18 May 2012: Amelia Gentleman visits Halden, the high-security jail in Norway where every cell has a flatscreen TV, an en-suite shower and fluffy, white towels Continue reading →
Further education colleges have been awarded over half the extra student places allotted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. How have the places been shared out, and between which institutions? Continue reading →
Ucas adviser Scott Elliott - here to answer your questions Applying to university is a daunting prospect. With campus open days, student loans and Ucas forms – it's hard to know where to start.Following on from next week's launch of the Guardian University Guide 2013 – a combination of tables and guidance to help students find the right course for them – we are linking up with Ucas and Student Finance England to host a live Q&A session.Perhaps you're overwhelmed by the number of courses on offer? Or you want tips on how to get the most out of a university open day? Put your questions and dilemmas to our experts, who will be online from 1pm to 4pm next Tuesday. Our experts Scott Elliott ... Continue reading →
The Hinkley Point B advanced gas-cooled reactor near Bridgwater, Somerset could remain open beyond its planned closure. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images Britain's ageing nuclear reactors, which were due to close in the next decade, are set to be kept open under a plan approved by the industry's regulator.In a move that could have far-reaching implications for the government's energy policy, the Office for Nuclear Regulation has told the Guardian it is working with the country's dominant nuclear operator, the French-owned company EDF, to extend the life of its eight nuclear power stations in the UK, and that it is "content for the plants to continue to operate", as long as they pass regular safety tests.The two organisations are also discussing other improvements to EDF's plants, ... Continue reading →
The energy bill is likely to favour fossil-fuel sources like gas, for which power stations can be built quickly and cheaply. Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images A dash for gas, a major fillip for nuclear power and blows to renewable energy – these are widely expected to be the contents of the government's much-anticipated draft energy bill, the main contents of which will be outlined by ministers in the afternoon.The nuclear industry is expected to be one of the big winners, with a set of policies designed to favour low-carbon power – which will, controversially, include atomic energy as well as renewable sources such as wind and solar.But renewable companies are concerned that they will lose out, because the current system of subsidies will be replaced ... Continue reading →
Germany has chosen not to build new nuclear reactors, but is investing in renewable energy manufacturing and deployment (Zwischenlager Nord temporary nuclear waste storage facility in Lubmin, Germany. Photograph: Sean Gallup/Getty Images) "Too cheap to meter": that was the infamous boast of the nuclear power industry in its heyday. It has been catastrophically discredited by history.Yet the phrase may yet see a new life - not of course for nuclear power - but for renewable energy. As the UK government publishes its draft energy bill on Tuesday, acknowledged by all but ministers themselves as primarily an arcane way of getting new nuclear power stations built, I am in Germany.Already, on one particularly windy weekend here, the surge of electricity drove the price down to zero. ... Continue reading →
ICYMI #Heartland merchandising, featuring Peter Gleick Continue reading →
Several friends of Heartland have expressed trepidation about continuing their long-time associations with us. This is my reply to one of those scholars, which shines a little more light about what’s going on around here since Peter Gleick confessed to creating the “Fakegate” scandal: Dear John, Sorry you feel this way. For 28 years, The Heartland Institute has tried to stay “above the fray,” producing high-quality research and commentary and staying focused on the issues, even as the political dialogue became more and more polarized and corrosive. Almost alone among think tanks, we focus on communicating with people who do not already agree with us. We rely on research and reason, not rhetoric and emotion, and still do. In February of this year, when a ... Continue reading →
The passage of winds across the Atlantic, known as the jet stream, is part of the reason for the unsettled weather as it is creating a block of low pressure over the UK while southern Europe wallows in sunshine. The Met Office forecast the weather “looks to remain unsettled” until at least June 12, meaning showers could hit the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations on June 3-5. Dave Britton, of the Met Office, it was impossible to predict conditions for each day this far in advance but that the weather is likely to remain unsettled. "Conditions look to remain rather unsettled and changeable towards the end of May and into early June," he said. Weather Online, that gives more long range forecasts, said the Wimbledon tennis ... Continue reading →
