Since newspapers are constantly rearranging their archives, many of the links on this page are now broken.
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29 September 2004: Andy the
dolphin boosts visitors in Wearside:
A welcome visitor is causing visitors to flock to the North East.
16 September 2004: Mass
salmon release boosts Devon stocks:
The Environment Agency has released 7000 young salmon into Devon's
River Axe.
14 September 2004: Thames
threatened with 20 million tonnes of sewage each year:
London is living under a sewage time bomb, the London Assembly has
heard. The capital's sewage system is now crumbling. See also Wading
through London's sewage.
9 September 2004: Dolphins
spotted in river Wear!:
A dolphin nicknamed Andy has been spotted in the Wear estuary..
1 September 2004: Waterways fail
targets:
According to RSPB, most rivers, lakes and other waterways in England
and Wales are unlikely to meet new EU regulations on water conditions..
20 August 2004: Beach bathers put at
risk by summer storms:
Heavy summer rain is causing sewage discharges onto British beaches and
putting bathers at risk, according to the Marine Conservation Society..
15 August 2004: Water-short
world must switch away from meat:
Cutting meat consumption is one way to make food and water go further,
the 2004 World Water Week conference will hear in Stockholm.
More from the Stockholm International
Water Institute.
8 August 2004: Prozac and other
drugs found in drinking water:
The Environment Agency has found traces of drugs in sewage effluent and
drinking water. According to Norman Baker, MP: "It is alarming that
there is no monitoring of levels of Prozac and other pharmacy residues
in our drinking water."
8 August 2004: The
Water4All Project - Cleaner Groundwater For Future Generations:
Part of a (Euro)1.4m European-funded project is underway in the River
Slea catchment in Lincolnshire to investigate how land use planning can
be used to improve water quality. By treating the causes rather than
the symptoms, the overall result of the Water4All project will be
cleaner drinking water for future generations without the need for
expensive and unsustainable "end of pipe" treatment to remove nutrients
and chemicals and a more ecological friendly river.
23 July 2004: Native
Americans take on Scottish Power:
Native Americans traveled to Glasgow to protest about a big drop in
salmon numbers on the River Klamath.
19 July 2004: Rivers
rising in Bangladesh:
Climate change kicking in? More than half of the 64 districts of
Bangladesh are now affected by the worst floods in decades.
19 July 2004: Swan
upping:
The historic, annual swan count is underway on the Thames.
19 July 2004: Otters
return to Northern Ireland:
A new project is trying to bring otters back to Belfast.
13 July 2004: Bathside
Bay inquiry must halt:
Friends of the Earth will call on the Public Inquiry into a proposed
deep-sea container port at Bathside Bay in Harwich to be halted today
because the developer has provided insufficient evidence on the impact
that traffic will have on the local road network and the environment.
7 July 2004: Climate
change brings chemical threat:
Climate change is increasing dissolved organic carbon in British
waters, leading to new health and environmental threats, according to a
new report in Nature.
6 July 2004: Lorries
to drive past homes every 25 seconds:
Friends of the Earth is highlighting traffic dangers to local
communities if a new port at Bathside Bay, in East Anglia, goes ahead.
4 July 2004: Just
let me get my teeth into those fluoride fans:
An article in The Scotsman questions the wisdom of adding fluoride to
water: "Here's an idea: let the manufacturers pay to add it to all
those sweets, sugary and fizzy drinks that are causing the problems in
the first place."
2 July 2004: Thames
Water fined £50,000 for polluting River Thame:
Water utilities company Thames Water Ltd has been fined £50,000
for polluting a five-mile stretch of the River Thame, killing an
estimated 15,000 fish in July 2002.
30 June 2004: New
tools for flood risk developments:
National
Planning authorities across England will receive new tools this week
from the Environment Agency which should enable them to make more
informed and speedier decisions on planning applications
in order to steer development away from areas at risk from flooding.
23 June 2004: Plain
truth:
Oliver Tickell explores the looming threat to Oxford's famous river
system from a proposed
£100 million flood-relief drain.
22 June 2004: Grey
seas issued with satellite telephones:
Seven grey seals in Pembrokeshire are relaying their location and
diving activity to researchers using satellite transmitters placed on
their necks, according to the Countryside Council for Wales.
20 June 2004: World's water
taps are running dry:
Native Americans traveled to Glasgow to protest about a big drop in
salmon numbers on the River Klamath.
14 June 2004: South-East
England has less water than Sudan!:
New figures from the Environment Agency reveal a shocking lack of fresh
water in Britain.
14 June 2004: Turning
sea water into tapwater:
Plans for a new desalination plant in East London are proving
controversial.
More from BBC News
5
June 2004: Seas and
oceans: dead or alive?: World Environment Day 2004 focuses on the
state of our seas.
More from Wired
News
24
May 2004: Snakeshead
invades the Potomac:
Invasive species in Washington, DC are strengthening calls for the
passage of a National Aquatic Invasive Species Act (NAISA) in the USA.
24
May 2004: Indian dam protesters
on hunger strike:
125 activists protesting against the Upper Veda dam are now on hunger
strike in Khargone jail in Madhya Pradesh.
24
May 2004: £2
million for Cornish rivers:
A new injection of European money could go to to help rivers across
Cornwall.
18
May 2004: Endangered
crayfish hit by mystery pollution:
Tens of thousands of the endangered species were killed at the weekend
in Hart Burn, near Morpeth in Northumberland.
18
May 2004: Angling
action day to boost fishing:
Junior anglers of all abilities will have the chance to learn and
improve their fishing skills during ‘Angling Action’ days to be held by
the Environment Agency this summer at the Cotswold Water Park.
15
May 2004: River
Trent in decline?:
Agriculture is drastically changing one of the country's major rivers,
the Trent, which flows from Staffordshire to the Humber Estuary.
The Trent Rivers Trust
is among groups working hard to stop the rot.
12
May 2004: Environment
Agency learns lessons from ghost fleet:
Friends of the Earth reports some humble-pie eating at the Environment
Agency over its handling of a plan to bring rusting ships to Britain
last year.
7
May 2004: Devon
salmon under threat:
Salmon are under threat in the River Exe, according to this story from
BBC News.
7
May 2004: British
beaches clogged with plastic:
A new study will come as no surprise to beach users or cleaners.
Microscopic fragments of plastic are choking our beaches.
If you're interested in making a practical difference for cleaner
beaches, check out the Marine Conservation Society's Adopt-a-beach
campaign. Surfers Against Sewage
also make a real difference to "coastal cleanliness" and deserve your
support.
5
May 2004: 98%
of rivers now have fish:
A new report from the Environment Agency says "thriving and diverse
coarse fish populations are now present in more rivers than at any time
in the past century, including their restoration to many previously
polluted and completely fishless rivers".
Some species still remain at dangerously low levels, however.
More on this from BBC
News
21
April 2004: Dibden
Bay, no way!:
Thanks to a determined fight by local campaigners, the British
government has seen environmental sense and cancelled the highly
destructive new container port long planned for Southampton's Dibden
Bay -- a campaign UKRN has followed since 1998.
Well done to local group Residents Against Dibden
Bay Port (RADBP), who were supported by national groups including Friends of the Earth, RSPB, and others.
But campaigners around the UK are still fighting a number of other
damaging port proposals. See Portswatch
for more details.
21
April 2004: Bathside
Bay port inquiry begins:
Dibden may be defeated, but another
huge port development looms large over East Anglia.
An inquiry has now started into the proposed port at Bathside where
more than 3,000 birds roost and 1,300 feed in winter. Friends of the
Earth, RSPB, and local groups are opposing the plan by Hutchison Ports.
20 April 2004: Stonehenge inquiry draws to a
close:
Another campaign we have been following closely:
Plans for a new road through the Stonehenge World Heritage Site
potentially threaten the internationally important rivers Avon and Till
in Wiltshire. A public inquiry into the scheme is draws to a close at
the end of April 2004.
20 April 2004: Water
taxis could cut congestion:
Is water power the solution to the UK's never-ending transport problem?
Councillors in Hull seem to think so.
18 April 2004: Weather
setback for rowing record attempt:
Bad weather has scuppered a new world-record bid for rowing the Thames.
17 April 2004: Quick-thinking
farmers save Dee from tanker spill:
A serious spill on the River Dee has been averted thanks to swift
action by farmers.
7 April 2004: Watch
out for Whales in Wales:
The Countryside Commission for Wales has published a new booklet
helping people to spot whales and dolphins.
16 March 2004: AONBs
come of age:
The Countryside Agency reports on a happy birthday.
16 March 2004: Welsh
canals win Grant:
The historic Monmouthshire & Brecon and Montgomery Canals are to
get a new lease of life that will help boost the area's sustainable
tourism potential, Wales’ Economic Development and Transport Minister
Andrew Davies announced today
8 March 2004: Baywatch
studies Cardiff Bay:
A new exhibition traces ecological changes in Cardiff Bay since the
controversial development opened four years ago.
