What went right this week: ‘an epic ocean victory’, plus more

As the climate crisis came into tragic focus in Los Angeles this week, environmentalists cautiously welcomed a new ban on offshore drilling along much of the US coastline.

The last-minute climate policy is one of the final acts of the Biden administration before it hands power to Trump, who said he would repeal the ban, but will likely face challenges doing so under US law. 

The ban covers the entire Atlantic coast and eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Pacific coast off California, Oregon, and Washington, plus a section of the Bering Sea off Alaska.

“This is an epic ocean victory,” said Joseph Gordon, from the conservation organisation Oceana. “Our coastlines are home to millions of Americans, and support billions of dollars of economic activity that depend on a clean coast, abundant wildlife, and thriving fisheries.”

Trump has threatened to reverse Biden’s climate policies and ramp up domestic fossil fuel production, which is already at a record high. Scientists warn that fossil fuel production must fall sharply to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.   

Image: iStock

The UK’s electricity grid was the cleanest it’s ever been in 2024, thanks to surging renewables and the closure of the country’s last coal-fired power plant. 

That’s according to fresh analysis by Carbon Brief, which showed that CO2 emissions per unit of electricity have fallen by more than two-thirds in the last decade.

In total, fossil fuels made up just 29% of the UK’s electricity in 2024 – the lowest level on record – while renewables reached a record-high of 45%. Nuclear accounted for 13%.

“Having risen to global dominance on the back of coal-fired industrial might, the UK has made significant progress in cleaning up its power supplies,” said Carbon Brief. 

The UK became the first advanced economy to quit coal in 2024. The government plans to decarbonise the entire grid by 2030 – a target that experts said is “credible but extremely challenging”.

Image: Giammarco Boscaro

A motoring revolution is gathering pace in the UK, where a record number of electric vehicles were sold in 2024.  

That’s according to fresh data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which said that 19.6% of cars sold last year were electric – up from 16.5% a year earlier.  

“These record EV sales are an encouraging indication that we’re heading in the right direction,” said Greenpeace UK’s senior transport campaigner, Paul Morozzo.

“The government, together with the car industry, must accelerate demand by ramping up the delivery of charging infrastructure … and bringing in tax incentives which will continue to bring down the cost of EVs, and tax disincentives for petrol and diesel equivalents.” 

Image: Severin Demchuk

A “ground-breaking” new ultrasound technique could revolutionise prostate cancer testing, scientists said this week. 

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men, yet there’s no screening programme for the disease in the UK owing to the unreliability of existing tests. 

But that could soon change thanks to a new technique developed by scientists at Heriot-Watt University, Scotland, and which has shown “extremely encouraging” results in early clinical trials. 

The test is delivered in under 20 minutes and uses existing clinical ultrasound equipment. It requires a contrast agent containing millions of harmless microbubbles to be injected into a patient’s vein. Scientists then use super-resolution ultrasound imaging to track the microbubbles as they flow into the prostate. Due to the altered blood flow in cancerous tissue, the image highlights tumours.

“By utilising existing ultrasound scanners found in hospitals and clinics worldwide, we’re able to produce high-resolution images of the prostate that clinicians have never seen before,” said Prof Vassilis Sboros, from Heriot-Watt University.

“With one man dying from prostate cancer every 45 minutes in the UK, we hope earlier detection will radically improve treatment outcomes.” 

Image: Drew Hays

An “arbitrary” deadline for registering England’s historic rights of way is to be scrapped, preventing thousands of miles of footpaths from being lost forever.  

The previous UK government had set a deadline for all rights of way in England to be registered by 2031. But campaigners said that it would have been impossible to register the estimated 49,000 miles of footpaths missing from official maps by then.

“The government’s decision to end the threat to thousands of miles of historic rights of way in England is a fantastic step forward in making sure everyone can enjoy the benefits of walking in nature,” said Ross Maloney, chief executive of the charity Ramblers. 

“Not only are these paths an integral part of our shared heritage, but they will also have a critical role to play in the future by helping people live healthier, happier lives.” 

The scrapping of the deadline was criticised by the Country Land and Business Association, which said that it would create uncertainty for farmers and other landowners. 

Image: Benjamin Elliott

The UK’s first drug consumption facility is set to open in Glasgow (pictured) next week, providing users with a safe space to consume illegal drugs.

Offering clean, sterile equipment, and a safe, private setting for injecting drug users, The Thistle will also provide support services and medics trained in combating overdose. 

Advocates point to evidence from similar facilities elsewhere, including in Switzerland and Canada, which have reduced overdose deaths and helped users access support. 

But critics fear supervised injection sites encourage drug use and introduce crime to surrounding communities. The Scottish government argues these concerns are unfounded, claiming there is “consistent evidence of effectiveness of these facilities in reducing harms associated with drug use”.

Scotland has the highest drug death rate in Europe. Deaths are also rising sharply in England and Wales. 

“One safer consumption facility in Glasgow is not the answer to our drug death crisis,” Peter Krykant, a former heroin addict and campaigner for drug policy reform, told Positive News. “I want to see these facilities set up in cities across Scotland and the UK.” 

Image: Adam Marikar

Thousands of tonnes of fresh produce that would otherwise go to waste will be delivered to those who need it most in England thanks to a new £15m government fund.

Some 330,000 tonnes of edible food is wasted or repurposed as animal feed before leaving farm gates every year. While most farmers would rather it was eaten by people, charities that redistribute unsold produce lack the means to collect food from farms and get it to those who need it.

To help tackle the problem, a new scheme will see grants starting from £20,000 made available to England’s non-profit food redistribution sector. 

Harriet Lamb, CEO of the global environmental NGO Wrap, said: “This is welcome support for farmers and redistribution organisations ensuring more quality food is rescued and can support more people and communities, while reducing the environmental impact of food waste on climate change.”

Related article: Salvaging crops and tackling a broken food system: meet the ‘gleaners’

Image: Gabriel Gurrola

Dance classes and an existing drug used to treat anxiety have been touted as potential new treatments for Parkinson’s. 

In a small Dutch study, the drug propranolol was shown to be effective at reducing tremors, which affect as many as seven in 10 people with Parkinson’s. 

“This is a very small study run over a short time period, but it’s promising that the results show that propranolol could provide some short-term relief for people who are experiencing a tremor,” said Dr Becky Jones from the charity Parkinson’s UK. “We look forward to seeing bigger and longer studies to understand what the potential impact of this could be for the Parkinson’s community.”

Meanwhile, a separate study by Canadian researchers showed that weekly dance sessions helped reduce feelings of depression in a small cohort of Parkinson’s patients. 

“We’re not trying to cure Parkinson’s with dance,” said lead author Prof Joseph DeSouza from York University, Canada. “What we’re trying to do is to have people live a better quality of life.” 

Image: iStock

If you can’t function without your morning brew, take heart from new research linking coffee consumption with a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. 

The 20-year study of 40,000 adults found that coffee drinkers were 16% less likely to die of any cause and 31% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than non-drinkers. However, the health benefits appeared to vanish among those who drank coffee all day, possibly as a result of afternoon caffeine consumption disrupting sleep patterns.  

“This is the first study testing coffee drinking timing patterns and health outcomes,” said study lead Dr Lu Qi of Tulane University, New Orleans, US. “Our findings indicate it’s not just whether you drink coffee or how much you drink, but the time of day when you drink coffee that’s important.”

Image: Nathan Dumlao

The UK is one of Europe’s most nature-depleted nations and this week a leading charity hatched a plan to do something about it.

The National Trust pledged to create 250,000 hectares of nature-rich landscapes across the UK over the next decade. That’s an area one-and-a-half times the size of London.

Much of the work will be undertaken on land owned by the charity (it’s one of the UK’s largest landowners), but also beyond. There will be a focus on restoring peatland, which support biodiversity and sequesters carbon.

“Nature is declining before our eyes and climate change is threatening homes and habitats on a colossal scale,” said the charity’s director-general Hilary McGrady. “The [National Trust] is uniquely placed to do something about these challenges and it’s why we are setting ourselves these ambitious but much-needed goals.”

Image: National Trust Images/James Beck
Main image: Fly View Productions/iStock