Environment news

• Steve Bell on Hinkley Point nuclear project – cartoon

  08-03-2016 23:46
  
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• Oil down 3 percent; rally snaps on supply worry, Goldman caution

  08-03-2016 22:51
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell 3 percent on Tuesday, ending six days of gains for benchmark Brent crude, as Goldman Sachs suggested the rally was unsustainable and industry data showed U.S. stockpiles reached record highs again last week. In Europe, monthly loading data shows North Sea crude supply should hit a four-year peak in April, holding above 2 million bpd for an eighth consecutive month.
  
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• VIDEO: Rare whale spotted off Madagascar coast

  08-03-2016 21:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An Omura's whale and its calf has been spotted off the coast of Madagascar
  
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• Conservative businessman to bankroll Republicans who support clean energy

  08-03-2016 21:12
  
  Jay Faison’s pledge part of tentative effort among small number of Republicans to try to move party away from default position of climate denialA conservative entrepreneur pledged to bankroll Republican candidates who support clean energy on Tuesday in an attempt to break down the party’s wall of climate denial.
  Jay Faison, a North Carolina businessman, said he was making a significant intervention in the 2016 elections through his ClearPath foundation, in the hopes of promoting what
  
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• I shower once a week. Here’s why you should too | Donnachadh McCarthy

  08-03-2016 19:22
  
  Daily showering is expensive, polluting and unnecessary. The old-school weekly bath or shower – with a brief daily sink-wash – is healthier for the environment, and for usWhen I was a kid, bathtime was a once-a-week affair. We weren’t an unhygienic family – this is just how most of us lived in the 1960s, and I do not remember any horrific body odours resulting from it. By the time I was an adult, I was showering every day. With hindsight, I should have stuck to the old wa
  
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• Oil slumps on new worries about supply, Goldman caution

  08-03-2016 18:51
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell about 3 percent on Tuesday, retreating after six days of gains for benchmark Brent crude, as Goldman Sachs suggested the rally was unsustainable and analysts expected data likely to show another record high in U.S. stockpiles. "The comments out of Kuwait have encouraged the sell-off and it appears likely that a focus on weekly oil inventories will encourage prices lower," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at New York-based Cli
  
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• Birds use language like humans, joining calls together to form sentences

  08-03-2016 18:43
  
  Birds form complex sentences by joining calls together to create new meanings, scientists have found
  
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• Clues to why the 'sea dragons' died out

  08-03-2016 18:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A dramatic shift in the Earth's climate killed off marine reptiles that swam at the time of the dinosaurs, according to a new study.
  
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• WRAP calls on UK SMEs to take 'circular leap of faith'

  08-03-2016 17:00
  
  Liz Goodwin, the soon-to-depart chief executive of the Government's Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), has today (8 March) provided new evidence of how the circular economy is beginning to make a big difference for small businesses across the UK.
  
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• Hollowed-out Defra leaves in doubt key functions, MPs say

  08-03-2016 16:56
  
  Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee questions whether cuts to environment department budget would allow it to operate effectively in futureThe gutting of the budget for the UK government’s already “hollowed-out” environment department has left in doubt key functions including flood protection, pollution, food production, farming and animal welfare, a committee of MPs has found.
  Funding for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is to be cut by 15% over
  
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• South Africa says shale gas exploration to begin in next 12 months

  08-03-2016 16:32
  
  Semi-desert Karoo region believed to hold shale gas reserves, but environmentalists argue semi-arid area’s water supply is at risk from frackingThe South African government said on Tuesday that exploration for shale gas will begin in the next 12 months, ending years of speculation over the project.
  South Africa’s semi-desert Karoo region is believed to hold at least 485 trillion cubic feet of shale gas, but drilling has been delayed by environmental and economic concerns.
  “One
  
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• EU vote on controversial weedkiller licence postponed

  08-03-2016 16:09
  
  Four EU states force delay of a vote to renew the licence for glyphosate, which has been found to be ‘probably carcinogenic’A mutiny by several EU states has forced the postponement of a vote in Brussels on relicensing a widely used weedkiller that the World Health Organisation has found is probably carcinogenic.Italy joined France, Sweden and the Netherlands in opposing a new 15-year licence for glyphosate at a meeting which had been expected to rubber stamp its reapproval on Tuesda
  
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• France opens Volkswagen emissions scandal probe

  08-03-2016 15:54
  France has opened a formal investigation into suspected "aggravated fraud" by Volkswagen following revelations the German carmaker rigged vehicle diesel emissions tests, the Paris prosecutor's office said on Tuesday. The prosecutor had already opened a preliminary inquiry in October, and French police had carried out searches at the German carmaker's offices in France, seizing computer material. Volkswagen has said 946,092 vehicles in France were equipped with the EA 189 engines potentially affe
  
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• Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau to join forces on climate change

  08-03-2016 15:52
  
  US and Canadian leaders expected to announce a series of common measures including methane emissions cuts and protections for rapidly warming ArcticBarack Obama and Justin Trudeau will commit to work together to fight climate change and protect an Arctic experiencing the mildest winter ever recorded, sources familiar with the initiatives said.The two leaders were expected to announce a number of common climate measures at a meeting at the White House this week, from a 45% cut in methane emission
  
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• Big brands 'failing' on palm oil policies, Greenpeace claims

  08-03-2016 14:51
  
  PepsiCo, Colgate-Palmolive and Johnson & Johnson are among a raft of consumer goods companies that are "letting their customers down" by failing to break the link between the use of palm oil in everyday products and deforestation, a new Greenpeace report has concluded.
  
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• EDF turmoil exposes Britain's reliance on Hinkley nuclear plan

  08-03-2016 14:45
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Management upheaval at EDF has exposed Britain's reliance on the French energy group's ability to deliver a planned 18 billion pound nuclear power plant in southwest England. EDF CFO Thomas Piquemal quit on Monday in protest over the balance sheet risk posed by the Hinkley Point C project, one of a series of expensive challenges that the debt-laden and state-controlled group faces.. EDF and the British and French governments are saying the project remains on
  
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• Cold comforts: readers share their best winter photographs

  08-03-2016 14:30
  
  While the northern hemisphere is celebrating its first days of spring, here’s a look back at the winter moments you shared with us Continue reading...
  
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• Budding and blossoming: share your photographs and videos of spring

  08-03-2016 14:12
  
  With lighter evenings and flowers in bloom, the northern hemisphere is ready to embrace spring. We’d like to see your photographs of the season wherever you areCold comforts: readers share their best winter photographsAfter the long, cold winter months, it’s finally getting lighter outside in the evenings as trees blossom and birds nest. With signs of spring appearing in the UK, north America and parts of Europe, we’d like to see your seasonal photographs from wherever you are
  
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• U.S., allies stage 24 strikes in Iraq, Syria against Islamic State

  08-03-2016 14:00
  The U.S.-led coalition on Monday targeted Islamic State in Iraq and Syria with two dozen strikes near 15 cities, the U.S. military said in a statement released on Tuesday detailing the latest round of daily attacks against the militant group. Seventeen strikes in Iraq hit eight tactical units as well as two headquarters and numerous fighting positions used by Islamic State, the Combined Joint Task Force said. In Syria, seven strikes near three cities hit four Islamic State tactical units as well
  
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• World's first circular economy Master's launched by Cranfield

  08-03-2016 13:16
  
  Cranfield University has today (8 March) announced it will be running the world's first Master's degree in the circular economy for the next generation of sustainability and resource efficiency professionals.
  
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• Study suggests impact of climate change on agriculture may be underestimated

  08-03-2016 13:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  Studies of how climate change might affect agriculture generally look only at crop yields — the amount of product harvested from a given unit of land. But climate change may also influence how much land people choose to farm and the number of crops they plant each growing season. A new study takes all of these variables into account, and suggests researchers may be underestimating the total effect of climate change on the world’s food supply.
  
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• Abandoned seal pups are first twins found in wild...but they have never seen the sea

  08-03-2016 13:03
  
  Two abaondoned seals discovered abaonded on a Norfolk beach in November are the first twins ever to be found in the wild.
  
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• Hotter planet spells harder rains to come – study

  08-03-2016 13:00
  
  Planners told to boost flood defences, especially in dry regions, as global warming intensifies water cycle, reports Climate HomeSevere rainfall has increased throughout the world’s wettest and driest regions and is set to intensify this century, new research suggests. Since 1950, daily extremes have risen 1-2% a decade, a study published in journal Nature said on Monday. Continue reading...
  
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• Boris Johnson: 'I wish I'd built more segregated cycling routes for London'

  08-03-2016 12:54
  
  As the London mayor nears the end of his time in office he looks back on what he’s achieved for cycling in the capital – and the hostility he’s facedStanding next to what he calls the “billiard table-smooth” surface of the new segregated bike route along the Embankment in central London, Boris Johnson is paying tribute to the Transport for London team that helped create it, and the other mixed bag of cycling infrastructure he will leave behind after eight years as m
  
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• Pictures of the day: 8th March 2016

  08-03-2016 12:20
  
  Hot air balloons, Some Mother's Do 'Ave 'Em and jellyfish
  
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• Supersized big fish: 20 record breaking rod snappers, in pictures

  08-03-2016 12:00
  
  In pics: 20 record breaking rod snappers reeled in by anglers
  
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• Harnessing renewables could provide £725m windfall for Scottish islands

  08-03-2016 11:51
  
  A cluster of Scottish islands including the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland could receive a £725m economic boost if they were converted into renewable outposts, a new independent report has found.
  
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• Global air passenger traffic up 7.1 percent in January - IATA

  08-03-2016 11:46
  A slide in oil prices helped to boost demand for air travel in January, pointing to a strong year for passenger traffic, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday. Demand for air travel, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, rose 7.1 percent in January, while the passenger load factor increased by 1.1 percent, IATA said in its regular monthly traffic figures on Tuesday. "January maintained the strong traffic growth trend seen in 2015, showing the resilience of demand
  
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• France's oldest nuclear plant to close this year

  08-03-2016 11:31
  
  Work will begin this year to shut down Fessenheim, which is at the centre of a row with Germany and Switzerland The French environment minister, Ségolène Royal, said on Monday that work will begin this year to shut down the country’s oldest nuclear power plant, at the centre of a row with neighbouring Germany and Switzerland.
  In doing so she implicitly contradicted a Green party minister who had said on Sunday that the process to close the Fessenheim plant in Alsace would be
  
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• Commodity traders in barter deals with Iran post-sanction - sources

  08-03-2016 11:20
  By Chen Aizhu and Roslan Khasawneh BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Global oil traders have entered into rare barter deals with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), supplying Iran with much-needed gasoline in exchange for high-quality fuel oil, after most economic sanctions against Tehran were lifted in January. Commodity traders Swiss-based Vitol [VITOLV.UL] and Glencore , for example, have won the right to lift a combined total of at least 200,000 tonnes per month of Iranian fuel oil from Mar
  
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• UN Global Compact seeks 'change agents' to accelerate action on SDGs

  08-03-2016 09:30
  
  The United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) has launched a 'pioneers programme' to accelerate grassroots leadership on the new global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  
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• edie Environment & Energy Awards 2016: The finalists

  08-03-2016 09:00
  
  The initial round of judging is complete and the shortlist of finalists has been drawn up for edie's 2016 Environment & Energy (E&E) Awards, which recognise excellence in excellence in on-site energy, water and resource management.
  
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• Brent holds above $40 as some investors call bottom on oil rout

  08-03-2016 08:57
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Tuesday on weak Chinese trading data, but Brent remained over $40 a barrel after jumping to 2016 highs the previous day when producers announced talks to support the market and investors opened new bullish bets. Brent crude futures managed to defend $40 per barrel, standing at $40.43 at 0742 GMT, down 41 cents from their last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were at $37.51 a barrel, down 39 cents from their last
  
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• Primark extends sustainable cotton initiative to 10,000 farmers

  08-03-2016 08:30
  
  Primar­­­­­­­­­­­k is scaling up a sustainable cotton scheme as the discount fashion retailer looks to recruit a further 10,000 female smallholder farmers in India onto the programme.
  
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• After the rain, as the sun sets, the bullfinches come out of hiding

  08-03-2016 06:30
  
  Pulborough Brooks, West Sussex They’re nervous birds that prefer to remain hidden in dense vegetationA song thrush celebrates the ending of the afternoon rain with repeated trills, scales and whistles. In the trees either side of the footpath, other birds join in the wall of bird song – warbling dunnocks, tinkling goldfinches and stuttering chaffinches. Greenfinches add their harsh falling notes. Groups of midges hover above the woodland track. It’s the first time I’ve se
  
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• China crude oil imports hit record 8 million bpd in February

  08-03-2016 05:49
  By Adam Rose and Florence Tan BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - China's February crude oil imports jumped 20 percent on year to their highest ever on a daily basis, as prices at their lowest in more than a decade drove buying from a group of new importers and state and commercial stockpiling. The world's second-largest oil consumer imported 31.80 million tonnes of crude last month, or a record 8.0 million barrels per day (bpd), data from China's General Administration of Customs showed on Tuesday. C
  
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• CSIRO's global reputation 'trashed' and new science body needed, Senate told

  08-03-2016 04:43
  
  Scientists say CSIRO losing students and climate scientists already looking for jobs elsewhere since cuts announcedThe global reputation of the CSIRO has already been “trashed” by the announced cuts to climate research there, world-leading CSIRO scientists told a Senate inquiry on Tuesday. “Our reputation is now trashed, internationally,” said John Church, a CSIRO scientist who was speaking in his private capacity to a public hearing of the Senate select committee into th
  
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• Obama administration pays out $500m to climate change project

  08-03-2016 04:15
  
  The first chunk of a $3bn commitment made at the Paris climate talks ‘shows the US stands squarely behind climate commitments’, the State Department saidThe Obama administration has made a first installment on its $3bn pledge to help poor countries fight climate change – defying Republican opposition to the president’s environmental plan.The $500m payment to the Green Climate Fund was seen as critical to shoring up international confidence in Barack Obama’s ability
  
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• Iron ore supply growth to outweigh demand growth - BHP

  08-03-2016 03:54
  SYDNEY (Reuters) - BHP Billiton BLT.L> on Tuesday warned of a continued oversupply in global iron ore markets in coming years that would keep up pressure on smaller suppliers to the global sea-traded market. "Supply growth will continue to outpace demand growth over the next few years," Edgar Basto, asset president for BHP's iron ore division said in a prepared address to an iron ore conference in Perth, Australia. "Incremental lower cost seaborne production will continue to displace higher c
  
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• Brent dips but holds above $40 as investors call bottom on commodity rout

  08-03-2016 03:12
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude oil prices dipped early on Tuesday, but remained over $40 a barrel after jumping to a 2016-high the previous session as more producers announced talks to support the market and as investors opened new bets on further price rises. International benchmark Brent crude futures managed to defend $40 per barrel in early trading on Tuesday, standing at $40.51 at 0154 GMT, down 33 cents from their last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
  
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• Oregon Kicks Dirty Coal Habit

  08-03-2016 01:41 via feedproxy.google.com
  Oregon is ready to kick its filthy coal habit, and now it has passed a law to hold itself to this pledge. The Clean Energy and Coal Transition Act blocks the state’s largest power companies from purchasing coal-based electricity by 2030. By taking this important step, the state will effectively double its reliance on renewable energy in the upcoming decades. Moreover, Oregon’s energy should be approximately 80% carbon-free by the year 2040.The legislation makes Oregon the f
  
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• Closure of France's oldest nuclear plant begins this year: minister

  08-03-2016 00:07
  
  French Environment Minister Segolene Royal said Monday that work will begin this year to shut down the country's oldest nuclear power plant, at the centre of a row with neighbouring Germany and Switzerland.
  
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