Environment news

• Unprecedented 'red tide' crisis deepens in Chile's fishing-rich waters

  11-05-2016 23:50
  
  The ‘red tide’ algal bloom, which turns the sea water red and makes seafood toxic, is believed to be one of the country’s worst recent environmental crises A “red tide” outbreak is widening in southern Chile’s fishing-rich waters, the government has said, deepening what is already believed to be one of the country’s worst environmental crises in recent years. The red tide – an algal bloom that turns the seawater red and makes seafood toxic –
  
  Read more

• Coalition climate plan 'assumes emissions trading', says government modeller

  11-05-2016 22:40
  
  The government is campaigning against Labor’s emissions trading scheme but its own Direct Action will only work with large funding increases or as an ETSModelling hailed by the Liberal party as proof its Direct Action plan could meet Australia’s long-term climate promises in fact assumes the Coalition would turn its policy into a type of emissions trading scheme, according to the authors.The environment minister, Greg Hunt, released the modelling, by the Energetics consulting firm, j
  
  Read more

• Reeling it in: global sustainable seafood market hits $11.5bn

  11-05-2016 22:11
  
  A new report shows that demand for seafood with sustainable certification now accounts for 14% of the global market – up from less than 1% a decade agoThe global sustainable seafood market hit $11.5bn in retail sales last year, a result of commitments by large restaurant chains and retailers such as Walmart, Whole Foods, Ikea and McDonald’s to source certified seafood and address decades of mismanagement, according to a report released today. Related: Off the hook: can a new study in
  
  Read more

• Study: Bakken oil field leaks 275,000 tons of methane yearly

  11-05-2016 21:44
  A new study says the oil-producing region of North Dakota and Montana leaks 275,000 tons of methane annually, an amount that's less than previously reported. Researchers say it's the first field study ...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Oil jumps on first U.S. drawdown since March; Brent up 4 percent

  11-05-2016 21:04
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil jumped on Wednesday, with Brent up more than 4 percent for a second day in a row, after the U.S. government unexpectedly said crude inventories fell the first time since March, adding to concerns over supply outages in Canada and Nigeria. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude inventories fell 3.4 million barrels last week, compared with analysts' expectations for an increase of 714,000 barrels and the American Petroleum Institute'
  
  Read more

• 28% of US bees wiped out this winter, suggesting bigger environmental issues

  11-05-2016 20:59
  
  More than half of beekeepers suffered unsustainable losses, with deadly mite infestations and harmful land management practices piling on pressureMore than a quarter of American honeybee colonies were wiped out over the winter, with deadly infestations of mites and harmful land management practices heaping mounting pressure upon the crucial pollinators and the businesses that keep them.
  Preliminary figures commissioned by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that 28% of bee colonies in t
  
  Read more

• Canadian oilfield workers readying return after wildfire

  11-05-2016 20:47
  
  By Nia Williams and Liz Hampton CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Workers for one of the largest oil sands companies affected by a massive wildfire in northern Canada will begin returning to the shuttered facilities on Thursday, a union official said on Wednesday, offering the latest indication that the key petroleum production area was slowly coming back online. Meanwhile, the premier of the province of Alberta and the head of the Canadian Red Cross announced that residents of Fort McMurray, the oil
  
  Read more

• Islamic State yearly oil revenue halved to $250 million - U.S. official

  11-05-2016 20:27
  By Yeganeh Torbati WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Air strikes, a drop in the price of oil, and counter-smuggling efforts by neighbouring countries have combined to cut Islamic State's oil revenues in half to about $250 million (£172.8 million) per year, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Wednesday. The U.S. military launched an intensified effort in October to go after its oil infrastructure in hopes of cutting funding to the group, which U.S. officials call the wealthiest terrorist group of
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• LPC - Staples to repay investors on $2.5 billion Office Depot merger escrow loan

  11-05-2016 20:03
  By Kristen Haunss NEW YORK (Reuters) - Institutional investors to a $2.5 billion (1.7 billion pounds) loan to back the merger between Staples and Office Depot will have their commitments repaid and be forced to redeploy their money into a credit market where opportunities are scarce after the two supply retailers called off the deal. Investors “own a huge amount of Staples – it’s a very large loan – and there are not a lot of new loans to buy,” one credit manager sa
  
  Read more

• Zika virus 'shrinks brains' in tests

  11-05-2016 19:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Zika virus can enter the brains of mice in the womb to stunt development, the first animal tests show.
  
  Read more

• Power cuts caused by flooding 'major danger' to British lives, engineers warn

  11-05-2016 18:42
  
  Report says infrastructure such as electricity grids and communication networks are not adequately protected from the threatPower cuts caused by flooding are a major danger to people’s lives in the UK and “could happen anywhere” because infrastructure such as electricity grids and communications networks are not adequately protected against the threat, according to a new report.The finding, from the Royal Academy of Engineering, calls into question the UK’s preparedness f
  
  Read more

• Winter visits to England's green spaces fewest in four years – survey

  11-05-2016 18:09
  
  Trips to the coast, to green spaces in towns and to the countryside all decreased during wet and stormy seasonThe number of trips made to England’s coasts, parks and countryside between December and February was the lowest in four winters, according to a survey. Natural England said visits fell 15% from the same quarter last year, from 751.8m to 637.9m visits. It was the first fall recorded by the agency’s Monitor of Engagement with the Natural Environment (MENE) survey since 2011, a
  
  Read more

• Woman sets out to paddleboard length of England to highlight plastic pollution

  11-05-2016 18:04
  
  Lizzie Carr aims to become the first person to stand-up paddleboard 643km along connected waterways from Surrey to CumbriaA female adventurer is aiming to become the first person to paddleboard the length of England via connected waterways to highlight the issue of plastic pollution.
  Lizzie Carr set off on Wednesday morning from Godalming, Surrey, on a 643km journey that is expected to take three weeks. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Greenpeace activists target destructive fishing in Indian Ocean – in pictures

  11-05-2016 16:25
  
  With some Indian Ocean tuna stocks on the brink of collapse, the expedition exposes harmful methods by the world’s largest tuna company, Thai Union, owner of John West Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• UK government spent £105,000 in legal fees on lost air pollution case

  11-05-2016 15:00
  
  Government is wasting time and taxpayers’ money as it faces a second court challenge over illegal air pollution, say green lawyersThe government spent at least £105,000 in legal costs while fighting and losing a court challenge over illegal levels of air pollution, according to data released through freedom of information rules, and now faces further bills from a new case it is contesting.ClientEarth, the environmental lawyers who defeated the government, say the taxpayers’ mon
  
  Read more

• Commodity trade houses seek to rule in core markets, exit others

  11-05-2016 14:21
  By Sarah McFarlane LONDON (Reuters) - Commodity trade houses are going back to their roots and focusing on what they know best, whether it's energy, metals or agriculture, while shedding peripheral activities. From the world's largest independent energy trader Vitol's retreat from agricultural markets, to trade house Gunvor pulling out of metals and Archer Daniels Midland disposing of its chocolate and cocoa businesses, traders are concentrating back on their historically strong activities. The
  
  Read more

• Colombia's Santos says tax reform must and will pass this year

  11-05-2016 14:03
  By William Schomberg and Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said a tax reform bill, considered vital to help the country cope with plunging oil revenues, will be approved by Colombia's congress before the end of 2016 and would not be delayed by the country's peace process. Speaking to investors in London, Santos said he hoped the government would soon conclude lengthy talks with leftist FARC rebels to end Latin America's longest war but said this would not d
  
  Read more

• Oil gains on Nigerian supply disruption

  11-05-2016 13:58
  By Simon Falush LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Wednesday as worries about supply disruptions resurfaced after Shell announced the closure of a key Nigerian pipeline. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 7 cents at $44.73 a barrel. Royal Dutch Shell's Nigerian unit, Shell Petroleum Development Co (SPDC), said it had declared force majeure on Bonny Light exports following the closure of the Nembe Creek Trunk line (NCTL) for repairs after a leak.
  
  Read more

• Swarm tracks Earth's turbulent shield

  11-05-2016 13:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Europe's Swarm space mission is providing an unprecedented view of Earth's protective magnetic field, scientists say.
  
  Read more

• Sadiq Khan prepares to take on Defra with legal action over UK air quality

  11-05-2016 13:30
  
  In his first week as London Mayor, Sadiq Khan has praised environmental law firm ClientEarth for its ongoing legal battle on air pollution, with City Hall confirming that Khan will be directly involved in renewed action against the Department for environment, food and rural affairs (Defra).
  
  Read more

• Canada wildfire - what are the environmental impacts?

  11-05-2016 13:30
  
  In addition to the estimated $9bn damage to Fort McMurray, ‘the beast’ will affect forests, carbon emissions, air and water pollution and waste The explosive wildfire in Canada’s tar sands region that forced 90,000 people to flee last week is still burning. By Tuesday, “the beast” had grown to 230,000 hectares, but had moved into largely unpopulated regions east and south of the town of Fort McMurray, Alberta. Although officials have found 80-90% of the town undamag
  
  Read more

• UK Government aims to triple hydrogen vehicle numbers with £2m funding pot

  11-05-2016 13:24
  
  The UK Government's vision to ensure that almost all cars on the roads by 2050 are zero-emission reached another milestone on Tuesday (10 May), after a £2m funding pot aimed at tripling the number of hydrogen vehicles in the UK was revealed.
  
  Read more

• UN climate science chief: it's not too late to avoid dangerous temperature rise

  11-05-2016 13:00
  
  Hoesung Lee, head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, voices hope in battle against 2C increase in warming but warns of ‘phenomenal’ costsThe head of the United Nations climate science panel has declared it is still possible to avoid a dangerous 2C increase in global warming – despite more than a dozen record hot years since 2000. But the costs could be “phenomenal”, he said.In an interview with the Guardian, Hoesung Lee, the leader of the Intergovernm
  
  Read more

• On-site energy generation produced £100m of electricity in 2015, report reveals

  11-05-2016 12:27
  
  On-site energy generation projects across the UK have more than doubled in the past four years, with businesses producing almost £100m worth of electricity in 2015 alone, a new report from supplier SmartestEnergy has revealed.
  
  Read more

• Veolia: energy and heat are the missing pieces of the circular economy jigsaw

  11-05-2016 12:00
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Businesses are missing out on the benefits of taking a closed-loop approach to energy and heat consumption due to being too "hung-up" on waste-driven models, the head of circular economy at Veolia has claimed.
  
  Read more

• Coal made its best case against climate change, and lost | Dana Nuccitelli

  11-05-2016 12:00
  
  A Minnesota judge found the preponderance of evidence did not favor coal industry climate science denial
  Peabody Energy, the world’s largest private sector coal company (now bankrupt), recently faced off against environmental groups in a Minnesota court case. The case was to determine whether the State of Minnesota should continue using its exceptionally low established estimates of the ‘social cost of carbon’, or whether it should adopt higher federal estimates.The social cost
  
  Read more

• Oil sands restarts in focus as Canada wildfire threat eases

  11-05-2016 11:09
  By Nia Williams and Liz Hampton EDMONTON, Alberta (Reuters) - Market participants are closely watching on Wednesday for the prospect of further restarts by Canadian oil sands producers near wildfire-ravaged Fort McMurray as some companies began slowly bringing operations back online. Roughly 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of output has been lost to the fire, about half of the oil sands' usual daily production, as producers and pipeline operators curbed activities and moved workers out of harm's
  
  Read more

• We are mortgaging the future by scrapping zero-carbon home rules | Angus MacNeil

  11-05-2016 11:00
  
  The UK government’s failure to build new homes that are energy efficient will see future generations dealing with our costly mistakes From the Forth Bridge to our sewer system and the London Underground, we still rely on Victorian engineering every day in modern Britain. We all benefit from this inherited infrastructure, but we’re still paying the bills for the way it was built. Our older homes are among the most energy-wasting the world. And as anyone who has lived in a draughty, si
  
  Read more

• Heathrow to ban night flights as part of plan for third runway

  11-05-2016 10:54
  
  Airport reveals package of measures to reduce impact of potential expansion on local residents and the environmentHeathrow has announced plans to ban night flights in an attempt to reduce the impact of a potential third runway on the local community and environment.The airport said it would support the introduction of an independent noise authority, and pledged not to add new capacity unless it can do so without delaying UK compliance with EU air quality limits.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Premier Oil could beat production target after recent record output

  11-05-2016 10:40
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Premier Oil could exceed its full-year production target after hitting record-high output levels last weekend after the British company produced more oil from some of its North Sea and Vietnamese fields, its chief executive told Reuters. Premier, which along with rivals has slashed costs and boosted operating efficiency to weather weak oil prices, reached production levels of 78,000 barrels per day (bpd) last weekend, making it likely it will beat its 65,000-
  
  Read more

• World's carbon dioxide concentration teetering on the point of no return

  11-05-2016 10:11
  
  Future in which global concentration of C02 is permanently above 400 parts per million looms The world is hurtling towards an era when global concentrations of carbon dioxide never again dip below the 400 parts per million (ppm) milestone, as two important measuring stations sit on the point of no return.The news comes as one important atmospheric measuring station at Cape Grim in Australia is poised on the verge of 400ppm for the first time. Sitting in a region with stable CO2 concentrations, o
  
  Read more

• Nissan revs up for 'decade of disruption' with UK's first vehicle-to-grid energy storage system

  11-05-2016 09:15
  
  Japanese carmaker and leading electric vehicle (EV) producer Nissan is "turning science fiction into science fact" with a groundbreaking new scheme that will turn allow consumers to sell energy stored by Nissan Leaf cars back to the National Grid.
  
  Read more

• North-east Atlantic mackerel wins back sustainable status

  11-05-2016 09:01
  
  Stocks at the centre of the ‘mackerel war’ regain eco-label after joint efforts by fishermen and regional ministers North-east Atlantic mackerel has won back its status as a sustainably managed fish stock - after losing it at the height of the “mackerel war”.An international coalition of more than 700 fishing boats from small coastal vessels to ocean-going trawlers has regained the “eco-label” for mackerel from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), which certi
  
  Read more

• Boaty McBoatface row 'good for science'

  11-05-2016 08:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Boaty McBoatface row has "put a smile on everyone's face" and been "good for science", the head of the National Environment Research Council tells MPs.
  
  Read more

• Dyson could become next Tesla with its electric car, says expert

  11-05-2016 08:00
  
  Filed patents show the British engineering firm may use solid-state batteries that could stretch electric car’s range to hundreds of miles and increase safety Dyson could become the next Tesla motors as it develops a new electric car, according to a leading industry expert. Filed patents show the Dyson vehicle may use solid-state batteries, which would see the car’s range stretch to hundreds of miles and also be safer than current batteries.In March, a government document revealed fu
  
  Read more

• BHP Billiton joins Rio in shifting focus to growth

  11-05-2016 07:19
  By Barbara Lewis and Sonali Paul BRUSSELS/MELBOURNE (Reuters) - BHP Billiton has talked up its future growth options, joining fellow mining giant Rio Tinto in marking a shift in focus after four years of aggressive cost cutting. After Rio hit the go button last week on the long stalled $5.3 billion (3.7 billion pounds) expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, BHP said on Tuesday it expects to sign off on copper and oil projects next year. BHP Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie said the
  
  Read more

• Google Images 'as good as fieldwork' for studying animal colour

  11-05-2016 07:01
  
  Study of different colours in black bears, barn owls, black sparrowhawks and crows finds online images can substitute for costly fieldworkStudying photographs of animals posted online by the general public has proven to be as valuable as traditional fieldwork in research on the locations of species that have evolved with different colours. Colour polymorphism - the occurrence of two or more colour types in the population of a species - has long fascinated biologists. These different colour types
  
  Read more

• Thrushling tests the edges of its hedge-world

  11-05-2016 06:30
  
  Wenlock Edge, Shropshire The more it tries to blend in, the more noticeable it becomes. The bird looks as if it’s made from hedgeThe thrush in the hedge is only a nipper. It’s supposed to remain concealed, but every now and then it whirrs across the lane to the hedge opposite. There it perches in a thicket of twigs and briars, feigning invisibility, like a child hiding behind coats hung on the back of a door. There may be trouble. Two adult thrushes are flying up and down the lane. I
  
  Read more

• Oil dips on record U.S. inventories; Canada output to improve soon

  11-05-2016 04:17
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Wednesday as Canadian oil sand production was expected to gradually ramp up following forced closures due to wildfires, and as record crude inventories especially in the United States put pressure on markets. An ongoing fight by Middle East producers for market share in Asia also weighed on prices, countering production declines and disruptions around the world. International Brent crude oil futures were trading at $45.49 per barrel
  
  Read more

• 'Oldest axe' made by early Australians

  11-05-2016 03:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Archaeologists say a tiny stone flake from north-western Australia, nearly 50,000 years old, is a remnant of the earliest known axe with a handle.
  
  Read more

• CSIRO climate scientists earmarked for redundancy to finally learn their fate

  11-05-2016 02:00
  
  Staff given two weeks to explain why their jobs should be saved, followed by a two-month process in which management tries to find them another roleClimate scientists at the CSIRO who are earmarked for redundancy will learn their fate this week.Staff in the organisation’s oceans and atmosphere business unit began being told of their “potential” redundancies on Tuesday, and the process was expected to continue until Thursday. Last week a similar process occurred for scientists i
  
  Read more

• VIDEO: Dying coral reefs 'dull fish senses'

  11-05-2016 01:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Fish are unable to learn the scent of their predators in dying coral reefs, research reveals.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!