Environment news

• Oil up 6 percent as producers set meeting, Fed seen less hawkish

  16-03-2016 21:21
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices jumped almost 6 percent on Wednesday, erasing losses of the past two days, after major producers firmed up plans to meet in Qatar to discuss an output freeze and U.S. crude stockpiles grew less than expected. The market also rallied on a less hawkish U.S. monetary outlook, after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and indicated two rate hikes this year instead of the four expected. "Easy money is always good for commodities
  
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• Fellow Honduran activist Nelson García murdered days after Berta Cáceres

  16-03-2016 20:34
  
  The murder of another member of Berta Cáceres’ activist organisation Copinh comes amid growing fears for the safety of her colleagues and family membersAnother indigenous activist has been murdered in Honduras amid an escalating wave of repression against the relatives and colleagues of renowned campaigner Berta Cáceres, who was murdered less than two weeks ago.Nelson García, 38, an active member of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras
  
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• Oil price plunge 'will lead to £1bn burden on taxpayers'

  16-03-2016 20:29
  
  George Osborne introduces budget measures to help North Sea industry which is forecast to make losses until at least 2021The North Sea oil industry, once a huge moneyspinner for the Treasury, is set to become a £1bn burden for the taxpayer next year as the plunging crude price hits revenues.Related: The Guardian view on the budget: a poorer country, a diminished chancellor | EditorialContinue reading...
  
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• Climate change a vote-changer at federal election, says poll

  16-03-2016 20:00
  
  Policies on renewables and the Great Barrier Reef will also influence the way people vote, according to Lonergan pollAlmost half of Australian voters say policies on climate change, renewable energy and the Great Barrier Reef will influence the way they vote at the next federal election, according to new polling shared exclusively with Guardian Australia.The nationwide poll of 1,048 people over the weekend found 47% of people agreed or strongly agreed that “climate change and renewable ene
  
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• A 'budget for the next generation' can't ignore climate change

  16-03-2016 19:28
  
  ‘We’re not afraid to put the next generation first,’ said George Osborne. But his lack of action in the face of global warming indicates the opposite “Doing the right thing for the next generation is what the government and this budget is about,” chancellor George Osborne told parliament on Wednesday. “I am not prepared to look back at my time here in this parliament, doing this job and say to my children’s generation: I’m sorry. We knew there was
  
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• Drought and rising temperatures 'leaves 36m people across Africa facing hunger'

  16-03-2016 19:22
  
  Unusually strong El Niño, coupled with record-high temperatures, has had a catastrophic effect on crops and rainfall across southern and eastern AfricaMore than 36 million people face hunger across southern and eastern Africa, the United Nations has warned, as swaths of the continent grapple with the worst drought in decades at a time of record high temperatures.The immediate cause of the drought which has crippled countries from Ethiopia to Zimbabwe is one of the strongest El Niño
  
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• Fishy origin of fossil 'monster'

  16-03-2016 19:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say a strange worm-like fossil with mysterious origins is actually the ancestor of living fish.
  
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• Surge in renewable energy stalls world greenhouse gas emissions

  16-03-2016 17:48
  
  Falling coal use in China and the US and a shift towards renewable energy globally saw energy emissions level for the second year running, says IEAFalling coal use in China and the US and a worldwide shift towards renewable energy have kept greenhouse gas emissions level for a second year running, one of the world’s leading energy analysts has said.Preliminary data for 2015 from the International Energy Agency (IEA) showed that carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector have levelled
  
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• National Lottery invests £33m in next generation of environmental leaders

  16-03-2016 17:48
  
  Young people across the country will have the opportunity to "unleash their ambition" and develop skills and knowledge to improve their local environments through a new £33m programmefrom the Big Lottery Fund.
  
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• Snowscapes Show Wonder of Animals in Winter (Photos)

  16-03-2016 16:57
  
  Julie Larsen Maher is staff photographer for WCS, the first woman to hold the position since the society's founding in 1895. In addition to documenting her field visits, Maher photographs the animals at WCS's five New York-based wildlife parks: the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, New York Aquarium, Prospect Park Zoo and Queens Zoo. Dan Rosen is managing editor of digital programming for the Wildlife Conservation Society.
  
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• Britain to cut taxes for North Sea oil producers by 1 billion pounds

  16-03-2016 16:39
  
  By Susanna Twidale LONDON (Reuters) - Chancellor George Osborne will cut taxes by 1 billion pounds over five years for energy companies pumping oil from the country's North Sea fields, in a boost for an industry suffering low crude prices. "We need to act now for the long term... backing this key Scottish industry and supporting jobs," Osborne said in his annual budget statement on Wednesday. The oil price has fallen around 70 percent since mid-2014, prompting producers to slash jobs in Scotland
  
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• Oil up 4 percent on smaller U.S. crude build, OPEC meeting plan

  16-03-2016 16:29
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude prices rose about 4 percent on Wednesday, resuming their rally from a two-day slide, as U.S. stockpiles grew by less than half the levels expected while major oil producers readied to meet in Qatar next month on output freeze plan. The market is also the lookout for a Federal Reserve policy statement due later in the day to glean direction on U.S. interest rates. Brent crude was up 1.45, or 3.7 percent, at $40.18 a barrel by 11:21 a.m. (1521 GMT).
  
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• The top 10 sources of data for international development research

  16-03-2016 16:22
  
  Where should you go if you want reliable, detailed data on fragile states, land grabs or trade deals?It’s easy to be a bit nostalgic for work pre-internet, when research could involve exploring the dusty confines of the British Library or the excitement of digging out an old tome from a government archive with numbers on Ugandan coffee exports from 1957. But nothing really beats the satisfaction available today from downloading in just three or four clicks the entire import-export database
  
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• Who was Caroline Herschel?

  16-03-2016 16:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Who was subject of latest Google Doodle?
  
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• Baby gorilla shows off his bouffant hair-do in Virunga National Park, in pictures

  16-03-2016 16:09
  
  In pics: Young gorilla shows off a fine head of hair in Rawanda's Virunga National Park
  
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• Air pollution is killing people thanks to government failures, says Corbyn – video

  16-03-2016 15:57
  Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn presses David Cameron on air pollution during prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Cameron responds by saying the government has a good record on green energy and is on track to get 30% of renewables by 2020Cameron v Corbyn PMQs verdict: Labour leader’s best round yet? Continue reading...
  
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• Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea sign maritime security agreement

  16-03-2016 15:31
  Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea signed an agreement to establish combined patrols to bolster security in the Gulf of Guinea, which has been plagued by piracy in the last few years, a spokesman for Nigeria's president said on Wednesday. Garba Shehu said the agreement, which comes amid the backdrop of a rise in pipeline attacks in the oil-producing Niger Delta region of Africa's biggest crude producer, was signed late on Tuesday by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari. Pirate attacks in West Africa's
  
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• Peabody Energy, world's largest private coalminer, may file for bankruptcy

  16-03-2016 15:25
  
  Company says there’s ‘substantial doubt’ it will go on after delaying $70m payment amid slowing global economy and tougher environmental standardsThe world’s largest private coal mining company is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, driven to the brink of collapse by plummeting energy prices around the world, cheaper and less polluting rivals such as natural gas, and widespread economic uncertainty.US mining giant Peabody Energy announced in New York on Wednesday that it
  
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• America's largest coalminer Peabody Energy may file for bankruptcy

  16-03-2016 15:25
  
  Company says there’s ‘substantial doubt’ it will go on after delaying $70m payment amid slowing global economy and tougher environmental standardsThe largest American coalminer, Peabody Energy, is delaying an interest payment due this week and warned that it may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Related: Peabody strikes deal with New York attorney general over climate risk filingsContinue reading...
  
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• Malta gives go ahead to shooting of 5,000 endangered turtle doves

  16-03-2016 15:10
  
  Conservationists urge EU to take action against Malta for continuing the spring hunt despite the birds recently being added to ‘red list’ of species at risk of being wiped outHunters in Malta will be permitted to shoot 5,000 turtle doves this spring despite the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently adding the migratory bird to the “red list” of species at risk of being wiped out.The Maltese government, the only EU member to allow recreational spri
  
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• Think before you drink – about how to recycle your coffee cup | Susanna Rustin

  16-03-2016 14:54
  
  UK coffee drinkers use around 3bn disposable cups per year – but only one in 1,000 is currently recycled. It’s time to tackle this tide of needless wasteLess than 1% of takeaway coffee cups get recycled – or “dramatically less than 1%” in the striking phrase of Peter Goodwin, co-founder of the UK’s only paper-coffee-cup recycling business. It takes a specialist company, because the plastic used to laminate the cups has to be removed before the paper is pulped.
  
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• Shares in UK oil firms turn higher after Osborne's tax changes

  16-03-2016 14:54
  Shares in British oil firms extended gains on Wednesday after the government announced changes to the tax system in the sector to provide relief for the industry in the face of a slump in crude oil prices. Chancellor George Osborne said he would effectively abolish the petroleum revenue tax, while reducing the rate of a "supplementary charge" on oil and gas producers. Shares in Cairn Energy , John Wood Group and Tullow Oil extended gains after the measures were announced, and were up 2.7-3.6 per
  
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• Budget 2016: The green business reaction

  16-03-2016 14:50
  
  Was it a Climate Budget that delivered on the UK Government's green promises? Or has Chancellor George Osborne failed to deliver the Easter egg of green pledges we were all hoping for? Here's the full industry reaction, as it comes in...
  
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• Pollution killing half a million Britons, says Jeremy Corbyn

  16-03-2016 14:36
  
  Labour leader attacks PM’s record on green issues, saying poor air quality is killing hundreds of thousands at cost of £20bnJeremy Corbyn has said hundreds of thousands of people are dying as a result of poor air quality in the UK, as he attacked David Cameron’s record on the environment.The Labour leader accused the prime minister of failing to tackle pollution in an unexpected set of questions on green issues, from dirty air to carbon emissions. Continue reading...
  
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• Supreme Court and the Obama Administration's Climate Plans

  16-03-2016 14:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  Two unexpected and shocking events have left heads swimming about the fate of President Obama’s signature initiative on climate change, the Clean Power Plan, which aims to replace many coal-fired power plants — the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States — with cleaner sources of energy.Last Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay on the Clean Power Plan until the litigation against it is finally resolved, suspending implementation of the plan
  
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• Budget 2016: Osborne confirms carbon tax reform and new CfD funding

  16-03-2016 14:15
  
  George Osborne has today (16 March) confirmed a major reform of business carbon taxes and agreed the next round of funding that will be allocated to new renewable energy projects, as the Chancellor set out the UK Government's 2016 Budget.
  
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• Climate hopes raised as global energy emissions stall for second year

  16-03-2016 13:52
  
  Early figures from International Energy Agency show emissions from energy sector stayed flat in 2015 on renewables surge, reports ClimateHome
  Global greenhouse gas emissions resisted a rise for a second straight year in a sign climate policies are working, a leading energy forecaster projected on Wednesday.Renewable power played a “critical role” in holding CO2 emissions to around 32bn tonnes, the International Energy Agency said in a statement. Continue reading...
  
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• White storks swap migration for a junk food diet at rubbish tips

  16-03-2016 13:32
  
  Rather than make the winter migration to Africa the birds are finding a constant source of food at Europe’s landfill sites, research showsWhite storks are giving up on their winter migration from Europe to Africa in favour of staying near rubbish tips all year round, where they are provided with a steady source of waste food and can boost their breeding chances, research shows.Some birds have even been tracked making round trips of up to 60 miles to get their junk food fix, a study led by
  
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• Early signs of climate progress as emissions stall for second year running

  16-03-2016 13:21
  
  The battle to reduce global warming received a welcome boost today (16 March), with new data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) revealing that international energy-related emissions stalled for the second year running in 2015.
  
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• Using Tomatoes for Power

  16-03-2016 13:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  A team of scientists is exploring an unusual source of electricity -- damaged tomatoes that are unsuitable for sale at the grocery store. Their pilot project involves a biological-based fuel cell that uses tomato waste left over from harvests in Florida.
  
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• Britain's Tullow says makes new oil find in Kenya

  16-03-2016 13:09
  Britain's Tullow Oil said on Wednesday it had made an oil find in Kenya, which could mean opening up a second oil basin for development in the country south of finds already made. The East African nation and neighbouring Uganda have both made oil finds that have yet to start commercial production, part of a string of energy discoveries along the east coast of Africa. "The first well in the Kerio Valley Basin, Cheptuket-1, has encountered good oil shows across a gross interval of over 700 metres,
  
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• US agency sets sights on grass in bid to make a better biofuel

  16-03-2016 13:08
  
  Arpa-E project deploys drones and robots to breed fast-growing, drought-resistant and greener biofuel from sorghum which could replace corn ethanolA US government agency is trying to build a better biofuel, using a higher energy-producing plant with a lower environmental impact than corn ethanol or other known biofuels. Sorghum, a food and forage crop widely grown in Africa and Central America which has tens of thousands of varieties, has emerged as one of the most exciting prospects.Continue re
  
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• Pictures of the day: 16th March 2016

  16-03-2016 12:45
  
  Today: Singing seals, a cute baby gorilla and a beached shark
  
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• With or without Iran, oil producers to meet in April on output deal

  16-03-2016 12:41
  Oil producers including Gulf OPEC members support holding talks next month to discuss a deal to freeze output even if Iran declines to participate, OPEC sources said, as political pressure to prop up prices increases. OPEC and non-OPEC producers will meet in Doha on April 17, Qatari Energy Minister Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada said, following a February agreement between Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Venezuela and non-OPEC Russia to stabilise output. "To date, around 15 OPEC and non-OPEC producers, account
  
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• Mayors of 20 European cities attack weak EU diesel pollution limits

  16-03-2016 12:39
  
  Mayors from Paris, Madrid and Athens say loophole in NOx emissions tests puts citizens’ health at riskThe mayors of 20 European cities including Paris, Madrid and Athens have attacked the European Union for allowing a loophole in diesel cars’ pollution limits, just months after the VW emissions scandal.MEPs in February failed to veto a proposal that watered down real world tests on limits for NOx pollution emitted by new diesel cars, a move which the mayors said was unfair and wrong,
  
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• Fotofest 2016: artists capture human impact on a changing planet – in pictures

  16-03-2016 11:36
  A new book, Changing Circumstances: Looking at the Future of the Planet, features artworks and essays from 34 leading artists on humanity’s effect on the environment, from climate change to waste. The book launch marks the Fotofest biennial in Houston, US, that runs from 12 March to 24 April Continue reading...
  
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• Businesses 'dared' to embrace circular economy as ING prepares for new era of green finance

  16-03-2016 11:30
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Companies should be ready and willing to shake up their business models in favour of the circular economy, with Dutch multinational banking group ING indicating a strong desire to provide more financial support for the low-carbon movement.
  
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• Economic growth no longer translates into more greenhouse gas: IEA

  16-03-2016 11:25
  
  Global economic growth did not translate into more harmful greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector last year, the IEA said on Wednesday, a strong indication that growth and increased pollution no longer go hand in hand.
  
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• London Mayor and DECC rally behind 'Cleantech City' plans

  16-03-2016 11:00
  
  Plans to develop a new business district which could transform London into a global centre for cleantech innovation have today (15 March) been wholeheartedly supported by the Mayor of London and the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC).
  
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• OPEC, non-OPEC producers to meet in Doha on April 17 - Qatari minister

  16-03-2016 10:05
  (Reuters) - OPEC and non-OPEC producers will hold a meeting in the Qatari capital on April 17, the Qatari energy minister, who is also the current OPEC president, said on Wednesday. "This comes as a follow-up to the meeting that was held last month in Doha between Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia and Venezuela at which they proposed an accord to freeze oil output at January 2016 levels and called on other producers to do so," the minister, Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, said in a statement. The statemen
  
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• South Korea to continue push to become northeast Asian oil hub, despite delays

  16-03-2016 08:56
  South Korea will continue its project to become world's fourth-largest oil hub by 2020, despite some delay in finding investors to construct one of the tank terminals, its energy ministry said on Wednesday. Asia's fourth largest economy established a plan in 2014 to turn the cities of Yeosu and Ulsan into northeast Asia's oil cluster, after the U.S. Gulf Coast, ARA and Singapore. As of March this year, a tank terminal at Yeosu which was built in 2014 has been operating successfully with customer
  
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• Oil producers meeting on output freeze deal set for April 17 - sources

  16-03-2016 08:45
  (Reuters) - OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers plan to hold their next meeting on a plan to freeze output levels in a bid to support prices on April 17 in the Qatari capital Doha, two sources told Reuters on Wednesday. (Reporting by Rania El Gamal)
  
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• Japan ruling party considers international arbitration over China dispute

  16-03-2016 08:45
  Japan's ruling party urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government on Wednesday to consider seeking international arbitration over Beijing's drilling activities in the disputed East China Sea, mirroring similar action by the Philippines. Sino-Japanese ties have long been plagued by conflicting claims over a group of uninhabited East China Sea islets. Last year, Japan called on China to halt construction of oil-and-gas exploration platforms in the East China Sea.
  
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• Iraq preparing to push Islamic State away from oil region - report

  16-03-2016 08:37
  Kurdish Peshmerga forces, an Iran-backed Shi'ite militia and Iraq's army will launch an offensive soon to push Islamic State fighters away from the northern oil region of Kirkuk, a state newspaper reported on Wednesday. The operation would bring the combined forces closer to Mosul, the largest Iraqi city still held by Islamic State, which also controls parts of neighbouring Syria.The commander of the Shi'ite Badr Organisation, Hadi al-Amiri, met the Kurdish Regional Government's interior ministe
  
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• April oil freeze meeting may go ahead without Iran - sources

  16-03-2016 08:32
  Oil producers including Gulf OPEC members still support holding a meeting next month to discuss a deal to freeze output even without Iran, OPEC sources said, as political pressure to prop up prices increases. On Monday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said after talks in Tehran that a deal could be signed in April and exclude Iran, which has the right to boost output after years of sanctions. While an exemption for Iran is not ideal, it is not a deal breaker, OPEC sources said.
  
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• Mining company's own documents 'can be used as evidence' in gas leaks case

  16-03-2016 07:46
  
  Queensland magistrate ruling comes in court order for Linc Energy to face trial over alleged leaks of toxic gas into air and soil at its Chinchilla coal gasification plant
  A mining company’s own press release and documents can be used as evidence against it in one of the country’s largest environmental prosecutions, a Queensland magistrate has ruled. Related: Florida drops bill to open fracking in the Everglades after public outcryContinue reading...
  
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• More cars banned in Mexico City after pollution alert

  16-03-2016 06:37
  
  More cars were ordered off Mexico City's streets on Wednesday after a surge in pollution prompted authorities to issue the first air quality alert in 14 years.
  
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• A walk of ‘diversified pleasings’

  16-03-2016 06:29
  
  Bodinnick to Polruan, Cornwall The Hall Walk was first recorded in 1585 as an ornamental promenade that zig-zagged downhill towards the riverOff the steep street from the ferry, Hall Walk lives up to Richard Carew’s description in 1602 as a place of “diversified pleasings”. Sheltered from the blustering wind, the path of silvery slate is traced with tree shadows; warm sunshine entices a bumble bee to dandelions, intensifies the faint perfume of primrose, the brassiness of open
  
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• Fooled by oil's false bottom, most US shale firms skipped hedging in fourth quarter

  16-03-2016 06:09
  By Catherine Ngai NEW YORK (Reuters) - Last October, as U.S. oil prices seemed to be stabilizing around $45 a barrel, some bullish traders chuckled at the notion of U.S. shale firms racing to hedge production at what they thought was the bottom of a 19-month rout. Now, a handful of producers, such as Anadarko Petroleum , which sporadically hedges in large chunks every few quarters, and, surprisingly, natural gas giant Chesapeake Energy , may have the last laugh. Analysts estimate that between 15
  
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• Southern right whale recovery in doubt after being on brink of extinction

  16-03-2016 05:57
  
  Species has increased in number but only to 12% of its original population and faces further threat from climate changeA population of southern right whales that was hunted to the brink of extinction by the start of the 20th century has only recovered to 12% of its original population size and will take at least six decades to recover fully, new research suggests. By that time, the population is likely to be be impacted by climate change.In the 19th century, armed with just hand-held harpoons an
  
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