Environment news

• Bob Katter calls for crocodile shooting safaris after suspected fatal attack

  30-05-2016 23:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Northern Queensland MPs at loggerheads after Warren Entsch said the attack in the Daintree national park was the result of ‘human stupidity’Independent MP Bob Katter says crocodile shooting safaris should be allowed in Queensland’s far north following a suspected fatal attack.On Tuesday police were due to resume the search for the body of Cindy Waldron, 46, who was dragged under water after entering the water late at night at Thornton beach in the Daintree national park on Sund
  
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• Nigeria's Buhari to visit Niger Delta for first time this week

  30-05-2016 22:51
  By Felix Onuah ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari will on Thursday visit the Niger Delta region, rocked by attacks on oil and gas facilities, for the first time since taking office a year ago, a government official said on Monday. The visit was announced a day after Buhari said the government would hold talks with leaders in Nigeria's main oil-producing region to address their grievances, in a bid to stop a surge in pipeline attacks. Buhari will visit a Niger Delta area calle
  
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• Brazil's Temer pressed to drop anti-corruption minister

  30-05-2016 21:00
  By Anthony Boadle and Lisandra Paraguassu BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's interim President Michel Temer was under pressure on Monday to drop his anti-corruption minister, the second top official in his new government accused of trying to derail a sprawling bribery and kickback probe before taking office. Transparency Minister Fabiano Silveira, the man charged with fighting corruption, and Senate President Renan Calheiros became the latest officials ensnared by leaked recordings secretly made by a
  
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• St Kilda’s remoteness doesn’t shield it from man’s influence | Patrick Barkham

  30-05-2016 20:22 via theguardian.com
  
  The tiny Scottish archipelago celebrates 30 years as a World Heritage site this summer, but its sea birds are suffering the results of overfishing in the AtlanticLike most visitors, I had formed a picture in my head of St Kilda before I finally set foot last week on the most remote of the British isles, which was reluctantly abandoned by its last 36 permanent residents in 1930. Related: Why we love the chough, and its soap opera life | Patrick BarkhamContinue reading...
  
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• What Are Nile Crocodiles Doing in Florida?

  30-05-2016 20:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  At up to 20 feet long and weighing a ton and a half, with the strongest bite in the animal kingdom, Nile crocodiles can pretty much devour anything they want to — including humans.As you can guess from their name, these carnivorous crocs are native to sub-Saharan Africa, where they subsist on small hippos, zebras and other animals they catch and, in some cases, swallow whole.
  
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• Oil prices edge higher in thin trade; OPEC eyed

  30-05-2016 19:59
  Oil prices inched up towards $50 a barrel on Monday, although uncertainty ahead of an OPEC producer-group meeting later in the week was expected to cap gains. While OPEC has been unable to agree on an output freeze to support prices, Iraq was the latest Middle East producer to raise its export quota ahead of the meeting, supplying 5 million barrels of extra crude to its partners in June. "So far there's pretty much a consensus that nothing will happen and that the same strategies will continue,
  
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• Pilots, oil workers strike as France seeks way out of crisis

  30-05-2016 19:37
  By Emmanuel Jarry and Ingrid Melander PARIS (Reuters) - Air France pilots voted on Monday to go on strike and oil storage workers extended a job walkout, compounding the French government's woes as it scrambled to calm rolling protests against labour reforms ahead of the Euro soccer tournament. After more than three months of tense talks, often violent street protests, and waves of strikes in the transport and energy industries, the Socialist government is under pressure to find a solution befor
  
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• Libyan oil guard says captures coastal town from Islamic State after clashes

  30-05-2016 19:32
  By Ayman al-Warfalli BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - A force that controls key oil terminals in eastern Libya said it had captured the town of Ben Jawad from Islamic State, pushing the militant group back along a coastal strip they control east of their stronghold of Sirte. Spokesman Ali al-Hassi said four Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) fighters had been killed and 16 wounded in fierce clashes in the coastal town, and that fighting was continuing in the nearby town of Nawfiliyah. The PFG claim, if
  
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• Action against illegal fishing falls after cuts at enforcement agency

  30-05-2016 18:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Data released to Greenpeace in response to FoI requests show number of prosecutions has dropped significantly in recent yearsFar fewer pirate fishermen are being caught in English and Welsh waters, with prosecutions, warnings and inspections all plummeting in recent years following cuts at the enforcement agency.The reduction in action against illegal fishing, a multimillion-pound activity, is putting marine life at risk and allowing “blackfish” to become a normal catch for some rogu
  
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• Worried elephant mother watches rescuers save calf stuck in drain – video

  30-05-2016 18:15 via theguardian.com
  
  A worried mother elephant looks on as her calf is rescued by wildlife officials in Sri Lanka, after it fell into an open drain. Rescuers in the town of Hambantota fire smoke bullets to keep her from coming too close while they dismantle the drain and pull the calf to safety Continue reading...
  
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• EDF's Hinkley Point deal over radioactive waste sparks anger

  30-05-2016 18:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Expert criticises ministers over refusal to disclose agreement with energy supplier for planned nuclear plant
  A furious row has broken out after the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) refused to disclose the arrangement with EDF for dealing with radioactive waste at the planned Hinkley Point C nuclear plant.The information commissioner’s office has turned down a freedom of information (FoI) request for state aid arrangements between the UK and the European commission to be made
  
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• Tigers seized from Thailand temple over wildlife trafficking claim

  30-05-2016 17:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Officials remove three animals following raid at temple, which has been investigated for animal abuse in recent yearsWildlife authorities in Thailand have raided a Buddhist temple where tigers are kept, taking away three of the animals and vowing to confiscate scores more in response to global pressure over wildlife trafficking.The Buddhist temple in Kanchanaburi province, west of Bangkok, has more than 100 tigers and has become a tourist destination where visitors take selfies with tigers and b
  
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• Malaysia just established a one million hectare marine park

  30-05-2016 16:41 via theguardian.com
  
  The new Tun Mustapha marine park & shark sanctuary in Borneo is the biggest marine protected area in MalaysiaMalaysia has just established the biggest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the country. The Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) occupies 1m hectares (2.47m acres) of seascape off the northern tip of Sabah province in Borneo, a region containing the second largest concentration of coral reefs in Malaysia as well as other important habitats like mangroves, sea grass beds and productive fishing ground
  
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• Malaysia establishes a 1-million-hectare marine park

  30-05-2016 16:41 via theguardian.com
  
  The new Tun Mustapha marine park & shark sanctuary in Borneo is the biggest marine protected area in MalaysiaMalaysia has just established the biggest marine protected area (MPA) in the country. The Tun Mustapha park (TMP) occupies 1m hectares (2.47m acres) of seascape off the northern tip of Sabah province in Borneo, a region containing the second largest concentration of coral reefs in Malaysia as well as other important habitats like mangroves, sea grass beds and productive fishing ground
  
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• Brexit would free UK from 'spirit-crushing' green directives, says minister

  30-05-2016 16:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Farming minister George Eustice says leave vote would free up £2bn now spent on insurance schemes and incentives for farmersThe UK could develop a more flexible approach to environmental protection free of “spirit-crushing” Brussels directives if it votes to leave the EU, the farming minister, George Eustice, has said. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil prices slip as Iraq raises exports

  30-05-2016 14:52
  By Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower towards $49 a barrel on Monday as Iraq raised its crude exports target ahead of an OPEC meeting while Canadian production was set to restart after huge wildfires. Attention turned to a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna on Thursday, though most analysts did not expect any changes in the group's production. While OPEC has been unable to agree on an output freeze in an effort to support prices, I
  
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• Is Chris Packham right – should children eat tadpoles?

  30-05-2016 14:20 via theguardian.com
  
  The Springwatch presenter’s revelation may seem a tad unpalatable, but he is sending an important message to parents about children’s encounters with natureAs celebrity revelations go, it’s one of the more unusual: as a boy, Chris Packham would decant tadpoles on to a special spoon and eat them.The naturalist and Springwatch presenter reveals his tadpolephagy in his new memoir, Fingers in the Sparkle Jar, and he’s not sorry either. They are gritty and tricky to chew, Pack
  
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• Germany plans draft law on nuclear storage costs in August

  30-05-2016 13:44
  The German cabinet plans to approve a draft law on August 3 that will require its utilities to pay billions of euros into a state fund to help cover the cost of nuclear storage, according to an Economy Ministry timetable seen by Reuters on Monday. A commission recommended in April that Germany's "big four" power firms - E.ON, RWE, EnBW and Vattenfall - pay a total 23.3 billion euros ($26 billion) to remove unwanted long-term liability for the storage of nuclear waste. The legacy costs stem from
  
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• Brazil's anti-corruption minister criticizes Petrobras probe - Globo TV

  30-05-2016 13:43
  The Brazilian interim government's new minister tasked with combating corruption was heard on leaked audio tapes criticizing the sprawling graft investigation at state-run oil company Petrobras and advising the Senate leader caught up in the probe. Globo TV on Sunday aired a partial recording of a late February meeting between new Transparency Minister Fabiano Silveira, Senate leader Renan Calheiros and Sergio Machado, an ex-senator and former head of the transportation arm of Petrobras. Machado
  
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• Recently-discovered peacock spiders species revel in new-found fame – video

  30-05-2016 12:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Sydney biologist Jürgen Otto has discovered seven new peacock spider species. All within the Maratus genus, these tiny spiders can be found in particularly in Western Australia. Otto believes there are 48 confirmed species of peacock spider, which he says “behave more like cats and dogs”. Otto has a Facebook page with more than 61,000 followers and a YouTube channel, both dedicated to the colourful arachnidsPeacock spiders: scientist finds seven new species of ‘fairly cute
  
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• Oil prices dip as Iraq raises exports

  30-05-2016 12:03
  By Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped to around $49 a barrel on Monday as Iraq raised its crude exports target ahead of an OPEC meeting while Canadian production was set to restart after huge wildfires. Attention turned to a meeting by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna this week, although most analysts did not expect any changes in the group's production. While the group has been unable to agree on an output freeze in an effort to support prices,
  
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• El Niño is over – but it leaves nearly 100 million people short of food

  30-05-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Scientists say sea temperatures are back to normal, but from southern Africa to southern Asia, droughts and heatwaves have left a trail of devastationThe strongest El Niño in 35 years which has seen long droughts, scorching temperatures, water shortages and flooding around the world is officially over. But the consequences of a second year of extreme weather will be seen for many more months in food shortages for nearly 100 million people, the loss of income for millions of poor farmers a
  
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• Kenya's new front in poaching battle: 'the future is in the hands of our communities'

  30-05-2016 10:40 via theguardian.com
  
  In a country hit by a devastating poaching surge for rhino horn and elephant ivory, local people are turning the tide – but the wider problems of demand, corruption and organised crime remain“It’s hard work. I cut their tusks off with an axe,” said Abdi Ali, a northern Kenyan pastoralist who became a full-time poacher at 14. With three other men it took him about 10 minutes to kill each of the 27 elephants he poached, cutting off the trunk, splitting the skull and removin
  
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• Australia’s censorship of Unesco climate report is like a Shakespearean tragedy | Graham Readfearn

  30-05-2016 07:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef is clearly at risk from climate change, so why would Unesco agree to censor its own report?That quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet comes to mind: “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” The lady in question is the Australian government, which some time in early January saw a draft of a report from a United Nations organisation.Continue reading...
  
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• Kangaroo attacks and injures two cyclists in South Australia

  30-05-2016 07:15 via theguardian.com
  
  The suspected male buck jumped on to Sharon Heinrich and her friend when they paused on a cycle tour of the Reisling Trail in Clare ValleyTwo women have been attacked by a kangaroo while cycling in South Australia’s wine country.Sharon Heinrich, 45, suffered cracked ribs and internal injuries while Helen Salter, 47, was concussed after being attacked along the Riesling Trail in Clare Valley.Continue reading...
  
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• Backlash over gorilla killing at US zoo

  30-05-2016 07:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The killing of a gorilla at a zoo in the US city of Cincinnati after a four-year-old boy fell into its enclosure triggers outrage on social media.
  
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• Oil prices dip on strong dollar, rising Canadian output

  30-05-2016 07:03
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Monday as a strong dollar weighed on markets and Canadian oil sands production was expected to increase this week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $49.21 per barrel at 0453 GMT, down 12 cents from their last settlement.
  
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• My search for the nightingale's song

  30-05-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Castor Hanglands, Cambridgeshire I listen for 30 minutes, imagining this delicate thing inhaling, exhaling, creating that soundIt’s odd going somewhere to listen. Usually you go somewhere to look. I’d never knowingly heard a nightingale. The word is so resonant. It’s maybe 1,000 years old, that name: nihtgale, “night songstress” – but now they know it’s the male that sings so distinctively by dark, to defend and attract. I’d always thought the name
  
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• Peacock spiders: scientist finds seven new species of 'fairly cute' creatures

  30-05-2016 06:04 via theguardian.com
  
  Sydney biologist has a Facebook page dedicated to the colourful arachnids, which he says behave more like cats and dogsPeacock spiders - in picturesA scientist with a passion for peacock spiders – only a couple of millimetres long, extraordinarily colourful and “like dogs or cats” in their behaviour – has discovered seven new species.Jürgen Otto, a biologist from Sydney, has been researching the arachnids since 2005, and has gained a significant following online with
  
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• Australian peacock spiders that behave 'like dogs and cats' – in pictures

  30-05-2016 05:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Several new species of peacock spider – just a few millimetres long and featuring extraordinary colours – have been discovered in Western Australia and South Australia. Sydney biologist Jürgen Otto, who discovered the seven new species, has compared their behaviour to that of cats and dogs Continue reading...
  
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• Oil prices rise on start of peak U.S. demand season

  30-05-2016 03:19
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up in early trading on Monday as the peak demand U.S. summer driving season officially kicks off just as its crude production falls to its lowest level since September 2014. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $49.44 per barrel at 0108 GMT, up 11 cents from their last settlement. "Oil prices stayed within touch of $50 per barrel despite news that some Canadian oil sands producers were planning on restarting
  
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• Data is the secret weapon in the battle to save Australia's urban forests

  30-05-2016 02:20 via theguardian.com
  
  As cities expand and trees are sacrificed for housing and infrastructure, the cost of losing green spaces grows
  Deforestation. It is a word that conjures up mental images of loggers cleaving their way through pristine woodlands and grim statistics measuring how many football pitches worth of Amazon jungle get cleared every minute, but it isn’t something that only happens in the wild.Trees in the city are also being chopped down, a fact that is of increasing concern to urban planners as it
  
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• VIDEO: Can baking soda save the world?

  30-05-2016 01:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  US researchers are testing a key ingredient of baking soda as a means of capturing carbon dioxide.
  
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