The Birmingham Brief archive Contensis: http://www.contentmanagement.co.uk http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/index.aspx?SyndicationType=2 2013-05-20T07:39:40Z

This week is Climate Week but has anyone noticed? Events in Libya and Japan have quite rightly grabbed both the headlines and the inside pages of the media. Nevertheless, climate events have been running throughout the country to try and show that climate should still be high on the nation's agenda. 23 March, as well as being Budget Day in the UK, was also World Meteorological Day commemorating the founding of the World Meteorological Organisation in 1950. The theme this year is 'Climate for you'.

2011-03-24T17:27:00Z 2011-03-25T17:09:00Z http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/24Mar-climatechange.aspx

The tragic events at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant constitute the worst nuclear disaster in more than two decades. Whilst the human cost is of paramount importance and rightly dominates the headlines there will also be significant implications for the future of the world wide nuclear industry, which suffered a 20 year decline after the partial core meltdown at Three Mile Island and the disaster at Chernobyl. Both events reinforced the negative public perception toward nuclear power that had emerged over the course of the 1970s.

2011-03-18T00:00:00Z 2012-02-06T14:41:00Z http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/18mar-nuclear-industry.aspx

Britain now has one of the largest and most diverse gambling markets in the world. Gross takings after paying out winnings are in the region of £10bn annually. I argue in my book, 'An Unsafe Bet?', that gambling has been allowed to expand without proper public consultation and debate. Constraints on commercial gambling provision were progressively eased in the 1980s and 90s, culminating in the liberalising Gambling Act of 2005. Intense lobbying for de-restriction on the part of gambling operators was an important element, but lack of consideration of the dangerous, addictive nature of gambling products also played a part.

2011-02-17T13:32:00Z 2011-02-17T13:31:00Z http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/15feb-gambling.aspx

Christmas is perennially highlighted as one of the most stressful times of the year with the natural assumption being that stress is always bad for our physical health. However, our research is showing that the picture may be rather less clear and that there may be health risks inherent in not reacting to stressful situations.

2010-12-22T12:52:00Z 2010-12-22T12:51:00Z http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/festive-stress-221210.aspx

Unlike the previous meeting in Copenhagen a year ago, the UN Climate Change Conference in Cancún, which finished last Saturday, did produce an agreement. In the words of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres, 'The beacon of hope has been reignited and faith in the multilateral climate change process to deliver results has been restored'. The key question is - is it good enough?

2010-12-16T00:00:00Z 2010-12-17T10:39:00Z http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/cancun-16dec.aspx

As poor air quality is associated with poor health, rising levels of air pollutants are a cause for legitimate concern. Air pollution is a mix of gases and particles which arise from natural sources, industry and, most importantly, motor vehicles. Air pollution episodes usually occur during periods of high pressure especially when pollutants are trapped close to the ground not allowing upwards escape to the atmosphere.

2010-11-17T15:54:00Z 2010-11-17T15:51:00Z http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/Airpollution–hotanddirty.aspx

Volunteering at a Day Centre for people with head injuries, as part of my research, provides a different perspective on life. You get to hear comments such as "The general public don't understand what head injury is... they look at you and think you're perfectly normal".

2010-11-17T15:54:00Z 2010-11-17T15:52:00Z http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/headinjury.aspx

Climate change is now widely accepted as one of the greatest challenges we all face. In our own region, Birmingham City Council has made a bold commitment to tackle this challenge with a target to reduce CO2 emissions by 60% by 2026. However, mitigating any change provides just part of the solution in combating the problem.

2010-11-17T15:54:00Z 2010-11-17T15:52:00Z http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/impact/thebirminghambrief/items/climaterisk.aspx