The government has made it difficult to judge whether promises are being met by refusing to define environmental tax

The government is refusing to provide a definition of what it counts as a "green" tax, in a move that campaigners fear denotes political meddling, an influential group of MPs warned in a report on Monday.

Green taxes have become highly contentious, as free-market thinktanks and sections of the media have seized on them as a soft target. George Osborne, the chancellor of the exchequer, has criticised the taxes as "costly", cheered by Tory MPs.

The new mood is in stark contrast to the Conservatives' pre-election promise to increase the proportion of government revenues coming from green taxes, as a way of both helping to cut down on environmental damage, and shifting the tax base away from taxes on work and income.

A very small number of Plant collectors are responsible for the discovery of most of the world’s known plant species, scientists have found. Research has revealed that more than half of the world's plant species have been discovered by just two per cent of plant collectors, or more accurately, plant explorers. The research was carried out by scientists from Oxford University, Earthwatch, Natural History Museum, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, and Missouri Botanical Garden.

Staff at the Cairngorms National Park say it is 'very likely' birds such as the golden eagle are being hunted and killed illegally.
Rare birds are disappearing from the skies above a Scottish national park at a "very worrying" rate, experts have said.Two golden eagles, two hen harriers and a peregrine falcon disappeared from the Cairngorms National Park in 2010.

Staff at the park say it is "highly likely" that the birds of prey are being hunted and killed illegally.
Last year a peregrine, a hen harrier and a hobby also were lost from the park.
Staff have been tagging raptors in an effort to track their movements and learn more about their habits.

Instrumentation specialist Quantitech has supplied the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) with a range of the latest environmental monitoring technologies that will be used by the Airborne Hazards Emergency Response (AHER) service to improve the provision of information about airborne hazards during a significant incident such as an explosion or a major fire. This will allow NHS Scotland and the emergency services to assess the potential risks to human health and mitigate them.

The monitoring equipment includes advanced portable Gasmet FTIR multi-gas analysers in addition to Tecora Echo high volume and Delta low volume air sampling equipment. The instruments have been deployed in mobile vehicles and provide SEPA with the ability to respond quickly to emergencies by monitoring airborne particulates and almost any gas.

Quantitech's Dr Andrew Hobson has been responsible for providing initial training on the instruments. He says, "We are delighted that the Gasmet DX4030 portable FTIR gas analyser has been chosen for this project because it was developed for applications in which almost any gas might need to be identified, so it is ideal for incident investigations.

"The FTIR analyser can be located in a backpack and effectively provides laboratory grade analysis in a field instrument. A Bluetooth connection to a handheld PDA provides simultaneous measurements for up to 25 compounds and the collection of a complete sample spectrum means that over 250 compounds can be analysed and the unit can potentially analyse over 5000 compounds."

The introduction of the new service has been led by SEPA in partnership with other agencies and will help protect the public during emergencies by providing interpreted and informed scientific advice on airborne hazards to NHS Scotland and the emergency services.

A video demonstrating the calibration of a high volume air sampler is available on the Quantitech website www.quantitech.co.uk

Navetas study reveals a lack of understanding over how household behaviour is impacting electricity bills
Consumer misconceptions over which appliances are using the most energy in the home

73 finalists* have been selected from over 1,000 entries to take part in the 2012 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Britain in Bloom UK Finals.

Ranging from small rural villages to major industrial cities, each finalist is aiming for a gold medal, and the coveted title of category winner.

New guidance that will help Welsh businesses to manage their waste as cost effectively and sustainably as possible has been published by the Welsh Government.

The guidance applies to all businesses and organisations that manage waste in Wales, and provides advice on processing unwanted materials in line with what is best for the environment.

Funding for projects at 27 universities under HEFCE’s Revolving Green Fund (RGF) was announced today.
The awards have been made to four major projects and 24 smaller-scale programmes at higher education institutions, and collectively they will receive nearly £11 million.1 All are designed to reduce harmful carbon emissions. In this, the second round of the RGF, the four major projects enable existing buildings on a campus to be retrofitted to reduce energy consumption. This work is collectively predicted to reduce CO2 emissions by around 229,000 tonnes per year.