Search Results for: Scotland

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A CONSULTANTS report for the European Commission on the impact of biofuel expansion has warned that a reliance on bioethanol could damage the European Union’s (EU) fossil fuels security of supply.

Written by experts from Wood Mackenzie, Ricardo and Celeres, the paper – just released by Brussels – says that with bioethanol sources focused on Brazil and a few other countries, "there is a risk of a high degree of reliance on few sources of ethanol supply."…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

WIND-GENERATED energy – clean, safe, and increasingly economically viable, is facing an obstacle to its expansion: chagrin amongst conservationists that wind turbines can kill or harm wildlife, especially birds and bats. Recently, as a part of the European Union’s (EU) commitment to increase renewable energy to 20% of Europe’s total energy production by 2020, the European Commission published guidelines to prevent wind energy developments from harming wildlife in conservation zones included within its Natura 2000 network, which covers almost 18% of the EU’s land area.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

NEW competitors for shipping gas to the European Union (EU) from the Caucasus are emerging, while Turkmenistan has announced a major new gas find. The Turkmen government is claiming guaranteed gas supplies to Europe, by quadrupling exports over the next 20 years, after unveiling a major new gas field.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

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A UNITED Nations campaign could – if successful – significantly increase worldwide demand for soap. Its Global Handwashing Day has highlighted how diarrhoeal and acute respiratory diseases kill 3.5 million children aged under five annually, and that washing their hands after using toilets and before handling food can reduce such deaths by 40% and 23% respectively.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WINNERS

PHILIPS-VAN HEUSEN

This was a Champagne year for Philips-Van Heusen, owner of Calvin Klein, Arrow, Bass and, since May, Tommy Hilfiger. Its acquisition of Netherlands-based Tommy Hilfiger helped it more than double sales for the third quarter – to $1.5bn, (although profits slipped year-on-year to $80.7m from $86.6m the previous year).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has approved a new monitoring system for EU wholesale markets for natural gas, with the Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) being charged with detecting and deterring market abuse and manipulation.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Consumers’ Organisation (BEUC) has warned the number of personal care product incorporating nanoparticles is growing even as the European Union (EU) debates forging a nanotechnology regulation.

In a survey this year, the BEUC found nanomaterials in 475 consumer products, compared to 151 in 2009, including a wide range of cosmetics, such as nanogold wrinkle cream, hair treatment products, hair dyes and cellulite gel.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

IT’S tough for motorists driving in the dark – especially on gloomy nights where there are no street lights. More accidents result. The development of intelligent transport equipment, including in-vehicle cameras, linked to automatic braking and stability systems, is making a difference.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) ethics group has called for a tightening of rules regarding jobs former EU Commissioners choose after leaving office. ALTER-EU has criticised the employment of ex-Commissioners Günter Verheugen, Joe Borg and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who left office in February.…

BY EMMA JACKSON

CONSUMERS barely notice the tiny band of code printed on their soft drink can or prescription bottle, but behind the scenes the coding and marking industry thrives on making those seemingly insignificant lines of print more readable, efficient and better integrated with high technology.…