Environment news

• VIDEO: African rhino death rate increases

  09-03-2016 23:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The number of African rhinos killed by poachers has increased for the sixth year in a row.
  
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• Lula could join Brazilian government if he wants, minister says

  09-03-2016 23:32
  Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva could join Brazil's government if he wishes, the minister in charge of legislative affairs, Ricardo Berzoini, said on Wednesday, a move that would give him some protection from prosecution. Lula was briefly detained for questioning by police on Friday, after investigators said they had evidence he was among the main political beneficiaries of a kickback scheme at state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro, commonly known as Petrobras. Brazilian media
  
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• Rhino slaughter continues unabated

  09-03-2016 23:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The mass slaughter of rhinos increases for a sixth consecutive year, despite a drive to fight poachers by various means.
  
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• Brazil prosecutors methods questioned after Lula detained

  09-03-2016 23:04
  By Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) - An investigation into a massive corruption scheme centered on Brazilian state oil company Petrobras enjoys overwhelming public support but concern is growing that prosecutors may be over-reaching as they pursue politicians and executives. The high-profile detention for questioning last week of former president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva drew criticism from the government and federal judges, reigniting debate over the methods used in "Operation Car Wash". Cri
  
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• Record number of African rhinos killed in 2015

  09-03-2016 23:00
  
  Increase in numbers poached in Namibia and Zimbabwe offset reduction in South Africa, with 1,338 killed continent-wide, IUCN figures show A record number of rhinos were killed by poachers across Africa last year, driven by demand in the far east for their horn.The number slaughtered in their heartland in South Africa, which has four-fifths of the continent’s rhino, dipped for the first time since the crisis exploded nearly a decade ago.Continue reading...
  
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• Activists urge Justin Trudeau to phase out Canada's failing seal industry

  09-03-2016 22:46
  
  The government claims the seal-fur industry is lucrative, but protesters argue it costs more to monitor the practice than the hunts generate in revenueJustin Trudeau’s government has come under renewed pressure to ban seal hunting after it emerged that Canada is spending far more on monitoring seal hunts than it receives in the export value of seal products.
  Documents obtained under freedom of access laws show that Canada spends around $2.5m a year to monitor seal hunts that occur in the r
  
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• Surfers Invent Floating Trash Bin to Clean Up World's Oceans

  09-03-2016 22:23
  
  Two Australian surfers are trying to tackle the planet's water pollution problem head-on, by developing a device that functions as an automated floating trash bin for the world's oceans. The device, called the Seabin, can be placed in the water, attached to a floating dock in a marina, and is connected to an onshore water pump.
  
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• Brazil political crisis will not hamper economic reforms -minister

  09-03-2016 21:34
  By Alonso Soto and Marcela Ayres BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's deepening political crisis will delay the approval of fiscal measures already in Congress, but the administration will stick with plans to submit additional fiscal and pension reforms soon, Finance Minister Nelson Barbosa told Reuters on Wednesday. Barbosa said the administration of President Dilma Rousseff is in a better position to move ahead with reforms to rebalance public accounts despite market doubts. Last week's arrest of Rou
  
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• Dangerous global warming will happen sooner than thought – study

  09-03-2016 21:20
  
  Australian researchers say a global tracker monitoring energy use per person points to 2C warming by 2030The world is on track to reach dangerous levels of global warming much sooner than expected, according to new Australian research that highlights the alarming implications of rising energy demand. Related: The carbon counters: tracking emissions in a post-Paris worldContinue reading...
  
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• Adding evidence that exercise is a potent cancer prevention tool

  09-03-2016 20:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  Compelling evidence suggests exercise is an important component of cancer prevention and care; slashing your risk of developing cancer, improving your chances of successful recuperation, and diminishing your risk of cancer recurrence.A pattern revealed in these studies is that the longer you exercise, the more pronounced the benefits. Studies show that both men and women who exercise during their early years have a lower risk of cancer later in life.But like most things in life, exercise mu
  
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• Meat eating accelerated face evolution

  09-03-2016 19:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Eating raw meat and making stone tools may be behind the smaller teeth and faces of humans compared with their ancient relatives.
  
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• 'Stunning' operation regenerates eye lens

  09-03-2016 19:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A pioneering procedure to heal the eye has been described as one of the "finest achievements" in regenerative medicine.
  
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• Canada’s post office is getting a revolutionary green make-over | Martin Lukacs

  09-03-2016 18:31
  
  The post office is far from dead. With Trudeau’s support, it can become the catalyst of a more caring, equal economy
  The story has an air of inevitability. A rise in online communication has led to a inexorable decline of mail. Our local post offices, squeezed by the digital era, will soon be quaint outposts of a bygone era. What’s left to do but end door-to-door mail delivery, lay off postal workers, and hand over what remains to private companies?This tale may be repeated endlessly
  
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• Canada’s post office could get a revolutionary green make-over | Martin Lukacs

  09-03-2016 18:31
  
  The post office is far from dead. With Trudeau’s support, it can become the catalyst of a more caring, equal economy
  The story has an air of inevitability. A rise in online communication has led to a inexorable decline of mail. Our local post offices, squeezed by the digital era, will soon be quaint outposts of a bygone era. What’s left to do but end door-to-door mail delivery, lay off postal workers, and hand over what remains to private companies?This tale may be repeated endlessly
  
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• Oil jumps on bullish U.S. gasoline draw, OPEC speculation

  09-03-2016 18:21
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices surged as much as 4 percent on Wednesday, with Brent back above $40 a barrel, after a big draw in U.S. gasoline convinced the market that energy demand was improving despite U.S. crude stockpiles at record highs. Crude oil prices also rose on speculation that top producers might agree soon to an output freeze. U.S. crude futures rose $1.50, or 4 percent, to $38.
  
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• How the US can solve its multibillion food waste problem - report

  09-03-2016 18:00
  
  An $18bn proposal aims to reduce the more than 52m tons of food waste that goes to landfill every yearBusinesses could save nearly $2bn a year by cutting the amount of half-eaten entrees, unsold milk and other foods that get tossed into trash bins across the US by 20% over the next decade, according to a new report. The report, Roadmap to Reduce US Food Waste, released Wednesday, lays out strategies that companies, along with governments, consumers and foundations, can implement to reduce the am
  
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• Unilever settles dispute over mercury poisoning in India

  09-03-2016 17:57
  
  Company has agreed to provide an undisclosed ex-gratia payment as part of deal to end dispute over poisoning allegations at factory in Tamil NaduThe Indian arm of global consumer giant Unilever on Wednesday said it had reached a deal with hundreds of former employees to end a long-running dispute over allegations of mercury poisoning at one of its manufacturing plants.
  Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) was forced to shut its thermometer factory in 2001 after Tamil Nadu state authorities found the
  
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• Volvo joins carmakers' call to standardise electric car charging

  09-03-2016 17:39
  
  A global standard for electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is "sorely needed" as the last piece in the jigsaw to cement the rising popularity of EVs, Swedish car manufacturer Volvo has claimed.
  
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• Oil up on bullish U.S. gasoline draw, OPEC speculation

  09-03-2016 17:19
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped 3 percent on Wednesday after a huge draw in U.S. gasoline inventories last week convinced the market that energy demand was improving despite U.S. crude stockpiles hitting record highs for a fourth week. Crude prices also gained support on speculation that top oil producers might agree soon to an output freeze. U.S. crude was up $1.27 at $37.77.
  
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• Swarm of bees attacks snoozing lions in Kalahari Desert, in pictures

  09-03-2016 17:18
  
  In pics: Pack of snoozing Kalahari lions stung beside watering hole
  
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• Iran in sovereign rating talks, wants to recoup oil market share

  09-03-2016 16:57
  By Marc Jones LONDON (Reuters) - Iran is in discussions about getting a sovereign credit rating and will need to regain its pre-sanctions oil market share before joining any talks on production cuts, the chief of staff to President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday. Mohammad Nahavandian declined to comment on the test-firing on Wednesday of two missiles that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said were designed to be able to hit Israel, defying a threat of new sanctions from the United Sta
  
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• Siemens to cut oil and gas jobs amid wider hiring

  09-03-2016 16:24
  German industrial group Siemens plans to cut about 2,500 jobs related to the oil and gas, metals and mining sectors - mostly in Germany - while pursuing a hiring drive to boost its digital industrial expertise, it said on Wednesday. Siemens said it would realign its two business units Large Drives and Process Solutions, affecting about 2,000 jobs in Germany, mainly in Bavaria. Worldwide, Siemens said it planned to hire at least 25,000 new employees in each of the coming years, thanks to its anno
  
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• Solar Eclipses and Thailand's Kings: A Curious History

  09-03-2016 16:09
  
  Skywatchers in Southeast Asia are being treated to a special celestial show today — a total solar eclipse that will darken the skies over Sumatra, Borneo and other islands in the Pacific. This will be the third time Euarchukiati has witnessed an eclipse of the sun, and he has made his way to the Indonesian island of Belitung in the Java Sea, about midway between Sumatra and Borneo, for the occasion. As a historian, solar eclipses are of special interest to Euarchukiati, who has written a b
  
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• Six arrested in Spain on charges of illegal fishing of protected species

  09-03-2016 14:58
  
  Five members of Spain’s Vidal family of fishing barons are among those arrested for illegally catching Patagonian toothfish, in joint raids by Spanish police and Interpol Six people have been arrested on charges of illegal fishing of protected species in raids carried out jointly by Interpol and Spanish police in Galicia in northwest Spain.
  The six include five members of the Vidal family who run Ribeiro Vidal Armadores, among them Antonio Vidal, the owner, and three of his children who ar
  
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• Iraqi Kurdish oil pipeline could reopen soon - sources

  09-03-2016 14:05
  By Humeyra Pamuk and Orhan Coskun ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey has partly completed a military campaign near its southeastern border, raising hopes an idled Iraqi oil pipeline nearby could soon reopen after a three-week outage that has squeezed the already cash-strapped Kurdistan region's finances. It could still be up to a week before oil starts flowing through the pipeline that normally carries 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan as the military sweep f
  
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• Food and drink firms urged to promote water stewardship across supply chains

  09-03-2016 13:55
  
  A new action plan that promotes water stewardship in the UK food and drink sector and builds supply chains that are more resilient to 'precarious' flooding and water shortage risks has been launched today (9 March).
  
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• E.ON's $10 billion writedown clouds dividend, spin-off prospects

  09-03-2016 12:48
  By Christoph Steitz and Tom Käckenhoff ESSEN, Germany (Reuters) - E.ON , Germany's largest utility, posted a record loss for the second year in a row following asset writedowns totalling more than half its market value and prepared investors for lower payouts as it conserves cash to fund future growth. Germany's traditional power companies such as E.ON and rival RWE have been hammered by the effects of a surge in renewable energy, plunging wholesale electricity prices and the country's plan
  
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• Defra set for '5 years of scrutiny' as MPs raise concerns over environment policy

  09-03-2016 12:46
  
  The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) looks set to enter a "five-year period of scrutiny" after MPs this week raised concerns over the Department's ability to deliver on key flood protection, air pollution and animal welfare strategies.
  
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• Exclusive - Saudi Arabia seeks $6-8 billion bank loan to shore up state coffers

  09-03-2016 12:22
  By Archana Narayanan DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is seeking a bank loan of between $6 billion (£4.2 Billion) and $8 billion, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, in what would be the first significant foreign borrowing by the kingdom's government for over a decade. Riyadh has asked lenders to submit proposals to extend it a five-year U.S. dollar loan of that size, with an option to increase it, the sources said, to help plug a record budget deficit caused by low oil prices. La
  
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• The carbon counters: tracking emissions in a post-Paris world

  09-03-2016 12:12
  
  As the Paris climate deal requires developing countries to monitor their emissions, organisations are using online courses to train a new breed of green accountants capable of the complex task, reports Environment 360Michael Gillenwater is so tired he is mixing up his words, worn out from weeks of conference calls with the United Nations, the German government, and more. “I’m exhausted,” he says. In the wake of the Paris climate agreement last December, everyone wants advice fr
  
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• China clue to white-nose syndrome

  09-03-2016 11:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers have found new clues about the deadly white-nose syndrome, a disease that has wiped out millions of bats in North America.
  
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• China's smog-choked steel city readies for six-month flower show shutdown

  09-03-2016 10:45
  
  Iron ore price soars as Tangshan’s steel mills go on buying spree ahead of enforced closures for the horticultural expoA dramatic spike in the price of iron ore this week has been blamed on an upcoming flower show that is designed to showcase green-living in one of China’s most smog-choked industrial cities.Steel mills in Tangshan – a city of about 7 million inhabitants in China’s steel-producing heartlands – reportedly sent prices rocketing by nearly 20% on Monday,
  
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• £18bn Hinkley nuclear power project is a good deal, says ex-minister

  09-03-2016 10:42
  
  Coalition energy secretary Ed Davey says Tories would have accepted a much higher price as they were ‘gagging for nuclear’The deal to provide a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point would have cost even more if George Osborne had had his way, the former energy secretary Ed Davey has said. The Lib Dem former member of the coalition cabinet said the £18bn plan to build Hinkley Point C represented a good deal, and claimed the cost would have been higher without his involvemen
  
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• Pictures of the day: 9th March 2016

  09-03-2016 10:27
  
  Squabbling gorillas, eclipse watchers and the Red Bull Air Race
  
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• Boskalis sees profit fall, fleet cuts on weak oil industry

  09-03-2016 09:51
  By Toby Sterling AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Marine construction company Boskalis expects a drop in net profit this year as depressed commodity prices hit demand for oil-related infrastructure, it said on Wednesday. "Volumes and prices are under pressure, which is also translating into our order book," Chief Executive Peter Berdowski said in a statement. "We are tightening up the fleet and the organisation, and are alert to respond to the opportunities the market continues to present." Boskalis's orde
  
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• Iran plays hardball with European oil buyers, slowing exports

  09-03-2016 09:30
  By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Iran has managed to sell only modest volumes of oil to Europe since the lifting of sanctions seven weeks ago and several former buyers are staying away, citing legal complications and Tehran's reluctance to sweeten terms to win back customers. Tehran had been unable to sell crude to European firms since 2012 when the EU imposed sanctions over its nuclear programme, depriving it of a market that accounted for over a third of its exports and
  
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• Commodity traders in barter deals with Iran post-sanctions - sources

  09-03-2016 09:16
  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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• Low commodity prices drive 2016 defaults, oilfields to shut

  09-03-2016 08:39
  By Florence Tan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Commodity prices at multi-year lows drove a rise in defaults early this year, and the oil sector could see still more unprofitable fields shut, industry analysts said on Wednesday. Debt defaults in the commodity sectors rose in the first two months of 2016 from the same period a year ago, credit ratings agency Moody's said. "Of the 18 defaults since the start of the year, half have been in commodity sectors," said Sharon Ou, a Moody's vice president and seni
  
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• How Nando's is spicing up its on-site energy management

  09-03-2016 08:30
  
  EXCLUSIVE: International restaurant chain Nando's is rolling out a number of on-site technology upgrades and innovative behaviour change methods, while exploring the possibility of food waste-powered restaurants, in a bid to take energy management in its UK sites "to the next level".
  
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• Indonesia sees 'magical' solar eclipse

  09-03-2016 07:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Millions of people across Indonesia and the Pacific have experienced a total solar eclipse, with parts of the region falling into complete darkness.
  
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• A boundary marker, a meeting place, a gallows?

  09-03-2016 06:30
  
  Wenlock Edge An ancient oak shows signs of awakening after another winterThe oak loomed above other trees in a scrubby corner of the field. Despite claims that it was officially spring, and with no respect for meteorology, calendars or tradition, the great oak seemed to feel as though it was holding on to winter and would not turn until it was good and ready.It must have been an important landmark for centuries, visible from all cardinal points, growing on flat pasture close to a spring that iss
  
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• Locals eating radioactive food 30 years after Chernobyl - Greenpeace tests

  09-03-2016 06:10
  By Andrew Osborn MOSCOW (Reuters) - Economic crises convulsing Russia, Ukraine and Belarus mean testing in areas contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster has been cut or restricted, Greenpeace said, and people continue to eat and drink foods with dangerously high radiation levels. According to scientific tests conducted on behalf of the environmental campaigning group, overall contamination from key isotopes such as caesium-137 and strontium-90 has fallen somewhat, but lingers, especially
  
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• Oil prices stable as falling U.S. output offset by demand worries

  09-03-2016 06:02
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices were only slightly higher on Wednesday as support from falling U.S. production was countered by a strengthening U.S.-dollar and concerns over slowing demand. U.S. crude futures were at $36.60 per barrel at 0449 GMT, up 10 cents from their last settlement and 40 percent above February's 2016 low. Analysts said falling U.S. output was lending support to the market but that concerns over slowing demand and an ongoing global production and storag
  
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• Prayers, cheers as total eclipse darkens swath of Asia

  09-03-2016 05:28
  
  PALEMBANG, Indonesia (AP) — People gazed at the sky in wonder and cheered while others knelt in prayer as a total eclipse of the sun unfolded over Indonesia on Wednesday, briefly plunging cities into darkness and startling wildlife.
  
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• Tilikum, SeaWorld killer whale that drowned trainer, may be dying

  09-03-2016 02:11
  
  A bacterial infection afflicting the Blackfish subject is ‘extremely difficult to treat’ says SeaWorld veterinarian: ‘I wish I could say I was optimistic’The killer whale responsible for the death of a SeaWorld trainer is very sick from a bacterial infection that may eventually kill him, SeaWorld officials said on Tuesday. Related: Blackfish and our lingering obsession with animals as entertainmentContinue reading...
  
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• Melbourne records its hottest March night since records began

  09-03-2016 01:35
  
  Temperatures hovered around 30C for most of Tuesday night, after reaching a daytime peak of 38.9C Melbourne sweltered through its hottest March night on record on Tuesday, hovering around 30C after reaching a peak of 38.6C in the city at 5pm.The temperature dropped to an overnight minimum of 27.7C at 8.45am Wednesday, just before the 6am cut-off for overnight temperatures. Continue reading...
  
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• Climate scientists step up search for 'holy grail' of million-year-old ice

  09-03-2016 01:02
  
  Ice core records going back 800,000 years reveal a lot about carbon dioxide and temperature, but climate researchers want to go back further Somewhere deep below the ice in Antarctica lies a time capsule. It’s the holy grail of climate science and promises to reveal the past and future of Earth’s atmosphere. And right now, scientists are meeting in Hobart to work out a plan to dig it up.We’re pretty sure there is ice one million years old or older towards the bottom of the Anta
  
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