Latest news with #Cowley
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Plans to transform Oxfam HQ into lab space
Plans have been submitted to turn Oxfam's headquarters into an office and lab space. GreyArc Investments Limited have applied to Oxford City Council for planning permission to turn the building on John Smith Drive, Oxford Business Park, Cowley into a life science or office facility and "create a significant number of job opportunities". The charity said it had signed the lease for a new workplace within the ground floor of a smaller building on the same site, to help reduce costs. Councillor Saj Malik, who represents Temple Cowley on the city council, has raised concerns about the knock-on effect of creating new science and tech jobs on the city's housing shortage. Oxfam's HQ moved to Oxford Business Park from Summertown in July 2005, and the building was sold to Sutton Council in 2016. It was put on the market for £60m in 2023 and sold to a private investor for £37.1m in April 2024. Oxfam's lease on the building ran out in March. Plans for the move include adding an extra floor to the building, as well as a gym and café area on the ground floor and a row of columns outside the building. This comes after the charity announced it was trying to save £10.2m in wages, and that 265 jobs were at risk of redundancy. According to the planning statement the proposal will "create a significant number of new job opportunities" and the plans would "positively contribute to Oxford's role as a leading hub for research and development and life sciences within the UK". It adds the building could be used by multiple tenants and connectivity to the business park would be improved by upcoming plans for the Cowley Branch Line. But Mr Malik said many Cowley residents felt "it's too much, too quickly and gentrification is being imposed on communities without thought of the impact". "While I fully encourage investment into Cowley, this kind of development often doesn't benefit the people who live here in terms of job opportunities," he said. "Already we have a shortage of housing in Oxford meaning teachers and nurses have to live elsewhere causing recruitment and retention difficulties." A spokesperson for Oxfam said they hope to move in July. "The new office space is smaller and will support us to reduce our costs," they added. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Charity shop donated guitars fetch £12,000 at auction Oxfam GB puts 265 jobs at risk of redundancy Charity shop 'shocked' as Bible sells for £56,000 Charity volunteers write next chapter for bookshop Charity calls for second-hand festive party shopping Oxfam Oxford City Council
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Oxfam HQ could be turned into lab space and office
Plans have been submitted to turn Oxfam's headquarters into an office and lab Investments Limited have applied to Oxford City Council for planning permission to turn the building on John Smith Drive, Oxford Business Park, Cowley into a life science or office facility and "create a significant number of job opportunities".The charity said it had signed the lease for a new workplace within the ground floor of a smaller building on the same site, to help reduce Saj Malik, who represents Temple Cowley on the city council, has raised concerns about the knock-on effect of creating new science and tech jobs on the city's housing shortage. Oxfam's HQ moved to Oxford Business Park from Summertown in July 2005, and the building was sold to Sutton Council in was put on the market for £60m in 2023 and sold to a private investor for £37.1m in April lease on the building ran out in for the move include adding an extra floor to the building, as well as a gym and café area on the ground floor and a row of columns outside the comes after the charity announced it was trying to save £10.2m in wages, and that 265 jobs were at risk of to the planning statement the proposal will "create a significant number of new job opportunities" and the plans would "positively contribute to Oxford's role as a leading hub for research and development and life sciences within the UK".It adds the building could be used by multiple tenants and connectivity to the business park would be improved by upcoming plans for the Cowley Branch Mr Malik said many Cowley residents felt "it's too much, too quickly and gentrification is being imposed on communities without thought of the impact"."While I fully encourage investment into Cowley, this kind of development often doesn't benefit the people who live here in terms of job opportunities," he said."Already we have a shortage of housing in Oxford meaning teachers and nurses have to live elsewhere causing recruitment and retention difficulties."A spokesperson for Oxfam said they hope to move in July. "The new office space is smaller and will support us to reduce our costs," they added. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
IOL News
7 days ago
- Science
- IOL News
Seaweed fed to cattle stops them farting methane
The seaweed asparagopsis that is being fed to animals in an attempt to reduce their methane emissions. It is barely visible, and needs no irrigation or fertilisers: lying off the coast of Australia is a vast seaweed crop destined to curb livestock's climate-altering flatulence and belches. The underwater farm stretches across 1 800 hectares in the Tasman Sea about 10 minutes off the portside town of Triabunna in the island state of Tasmania. Beneath the waves are forests of asparagopsis, a native red seaweed abundant in Tasmanian coastal waters that is rich in the organic compound bromoform. More than 40 studies have shown that the seaweed can lower methane emissions from livestock when added to fodder or grain, said Fran Cowley, a researcher at Australia's University of New England. According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, emissions from ruminants and manure management practices account for more than 32 percent of the world's methane emissions related to human activity. "When we look at gold-standard measurement of methane inhibition, asparagopsis is able to achieve almost complete suppression of methane suppression - so, 95 percent," said Cowley, a professor of livestock production and a leading researcher into ruminants. While far less abundant in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, methane is about 80 times more potent over a 20-year timescale at warming the planet. But its lifespan is shorter, making it an important lever in attempts to limit global warming. Cowley led one of the longest experiments into asparagopsis, held over 200 days in bovine feed lots in the eastern state of Queensland. Results published in August 2024 showed that emissions from the animals were halved over that period when compared to animals that received no supplements. The outcome indicated an improvement from a previous study, one of the most advanced in the field at the time, in which emissions from a Japanese herd were reduced by 28 percent. The bromoform within the seaweed affects the digestive system and curbs the animals' burps and farts without impacting their health or the quality of the resulting food products, Cowley said Bromoform is a concern because at high levels it has been considered to be carcinogenic in rats, and potentially humans, she said. But researchers found it was degraded in the stomachs of grazing animals." So there is no accumulation of bromoform in the meat or in the milk because it's only coming in at a relatively low dose to start with," Cowley said. "All the studies that have been done on meat have shown absolutely no accumulation of bromoform, or any impact on the taste, or the tenderness, or the juiciness of meat." Studies had shown that any damage to the animals' rumen - a chamber in the stomach that breaks down plants - was no worse than in those fed a grain-based feedlot diet, she said. Sea Forest's marine farm produces feed supplements from the seaweed: oils, pellets and "lick blocks" - a solid form that animals can lick to consume. Founder and chief executive Sam Elsom turned to seaweed farming in 2019, after about 15 years in the textile industry. The company wants to be the "enabling force" to make agricultural products sustainable without extra costs to farmers and consumers, he said. The seaweed is grown partly in the open sea and partly in filtered seawater ponds on land, which are easier to replicate elsewhere in the world and allow growers to control light, nutrients and the availability of carbon. Sea Forest is already working with Tasmanian dairy company Ashgrove and Australian burger chain Grill'd, and signed an agreement last year with British supermarket chain Morrisons, Elsom said. It has also held "encouraging" talks with some French dairy producers and is in the process of registering its seaweed products with the European Food Safety Authority, he said. One of the big challenges was the cost to farmers, who need financial incentives and support to make the effort to lower livestock methane emissions worthwhile, Elsom said. | AFP
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Tornado watch issued for eastern Kansas
TOPEKA (KSNT) – The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a tornado watch for much of the eastern half of Kansas on Monday. The NWS announced a tornado watch at 1:40 p.m. on May 19 that will remain in place until 9 p.m. on the same day. Numerous counties and cities are included in this alert, including the following: Allen. Anderson. Atchison. Bourbon. Brown. Chautauqua. Butler. Chase. Cherokee. Clay Coffey. Cowley. Crawford. Dickinson. Doniphan. Douglas. Elk. Franklin. Geary. Greenwood. Harvey. Jackson. Jefferson. Johnson. Labette. Leavenworth. Linn. Lyon. Marion. Marshall. Miami. Montgomery. Morris. Nemaha. Neosho. Osage. Pottawatomie. Riley. Sedgwick. Shawnee. Sumner. Wabaunsee. Washington. Wilson. Woodson. Wyandotte. Trash pickup schedule shifts in Topeka for Memorial Day week Alma. Abilene. Alta Vista. Blue Rapids. Burlingame. Carbondale. Clay Center. Burlington. Clifton. Council Grove. Emporia. Eskridge. Frankfort. Garnett. Grantville. Greenleaf. Hanover. Harveyville. Herington. Hiawatha. Holton. Horton. Junction City. Lawrence. Lebo. Linn. Lyndon. Manhattan. Maple Hill. Marysville. McFarland. McLouth Meriden Nortonville. Osage City. Oskaloosa. Ottawa. Overbrook. Paxico. Perry. Sabetha. Seneca. St. Marys. Topeka. Valley Falls. Wamego. Washington. Topeka fashion store to shut down soon, what to know The NWS station in Topeka reported that people may see 60-70 mph winds and hail between 1.5 and two inches in diameter. You can find our weather forecast by clicking here. Check out our radar by clicking here. For more weather news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Australian seaweed farm tackles burps to help climate
It is barely visible, and needs no irrigation or fertilisers: lying off the coast of Australia is a vast seaweed crop destined to curb livestock's climate-altering flatulence and belches. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The underwater farm stretches across 1,800 hectares (4,400 acres) in the Tasman Sea, about 10 minutes off the portside town of Triabunna in the island state of Tasmania. Beneath the waves are forests of asparagopsis, a native red seaweed abundant in Tasmanian coastal waters which is rich in the organic compound bromoform. More than 40 studies have shown that the seaweed can lower methane emissions from livestock when added to fodder or grain, said Fran Cowley, researcher at Australia's University of New England. According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, emissions from ruminants and manure management practices account for more than 32 percent of the world's methane emissions related to human activity. "When we look at gold-standard measurement of methane inhibition, asparagopsis is able to achieve almost complete suppression of methane suppression so, 95 percent," said Cowley, professor of livestock production and a leading researcher into ruminants. While far less abundant in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, methane is about 80 times more potent over a 20-year timescale at warming the planet. But its lifespan is shorter, making it an important lever in attempts to limit global warming. Juicy meat Cowley led one of the longest experiments into asparagopsis, held over 200 days in bovine feed lots in the eastern state of Queensland. Results published in August 2024 showed emissions from the animals were halved over that period when compared to animals that received no supplements. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The outcome indicated an improvement from a previous study, one of the most advanced in the field at the time, in which emissions from a Japanese herd were reduced by 28 percent. The bromoform within the seaweed affects the digestive system and curbs the animals' burps and farts without impacting their health or the quality of the resulting food products, Cowley said. Bromoform is a concern because at high levels it has been considered to be carcinogenic in rats, and potentially humans, she said. But researchers found it was degraded in the stomachs of grazing animals. "So there is no accumulation of bromoform in the meat or in the milk because it's only coming in at a relatively low dose to start with," Cowley told AFP. "All the studies that have been done on meat have shown absolutely no accumulation of bromoform, or any impact on the taste, or the tenderness, or the juiciness of meat." Studies had shown that any damage to the animals' rumen, a chamber in the stomach that breaks down plants was no worse than in those fed a grain-based feedlot diet, she said. Enabling force In Triabunna, Sea Forest 's marine farm produces feed supplements from the seaweed: oils, pellets and "lick blocks" --a solid form that animals can lick to consume. Sea Forest founder and chief executive Sam Elsom turned to seaweed farming in 2019, after about 15 years in the textile industry. The company wants to be the "enabling force" to make agricultural products sustainable without extra costs to farmers and consumers, he told AFP. The seaweed is grown partly in the open sea and partly in filtered seawater ponds on land, which are easier to replicate elsewhere in the world and allow growers to control light, nutrients, and the availability of carbon. Sea Forest is already working with Tasmanian dairy company Ashgrove and Australian burger chain Grill'd, and had signed an agreement last year with British supermarket chain Morrisons, Elsom said. It also held "encouraging" talks with some French dairy producers and was in the process of registering its seaweed products with the European Food Safety Authority, he said. One of the big challenges was cost to farmers, who need financial incentives and support to make the effort to lower livestock methane emissions worthwhile, Elsom said. The ocean provides an "amazing natural resource" for food security, he said. "Seventy-one percent of the Earth's surface is surrounded by the ocean, and seaweed require zero inputs: No irrigation, no fertiliser, no pesticides. "So, it can grow up to 30 times faster than land-based plants. It's very exciting."
