Some informative articles in the wake of the UK’s “leave the EU” referendum vote

Brexit puts 70% of our environmental safeguards at risk
About 70% of our environmental safeguards are in the form of European legislation – and they are now at risk, writes Craig Bennett of Friends of the Earth UK. Bennett writes, “The rhetoric from some on the leave campaign indicates that, what you and I might call environmental protection, they see as ‘red tape’. That’s why I issued a ‘red alert’ for the environment.”
 
What the EU has done for the environment
The EU has been good for UK nature and our environment, says Friends of the Earth UK. For example:
* Bees pollinate many of our food crops and wild flowers. Countries in the EU are banned from using 3 bee-harming pesticides. If we weren’t in the EU, we’d probably still be using them.
* We were losing 15% of our much-loved nature sites before EU protection. Exiting the EU would leave places like Flamborough Head, Dartmoor and Snowdonia vulnerable.
* Waste and recycling: EU action has totally changed how we handle our rubbish. The improvement in the UK has been dramatic. We’re not far off hitting an EU target of recycling half our household waste by 2020.
* The main EU chemicals law, REACH, is restricting the use of some of the worst chemicals. If we fully left the EU, the only restriction on the UK government’s regulation of fracking would be international conventions, which are limited.
 
“TTIP on steroids”: Campaigners warn post-Brexit UK faces “disastrous” trade deal with US
Britain could end up with “the most extreme and toxic version of TTIP”, Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now, said.
 
UK food prices set to rise after Brexit vote and neonics ban likely to go
The plunging pound and Britain’s reliance on imports will mean higher food prices, says the leader of the National Farmers’ Union. And the NFU is looking forward to being able to use bee-toxic neonicotinoids again, which are restricted by the EU.