Environment news

• Oil jumps to near $50 after API reports big U.S. stockpile draw

  24-05-2016 23:47
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil rose about 1 percent on Tuesday on a boost from Wall Street and expectations of a drawdown in U.S. crude inventories, then prices jumped another 1 percent after settlement to nearly $50 (£34.2) a barrel after an industry group suggested the draw was larger than expected. Data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed U.S. crude inventories fell 5.1 million barrels last week, double the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters. The rall
  
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• Insurance companies taking too big a risk on fossil fuels, report says

  24-05-2016 22:29 via theguardian.com
  
  The US insurance industry is the second largest institutional investor in oil, gas and coal – but it risks losing money if it doesn’t change its investment strategyThe US insurance industry, the country’s second largest institutional investor in oil, gas and coal with $459bn in fossil fuel investments, needs to divest or face serious threats to its financial stability, according to a report released Tuesday.The report, funded by Ceres, a Boston-based sustainability advocacy gro
  
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• NSW last in class on Climate Council report card for renewable energy use

  24-05-2016 21:57 via theguardian.com
  
  South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory take the green podium for their efforts and policies pushing renewable energy targets New South Wales is the worst Australian state at driving renewable energy, and South Australia and the ACT lead the pack, a report produced by the Climate Council has found.The results came just weeks after South Australia closed its last coal power station, and the ACT announced a target to source 100% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. Continue r
  
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• Fracking is a futile betrayal of our national interest | John Ashton

  24-05-2016 21:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Imposing the extraction of shale gas on communities in England undermines our already fragile democracyDrinkers in the Ashfield Country Manor Hotel face a dilemma. There is no other pub in the quiet working village of Kirby Misperton in Ryedale. But the landlord has banned discussion on his premises of the very topic that people most want to talk about, because of the strong feelings it arouses. Those feelings are about to get stronger.In the face of overwhelming local opposition, North Yorkshir
  
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• Shell pipeline fixed after spill near Tracy, California - ABC News

  24-05-2016 21:33
  (Reuters) - A Royal Dutch Shell pipeline near Tracy, California has been repaired after spilling up to 21,000 gallons of oil, ABC News reported on its website on Tuesday. Shell shut down its San Pablo Bay pipeline at Tracy, California last week after noticing very low suction and increased flow rate. Shell did not give a timeline for the resumption of oil flow, according to the report. (Reporting by Harshith Aranya in Bengaluru; Editing by Frances Kerry)
  
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• Some crude production restarts as cool weather saps Canadian wildfire

  24-05-2016 21:31
  By Eric M. Johnson CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Some crude producers restarted operations on Tuesday in Canada's energy heartland as a mass evacuation of the Fort McMurray oil town entered its fourth week, though cool weather and light winds were helping firefighters dampen the blaze. The blaze was spreading mainly across forested areas to the east on Tuesday as firefighters were working to hold fire breaks around prized oil sands facilities where crews have stripped away tinder-dry trees and ve
  
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• Drone footage captures Cambodian canal overrun by rubbish – video

  24-05-2016 21:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Drone footage shot by Khmer Times shows mass pollution in the Cambodian Phnom Penh waterways, with the canal system blocked by rubbish ranging from plastic to sewage. The canals and waterways in Phnom Penh are some of the most polluted in the region, leading environmental activists to call on the government to immediately take actionContinue reading...
  
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• A Different Look at Energy Harvesting Roadways

  24-05-2016 21:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  Over fifty percent of the United States energy comes from coal and petroleum based fuels. Powering a nation in which the average person uses the amount of energy in 15,370 lbs of coal or 165,033 sticks of dynamite in a year is not sustainable. When thinking of a solution, the well-known renewable energy source that most likely comes to mind is solar power.Solar panels are an impervious surface. Impervious surfaces already take up 32,868.61 square miles of roads, parking lots, driveways, and more
  
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• Exxon 'has to change or die' on climate

  24-05-2016 20:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The world's biggest publicly traded oil company faces a critical AGM under pressure from a broad coalition of shareholders on climate change.
  
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• Factbox: Climate change proposals for Exxon, Chevron shareholders

  24-05-2016 19:32
  (Reuters) - Shareholders of Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp , two of the world's largest oil producers, will vote on Wednesday on a raft of proposals designed to push the companies to respond more proactively to climate change risks and regulations. The stakes are highest at Exxon, which has come under intense scrutiny from environmentalists and some investors this past year over the way it handled climate change data. With public sentiment pressuring big oil companies on environmental issues,
  
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• Climate change takes centre stage at Exxon, Chevron annual meetings

  24-05-2016 19:32
  By Ernest Scheyder and Terry Wade HOUSTON (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp will face their toughest-ever push by shareholders concerned about a warming world at annual meetings on Wednesday, as the Paris accord to tackle climate change ratchets up investor pressure on two of the world's largest oil companies. The tension is most acute at Exxon, which has denied accusations from environmentalists that it purposely misled the public about climate change risks. The New York attorney ge
  
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• French strike hits refinery output in labour reform showdown

  24-05-2016 19:21
  By Marc Leras and Brian Love MARSEILLE/PARIS (Reuters) - France's Socialist government drew battle lines with one of the country's biggest trade union's on Tuesday over labour market reforms as a strike by oil workers forced at least five refineries to halt or slow down operations. Riot police fired tear gas and water canon to break up a picket line blocking access to Exxon Mobil Corp's refinery outside the southern port city of Marseille, as scores of petrol stations nationwide ran dry of fuel.
  
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• Has Donald Trump dug himself into a bunker with his climate change views? | Tim Dowling

  24-05-2016 19:16 via theguardian.com
  
  The Republican candidate has been dismissive of global warming. But when it comes to his golf course in Ireland, he seems to be taking the threat seriouslyA golf-and-hotel complex on the west coast of Ireland has applied to construct extensive dune erosion defences to mitigate the effects of erosion “due to sea level rise and increased Atlantic storminess”. An investigation by the US news website Politico found that the environmental impact statement included with the application spe
  
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• Strikes cripple French oil refineries, disrupt shipping

  24-05-2016 19:10
  By Bate Felix and Amanda Cooper PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - Strikes by French oil sector workers protesting proposed labour reforms spread to all the country's refineries on Tuesday, sapping petrol stations dry and creating delays for tankers at major ports. France has been hit by a wave of strikes over the past week aimed at forcing President Francois Hollande's socialist government to withdraw proposed new labour market rules. Striking workers have blocked fuel depots and oil terminals, disruptin
  
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• Bee swarm clinging to car boot has Welsh town abuzz

  24-05-2016 18:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Park ranger and beekeepers help remove thousands of bees after queen was thought trapped in back of a car in HaverfordwestThousands of bees left a town buzzing after swarming on to the boot of a car.The insects are believed to have swarmed on to the back of a silver Mitsubishi Outlander after their queen got stuck in its boot. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil rises on U.S. crude drawdown hopes, Wall St. rally

  24-05-2016 18:21
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday as investors anticipated a weekly drawdown in U.S. crude inventories that they hoped would boost prices closer to $50 a barrel, while a rally on Wall Street also lent support. "We're gearing up on expectations that the wildfires in Canada may finally be showing up in U.S. crude inventory numbers," said Phil Flynn, analyst at the Price Futures Group in Chicago. "If they show up decisively, it may be what the market needs to test $
  
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• Total says strikes could jeopardise its investments in France

  24-05-2016 18:20
  French oil and gas company Total warned on Tuesday that strikes that have forced the shutdown of two of its refineries, with two more in the process of shutting down, could make it reconsider investments in its French plants. The temporary shutdowns are the result of industrial action over France's planned labour reforms, which have triggered weeks of street protests and risk paralysing the country with rolling strikes at refineries, ports and railways. Total's Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne t
  
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• Glastonbury festival fined over sewage leak

  24-05-2016 18:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Judge finds festival had low culpability for incident in 2014 that led to death of 42 fish in Whitelake river and is ‘impressed’ with its response to incidentGlastonbury festival has been ordered to pay £31,000 after thousands of gallons of human sewage leaked out of a steel container tank, seeped into a stream and killed fish. The Environment Agency claimed during a hearing that the event had grown more quickly than its ability to deal with so much waste.Continue reading...
  
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• Galileo launch for satellites 13 and 14

  24-05-2016 18:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Two more satellites in the Galileo network are launched to orbit, putting the EU's version of GPS on course to start services at the end of the year.
  
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• Body Shop 'bio-bridges' to regenerate forests and connect wildlife habitats

  24-05-2016 18:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Programme in partnership with World Land Trust will create corridors of natural habitat to prevent threatened species from being cut off from each otherA programme to regenerate thousands of acres of forest and link habitats in wildlife-rich parts of the world has been launched.The “bio-bridges” scheme, which creates corridors of natural habitat to prevent threatened wildlife populations being cut off from each other, is being run by the Body Shop in partnership with the World Land T
  
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• Brazil police chief says political intervention a concern

  24-05-2016 17:38
  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian police chief Igor Romario, one of the leaders of a sweeping investigation into graft involving state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA and contractors, said on Tuesday that political intervention in the case was a concern but so far not affecting police work. At a news conference to give details on a new phase of the investigation, Romario said that the appointment of justice minister Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the federal police, reassured investigators.
  
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• Unreliable car emissions tests harming fight against air pollution, expert says

  24-05-2016 17:06 via theguardian.com
  
  On the road and lab test discrepancies undermining efforts to curb toxic air levels as UN environment assembly admits global response is not up to scratch The growing gulf between laboratory tests and real world air pollution from cars is hampering efforts to cut the toxic air that kills millions of people a year worldwide, a leading expert has warned.The UN admitted on Tuesday that the global response to air pollution is not up to scratch, after it was revealed last week by the World Health Org
  
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• Shell CEO warns renewables shift could spell end if too swift

  24-05-2016 17:00
  By Ron Bousso THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell cannot switch too quickly to producing renewable energy without risking its dividend payments and even its very existence, the oil and gas group's chief executive warned. Major investors, including Dutch pension fund PGGM, have criticised Shell's climate change policy in recent months, saying it should do more to mitigate climate change risks.
  
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• New nuclear remains in pole position to drive Britain's decarbonisation, says DECC

  24-05-2016 16:13
  
  Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom has today (24 May) underlined the Government's prioritisation of nuclear energy, insisting it remains in "pole position" to drive down Britain's emissions, ahead of other technologies due to its comparatively low-cost to the UK taxpayer.
  
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• Sentinel satellite probes coral health

  24-05-2016 16:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  European scientists are working on techniques that would allow them to routinely monitor the health of corals worldwide from orbit.
  
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• No deadline set for final decision on Hinkley nuclear plant

  24-05-2016 15:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Energy minister tells MPs that no time limit has been set for EDF to make a final investment decision on the much-delayed nuclear plant The UK has set no deadline for the final go-ahead to the much-delayed Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, energy minister Andrea Leadsom told a committee of MPs on Tuesday. The head of the company aiming to build the new reactors, French state-owned EDF, told the same hearing he could not give a date for the decision nor confirm that it would start generating electri
  
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• 'Riding roughshod over democracy': residents on fracking in North Yorkshire

  24-05-2016 15:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Despite thousands of objections shale gas tests in Kirby Misperton were approved on Monday. Locals living in the area tell us their concernsAfter a verdict on Monday that will see the first operation to frack for shale gas in five years in North Yorkshire, anti-fracking campaigners have accused the county council of declaring war on people’s rights to clean air and water.
  Tests for shale gas can now take place in the village of Kirby Misperton, in the Ryedale district, after councillors ga
  
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• Evolutionary engineer wins tech prize

  24-05-2016 14:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  US biochemical engineer Frances Arnold takes the million-euro Millennium Technology Prize for pioneering 'directed evolution'.
  
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• Squid populations on the rise

  24-05-2016 14:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  Unlike the declining populations of many fish species, the number of cephalopods (octopus, cuttlefish and squid) has increased in the world's oceans over the past 60 years, a University of Adelaide study has found.The international team, led by researchers from the University's Environment Institute, compiled a global database of cephalopod catch rates to investigate long-term trends in abundance, published in Cell Press journal Current Biology.
  
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• UN calls for overhaul of national laws to tackle wildlife crime

  24-05-2016 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Countries urged to outlaw possession of wildlife and timber illegally harvested or traded elsewhereGovernments around the world need to pass national laws outlawing the possession of wildlife and timber that has been illegally harvested or traded elsewhere, a new report by the UN’s Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) urges.At present, unlisted but endangered flora and fauna can be legally sold in other nations, even if it was illicitly taken from the countries of origin, due to a lack of cov
  
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• How The Body Shop is using 'monkey dating' to tackle deforestation

  24-05-2016 13:59
  
  The Body Shop has today (24 May) officially launched its new Bio-Bridges programme, which aims to regenerate and reconnect 75 million square metres of damaged forests, as part of the beauty products retailer's ambitious new CSR strategy.
  
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• ICT solutions can reduce EU carbon emissions by 1.5Gt, says BT

  24-05-2016 13:26
  
  Utilising and enhancing smart manufacturing, smart buildings and smart energy could reduce the European Union's (EU) carbon footprint by more than 1.5Gt by 2030, a new report from communications giant BT has found.
  
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• North Yorkshire council fracking decision a 'declaration of war'

  24-05-2016 13:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners vow to fight council’s landmark ruling approving fracking in Kirby Misperton, near North York MoorsAnti-fracking campaigners have accused North Yorkshire council of declaring war on people’s rights to clean air and water after it approved the first operation to frack for shale gas in five years. Related: 'Riding roughshod over democracy': residents on fracking in North YorkshireContinue reading...
  
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• Fracking approval reignites row

  24-05-2016 13:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Approval for fracking in North Yorkshire raises the prospect of the controversial technique being allowed at other sites and restarts an intense debate.
  
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• China's science revolution

  24-05-2016 12:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Five glimpses inside China's scientific revolution
  
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• South African court gives green light to domestic trade in rhino horn

  24-05-2016 12:50 via theguardian.com
  
  Court dismisses government bid to uphold seven-year ban on domestic trade in rhino horn - but global ban remains in placeSouth Africa’s supreme court has dismissed a government bid to uphold a seven-year ban on the domestic trade in rhino horn, an industry group said this week. The decision has no bearing on a ban on international trade in rhino horn. Potential domestic buyers could include those who see rhino horn as a store of wealth that could appreciate in value and those who want it a
  
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• UK renewables cuts 'risk slowing shift to clean energy'

  24-05-2016 12:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Push for nuclear and gas over renewables could be more costly in the long term, warns UN’s environment chiefThe UK government risks slowing the shift to clean energy sources by cutting support for renewable energy and strongly backing gas as a transitional fuel, according to the UN’s environment chief.Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), told the Guardian that he thought the UK’s push for nuclear and gas over renewables could be more costly
  
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• Juries 'could enter virtual crime scenes'

  24-05-2016 12:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Virtual reality technology used in the gaming industry could be utilised to recreate crime scenes for jurors, researchers claim.
  
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• Oil falls for fifth day as focus returns to growing exports

  24-05-2016 11:14
  By Simon Falush LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell for a fifth consecutive day on Tuesday on rising production from major exporters, and as the dollar strengthened. Iraq's oil output has reached 4.7 million barrels per day (bpd) and exports are running at a record 3.9 million bpd, the state-run Iraqi Media Network reported on Tuesday, citing Deputy Oil Minister Fayadh al-Nema. "Iraq's production is up and Iran talked about increasing to 2.2 million barrels per day and there's no way that OPEC is going
  
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• Can Johannesburg reinvent itself as Africa’s first cycle-friendly megacity?

  24-05-2016 11:13 via theguardian.com
  
  In a city of 10 million designed around the car – but where most can’t afford one – could bicycles be the answer? The legacy of apartheid planning makes change difficult but cyclists are pushing and, crucially, they have the mayor’s support“Minibus taxis are our biggest problem. They are dangerous. They just don’t care,” says Lovemore as he joins us on a dusty corner in Johannesburg’s Diepsloot township. We are waiting for a group of cyclists to fo
  
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• VIDEO: How a pig helped this man to see again

  24-05-2016 10:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Wu Pinggui talks to the BBC after having an operation to transplant a pig's cornea into his eye.
  
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• French police break up refinery blockade in anti-reform showdown

  24-05-2016 10:55
  By Marc Leras and Brian Love MARSEILLE/PARIS (Reuters) - French police using water cannon and tear gas broke up a strike picket that was blocking access to a large oil refinery in the southern port area of Marseille on Tuesday in a government versus union showdown over contested labour law reforms. The police operation outside the Fos-sur-Mer refinery, which belongs to U.S.-based Exxon Mobil Corp, took place as scores of fuel stations ran dry and the government warned the industrial action would
  
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• Fracking wins battle in Yorkshire but not the war | Damian Carrington

  24-05-2016 10:14 via theguardian.com
  
  For those backing fracking, the approval of exploration plans at Kirby Misperton is a vital victory, but they are fighting growing public oppositionFor those backing fracking, the approval of exploration plans at Kirby Misperton in Yorkshire is a vital victory. But the war is far from won, with public opinion moving ever further against fracking. The more zealously the government goes on the offensive on shale gas, the more people oppose it. Continue reading...
  
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• Ecotricity gains planning permission for 'future of energy' hybrid parks

  24-05-2016 10:00
  
  Green energy provider Ecotricity has gained planning permission to create some of the first hybrid energy parks in Britain, by combining current wind farms with two new "sun parks" in Devon and Leicestershire respectively.
  
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• London Metropolitan lights up carbon reduction rankings with new LED project

  24-05-2016 09:30
  
  London Metropolitan University has been named as England's number one university for carbon reduction, after using a new LED light installation as part of a wider scheme that has seen carbon emissions slashed by 47%.
  
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• The gene's still selfish: Dawkins' famous idea turns 40

  24-05-2016 09:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientist and author Richard Dawkins discusses his legacy - and giving up Twitter
  
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• Why British environmentalists should vote for Brexit | Michael Liebreich

  24-05-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  From phasing out coal to creating nature reserves, it is the EU which should be taking lectures from the UK, not the other way round The leading lights of the UK environmental movement would have us believe that a win by the Brexit camp on 23 June would be akin to a natural disaster.
  According to them, it is only our membership of the EU that renders our beaches swimmable, our water drinkable and our air almost breathable. Freed from the noble, ceaseless efforts of the ever-vigilant EU, troglody
  
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• Debt repayments in crude cripple poorer oil producers

  24-05-2016 08:33
  By Libby George and Dmitry Zhdannikov LONDON (Reuters) - Poorer oil-producing countries which took out loans to be repaid in oil when the price was higher are having to send three times as much to respect repayment schedules now prices have fallen. This has crippled the finances of countries such as Angola, Venezuela, Nigeria and Iraq and created a further division within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Ahead of an OPEC meeting next week, poorer members have continued to p
  
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