BeccaHarper

The UK is already behind in their environmental targets, so what could an exit from Europe do to our environment credentials? Some of the EU’s biggest achievements are in the field of environmental conservation, with stringent targets placed on things like recycling and renewable energy. It remains to be seen if the UK’s exit from the EU will simply allow them to take the easy way out and ease up on their targets. Farming and Fishing Two of the the most vocal groups throughout the Brexit campaign were farmers and fishermen. The fishermen had hoped that a vote to leave would mean that they would gain control of their fishing quotas again, but this has proven to be fruitless. An EU memo has revealed that UK fishermen may not win back waters following Brexit, which means the UK will have no further control over fishing stocks. Farming is also set to be delivered a blow, as British farmers will see the end of EU subsidies. A report by Informa Agribusiness Intelligence estimates that 90% of British farms will collapse without these subsidies and land prices would crash. Sustainable Energy One of the biggest concerns that many people have is that the environment will suffer the most because of a decrease in focus on sustainable energy sources. The good news is, The North Sea Link will go ahead despite Brexit. However, German energy firm Siemens has frozen future investment in wind power following the vote. STEM Research and Employment One of the most obvious impacts of Brexit is that it could prevent key talent in the field of science and technology from choosing the UK as a place to work or study. We’ve already seen a downturn in university-educated professionals making the UK their destination of choice. There has been a scramble in recent months to secure EEA permanent residence for those already in the UK, but some have been asked to leave rather unceremoniously, despite being settled in the UK for a long time.

I LOVE natural and green cleaners. I have a biodegradable spray cleaner that smells like pomegranate for the kitchen and try to use natural cleaners like apple cider vinegar around the house to protect my cat. But I have to admit, adjusting to the chip shop vinegar smell is difficult! I miss when my house smelled like bleach because then I would know it's clean

I agree with Simon! It's often so much easier to throw everything in one bin and be done with it. I live in a tiny apartment, so the thought of having loads of bins scares me! I'm sure IKEA has some kind of space-saving sorting system even for the smallest apartment. I also struggle with stupid things like forgetting my tote bags when I go shopping and I always end up buying a new one. I'm planning to buy one of those tote bags in a keychain so I can never forget them.

Hi all, My name is Rebecca and I'm a freelance journalist with a background in conservation. I'm here to pick your brains on some of the most pressing environmental issues facing us today in the UK and further afield. I'm usually working on a research paper or three, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions and topics to share with you all to get some feedback if that's ok? Cheers, Becca

As much as we’re all concerned with ensuring younger generations inherit a planet that isn’t on the brink of collapse, shouldn’t we also be concerned with teaching them to care about the planet? While the choice to adopt renewable energy sources might seem out of our control, the decision to teach young people about the environment is very much within our reach. If you have children in your life, why wouldn’t you spend a little time teaching them about how rainforests are the lungs of the earth? Or how a coral reef grows and gives life to so many marine animals. When I was growing up, once the morning cartoons were finished there was no choice but to go and play outside, but children are slowly losing the art of playing out. I cared about nature because I got my hands dirty, played in puddles and climbed trees. So, how do we teach children fluent in video games and mobile phones how to appreciate nature? Get outdoors The simplest way to encourage children to care about the environment is to get outside and experience it. Take a walk, go swimming in a lake, go mountain biking or take a trip to the beach. Visit a zoo to learn about endangered animals, if you must! Anything that gets children out of their digital bubble and gets them thinking about nature will help. Watch the news You’d be surprised just how switched on children are, so avoiding watching the news with them just because you are afraid they will see something upsetting might not be the best way forward. Watch the news with your child and answer their questions. If you can’t answer their questions, make it a family activity to find the answers. Just make sure you aren’t leaving any scary unanswered questions. What about the older kids? Teens are slowly shedding their slacker sentiments in favour of activist tendencies. Awaken their inner eco-warrior by encouraging older kids to get involved with marches, rallies and fundraisers. Not only is this a great way to meet people and boost their confidence, but they’ll also be learning to speak up about the planet. How can I help other people’s children? This is a delicate issue, as a lot of parents don’t like the idea of someone else weighing in on their parenting approach. Obviously, if you foster a child, you might be able to get away with inspiring your foster placement to care a little more about the environment while they are living with you. However, if you are talking about getting someone else’s child on board with going green, you’re going to need to speak to their parents and make sure they are on board with your mission. Even if you are talking about your nieces, nephews, cousins and grandchildren, you should always clear it with the parents.

Since we only have one planet, it makes sense to do as much as we can to protect it, and yet we still seem to slow on the uptake of this fact. When it comes to greenhouse emissions, domestic emissions far exceed industrial emissions, meaning that your daily shower and boiling the kettle upwards of five times per day is doing more damage than the energy consumed by manufacturing. Moving towards more sustainable living arrangements should be an achievable goal, and yet these kinds of developments are few and far between. The UK recently announced its first carbon neutral building development to be constructed in Hemel Hempstead. The Beacon is a 17-storey development that will make use of solar power, triple glazing, a mechanical heat and ventilation recovery system and rainwater harvesting. Residents will have access to on-site recycling facilities, electric bike and car sharing scheme and a fully-automated robotic parking system that takes up a fraction of the space of a traditional parking level. While this is a step in the right direction, there are so many other developments going up in the UK and around the world that don’t have the same commitment to green energy sources. There need to be more incentives for buildings, investors and homebuyers to seek out greener alternatives. The Beacon is quite literally a beacon for green investment in the UK, as they are offering to cover the cost of conveyancing solicitors and valuation fees in a bid to attract more people. A report published by the UK government revealed that many eco developments fail because there is a lack of communication between different sectors, and then home owners aren’t fully educated on how to make the most of the energy saving systems. How would you resolve these failings within the green development industry?