One of the seminal moments in terms of EU fisheries policy – certainly in my memory – came not when MEPs finally accepted what rational people had always know, or even when Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall took his 'fish fight' to Brussels in 2011, but when Hugh's fellow celebrity chef Raymond Blanc took to the sea for his BBC TV series last year and discovered to his horror just what large numbers of fish were simply dumped back into the sea, or discarded. The look on the face of the culinary wizard spoke volumes.

The actions (and reactions) of the two may have influenced the European Parliament in voting for an outright ban on discards in January. What will certainly influence the fisheries ministers of the EU is what they consider to be the most expedient short-term policy to adopt, ie whether to adopt he policy as agreed and proposed by the Commission, TV chefs and all right-thinking people or dilute it to provide a sop to their fishing constituencies. It all depends on which they consider has the most votes in it.

The concept of 3D printing is astounding to most people above a certain age, who still retain the ability to be surprised by technology. Earlier this month a story broke of scientists at Heriot-Watt University using the technique to produce stem cells for medical research (One Californian executive newsletter referred to scientists in "...the UK and Scotland" - seems the result of the referendum has been leaked already!).

In addition to helping to save lives, the technology can help save the planet. A company in Oxford has developed a way of printing photovoltaics so thin they can be applied to the surface of windows. The development has been pioneered by Oxford Photovoltaics, a University spin-off company, which has now announced further funding from 'cleantech' venture capital company MTI Partners. Last year the company was one of the 16 'Best of British' cleantech companies forming a trade mission to California's Silicon Valley to showcase UK (and Scottish!) innovation.

Well we made it into 2013, and a Happy New Year to everyone. It seems set to be a year in which climate change is finally going to become the major global issue it needs to be. That optimism on my part was sparked by a story that Barack Obama is "seriously considering" hosting a bipartisan summit of climate change to thrash out a national strategy. The US has not distinguished itself particularly when it comes to environmental issues, but the signs are more encouraging for 2013.

Back home, however, the New Year didn't start so well. News of the North Sea Brent pipeline being closed down following a leak at one of the pumping platforms sent a shiver down many a spine, as we all remembered the fiasco in the Gulf of Mexico. What with fracking about to start, nuclear power plants set to make a comeback and now our very own undersea leak, can we rewind and start again?

• Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Davey finds the sight of someone eating sheep's testicles "stomach-churning". That is about the nearest he came to talking about the environment in the first edition of the BBC's Question Time of 2013.

He was responding to a question regarding the appearance of MP Nadine Dorries on the TV show I'm a Celebrity... His answer revolved around whether she could do her job as an MP properly while holed up in the jungle. He missed the opportunity to question whether the whole idea of the show – transporting a small number of people half-way across the world to compete for a dubious honour by consuming examples of local wildlife – was contrary to the principals of environmental responsibility.

• As I write this it is snowing – hard. Which is pretty much par for the course at the start of a year which is forecast to be nearly half-a-degree warmer globally than the average. That has followed a year which was the second wettest on record in the British Isles – except for the Channel Islands, where it was the third wettest on record! I'm guessing it's not because they had a particularly wet year not experienced in the rest of Britain.

Chris Stokes

For reasons known only to the Gods, we have in the family a number of Manchester United supporters. United were playing at home on Boxing Day, but for the second year running there were no buses or trains in Greater Manchester or Lancashire on Boxing Day.

Furthermore, the two main banner items on the BBC News channel were the Boxing Day sales, with retailers expecting to take in excess of £3bn in the day, and there was a 'busy day' for football fans. Sure was busy, particularly if you were trying to get to a game – or to town centre shops.

Mightily inconvenient, you may scoff; but there are multiple layers to the environmental impact of the absence of buses and trains on such important public holidays. Significantly, by driving 13 miles or so into Greater Manchester, there were trams available in the form of the Metrolink that could take the aforesaid family member to Old Trafford. That is run by Transport for Greater Manchester – formerly GMPTE – an operator owned by the 10 constituent local authorities of what used to be Greater Manchester county. They have seen the advantages for the local economy and the environment of having transport available on the biggest shopping and sports day of the year.

The buses and trains, however, are privately owned: nuff said.