Foresight in the news

Migration and Global Environmental Change

• Read some of the stories from the launch of the report.

The Future of Food and Farming

• Find out what media impact the report had.

Land Use Futures

• Warning over future of land use
  Parts of the UK could face water shortages, rapidly rising house prices and threats to wildlife and landscapes without major changes to how land is managed, a report has warned.
  Read the article on MSN News.
• Call to update Britain’s land use systems
  Britain’s antiquated land use systems must be updated to cope with the challenges of the 21st century, from climate change to population growth, according to a government report out on Friday.
  Read the full article on FT.com.
• Climate change report sets out an apocalyptic vision of Britain
  Mass migration northwards to new towns in Scotland, Wales and northeast England may be needed to cope with climate change and water shortages in the South East, according to an apocalyptic vision set out by the Government Office for Science.
  Read the full article.
• Land management in UK must change to cope with climate change
  Britain faces rising water bills, housing shortages and destruction of wildlife unless the way land is managed is completely reformed, scientists have warned.
  Read the full article on telegraph.co.uk.
• Visionary Thinking - Geographical Magazine reports on land use in the UK
  This month, the Royal Geographical Society's magazine, Geographical, published an article on the Foresight report on land use. There is special mention of two of the lead experts: Mark Tewdwr-Jones, professor of spatial planning and governance at University College London; and John Goddard, Professor of regional development studies at Newcastle University.
  Read the full article (PDF, 1.7 Mb) 

Sustainable Energy Management & The Built Environment

• Focus on the Wallflower
  Professor John Beddington describes buildings as the wallflowers of the climate change problem. Read his guest column about the Sustainable Energy Management and the Built Environment project in the FT's Clean Energy supplement
  Read the article in the FT.
• Getting our house in order
  Following the publication of the Sustainable Energy Management and the Built Environment project, Professor John Beddington argues in Prospect magazine this month that a major rethink is needed about the way we use energy and if we really want to sustain the planet, we must first fix the leaky buildings where we live, work and play.
  To read the full article, click here.
• Thinktank calls for "home MOT's"
  The government's science think tank has proposed that homes in the UK should have regular MOT-type energy check ups.
  Read the full story in the BBC
• Homes and offices should take "green MOT", says thinktank
  Failure in energy efficiency tests could mean increases in council tax or buildings insurance, say government advisers
  Read the full story in the Guardian
• MOT energy check for homes proposed
  Homes and factories in the future may have to pass an energy efficiency test in the same way that a car has to pass an annual MoT inspection, a government think tank states.
  Read the full story in The Telegraph
• UK stuck in energy past, govt thinktank warns
  Britain will struggle to make the transition to greener energy sources because it is "locked-in" to using traditional energy sources, a government thinktank has claimed.
  Read the full story at inthenews.co.uk
• Government thinktank calls for green building "MOT's"
  Businesses could be made to undertake annual "green MOTs" for their buildings and offices, under new proposals being considered by the government.
  Read the full story in Business Green.
• Major report demands energy rethink
  A major new report released this week on energy use in the UK has revealed that the drive towards sustainable power is being ?hampered? by outmoded ways of thinking.
  Read the full story in Green Consumer Guide.
• Commercial property could face green MOT test
  Commercial property could be subjected to green MOT-style tests if the advice of a government think-tank becomes law.
  Read the full story at Devono.com

Mental Capital and Wellbeing

• Experts call for campaign to boost nation's mental health
  The mental health and wellbeing campaign would promote five actions that people can take to combat stress, anxiety, depression and drug abuse
  Read the full story in The Guardian
• Do five simple things a day to stay sane, say scientists
  Simple activities such as gardening or mending a bicycle can protect mental health and help people to lead more fulfilled and productive lives, a panel of scientists has found.
  Read the full story in the Times
• Warning on worker's mental health
  The UK needs a major rethink of workers' mental health amid the current economic uncertainty, government advisers have said.
  Read the full story on the BBC website
• Financial crisis will hit mental health of the nation, warn government advisors
  The financial downturn in Britain will have a major impact on the mental health of the nation, a far-reaching Government report has warned
  Read the full story in The Telgraph
• We must spot learning problems earlier, says thinktank
  Huge scope to end under-achievement and improve mental health of nation
  Read the full story in The Guardian

Tackling Obesities: Future Choices

• Together we can beat obesity
  Britain is in the grip of an epidemic. In the UK two-thirds of adults and a third of children are already overweight or obese, and without action this could rise to almost nine in 10 adults and two-thirds of children by 2050.
  Read the full story in The Times
• UK united on obesity threat
  The Government's proposals on tackling obesity have been greeted with widespread approval from public health organisations.
  Read the full story on Politics.co.uk
• Obese people will be paid to lose weight
  Overweight people are to be paid to shed the pounds under a £372m incentive scheme aimed at making Britain the first country in the world to reverse rising obesity levels.
  Read the full story here in The Independent.

Flooding and Coastal Defense

• Prepare for global temperature rise of 4C
  Prepare for global temperature rise of 4C, warns top scientist. Defra's chief adviser says we need strategy to adapt to potential catastrophic increase
  Read the full story in The Guardian
• How to coexist with floods
  'How to coexist with floods' describes China's program to analyse and manage flood risks in the Taihu basin over the next 50 years. The program, launched jointly by China and UK is based on the Foresight report 'Future Flooding', published in April 2004. The article appeared in China's only national-level science and technology newspaper, Science and Technology Daily, on the 28th of January 2008. 
  A translated version appears here (PDF, 63 Kb)  and the original article can be viewed here

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