Dirty white elephants
SourceMaterial and The Telegraph
Incinerators were supposed to be a panacea, turning the UK’s waste mountain into clean energy. A SourceMaterial investigation found that the government is committing hundreds of millions of pounds of public money to an industry riddled with conflicts of interest, and far less green or cost-effective than it ... ... Read more
Why negative oil prices are the new ‘Big Short’
The Telegraph 29 April 2020
Chad Slater, an Australian hedge fund trader, had actually been cutting his bets against oil companies in recent weeks, assuming the oil price could not fall any further. Last week proved him wrong and the oil price dropped below zero for the first time in history ... ... Read more
Most women who flee domestic violence have nowhere to go
The Guardian 5 February 2020
Sara Mayer’s youngest child often asks: “Mum, how many days will we stay here?” Each time, she tells him they won’t have to move again, but so far she has been unable to keep her promise. In 2013, Mayer fled her abusive husband and went ... ... Read more
‘You can’t really win’: 4m Britons in poverty despite having jobs
The Guardian 14 May 2019
“I’m a bit scatty with things like this,” Gemma* admits when talking about her finances. It was not scattiness that meant she struggled to make ends meet when taking home £399.69 a month for working 18 hours a week as a cashier at Betfred. Even with ... ... Read more
Will going vegan save the planet?
The Independent 7 January 2020
“You mightn’t happen to have a piece of cheese about you, now? No? Well, many’s the long night I’ve dreamed of cheese – toasted, mostly.” Marooned for three years on Treasure Island, Ben Gunn may be desperate in his yearning for cheese, but plenty of ... ... Read more
