I have been looking into various graduate schools and programs I might be interested in attending soon and and have found some outside of the US that look fantastic.  It made me curious about what other countries are doing in terms of the environmental challenges that face us today.  So I’ve decided to take a brief look at a few countries this year.  I chose the UK first, partly because there’s no language barrier, and partly because there’s a program in Southampton I’m interested in.

London smog.  It turns out that air pollution really is a problem.  Here is an article from The Guardian about it: London air pollution ‘worst in Europe’.  The good news is that the European Union has regulations and the UK is not living up to them.  (This will mean less if the UK actually leaves the EU, but I think they’ll still want to clean up the air.)  Air pollution can be a serious health concern.

The government’s Environmental Agency website is clear and helpful.  It includes an article about releasing lots of fish into rivers.  They have a program to breed and restock the rivers with various species.  Overfishing is a big problem everywhere, especially in a place like the UK with so much coastline.

The UK did a National Ecosystem Assessment and this is, to me, is a fantastic idea.  This is a way to look at the whole picture.  They also followed up on areas that had uncertain results.  Many environmental groups and government agencies all over the world are focused on only one aspect of the problem.  Sometimes we also need to look at the big picture because it is all interconnected.

AzoCleanTech has also written an article about the UK if you’re interested in more information:  How clean is your country?