Environment news

• Charges, threat of jail cast Brazil's Lula in familiar role - martyr

  11-03-2016 22:50
  By Paulo Prada RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Criminal charges and a request by prosecutors to jail Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are putting the former Brazilian president and leftist icon back in a role he has long relished: that of the martyr. Last week, after federal police took him into custody briefly for questions about a far-reaching graft probe around Brazil's state-run oil company, Lula said he "felt like a prisoner" and urged leftist organizations, from landless peasants to labour unio
  
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• Should We Hunt Yellowstone Grizzly Bears? (Op-Ed)

  11-03-2016 22:23
  
  Jon Beckmann is a conservation scientist for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) North America Program. In the 2015 film "The Revenant," one of the most dramatic scenes pits frontiersman Hugh Glass in a harrowing effort to ward off an attacking grizzly bear — a battle that helped Leonardo DiCaprio win the Oscar for Best Actor.
  
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• France's Royal applauds US-Canada move to cut methane emissions

  11-03-2016 22:09
  
  France's ecology minister Segolene Royal on Friday welcomed new commitments from Canada and the United States to cut methane emissions, whose global warming potential is worse than carbon dioxide.
  
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• Miami Beach mayor: Rubio '100%' sounds like a climate change denier

  11-03-2016 21:59
  
  Philip Levine says Rubio’s answer at Thursday’s GOP debate ignores reality of sea level rise in places such as Miami Beach, which has spent $100m on sea defensesThe mayor of Miami Beach, one of the US cities most vulnerable to sea level rise, has criticized Marco Rubio after the presidential hopeful said that it’s not possible to “change the weather” or the rising oceans through government regulation.
  Asked if he accepted the reality of human-induced climate change,
  
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• EDF chief executive warns France over Hinkley costs

  11-03-2016 20:14
  
  Jean-Bernard Lévy says nuclear project will not go ahead without more financial backing from French governmentThe boss of the French state-owned company behind the UK’s first new nuclear power station for 20 years has threatened to pull the plug on the £18bn project without further backing from François Hollande’s government.Jean-Bernard Lévy, chief executive of EDF, said he needed more financial support from the Elysée Palace to proceed with constru
  
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• US and Canada's low-carbon vision, Fukushima and rhinos – green news roundup

  11-03-2016 18:16
  
  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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• Animal pictures of the week: 11 March 2016

  11-03-2016 18:05
  
  All creatures great and small in our ever popular animal gallery
  
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• Oil up as IEA sees tighter supply; Goldman says rally premature

  11-03-2016 18:04
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil rose up to 2 percent on Friday after the Western world's energy watchdog said crude prices may have reached their bottom, although Goldman Sachs said the market's 50 percent rally in under two months was "premature." The International Energy Agency, which coordinates energy policies of industrialized nations, said U.S. and non-OPEC crude output was beginning to fall quickly and increases in Iranian supply had been less than dramatic. The IEA said it be
  
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• Targeted marine protection provides best hope for the Arctic | Letters

  11-03-2016 18:03
  
  Greenpeace has proposed the establishment of a huge Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the Arctic Barents Sea in order to protect vulnerable ecosystems from bottom-trawling (Major British seafood brands linked to fishing in fragile Arctic area, theguardian.com, 3 March). It is praiseworthy that Greenpeace challenges the Arctic countries to sustainably manage the resources found there. Unfortunately, a vast protected area is not the most efficient measure for protecting what needs to be protected.Dem
  
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• Ex-Japan PM: nuclear power remains unsafe and too costly

  11-03-2016 17:25
  
  Naoto Kan, who presided over country during Fukushima disaster in 2011, cautions over plans to build new UK plantsNuclear power is unsafe and too expensive to justify building new plants anywhere in the world, according to the Japanese prime minister at the time of the Fukushima nuclear accident. Related: Hinkley Point C: what you need to know about the nuclear power projectContinue reading...
  
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• People in Derbyshire told not to use water after high chlorine scare

  11-03-2016 17:14
  
  Severn Trent Water tells customers in postcodes DE11, DE65 and DE73 not to use supply as it examines reservoir problemAround 3,500 Severn Trent customers in Derbyshire have been advised not to use their water supply because of abnormal chlorine levels.The utility said in a statement that residents in the DE11, DE65 and DE73 postcodes should not use their water supply at all until further notice. Continue reading...
  
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• BP escapes U.S. lawsuits over post-Gulf spill drilling ban

  11-03-2016 16:23
  BP Plc does not have to face U.S. lawsuits by energy and drilling companies over losses they suffered from an offshore drilling ban imposed soon after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans agreed with BP that federal law absolved the British oil company from liability for the Obama administration's decision to halt drilling and impose a moratorium on permits for new wells. The decision issued late on Thursday removes one of BP's
  
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• Zero-emission hire cars strengthen Aberdeen's position as Europe's 'Hydrogen City'

  11-03-2016 16:10
  
  Aberdeen has become the first city in Europe to offer hydrogen powered cars for public use on a pay-as-you-go basis, as part of the City Council's next step in expanding hydrogen infrastructure in the city.
  
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• Tesco to launch 'wonky veg' range

  11-03-2016 15:52
  
  Perfectly Imperfect produce will be introduced in 200 stores this week in crackdown on food wasteTesco is stepping up efforts to tackle food waste with the launch of a “wonky veg” range and a pledge to send all unwanted fresh produce to charity by end of next year.The Perfectly Imperfect will initially offer parsnips and potatoes before expanding to include a further 15 types of produce, including carrots and apples, over the next few months. The scheme is launching in about 200 stor
  
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• Stunning New 'Drowned Apostles' Discovered on Seafloor

  11-03-2016 15:46
  
  A bevy of limestone towers, dubbed the "Drowned Apostles," have been discovered beneath the waves off the coast of Australia. The discovery may mark the first time scientists have uncovered limestone pillars, called sea stacks, below the water's surface. "Sea stacks are always eroding, as we saw with the one that collapsed in 2005, so it is hugely surprising that any could be preserved at that depth of water," David Kennedy, a geographer at the University of Melbourne in Australia, said in a sta
  
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• York to replace Foss flood defence pumps after Boxing Day failure

  11-03-2016 15:42
  
  Environment Agency says eight pumps capable of handling 30% more water to be installed along river as part of £13m projectThe Environment Agency has said it intends to replace all water pumps around York months after the failure of one led to flooding in large swaths of the city.Eight pumps capable of dealing with 30% more water are to be installed over the next 20 months, the agency said.Continue reading...
  
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• Brexit leaves environment 'vulnerable'

  11-03-2016 15:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A new report suggests that a UK departure from the EU would leave Britain's environment "in a more vulnerable and uncertain position."
  
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• Supply chain audits at risk of becoming 'Frankenstein monsters', experts warn

  11-03-2016 14:17
  
  Supply chain audits are in danger of compromising working conditions and creating unnecessary costs unless a new model is introduced, industry experts have cautioned.
  
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• BP cancels near 30-year sponsorship of Tate Britain

  11-03-2016 14:14
  British oil major BP will not renew its near 30-year sponsorship of Tate Britain art gallery, it said on Friday, weeks after posting its worst-ever annual loss that has forced it to cut spending. "As a result we have reluctantly decided not to renew our long-term partnership with Tate Britain." It did not give a sponsorship figure. The oil major has been hit hard by a slump in oil prices and said it would have to make savings of $7 billion (£4.9 billion) by 2017.
  
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• Time to re-think the diesel

  11-03-2016 14:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  Low Emissions Zones have their place in cleaning up the UK's worst air pollution hotspots, writes Richard Howard. But we also need to adopt fiscal measures to encourage a shift away from diesel vehicles, at once delivering cleaner air, increased tax revenues, and lower carbon emissions.If we are to clean up air pollution in London and the rest of the UK, then Government needs to recognise that diesel is the primary cause of the problem, and to promote a shift away from diesel to alternatives.The
  
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• Glencore taps into Iraqi Kurdistan with $300 million oil deal

  11-03-2016 13:58
  By Dmitry Zhdannikov LONDON (Reuters) - Glencore has paid Iraqi Kurdistan $300 million (£210 million) as an advance for oil as it seeks to compete with trading houses Vitol and Petraco for profitable business despite disruptions and political instability, industry sources said. Glencore, which declined to comment, has made a prepayment in recent days to the government of Iraq's semi-autonomous region which will start allocating it crude from mid-year, the sources told Reuters on condition
  
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• A fossil fuels-arts world divorce is 'the way the world is moving'

  11-03-2016 13:56
  
  While BP say the decision to ends its Tate sponsorship is unrelated to climate protests, museum industry insiders say campaigners are having an effect as they turn the spotlight on the ethics of corporate fundingBP’s decision to pull the plug on their sponsorship of the Tate is a milestone in the campaign to make fossil fuels a toxic brand, and not the first.Last November, the Science Museum announced that it would not renew an agreement with Shell, after revelations that the firm had trie
  
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• Drone to police massive marine reserve

  11-03-2016 13:34 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An ocean-going drone will be helping to spot illegal fishing in the world's largest, continuous marine reserve.
  
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• Investors call for legally-binding, zero-energy building standards

  11-03-2016 13:29
  
  A group of climate investors have urged the European Union to create and implement a binding, long-term target that re-shapes energy frameworks and pushes building sectors across the continent towards a near-zero energy standard by 2050.
  
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• Investors call for legally-binding, zero-energy building standard

  11-03-2016 13:29
  
  A group of climate investors have urged the European Union to create and implement a binding, long-term target that re-shapes energy frameworks and pushes building sectors across the continent towards a near-zero energy standard by 2050.
  
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• Angola's veteran leader Dos Santos says to step down in 2018

  11-03-2016 13:12
  By Herculano Coroado LUANDA (Reuters) - Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has been in power since 1979 and is one of Africa's longest-ruling leaders, said on Friday he intended to step down in 2018 but gave no reason for his decision and did not name a preferred successor. Angola, a member of OPEC and Africa's second largest oil exporter after Nigeria, has been hit hard by the slump in global crude prices. "I took the decision to leave active political activity in 2018," Dos Santos,
  
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• Underwater Photography Masterclass by Alex Mustard

  11-03-2016 13:00
  A new book by Alex Mustard, one of the world's leading underwater photographers, is packed with beautiful images of colourful sea creatures and advice on how to capture photos like these. The book is called Underwater Photography Masterclass, and that's exactly what it aims to be. Mustard says the book is packed with tips that he picked up shooting all around the world: "It includes everything from how to get a pygmy seahorse to face your camera to why you want to flinch first when playing chick
  
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• Joint low-carbon declaration sees climate baton pass from Obama to Trudeau

  11-03-2016 13:00
  
  US-Canadian initiative brightens chances of success for Paris climate agreement and casts Justin Trudeau as Obama’s heir in terms of global climate actionA joint US-Canadian declaration to help spur the transition to a low carbon economy passed the baton of global climate action from Barack Obama to Justin Trudeau on Thursday – and brightened prospects for the Paris agreement.
  The initiative, which roams from Arctic protection to plugging methane emissions from oil wells and pipeline
  
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• Pictures of the day: 11th March 2016

  11-03-2016 12:55
  
  Dubai's skyscrapers in the fog, a sneezing giraffe and a slackliner
  
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• IEA says oil may have bottomed as non-OPEC producers cut output

  11-03-2016 12:54
  By Dmitry Zhdannikov LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices might have bottomed as production declines in the United States and other non-OPEC producers accelerate and an increase in Iranian supply has been less than dramatic, the International Energy Agency said on Friday. After a spectacular 2015, growth in global demand was slowing - with India and the Middle East being rare pockets of improvement, the IEA said in a monthly report. Growth could slow even further if oil prices kept rising, said the Par
  
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• Fossil reptile discovery 'extraordinary'

  11-03-2016 12:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A newly discovered 250-million-year-old fossil reptile from Brazil gives an insight into life just before the dinosaurs appeared.
  
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• Heathrow introduces new sustainable pledges for food and beverage retailers

  11-03-2016 12:39
  
  Heathrow has become the first UK airport to propose a series of environmental targets, including energy reduction, recycling and a 'mystery shopper' programme, for restaurants and outlets in the airport to introduce and strive towards.
  
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• China to start civilian flights from disputed South China Sea island

  11-03-2016 12:30
  China will begin civilian flights to and from a disputed South China Sea island within a year, state media reported on Friday, as the government expands infrastructure on islands and reefs also claimed by other countries in region. The flights will be to Sansha city, on Woody Island in the Paracel archipelago, China's administrative base for islands and reefs it controls in the South China Sea. China claims most of the energy-rich waters through which about $5 trillion (£3.5 trillion) in s
  
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• Exclusive - Ethics watchdog for Norway's $830 billion wealth fund sees increase in bans on firms

  11-03-2016 12:26
  By Joachim Dagenborg and Gwladys Fouche OSLO (Reuters) - The ethics watchdog for Norway's $830-billion wealth fund will focus this year on identifying corruption in telecoms, arms and energy companies and expects to recommend that an increasing number of firms across all sectors be barred from investment. By the end of this year, the fund which invests income from Norway's oil and gas production could add the first companies to its blacklist for emitting too much climate changing gas, said the c
  
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• What Africa will look like in 100 years

  11-03-2016 12:00
  
  As Africa's population looks set to quadruple over the twenty-first century, The Telegraph digs into the data to reveal the opportunities - and challenges - facing a fast-changing continent
  
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• Sea level rise is accelerating; how much it costs is up to us | John Abraham

  11-03-2016 12:00
  
  Important new research shows that sea levels are rising at unprecedented rates, and will have tremendous costs if we don’t slow them
  As humans emit heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, it’s causing the Earth to warm. It’s also causing the ocean waters to rise. In fact, water rise is one of the clearest signatures of a warming world. The questions we want to answer are, how much will sea levels rise, and how fast?The answers to this have large implications on what societies
  
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• New diesel tax would generate £500m and accelerate the switch to clean transport

  11-03-2016 11:52
  
  New road tax implementations, aimed specifically at diesel vehicles, could generate more than £500m to fund a diesel car scrappage scheme that would ease manufacturing pressures associated with the consumer transition to electric vehicles, a think tank has claimed.
  
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• The Black Fish: undercover with the vigilantes fighting organised crime at sea

  11-03-2016 11:43
  
  Illegal fishing controlled by organised crime is a growing menace, offering big rewards for low risk. But the seaborne raiders have a new force to contend with. An army of amateur sleuths are spending their holidays fighting back Continue reading...
  
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• Planting more trees can reduce UK's flood risk, research shows

  11-03-2016 11:42
  
  Natural defences can reduce flood height in towns by up to 20%, and should be used alongside conventional defences, say scientistsNatural defences, including planting more trees, could be a solution to the country’s flooding problems, according to new research.In a study led by the Universities of Birmingham and Southampton, scientists found that planting trees could reduce the height of flooding in towns by up to 20%.They found strategic planting on flood plains could help towns downstrea
  
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• Northern Powerhouse must lead clean energy revolution, Chancellor told

  11-03-2016 11:19
  
  Chancellor George Osborne is being urged to fire up his ailing Northern Powerhouse agenda and transform the region into a global clean energy hub, ahead of the Budget next week.
  
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• Commodities-related stocks help European shares to rebound

  11-03-2016 09:44
  LONDON (Reuters) - European shares bounced back in early trading on Friday after sharp declines in the previous session, with a recovery in metals and crude oil prices boosting commodities-related stocks. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 2 percent by 0810 GMT after falling 1.8 percent in the previous session. However, the index stayed on track for a weaker weekly close after gaining in the previous three straight weeks. The STOXX Europe 600 Basic Resources index rose 2.5 percent, t
  
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• Chinese teapot refiner using Shell tie-up to launch overseas push

  11-03-2016 08:50
  By Chen Aizhu BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese private refiner that agreed to buy a stake in Royal Dutch Shell's Malaysia oil refinery will focus on expanding overseas while limiting domestic investment, the company's chairman told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. Shandong Hengyuan Petrochemical Co last month agreed to buy a 51 percent stake in Shell Refining Co Malaysia for $66.3 million, becoming one of China's few non-major refining firms that own an overseas refinery asset. Shell Refining's
  
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• China outdoing developed nations in controlling pollution - minister

  11-03-2016 08:00
  China, often hit by choking smog that blankets the populous east and north, is doing a better job at controlling pollution than developed countries at similar stages of development, the environment minister said on Friday. China has been under increasing pressure to halt pollution of its air, soil and water caused by more than three decades of economic growth, and at this year's full session of parliament it promised to cap energy use and draft new laws to decontaminate its soil. Beijing frequen
  
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• Call for pollution tax on sales of new diesel cars in Britain

  11-03-2016 08:00
  
  An £800 tax would fund old diesel scrappage, encourage move to low-emission vehicles and reduce air pollution, according to Policy Exchange thinktankAn £800 pollution tax should be put on sales of new diesel cars, with the proceeds used for a scrappage scheme for older diesels, according to the thinktank Policy Exchange.The move, proposed ahead of George Osborne’s budget on 16 March, would encourage motorists to move towards lower emission vehicles and significantly reduce air
  
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• Fukushima's ground zero - No place for man or robot

  11-03-2016 07:45
  By Aaron Sheldrick and Minami Funakoshi (Reuters) - The robots sent in to find highly radioactive fuel at Fukushima's nuclear reactors have “died”; a subterranean "ice wall" around the crippled plant meant to stop groundwater from becoming contaminated has yet to be finished. And authorities still don’t know how to dispose of highly radioactive water stored in an ever mounting number of tanks around the site.     Five years ago, one of the worst earthquakes in hi
  
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• Rare wildlife discovered in biggest nature survey along Britain's coast

  11-03-2016 07:01
  
  Wildlife ‘firsts’ include Norfolk’s only sighting of a Balearic shearwater and a beetle not seen in Northern Ireland for more than 100 yearsThe biggest survey to date of nature along Britain’s coastline has uncovered a host of “wildlife firsts”.
  More than 3,400 species were recorded at 25 National Trust locations along the coastline of England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the charity’s largest ever wildlife survey. A handful have either been seen in a
  
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• CSIRO climate cuts 'a catastrophic failure of public policy', Senate told

  11-03-2016 06:46
  
  US and Australian climate research experts say staff cuts will make it hard for Australia to achieve best policy results in international negotiations Cuts to climate research at Australia’s science agency, CSIRO, are a “catastrophic failure of public policy” that will damage the UN’s climate change work and will hinder Australia’s ability to represent its self-interest at international climate change negotiations, the Australian Senate has heard.The UN’s Inte
  
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• Early nesters get started on rearing their young

  11-03-2016 06:30
  
  Langstone Mill Pond The first of the next generation of herons has arrived after courting in DecemberFor most of the year, grey herons live a relatively solitary existence, lone individuals standing sentinel in the stream, stalking the mudflat pools on the low tide, or sailing silently over the house at dusk in pterodactyl-like silhouette. In spring, they assemble for the nesting season, usually returning to long-established heronries, but while they have always roosted alongside little egrets i
  
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• Prime minister to warn exit from EU would cost farming industry £330m

  11-03-2016 06:00
  
  David Cameron says without single market cost of exporting British beef will soar to £240m, with £90m added to lamb exportsThe prime minister will warn that Britain’s exit from Europe would harm lamb and beef farmers, costing them an extra £330m a year to export their goods.“If we left this single market and, as some suggest, relied on World Trade Organisation rules, the extra costs of exporting British beef would be £240m a year. An extra £90m would be
  
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• Oil jumps as yuan hits 2016 high; investors put fresh cash into oil

  11-03-2016 05:36
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped on Friday supported by fresh investment and a strong yuan, which makes fuel cheaper for Chinese importers, but analysts warned that any price rally was pre-mature as a global glut remained in place. U.S. crude futures were trading at $38.66 a barrel at 0409 GMT (11:09 p.m. EST), up 82 cents and over 2 percent from their last close. Brent crude futures were at $40.73 a barrel, up 68 cents.
  
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