Campaign for the NHS Reinstatement Bill

In recent decades, the environment in the UK has deteriorated significantly in both urban and rural areas. This is not surprising in such a densely populated and small country, whose residents are concerned about pollution, wildlife, natural resource use and food safety. But while most Britons are concerned about the environment, not everyone tries not to pollute it. Public awareness of the problem coincided with a sharp increase in support for the “green” movement in the mid-80s, so many political parties were forced to include “green” points in their program. The government, in its turn, adopted laws that limit the level of permissible emissions into the environment and protect it from new dangers. European Union officials have also taken this issue seriously, setting even stricter standards for EU member states.

But critics argue that government measures are ineffective and insufficient. The control and protection provided by the government will not save the environment: violators can bypass the law or pay off with a small fine, insufficient pressure is exerted on companies that need to upgrade their treatment equipment, and conflicts over environmental disasters occur between local and central government.

The polluted air in Great Britain is a significant threat to the health of its residents, especially asthmatics. Despite the fact that industrial emissions into the air were prohibited by the clean air laws of the 1950s and 1960s, poor air quality can be felt in most of the country. Exhaust fumes from cars, buses and trucks seriously violate the environmental situation in cities, despite the commissioning of new exhaust purifiers. The slow fading of the public transport system is forcing more and more people to use private cars, and an increase in the number of cars and roads will inevitably lead to an even more deplorable result.

The tunnel between France and England, too, has greatly damaged the nerves of nature’s defenders, despite the fact that it was relatively well planned, the noise insulation system was thought out and its construction did not cause much damage to the environment.

The pollution of the sea and coastal areas is mainly due to companies that dump their waste directly into the sea, as well as the operation of oil and gas rigs in the North Sea. So far, the volume of emissions and the level of sea pollution exceed the maximum values set by the European Union.

The rivers suffer as much as others – industrial waste is systematically discharged there and toxic agricultural fertilizers and pesticides are discharged directly from the soil. This, in turn, has made people think about the quality of drinking water and the government monitor the quality of water supplied by utility companies. Many contaminated rivers, lakes and water bodies have been cleaned and the North Sea is more closely monitoring compliance with all environmental standards.

Problems also exist in the use of energy resources, as well as in the use of combustible fuels (oil, gas, coal) and damage to territories caused by coal-to-gas conversion. Use of nuclear energy was abruptly stopped due to dissatisfaction of islanders with nuclear facilities, danger of leakage of radioactive substances, processing and burial of nuclear wastes. Up to now, there is a debate whether it is dangerous or safe to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

People are also greatly concerned about the state of agriculture, especially the number of pesticides used in growing vegetables and grains, hormonal supplements of animals and the impact of intensive methods of land cultivation on the environment.