Environment news

• U.S., Argentina push new cooperation in Washington talks

  30-03-2016 23:47
  U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday welcomed Argentina's "restoration" under new centre-right President Mauricio Macri and said he looked forward to collaboration on the economy, energy, climate change, trade and regional issues. Last week on a visit to Argentina, U.S. President Barack Obama praised Macri's reforms after years of tensions when leftist populist Cristina Fernandez was in office. "We very much welcome Argentina's restoration of its own engagement in politics in so many
  
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• Pentagon mulls future use of drones to assist manned aircraft

  30-03-2016 23:35
  By Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon is examining how it might use unmanned craft in the future to accompany piloted battlecraft, likely starting with drones that would fly alongside manned aircraft, a senior Pentagon official said on Wednesday. The concept of such assistance was most likely to take shape first in the air and at sea, before being implemented on the ground, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work told a gathering of defense experts hosted by the Washington Post. Large
  
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• Antarctic melt to 'double sea-level rise'

  30-03-2016 23:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Sea levels could rise by more than double the current estimate over the next 100 years, according to a new analysis of climate change in Antarctica.
  
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• Age of 'Hobbit' species revised

  30-03-2016 22:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The diminutive human species nicknamed "the Hobbit" probably went extinct at least 50,000 years ago - not the 12,000 years ago initially thought to be the case.
  
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• AUDIO: 'Hobbit' species older than thought

  30-03-2016 22:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The diminutive human species nicknamed "the Hobbit" probably went extinct at least 50,000 years ago - not the 12,000 years ago initially thought to be the case.
  
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• 'Dancing' tadpoles discovered in India

  30-03-2016 21:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A new tadpole that burrows through sand is discovered in the Western Ghats of India, scientists report.
  
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• Oil settles flat, far off day's highs; U.S. build weighs

  30-03-2016 21:33
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices settled steady on Wednesday, erasing most of the day's gains, after U.S. government data showed crude inventories at all-time peaks again despite strong refinery runs. Crude stockpiles in the United States rose 2.3 million barrels last week, reaching a seventh straight week of record highs at 534.8 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported. U.S. crude futures' front-month contract settled up 4 cents at $38.32 a barrel
  
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• U.S. arrests oil industry networking site creator over hacks

  30-03-2016 21:27
  By Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - The founder of an oil and gas networking website was arrested on Wednesday on charges that he hacked and stole information from a rival site he had created and sold to DHI Group Inc, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said. David Kent, 40, was accused in a criminal complaint filed in Manhattan federal court of stealing data on over 500,000 user resumes from Rigzone.com, which he had sold for $51 million in 2010, to boost the membership of his new site Oilpro
  
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• Tiny gravity gadget to peer underground

  30-03-2016 21:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  UK researchers build a device the size of a postage stamp that measures tiny fluctuations in gravity and could help monitor volcanoes or search for oil.
  
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• Port Talbot is a big problem. But so is Hinkley Point

  30-03-2016 21:15
  
  The likelihood of achieving a vital part of the UK’s future power infrastructure appears to be waning by the weekAt Port Talbot the government appears to have assumed, even at the eleventh hour, that Tata would not dare to walk away from its UK steel business. It was a bad bet, thus the undignified scramble to get the business secretary back from Australia to explain what government intervention in the steel industry might mean, and cost.But let’s not ignore the other industrial dram
  
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• VIDEO: Dog 'sniffs out' diabetes danger

  30-03-2016 20:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A 13-year-old girl from Lancashire with diabetes says she has taught her dog, Pip, to sniff out changes in her blood sugar levels.
  
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• Nigeria arrests person suspected of bombing ENI pipeline - security official

  30-03-2016 20:09
  By Tife Owolabi YENAGOA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigeria has arrested a person suspected of having bombed an oil pipeline belonging to Italy's ENI in the southern Delta region, the commander of a state security force said on Wednesday. Sunday's pipeline blast killed three people, said Desmond Agu, commander of the force in Bayelsa state where the explosion occurred.
  
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• Endangered whales in Washington's Puget Sound to get individual records

  30-03-2016 19:48
  
  The records will include data on behavior, reproductive success, and skin diseases and will be used to monitor individual health as well as overall trendsEndangered orcas in the inland waters of Washington state will now have individual health records, which researchers hope will help them identify threats to the whales’ health.There are typically 84 whales residing in Puget Sound from spring to fall. These were listed as endangered in 2005 and are both genetically and behaviorally distinc
  
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• Shell faces corruption probe over $1bn oil deal in Nigeria

  30-03-2016 19:10
  
  Italian officials to investigate company’s role in acquisition of disputed oil block jointly owned with energy group Eni Italian anti-corruption investigators have opened a formal investigation into Shell’s acquisition of a stake in a $1.09bn (£755m) oil block in Nigeria.
  Shell co-owns the offshore oil block with the Italian energy group Eni.Continue reading...
  
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• Study: Antarctic ice may melt faster than expected

  30-03-2016 19:07
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Warmer air, less frigid water and gravity may combine to make parts of Antarctica's western ice sheet melt far faster than scientists had thought, raising sea levels much more than expected by the end of the century, according to a new study.
  
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• Sea levels set to 'rise far more rapidly than expected'

  30-03-2016 19:00
  
  New research factors in collapsing Antarctic ice sheet that could double the sea-level rise to two metres by 2100 if emissions are not cut Sea levels could rise far more rapidly than expected in coming decades, according to new research that reveals Antarctica’s vast ice cap is less stable than previously thought.The UN’s climate science body had predicted up to a metre of sea level rise this century - but it did not anticipate any significant contribution from Antarctica, where incr
  
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• VIDEO: Race to save Japan's lost satellite

  30-03-2016 18:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists and engineers in Japan are scrambling to save a satellite and more than a quarter of a billion dollars of investment tumbling out of control in space.
  
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• How tech is tackling global problems – Tech weekly podcast

  30-03-2016 18:00
  
  The worlds of science and technology collide as we ask how new tech is being used on localised levels to create global changeIt’s the question on everyone’s lips: what are we doing about climate change? Lucky for us, there are innovations in tech and science taking place that may be applied to global issues like climate change.Joining Nathalie Nahai to discuss how new technology – and new ways of approaching the data behind tech – are shaping our future are the project di
  
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• Oil up, but sharply off day's high on U.S. crude build

  30-03-2016 17:57
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil futures rose on Wednesday, helped by a weak dollar, but crude retraced most of its gains after the U.S. government reported another weekly build in U.S. crude inventories despite strong refinery runs. Brent crude's front-month contract was up 40 cents, or 1 percent, at $39.54 a barrel by 11:49 a.m. EDT (1549 GMT). U.S. crude's front-month rose 30 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $39.58, reaching $39.85 earlier.
  
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• OPEC oil output rises in March as Iran, Iraq growth offsets outages

  30-03-2016 17:52
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC oil output is rising in March, a Reuters survey found, as higher supply from Iran after the lifting of sanctions and near-record exports from southern Iraq offset maintenance and outages in smaller producers. The survey also found no major change in production in top exporter Saudi Arabia - another sign that Riyadh is serious about freezing output to support prices, which hit a 12-year low near $27 (19 pounds) a barrel in January but have since recovered to
  
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• Battery-connected community solar farms completed ahead of RO deadline

  30-03-2016 17:46
  
  Two new £5m community solar farms have been connected to the grid in Stratford and Chesterfield, representing two of the last renewable energy projects to qualify for Renewables Obligation (RO) subsidy entitlement.
  
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• EDF board member calls for Hinkley Point C project to be postponed

  30-03-2016 16:41
  
  Union-backed director says plans are ‘not credible’ in new blow to troubled Somerset nuclear power station developmentAn EDF board member has called for the £18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear power station to be postponed, in the latest sign of discord at the top of the French energy company over the troubled project.Christian Taxil said a raft of changes to the Somerset reactor scheme agreed over the past three years significantly raised the risk for EDF, while a promise to commiss
  
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• FedEx plans to deliver 'future of aviation' with biofuels drive

  30-03-2016 16:10
  
  The world's largest express transportation company is pioneering the use of sustainable aviation fuels through a new partnership which will see millions of gallons of biofuel produced from waste wood biomass.
  
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• Shell investigated in Italy over Nigeria oil field - source

  30-03-2016 15:55
  Italian prosecutors are investigating Royal Dutch Shell as part of a probe into the acquisition of an off-shore oil field in Nigeria, the Anglo-Dutch company said on Wednesday. "We can confirm we have received notice of proceedings from the Public Prosecutor in Italy," a Shell spokesman said. Earlier on Wednesday a judicial source told Reuters that Shell was under investigation by Milan-based judges for alleged international corruption.
  
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• Whales are starving – their stomachs full of our plastic waste | Philip Hoare

  30-03-2016 14:52
  
  Thirteen sperm whales stranded on the German coast had ingested huge amounts of plastic. They are symbolic of our shocking disregard for marine lifeIn January, 29 sperm whales stranded on shores around the North Sea. The results of the necropsies (the animal equivalent of autopsies) of 13 of those whales, which beached in Germany, near the town of Tönning in Schleswig-Holstein, have just been released. The animals’ stomachs were filled with plastic debris. A 13-metre-long fishing net,
  
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• UK churches give up fossil fuels for Lent

  30-03-2016 14:14
  
  Negotiations are underway to move at least £1m away from fossil fuels and into clean energy, as more than 400 churches across the UK begin to switch to renewable energy providers.
  
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• Deafening Atlantic oil prospecting to go ahead despite threat to marine life

  30-03-2016 14:00
  
  The Obama administration is to allow surveying of the seabed using seismic airguns that have been likened to a ‘grenade blast’ for whales and other creaturesThe Obama administration is to press ahead with proposals to allow loud underwater prospecting for oil and gas off the east coast, even though the practice has been likened to being at the “epicenter of a grenade blast” for whales and other marine creatures sensitive to noise. Related: Obama bans oil drilling along At
  
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• Should we be feeding food waste to livestock?

  30-03-2016 13:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  Food waste is a huge global problem. About a third of the food produced globally for human consumption, approximately 1.3 billion tons each year, is wasted or lost, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Food losses in industrialized countries add up to roughly $680 billion, with $310 billion in losses in developing countries. Produce (fruits and vegetables plus roots and tubers) have the highest rates of waste. Taiwan has a simple solution to reduce f
  
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• Paris Agreement boycott looms unless developed countries fulfil promises

  30-03-2016 13:18
  
  Developed countries including the UK and the US could be pressured into delivering pre-2020 climate agreements, after an influential think tank urged developing countries to boycott the Paris Agreement signing ceremony.
  
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• Shell says Dutch investigators visit Shell headquarters in Nigeria oil probe

  30-03-2016 12:55
  Royal Dutch Shell said on Wednesday Dutch investigators recently visited its headquarters in the Hague in the Netherlands in relation to an investigation into a Nigerian offshore oil field. "Representatives of the Dutch Financial Intelligence and Investigation Service and the Dutch Public Prosecutor recently visited Shell at its headquarters, " a spokesman said. "The visit was related to OPL 245, an offshore block in Nigeria that was the subject of a series of long-standing disputes with the Fed
  
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• Macro monsters: Jumping spiders up close, in pictures

  30-03-2016 12:40
  
  Photographer captures the faces, legs and bodies (and prey) of some of Asia's jumping spider species.
  
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• Oil prices rise with riskier assets on weak dollar

  30-03-2016 12:31
  By Dmitry Zhdannikov LONDON (Reuters) - Oil futures edged up on Wednesday to near $40 per barrel as a weaker dollar spurred interest in riskier assets and the International Energy Agency said expectations for a deluge of oil from Iran were misplaced. Brent futures climbed 46 cents to $39.60 (27.5 pounds) a barrel as of 1000 GMT after settling down $1.13 in the previous session. The dollar index fell, after slipping to an eight-day low in the previous session on dovish comments by U.S. Fed Chair
  
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• British health systems 'unprepared for devastating effects of climate change'

  30-03-2016 12:15
  
  Leading health bodies urge ministers to be ‘properly prepared’ as extreme weather events such as flooding or heatwaves become more commonBritish health systems are unprepared for the “devastating” effects of climate change, leading health bodies have warned.As extreme weather events such as flooding or heatwaves become more common, the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change urged ministers not to “wait for disaster” before acting. Continue reading...
  
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• Italian prosecutors probe Shell over Nigeria oil deal - source

  30-03-2016 11:40
  Italian prosecutors are investigating Royal Dutch Shell over allegations of international corruption in relation to a big Nigeria oil deal that also involved rival Eni , a judicial source said on Wednesday. Milan prosecutors opened a corruption probe into Eni in 2014 in a case relating to a $1.3 billion acquisition of Nigeria's OPL-245 offshore oil block in 2011 by the Italian company and Shell.
  
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• Pictures of the day: 30 March 2016

  30-03-2016 11:20
  
  Today: A volleyball eclipse, an overloaded tuktuk and a sunset in Thailand
  
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• EDF says Hinkley Point is on track as engineers reportedly call for delay

  30-03-2016 10:58
  
  Energy company dismisses ‘unfounded rumours’ that some of its engineers called for at least two-year delay to £18bn projectEDF has insisted that its plans to complete the £18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset by 2025 remain on track, despite reports that some of its engineers had called for a two-year delay and a redesign.It came as an EDF board member representing senior staff said in a letter to employees that he would vote against the controversial pr
  
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• Oil prices rebound on less than expected build in stocks

  30-03-2016 07:54
  Brent futures climbed 28 cents to $39.42 a barrel as of 0547 GMT after settling down $1.13 in the previous session. U.S. crude rose 38 cents to $38.66 a barrel after ending the previous session down $1.11. Oil prices fell about 3 percent in the previous session after Kuwait and Saudi Arabia said they would resume production at the jointly operated 300,000-barrel-per-day Khafji field even as major oil producers are considering agreeing on an output freeze.
  
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• $1tn could be wasted on 'unneeded' new coal plants, report warns

  30-03-2016 07:00
  
  Investment in 1,500 new coal plants around the world could be wasted if action on climate change and pollution prevent them from being usedAlmost $1tn of investment in new coal-fired power stations could be wasted if growing concerns about climate change and air pollution leave the plants unused, according to a new report.About 1,500 new coal plants are in construction or planning stages around the world but electricity generation from the fossil fuel has fallen in recent years, the detailed rep
  
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• Memories of childhood at a Cornish watermill

  30-03-2016 06:30
  
  St Dominic, Tamar Valley: Marie Lorraine Martin’s paintings depict the seasons at Cotehele mill in the early 19th centuryFrom the door of the dim church tower, with its window portraying Saint Dominica and her brother Saint Indract, we emerge into the glare of spring sunshine to follow the coffin of our mother who has died, aged 101 years. Overhead, the rooks caw and perch in pairs near refurbished nests; bright celandine and pale primrose gleam around the old slate headstones, and ramsons
  
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• Link between fossil fuels and Great Barrier Reef bleaching clear and incontrovertible

  30-03-2016 03:28
  Data shows bleaching of corals on the Great Barrier Reef coincides with record warm ocean temperatures in the regionWhere only a few weeks ago there were swathes of vivid purples, blues and pretty much any other colour you fancy, now there is just grey and white.
  Corals in the northern section of Australia’s vast Great Barrier Reef – a length of more than 1000km or so – have become the latest and most famous victims of the third global “mass bleaching” of corals sin
  
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• Ancient fossil was 'nearly a spider'

  30-03-2016 02:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say a 305 million-year-old fossil is the closest ancient relative to "true spiders" ever discovered.
  
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• U.S. crude rebounds on less than expected build in stocks

  30-03-2016 01:52
  By Keith Wallis SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. crude futures rebounded in early Asian trade on Wednesday, buoyed by a forecast of a less than expected build in crude oil stockpiles last week, although concern over an oversupplied market and a stronger dollar put a ceiling on gains. U.S. crude rose 37 cents to $38.65 a barrel as of 2339 GMT after settling down $1.11 in the previous session. U.S. crude stocks rose last week by 2.6 million barrels to 534.4 million barrels data from industry group, the
  
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• ‘Troublesome lion' escapes from South African park for second time

  30-03-2016 01:16
  
  Spokeswoman says that ‘problem animal’, nicknamed Spook, faces being killed after second successful escape from the Karoo National ParkA lion that earned the nickname Spook – “ghost” in Afrikaans – after it escaped from a national park in South Africa and eluded searchers for more than three weeks has broken out of the park again.A spokeswoman at Karoo National Park said on Tuesday that a helicopter was searching for the male lion, which was fitted with a sate
  
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• Are we what we eat?

  30-03-2016 01:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  In a new evolutionary proof of the old adage, 'we are what we eat', Cornell University scientists have found tantalizing evidence that a vegetarian diet has led to a mutation that -- if they stray from a balanced omega-6 to omega-3 diet -- may make people more susceptible to inflammation, and by association, increased risk of heart disease and colon cancer. The discovery, led by Drs. Tom Brenna, Kumar Kothapalli, and Alon Keinan provides the first evolutionary detective work that traces a h
  
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