Environment news

• Environmental groups sue over pollution from airliners

  12-04-2016 23:39
  WASHINGTON (AP) — A coalition of environmental groups sued federal regulators Tuesday over long-sought pollution standards for airliners and cargo planes.
  
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• Lightbulbs excluded in EU regulations on energy efficiency claims

  12-04-2016 22:43
  
  Environmentalists say lighting industry say given ‘free pass’ after being exempted in tightened loopholes on energy performance advertising The EU has voted to close loopholes that allow home appliance manufacturers to make misleading claims about their products’ energy performance, but environmentalists are incandescent that lightbulbs have been excluded from the new rules.Companies will no longer be able to test fridges, TVs and dishwashers using a 10% margin of error between
  
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• Brent pierces $44, hits four-month high on reports of oil output freeze deal

  12-04-2016 21:21
  By Catherine Ngai NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global oil prices hit fresh four-month highs on Tuesday, piercing $44 a barrel and extending earlier gains after a report that top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia have agreed to freeze output ahead of a much-anticipated producers meeting on Sunday. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a diplomatic source in Doha saying that Russia and Saudi Arabia reached a consensus on Tuesday about an output freeze and that the final decision will not depend on Iran. Br
  
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• Sea-level rise factors unravelled

  12-04-2016 19:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Global sea-level rise since the 1970s has been predominantly driven by greenhouse gas emissions and not natural climate variability, a study suggests.
  
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• SpaceX's recovered rocket back at port after sea landing

  12-04-2016 19:33
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The rocket that made a historic landing at sea last week is back at its home port.
  
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• Nigel Roome obituary

  12-04-2016 18:47
  
  Nigel Roome, who has died of septic shock while undergoing treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia aged 62, was a leading adviser to both government and business on sustainability issues.Born in Epsom, Surrey, the youngest son of Clifford, a wine merchant, and his wife, Margaret (nee Males), a retail assistant, Nigel was educated at Northgate grammar school, Ipswich, and studied chemistry with economics at Surrey University. He then gained a PhD with a cost-benefit analysis of nature reserves from
  
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• U.N. climate chief predicts Paris deal will take effect early

  12-04-2016 18:02
  By Laurie Goering LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A new global pact to tackle climate change, agreed in Paris in December, could come into force two years earlier than the planned date of 2020, the U.N. climate chief has said. "I think we will have a Paris agreement in effect in 2018,” predicted Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, at a lecture in London on Monday evening. On April 22, at least 130 countries are expect
  
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• Hawking backs 'starship' project

  12-04-2016 18:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Professor Stephen Hawking backs a project to send spaceships to another solar system within a generation
  
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• Red Crabs Swarm Like Insects in Incredible Underwater Video

  12-04-2016 17:09
  
  A strange cloud of disturbed silt in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Panama unexpectedly led marine biologists to an incredible sight: thousands of red crabs close to the sea bottom that were "swarming like insects," according to the researchers. The scientists were in a submersible investigating biodiversity at the Hannibal Bank seamount — an underwater mountain and a known ecological hotspot — when they spotted a disturbance in the water that led them to the unusual sight at dep
  
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• Russia, Saudi Arabia reach consensus on oil output freeze - Ifax cites diplomatic source

  12-04-2016 16:47
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia and Saudi Arabia reached a consensus on Tuesday about an oil output freeze, Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a diplomatic source in Doha as saying ahead of producers' meeting there on April 17. Russia's Energy Ministry declined comment. The source also told Interfax that Saudi Arabia's final decision on freezing oil production would not depend on Iran's position about its own oil output. (Reporting by Alexander Winning and Olesya Astakhova; Writing by Vladimir Solda
  
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• Climate scientist James Hansen: 'I don't think I'm an alarmist'

  12-04-2016 16:40
  
  James Hansen has crossed the classic divide between research and activism. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, he responds to critics and explains why he believes the reality of climate change requires him to speak out
  Climate scientist James Hansen has been a prominent figure in the global climate conversation for more than 40 years. His 1988 congressional testimony on climate change helped introduce the problem of rising greenhouse gas emissions to the American public, and he has led st
  
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• Thousands of crabs swarm off coast of Panama – video

  12-04-2016 16:21
  
  Red crabs, also known as tuna crabs or pleuroncodes planipes, swarm at the Hannibal Bank Seamount, off the Pacific coast of Panama. To see such huge numbers of crabs so far south is very unusual, according to biologists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, who have documented the phenomenonDiving scientists record ‘cloud’ of thousands of swarming crabs Continue reading...
  
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• BP is playing fast and loose with our future | Bill McKibben

  12-04-2016 15:09
  
  As shareholders gather for the AGM, the energy giant is still hunting for more hydrocarbons while pretending to care about the planetAs shareholders gather for BP’s AGM in London this week, they deserve to be made aware of just how at-risk their investments are — and what BP thinks about the future of the firm and the planet. Because the company their investments allow to operate is fourth in a list of the world’s top-emitting companies and was responsible for 2.47% of global e
  
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• 10 ways to end water pollution in Latin America

  12-04-2016 14:55
  
  Our expert panel share their thoughts on how to turn the region’s contaminated lakes, rivers and dams into clean waterwaysThere is a common belief that huge infrastructure will solve the problem, but mega-projects are causing huge problems because they deal with all sorts of polluted water. When household water, industry water and rainwater are mixed, treatment becomes more complex and more expensive. The best way to stop pollution is not to clean the polluted water, but to stop polluting.
  
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• Diving scientists record 'cloud' of thousands of swarming crabs

  12-04-2016 14:15
  
  Researchers ‘have no idea’ why red crabs off Panama might be behaving in such a way, says a biologist: ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen’Descending in a submersible in waters off Panama, scientists noticed something strange happening near the seafloor. It was a drifting fog of sediment, disturbed by something below. Diving deeper, the scientists found the cause: crabs, thousands of them, swarming in a way never before recorded.“We just saw this cloud but had no
  
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• Report: UK can exercise global leadership on climate change in reformed EU

  12-04-2016 14:04
  
  The environmental consequences of leaving the EU is the subject of a new report from a neutral and independent UK-EU think tank which highlights three possible green policy scenarios the upcoming referendum could lead to.
  
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• Heineken slashes key footprints at production volume surges

  12-04-2016 13:57
  
  International brewer Heineken has revealed reductions in both water consumption and carbon emissions, despite a growth in production, as it drives towards its 2020 sustainability targets.
  
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• Heineken slashes key footprints as production volume surges

  12-04-2016 13:57
  
  International brewer Heineken has revealed reductions in both water consumption and carbon emissions, despite a growth in production, as it drives towards its 2020 sustainability targets.
  
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• Octopus makes great escape down drain

  12-04-2016 12:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Inky the octopus squeezed his way out of a tank at New Zealand's National Aquarium.
  
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• Greenpeace protests logging in Poland's rare primeval forest

  12-04-2016 12:48
  
  WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Environment activists have protested Poland's plans of extensive logging in Europe's last primeval forest and have demanded full protection for the rare Bialowieza woods.
  
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• Islands of Gauguin and Robinson Crusoe 'could become parched paradise'

  12-04-2016 12:04
  
  Climate Home: Climate change could aggravate water shortages in three-quarters of world’s small islands by 2050, researchers warnClimbing sea levels bedevil low-lying islands. But a hotter planet brings a less obvious menace: drought. Continue reading...
  
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• Bad Earth: the human cost of pollution in China – in pictures

  12-04-2016 11:42
  
  This series of images shows the extent of China’s pollution problems and the human toll of exponential growth on local communities in China’s vast and severely damaged northern region.All photographs by Souvid Datta, an Abigail Cohen Fellow, for ChinaFile. The fellowship is a joint initiative of ChinaFile and Magnum Foundation Continue reading...
  
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• Oil hits 2016 high above $43 on producer meeting hopes

  12-04-2016 11:01
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil reached a 2016 high above $43 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by hopes that an upcoming meeting of oil producers will agree steps to tackle a supply glut, and by a weak U.S. dollar and further signs of strong demand in China. Crude gained a boost last week after a surprise decline in U.S. inventories from a record high.
  
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• We must close the loopholes in Britain's carbon budget | Damien Morris

  12-04-2016 10:57
  
  This is our opportunity to fix the accounting rules and keep national emissions within UK carbon budgets Last month the government made a landmark decision to reduce the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions to zero sometime this century. This makes Britain the first country to commit to one of the key pledges in the Paris climate agreement reached last December.
  This decision was prompted by a tireless, non-partisan campaign led by former Labour leader Ed Miliband, the UK’s first ever secre
  
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• Zika virus 'scarier than thought' - US

  12-04-2016 10:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Zika virus is "scarier" than first thought and its impact on the US could be greater than predicted, public health officials say.
  
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• Four-fifths of China's water from wells 'unsafe because of pollution'

  12-04-2016 10:27
  
  Ministry’s samples from 2,103 wells in eastern flatlands show none were considered pristine and half were unfit for human consumption of any typeMore than 80% of China’s underground water drawn from relatively shallow wells used by farms, factories and mostly rural households is unsafe for drinking because of pollution, a government report says.The Water Resources Ministry study posted to its website on Tuesday analysed samples drawn in January from 2,103 wells used for monitoring in
  
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• BP sees flat global oil supply in 2016

  12-04-2016 10:07
  LAUSANNE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Global oil markets will likely see flat supply this year with increases in Iranian output offset by drops in production in other parts of the world, BP Chief Economist Spencer Dale said on Tuesday. He said predictions Iran would ramp up supply by 500,000 barrels per day within six months of the lifting of international sanctions in January were proving correct but further growth might prove more challenging. "Longer term I'm not sure Iran will be a game changer,
  
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• Airbus and Boeing thrust sustainable aviation into spotlight

  12-04-2016 10:00
  
  Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is teaming up with Siemens to introduce a range of hybrid passenger planes, while rival Boeing has partnered with NASA to reduce emissions through lighter wing designs.
  
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• Electric cars worth £51bn to UK economy 'if Government acts now'

  12-04-2016 09:30
  
  The UK Government will lose out on major economic benefits unless it makes a significant investment in upgrading the nation's electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and upskilling the motor industry, an independent academic report will warn this week.
  
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• Investors with $6 trillion in assets back ExxonMobil climate change resolution - UK Church fund

  12-04-2016 09:22
  Institutions managing $6 trillion in assets plan to back a call for U.S. oil major ExxonMobil to disclose the impact of climate change policy on its business, one of the organisers of the vote said On Tuesday. The Church Commissioners for England, which co-filed the shareholder proposal with the New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, as Trustee of New York State Common Retirement Fund, said more than 30 large investors had signed up so far. The resolution asks Exxon to disclose how resil
  
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• Northern Territory fracking debate 'life or death', says cattle farmer

  12-04-2016 09:07
  
  Pastoralist expresses concerns about water as Senate select committee takes views on unconventional gas miningThe fracking debate in the Northern Territory is a matter of “life or death” for farmers, a pastoralist says. Related: Fracking at Kings Canyon shot down by Northern Territory governmentContinue reading...
  
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• China report sounds alarm on groundwater pollution

  12-04-2016 08:37
  
  BEIJING (AP) — More than 80 percent of China's underground water drawn from relatively shallow wells used by farms, factories and mostly rural households is unsafe for drinking because of pollution, a government report says.
  
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• No more hippies and explorers: a lament for the changed world of cycling | Tom Marriage

  12-04-2016 08:00
  
  As cycling’s popularity has increased, there has been a cultural shift away from fun and experiences towards a macho world of speed and StravaI came across an interesting film the other day. It was linked from Sidetracked, a beautiful, outdoors lifestyle-y type magazine. The kind you buy in a bookshop rather than a newsagent, full of long-form journalism and photo essays, not product reviews and top 10 lists.The video was of one woman, Lael Wilcox, talking about her experience cycling the
  
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• No more hippies and explorers: a lament for the changed world of cycling

  12-04-2016 08:00
  
  With cycling’s increased popularity has come a cultural shift away from fun and experiences towards a macho world of speed and Strava.I came across an interesting film the other day. It was linked from Sidetracked, a beautiful, outdoors lifestyle-y type magazine. The kind you buy in a bookshop rather than a newsagent, full of long form journalism and photo essays, not product reviews and top ten lists.
  The video was of one woman, Lael Wilcox, talking about her experience cycling the Arizon
  
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• Mining giant Vedanta argues UK court should not hear Zambia pollution case

  12-04-2016 08:00
  
  Villagers in Zambia’s Copperbelt region claim water was contaminated by a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, but the firm claims case should be heard in Zambia, not the UK
  One of the world’s largest mining companies is expected to argue in the London high court on Tuesday that Zambian villagers should not be allowed to bring a case alleging pollution of their water from a copper mine to the British courts. Residents of four villages in the Copperbelt region of Zambiaclaim that their wa
  
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• Shell CEO says may sell some North Sea assets to improve portfolio

  12-04-2016 07:44
  By Sonali Paul PERTH (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell could sell some of its older, lower grade North Sea assets to improve the quality of its portfolio, CEO Ben van Beurden said on Tuesday, part of a two-year programme to help finance its purchase of gas major BG Group. After completing the $52 billion acquisition of BG in February, Shell said it would sell $30 billion in assets between 2016 and 2018 to help finance the deal and to maintain its dividend following a sharp drop in oil prices since m
  
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• Mystery over death of Malaysian python contending for title of world's longest snake

  12-04-2016 07:21
  
  Snake expert rejects suggestion that the 7.5m python might have killed itselfA python caught in Malaysia and first thought to be the longest snake in captivity has lost both its run at the title and its life.
  Two people working for the department that trapped the animal said it was remeasured at 7.5 metres, just 17 centimetres short of first place.Continue reading...
  
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• Woodland springs into urgent new life

  12-04-2016 06:30
  
  Ebernoe Common, West Sussex These flowers are in a race against time to propagate before the trees burst into lifeThe trees are still bare but spring flowers are emerging through the leaf litter of the woodland floor. White, star-like wood anemones, yellow lesser celandines and the green blades of bluebell plants are scattered in the pools of morning sunshine. A few native bluebell flower heads are beginning to unfurl, raising their blue-mauve trumpets as the light streams down through the skele
  
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• Oil prices dip but hold above $40 ahead of producer meeting

  12-04-2016 03:14
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped in early Asian trade on Tuesday, but both U.S. and international crude futures held above $40 per barrel ahead of a meeting of major producers to discuss freezing output levels to rein in ballooning oversupply. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $40.27 per barrel at 0059 GMT, down 9 cents from their last settlement. International Brent crude futures were at $42.70 a barrel, 13 cents below their last close
  
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• Sydney man dies after redback spider bite, although not yet clear bite to blame

  12-04-2016 02:55
  
  If Jayden Burleigh, 22, did die as a result of the redback bite, it will be the first such fatality in more than 60 years thanks to the introduction of antivenomA 22-year-old Australian has died after being bitten by a redback spider in what may turn out to be the first such death since the antivenom was introduced 60 years ago.Jayden Burleigh, from Sydney’s northern beaches, was reportedly bitten while walking on the north coast of New South Wales last week. Continue reading...
  
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• Sydney man dies after redback spider bite

  12-04-2016 02:55
  
  Jayden Burleigh, 22, believed to be the first fatality in more than 60 yearsA 22-year-old Australian has died after being bitten by a redback spider in what is thought to be the first such death since antivenom was introduced 60 years ago.Jayden Burleigh, from Sydney’s northern beaches, was reportedly bitten while walking on the north coast of New South Wales last week. Continue reading...
  
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• Victoria renewables target of 30% is achievable, modelling shows

  12-04-2016 01:59
  
  Friends of the Earth joins union and business groups to call on state premier to adopt an ambitious targetWith the Victorian Labor government’s announcement on a renewable energy target imminent, environment, union and business groups are urging the premier, Daniel Andrews, to be ambitious, saying it would send a national message on clean energy. Related: Australia's 'future' fund should not consider financing the energy projects of the past | Stephen BygravesContinue reading...
  
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