Environment news

• Brazil's Temer denies alleged link to Petrobras scandal

  15-06-2016 23:46
  By Lisandra Paraguassu BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's interim President Michel Temer denied on Wednesday allegations that he sought campaign funds for his party stemming from a graft scheme at state oil company Petrobras, implicating him in the country's biggest ever corruption scandal. A plea deal by former Petrobras executive Sergio Machado, made public by the Supreme Court on Wednesday, said a campaign contribution requested by Temer was made legally by engineering group Queiroz Galvao but res
  
  Read more

• How to show 'the stench of death' on the Great Barrier Reef – Behind the Lines podcast

  15-06-2016 23:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Michael Slezak, Guardian Australia’s environment reporter, joins Gabrielle Jackson, Nick Evershed and Lucy Clark to talk about how we revealed the full story of coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef for our ‘Reef on the brink’, series and why the fate of the reef should be centre stage during the Australian electionSee also:Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• We have a stark choice: protect the global commons or give in to special interests

  15-06-2016 22:28 via theguardian.com
  
  A year since the pope’s clarion call to climate action, Australia must declare a moratorium on new coal, oil and gas mines and end fossil fuel subsidiesFew papal proclamations have reverberated more strongly throughout the world than Pope Francis’s encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’. The anniversary of this clarion call to protect the environment comes as Australia’s election is in full swing and, in terms of its message, the contrast could not be greater.
  Release
  
  Read more

• Divesting from fossil fuels: open letter from religious leaders in full

  15-06-2016 22:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Letter seeks to draw attention to ‘the degradation of the Great Barrier Reef … principally due to global warming’ • Catholic orders take their lead from the pope and divest from fossil fuelsTo those in public office or aspiring to it:
  As leaders in a range of faith traditions, we draw attention to the wake-up call which the degradation of the Great Barrier Reef provides.Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Catholic orders take their lead from the pope and divest from fossil fuels

  15-06-2016 22:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Four Australian Catholic orders are jointly and publicly divesting from coal, oil and gas: ‘We believe the Gospel asks no less of us’ Four Australian Catholic organisations have announced they are completely divesting from coal, oil and gas in what they say is the first joint Catholic divestment anywhere in the world.The move comes as prominent Jewish rabbis, Muslim clerics, Anglican bishops and other religious leaders call on the Australian government to protect the Great
  
  Read more

• Oil down for fifth day; Brexit, Fed hike fears offset U.S. crude draw

  15-06-2016 21:51
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for a fifth straight day on Wednesday, their longest losing stretch since February, on worries Britain might leave the European Union while the U.S. Federal Reserve signalled plans for two U.S. rate hikes this year despite slower growth expectations. A weekly draw in U.S. crude stockpiles helped crude futures pare losses during the session, before prices fell again in post-settlement trade. Brent crude futures' front-month settled down 86 c
  
  Read more

• Grandpa’s name lives on at Johnny’s Bank | Letters

  15-06-2016 20:30 via theguardian.com
  
  I, too, used to walk up Piggies Lonnen (Letters, 13 June) with my sisters on our way from Lemington to Walbottle, to see my Grandpa, Johnny McSwine. We were allowed to help feed his pigs and clean out their pigsties. Though the lonnen was near the “piggery”, it had nothing to do with Grandpa’s pigs, who never left their sties. On a memorable visit he took us to see the sow and her piglets cosseted under a heat lamp in the biggest of the three sties. The pigs were fed on scraps
  
  Read more

• OPEC oil export revenue seen down for third straight year - U.S. EIA

  15-06-2016 20:29
  OPEC's full-year 2016 oil export revenues will probably fall 15 percent, down for the third straight year and possibly the lowest in more than a decade before rising in 2017, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. Members of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), including Iran, will likely earn about $341 billion in 2016, about 15 percent below 2015 levels, based on projections of global oil prices and the group's production levels, the U.S. gover
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• More gravitational waves detected

  15-06-2016 19:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists announce the detection at Earth of another burst of gravitational waves coming from a black hole merger.
  
  Read more

• 'Bright spots' offer fresh hope for survival of coral reefs

  15-06-2016 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Experts identify areas where coral reefs are flourishing against the odds despite overfishing and environmental pressureSurprising “bright spots” where coral reefs are flourishing against the odds despite overfishing and environmental pressure have given new hope to conservationists.
  Experts believe they could shine a light on better ways to protect embattled coral reefs affected by climate change, overfishing and pollution. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Shell says Philippines unit preparing for stock market listing

  15-06-2016 18:44
  LONDON (Reuters) - Oil major Royal Dutch Shell said on Wednesday its subsidiary in the Philippines, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corporation (PSPC), is in the process of preparing an initial public offering (IPO) of its shares. PSPC has hired BPI Capital Corp and JP Morgan for the process, IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication, reported earlier this month. (Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
  
  Read more

• Oil down again but pares losses after U.S. crude drawdown

  15-06-2016 18:08
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday, on track for their fifth straight daily decline, as global markets slid on worries that Britain might leave the European Union, although crude futures pared losses after U.S. government data showed a draw in crude stockpiles. U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 933,000 barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said, less than half the 2.3 million-barrel draw anticipated by the market. "In short, this data will d
  
  Read more

• Tesco food waste rose to equivalent of 119m meals last year

  15-06-2016 18:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Supermarket promises to redistribute unsold edible food to charities from 2017 as it urges rivals to join fight against wasteTesco has revealed that the amount of food waste generated by the supermarket giant increased to 59,400 tonnes last year – the equivalent of nearly 119 million meals.Tesco is the only major supermarket to publish its food waste data, and the increase came despite numerous initiatives designed to tackle the problem. The figure represents a 4% increase on 2015 with its
  
  Read more

• SpaceX Launches Satellites, Narrowly Misses Rocket Landing at Sea

  15-06-2016 17:51
  
  SpaceX successfully launched two satellites to orbit today (June 15) but couldn't quite pull off its fourth consecutive rocket landing at sea in the process. The first stage of the California-based company's Falcon 9 rocket Falcon 9 rocket managed to hit its target — a robotic "droneship" stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, a few hundred miles off the Florida coast — but wasn't able to stick the landing. "Ascent phase & satellites look good, but booster rocket had a RUD on droneship
  
  Read more

• New generation of high-efficiency solar thermal absorbers developed

  15-06-2016 17:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter are one step closer to developing a new generation of low-cost, high-efficiency solar cells. The structure is one of the world's first examples of a tri-layer metasurface absorber using a carbon interlayer.
  
  Read more

• Bacardi mixes perfect cocktail of water, energy and waste reductions

  15-06-2016 17:11
  
  Global spirits giant Bacardi has surpassed annual targets in improving water use, energy efficiency and recycling rates and is on course to obtain 100% of sugarcane-derived products from sustainably certified sources by 2022.
  
  Read more

• 10kgs of 2,000-year-old butter found in a bog in Ireland to go on display

  15-06-2016 17:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Jack Conway was working in a bog cutting turf when he came across a massive chunk of butter.
  
  Read more

• Oil down on Brexit worry and ahead of U.S. inventory data

  15-06-2016 16:22
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices extended their losses for the fifth straight day on Wednesday, the longest losing streak since February, on fears of a dollar rally if Britain leaves the European Union and ahead of the release of U.S. crude inventory data. Also weighing on the market was Goldman Sachs' note underlining the importance of crude prices remaining below $50 a barrel for the market to achieve a much-needed supply deficit in the second half of the year. Brent crude fu
  
  Read more

• Israeli official praises Saudi king for stance on Iran, economy

  15-06-2016 15:39
  By Dan Williams HERZLIYA, Israel (Reuters) - Israel's top intelligence official offered Saudi Arabia rare public praise on Wednesday for what he deemed its efforts, under King Salman, to lead "pragmatic" Sunni Muslim states confronting Iran and to overhaul Riyadh's oil-dependent economy. The tribute by military intelligence chief Major-General Herzi Halevy at an international security forum followed years of veiled references by Israel to back-channel contacts with Gulf Arab powers - despite the
  
  Read more

• Could this new material resolve the UK's great coffee cup recycling debate?

  15-06-2016 14:52
  
  With big coffee chains including Starbuck and Costa facing increased public scrutiny over the recyclability of paper coffee cups, could a unique recycled resin provide an answer to the war on waste?
  
  Read more

• Global Wind Day: 10 wind energy statistics that will blow you away

  15-06-2016 14:50
  
  On a day dedicated to discovering wind, its power and the possibilities it holds to change our world, edie takes a look at 10 interesting wind energy statistics on Global Wind Day (15 June).
  
  Read more

• Attack of the Euro-moths: should Britain’s farmers be afraid?

  15-06-2016 14:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Millions of diamondback moths have migrated from their eastern European breeding grounds to descend on English crops. But are they really a ‘biblical plague’?As if Brexit and football violence weren’t enough to make us miserable about Europe, it seems that the UK is now experiencing an invasion of “Euro-moths”. Tens of millions of small but potentially lethal diamondback moths are crossing the North Sea, come to devastate our cabbages and cauliflowers.The first sign
  
  Read more

• VIDEO: Inside Göss - the world's first major carbon-neutral brewery

  15-06-2016 14:05
  Fancy a beer with a net-zero carbon footprint? Join edie editor Luke Nicholls high up in the Austrian mountains for a behind-the-scenes tour of the first large-scale carbon-neutral brewery in the world.
  
  Read more

• Oil loses more ground below $50 hit by Brexit, inventory rise

  15-06-2016 14:01
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices on Wednesday were on course for a fifth fall in what would be their longest losing streak since February, knocked by mounting concerns about Britain's possible exit from the European Union and a surprise rise in U.S. inventories. Brent crude futures fell 70 cents on the day to $49.13 a barrel by 1125 GMT, while U.S. crude prices fell 47 cents to $48.02. Data from the American Petroleum Institute, however, showed U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.2 mi
  
  Read more

• NHS revamp offers £400m windfall and vast emissions reductions

  15-06-2016 13:59
  
  A new online tool could save the NHS more than £400m while simultaneously reducing carbon emissions by one million tonnes each year by 2020 and providing health benefits to patients, research from a new report has suggested.
  
  Read more

• Diesel cars in London increase despite air pollution warnings

  15-06-2016 13:49 via theguardian.com
  
  Figures show the numbers of licenced diesels rose by 29% from 2012-15, despite warnings over their contribution to illegal levels of air pollutionDiesel vehicles have taken a record share of the market on London roads in recent years, despite warnings blaming them for contributing to the capital’s illegal levels of air pollution.Sadiq Khan, the new mayor of London, has been lobbying for a diesel scrappage scheme, a policy that was backed by his predecessor, Boris Johnson, as a way of tackl
  
  Read more

• A Plan to Mute Ocean Noise for Marine Life

  15-06-2016 13:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  Imagine trying to relax in your home while being bombarded with the explosive sounds of shotgun blasts as well as freight trains rumbling by. For many whales, dolphins and other marine life that depend on their hearing to survive, there is no way to escape the loud, human-made noises in their ocean home. The main culprits are vessels like cargo ships, along with sonar guns used by the U.S. Navy and air guns used in seismic oil and gas exploration. Their blasts are so loud that the
  
  Read more

• BP plans to keep its stake in Russia's Rosneft unchanged - Interfax

  15-06-2016 12:59
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - International oil major BP plans to keep its stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft at the current level, Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing BP's Chief Executive Bob Dudley. Russian government plans to sell a stake in Rosneft as part of its privatisation programme. BP owns a 19.75-percent stake in Rosneft. (Reporting by Polina Devitt; editing by Vladimir Soldatkin)
  
  Read more

• Never mind immigrants, let’s clamp down on nasty Euro moths! | Dean Burnett

  15-06-2016 12:52 via theguardian.com
  
  The biggest threat to Britain from the EU is uncontrolled moth migration. We need to let these winged freeloaders know that they’re not welcome hereWith all the frantic panic going on around the EU referendum next week, it’s easy to overlook the fact that this is a distraction from the real issue. Never mind immigration, or terrorism, or economic concerns, or who controls what; the real danger facing the UK at the moment? Moths! Millions and millions of greedy selfish European Diamon
  
  Read more

• Why toxic air is every family's problem – cartoon

  15-06-2016 12:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Air pollution has been linked to child mental illness. Are we all doing our bit? Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• SpaceX Goes for 4 Rocket Landings in a Row Today: How to Watch It Live

  15-06-2016 12:34
  
  SpaceX will try to ace its fourth consecutive rocket landing at sea during a satellite launch Wednesday morning (June 15), and you can watch all the spaceflight action live. If all goes according to plan, the first stage of SpaceX's two-stage Falcon 9 rocket will come back to Earth for a soft touchdown on a robotic ship at sea Wednesday, shortly after launching two commercial communications satellites. You can also watch the webcast, which will begin about 20 minutes before liftoff, directly via
  
  Read more

• France ratifies Paris climate agreement

  15-06-2016 12:24
  President Francois Hollande on Wednesday signed a bill formally ratifying the Paris climate agreement reached last December by nearly 200 countries to limit global warming. Hollande urged other European nations to ratify the accord by year-end, saying 17 states that have done so already were not the largest carbon emitters, but were the worst affected by natural disasters attributed to rising temperatures. The agreement will become binding when 55 countries representing 55 percent of emissions o
  
  Read more

• France becomes first major nation to ratify UN climate deal

  15-06-2016 12:21 via theguardian.com
  
  President François Hollande calls on other European countries to follow France’s lead by the end of the yearPresident François Hollande on Wednesday finalised ratification of the Paris climate accord reached in December 2015, making France the first industrialised country to do so.
  “Signing is good, ratifying is better,” Hollande quipped at the Élysée Palace ceremony, flanked by environment minister Ségolène Royal, foreign minister Jean
  
  Read more

• UK fracking firm plans to dump wastewater in the sea

  15-06-2016 12:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Ineos company emails reveal huge amounts of treated wastewater are likely to be disposed of in the seaA UK shale gas company is considering dumping waste water from fracking in the sea, emails from the company show.Ineos, which owns the Grangemouth refinery and holds 21 shale licences, many in the north-west, North Yorkshire and the east Midlands, has said it wants to become the biggest player in the UK’s nascent shale gas industry. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• New study finds evidence for a 'fast' dinosaur extinction | Howard Lee

  15-06-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  New sediment data suggests the dinosaurs were rapidly done in, strengthening asteroid impact theory
  Boring is beautiful when you’re studying a calamity, especially one as spectacular as the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs. That’s because exciting sediments, full of variations and gaps, make it hard to disentangle the extinction signal from the noise of natural variability.So you could say that James Witts, of the University of Leeds in the UK, lucked-out with an especial
  
  Read more

• Brexit would be bad for bees, say campaigners

  15-06-2016 11:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Green groups warn of UK’s opposition to EU bans on harmful pesticides and promises by the Leave campaign to cut nature protection lawsBrexit would be bad for Britain’s bees, according to campaigners, who point to the UK government’s opposition to EU bans on harmful pesticides and the desire of figures in the Leave camp to cut nature protections.Bees and other pollinators are vital to producing food but have been harmed by loss of habitat, disease and pesticides. The EU banned t
  
  Read more

• Oil slides for fifth day as Brexit and inventory builds bite

  15-06-2016 11:31
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell for a fifth day on Wednesday, their longest losing streak since February, knocked by mounting concerns about Britain's possible exit from the European Union and a surprise build in U.S. inventories. Brent crude futures fell 64 cents on the day to $49.19 a barrel by 0920 GMT, while U.S. crude prices fell 52 cents to $47.97. Data from the American Petroleum Institute, however, showed U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.2 million barrels in the week
  
  Read more

• Norway pledges to become climate neutral by 2030

  15-06-2016 11:16 via theguardian.com
  
  Parliament approves radical proposal of accelerated emissions cuts and carbon offsetting to achieve climate goal 20 years earlier than plannedNorway’s parliament has approved a radical goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2030, two decades earlier than planned.On Tuesday night MPs voted for an accelerated programme of CO2 cuts and carbon trading to offset emissions from sectors such as Norway’s oil and gas industries, which are unlikely to be phased out in the near future. Continu
  
  Read more

• Experts warn of explosion in numbers of 'super-pest moth'

  15-06-2016 10:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Exceptionally high numbers of the diamondback moth, that attacks crops such as cabbages and cauliflowers, have been recorded arriving in the UK Experts have warned of a potential explosion in numbers of an invasive “super-pest” moth that attacks crops such as cabbages and cauliflowers.
  Rothamsted Research, in Hertfordshire, issued a warning that exceptionally high numbers of the diamondback moth are arriving in the UK, after reports from a network of moth traps around the country. Co
  
  Read more

• Could we set aside half the Earth for nature?

  15-06-2016 10:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Renowned biologist E.O. Wilson wants to set aside half of the planet as protected areas for nature. But is this possible? And, if so, how would it work?As of today, the only place in the universe where we are certain life exists is on our little home, the third planet from the sun. But also as of today, species on Earth are winking out at rates likely not seen since the demise of the dinosaurs. If we don’t change our ways, we will witness a mass extinction event that will not only leave ou
  
  Read more

• Green policy continuity the biggest challenge for energy professionals

  15-06-2016 10:00
  
  The UK Government has faced a double dose of criticism over the effectiveness of its current green strategies by leading environmental groups, after surveys revealed that energy professionals and businesses view energy policy continuity as the biggest challenge for their sector.
  
  Read more

• Government green policy continuity the biggest challenge for energy professionals

  15-06-2016 10:00
  
  The UK Government has faced a double dose of criticism over the effectiveness of its current green strategies by leading environmental groups, after surveys revealed that energy professionals and businesses view energy policy continuity as the biggest challenge for their sector.
  
  Read more

• At $50 per barrel, oil risks 'reverse Goldilocks' syndrome

  15-06-2016 08:15
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil's battle to reclaim $50 a barrel may have left it in a sticky situation, where the price is too low to lure fresh investor bulls and too high to force more production offline. Global oil production has fallen by nearly 1 million barrels per day in the last year to just over 95 million bpd, based on International Energy Agency figures. Demand is expected to reach 96.7 million bpd this quarter, up more than 1 million bpd in that time. ...
  
  Read more

• 2016 Great British Bee Count reaches halfway point - in pictures

  15-06-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The 2016 Great British Bee Count has reached the halfway point with more than 189,000 bees recorded so far. The annual count, which runs until 30 June, aims to help people learn more about bees, a key pollinator species that faces multiple threats. Here are some of the species spotted so far Download the free app to help monitor the British bee population and get tips for bee-friendly planting.
  Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Kurds ready for new oil deal with Baghdad if they get $1 billion a month

  15-06-2016 06:52
  By Maher Chmaytelli and Isabel Coles ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's Kurds are ready to strike an agreement with the central government in Baghdad on a deal to increase oil exports, if it guarantees them a monthly revenue of $1 billion (707.26 million pounds), a spokesman for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) said. Iraq's central government in March stopped oil exports through a Kurdish pipeline to pressure the local authorities to resume talks about an oil revenue sharing agreement. Iraq's
  
  Read more

• Summer blooms soften Cornwall's rocky coast

  15-06-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Trevalga, north Cornwall Visitors linger to admire the views – southwest towards Tintagel, up-coast to Cambeak and the hazy shape of LundyOn the cool, north-facing, hillside above the sinuous entrance to Boscastle harbour, primroses still flower with vernal squill and scurvy grass. The incoming tide sloshes beneath the slate cliffs of Blackapit, where thrift clings to crevices and gulls perch on ledges. Swaths of red campion spread across the defensive bank of Willapark – an iron age
  
  Read more

• U.S. oil falls to three-week low on inventory gains, Brexit fears

  15-06-2016 06:01
  By Aaron Sheldrick TOKYO (Reuters) - Crude futures fell on Wednesday as mounting concerns about Britain's possible exit from the European Union and a surprise build in U.S. inventories left investors ignoring an IEA declaration that oil markets are now in balance. Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed U.S. crude inventories rose by 1.2 million barrels in the week to June 10 to 536.7 million, compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 2.3 million barrels. "The broad picture
  
  Read more

• Climate scientists urge Obama to rule out more Arctic oil and gas exploration

  15-06-2016 06:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Letter asking the president to prevent future hunting for oil in the waters follows a series of new heat and melting records in the Arctic, which stunned researchersNearly 400 international scientists called on Barack Obama to rule out further expansion of oil and gas exploration in Arctic waters under US control.The letter, signed by prominent Arctic, marine and climate specialists – including a former member of Obama’s administration, urges the president to rule out any future hunt
  
  Read more

• Five charts that explain who gets hit hardest by food price rises

  15-06-2016 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Benin, Mozambique and Nepal are among countries most exposed to climate change, water scarcity and food price volatilityGlobal food prices will remain stable for the year ahead, suggest recent UN forecasts, but in the longer term we can expect much more volatility.That’s because the food sector is unable to cope with a double whammy of rising demand for food and risks including water scarcity, land degradation and climate change, a recent analysis [pdf] concludes. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Boost renewable energy target to 50% and get 28,000 extra jobs, says report

  15-06-2016 03:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Modelling shows Australian RET of 50% by 2030, rather than current trajectory of 34%, would almost double number of jobs createdBoosting renewable energy in Australia from the current trajectory of 34% of total energy by 2030 to 50% would double the number of new jobs created, according to modelling by Ernst & Young and the Climate Council.The results come following a similar report from The Australia Institute this week comparing the employment implications of renewable energy policies of t
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!