BBC Science Focus - 10.2019

DISCOVERIES

Capacity of shale gas to

meet energy needs is

lower than expected

Resources of UK shale gas could be

just one-sixth of what was previously

thought, according to estimates from

the University of Nottingham and the

British Geological Survey (BGS).

In a study published in Nature

Communications, researchers looked

Shale gas advocates in the UK may be feeling despondent this month

E N E R G Y

DISCOVERIES

at the amount of gas in the Bowland

Shale, which is an area stretching from

Lancashire down into the Midlands,

and is viewed as the country’s largest

and most economically viable shale

resource. The new estimates, derived

from data taken from UK shales,

GREEN

PA P E R S e environmental stories you need to know

Highly contentious

fracking site in

Lancashire

INDIA’S PLASTIC BAN

India is set to ban six single-use

plastic items, including bags,

cups and straws, say oicials.

The nationwide ban will

come into place on 2 October,

the birth anniversary of

independence leader Mahatma

Gandhi. Plates, small boles

and some sachets will also be

covered, oicials told Reuters.

If properly enforced, the

measure is expected to cut 5 to

10 per cent from the country’s

plastic consumption. Indian

prime minister Narendra Modi

had previously urged people to

“take the first big step” towards

freeing India of single-use

plastic. “On this 2 October,

can we make India free from

single-use plastic?” he said

during his Independence Day

speech on 15 August.

Capacity of shale gas to

meet energy needs is

lower than expected

Resources of UK shale gas could be

just one-sixth of what was previously

thought, according to estimates from

the University of Nottingham and the

British Geological Survey (BGS).

In a study published inNature

Communications, researchers looked

Shale gas advocates in the UK may be feeling despondent this month

E N E R G Y

DISCOVERIES

at the amount of gas in the Bowland

Shale, which is an area stretching from

Lancashire down into the Midlands,

and is viewed as the country’s largest

and most economically viable shale

resource. The new estimates, derived

from data taken from UK shales,

GREEN

PA P E R S e environmental stories you need to know

Highly contentious

fracking site in

Lancashire

INDIA’S PLASTIC BAN
India is set to ban six single-use
plastic items, including bags,
cups and straws, say oicials.
The nationwide ban will
come into place on 2 October,
the birth anniversary of
independence leader Mahatma
Gandhi. Plates, small boles
and some sachets will also be
covered, oicials told Reuters.
If properly enforced, the
measure is expected to cut 5 to
10 per cent from the country’s
plastic consumption. Indian
prime minister Narendra Modi
had previously urged people to
“take the first big step” towards
freeing India of single-use
plastic. “On this 2 October,
can we make India free from
single-use plastic?” he said
during his Independence Day
speech on 15 August.