Environment news

• Extraterrestrial honour for UK astronaut Tim Peake

  10-06-2016 23:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Astronaut Tim Peake is recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
  
  Read more

• Thousands Ask Feds to Protect West Coast's Beloved Orcas Before It's Too Late

  10-06-2016 22:36 via feedproxy.google.com
  Thousands of people spoke out this week to ask for more protection for a highly endangered and beloved population of orcas, otherwise known as the Southern Resident killer whales who live in the Pacific Northwest.Thanks to whale watching tours, and organizations like the Orca Network and Center for Whale Research, which keeps an official census of their population, we have had the opportunity to glimpse into their daily lives. We’ve been able to cele
  
  Read more

• CO2 Gets Stoned: Method Turns Harmful Gas Into Solid

  10-06-2016 21:57
  
  Essentially, they relied on a sped-up version of natural processes to take the carbon dioxide (CO2) spewed from a power plant in Iceland and transform the gas into a solid. This ability to capture carbon dioxide and store it indefinitely may help curb the levels of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere and stem global warming, the researchers noted. "We need to deal with rising carbon emissions," lead study author Juerg Matter, now an associate professor of geoengineering at the University of So
  
  Read more

• Oil down 3 percent as U.S. drillers add rigs, strong dollar weighs

  10-06-2016 21:08
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices settled down 3 percent on Friday after data showing the U.S. oil drilling rig count rising for a second week in row and a stronger dollar weighed on demand for greenback-denominated crude futures. A slide of more than 1 percent in Wall Street share prices , the largest since April, also prompted pre-weekend profit-taking in Brent and U.S. crude futures, which had rallied earlier in the week. The front-month in U.S. crude's West Texas Intermediat
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Light Pollution Ruins Night-Sky Views for One-Third of Humanity

  10-06-2016 21:06
  
  A new, comprehensive atlas of worldwide light pollution reveals that one-third of all people cannot see the Milky Way in the sky, including nearly 80 percent of North Americans. The work describes the effect of the rapid increase in artificial light on the night sky throughout the world, documenting this lesser-known form of pollution that can affect local ecosystems, damage human health and incur large, unnecessary energy costs. The project also offers suggestions for how to reduce light p
  
  Read more

• Light pollution 'affects 80% of global population'

  10-06-2016 20:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  More than 80% of the world's population lives under light-polluted skies, a study suggests.
  
  Read more

• Milky Way no longer visible to one third of humanity, light pollution atlas shows

  10-06-2016 20:01
  
  Scientists describe ‘cultural loss of unprecedented magnitude’ as global atlas reveals extent of light pollution in the world’s skiesIt has inspired astronomers, artists, musicians and poets but the Milky Way could become a distant memory for much of humanity, a new global atlas of light pollution suggests.The study reveals that 60% of Europeans and almost 80% of North Americans cannot see the glowing band of our galaxy because of the effects of artificial lighting, while it is
  
  Read more

• More than half of jobs in UK solar industry lost in wake of subsidy cuts

  10-06-2016 19:28
  
  Change in government’s energy policy blamed for job losses just as solar power eclipses coal in electricity generationThe solar power industry says it has seen the loss of more than half its 35,000 jobs due to recent changes in government energy policy, just at a time when solar power has eclipsed coal as a major generator of Britain’s electricity.Experts believe ministers had cut subsidies too far and too fast, praising the “seismic”, record-breaking growth of solar in r
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Ecotricity founder calls for time limit on divorce payout claims

  10-06-2016 18:51
  
  Dale Vince agrees to pay ex-wife Kathleen Wyatt £300,000 after she lodged £1.9m claim more than 20 years after their divorceThe Green energy tycoon Dale Vince has called for a time limit on divorce cash claims after agreeing to pay his ex-wife £300,000 in a financial settlement.
  Kathleen Wyatt initially sought £1.9m from the founder of Ecotricity in a claim lodged more than 25 years after the couple separated and nearly 20 years since their divorce. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• "The EU is doing its homework": Commission makes landmark proposal to ratify Paris Agreement

  10-06-2016 17:53
  
  The European Commission has today (10 June) presented its plans for the European Union (EU) to ratify the historic Paris Agreement, calling for a swift process of enshrining the global climate deal into European law.
  
  Read more

• NOAA, USGS, partners predict an average 'dead zone' for Gulf of Mexico

  10-06-2016 17:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scientists forecast that this year's Gulf of Mexico dead zone--an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and marine life - will be approximately 5,898 square miles or about the size of Connecticut, the same range as it has averaged over the last several years.
  
  Read more

• Oil down ahead of U.S. rig count; strong dollar weighs

  10-06-2016 16:31
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell nearly 2 pct on Friday as investors braced for another likely rise in the U.S. oil rig count this week and as a strong dollar again weighed on demand for crude futures denominated in the greenback. The Niger Delta Avengers group blew up the Obi Obi Brass trunk line for oil run by ENI , adding to the woes of Africa's largest oil economy. Brent and WTI remained on track for weekly gains, although that could change if prices slipped further on
  
  Read more

• Nigerian official confirms attack on ENI pipeline in Niger Delta

  10-06-2016 16:25
  A Nigerian militant group attacked a pipeline operated by Italy's ENI in the Niger Delta region early on Friday, the militants and a security official said. "There was an attack on the Obi Obi Brass Pipeline between 1 and 2 am today Friday," said Desmond Agu, commander of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Bayelsa state. "There is an oil spill at the scene... but the place is not on fire." The Niger Delta Avengers militant group earlier claimed responsibility for the attack on the p
  
  Read more

• Low ice, low snow, both poles

  10-06-2016 16:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  Daily Arctic sea ice extents for May 2016 tracked two to four weeks ahead of levels seen in 2012, which had the lowest September extent in the satellite record. Current sea ice extent numbers are tentative due to the preliminary nature of the DMSP F-18 satellite data, but are supported by other data sources. An unusually early retreat of sea ice in the Beaufort Sea and pulses of warm air entering the Arctic from eastern Siberia and northernmost Europe are in part driving below-average ice condit
  
  Read more

• Campaigners threaten legal action over fracking decision

  10-06-2016 16:12
  
  Campaigners have written to North Yorkshire County Council, threatening to take legal action over its decision to approve Third Energy's plans for fracking near the village of Kirby Misperton.
  
  Read more

• Microbeads, Great Barrier Reef and CO2 turned to stone – green news roundup

  10-06-2016 16:08
  
  The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Brexit would worsen UK's air pollution crisis, say experts

  10-06-2016 15:59
  
  A poll of environmental professionals showed most think the UK benefits from EU air pollution rulesThe UK’s air pollution crisis would get worse if the country votes to leave the European Union, according to a new poll of environment professionals.The UK already has levels of air pollution above legal EU limits in many cities, resulting in 40,000 early deaths a year, while ministers are currently lobbying against improved air pollution limits in Brussels. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Most European countries see construction as circular economy priority, report reveals

  10-06-2016 15:45
  
  The majority of European countries have identified plastic and packaging, construction and demolition waste and food waste as key priority materials that need to be focused on in the transition to a circular economy, according to a new assessment from the European Environment Agency (EEA).
  
  Read more

• Russia dragging heels on creation of Antarctic conservation zone

  10-06-2016 14:45
  
  Stretch of water in Ross Sea is ideal place to study marine life and climate change, say scientistsA major diplomatic effort is under way to persuade Russia to agree to a conservation zone in the Ross Sea, a stretch of water in Antarctica that is home to large populations of whales and penguins as well as dozens of species of fish.The Ross Sea is one of the world’s most important ecosystems, a largely untouched marine area which scientists say is the ideal place to study life in the Antarc
  
  Read more

• Can 'smart' birdhouses help improve air quality in Amsterdam?

  10-06-2016 14:08
  
  City links: From behaviour-changing Wi-Fi in the trees to Jarvis Cocker as the voice of Sheffield’s trams, we round up the best city stories from this weekThe best city stories from around the world this week take us from the Dutch capital to Mexico City as we think about air pollution, vertiginous living and Jarvis Cocker. Share your thoughts about these city stories – and any others you’ve seen – in the comments below. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Is sunscreen bad for coral reefs?

  10-06-2016 14:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  You only use a little bit of sunscreen — a squeeze of the bottle or two or three sprays. Sure, it has some chemical ingredients, but it won’t kill anyone, right? Wrong. Sunscreen is actually one of the culprits of putting over 60 percent of the planet’s coral reefs in critical danger — and bringing a whole lot of other wildlife down with them.
  
  Read more

• REA calls for 'urgent' collaboration between food waste industry and local authorities

  10-06-2016 13:59
  
  Increased collaboration and action is needed between the food waste industry and local authorities to boost recycling and food waste capture rates, according to the Renewable Energy Association (REA) and the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC).
  
  Read more

• Paris floods made almost twice as likely by climate change, say scientists

  10-06-2016 13:06
  
  Manmade global warming greatly increased the risk of extreme rain affecting the French capital, analysis showsThe Paris floods, that saw extreme rainfall swell the river Seine to its highest level in decades, were made almost twice as likely because of the manmade emissions driving global warming, scientists have found.A three-day period of heavy rain at the end of May saw tens of thousands of people evacuated across France, and the capital’s normally busy river closed to traffic because t
  
  Read more

• Military sweep in Nigeria's Delta risks fuelling more dissent

  10-06-2016 13:04
  By Tife Owolabi OPOROZA, Nigeria (Reuters) - The Nigerian army has swept into villages in the southern swamplands in an operation to crush the Niger Delta Avengers group, but allegations by residents of brutal tactics and rapes by some of its soldiers risk stoking anger in the region. The army has vowed to stop the militant group which has claimed a string of attacks on oil pipelines which have cut Nigeria's oil output by half a million barrels a day to a 20-year low. The military has deployed d
  
  Read more

• Yorkshire fracking approval may be unlawful, campaigners say

  10-06-2016 12:39
  
  Decision to allow shale gas tests in village of Kirby Misperton could be challenged in court, Friends of the Earth saysAnti-fracking campaigners have claimed that a decision to allow energy companies to drill for shale gas in Yorkshire could be challenged in court. Fracking firm Third Energy was given permission last month to carry out test drilling at a site in Kirby Misperton in Rydale, North Yorkshire, even after 99% of locals opposed the application. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• The Sustainable Business Covered podcast: Episode 04 - Plan A progress and carbon-neutral beer

  10-06-2016 12:37
  
  What keeps M&S's director of sustainable business Mike Barry awake at night? Which onsite sustainability solutions are best for achieving carbon neutrality? And how should UK businesses be building on the successes of the Paris climate talks?
  
  Read more

• Suncatcher: the road to a solar powered global transport network – video

  10-06-2016 12:37
  
  The world is covered in more than 40m miles of road networks. What if this network could act like solar panels, and what if we could power our vehicles with the energy generated by this? In 2009, these questions formed the beginning of a vision for the future for Sten De Wit at the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research in Delft, whose ideas are being put into practice with SolaRoadContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Climate scientists have warned us of coral bleaching for years. It's here | John Abraham

  10-06-2016 12:00
  
  Coral bleaching is becoming an increasingly frequent and severe problem in a hotter world
  Readers may have noticed that it’s been about a month since my last article. In recent weeks I presented guest articles in place of my own pieces. The reason for my absence was due to the adoption I was finalizing in the USA (my second successful adoption!). Anyone who has adopted a child can attest to the time and travel requirements. I intend that this article marks my return to near weekly posting
  
  Read more

• Oil prices ease from 2016 highs on stronger dollar

  10-06-2016 11:52
  By Henning Gloystein and Dmitry Zhdannikov SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday, as a stronger dollar pulled crude off 2016 highs hit this week, although strong refinery demand and global supply disruptions lent support. Brent oil futures were trading at $51.15 (£35.4) per barrel at 0910 GMT (1010 BST), down 80 cents while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down 85 cents at $49.71 a barrel. Analysts said that a rebound in the dollar had dented oil prices by m
  
  Read more

• Petra, Jordan: Huge monument found 'hiding in plain sight'

  10-06-2016 11:47 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Archaeologists using satellite imagery discover a huge, ceremonial monument at the Petra World Heritage site in southern Jordan.
  
  Read more

• Oil demand boosted as global refinery capacity to reach record

  10-06-2016 10:28
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil demand is set to surge in the short-term as refining capacity hits a record, yet the gains may not hold as a flood of fuel gluts the market, eroding profit margins and eventually forcing refiners to cut runs and crude orders. Data on Thomson Reuters Eikon shows that available global capacity to refine oil into fuels like gasoline, diesel, or jet and shipping fuel, will reach 101.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, the highest on record, and u
  
  Read more

• France to formally ratify Paris climate accord on June 15 - minister

  10-06-2016 09:50
  President Francois Hollande will formally sign the Paris climate agreement on Wednesday, June 15, making France the first industrialised nation to ratify the landmark accord, Environment Minister Segolene Royal said on Friday. France's Senate adopted a bill authorising the government to ratify the agreement on Wednesday after a near unanimous vote by the lower house in May, Royal told a carbon pricing forum in Paris. The Paris climate agreement aimed at limiting global warming was reached by nea
  
  Read more

• Hummingbird moths colonise UK

  10-06-2016 09:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A hummingbird-like moth may have colonised the UK, according to conservationists.
  
  Read more

• Oil falls on stronger dollar; high refinery demand lends support

  10-06-2016 09:06
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday, as a stronger dollar pulled crude off the 2016 highs hit this week, although strong refinery demand and global supply disruptions lent some support. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down 57 cents at $49.99 a barrel. Analysts said that a rebound in the dollar had dented oil prices by making fuel imports for countries using other currencies more expensive.
  
  Read more

• BP and Det norske agree $1.3 billion Norwegian oil merger

  10-06-2016 09:05
  OSLO/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil companies BP and Det norske have agreed to merge their Norwegian businesses in a $1.3 billion (899.53 million pounds) share deal to cut costs, increase profitability and challenge Statoil's Norwegian offshore dominance. The new venture will offer BP an opportunity to tap into new oil production capacity and reserves in the next decade after cutting its exploration budget in recent years to counter the slump in oil prices. The deal will strengthen Det norske's position
  
  Read more

• Wanted - Oil traders who know China, with good heads for liquor

  10-06-2016 08:39
  By Chen Aizhu and Florence Tan BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Chinese independent oil companies are luring traders, marketers and risk managers away from dominant state behemoths, offering better pay and perks in a hiring spree triggered by the freeing up of China's crude import trade. Global oil firms and commodity houses have also been raiding state giants such as Sinochem and CNPC for staff to help handle up to $50 million (34.60 million pounds) a day in new crude flowing into China this year,
  
  Read more

• Blast hits NPDC pipeline in Nigeria's Delta region

  10-06-2016 08:17
  An explosion rocked a pipeline operated by a subsidiary of Nigeria's state oil company in the West African country's restive Delta region late on Thursday, a security official and a community leader both said on Friday. Oil output by OPEC member Nigeria has fallen to a 20-year low due to a series of attacks on oil pipelines in the southern Niger Delta, home to much of the country's oil and gas wealth, in the last few months. The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) pipeline at Sanomi Cr
  
  Read more

• Bustards strut their stuff after return to the plain

  10-06-2016 06:30
  
  Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire The breeding season has started late and male great bustards are still performing their elaborate courtship displaysWe follow a pitted farm track over the brow of the hill and into the valley, then climb off-road to the hide. The 38,0000 hectare chalk plateau is a haven for wildlife with its patchwork of close-cropped grass, golden oilseed rape and small strips of soil ploughed bare to create stone curlew nesting plots.In 1998 the Great Bustard Group began exploring th
  
  Read more

• Climate change: Melbourne renewable energy project provides global blueprint

  10-06-2016 05:11
  
  The project, which would create a guaranteed market for renewable energy, aims to reduce city’s annual emissions by 138,000 tonnes a yearIt’s an unmistakably Melbourne setting: councillor Arron Wood is the city’s environment portfolio chairman, standing in a rooftop courtyard as the faint sound of trams rises up from Swanston Street down below and the surrounding skyline reaches into a cool autumn sky. Against this backdrop, not to mention the solar thermal panels on the next l
  
  Read more

• Oil stable on firm demand, supply disruptions; strong dollar weighs

  10-06-2016 03:18
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices were stable in early trading on Friday, supported by strong demand and global supply disruptions, but a stronger dollar kept crude below the 2016 highs reached this week. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were flat at $50.56 a barrel. Analysts said that a rebound in the dollar had dented oil prices by making fuel imports for countries using other currencies more expensive, but strong overall oil demand as well as supply disruptions w
  
  Read more

• The Great Barrier Reef and the subtle power of 'psychological distance' | Don Hine

  10-06-2016 02:42
  
  Getting people to care about climate change and the imminent threat of damage to the reef depends on a certain concept of distanceIf the federal government wants Australians to ignore the Great Barrier Reef as it dies beside us, it has done a masterful job by scrubbing all mentions of the reef from the latest UN climate change report.The government’s actions have been described as Soviet in style and intent but the political thuggery pales compared to the activation of a subtler and more p
  
  Read more

• Dandelion tyres and farms in glass cocoons: the best green innovations of the week

  10-06-2016 02:01
  
  After a week that saw the concept of collaboration emerge triumphantly, edie has rounded up the latest low-carbon technologies and innovations that could bring people, businesses and entire nations closer together as we continue the transition to a low-carbon economy.
  
  Read more

• Britain to shed a quarter of its oil jobs since price fell - industry

  10-06-2016 01:05
  As many as 120,000 oil workers will have lost their jobs in Britain by the end of the year compared to mid-2014 when oil prices started declining and unleashed sector-wide cost cuts, the industry's lobby group said on Friday. Britain's oil industry and indirectly related jobs like supply chain and services are estimated to fall to 330,000 by the end of the year, down from 450,000 in 2014, Oil and Gas UK said in a report. Major British oil industry employers like Royal Dutch Shell, BP and Chevron
  
  Read more

• China's giant glass bridge hit with sledgehammer

  10-06-2016 01:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC Click smashes one of the panels on the world's highest and longest glass-bottomed bridge to see how safe it is.
  
  Read more

• Air pollution now major contributor to stroke, global study finds

  10-06-2016 00:30
  
  Scientists say finding is alarming, and shows that harm caused by air pollution to the lungs, heart and brain has been underestimatedAir pollution has become a major contributor to stroke for the first time, with unclean air now blamed for nearly one third of the years of healthy life lost to the condition worldwide.In an unprecedented survey of global risk factors for stroke, air pollution in the form of fine particulate matter ranked seventh in terms of its impact on healthy lifespan, while ho
  
  Read more

• South African firefighters leaving Canada blaze after pay dispute

  10-06-2016 00:00
  By Nia Williams CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A team of South African firefighters dispatched to Canada to fight a massive wildfire in the oil sands region is heading home after a pay dispute, South African officials said on Thursday. The 301 firefighters arrived in northern Alberta less than two weeks ago to help quell the blaze near Fort McMurray, which forced the evacuation of 90,000 people, destroyed part of the city and shuttered more than a million barrels per day of oil sands production. A
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!