Environment news

• Fugitive colour in a sea of bluebells: Country diary 100 years ago

  08-05-2016 23:30
  
  Originally published in the Manchester Guardian on 11 May 1916Nowhere, surely, do the bluebells grow more luxuriantly or look more ravishingly beautiful than they do under the beeches in the grounds of the Queen’s Cottage at Kew. Here the varying thicknesses of sheltering boughs make varying shades of colour in the sea of flowers - now deep, now pale, now lilac of the most warm and tender hue. It is the most fugitive colour to catch and describe, but it hangs in the memory to solace and en
  
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• Canada officials start to get a handle on largest wildfire

  08-05-2016 22:31
  By Liz Hampton and Rod Nickel GREGOIRE LAKE, Alberta (Reuters) - Canadian officials on Sunday showed some optimism for the first time that they were beginning to get on top of the country's biggest wildfire, as cooler weather and light rain stopped the blaze from growing as much as feared and winds took the flames away from oil sands boomtown Fort McMurray. "It definitely is a positive point for us, for sure," said Alberta fire official Chad Morrison in a news briefing, when asked if the fight t
  
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• Europe's problem with diesel cars

  08-05-2016 22:30
  
  New UK government tests confirm that diesel cars produce a lot more air pollution in real-world driving when compared with the legal tests. Those sold since 2009 emitted six times more nitrogen oxides, on average. Compared with the stricter standards applied to petrol cars, the average diesel sold between 2009 and 2015 emitted 19 times more nitrogen oxides. Continue reading...
  
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• Crowds flock to car-free Champs Elysees

  08-05-2016 19:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Thousands of people have take advantage of a move by the authorities in Paris to close the famous Champs Elysees thoroughfare to traffic.
  
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• Hinkley Point: UN report says UK failed to consult over risks

  08-05-2016 17:49
  
  UN Economic and Social Council says Britain has not met its obligations to discuss the impact of nuclear accident with neighbouring countriesThe British government has run into a major new problem with the Hinkley Point C nuclear project, with a United Nations committee ruling that the UK failed to consult European countries properly over potential environmental risks.Documents seen by the Guardian show Britain “is in non-compliance with its obligations” (page 21) to discuss the poss
  
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• Alberta oil sands producers shut most power generation due to wildfires

  08-05-2016 16:24
  (Reuters) - Cogeneration power plants in the fire-ravaged Canadian oil town of Fort McMurray were operating at about 18 percent of capacity early Sunday, down from around 30 percent Friday afternoon, as oil sands producers in the area continue to shut their operations. The electricity powers oil sand operations with any surplus energy sold to the local grid, while the steam is used to cook the oil sands to produce crude. There are about 3,200 MW of power cogeneration capacity serving the oil san
  
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• Canada fire rages for seventh day, evacuees set for long wait

  08-05-2016 16:19
  By Rod Nickel and Liz Hampton GREGOIRE LAKE, Alberta (Reuters) - A wildfire ripping through Canada's oil sands region was set to grow rapidly on Sunday but move further away from heavily populated areas, a fire official said. The fire, which started at 6 p.m. eastern time (2300 London time) last Sunday near the town of Fort McMurray in northeast Alberta, spread so quickly that the town's 88,000 inhabitants barely had time to leave. The front of the fire was moving southeast, away from Fort McMur
  
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• Tributes paid to Attenborough at 90

  08-05-2016 16:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Tributes are paid to renowned naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough as he turns 90.
  
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• Managing Saudi's new energy mega-ministry may bring challenges

  08-05-2016 15:46
  By Angus McDowall , Rania El Gamal and Reem Shamseddine RIYADH (Reuters) - Managing Saudi Arabia's new energy mega-ministry, set to oversee over half the economy and designed to cut through a tangled bureaucracy to make government more coherent and efficient, will be a formidable challenge. The new Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Ministry, under Khalid al-Falih, already chairman of state oil company Saudi Aramco, will handle oil and gas extraction, power generation and distribution, minin
  
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• 'He has been my lifetime inspiration': how David Attenborough influenced our lives

  08-05-2016 15:00
  
  To celebrate naturalist’s 90th birthday, we asked Guardian readers to share how he’s shaped their livesI like watching all of his wildlife and nature documentaries. He is my favourite guy. I like that he gets to see lots of rare animals. He saw a bird that could make a noise like a chainsaw. My favourite moment is when he went to Argentina to see the giant dinosaur, the titanosaur. Continue reading...
  
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• Saudi Arabia says to maintain stable petroleum policies

  08-05-2016 14:52
  ABU DHABI/KHOBAR (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's new energy minister said on Sunday the world's largest crude exporter was committed to meeting demand for hydrocarbons from its customers and would maintain its petroleum policies. "Saudi Arabia will maintain its stable petroleum policies. "We are committed to meeting existing and additional hydrocarbons demand from our expanding global customer base, backed by our current maximum sustainable capacity." Since 2014, Saudi Arabia has led OPEC through a n
  
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• 'Boaty McBoatface' Vessel Named for David Attenborough

  08-05-2016 14:10
  
  A research vessel meant to ply the polar seas has been graced with the name Sir David Attenborough, just days before the famed naturalist turns 90, U.K. Science Minister Jo Johnson announced today (May 6). In March, the U.K.'s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) put out a call for the public to submit and vote for names for their forthcoming polar research vessel, which received funding of 200 million British pounds (about $289 million) from the U.K. Department for Business, Innovation a
  
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• A birthday gift for David Attenborough – how about the Great Barrier Reef? | John Sauven

  08-05-2016 13:55
  
  Of all his amazing experiences, the television legend recalls his first dive on the reef as the most memorable. But it’s dying before our eyesThe patron saint of quality television is 90 years old today. When his Great Barrier Reef series was broadcast at the start of the year, it was reported that this was likely to be his last series, or at least his last made on location. But it’s difficult to believe David Attenborough won’t always be around. For most people who grew up in
  
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• Canada fire rages for seventh day, evacuees brace for long wait

  08-05-2016 12:09
  By Rod Nickel and Liz Hampton GREGOIRE LAKE, Alberta (Reuters) - A wildfire ripping through Canada's oil sands region blazed for a seventh day on Sunday as officials warned almost 100,000 people who fled the area that they would not be returning home soon. The fire, which started at 6 p.m. eastern (2300 London time) last Sunday near the town of Fort McMurray in northern Alberta, spread so quickly that the town's 88,000 inhabitants barely had time to leave. Officials said that, even though the fi
  
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• Microsculpture: hidden beauty of the bugs beneath our feet

  08-05-2016 11:30
  
  When photographer Levon Biss turned his lens on the insects his son was collecting in the garden, it opened up a miniature world in which art meets science to dazzling effectTwo years ago, exhausted by the frantic pressures of commercial portraiture, photographer Levon Biss was searching for a way to relax. His son Sebastian, then six, found the answer in their back garden. “My boy likes insects,” says Biss. “He’s always in the garden trying to find them and play with the
  
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• Dozens arrested as anti-fossil fuel protesters join Australian coal blockade

  08-05-2016 09:03
  
  Police arrest 66 people after climate change activists block train tracks and entrance to Newcastle harbour as part of global Break Free From Fossil Fuels actionsPolice have arrested 66 people in anti-fossil fuel protests in the Newcastle, home to Australia’s biggest coal export port. Hundreds of kayaks and boats blocked the entrance to Newcastle harbour in an attempt to stop coal ships from leaving or entering. Another group blocked train tracks used to transport coal on the Sandgate Brid
  
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• More than 1,000 anti-fossil fuel protesters join Australian coal blockade

  08-05-2016 06:25
  
  Seventeen arrested as climate change activists block train tracks and entrance to Newcastle harbour as part of global Break Free From Fossil Fuels actionsSeventeen people have been arrested in anti-fossil fuel protests in the Newcastle, home to Australia’s biggest coal export port. Hundreds of kayaks and boats blocked the entrance to Newcastle harbour in an attempt to stop coal ships from leaving or entering. Another group blocked train tracks used to transport coal on the Sandgate Bridge
  
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• Canada wildfire explodes in size, approaches oil sands project

  08-05-2016 03:35
  By Rod Nickel and Liz Hampton GREGOIRE LAKE, Alberta (Reuters) - A raging Canadian wildfire grew explosively on Saturday as hot, dry winds pushed the blaze across the energy heartland of Alberta and threatened to burn close to an oil sands project. The fire that has already prompted the evacuation of all 88,000 people who lived in the city of Fort McMurray was set to double in size on Saturday, the seventh day of what is expected to be the costliest natural disaster in Canada's history. Fort McM
  
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• Tourists asked to fight wildlife trade

  08-05-2016 01:33 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Conservationists have launched a global campaign asking the public to use a smartphone app to help tackle the illegal trade in wildlife.
  
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• Canada wildfire explodes in size, evacuees urged to go to cities

  08-05-2016 01:19
  By Rod Nickel and Liz Hampton GREGOIRE LAKE, 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 all 88,000 people who lived the city of Fort McMurray was set to double in size on Saturday, the seventh day of what is expected to be the costliest natural disaster in Canada's history. Alber
  
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• On the frontline of Africa’s wildlife wars

  08-05-2016 01:05
  
  Across central Africa, militias have turned the savannah into killing fieldsBrigadier Venant Mumbere Muvesevese, a 35-year-old father of four, became the 150th ranger in the last 10 years to be killed protecting lowland gorillas, elephants and other wildlife in Virunga national park last month. He and his young Congolese colleague, Fidèle Mulonga Mulegalega, were surrounded by local militia, captured and then summarily executed. Related: Burning the ivory is just the beginningContinue rea
  
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• The ice cold war: fight for sealife in remote wilds of Antarctica

  08-05-2016 01:04
  
  The Ross Sea is the last intact marine ecosystem on EarthOver the next few weeks, a discreet but vital diplomatic campaign will be launched to try to save one of the most remote regions of the world: the Ross Sea in Antarctica.Marine conservationists, who have been pressing to set up a no-fishing zone for several years, say it is now paramount that their plan to create a 1.25 million square kilometre “no take” area in the Ross Sea is successful. They believe failure would seri
  
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