Are the political ‘big six’ keen on green issues?
IT’S election year in Wales, and so with it comes political parties campaigning for your support, a round of TV election debates and the overnight results marathon on polling day where the real entertainment comes from watching the presenters trying not to doze off in the early hours.
The Wales Green Party aside, environmental issues may not be at the forefront of the main political party’s manifesto pledges but they do make an important appearance.
So if environmental promises are enough to sway your vote, we’ve trawled through the green highlights of each manifesto to save you the endless reading hours (p8-11).
Elections aside, the Green Alliance has released a renewable-energy league table (p7) which ranks Wales and nine other regions of England on how much of their energy demand comes from renewable sources. Don’t worry, no spoilers here, but one thing to take from the results is that Wales is clearly utilising at least some of its rich natural assets – something it will have to continue to do to meet its environmental targets under the next government.
In other news, the sun is beginning to make the occasional appearance, even if it is in between bursts of rain and overcast skies, which must mean spring is at last here.
Restaurants across the country will now be updating their menus with seasonal dishes, so we’ve put together a great list of eateries that take care to source their ingredients ethically – so you can feel a little less guilty when you decide to order that big chocolate dessert.
If you’re a bit more of a scrimper when it comes to food and prefer to eat in than eat out, you’ll likely try and save what you can from your leftovers. Freezing is a great way to do this, and you can freeze a lot more than you think, which will help you save a bit of money and cut down on your waste too (p6).
Wildlife enthusiasts will be excited to learn that there are plans currently in place to reintroduce the beaver to Wales after its native extinction hundreds of years ago. The project will hopefully see the mammal in local rivers again very soon (p7).
Finally, remember to vote on Thursday May 5 in the Wales Assembly elections.