News Round-Up: How Breathing Can Fuel Global Warming, the Longing for Covid Restrictions and Coal Based Move towards 'Net Zero'

Every week, the editorial team of Freedom Research compiles a round-up of news that caught our eye, or what felt like under-reported aspects of news deserving more attention.

Over the past week, the following topics attracted our attention:

• UK's move to 'Net Zero' is done at the expense of Chinese coal power.

• Scientists: human breathing can affect climate.

• Scottish Prison Service wants to put male prisoners who call themselves women into women's prisons.

• Poll: surprisingly large number of Britons would support reintroducing Covid restrictions.

• Research on the effects of the Covid vaccine on children: benefits minimal, side effects dangerous.

UK's move to 'Net Zero' is done at the expense of Chinese coal power

The UK's move to 'Net Zero' relies on cheap coal power from other countries, writes The New Statesman. It analysed the energy portfolios of Britain's biggest trading partners and found that while the country is cutting its own energy use of fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions, most of its vital imports come from countries that use large quantities of cheaper coal to generate electricity. So while the UK's four main trading partners are Germany, the United States, China, and the Netherlands, all four of these countries have a significantly higher share of coal-fired electricity generation than the UK. This means that goods produced in their factories also have a larger emissions footprint than goods produced in UK factories.

This is, of course, particularly the case in China, where 60% of electricity is generated in coal-fired power stations. UK imports from China have doubled in the last decade and that is where a large proportion of the materials, goods, and products needed to deliver the 'green revolution' come from. For example, 80% of the world's batteries and solar panels are made in China, with cheap coal energy giving China an advantage.

China produces 80% of the world's solar panels. Photo: Unsplash.

China also mines 60% of the rare earth elements, which are needed in large quantities by so-called "green technologies". The UK's import figures speak for themselves - 66% of the rare earths needed by industry come from China, 61% of the steel masts, 49% of the lithium batteries, and so on.

In other words, if anyone in the UK is talking about reducing their carbon emissions, it's by 'pooling the pot', i.e. at the expense of other countries. Of course, this is no surprise, as the same is true of other 'green' countries.

Scientists: human breathing can affect climate

Nicholas Cowan, an atmospheric physicist at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in its Scotland branch in Edinburgh, and colleagues argue in a newly published study that humanly respired air is contributing to global warming, reports The Daily Mail.

"Exhaled human breath can contain small, elevated concentrations of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), both of which contribute to global warming," the scientists say.

Bad breath? A newly released study argues it might be so bad as to commit to climate change’. Photo: Pixabay.

As we know, humans need oxygen to breathe and exhale carbon dioxide, or CO2, which has been declared the main greenhouse gas causing global warming. However, in this study, the researchers did not focus on CO2, but on two other greenhouse gases that humans also exhale. These gases are emitted in smaller quantities, and the researchers thought it was possible that this was the reason why no one had previously considered their impact on global warming. In addition, plants use up all the CO2 released by human breathing during photosynthesis, according to the researchers. This is not the case for methane and nitrous oxide, which are not used by plants during photosynthesis, Cowan said.

The researchers therefore examined the amounts of methane and nitrous oxide in the breath of 104 people in the study. The participants had to inhale deeply and then hold their breath for five seconds. They then had to exhale into a sealable plastic bag. A total of 328 breath samples were collected, and each participant's age, gender and dietary habits were recorded.

After analysing the samples, the researchers found that nitrous oxide was emitted by every participant, but methane was found in only 31 per cent of the participants' exhaled air. According to the researchers, it is likely that those who do not exhale methane with their breath release the gas by farting.

The researchers noted that women over the age of 30 were more likely to have methane in their exhaled air. The study did not find out why this was the case. The study also failed to establish a link between exhaled gases and the human diet.

However, the researchers did calculate how much of the UK's methane and nitrous oxide comes from the air people breathe. For methane it was 0.05% of the total emission and for nitrous oxide 0.1%. In other words, this is the extent to which the scientists who carried out the study estimate that people contribute to global warming regarding these particular greenhouse gases.

Scottish Prison Service wants to put male prisoners who call themselves women into women's prisons

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS= has published a report saying that male prisoners who call themselves women should be given the option to serve their sentences in women's prisons, reports The Telegraph. This means that if a convicted man has told the state that he now feels like he is a woman, he should have a place in a women's prison, according to the report by SPS. In the case of men who have changed their so-called official gender, it would not matter for what particular offence the man was sent to prison. For example, if a man claiming to be a woman has been convicted of rape or other violence against women, he could still be sent to a women's prison if he is found not to be a danger to his female fellow prisoners. It would also allow, under certain conditions, the same for the male prisoners who claim to be women and are considered dangerous to women to be admitted to women's prisons, for example, to participate in work parties, or to take part in programmes and activities. This is done, according to the report, in order to support the new gender identity chosen by these male prisoners. However, the report did acknowledge the potential dangers of placing male prisoners in women's prisons, including the potential for violence against women, the use of force to initiate coercive relationships with women, and, for example, female prisoners becoming pregnant. However, it was felt that it is stigmatising to suggest that only trans women, or men who call themselves women, are a danger to other women.

This policy of putting men who call themselves women into female prisons is not new in Scotland. Approximately a year ago, the placement of a man who called himself a woman, but was convicted of rape, into a women's prison led to a huge wave of protests from women's rights activists there. Due to the protests, the man calling himself Isla Bryson was eventually sent to serve his sentence in a prison for men.

Poll: surprisingly large number of Britons would support reintroducing Covid restrictions

A poll in early December asked British people whether they would support the government reintroducing Covid restrictions in the current climate, GB News reports. Specifically, the survey asked about the various restrictions used and mandates imposed in the Covid crisis. For example, 45% of respondents said they would support the government introducing a mask mandate on public transport at this time. However, 8% of people said they would also support the 'rule of six' – which limits the number of people who can meet in the open air at any one time to six.

A surprisingly large proportion of Britons would still support Covid restrictions. Pictured here is a sign outside Liverpool Underground station in April 2020. Photo: Ben Garratt.

According to the poll, 25-40-year-olds are the most likely to support restrictions at the moment, with a third of them in favour of closing nightclubs and 30% in favour of reintroducing the so-called rule of six. Among 18-24 year olds, 31% of respondents would currently support closing nightclubs, and 27% among 41-55 year olds.

Closing restaurants and pubs would be supported by 25% of both 18-24 year olds and 25-40 year olds. Among 56-74-year-olds, the figure was 17%, and in the 75+ age group 12%.

The oldest age group would be the least supportive of the reintroduction of various restrictions, with only 18% in favour of the 'rule of six' and 78% against it.

Research on the effects of the Covid vaccine on children: benefits minimal, side effects dangerous

A study published by four Danish and one US medical researcher shows that Covid vaccines based on mRNA technology may provide some protection against mild Covid infections in children, but these vaccines come with very serious side effects, making their use in children of questionable value.

Researchers Stine S. Hoffmann (MD, PhD), Sebastian Nielsed (MSc, PhD), Sanne M. Thysen (MD, PhD) and Christine S. Benn (DMSc) from various Danish universities and Ram Duriseti (MD, PhD) from Stanford University School of Medicine in the United States asked the question: What is the overall health effect of mRNA Covid-19 vaccines in children?

To answer the question, health data from 25,549 children were analysed, 17,538 of whom had received the mRNA vaccine and 8,011 had received a placebo.

The mRNA vaccines were associated with a higher risk of severe adverse events in children aged 5 years and older. In children younger than 5 years, mRNA vaccines were associated with a 3-fold higher risk of lower respiratory tract infections, the study results show. Specifically, vaccines were associated with a 3.5-fold increased risk of serious adverse reactions in older children, i.e. those aged 5-17 years.

Given the low risk of severe Covid-19 infection in children, it is not clear that the benefits of Covid-19 vaccines in children outweigh the harms, the researchers write.

The study looked at the effects of Covid vaccines produced by both Moderna and Pfizer.