Environment news

• New Saudi minister is believer in reform and low oil price

  07-05-2016 21:41
  By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Rania El Gamal LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - It was January 2016 and oil prices had crashed to their lowest in more than a decade. Saudi Arabia's health minister, Khalid al-Falih, a favourite to take over the oil ministry from his mentor Ali al-Naimi, was not panicking. Falih told an audience of oil executives, bankers and policymakers at the World Economic Forum in Davos that the world's top oil exporter might benefit from oil below $30 per barrel.
  
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• Canada wildfire explodes in size, fed by 'extremely' dry forest

  07-05-2016 20:28
  By Rod Nickel and Liz Hampton LAC LA BICHE, Alberta (Reuters) - A raging Canadian wildfire grew explosively on Saturday as hot, dry winds pushed the blaze across the energy heartland of Alberta and smoke forced the shutdown of a major oil sands project. The fire that has already prompted the evacuation of 88,000 people from the city of Fort McMurray was on its way to doubling in size on Saturday, the seventh day of what is expected to be the costliest natural disaster in Canada's history. Police
  
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• Saudi shake-up rolls on with big reshuffle of economic posts

  07-05-2016 20:13
  By Angus McDowall and Katie Paul RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Saturday replaced his veteran oil minister and restructured some big ministries in a major reshuffle apparently intended to support a wide-ranging economic reform programme unveiled last week. The most eye-catching move was the creation of a new Energy, Industry and Natural Resources Ministry under Khaled al-Falih, chairman of the state oil company Aramco.
  
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• Saudi Arabia names Khalid al-Falih energy minister to replace Naimi

  07-05-2016 18:06
  By Rania El Gamal and Reem Shamseddine DUBAI/KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, on Saturday appointed Khalid al-Falih, chairman of the state oil giant Saudi Aramco, as its new energy minister, replacing Ali al-Naimi, who had held the post since 1995. A royal decree quoted on state television said the petroleum ministry had been renamed to become the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, and that Falih would give up his other post,
  
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• Saudi king reshuffles cabinet and reforms ministries

  07-05-2016 17:38
  Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Saturday replaced his veteran oil minister and the central bank governor in a major reshuffle of senior positions a week after announcing big economic reforms. Salman also named new ministers to run the water, transport, commerce, social affairs, health and pilgrimage portfolios and restructured some ministries in a shake-up focused on areas where the government has promised change. The most eye-catching change was the creation of a new Energy, Industry and Natural
  
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• Canadian wildfires cause large-scale evacuations

  07-05-2016 17:26 via feedproxy.google.com
  Canada is no stranger to wildfires, but this week’s ferocious blaze in Fort McMurray is extreme — even by Canadian standards. 80,000 people have fled from the heart of tar sands country in an unprecedented evacuation effort.As people consign their homes and belongings to the flames and firefighters struggle to contain the blaze, there’s an inevitable question: Do we have climate change to thank for the intensity of this fire?This issue is emerging all over t
  
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• Canada wildfire growing as weather heats up, escape convoy underway

  07-05-2016 16:55
  By Rod Nickel and Liz Hampton LAC LA BICHE, Alberta (Reuters) - A raging Canadian wildfire that forced the evacuation of the Alberta oil town of Fort McMurray intensified on Saturday, helped by hot, dry weather, with police escorting a fresh convoy of evacuees out of the region. The blaze, the largest of some 40 wildfires burning across the province of Alberta, has forced some 88,000 residents, the entire population of Fort McMurray, to flee for safety. The weather, with temperatures on Saturday
  
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• Philippines investigates Shell and Exxon over climate change

  07-05-2016 09:00
  
  A legal case will consider if the emissions of 50 fossil fuel companies violate the human rights of those hit by extreme weatherCan Chevron, ExxonMobil and BP be held accountable for the vulnerable communities most affected by climate change? It’s a question a legal case in the Philippines could answer.Last month, lawyers for the petitioners met with the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR), a constitutional body tasked with investigating human rights violations. Their goal
  
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• Is the Tesla 3 the electric car that will change everything?

  07-05-2016 08:00
  
  At £25,000 it’s being hailed as an ‘affordable’ option, and an astonishing 400,000 have been ordered. But is it worth the asking price?It’s being marketed as the model that will finally make electric cars mainstream. To get one you will need a £1,000 deposit, and then have to wait for at least two years before it is delivered. But that hasn’t deterred enthusiastic motorists. So far 400,000 people worldwide have pre-ordered the hi-tech, super-stylish and
  
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• Breathtaking air-mastery of the raven

  07-05-2016 06:30
  
  Llangranog, Ceredigion For joyful dancing delight, for the palpable sense of fun and mischief, the raven is my choiceWind and wave hurl against the cliff, roar through the inlet, spinning white rosettes of spume in a vortex, a wavering pale column that snakes and twists into the air and bends landwards. A raven quartering the pasture above accepts the opportunity for play. He soars high, slipping the buffets of the gale, then folds his wings, drops like a dark stone into the white heart of the s
  
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• Major oil firms issue force majeures on Canadian crude

  07-05-2016 03:30
  By Catherine Ngai and Matt Scuffham NEW YORK/TORONTO (Reuters) - Three major oil firms have warned they will not be able to deliver on some contracts for Canadian crude, a further sign that output cuts due to wildfires are curbing supplies from the Alberta oil sands region. British oil firm BP Plc said it had alerted customers to a "force majeure event" at one of its suppliers, which means several grades of Canadian crude oil will not be as readily available to its customers through the rest of
  
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• Fossils shed light on 'bizarre' reptile

  07-05-2016 01:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists say new fossils found in China are of a crocodile-like creature that was the first known plant-eating marine reptile.
  
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• Global sleeping patterns revealed

  07-05-2016 01:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The world's sleeping patterns have been revealed by scientists analysing data collected from an app.
  
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• Australia quietly adds 49 species to threatened and endangered lists

  07-05-2016 01:00
  
  Brush-tailed bettong, three-toed snake-tooth skink, swift parrot and types of orchid and albatross listedNearly 50 new species of flora and fauna have been added without fanfare to the federal government’s list of threatened species, including nine that are critically endangered.Among the species to be added to the list under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act were the brush-tailed bettong (endangered), the three-toed snake-tooth skink (vulnerable), the swift parr
  
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