Environment news

• Lula arrest in Brazil graft probe raises risk of Rousseff's fall

  04-03-2016 22:26
  By Anthony Boadle and Alonso Soto BRASILIA (Reuters) - The implication of Brazil's ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a graft scandal at state oil firm Petrobras has reignited opposition hopes of unseating his successor Dilma Rousseff and increased the risk she may not finish her term. The federal police's decision to take Lula in for questioning on Friday raised the temperature of Brazil's political crisis on the streets, with demonstrators for and against the ruling Workers' Party clash
  
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• Brazil's Rousseff denies details of reported plea bargain

  04-03-2016 22:15
  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff on Friday denied details of a reported plea bargain by former ally Senator Delcidio Amaral, who purportedly tied her to a corruption scandal at state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA . Rousseff also used a news conference to repeat her disagreement with the questioning in police custody of her political mentor and predecessor, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as part of the investigation. (Reporting by Brad Haynes; editing
  
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• New York pension fund could have made billions by divesting from fossil fuels – report

  04-03-2016 22:04
  
  Moving money out of fossil fuels and into environmentally-friendly tech could have made members of the state’s pension fund an extra $4,500 eachNew York State’s pension fund would have an additional $5.3bn to give to its retired employees if it had divested from fossil fuel companies and put that money into clean energy, according to a new report.
  The analysis, compiled by research firm Corporate Knights, assessed the fund’s top 100 domestic and international equity holdings, a
  
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• VIDEO: Can scientists clone extinct cave lion?

  04-03-2016 21:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists from South Korea and Russia want to clone an extinct cave lion from its DNA.
  
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• EU states rebel against plans to relicense weedkiller glyphosate

  04-03-2016 20:55
  
  Vote to approve relicensing of ingredient in herbicides including Roundup had been due on Monday, but it might be postponedA rebellion by several EU countries could scupper plans by the European commission to approve the relicensing of a weedkiller linked to cancer by the World Health Organisation (WHO).The vote to relicense glyphosate, a key ingredient in herbicides such as Monsanto’s multibillion-dollar brand Roundup, had been scheduled at a two-day meeting of experts from the EU’s
  
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• Amber fossils reveal 'lost world'

  04-03-2016 20:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Lizards locked in amber for 99 million years give a glimpse of how chameleons and geckos evolved, scientists say.
  
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• Brazil's ex-president Lula questioned; Rousseff calls it 'unnecessary'

  04-03-2016 20:41
  By Brad Haynes and Anthony Boadle SAO PAULO/BRASILIA (Reuters) - Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was briefly detained for questioning on Friday in a federal investigation of a vast corruption scheme, fanning a political crisis that threatens to topple his successor, President Dilma Rousseff. Lula's questioning in police custody was the highest profile development in a two-year-old graft probe centred on the state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA , which has rocked Brazil's
  
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• Orangutan population up - threats remain

  04-03-2016 20:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  There are more Sumatran orangutans in the wild than previously believed, according to a new survey.
  
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• Sumatran orangutan numbers double but fires destroy habitat

  04-03-2016 20:00
  
  Researchers find Sumatran orangutans living at higher altitudes but critically endangered status unlikely to changeThere are twice as many Sumatran orangutans alive than previously thought but the critically endangered great ape is far from out of the woods, say researchers who conducted the landmark survey.Loss of forest habitat is the biggest threat facing Sumatran orangutans, followed by the illegal pet trade and poaching. Fires lit to illegally clear land for conversion to palm oil plantatio
  
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• Orangutan survey delivers good news and bad

  04-03-2016 20:00
  
  How many Sumatran orangutans are there? More than we thought but fewer than there were. For a creature that lives in remote, dense forest, getting a handle on the population size is exceedingly difficult, even when the animal is as large as an orangutan. According to the last big survey of Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii), published in 2004, there were just 6600 members of this species left on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. But a new, more expansive survey more than doubles this figure to 1
  
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• The paralysed man who can ride a bike

  04-03-2016 19:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Darek Fidyka, who was paralysed from the chest down after a knife attack in 2010, can now ride an adapted tricycle.
  
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• Berta Cáceres one of hundreds of land protesters murdered in last decade

  04-03-2016 18:59
  
  Killings of environmental protesters, often indigenous people fighting to protect land, on the rise with 2015 likely to have been deadliest year on recordBerta Cáceres, the Honduran activist who was murdered on Thursday, is one of at least 1,000 environmental and land protesters who have been murdered since 2002 and the deadly trend is rising. The NGO Global Witness say 2015 is likely to have been the deadliest year on record.Related: Remembering Berta Cáceres: 'I'm a human rights
  
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• Oil prices revive rally on U.S. jobs data, technical charts

  04-03-2016 18:02
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rallied again on Friday after a one-day pause, helped by strong U.S. jobs data and technical buying after crude prices breached resistance levels on charts. Speculation that the number of U.S. rigs drilling for oil had fallen this week for a 11th straight week was also keeping oil firmly in positive territory, traders said. U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up $1.08 at $35.65.
  
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• Infrastructure Commission calls for raft of changes to UK energy policy

  04-03-2016 17:56
  
  The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has called for a raft of regulatory changes to create a level playing field that would allow energy storage and demand flexibility to ensure security in the UK's future low-carbon energy system.
  
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• World wildlife day, fracking and Leonardo DiCaprio - green news roundup

  04-03-2016 17:48
  
  The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
  
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• Sentinel takes first ocean height data

  04-03-2016 17:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sentinel-3a, the EU's latest Earth observer, uses its altimeter for the first time to gather information about ocean height.
  
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• Where's the Opportunity? edie to run free webinar on business benefits of ESOS

  04-03-2016 17:19
  
  Organisations that qualify for the Government's Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) are being encouraged to tune into a free, live edie webinar later this month, focusing on realising the 'Opportunity' of the Scheme.
  
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• Animal pictures of the week: 4 March 2016

  04-03-2016 17:03
  
  All creatures great and small in our ever popular animal gallery
  
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• Murder of activist Berta Cáceres sparks violent clashes in Honduras

  04-03-2016 17:02
  
  Students clashed with riot police Thursday night amid anger over failure to protect a high-profile campaigner who had repeatedly received threats on her lifeThe murder of environmental and indigenous rights activist Berta Cáceres has sparked violent clashes in Honduras despite promises by President Juan Orlando Hernández to swiftly find and punish the killers.Rock-throwing students clashed with riot police firing tear gas in the University of Honduras on Thursday night amid anger o
  
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• Centrica says CMA's proposals allow flexible use of UK Rough storage

  04-03-2016 16:57
  (Reuters) - Centrica said on Friday new proposals from the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) would allow more flexibility in selling gas from its Rough gas storage site beneath the North Sea. "Centrica Storage Limited (CSL) considers that these variations will allow it to more quickly and effectively ensure it can offer Rough's physical capabilities to the market if there are changes in the asset's capabilities," Centrica said in a statement. Centrica said CSL was undertaking testi
  
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• Germany and Austria call for higher EU 2030 climate ambition

  04-03-2016 16:50
  
  Environment ministers criticise ‘very weak’ European commission response to Paris climate pact – but other states defend existing target, reports Climate HomeGermany, Austria, Portugal and Luxembourg are leading calls for the EU to increase its 2030 climate targets in light of December’s Paris agreement. At a webcast meeting of environment ministers on Friday, they criticised the European commission for advising no change was needed. Continue reading...
  
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• There are flowers growing in California's Death Valley and here's why

  04-03-2016 16:35
  
  Death Valley, as the name suggests, isn’t known for its thriving wildlife.
  
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• BP boss gets 20 percent rise in total pay despite firm's 4.6 billion pound loss

  04-03-2016 16:24
  By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley's total pay rose 20 percent to nearly 14 million pounds ($20 million) in 2015, a year when the oil major settled most of its U.S. oil spill litigations but also posted a record loss as crude prices plummeted. BP has slashed thousands of jobs and sharply cut investments over the past year in the face of the market downturn, while reaching a landmark $20 billion settlement to resolve most claims from its deadly 20
  
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• Advances in understanding the development of blood cancers

  04-03-2016 16:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have uncovered a protein that is key to the development of blood cancers caused by a common genetic error. The discovery is a missing piece in the puzzle of understanding how high levels of a protein called MYC drive cancer development, and may to lead to future strategies for early treatment or possibly even prevention of these cancers.Seventy per cent of human cancers have abnormally high levels of MYC, which forces cells into unusually rapid gr
  
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• EU regulators clear Greece, TAP gas pipeline deal

  04-03-2016 16:00
  European Union regulators approved a deal on Thursday between Greece and the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) that will bring gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, saying the project was in line with the bloc's state aid rules. The 870-km (540-mile) pipeline, part of the so-called southern corridor that will link Azerbaijan's giant Shah Deniz II field with Italy, crossing through Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, is the largest project to bring new supplies to European consumers. "The
  
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• Germany, France, UK press for tougher emission targets after Paris deal

  04-03-2016 15:29
  Germany, France and Britain pressed the European Union for more ambitious greenhouse gas targets at a meeting of environment ministers on Friday, clashing with the EU executive and several eastern and central European states. Germany's Jochen Flasbarth called the European Commission text "weak on the 2030 objectives". In a split council, he was joined by ministers from France, Britain, Austria, Belgium, Portugal and Sweden in calling for the EU to set an example with stronger targets.
  
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• Russia says OPEC, non-OPEC meeting may be held on March 20 - Apr 1 -Ifax

  04-03-2016 15:06
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Friday that a meeting between the OPEC group and other leading oil producers about freezing oil output could take place between March 20 and April 1, Interfax news agency reported. Interfax also quoted Novak as saying that the meeting could take place either in Russia, or Vienna or Doha. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Dmitry Solovyov)
  
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• BP boss's total pay rises to 14 million pounds despite 2015 loss

  04-03-2016 13:36
  By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley's total pay rose 20 percent to nearly 14.1 million pounds ($20 million) in 2015, a year when the oil major settled most of its U.S. oil spill litigations but also posted a large loss as crude prices plummeted. BP has slashed thousands of jobs and sharply cut investments over the past year in the face of the market downturn, while reaching a landmark $20 billion settlement to resolve most claims from its deadly 2
  
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• Greenland's Ice is Getting Darker, Increasing Risk of Melting

  04-03-2016 13:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  Greenland's snowy surface has been getting darker over the past two decades, absorbing more heat from the sun and increasing snow melt, a new study of satellite data shows. That trend is likely to continue, with the surface's reflectivity, or albedo, decreasing by as much as 10 percent by the end of the century, the study says.
  
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• BP chief receives 20% pay package hike despite record loss and 7,000 axed jobs

  04-03-2016 13:28
  
  At time of crisis for oil company Bob Dudley earned £14m last year, an amount the High Pay Centre describes as out of ‘contact with reality’Bob Dudley, the chief executive of BP, earned nearly $20m last year – at a time when the company ran up the biggest losses in its financial history and axed thousands of jobs.The $19.6m (£14m) remuneration bonanza was condemned by the High Pay Centre as another example of a company losing “contact with reality” when
  
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• BP chief receives 20% pay hike despite record loss and 7,000 axed jobs

  04-03-2016 13:28
  
  High Pay Centre says £14m earned by Bob Dudley last year during crisis at oil firm shows it is ‘losing contact with reality’Bob Dudley, the chief executive of BP, earned nearly $20m last year – at a time when the company ran up the biggest losses in its financial history and axed thousands of jobs.The $19.6m (£14m) remuneration bonanza was condemned by the High Pay Centre as another example of a company losing “contact with reality” when it came to handi
  
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• Biomass boost for Hull as sector enters period of RHI uncertainty

  04-03-2016 13:26
  
  A £35m biomass plant is set to provide clean energy to more than 11,000 homes in Hull when it becomes operational next year, using 'best available technology' (BAT).
  
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• Massive snails, a disco panther, the letter P, a man's face: we review anything

  04-03-2016 13:24
  
  Every Friday we apply critical attention to things that don’t normally get it. This is an important function that might just hold civilisation together. Or, more likely, not. Drop your suggestions for reviews in the comments or tweet them to @guideguardian Continue reading...
  
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• Brazil's ex-president Lula detained in anti-graft bust

  04-03-2016 13:19
  By Brad Haynes and Alexandre Caverni SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's federal police detained former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for questioning on Friday in an anti-corruption and money laundering operation and said that illegal gains had financed campaigns and expenses of the ruling Workers Party. Police said they had evidence that Lula received illicit benefits from the kick-back scheme at state oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) in the form of payments and luxury real estate.
  
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• Improved energy storage could help save Britain £8bn a year, says report

  04-03-2016 13:00
  
  A ‘smart power revolution’ will help Britain meet its 2050 carbon targets, secure future supply and save consumers money, government report findsBritain could save £8bn a year and slash its carbon footprint by using electricity better, a new report says. The National Infrastructure Commission said a “smart power revolution” which improves the storage of power could transform the energy landscape. Its report, Smart Power, looks into ways the UK can better balance sup
  
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• Government proposes major RHI reform with removal of support for solar thermal

  04-03-2016 12:14
  
  Another day, another shock green policy proposal from the UK Government, this time in the form of a consultation to reform the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which would see a 98% reduction in the deployment of non-domestic biomass boilers and an end to support for solar water heating systems.
  
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• Government announces major RHI reform, proposes 98% drop in biomass boilers

  04-03-2016 12:14
  
  Another day, another shock green policy proposal from the UK Government, this time in the form of a consultation to reform the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) which would see a 98% reduction in the deployment of biomass boilers and an end to support for solar water heating systems.
  
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• Brazil police confirm two detention warrants in Lula's hometown

  04-03-2016 11:54
  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian federal police said on Friday they were carrying out 33 search warrants and 11 detention warrants in the Operation Carwash anti-graft investigation, including two in Sao Bernardo do Campo, the hometown of ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Local media reported that Lula was being brought in for questioning in the sweeping corruption investigation involving state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA. (Reporting by Brad Haynes and Alexandre Caverni; Editing b
  
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• Solar thermal panels latest to be hit by UK subsidy cuts

  04-03-2016 11:28
  
  Solar thermal schemes, that use the sun to heat water, will lose support from next year - the latest in a series of energy policy U-turns that advsiors say could increase energy billsSolar panels which use the sun to heat water will no longer receive subsidies under plans unveiled by the government. The industry has reacted furiously to the move to do away with support for new solar thermal schemes from next year under the renewable heat incentive (RHI), which aims to boost the use of clean tech
  
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• Pictures of the day: 4th March 2016

  04-03-2016 11:20
  
  A striking cobra, Kendall Jenner on the catwalk and a beautiful sunrise
  
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• Oil slump has uneven impact on global prices at the pump

  04-03-2016 11:13
  By Jarrett Renshaw and Reem Shamseddine PHILADELPHIA/KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia(Reuters) - A dramatic drop in oil prices is translating into a mixed bag for motorists across the globe - from hefty savings at the pump in the United States to a rare fuel price hike in Venezuela. Oil prices have dropped nearly 70 percent in the past 20 months, driven down by a glut in supply. All countries have access to the same oil prices on international markets, but retail gasoline prices vary wildly, largely because
  
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• Crude prices slip as hefty stocks weigh

  04-03-2016 11:07
  While U.S. crude output fell for a sixth straight week to 9.08 million barrels a day, inventories rose to a new record of 517.98 million barrels last week, according to the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration. "A lot of traders are keeping their powder dry in front of non-farm payroll data - it's the No.1 (indicator) in terms of crude consumers," said Ben Le Brun, market analyst at Sydney's OptionsXpress. Le Brun is forecasting oil prices will hover around $40 by the middle of th
  
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• When it comes to a shift to low-carbon energy, key players need a history lesson | Andrew Simms

  04-03-2016 10:00
  
  From railway rollouts to post-war ‘homes for heroes’, history shows us that societies are capable of great and rapid transition in response to a known challenge with clear targets Energy UK, the trade association representing the big six energy suppliers, has in welcome - if belated - fashion come out in favour of a large-scale shift to low-carbon, renewable energy.Continue reading...
  
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• Rally in metals boost UK mining index to four-month high

  04-03-2016 09:44
  LONDON (Reuters) - The FTSE 350 Mining index climbed to a four-month high on Friday, with a rally in prices of major industrial metals boosting shares in companies such as Glencore , Anglo American and BHP Billiton . The sector derived strength from metals prices, with copper staying on track for its biggest weekly advance in about six months on signs of a bottoming in a recent slide in oil prices. Prospects of a stronger U.S. economy also fuelled investor appetite for metals. [MET/L] Shares in
  
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• Energy storage could save UK £2.4bn every year

  04-03-2016 09:30
  
  The implementation of energy storage systems could contribute £2.4bn to UK electricity system savings by 2030, but only if a range of 'necessary regulatory reforms' are introduced to steady the UK's energy market, a new report from the Carbon Trust has found.
  
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• Barclays surges past carbon reduction target

  04-03-2016 09:05
  
  Barclays is now beginning to shift its focus to supply chains and scope-three emissions after the British bank's latest sustainability report reveals it has reduced its carbon footprint by 37% - far exceeding a two-year target of a 10% reduction.
  
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• Britain's first subsidy-free wind farm planned for Cornwall

  04-03-2016 08:30
  
  A community-owned wind farm that can run without financial aid or Government subsidies looks set to become a reality after UK-based green energy firm Good Energy submitted proposals for a new site in Cornwall.
  
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• Berta Cáceres, Honduran human rights and environment activist, murdered

  04-03-2016 08:20
  
  Cáceres, who was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for her opposition to one of Central America’s biggest hydropower projects, was shot at homeBerta Cáceres, the Honduran indigenous and environmental rights campaigner, has been murdered, barely a week after she was threatened for opposing a hydroelectric project.
  Her death prompted international outrage at the murderous treatment of campaigners in Honduras, as well as a flood of tributes to a prominent and courageous de
  
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• Why is 2016 smashing heat records?

  04-03-2016 07:00
  
  January and February have both broken temperature records. Karl Mathiesen examines how much is down to El Niño versus manmade climate changeYet another global heat record has been beaten. It appears January 2016 - the most abnormally hot month in history, according to Nasa - will be comprehensively trounced once official figures come in for February. Initial satellite measurements, compiled by Eric Holthaus at Slate, put February’s anomaly from the pre-industrial average between 1.1
  
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