Soaring gas prices
Gas prices have soared in the last year – the industry group Oil & Gas UK said that the wholesale prices for gas have increased by 250% since January. Subsequently, four energy firms have collapsed due to bankruptcy, and four are expected to follow in the coming days.
This is due to lower stocks (due to a cold winter) and a higher demand (for example, from Asia). Due to the climate, there is also less renewable energy being generated. The impact of this on households is that there has been a 12% rise in energy bills since October. There are also more far-reaching consequences as it has created a shortage of carbon dioxide used to stun animals prior to slaughter and to keep food fresh for storage and transport.
The Aukus Pact
The UK has made a new security agreement with the US and Australia which includes giving Australia the technology to build nuclear-powered submarines and the sharing cyber capabilities, artificial intelligence and other undersea technologies. The alliance is widely seen as an effort to counter China’s influence in the contested South China Sea, but some have expressed fears that it could provoke China. However, France disagrees with the pact as it forced Australia to pull out of a major contract with France. This contract with France was worth £27 billion and was created to build 12 conventional submarines. This topic is important to countries globally, is that very few countries have nuclear-powered submarines: only the USA, Russia, China, UK, France and India.
Afghanistan: new school system and government
The Taliban have excluded girls from Afghan secondary schools, meaning that only boys and male teachers are allowed back into classrooms. Under their new government, Taliban officials have said that women will be allowed to study and work under the terms stated by the group’s interpretation of Islamic religious law, however working women have been told to stay at home as Taliban fighters have beaten women protesting against the all-male interim government. Even the women affairs ministry has been shut down and replaced with a department to enforce strict religious doctrines.
SpaceX – amateur astronauts return to Earth
A team of four amateur astronauts have returned to the Earth after their visit to space. They had spent three days orbiting the Earth, returning via four parachutes slowing the capsule’s descent before it landed in the water. The billionaire Jared Isaacman had paid around $200 million to Elon Musk for all four seats aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Mr Isaacman himself joined the team, along with a geoscientist, a physician assistant and an aerospace data engineer who had taken part in six months of training beforehand. This was a milestone in the space tourism market as it was the third time Elon Musk’s company has taken humans to space and back.
Wimbledon Wombles used to tackle the climate crisis
The Wombles have been announced as ambassadors for the government’s #OneStepGreener initiative in the run up to COP26 in Glasgow. The Wombles have always been famous for collecting litter on Wimbledon Common and upcycling it, and this will continue as they will be promoting activities that people can do to reduce their carbon impact. Some examples of these are walking, cycling, planting trees and reducing food waste. However, some critics have stated that the government is just trying to “deflect responsibility away from themselves and towards blaming individual citizens”.
