Media Mentions
12 March 2010
Climate change report “robust”, says researcher
The Observer 14 February 2010
A 2007 report on the effects of global warming by the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change, criticised for containing some inaccurate details, is “robust and rigorous”, says Professor Martin Parry (Grantham Institute for Climate Change), co-chair of the working group that produced it. Commenting that he is “perplexed” by the way the media has focused on minor points, including the claim that the Himalayan glaciers would melt by 2035, he says: “What began with a single unfortunate error over Himalayan glaciers has become a clamour without substance.” Professor Parry adds that the IPCC had looked into other alleged mistakes and found them “generally unfounded and also marginal to the assessment.”
Read the full Observer article
Weather unlikely to have caused Belgian rail crash
US Metro 17 February 2010
Despite snowy conditions, responsibility for the collision of two commuter trains in Belgium is unlikely to lie with the weather, Professor Andrew Evans (Civil and Environmental Engineering) tells the US Metro. Instead, he says, human error or signal faults are the most feasible reasons for the accident, which killed 18 people. “Only extremely rarely is the weather a factor in train accidents,” Professor Evans comments, adding: “For the past three decades, rail safety in industrialised countries has been improving steadily. The improvements are measures to protect against human errors.”
Read the full US Metro article
Why cooking on gas may be bad for your health
Daily Telegraph 18 February
Frying steak on a gas hob rather than an electric one could raise cancer risk due to the fumes and tiny particles given off, according to a Norwegian study reported in the Daily Telegraph. Explaining that previous studies into a connection between gas cooking and poor health have been inconclusive, Dr Deborah Jarvis (NHLI) comments: “This new study may help us understand why these inconsistencies occur. The public health message to the general public remains the same – keep your kitchen well-ventilated when cooking, and make sure all your gas appliances are well maintained.”
Read the full Daily Telegraph article
Sweet news for the environment
Daily Telegraph 18 February
A sugar-based form of plastic being developed by researchers at Imperial could biodegrade in months rather than the hundreds of years taken by traditional oil-based plastics, according to the Daily Telegraph. The researchers are turning sugars found in fast growing trees and grasses into polymers, in a much less energy intensive way of producing plastic. Dr Charlotte Williams (Chemistry) says: “The development of the material is very promising and I’m optimistic that the technology could be in use within two to five years.”
Read the full Daily Telegraph article
— Abigail Smith, Communications
Tags: Issue 216, Media Mentions, News
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