Environment news

• Chad appoints new prime minister two months before election

  13-02-2016 23:50
  N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chad has appointed MP Albert Pahimi Padacke as prime minister of the Central African country following the resignation of his predecessor, state television said on Saturday, heralding a Cabinet reshuffle just two months ahead of presidential elections. President Idriss Deby, a key Western military ally in power for more than a quarter of a century, is set to bid for a fifth term as leader of the oil-producing country in April.
  
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• Britain leads race to make nuclear waste safe for 100,000 years

  13-02-2016 21:27
  
  Boost for UK’s power industry promised by revolutionary cementBritish scientists are designing a revolutionary cement that could withstand the impact of intense radiation for thousands of years. The project could prove vital in dealing with the challenges of Britain’s proposed expansion of its nuclear industry. Related: UK radioactive waste disposal site search continues despite oppositionContinue reading...
  
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• Earth's rarest minerals catalogued

  13-02-2016 19:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists categorise the Earth's rarest minerals with some so rare that the total global supply could fit in a thimble.
  
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• Libyan naval forces in Tripoli say have seized foreign tanker

  13-02-2016 18:46
  Libyan naval forces have seized a Sierra Leone-flagged oil tanker on suspicion of illegally entering Libyan waters in an attempt to smuggle gasoline, authorities said on Saturday. The vessel, the Captain Khayyam, was stopped in Libyan waters on Friday night 25 miles northwest of Zuwarah city, and was carrying 1.6 million litres of gasoline, said Ayoub Qassem, a spokesman for the naval forces allied to Tripoli's self-declared government. "The tanker was seized due to illegal entrance to Libyan wa
  
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• Why 150,000 penguins have died in Antarctica - video explainer

  13-02-2016 16:34
  
  An estimated 150,000 Adelie penguins living in Cape Denison, Antarctica, have died after a giant grounded iceberg forced them to trek 60km to the sea for food. In 2010 a colossal iceberg measuring 2900sq km became trapped in the bay, rendering the colony effectively landlocked. The iceberg had apparently been floating close to the coast for 20 years before crashing into a glacier and becoming stuck150,000 penguins die after giant iceberg renders colony landlockedContinue reading...
  
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• Have we reached the tipping point for investing in renewable energy?

  13-02-2016 16:00
  
  As oil prices bottom out and fossil fuels no longer offer strong returns, investment dollars are starting to move to renewable energyDivestment – the decision to voluntarily reduce one’s fossil fuel investments – has been a hot button topic of discussion since 2011, when university students began calling on their institutions to remove fossil fuels from their portfolios. Divestment arguments have often focused on the morality of investments, but the economic value of divestment
  
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• Flint water crisis: governor's aides knew of issues within weeks, records suggest

  13-02-2016 14:00
  
  Among 21,000 documents released by Michigan’s governor one shows officials due to discuss Flint ‘water issues’ in June 2014, within weeks of supply switchMichigan governor Rick Snyder’s top aides were probably apprised of water quality issues in Flint just weeks after the city switched its water source, according to documents released on Friday. Related: Flint water crisis: What's in that contaminated waterContinue reading...
  
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• Bad air quality is deadly

  13-02-2016 13:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  New research shows that more than 5.5 million people die prematurely every year due to household and outdoor air pollution. More than half of deaths occur in two of the world's fastest growing economies, China and India.Power plants, industrial manufacturing, vehicle exhaust and burning coal and wood all release small particles into the air that are dangerous to a person's health. New research, presented today at the 2016 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
  
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• Iran to ship four million barrels of crude to Europe in coming 24 hours

  13-02-2016 11:48
  Iran will load 4 million barrels of crude oil on tankers destined for Europe in the coming 24 hours, a senior official was quoted as saying on Saturday, including 2 million barrels to be bought by France's Total . "In the coming 24 hours, 4 million barrels of crude oil will be loaded onto 3 tankers destined for Europe," Rokneddin Javadi, managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company, was quoted as saying by the Shana news agency.
  
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• Pictures of the day: 13 February 2016

  13-02-2016 10:02
  
  Today: Mavericks surfing contest, Chan the snow leopard and camel races
  
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• Mark Ruffalo: Fracking in Lancashire against locals' wishes would be a terrible injustice

  13-02-2016 10:00
  
  Mark Ruffalo says that David Cameron should respect the wishes of people in Lancashire and not overturn the county council’s rejection of fracking bidsThis weekend I have the pleasure and honor of coming to London for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards for Spotlight, a film honoring the victims of a terrible injustice and celebrating exceptional journalism that brought the story to light.I’m also taking this opportunity to lend my voice to residents of Lancashire
  
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• Allowing fracking in Lancashire against locals wishes would be a terrible injustice | Mark Ruffalo

  13-02-2016 10:00
  
  Mark Ruffalo says that David Cameron should respect the wishes of people in Lancashire and overturn the county council’s rejection of fracking bidsThis weekend I have the pleasure and honor of coming to London for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards for Spotlight, a film honoring the victims of a terrible injustice and celebrating exceptional journalism that brought the story to light.I’m also taking this opportunity to lend my voice to residents of Lancashire who
  
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• Climate deal will live on, despite US blow: experts

  13-02-2016 08:46
  
  In freezing President Barack Obama's plan to tackle carbon emissions, the US Supreme Court delivered a blow to a global climate deal - but experts say that US commitments to the deal will survive.
  
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• Research finds harmful algae toxins in Alaska marine mammals

  13-02-2016 08:35
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A review of more than 900 marine mammals hunted, stranded or captured for research along Alaska's coast has found toxins from harmful algae in 13 species, creating concern that the natural poisonous substances could increase as water temperatures warm and sea ice diminishes.
  
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• 150,000 penguins killed after giant iceberg renders colony landlocked

  13-02-2016 07:56
  
  Penguins of Cape Denison in Antarctica have been effectively trapped by an iceberg the size of Rome and face 120km round trip to feedAn estimated 150,000 Adelie penguins living in Antarctica have died after an iceberg the size of Rome became grounded near their colony, forcing them to trek 60km to the sea for food.The penguins of Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay used to live close to a large body of open water. However, in 2010 a colossal iceberg measuring 2900sq km became trapped in the bay, re
  
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• 150,000 penguins die after giant iceberg renders colony landlocked

  13-02-2016 07:56
  
  Penguins of Cape Denison in Antarctica effectively trapped by iceberg the size of Rome and face 120km round trip to feedAn estimated 150,000 Adelie penguins living in Antarctica have died after an iceberg the size of Rome became grounded near their colony, forcing them to trek 60km to the sea for food.The penguins of Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay used to live close to a large body of open water. However, in 2010 a colossal iceberg measuring 2900sq km became trapped in the bay, rendering the c
  
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• Polluted air 'causes 5.5m deaths a year'

  13-02-2016 06:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  More than 5.5 million people worldwide are dying prematurely every year as a result of air pollution, according to new research.
  
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• A bird of prey soars where bronze-age farmers toiled

  13-02-2016 06:30
  
  Moscar, Derbyshire The view from here is one of the best in the Peak: west is Win Hill and Mam Tor; to the right, the broad, bleak weight of Kinder Scout; at my back, the crisp blocks of Crow Chin set against the gathering darkness
  At Moscar Flats, I faced a dichotomy: to the north, icy blue skies; to the south, roiling black clouds. I chose south, following a rough track from Cutthroat Bridge before climbing the steep bank to Hordron Edge, all the while watching a raven hanging off the wind, ac
  
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• US scientists warn on 'dustbowl' risk

  13-02-2016 03:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  US scientists have modelled how a 1930s-like "dustbowl" drought might impact American agriculture today, and found it to be just as damaging.
  
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• Bird population on Scilly Isles recovers after islands are declared 'rat-free'

  13-02-2016 01:01
  
  Project to eradicate non-native brown rats that feed on eggs and chicks on St Agnes and Gugg is declared a success A project to protect breeding seabirds from invasive rats on the Scilly Isles has been a success with the two islands declared “rat-free”. Bird populations on St Agnes and Gugh, linked by a sand bar, are starting to recover after a quarter century of year-on-year declines following work to eradicate the non-native brown rats which were feeding on eggs and chicks, conserv
  
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