Environment news

• U.S. blacklists prominent Islamic State preacher, two others

  11-02-2016 23:20
  By Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States blacklisted three people on Thursday for working for Islamic State, including the militant group's most prominent ideologue and a senior oil official. Turki al-Bin'ali was sanctioned for helping Islamic State recruit foreign fighters, the U.S. Treasury said in a statement. Bin'ali, 31, was an early supporter of Islamic State and authored a frequently cited biography of the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
  
  Read more

• U.S. oil hits 12-year low on stockpile surge, risk aversion

  11-02-2016 22:20
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude slid on Thursday, hitting 12-year lows as domestic stockpiles grew, Goldman Sachs called for depressed prices until the second half of the year and investors fled from equities and other risky assets into safe havens such as gold. Prices came off session lows in post-settlement trade after the Wall Street Journal quoted UAE's energy minister as saying OPEC was ready to cooperate on production cuts. Most traders were skeptical, noting that Venezu
  
  Read more

• VIDEO: 'Mind-boggling' breakthrough

  11-02-2016 21:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say the discovery of gravitational waves will open the window on the formation of the universe.
  
  Read more

• South Sudan president appoints rival as deputy, sealing peace deal

  11-02-2016 21:20
  By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir has re-appointed his rival Riek Machar as vice president, a decree said on Thursday, sealing a deal to try to end months of civil war in the world's newest nation. The decree read out on state TV said Machar would be first vice president, his position before he was sacked in 2013, the move that eventually triggered the violence. Oil-producing South Sudan split away from Sudan in 2011 amid mass celebrations and promises of ai
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Prison sentences for Heathrow 13 activists would threaten our right to protest | Letter from John McDonnell, Caroline Lucas and others

  11-02-2016 21:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Last month, 13 activists were tried in court for carrying out a peaceful protest against the expansion of Heathrow airport (Report, Opinion, 25 January, theguardian.com). They were found guilty of aggravated trespass, and await sentencing on 24 February.We believe it would be unjust for these people to receive prison sentences for their actions. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Two-thirds of US students are taught climate change badly, study finds

  11-02-2016 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Just 38% of US schoolchildren were taught that climate change is linked to fossil fuels, with many teachers spending less than an hour a year on the subjectNearly two-thirds of schoolchildren in the US are taught lessons on climate change that do not rise to the level of a sound science education, according to new research on Thursday. The finding provide new evidence on the source of the confusion and denial surrounding global warming in American public life.In the first national survey of clas
  
  Read more

• Democrats pitch Keep it in the Ground bill to prohibit new fossil fuel extraction

  11-02-2016 19:57 via theguardian.com
  
  The bill would ban coal, oil and gas extraction on US public land and is symbolic, as it has no chance of passing a Congress dominated by RepublicansLegislation that would ban coal, oil and gas extraction on US public land has been introduced in Congress in a timely act of Democratic defiance to the legal threat looming over Barack Obama’s plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions.The Keep it in the Ground Act would prohibit the digging or drilling for fossil fuels on federal land or waters.
  
  Read more

• Total CEO says refining sector must shrink

  11-02-2016 19:21
  By Ron Bousso and Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Refiners buoyed by cheap oil and fat margins face a return of tougher times due to stubborn overcapacity, Total Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said on Thursday, as Europe's largest refiner spurs plans to slim down. "There is a risk in the refining industry that because of good margins it will postpone rationalisation," Pouyanne said in a speech at the IP Week conference. "I am sticking clearly to my plan," Pouyanne said, adding Total's 2012 a
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Total beats fourth-quarter expectations but oil rout to drive deeper cuts

  11-02-2016 18:48
  By Bate Felix and Karolin Schaps PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - France's Total beat quarterly earnings expectations powered by high production and refining margins on Thursday but said it plans fresh spending cuts and asset sales in response to one of the worst market downturns in a decade. Total said it plans savings of $2.4 billion (£1.66 billion), rising to more than $3 billion in 2017, and capital spending of around $19 billion in 2016, down more than 15 percent from 2015. Total will also lo
  
  Read more

• Eni, Exxon, Statoil win Irish offshore oil and gas licences

  11-02-2016 18:20
  The Irish government said on Thursday it had awarded oil and gas licences to companies including oil majors Eni , Exxon and Statoil , allowing them to explore for hydrocarbons off the coast of Ireland. "This is by far the largest number of applications received in any licensing round held in the Irish offshore," said Joe McHugh, Ireland's minister for communications, energy and natural resources, in a statement. "At a time of very low oil prices the strong interest in the round is very positive.
  
  Read more

• Toxic chemicals found in beached pilot whales in Scotland

  11-02-2016 17:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Scientists find levels of mercury and cadmium in the whales’ brains increased with age Scientists have found clear evidence that whales are absorbing high levels of toxic heavy metals, with cadmium found in the brains of pilot whales which washed up in Scotland.Chemists at the University of Aberdeen said they had found cadmium in all the organs of adult long-finned pilot whales which stranded in 2012, including their brain.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• London drivers urged to turn off engines in bid to tackle air pollution

  11-02-2016 17:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Plans announced by Boris Johnson would see the capital’s drivers encouraged by signs and volunteers to turn off their engines in traffic jams London drivers will be encouraged by volunteers and signs to turn off their engines in traffic jams to tackle the capital’s illegal air pollution levels, under plans announced by Boris Johnson on Thursday.But campaigners accused the mayor of failing to take hard measures to cut the city’s pollution problem, which has seen six sites includ
  
  Read more

• London drivers may be urged to turn off engines in bid to tackle air pollution

  11-02-2016 17:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Plans announced by Boris Johnson would see the capital’s drivers encouraged by signs and volunteers to turn off their engines in traffic jams London drivers will be encouraged by volunteers and signs to turn off their engines in traffic jams to tackle the capital’s illegal air pollution levels, under plans announced by Boris Johnson on Thursday.But campaigners accused the mayor of failing to take hard measures to cut the city’s pollution problem, which has seen six sites includ
  
  Read more

• Hundreds of manatees congregate in Florida refuge to escape chilly seas

  11-02-2016 17:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Three Sisters Springs closed to swimmers and kayakers400 of the marine mammals leave Gulf of Mexico to gather in river systemA popular Florida wildlife refuge has been closed to swimmers, thanks to an influx of hundreds of manatees.
  It’s estimated that as many has 400 manatees have crowded into the Three Sisters Springs, a refuge about 65 miles north of Tampa. About 1,000 manatees live in the Kings Bay and Crystal River ecosystem, of which Three Sisters Springs is a part. A large number of
  
  Read more

• Gravitational waves: A triumph for big science

  11-02-2016 16:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The first direct detection of gravitational waves is without doubt one of the most remarkable breakthroughs of our time, and opens the door to a completely new way to investigate the Universe.
  
  Read more

• Gravity search was 'a global effort'

  11-02-2016 16:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The first gravitational wave detection depended on the contributions of nearly 1,000 scientists from countries around the world.
  
  Read more

• 'Ripples' from black holes detected

  11-02-2016 16:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  For the first time, scientists have detected tiny, rhythmic distortions in space and time - gravitational waves - predicted by Einstein 100 years ago.
  
  Read more

• VIDEO: Scientists detail 'mind-boggling' waves

  11-02-2016 16:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists in the US give an update on the search for gravitational waves - a theory put forward by Albert Einstein over 100 years ago.
  
  Read more

• Germany offers 500 million euros in credits to Iraq

  11-02-2016 16:15
  Germany will provide 500 million euros ($566 million) worth of credit to Iraq to help it weather the sharp downturn in global oil prices, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday after talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. "Germany is ready to do what it can ... to stabilise Iraq in view of the big security challenges and economic challenges," Merkel told a joint news conference with Abadi, noting the impact of weak oil prices on the Iraqi state budget. Merkel is under heavy pressure
  
  Read more

• Nine charged over Tanzania murder of British conservationist

  11-02-2016 15:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Roger Gower, 37, died when his helicopter was shot down during a patrol of the Maswa game reserve last monthNine Tanzanians have been charged in connection with the murder of a British conservationist whose helicopter was shot down while he chased suspected poachers, a senior prosecutor has said.Roger Gower, 37, died when suspected poachers gunned down his helicopter during a patrol of the Maswa game reserve in northern Tanzania, close to the Serengeti national park, on 29 January. Continue read
  
  Read more

• UK to offer more flexible North Sea oil and gas licences

  11-02-2016 15:27
  Britain will offer more flexible North Sea oil and gas licences in its next tender round, the head of Britain's oil regulator said on Thursday, a bid to make exploration work in the mature basin more attractive to oil and gas companies. "We will shortly be announcing a new, more flexible licensing regime," Andy Samuel, chief executive of the Oil and Gas Authority, said at the IP Week conference in London. Exploration work in the North Sea has dropped to just a quarter of levels seen at peak time
  
  Read more

• Namibia's wildlife caught by camera trap - in pictures

  11-02-2016 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Photographer Will Burrard-Lucas spent three months in Namibia on assignment for WWF using a specially adapted DSLR camera trap to take close-up portraits of the country’s most elusive wildlife. His incredible images will help scientists better understand migration patterns and establish additional protected areas Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Factbox - Zika's origin and global spread

  11-02-2016 14:44
  (Reuters) - The following timeline charts the origin and spread of the Zika virus from its discovery in Uganda nearly 70 years ago: 1947 - Scientists researching yellow fever in Uganda's Zika Forest isolate the virus in samples taken from a rhesus monkey 1948 - Virus recovered from Aedes africanus mosquito in the Zika forest 1952 - First human cases detected in Uganda and Tanzania 1954 - Virus found in young girl in Nigeria 1960s-1980s - Zika detected in mosquitoes and monkeys in band of countri
  
  Read more

• China overtakes EU to become global wind power leader

  11-02-2016 14:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Booming market grew 27% in 2015 edging past European Union for first time, says industry group. Climate Home reportsChina installed half of all new wind capacity worldwide last year, according to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).The country added an “astonishing” 30.5 gigawatts (GW) to boost installations to 145.1GW, the Brussels-based industry group said on Wednesday. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Toxic chemicals found in beached whales

  11-02-2016 14:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A pod of whales stranded in Fife in 2012 are found to have had high concentrations of toxic chemicals in their bodies, scientists find.
  
  Read more

• Sandia National Laboratories improves modeling of Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets

  11-02-2016 13:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets will make a dominant contribution to 21st century sea-level rise if current climate trends continue. However, predicting the expected loss of ice sheet mass is difficult due to the complexity of modeling ice sheet behavior.To better understand this loss, a team of Sandia National Laboratories researchers has been improving the reliability and efficiency of computational models that describe ice sheet behavior and dynamics. The team includes researchers Irin
  
  Read more

• Elusive wildlife caught on camera visiting watering hole in Namibia, in pictures

  11-02-2016 13:35
  
  Lions and elephants photographed visiting watering hole in Namibia
  
  Read more

• Merkel says every effort must be made to get peace in Syria

  11-02-2016 13:33
  Every effort must be made to try to secure peace in Syria, including at talks later on Thursday in Munich, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. "The international environment around Iraq is very complicated and therefore we agreed that all efforts need to be made, for example today in Munich, to have talks on the future of Syria and to bring about peace in the region," said Merkel.
  
  Read more

• It's time to power down our greenhouses

  11-02-2016 13:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Amid growing climate chaos, can we really afford, financially, ecologically, or morally, to be sowing tomato seeds in early February, just so we can pick fruits in June, asks John Walker
  This is an edited extract from John’s new book Digging Deep in the Garden: Book One.
  For the youngest to the oldest gardener, the novice to the expert, one captivating, enduring and miraculous activity shines out: growing plants from seed. When you stop to ponder how those piles of pumpkins, heavy bunches
  
  Read more

• Will you take part in this year's Great Backyard Bird Count?

  11-02-2016 13:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  This weekend bird enthusiasts from around the world will become citizen scientists for a few days during the 19th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, which is happening this year February 12-15.During this four-day event, which is organized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the National Audubon Society and Bird Studies Canada, people will be headed outdoors to count their local birds in the name of science.
  
  Read more

• Blustery Britain brings windfall for businesses with new demand response scheme

  11-02-2016 12:44
  Days when Britain's renewable energy output is at its greatest could prove to be a money-spinner for energy-intensive businesses under a new automated 'demand turn-up' service being piloted by National Grid.
  
  Read more

• Barnaby Joyce, the man who threatened Johnny Depp's dogs, voted deputy PM

  11-02-2016 11:25 via theguardian.com
  
  It will be fascinating to watch the relationship between prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and the man who will run the country in his absence, writes Lenore TaylorWhen Barnaby Joyce made international headlines by telling Johnny Depp his Yorkshire terriers would have to “bugger off” back to America or be put down it was no accidental 15 minutes of global fame. Related: Which Australian politician said this about food and retail?Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Pictures of the day: 11 February 2016

  11-02-2016 11:11
  
  Angry birds, a missing moggy and a Van Gogh inspired Airbnb room
  
  Read more

• Oil falls on U.S. supply record, weak demand outlook

  11-02-2016 10:32
  By Simon Falush LONDON (Reuters) - Oil slid on Thursday, dented by record U.S. crude inventories at the Cushing delivery point, worries about the demand outlook, and as Goldman Sachs said prices would remain low and volatile until the second half of the year. In a sign that producers are still competing for market share by lowering prices, Iran offered its crude to Asia at a discount to rival OPEC producer Saudi Arabia. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $26.76 per barrel,
  
  Read more

• Record production, high refining margins lift Total profit

  11-02-2016 10:06
  By Bate Felix and Karolin Schaps PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - Record upstream production and high refining margins in Europe helped Total report better-than-expected fourth-quarter net profit but the company said it planned to cut costs and reduce spending further due to prolonged low oil prices. Total, like peers, has seen revenue and profit shrink as oil prices have fallen by about 70 percent since mid-2014 because of global oversupply and slow economic growth. Total said on Thursday that it did n
  
  Read more

• How many jobs could the circular economy create in your town?

  11-02-2016 09:25
  
  Resource efficiency charity WRAP has unveiled new research and an interactive map which shows the job-creation potential of the circular economy all the way down to a constituency level.
  
  Read more

• Government to review future of tidal lagoon power

  11-02-2016 09:00
  
  The Government will launch an independent review this spring into the feasibility of tidal lagoon energy in the UK.
  
  Read more

• Oil prices fall on U.S. storage glut, ongoing economic woes

  11-02-2016 07:03
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices slid on Thursday as record U.S. crude inventories at the Cushing delivery point and worries about a global economic slowdown weighed on markets, and Goldman Sachs said prices would remain low and volatile until the second half of the year. International benchmark Brent crude futures were trading at $30.67 per barrel at 0601 GMT, down 17 cents. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $27.01 per barrel, down 44 cents and within
  
  Read more

• UK's winter floods create 30,000 tonnes of landfill waste

  11-02-2016 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Furniture, kitchen goods and carpets ‘contaminated’ by floodwater can’t be recycled and will cost councils over an estimated £2 million in landfill taxAlmost 30,000 tonnes of damaged household goods have had to be dumped in landfill following devastating winter floods, town hall chiefs have said. A snapshot analysis by the Local Government Association (LGA) estimates councils have been landed with a £2.25m landfill tax bill as a result of the clear-up after the floo
  
  Read more

• Into the no-go zone – and back for old maps

  11-02-2016 06:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Stanford Wood, Bedfordshire In our dogs days this wood was a favoured spot, now I began to understand its originA ghost came with me to the local wood that I had not visited in over 12 years. I imagined him sitting in the car panting at my shoulder all the way and then yipping with excitement when we pulled into the layby. I half reached for a lead that was not there and shut the car door quietly.In our dog days this was a favoured spot, a conifer plantation where he could do no harm, a springy
  
  Read more

• CSIRO chief confirms climate modelling and monitoring jobs to be halved

  11-02-2016 06:16 via theguardian.com
  
  News comes week after Larry Marshall announced shift in research priorities from understanding nature of climate change to adaptation and mitigationCSIRO chief Larry Marshall has provided more details on cuts to climate monitoring and modelling at the CSIRO – confirming that the number of researchers employed in two research programs would be halved.In Senate estimates on Thursday, under questioning from Labor’s Kim Carr, Marshall said 100 jobs would be cut from the oceans and atmosp
  
  Read more

• The rise of internet veg box schemes in sub-Saharan Africa

  11-02-2016 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Online grocery startups in Kenya, Rwanda and Gambia help farmers cut out the middleman, but challenges such as low internet access may hinder profitability
  Growing up on a farm in central Kenya, Winston Wachanga witnessed the piles of fruit and vegetables that perished after never making it to a market.Later with a tomato farm of his own, he experienced the same struggle of farmers across the country trying to find a buyer. “We have so much produce but accessing customers is difficult. We
  
  Read more

• Oil prices fall as U.S. inventories hit record high, economic woes continue

  11-02-2016 02:31
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices slid on Thursday as record U.S. crude inventories and worries about a global economic slowdown weighed on markets, and Goldman Sachs said prices would remain low and volatile until the second half of the year. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $26.96 per barrel, down 49 cents and within a dollar of the $26.19 a barrel 2003 low from January. Inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for U.S. crude futures rose
  
  Read more

• Checking Ted Cruz's climate science denial howlers

  11-02-2016 02:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Antarctic scientist attacked by Republican Ted Cruz says Texas Senator “has confused which way is up”I have no clue how many climate science denial myths a Republican presidential candidate can fit onto the head of a pin, but given these zingers are generally huge it’s probably not that many.But we do now have some clue how many myths one of those candidates, Senator Ted Cruz, can fit into an eight-minute diatribe. At least six.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Checking Ted Cruz's climate science denial clangers

  11-02-2016 02:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Antarctic scientist attacked by Republican Ted Cruz says Texas Senator “has confused which way is up”.I have no clue how many climate science denial myths a Republican presidential candidate can fit onto the head of a pin, but given these zingers are generally huge it’s probably not that many.But we do now have some clue how many myths one of those candidates, Senator Ted Cruz, can fit into an eight-minute diatribe. At least six.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Obama Administration's "Clean Power Plan" dealt a setback by the Supreme Court

  11-02-2016 01:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  The Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan suffered a setback on Tuesday when the Supreme Court granted a stay to the program. In a 5-4 decision, the court sided in favor of petitioning states, utilities and coal companies that claimed that the federal government was overreaching its powers when it attempted to establish a national plan to move away from fossil-fuel based power. Requests for the Supreme Court to impose the stay were submitted in January after an a
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!