Environment news

• Petrobras posts record loss on writedowns, slumping oil prices

  21-03-2016 23:14
  NEW YORK/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA posted a record loss in the fourth quarter after booking a large writedown for oil fields and other assets as oil prices slumped. Petrobras, as the company at the epicentre of Brazil's massive corruption scandal is commonly known, had a consolidated net loss of 36.9 billion reais (7.09 billion pounds) in the quarter, according to a securities filing. The bigger-than-expected shortfall was 48 percen
  
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• Anti-duck hunting activists to leave dead birds at Daniel Andrews' office

  21-03-2016 22:23
  
  Carcasses of protected birds killed during the first weekend of Victoria’s duck hunting season to be left on the premier’s doorstepThe carcasses of protected birds gunned down during the opening weekend of Victoria’s duck hunting season will be left outside the office of the premier, Daniel Andrews, in a plea for him to stop the practice. Related: Shooting lobby calls for five-year moratorium on duck hunting rulesContinue reading...
  
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• OPEC's Badri hopes for positive producer meeting in April, says Iran could join group later

  21-03-2016 21:42
  By Shadia Nasralla VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran may join other oil producers planning to freeze production to support prices at a later date, OPEC's secretary general said on Monday, since the country is seeking to raise its exports. Producers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-members are due to meet on April 17 in Qatar discuss the output freeze. "I hope the result of the meeting will be positive," Abdullah al-Badri said at a news conference in Vienna.
  
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• Oil up on Cushing crude drawdown; eyes on U.S. output

  21-03-2016 21:42
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose about 1 percent on Monday after data showed crude inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub for U.S. futures fell for the first time since January, and ahead of the expiration of the U.S. front-month contract. Oil's upside, however, was limited by concerns that U.S. energy companies could ramp up drilling again after a two-month long recovery in crude prices, analysts said. Brent crude futures for May delivery , the front-month, set
  
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• Ben Nevis ‘growth’ leaves me feeling peaky | Letters

  21-03-2016 20:43
  
  When it comes to the height of Ben Nevis (Bigger Ben: UK’s highest peak just got a little taller, 18 March), has the Ordnance Survey not heard of postglacial isostatic rebound since the last ice sheets melted? Compared with Newlyn in Cornwall, which is slightly sinking, the latest GPS measurements suggest a difference in Ordnance Datum of nearly 2mm a year, equating to about 12cm over 65 years.Such heights also depend on how the modern geoid (hypothetical sea level) is computed from freely
  
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• Eat less meat to avoid dangerous global warming, scientists say

  21-03-2016 20:00
  
  Research led by Oxford Martin School finds widespread adoption of vegetarian diet would cut food-related emissions by 63% and make people healthier tooGrowing food for the world’s burgeoning population is likely to send greenhouse gas emissions over the threshold of safety, unless more is done to cut meat consumption, a new report has found.A widespread switch to vegetarianism would cut emissions by nearly two-thirds, it said. Continue reading...
  
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• Rate of carbon emissions put in context

  21-03-2016 19:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Humans are now putting carbon into the atmosphere at a rate unprecedented since at least the age of the dinosaurs, scientists say.
  
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• We now know what is at the center of our own galaxy

  21-03-2016 19:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  AU astrophysicists research cosmic particle accelerators with unparalleled energyResearchers have been mapping the centre of our galaxy in very-high-energy gamma rays using these telescopes - the most sensitive of their kind - for over 10 years. The results were published in the journal Nature on 16 March 2016.The earth is constantly bombarded by high energy particles from space. Together these particles - protons, electrons and atomic nuclei - are known as cosmic radiation or cosmic r
  
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• Flint water crisis: Michigan governor calls for stricter lead-level regulations

  21-03-2016 19:14
  
  State document lays out next steps for Flint but Rick Snyder does not specify what lead-testing regulations his administration will seek to strengthenMichigan governor Rick Snyder said on Monday he wants the city of Flint and the entire state to have more stringent lead-level regulations than those which federal rules require.In the long term, according to a state document laying out the next steps in Flint in four areas – water supply and infrastructure, health and human services, educati
  
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• Household efficiency installations plummet 80% after cuts – report

  21-03-2016 19:11
  
  Number of UK households being helped by government to improve their energy use fell 75% since 2012, according to researchMassive cuts to programmes aimed at making homes warmer and cheaper to heat have led to a 75% fall in the number of households helped by government to become more efficient since 2012, according to new research.Improving the UK’s leaky homes, such as with loft and wall insulation and more efficient boilers, is widely acknowledged as the cheapest and fastest way to cut en
  
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• Whitbread rolls out rooftop solar systems at 88 Premier Inns

  21-03-2016 18:30
  
  Britain's largest hospitality company has completed the installation of solar panels on the rooftops of 88 of its Premier Inn hotels across the country.
  
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• From the Bell End to Boaty McBoatface: the trouble with letting the public name things

  21-03-2016 18:07
  
  What happens when you put the naming of your new ship/football stand/space station to the people? They start being silly, of courseNever trust the public. Just look at the governments they elect. The clamour to name the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)’s new polar research vessel Boaty McBoatface in an online poll has been so great the website has sunk with all hands. When last seen, it was ahead of the second-most-popular name, Henry Worsley, by several leagues – and incr
  
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• Go wild to protect food security

  21-03-2016 18:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  More needs to be done to ensure the genetic diversity of wild relatives of key food crops are conserved to ensure future food security, a study warns.
  
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• VIDEO: Cheetah cubs born in rare c-section

  21-03-2016 17:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Five cheetah cubs are in critical care after being born in rare caesarean section procedure
  
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• We forced SeaWorld into the orca U-turn. What shall we do next? | Patrick Barkham

  21-03-2016 17:46
  
  The decision of the struggling entertainment chain to end its captive breeding programme shows the power of protestAt the end of 2013, I interviewed Gabriela Cowperthwaite, the director of Blackfish, a documentary about SeaWorld keeping orcas in captivity. It had quite an impact, not least that human attractions such as US stadium rockers Heart and Willie Nelson declined to play at the theme park in Orlando. Related: Stopping SeaWorld isn't enough. The fight must now go to the open oceans |
  
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• Wine-lovers raise their glasses to climate change – but there may be a hangover

  21-03-2016 17:00
  
  Higher temperatures in France are producing exceptional vintages but the run will come to an end if global warming continues at the current rateConnoisseurs of fine wine should be drinking a toast to global warming, according to new research.
  Higher temperatures in France are producing exceptional vintages, but scientists have warned that if the trend continues too long, the current run of outstanding grape harvests could end. Related: The day of the champagne environmentalist has arrived | Andr
  
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• Carbon emission release rate ‘unprecedented’ in past 66m years

  21-03-2016 17:00
  
  Researchers calculate that humans are pumping out carbon 10 times faster than at any point since the extinction of the dinosaurs
  Humanity is pumping climate-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere 10 times faster than at any point in the past 66m years, according to new research.The revelation shows the world has entered “uncharted territory” and that the consequences for life on land and in the oceans may be more severe than at any time since the extinction of the dinosaurs. Cont
  
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• Man behind RRS Boaty McBoatface disavows his name for polar vessel

  21-03-2016 16:43
  
  James Hand, former BBC presenter, regrets suggestion that has gone viral as public votes for name of research shipIt seemed like a good idea at the time. But now the man whose suggestion to name a new polar research ship RSS Boaty McBoatface went viral says he is disowning the idea.The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) launched its drive to find public suggestions for the name of their soon-to-be-built £200m research vessel on Friday. By the weekend their website had crashed unde
  
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• Good news: Solar VAT hike set to be vetoed in Parliament

  21-03-2016 16:26
  
  After enduring a series of policy changes, Britan's solar community could finally be set for some welcome political news as it has been reported that a potential VAT hike on solar installations will be vetoed.
  
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• Leonardo DiCaprio says China can be climate change 'hero'

  21-03-2016 16:14
  
  Oscar-winner said country has ‘an opportunity to change the world’ while promoting The Revenant, which has taken the Chinese box office by stormOscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio has said China can be a “hero” for the environmental cause while on a trip to the world’s most populous nation to promote The Revenant.Alejandro González Iñárritu’s stark and harrowing western scored a hugely impressive $33m on debut at the Chinese box office this wee
  
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• Brands must become sustainable or risk irrelevance

  21-03-2016 16:05
  
  The marketing boss of Unilever on why consumer expectations mean brands need to lead for positive changeThere has been much talk in marketing circles over the past few years about brands with purpose, brands with meaning, brands that matter – whatever you chose to call them. In fact purpose was one of the three most used words at the Cannes Lions festival back in 2013 along with storytelling and data.What people actually mean when they talk about this can be hard to pin down. What’s
  
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• Seattle's 'aggressive plan' to cut pollution with 15,000 electric vehicles

  21-03-2016 15:45
  
  City links: Driving ‘clean’ in the Emerald City, the world’s tackiest architecture and the birth of Gotham feature in this week’s roundup of best city stories This week’s pick of city stories from around the web take us from Seattle to the Finnish city of Tampere as we learn more about green transport, Batman’s hometown and a building called “Top Sexy Tower” (seriously). We’d love to hear your responses to these stories, and any others you&rs
  
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• Ecuador creates Galápagos marine sanctuary to protect sharks

  21-03-2016 15:34
  
  Belgium-sized area around northern islands of Darwin and Wolf will be off-limits for fishing in bid to conserve sharks and unique habitatEcuador has created a new marine sanctuary in the Galápagos Islands that will offer protection to the world’s greatest concentration of sharks.Some 15,000 square miles (38,000 sq km) of the waters around Darwin and Wolf - the most northern islands - will be made off limits to all fishing to conserve the sharks that congregate there and the ecosyste
  
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• Earliest evidence of humans in Ireland

  21-03-2016 15:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A bear bone found in a cave may push back dates for the earliest human settlement of Ireland by 2,500 years.
  
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• Bloomberg joins RE100 with 100% renewable energy target

  21-03-2016 15:30
  
  Global financial software, data and media company Bloomberg has become the latest organisation to join The Climate Group's RE100 campaign by setting an ambitious new goal to be 100% powered by renewable electricity by 2025.
  
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• Oil prices edge up from day's lows; supply freeze talks in focus

  21-03-2016 15:19
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rallied on Monday, reversing earlier losses, as the market digested news of a modest rise in U.S. drilling activity, though uncertainty lingered over the outcome of a meeting of the world's major exporters next month to discuss freezing output. U.S. energy firms last week added one oil rig after 12 weeks of cuts, according to data from industry firm Baker Hughes. Oil rigs have fallen by two-thirds over the past year to their lowest since 2009, and t
  
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• How Thomas Cook is flying high with data management to drive sustainability

  21-03-2016 15:05
  
  EXCLUSIVE: The story of sustainability at Thomas Cook is a 'complicated' one. Faced with regressing economic resources dedicated to energy management, a once bustling team of sustainability experts has been streamlined in a bid to deliver a more holistic approach and create a 'truly transparent' company.
  
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• Almost half the world cooking as if it were the stone age, WHO warns

  21-03-2016 14:25
  
  Smoke from cookstoves among range of environmental factors driving rise in costly non-communicable diseases in poor countries, says Dr Maria Neira
  The good news is that more people have mosquito nets, and better access to clean water and toilets. The bad news, says Dr Maria Neira, head of public health and the environment for the World Health Organisation (WHO), is that populations have grown fast and little progress has been made in the past 10 years to prevent illness in developing countries.&
  
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• Global warming taking place at an 'alarming rate', UN climate body warns

  21-03-2016 14:00
  
  World Meteorological Organisation says unprecedented rate of change sends a powerful message to world leaders to implement the Paris deal to cut emissions The “alarming” and “unprecedented” rate of climate change is “sending a powerful message to world leaders”, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has warned.Releasing its Status of the Global Climate report, the WMO – a United Nations body – detailed the string of climate and weather record
  
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• Polar research ship 'absolutely critical' to forecast climate change – video

  21-03-2016 13:27
  
  A new £200m polar research ship being built on Merseyside will put the UK at the cutting edge of ocean research. The new ship ‘is absolutely critical to provide accurate forecasts over how our planet’s going to change over the coming centuries,’ said Dr Emily Shuckburgh from the British Antarctic SurveyRRS Boaty McBoatface leads in poll to name polar research vesselContinue reading...
  
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• BP, Statoil to withdraw staff from Algerian plants after attack

  21-03-2016 12:34
  OSLO/LONDON (Reuters) - BP and Norway's Statoil will withdraw staff from two gas plants in Algeria after an attack by militants on one of the sites in the North African country, the companies said on Monday. Militants attacked the In Salah gas plant, operated with state-owned Sonatrach, with rockets on Friday, causing no casualties or damage. Algeria's energy infrastructure has been heavily protected by the army, especially since a 2013 attack on the In Amenas gas plant, also operated by BP and
  
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• 'Boaty McBoatface' name may be overruled

  21-03-2016 12:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Lord West, former First Sea Lord, says he hopes experts will not choose to call a new polar research ship Boaty McBoatface, after the name tops a public poll.
  
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• Orangutans orphaned due to palm oil industry saved from pet trade, in pictures

  21-03-2016 11:57
  
  In pics: Palm oil industry destroying ape's rainforest habitat in Sumatra
  
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• Prices fall as mild weather curbs demand

  21-03-2016 11:01
  LONDON (Reuters) - Prompt British gas prices fell sharply on Monday as a forecast for mild weather and a dip in demand led to an oversupplied market while lower oil prices weighed on contracts along the curve. Gas for immediate delivery was down 1.75 pence or 5.8 percent at 28.60 pence per therm at 0911 GMT.   The day-ahead contract  was down 0.63 pence to 28.90 pence per therm.   Britain's gas system was oversupplied by 14.9 million cubic metres (mcm), with demand forec
  
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• Current record-shattering temperatures are shocking even to climate scientists | Dana Nuccitelli

  21-03-2016 11:00
  
  February 2016 was likely the hottest month in thousands of years, as we approach the 2°C danger limit.
  “Stunning,” “wow,” “shocker,” “bombshell,” “astronomical,” “insane,” “unprecedented”– these are some of the words climate scientists have used to describe the record-shattering global surface temperatures in February 2016. Continue reading...
  
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• BP expects flat output at its Azeri oilfields this year

  21-03-2016 10:55
  By Margarita Antidze TBILISI (Reuters) - British oil major BP expects flat oil production in 2016 at its Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) oilfields in Azerbaijan, where it plans two rounds of maintenance this year, the company's regional head said. Production at the ACG fields, which account for most of Azerbaijan's oil output and are operated by a consortium led by BP, totalled 31.3 million tonnes last year, down slightly from 31.5 million tonnes in 2014. "Thanks to the operational efficiency progra
  
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• China's Saudi crude oil imports in Feb hit near record high

  21-03-2016 10:22
  By Adam Rose BEIJING (Reuters) - China's monthly oil imports from Saudi Arabia hit their second highest level on record in February, while arrivals from Russia also surged, as weak crude prices prompted the world's top energy consumer to bring in record high volumes last month. China's total oil imports rose about 20 percent on year to the highest ever on a daily basis in February, when near 10-year low global oil prices drove buying from a group of new importers and for state and commercial sto
  
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• Pictures of the day: 21 March 2016

  21-03-2016 10:00
  
  A horny buffalo, Obama in Cuba and Prince Harry pretends to be a tiger
  
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• Traditional owners vote to sack representatives who received benefits from Adani

  21-03-2016 09:54
  
  Wangan and Jagalingou native title claim group reject for the third time an Indigenous land use agreement with mining giantTraditional owners of Adani’s Queensland mine site have voted to sack representatives who received “sitting fees or other benefits” from the mining giant while advocating for a crucial land use deal.A meeting of the Wangan and Jagalingou native title claim group has also rejected for the third time an Indigenous land use agreement with Adani, throwing into
  
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• Universities challenge Government's 'watered-down' zero-carbon homes policy

  21-03-2016 09:00
  
  The Government's ability to meet EU targets for delivering low and zero-carbon homes has become threatened by a 'deregulation agenda' that resulted in the scrapped plans to make all new homes carbon-neutral, according to a new report from two UK universities.
  
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• UK's fastest energy storage system connects to grid

  21-03-2016 08:30
  
  Energy giant E.ON has teamed up with a group of universities to create and connect a giant battery-based energy storage research facility to the grid, in a move that has created one of the largest and fastest energy storage facilities in the UK.
  
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• Shipping industry faces risks from cybercrime and mega-ship salvage

  21-03-2016 08:00
  
  Safety and shipping review identifies developments that will be causing sector headaches for years to comePiracy, cybercrime and the potential salvage challenges posed by “mega ships” are listed among risks facing the shipping industry in an Allianz report on safety in the sector.The 2016 Safety and Shipping review points to the potential risk of pirates using cybercrime to target vessels and warns that the industry needs to protect itself against this threat. Continue reading...
  
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• Electrifying India: the day rural Hotasar finally saw the light | Vidhi Doshi

  21-03-2016 08:00
  
  Celebrations and plans to buy washing machines greeted the arrival of power in Hotasar, Rajasthan, as India’s ambitious electrification plan gathers paceWhen a government official first came to Hotasar in western India, the villagers shooed him away. He had come to tell them an engineer was on his way and the village would get its first electric light bulb within months. “Bring light? To Hotasar? It’s impossible,” they told him. Others had promised the same, but plans to
  
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• Feeling lost on a foggy morning

  21-03-2016 06:30
  
  Nene Valley, Cambridgeshire Unusually, there’s water underfoot, and the water in the air steals any remaining familiarityThe rain starts to fall in the early dark, and it continues all day. It’s sudden and fierce. The valley seems caught out. Water appears everywhere. The river bloats, quickens, turns brown. In the fields, filthy water bleeds up from the ground. And then, the rain stops.For two days, the water just sits, the sky appearing untidily in the ground where it shouldn&rsquo
  
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• Dreaded 'stealth' supply becomes reality as U.S. drillers turn on 'ducks'

  21-03-2016 06:15
  By Liz Hampton and Devika Krishna Kumar HOUSTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - A dreaded scenario for U.S. oil bulls might just be becoming a reality. Some U.S. shale oil producers, including Oasis Petroleum and Pioneer Natural Resources Co , are activating drilled but uncompleted wells (DUCs) in a reversal in strategy that threatens to bring more crude to a saturated market and dampen any sustained rebound in prices. When oil prices started their long slide in mid-2014, many producers kept drilling wells
  
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• Coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef worse than for decades – video

  21-03-2016 06:12
  
  Prof Justin Marshall, a marine biologist and neuroscientist, has witnessed the coral around Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef change from a healthy brown to white over 30 years as a result of bleaching. He says he has never seen it in a worse state. Coral bleaching is caused by the ocean warming over a long period, which in this case is believed to have been caused by the El Niño effect, on top of climate change over many years Continue reading...
  
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• Crude oil falls for second day as U.S. rig count rises

  21-03-2016 03:58
  By Naveen Thukral SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Crude oil slid for a second session on Monday, falling further from last week's 2016 highs on concerns over a supply glut after the U.S rig count rose for the first time since December. U.S. energy firms last week added one oil rig after 12 weeks of cuts, according to data by industry firm Baker Hughes. The addition, coming after oil rigs had fallen by two-thirds over the past year to 2009 lows, showed the fall in crude drilling stabilising after a 50-perc
  
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