Guernsey Airport has many options to address its carbon footprint (click image to expand - ©RLLord)

As of the 31 January 2012, some 55 airports in Europe welcoming 52% of European passenger traffic each year are now Airport Carbon Accredited at one of the 4 available levels of certification (‘Mapping’, ‘Reduction’, ‘Optimisation’ and ‘Neutrality’).

Olivier Jankovec, Director General ACI EUROPE commented “with Helsinki airport, Dusseldorf airport, Warsaw airport and the six airports of Finavia’s Lapland Group now accredited, joining 46 others, our industry continues to make tangible progress in addressing its carbon footprint and becoming more efficient.”

“More than 750 million passengers a year are travelling through European airports that are now Airport Carbon Accredited,” he said.

Siim Kallas, European Commission Vice-President responsible for Transport, said “Genuine progress on greening transport and curbing emissions can only occur when the regulator’s work is complemented by citizens and businesses taking action of their own.”

“Airport Carbon Accreditation is a fine example of an industry taking the initiative in this regard. I am delighted to see so many airports are now participating in the programme – it is clearly helping to move European aviation onto a more sustainable footing.”

Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action said “I am of course very happy to see that more than half of European passenger traffic is now passing through carbon accredited airports, congratulations!”

“It is important that all parts of industry and society join in our efforts against climate change, and examples like yours are inspiring.”

Initially launched in Europe in June 2009, the institutionally endorsed programme Airport Carbon Accreditation has moved up several gears in the past two and half years.

The programme is administered by leading consultancy WSP Environment & Energy and overseen by an independent Advisory Board including representatives of the European Commission, European Civil Aviation Conference, EUROCONTROL, International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP).

In November 2011, the programme expanded to the Asia-Pacific region, gaining the support of ICAO at that time too.

Abu Dhabi Airport was the very first to become Airport Carbon Accredited in the Asia-Pacific region of ACI.

The recent ‘first time’ accreditations of a significant number of airports have seen the programme shoot past the 50% mark in Europe in the past weeks.

In Year one, 18 accredited airports achieved a reduction of 411,390 tCO2.

In Year two, 43 accredited airports achieved a reduction of 729,689 tCO2, equivalent to removing around 180,000 cars from the roads, and results of the CO2 reduction achieved for Year 3 of the programme, will be announced at the 22nd ACI EUROPE Annual Congress in Madrid from 20 t0 22 June 2012.

Recent renewals within the programme have also seen Gothenborg-Landvetter Airport renew its status as a carbon neutral airport as well as Eindhoven Airport in the Netherlands achieve ‘Reduction’ for the first time.

Currently there are eight European airports Carbon Accredited for ‘neutrality’, seven European airports carbon accredited for ‘optimisation’, 19 European airports Carbon Accredited for ‘reduction’, and 22 European airports Carbon Accredited for ‘mapping’.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has estimated that aviation’s total CO2 emissions currently accounts for 2% of global emissions. Of that figure, airports’ own operations account for up to 5%, but European airports are keen to tackle their greenhouse gas emissions – several individual airports operators having already committed to becoming carbon neutral in the past few years with some having already achieved this.

For more information, please visit the Airport Carbon Accreditation website.

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd Roll-on/roll-off (RORO) Nichioh Maru coastal car carrier began its maiden voyage on 27 January 2012.

Four years in construction, this vessel of almost 170 metres length and 11,400 tons, boasts 281 solar panels on its top deck, which helps power energy efficient LED lights in the ship’s hold and crew quarters.

The diesel engine is electronically controlled for maximum efficiency, and the hull has a special low-friction coating for improved sea mileage.

This vessel, which can carry 1380 Nissan Leafs, has 18% lower C02 emissions compared to a standard vessel of the same size.

The Nichioh Maru will ply the coastal waters of Japan.

In 2010 Nissan launched the ‘City of St Petersburg’ which is used to bring Nissan Leafs to Europe.

This vessel has an aerodynamic superstructure to lower air resistance and increase fuel efficiency.

Click here to view the embedded video.

With the European Union looking to curtail shipping emissions, Nissan is showing a way to lower emission, more energy-efficient transportation.

(click on report cover to go to PwC report download page)

Deals for ‘new generation’ renewable technologies – wind, solar, biomass – are entering the big time driving the market to new record highs, reports PwC in its annual global analysis of merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions in the renewable sector.

The analysis is based on transactions from Clean Energy pipeline’s proprietary M&A database, provided by Venture Business Research.

Deal values rose 40% year on year, from US$38.2 billion in 2010 to a record level of US $53.5 billion in 2011.

European deal volumes dipped 6%, but overall value rose 80% from US$16.7 billion to US$30 billion.

North American deal volumes dipped 5%, with deal value also down 5% from US$13 billion to US412,4 billion.

South American deal volumes rose 90%, with total value up from US$3.2 billion to US$6.8 billion.

Asia Pacific (including Australasia) deal volume was down 26% but value rose 15% from US$4 billion to US$4.6 billion.

Billion dollar deals dominated, as solar, wind and energy efficiency deals overtook hydropower as the driver for big deal values for the first time.

One in every three deals last year was solar and overall deal value for the sector is up 56% from US$10.2 billion to US$15.8 billion.

A reappraisal of the role of nuclear in many countries’ national energy strategies after the Fukushima emergency has provided an extra impulse for renewable generation in certain markets.

There was also continued strong momentum behind deal activity in the solar and energy efficiency sectors. Buoyed by the increase in big transactions, deal value in these two sectors nearly doubled year on year.

Together, they account for the vast majority (79%) of the US$15.3 billion increase in the total value of all renewables deals.

Paul Nillesen, partner, PwC renewables said “deal making in the renewables and energy efficiency sectors is intensifying as the sector evolves. Sustained high deal numbers and record total value reflect a maturing of the sector. The trend is all the more noteworthy given the uncertainty in the market and in government policies on renewables. We believe that deal flow will continue to be significant in the medium term.”

Falling solar prices are making solar power more economic and closer to grid parity in some markets.

The entrance of pension and insurance funds, most notably via the $1.3 billion investment by Danish pension insurance groups in offshore wind in Denmark, confirms the trend towards a maturing market and the creation of secondary markets, with assets sold for a second or third time. But the report warns that the sector is facing considerable growing pains.

Paul Nillesen, partner, PwC renewables, said “US and European manufacturers are coming under cost pressures. They are not alone. Some Chinese manufacturers also face heavy debt and are coming under competitive strain. There is significant overcapacity in China. The result is likely to be a succession of tie-ups within and between the main manufacturing territories of the US, Germany and China leading to a smaller number of big global players.”

As well as expecting to see a smaller number of global players in the solar market, PwC also says that consolidation among larger players is likely to occur in the windpower sector. Two recent profit warnings from Danish company Vestas are the most high profile example of the challenges facing some windpower companies.

Ronan O’Regan, director, PwC renewables and cleantech said “As offshore wind projects increase in size, the need for a strong balance sheet to support the technology becomes more important. This creates scope this year for a landmark wind power combination between players from one or more of Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.”

Continued rolling uncertainty on the eurozone crisis will make the deal environment much more difficult for 2012 according to the report. A deeper crisis would undoubtedly dampen deal flow further, but Paul Nillesen, partner, PwC renewables said the market uncertainty might not block the big deals:

“Staying out of the markets in the hope things will improve cannot be assumed to be the right strategy.

The potential for further destabilisation domestically, or at an inter-governmental level cannot be ruled out, but if a deal is highly strategic, and mission critical, then parties will still feel it is worth doing on the right terms.”

The study, ‘Earth’s energy imbalance and implications’, published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics in December 2011, offers an updated calculation of the Earth’s energy imbalance, the difference between the amount of solar energy absorbed by Earth’s surface and the amount returned to space as heat.

James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City, led the research.

The researchers’ calculations show that, despite unusually low solar activity between 2005 and 2010, the planet continued to absorb more energy than it returned to space.

Total solar irradiance, the amount of energy produced by the sun that reaches the top of each square meter of the Earth’s atmosphere, typically declines by about a tenth of a percent during cyclical lulls in solar activity caused by shifts in the sun’s magnetic field.

Usually solar minimums occur about every eleven years and last a year or so, but the most recent minimum persisted more than two years longer than normal, making it the longest minimum recorded during the satellite era.

The sun's total solar irradiance shows that in recent years irradiance dipped to the lowest levels recorded during the satellite era. The resulting reduction in the amount of solar energy available to affect Earth's climate was about .25 Watts per square meter, less than half of Earth's total energy imbalance. (click graph to expand - graph courtesy of NASA/James Hansen)

Pinpointing the magnitude of Earth’s energy imbalance is fundamental to climate science because it offers a direct measure of the state of the climate. Energy imbalance calculations also serve as the foundation for projections of future climate change. If the imbalance is positive and more energy enters the system than exits, Earth grows warmer. If the imbalance is negative, the planet grows cooler.

Hansen’s team concluded that Earth has absorbed more than half a Watt more solar energy per square meter than it let off throughout the six year study period. The calculated value of the imbalance (0.58 Watts of excess energy per square meter) is more than twice as much as the reduction in the amount of solar energy supplied to the planet between maximum and minimum solar activity (0.25 Watts per square meter).

“The fact that we still see a positive imbalance despite the prolonged solar minimum isn’t a surprise given what we’ve learned about the climate system, but it’s worth noting because this provides unequivocal evidence that the sun is not the dominant driver of global warming,” Hansen said.

According to calculations conducted by Hansen and his colleagues, the 0.58 Watts per square meter imbalance implies that carbon dioxide levels need to be reduced to about 350 parts per million to restore the energy budget to equilibrium.

The most recent measurements show that carbon dioxide levels are currently 392 parts per million and scientists expect that concentration to continue to rise in the future.

Climate scientists have been refining calculations of the Earth’s energy imbalance for many years, but this newest estimate is an improvement over previous attempts because the scientists had access to better measurements of ocean temperature than researchers have had in the past.

Data collected by Argo floats, such as this one, helped the NASA team improve the calculation of Earth's energy imbalance (click image to expand - image courtesy of Argo Project Office)

The improved measurements came from free-floating instruments that directly monitor the temperature, pressure and salinity of the upper ocean to a depth of 2,000 meters (6,560 feet).

The network of instruments, known collectively as Argo, has grown dramatically in recent years since researchers first began deploying the floats a decade ago.

Today, more than 3,400 Argo floats actively take measurements and provide data to the public, mostly within 24 hours.

Hansen’s analysis of the information collected by Argo, along with other ground-based and satellite data, show the upper ocean has absorbed 71 percent of the excess energy and the Southern Ocean, where there are few Argo floats, has absorbed 12 percent.

3476 Argo floats collect data from the world's ocean (click map to enlarge - map courtesy of Argo Project office)

The abyssal zone of the ocean, between about 3,000 and 6,000 meters (9,800 and 20,000 feet) below the surface, absorbed five percent, while ice absorbed eight percent and land four percent.

The updated energy imbalance calculation has important implications for climate modeling. Its value, which is slightly lower than previous estimates, suggests that most climate models overestimate how readily heat mixes deeply into the ocean and significantly underestimates the cooling effect of small airborne particles called aerosols, which along with greenhouse gases and solar irradiance are critical factors in energy imbalance calculations.

“Climate models simulate observed changes in global temperatures quite accurately, so if the models mix heat into the deep ocean too aggressively, it follows that they underestimate the magnitude of the aerosol cooling effect,” Hansen said.

Aerosols, which can either warm or cool the atmosphere depending on their composition and how they interact with clouds, are thought to have a net cooling effect. But estimates of their overall impact on climate are quite uncertain given how difficult it is to measure the distribution of the particles on a broad scale. The new study suggests that the overall cooling effect from aerosols could be about twice as strong as current climate models suggest, largely because few models account for how the particles affect clouds.

“Unfortunately, aerosols remain poorly measured from space,” said Michael Mishchenko, a scientist also based at GISS and the project scientist for Glory, a satellite mission designed to measure aerosols in unprecedented detail that was lost after a launch failure in early 2011. “We must have a much better understanding of the global distribution of detailed aerosol properties in order to perfect calculations of Earth’s energy imbalance,” said Mishchenko.

A report published to clients by analysis company Bloomberg New Energy Finance has found that the breakthrough for storage could be closer than previously thought – thanks in large part to an expected drop in battery prices over the coming few years.

Other storage technologies which may also see significant growth include traditional approaches such as pumped hydro and novel ones like flywheels.

The study states that while niche markets for energy storage are already viable in the UK today, mainly to relieve bottlenecks in the transmission and distribution of power, more substantial penetration of energy storage within the grid system will become economic within the next five years.

However, the report also points out that the key to the successful roll-out of energy storage within the UK electricity system in the next few years will be putting in place an appropriate regulatory framework – something that has not yet been achieved.

Specific forecasts in the report are that energy storage will be able to meet economically the need for fast reserves and short-term operating reserves, two grid services purchased by National Grid to maintain grid stability, in 2014 and 2017 respectively; and that using storage to manage energy prices could make sense for large power consumers in the next year and for smaller ones by 2016.

The most exciting development in storage worldwide is in the price of lithium-ion batteries. In the long-term, as more and more electric vehicles are made and sold, the cost of batteries used in these vehicles will fall, and this technology will be directly transferable to the grid system as well.

Most grid-scale lithium-ion battery projects today cost more than $1,000 per kWh, but with battery manufacturing capacity likely to outstrip supply in the short term, Bloomberg New Energy Finance is forecasting significant price drops in the next 36 months, towards $600 per kWh by 2015.

By 2020, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, energy storage could be in widespread use in the UK across the transmission and distribution systems, at customer sites and perhaps co-located with wind farms and solar parks.

The successful adoption of storage technologies over coming years depends critically on there being a supportive policy regime in place. Some of the current regulatory rules prevent storage from being exploited fully to its potential. For instance, at present, regulated transmission and distribution utilities are simply not allowed to use storage to sell services to National Grid, even if there is an overall system benefit in doing so.

Shu Sun, energy storage analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said that the benefits from the effective introduction of storage in the UK could be very substantial, such as enabling the country to generate a much higher percentage of its electricity from renewable sources, and enabling industrial and large commercial users – and households with smart meters – to avoid having to purchase power when it is at its most expensive.

“The prize may be within sight, but there are obstacles that need to be cleared before the UK can attain it,” he commented.

“In the short term, we will see a small number of demonstration projects being built in the UK using funding from schemes such as the Low Carbon Networks fund.

For more widespread adoption of storage in the transmission and distribution networks, appropriate mechanisms need to be built into RIIO (revenue equals incentives plus innovation and outputs), the new regulatory model which aims to promote innovation and the use of new technologies within the UK power networks.”

The report ‘Energy storage valuation study: UK’ is published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance as part of its Energy Smart Technologies Insight Service.

(click logo to go to Ecobuild website)

Ecobuild, the world’s largest event for sustainable design, construction and the built environment, takes place at London’s ExCeL from Tuesday 20 March to Thursday 22 March 2012.

Over 1,500 suppliers will be exhibiting, from companies such as Saint-Gobain, BASF Construction Chemicals, Kingspan, Vaillant, and Worcester Bosch, to up and comers in Ecobuild’s Green shoots entrepreneurs’ zone.

The exhibition will show the latest in everything from building materials to micro-renewables, from rainwater harvesting systems to interiors.

ExCel is well laid out with two huge exhibition halls on either side of a wide central hall with food and drink concessions (click image to expand - ©RLLord)

There are going to be hundreds of new product launches including Ecovane’s new Envergate Vertical Axis Wind Turbine, CoolSky’s solar thermal control system, two new flooring products from nora flooring systems UK Ltd, Schueco UK’s new ERC 50 Renovation Façade, NIBE’s new F1345 ground source heat pump, and a number of new domestic heating and hot water products from Worcester Bosch Group and many more.

Ecobuild puts these innovative products in context through its information programme, making a visit exceptionally good use of time.

There’s the three-day, three-stream conference, sponsored by the UK Green Building Council, that tackles macro themes such as Beyond construction: achieving a sustainable future, Making sustainable construction happen and Design, architecture & sustainability with renowned commentators including Sir John Beddington, Monty Don, Janet Street Porter, Greg Dyke, Tony Juniper and Angela Brady, covering topics as diverse as Growing out of trouble – how social enterprise can help restore society, People and the planet and Collaborative consumption.

Ecobuild provides a free world-class seminar programme (click image to expand - image courtesy of Ecobuild)

A topical addition to the programme for 2012 is an ‘Olympics special’ hosted jointly by the Construction Products Association and BRE in which Construction Minister, Mark Prisk and Peter Bonfield, Adviser to the Olympic Delivery Authority on materials procurement consider how, having delivered ‘the greenest games ever’, the learning from the development of the Olympic Park can be put to use in other developments.

Later, Chief Construction Adviser, Paul Morrell, UKTI CEO, Nick Baird and Atkins CEO, Uwe Krueger discuss the platform the Olympics legacy will create for UK businesses to apply this learning to international projects, and build further the UK’s world-leading reputation in sustainable design and construction.

Rt. Hon Jack Straw MP, Lord Paddy Ashdown, Justin Webb of BBC Radio 4 and Bianca Jagger take part in the seminar "Prospects for a sustainable world: a new chapter for international co-operation" at Ecobuild 2011 (click image to expand - ©RLLord)

More applied is Ecobuild’s seminar programme which delivers practical advice from experienced practitioners through over 130 sessions including Energy & innovation in buildings, Better through BIM, Buildings in use, Future energy and Sustainable by design.

Visitors looking to get their hands dirty can do so at a dozen or more live attractions – literally in the case of Ecobuild’s Natural, traditional… sustainable which demonstrates cob wall building alongside straw bale construction and carpentry techniques.

Elsewhere on the exhibition floor Renewable Heat Focus, sponsored by Vaillant, gives daily talks and one-to-one advice on how best to benefit from the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) plus a showcase and working models of the latest technology including solar thermal, biomass and heat pumps.

Renew, sponsored by Knauf Insulation, provides practical advice on achieving one of the most important aspects of achieving an energy efficient building – a highly insulated, air-tight building envelope through daily live demonstrations covering making hard to treat buildings more energy efficient, solid wall insulation, internal wall insulation, insulating lofts and floors, party wall insulation and cavity wall upgrades.

Ecobuild’s Solar hub, sponsored by Solarcentury, demonstrates how the installation of solar PV still offers attractive rates of return via the UK Feed-in Tariff, despite adjustments to the UK Government’s incentive scheme through a series of talks and presentations, plus one-to-one advice.

Visitors will get practical guidance on how to specify the most appropriate system for the best results, maximise the return on investment, reduce carbon emissions and mitigate rising energy costs as well as being able to see a range of solar innovative systems from on-roof, to semi-integrated to fully roof-integrated products, and feature the latest technologies from leading modules manufacturers.

Architect Bill Dunster OBE is co-author of the excellent ZEDbook (click image to expand - ©RLLord)

Bill Dunster’s ZEDfactory will use Ecobuild to reveal its most ambitious project yet – ZEDlife, a carbon-free, solar-powered lifestyle, in which both buildings and transport solutions meet their annual total energy demand from sunlight.

Dill Dunster's zero-bill concept home at Ecobuild 2011 (click image to expand - ©RLLord)

Combining their existing RuralZED and StramitZED housing solutions with the latest ZEDfactory innovations – the HiminZED energy roof system, the free-standing solar tree capable of powering homes, businesses or transport, ForeverZED solar-powered transport and, most ambitious of all, ParkZED, a zero carbon, zero waste, high density mixed use development with integrated zero carbon transport solutions.

StramitZED at Ecobuild 2011 (click image to expand - image courtesy of Ecobuild)

In addition to the main programme, Ecobuild’s exhibitors and partners will be offering a variety of events including the TRADA timber tours, the BREEAM awards, sessions from UKTI on international opportunties, and a programme of sessions in the UK-GBC’s ‘big tent’ on the exhibition floor.

E.ON’s will present its own Sustainable City at Ecobuild, an holistic approach to lowering carbon – from Smart metering and electric motoring, to community-scale district heating technologies.

A portion of one of the exhibition halls in use by Ecobuild in 2011 (click image to expand - ©RLLord)

Visitors will be able to walk through E.ON’s Sustainable City model, complete with a life-sized energy-efficient home and commercial space, and interact with the tools, technology and innovations that can make sustainable cities a reality today.

As well as previewing their latest sustainable innovations in high performance flooring, Gerflor will be showcasing an original drawing by Stephen Wiltshire depicting the London 2012 Olympic Park in every detail.

After Ecobuild, the drawing will be auctioned to raise funds for The Boparan Charitable Trust.

And, new for Ecobuild 2012, amongst the myriad activities taking place in the ‘RIBA village’, visitors are invited to their BITESized auditorium for a series of short and snappy topical talks, each lasting 15 minutes, and a daily Pecha Kucha 20 x 20 hour.

For the first time, the RIBA will also be hosting CPD sessions at Ecobuild – a great opportunity to get up to the minute knowledge from RIBA’s CPD Providers Network, as well as earn CPD points.

Ecobuild’s chosen charity, CRASH – the construction and property industry’s charity for homeless people – will be back in the Ecobuild boulevard with their photo booth, inviting you to find out about the work they do and the projects they support, and to ‘get snapped with CRASH’ and take away a photographic memento of your time at the event.

Ecobuild has fabulous exhibits and the seminars are first rate and worldclass.

It’s all free to attend when you register where you can also create your own itinerary using Ecobuild’s online planner.

Visitors approach the Ecobuild exhibition entrance (click image to expand - image courtesy of Ecobuild)

(Please click on the image to download the PDF flyer)

There will be teams of six people and the cost is £10 per head.

A jacket potato supper with salad and choice of spiced beef, tuna mayonnaise or cheese will be provided.  Wine, beer and soft drinks will be available for purchase.

The Quizmaster is Alistair Cooke.  For more information or to enter a team please contact Susan.riseborough @ cwgsy.net

WildGuernsey guests sharing wild food at Pouquelaie Vinery (click image to expand - image courtesy of WildGuernsey)

12 February 2012

WildGuernsey at Pouquelaie Vinery, Rocquaine Road, St Pierre du Bois, Guernsey offers an ‘Introduction to WildFood Foraging‘ on Sunday 12 February 2012 from 1 pm to 4 pm.  The £30 course includes tapas.

11 March 2012

On Sunday 11 March 2012 we offer a workshop on an ‘Introduction to wild sea shore foraging‘ from 2 to 4 pm. The workshop costs £25 and includes tapas.

Sea beet, Beta vulgaris maritima, growing at Perelle on Guernsey's west coast (click image to expand - ©RLLord)

7 April 2012

On Saturday, 7 April 2012 we offer a workshop on ‘Seaweed for your soil, skin and soul.’ The workshop from 1.30 pm to 3.3o pm costs £25 and includes tapas.

14 April 2012

From 11 to 12.30 pm on Saturday 14 April 2011 we offer a workshop on ‘Nettles and nutrients…not only good for soup!’  The workshop costs £20 and includes lunch.

21 April 2012

From 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm on Saturday 21 April 2012 we offer an ‘Introduction to WildFood Foraging‘  The workshop costs £30 and includes tapas.

Sea lettuce, Ulva lactuca, off Lihou Island (click image to expand - ©RLLord)

Advanced booking is required. Please book ahead of time to avoid disappointment and to secure a place at these workshops by email to wildguernsey @ yahoo.co.uk or telephone 01481 263153 or 07781 122420

For more information please visit the WildGuernsey website.

The Foundation has promised £30,000 to match the £30,000 pledged by Guy Hands and Terra Firma.

The funding from both sources will go towards the salary of, at present, a part-time worker over three years from 2012 to 2014. This means that the service will expand from 18 hours a week to become a full-time service.

The CJAS began in January 2009 and is a partnership between the Guernsey Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council (GADAC) and the Probation Service, funded by the Bailiwick Drug & Alcohol Strategy and now including the new non-States funding.

Its aim is to minimise harm to both the individual and the community as a whole by reducing the amount of alcohol-related crimes.

Andrea Nightingale, the Drug & Alcohol Strategy Coordinator is grateful for the support.

“We are delighted that Lloyds TSB Foundation has decided to match the generous donation from Guy and Terra Firma.”

“They have been very supportive of the Strategy in the past and I welcome their commitment once more to establish a much needed full time service in this area of work. What this means is that we can go from working with seven or eight people per week to almost double that number and also allowing drink-drivers to access the Service.”

“This, for me, is the ideal model of a private/public partnership which the Strategy has always tried to include, enabling initiatives to expand and develop when the 5 year Strategy funding has already been allocated,” she said.

The aim of the service is to work with offenders who cause harm to our community due to their alcohol use. The service works with offenders by monitoring their alcohol use, enabling them to obtain treatment, and changing their attitude to alcohol use thus preventing further offending. The sessions mainly take place at the Probation Service offices. The clients are sent to the service either from the Court via Orders supervised by the Probation Service or when offenders are released from prison under post- custodial supervision.

Once the clients have agreed to work with the CJA worker, attendance is compulsory. Most clients say they would not have sought help voluntarily and this is the first time that they are addressing their alcohol use. This change is achieved through teaching anger management, emotional awareness and substance abuse education. This is followed by helping clients to explore their reasons for drinking, alternatives to drinking and understanding the effects their behaviour has had on the victim, their family and friends. The ultimate goal is to get them to change their lifestyle for the better.

John Hutchins, Executive Director for the Lloyds TSB Foundation for the Channel Islands said “the Criminal Justice Alcohol Service provides a vital service to help break the cycle of re-offending for people with alcohol-related problems and get their lives back on track.”

“The Lloyds TSB Foundation for the Channel Islands exists to provide support to disadvantaged, disabled and disaffected people and the CJAS fits in well with these aims,” he said.

In addition to the other funding Terra Firma has already provided £10,000 in 2011 on a no strings attached basis.

Guy Hands, Chairman of Terra Firma, said he was very pleased that match-funding has been secured. “I am glad to hear that the Criminal Justice Alcohol Service will now be able to go ahead and expand the invaluable work that they do. I would like to congratulate them on securing an additional sponsor and wish them all the best for the future.”

Microplastics released from synthetic fabrics during the wash cycle enter the wastewater stream and contaminate beaches (click image to expand - ©RLLord)

According to a study led by Dr Mark Anthony Browne now with the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) in Santa Barbara, California, over 1,900 fibres can wash off a single piece of clothing during a machine wash cycle and end up on the shoreline.

The research published in the paper “Accumulation of Microplastic on Shorelines Worldwide: Sources and Sinks” in the US journal Environmental Science and Technology provides new insights into the origin of the microplastic and where it ends up.

The research showed that eighteen shores across six continents were contaminated with microplastic.

Global extent of microplastic in sediments from 18 sandy shores and identified by Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. The size of the filled-circles represents number of microplastic particles found (click map to expand)

To investigate the main source of the microplastic contamination on the beaches, Dr Browne’s team examined sewage sludge disposal sites and effluent from sewage treatment plants.

They also washed synthetic clothes and blankets, and discovered that they released more than 100 fibres per litre of effluent.

The proportions of polyester and acrylic fibres in clothing were found to resemble those in effluent on the beaches and at sewage disposal sites.

This, the researchers say, suggests that the washing of clothes – rather than the fragmentation of plastic waste or cleaning products – was the main source of the microplastic debris on the coastlines.

“We show polyester, acrylic, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyamide fibres contaminate shores on a global scale, with more in densely populated areas and habitats that received sewage,” explained Dr Browne.

“As the human population grows and people use more synthetic textiles, contamination of habitats and animals by microplastic is likely to increase,” he said.

“Designers of clothing and washing machines should consider the need to reduce the release of fibres into wastewater.”

According to Dr Browne and the international team of scientists who conducted the study, work is urgently needed to determine if microplastic can transfer from the environment and accumulate in food-webs through ingestion.

“In humans, inhaled microplastic fibres are taken up by the lung tissues and can become associated with tumours, while dispersive dyes from polyester and acrylic fibres have been shown to cause dermatitis.”

The international team included scientists from University College Dublin, Ireland; University of Sydney, Australia; University of Plymouth, UK; and University of Exeter, UK.

The research was funded by Leverhulme Trust (UK), the Centre for Research on the Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities at the University of Sydney, and Hornsby Shire Council, Australia.