Charity says tech problems and poor customer service mean millions in Great Britain missing out on promised benefits
The number of gas and electricity smart meters that are not working properly is likely to be higher than government figures suggest – possibly 20% to 30% of the total – according to research from Citizens Advice.
The charity said millions of households were missing out on the promised benefits from smart meters due to “problems with technology” and poor supplier customer service.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
05/22/2024 - 18:01
05/22/2024 - 17:35
Deal struck with Origin Energy, owner of 2.88-gigawatt Eraring plant near Lake Macquarie, to limit risk of electricity shortages as renewables come online
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Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station will remain operational for at least another two years after the New South Wales government signed a deal with its owner, Origin Energy, in a bid to limit the risk of electricity shortages until more renewables are built.
The agreement, announced on Thursday, involves NSW taxpayers underwriting the 2.88-gigawatt Eraring plant near Lake Macquarie to keep generating power beyond the scheduled closure date of August 2025 Origin had set two years ago.
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05/22/2024 - 16:38
Invitation-only meeting comes on heels of controversial dinner at Mar-a-Lago where Trump reportedly offered $1bn quid pro quo
Donald Trump was continuing to ask fossil-fuel executives to fund his presidential campaign on Wednesday, despite scrutiny of his relationship with the industry.
The former president attended a fundraising luncheon at Houston’s Post Oak hotel hosted by three big oil executives.
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05/22/2024 - 14:22
As frozen ground below the surface melts, exposed minerals such as iron are giving streams a rusty color that pose a risk to wildlife
Dozens of rivers and streams in Alaska are turning rusty orange, a likely consequence of thawing permafrost, a new study finds.
The Arctic is the fastest-warming region in the globe, and as the frozen ground below the surface melts, minerals once locked away in that soil are now seeping into waterways.
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05/22/2024 - 13:02
Plaintiffs claim $38.7bn gas export project, which would triple state’s greenhouse gas emissions, infringes constitutional rights
Eight young people are suing the government of Alaska – the nation’s fastest-warming state – claiming a major new fossil fuel project violates their state constitutional rights.
The state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corporation has proposed a $38.7bn gas export project that would roughly triple the state’s greenhouse gas emissions for decades, the lawsuit says. Scientists have long warned that fossil fuel extraction must be swiftly curbed to secure a livable future.
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05/22/2024 - 11:50
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Jamie Raskin highlight decades-long efforts to sow doubts about climate crisis
Democrats from two powerful committees are urging Joe Biden’s justice department to investigate the fossil fuel industry over its decades-long attempts to sow doubt about the climate crisis.
“We believe that there is adequate evidence that fossil fuel industry companies and trade associations may have violated one or more federal statutes,” the Senate budget committee chair, Sheldon Whitehouse, and Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, wrote in a Wednesday letter to the attorney general, Merrick Garland.
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05/22/2024 - 10:00
Projections of the size and scale of a future CCS industry should come with heavy doses of scepticism
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As far as bonanzas go, a claim this week that Australia could pull in almost $600bn by storing carbon dioxide from other countries is one that puts even the Aukus nuclear submarine deal in the shade.
The oil and gas industry lobby group Australian Energy Producers made the claim, reported in the Australian, pointing to a study carried out by global energy analysts Wood Mackenzie.
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05/22/2024 - 10:00
Older adults face a shortage of affordable and accessible homes as climate change worsens
From their hillside home above Barre, Vermont, Doug and Rhoda Mason thought they were safe. It was 11 July 2023, and record rains were flooding their small city.
Then, just before 5am, a landslide crashed into the Masons’ house. The mud hit with such force it pushed the structure 10ft off its foundation.
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05/22/2024 - 07:52
MP, not renowned for action on environment, chosen for efforts to tackle global deforestation and restore UK’s wildlife habitats
To the surprise of many, the Conservative Environment Network named their favourite MP as … Chris Grayling.
Despite not being renowned for his action on the environment, the former Cabinet minister was chosen as parliamentarian of the year by the network, which said it was honouring his efforts to tackle deforestation internationally and restore the UK’s vital wildlife habitats.
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05/22/2024 - 07:00
As I report more, I’ve stopped thinking of UPFs as food at all – and I suspect corporations don’t care how their products affect consumers
Ultra-processed foods are ultra bad for you. Here’s what to know
I’ve been standing in the dairy aisle at my local grocery store, poring over the nutrition labels on the backs of different soy, almond and oat milk containers, for 15 minutes when I decide: maybe not this week. I’ve spent the past four months reporting on ultra-processed foods and wanted to see whether it’d be possible to go even a week without them.
The problem is, I can’t find any dairy-free milks that fit the bill. The soy creamer that I’ve fixed my morning cups of tea with for nearly a decade is chock-full of ingredients I now recognize as markers of an ultra-processed product: maltodextrin, soy lecithin and locust bean gum. There are alternatives with fewer ingredients, but I’m not sure any of them fits the rules I’m trying to abide by. So I sheepishly pop my trusty soy creamer in my basket and kick the can down the road another week.
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