and set up a GoFundMe page to help cover his legal and living costs while he searches for new employment as a professional cartographer.

⭐️ Weekly inspiration

‘Living plastic’ which self-destructs

Breaks down via composting within a month: Inspired by plastic-munching proteins naturally produced by a species of bacteria previously discovered in Japan, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have now discovered how to mix the bacterial spores directly into polycaprolactone (PCL) plastic.

Lego to replace fossil fuels in their signature bricks

Company sells billions of plastic bricks annually: As profit increased 26% to 8.1 billion Danish krone ($1.2 billion) and sales grew 14% in the first half of 2024, Lego will absorb the cost of paying up to 70% more for certified renewable resin as they aim to make all of its products from renewable and recycled materials by 2032.

The first all-electric school bus fleet launched in the US

74 buses for the Oakland Unified School District: These buses will support the power grid and “eliminate 25,000 tons of harmful emissions”, while replacing the roughly 500,000 diesel school buses in the US with electric buses could reduce about 8.4 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.

Solar power in public US schools more than quadrupled

Over the past ten years: At least one in nine students in the country now attends a K-12 school powered by solar energy as schools take advantage of federal funds and incentives making it more affordable to switch to solar power and enjoy the economic, educational, and community benefits.

Largest dam removal project in the US completed

A major win for Indigenous tribes: Crews last week demolished the last of the four hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River, after tribal nations on the Oregon-California border fought for decades to restore the river back to its natural state and allow the region’s iconic salmon population to swim freely again.

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