This week, uplifting news from all around the world includes good news for the UK’s independent record stores as there is a vinyl revival taking place in the country. Matt Reynolds, a vinyl enthusiast, recently opened an independent record store in North Yorkshire called Bald B*tch Beats, and believes that this growing sales trend is down to many Gen Z-ers taking a liking to the physicality of vinyl, as well as middle-aged music lovers regretting selling their music collections. Vinyl sales hit £177.3m in 2023, which reflects an almost seven-fold increases in vinyl sales since 2014. The US has also recorded a similar resurgence in vinyl sales to that seen in the UK.
Wind energy infrastructure has had a record year for installations. According to the Global Wind Energy Council’s analysis, installations of wind energy infrastructure were up by 50% last year, compared to 2022, with 117GW of new capacity was installed in 54 countries. The analysis indicates that offshore wind power is gathering momentum, and there are promising outlooks in developing countries. While this is a positive trend, the Global Wind Energy Council cautions that more needs to be done to promote growth to meet net-zero targets, and that policymakers and industries need to improve market frameworks to increase wind installations.
Europe has had a record year in the removal of dams, culverts, sluices, and weirs with almost 500 removed in 15 countries across the continent according to Dam Removal Europe. In their annual report, Dam Removal Europe chronicles the reconnection of over 4,300km of waterways and the destruction of 487 barriers. Furthermore, it is the first annual report to collect information on the dangers the dams present to recreational river users, linking them to 129 fatalities over the years. Herman Wanningen, director of the World Fish Migration Foundation, stated that “From France to Finland, communities, companies, and countries are investing in removing obsolete and increasingly risky barriers to improve river health for people and nature.”
Greece has taken steps towards the protection of its marine ecosystems. Its Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has said that bottom trawling, which involves dragging heavy nets along the seabed, will be outlawed in Greece’s marine protected areas. The country will use state-of-the-art surveillance to enforce these new measures as part of his pledge of €780m (£666.1m) to protect Greece’s marine ecosystems. This small step is the first in Europe addressing the woeful lack of ambition in protecting marine ecosystems. Greece is aiming to outlaw bottom trawling by 2030 in Greece’s two marine protected areas, and the ban will cover 22,796 square km.
Hope is growing for the return of elm trees to the UK landscape. After Dutch Elm disease ravaged the forest, 25 million of the trees were felled in the 1970s. Two lawyers, Fergus Poncia and the late Dr David Herling, came up with a solution. The duo crossed a proven disease-resistant elm developed by Italian academics with a few remaining English survivors found in Kent. Herling’s legacy is now growing at sites including Gravetye Manor in East Sussex, and this year, these elms will be planted by the volunteer curator at the National Elm Collection, Peter Bourne. Bourne said that Herling was “a very special man who did this out of pure enthusiasm and for the love of trees,” and “We can’t wait to get his elms in the ground.
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