Environment news

• In hot water: Climate change is affecting North American fish

  30-06-2016 23:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  Climate change is already affecting inland fish across North America -- including some fish that are popular with anglers. Scientists are seeing a variety of changes in how inland fish reproduce, grow and where they can live, according to four new studies published today in a special issue of Fisheries magazine.Fish that have the most documented risk include those living in arid environments and coldwater species such as sockeye salmon, lake trout, walleye, and prey fish that larger sp
  
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• Al Gore's daughter arrested at Boston pipeline protest

  30-06-2016 23:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Karenna Gore arrested for trying to block construction activity by lying in a trench dug for the line, which is opposed due to safety and climate concernsFormer US vice-president Al Gore’s daughter was among 23 people arrested during a protest of a pipeline under construction.The arrests happened Wednesday at the site of Spectra Energy’s West Roxbury Lateral pipeline in Boston.Continue reading...
  
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• Ocean circulation implicated in past abrupt climate changes

  30-06-2016 23:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  There was a period during the last ice age when temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere went on a rollercoaster ride, plummeting and then rising again every 1,500 years or so. Those abrupt climate changes wreaked havoc on ecosystems, but their cause has been something of a mystery. New evidence published this week in the leading journal Science shows for the first time that the ocean's overturning circulation slowed during every one of those temperature plunges - at times almost stoppi
  
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• Scientists observe first signs of healing in the Antarctic ozone layer

  30-06-2016 22:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scientists at MIT and elsewhere have identified the "first fingerprints of healing" of the Antarctic ozone layer, published today in the journal Science.The team found that the September ozone hole has shrunk by more than 4 million square kilometers -- about half the area of the contiguous United States -- since 2000, when ozone depletion was at its peak. The team also showed for the first time that this recovery has slowed somewhat at times, due to the effects of volcanic eruptions from ye
  
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• All hail the purple emperor

  30-06-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  With its flashing, iridescent purple wings, our second largest butterfly is midsummer incarnateThis Monday, a week later than normal, His Imperial Majesty awoke in the woods of Sussex and Surrey. The purple emperor is midsummer incarnate – its flashing, iridescent purple wings the perfect accompaniment to both sunshine and, this year, violent lightning.When Victorian collectors nicknamed our second-largest butterfly HIM, they were not being sexist but simply referring to the male. The fema
  
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• 'Healing' detected in Antarctic ozone hole

  30-06-2016 22:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers say they have found the first clear evidence that the thinning in the ozone layer above Antarctica is starting to heal.
  
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• Nigeria's Buhari urges Delta leaders to calm region after attacks

  30-06-2016 21:35
  Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday urged community leaders from the Niger Delta to pacify people in the restive southern region, which has been hit by a series of attacks on oil and gas facilities in the last few months. Nigeria, an OPEC member which was until recently Africa's biggest oil producer, relies on crude sales for around 70 percent of national income. Most of its oil comes from the impoverished swampland Delta region.
  
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• Oil falls on profit taking after best quarter in seven years

  30-06-2016 21:29
  By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices dropped more than 3 percent on Thursday, pressured by returning Nigerian and Canadian crude output from outages and as traders booked profits at the end of the best quarter in seven years. The market soared more than 25 percent in the second quarter, as part of an 85 percent rebound since hitting 12-year lows early this year, as unplanned production cuts from Canada to Nigeria eased the glut that prompted the worst price rout in a generatio
  
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• Bright spot: Antarctica's ozone hole is starting to heal

  30-06-2016 20:11
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Antarctica's ozone hole finally is starting to heal, a new study finds.
  
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• Ozone layer hole appears to be healing, scientists say

  30-06-2016 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Research by US and UK scientists shows the size of the hole has shrunk, and the layer will eventally recover, albeit slowlyThe vast hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica appears to be healing, scientists say, putting the world on track to eventually remedy one of the biggest environmental concerns of the 1980s and 90s.Research by US and UK scientists shows that the size of the ozone void has shrunk, on average, by around 4m sq km since 2000. The measurements were taken from the month of Septe
  
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• Wildfires engulfing the west coast are fueled by climate change, experts warn

  30-06-2016 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  High temperatures, drought, wind and beetle infestations have combined to create a number of fires that have caused at least two deaths in CaliforniaScorching wildfires that are raging throughout the American south-west are being fueled by climate change and require new strategies from states to prevent ever-greater destruction of people’s lives and property, a group of experts have warned.High temperatures, drought and wind have combined to create a number of fires that have caused at lea
  
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• Real-Life Holodeck? 'Star Trek' Tech Uses VR to Solve Global Problems

  30-06-2016 17:58
  
  On the cult sci-fi TV show "Star Trek," crewmembers aboard the USS Enterprise could explore simulated environments or participate in interactive virtual experiences — anything from walking around lush forests to trying to solve a Sherlock Holmes-style mystery — as a way to mentally escape the confines of the starship or take a break from daily activities. While the fictional Holodeck from the hit series was mainly used by the "Star Trek" characters for recreational purposes, could su
  
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• A vegetarian's ode to the hot dog: I miss you little meat tubes so much it hurts

  30-06-2016 17:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Madeleine Somerville hates waste and gave up meat 15 years ago, but every summer she’s reminded of one thing: no one is too good for hot dogs. Think that’s a contradiction? She’s got three words for you: edible slaughter by-productsI’ve been a vegetarian for almost 15 years, but I still dream about meat sometimes. I can almost taste it when I wake up. The salty taste of the peppercorn rind on a perfectly grilled sirloin. The subtle sweetness of a hunk of chorizo. At a res
  
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• Government must prioritise low-carbon heat and transport, says Committee on Climate Change

  30-06-2016 17:43
  
  On the same day that Ministers accepted the proposals of the ambitious Fifth Carbon Budget, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has called for stronger Government action in the areas of heating, transport and low-carbon generation in its latest progress report.
  
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• Don't panic, Brexit doesn't have to spell gloom for the environment | Michael Jacobs

  30-06-2016 17:32 via theguardian.com
  
  The UK government has just set an ambitious new carbon target. Now we need to mobilise support to protect our many other environmental lawsAmid all the other news happening right now, you might have missed a vital story: the government has accepted the Climate Change Committee’s recommendation for the ‘fifth carbon budget’. This is the total amount of greenhouse gases which the UK economy will be allowed to emit in the 2028-30 period, which will now be cut by 57% on 1990 levels
  
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• Call to assure status of EU scientists in UK post-Brexit

  30-06-2016 16:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The president of the Royal Society calls on the government to guarantee the residency of EU citizens in the UK.
  
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• Nobel winners slam Greenpeace for anti GM campaign

  30-06-2016 16:30 via theguardian.com
  
  About a third of living Nobel laureates sign an open letter saying Greenpeace has misrepresented the risks and benefits of genetically modified cropsAbout a third of living Nobel laureates – 108 at last count – have signed an open letter which attacks Greenpeace for campaigning against genetically modified crops, especially one called Golden Rice.
  Addressed to the global environmental group, the United Nations and governments, the letter on Thursday says Greenpeace has “misrepr
  
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• Oil falls 2 percent on fading supply disruptions, profit taking

  30-06-2016 16:25
  Resurgent Nigerian supply will put pressure on prices, Goldman Sachs said, adding that outages caused by Canadian wildfires would virtually end by September. OPEC's oil output has risen in June to its highest in recent history, a Reuters survey showed, helped by Nigeria's output partially recovers from militant attacks and Iran and Gulf members boost supplies. Brent futures for August delivery, which expires on Thursday, was down 97 cents a barrel at $49.64 by 10:12 a.m. EST (1412 GMT).
  
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• Floating solar is a win-win energy solution for drought-stricken US lakes

  30-06-2016 16:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Sunbaked southwest US is a prime spot for floatovoltaic projects, where they could produce clean energy and prevent evaporation in major man-made reservoirs, reports Environment 360The Colorado River’s two great reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, are in retreat. Multi-year droughts and chronic overuse have taken their toll, to be sure, but vast quantities of water are also lost to evaporation. What if the same scorching sun that causes so much of this water loss were harnessed for elec
  
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• Brexit spells end to EU leadership in climate diplomacy

  30-06-2016 15:36
  By Alissa de Carbonnel and Nina Chestney BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's exit dashes the European Union's leadership ambitions on efforts to slow climate change, leaving the bloc on the sidelines while others endorse the global pact it championed to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Last week, EU environment ministers jointly called for action "as soon as possible" to avoid being absent when the deal struck in Paris last December to limit global average temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius lo
  
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• OPEC oil output hits record high in June on Nigerian rebound

  30-06-2016 15:29
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC's oil output has risen in June to its highest in recent history, a Reuters survey found on Thursday, as Nigeria's oil industry partially recovers from militant attacks and Iran and Gulf members boost supplies. Supply has surged since OPEC abandoned in 2014 its historic role of cutting supply to prop up prices.
  
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• Tax new diesels up to £5,000 to cut pollution, says report

  30-06-2016 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Money raised should be spent on improving public transport, cycling and walking, advise researchersThe purchase of highly polluting diesel cars in the UK should be discouraged with a tax of up to £5,000 to help tackle the public health emergency of air pollution, according to a new report. The policy could be particularly important following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, which until now has set most pollution rules. Continue reading...
  
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• Tax new diesel cars up to £5,000 to cut pollution, says report

  30-06-2016 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Money raised should be spent on improving public transport, cycling and walking, advise researchersThe purchase of highly polluting diesel cars in the UK should be discouraged with a tax of up to £5,000 to help tackle the public health emergency of air pollution, according to a new report. The policy could be particularly important following the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, which until now has set most pollution rules. Continue reading...
  
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• Andrea Leadsom confirms Tory leadership bid

  30-06-2016 14:40
  
  Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom has today (30 June) announced her intentions to become the next leader of the Conservative Party, on the same day that Ex-London mayor Boris Johnson surprisingly ruled himself out of the race.
  
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• Climate change: UK backs world-leading climate target

  30-06-2016 13:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK government has set a world-leading climate change target up to the early 2030s.
  
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• An ingredient in your sunscreen can be killing sharks

  30-06-2016 13:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  Most animal lovers wouldn’t dream of harming an animal for fashion. Fur? No, thank you. Leather? I don’t think so. Yet they might be unknowingly killing sharks — and highly endangered kinds on top of that — for their beauty routine.Unbeknownst to most, one little ingredient in products like sunscreens, moisturizing lotions, lip balms, lipsticks and face creams is responsible for the death of over three million sharks annually. 
  
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• RWE says newly named Innogy spin-off on track for 2016 listing

  30-06-2016 13:50
  RWE's renewables and power distribution subsidiary Innogy is ready to make heavy investments in its power grids, the Chief Executive of Germany's second biggest energy utility told investors on Thursday, as it prepares to list shares in the newly-named unit by the end of the year. RWE last year unveiled the plans to separate its renewable power generation, distribution and retail businesses from its troubled thermal and nuclear power generation operations, which have been hit by Germany's drive
  
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• Is your makeup killing sharks?

  30-06-2016 13:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  Most animal lovers wouldn’t dream of harming an animal for fashion. Fur? No, thank you. Leather? I don’t think so. Yet they might be unknowingly killing sharks — and highly endangered kinds on top of that — for their beauty routine.Unbeknownst to most, one little ingredient in products like sunscreens, moisturizing lotions, lip balms, lipsticks and face creams is responsible for the death of over three million sharks annually.Killer ingredient“Squalen
  
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• Vermont will be the first US State to Label GMOs

  30-06-2016 13:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  Vermont will soon be the first state in the nation to require labels on genetically modified (GMO) foods. Its GMO-labeling law, the first passed in the nation, goes into effect on July 1. Maine and Connecticut have since passed their own GMO-labeling laws. But they won’t go into effect until neighboring states pass similar legislation.
  
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• Felipe Calderón: Universal carbon pricing and green bonds needed to entice investors

  30-06-2016 13:36
  
  Former President of Mexico and chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate Felipe Calderón has called for a universal carbon pricing mechanism to promote private investment in low-carbon technologies and "get the job done" following the Paris Agreement.
  
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• "An important step forward": Green economy reacts to UK's Fifth Carbon Budget

  30-06-2016 13:36
  
  Green businesses and industry groups have wholeheartedly welcomed the UK Government's adoption of ambitious recommendations for the Fifth Carbon Budget, claiming it shows signs of "much needed clarity" after the fallout from Brexit.
  
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• EDF plans to sell stake in RTE, value seen above $5.8 billion - sources

  30-06-2016 13:34
  French state-controlled utility EDF's plans to sell almost 50 percent of its RTE unit would value the operator of Europe's biggest high-voltage electricity transmission grid at more than 5.2 billion euros (4.30 billion pound), sources said on Thursday. Heavily indebted EDF wants to sell off non-core assets in order to invest tens of billions of euros in its nuclear power business over the next decade, including in the UK nuclear reactor project at Hinkley Point in southwest England. New private
  
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• UK lacks policies to meet more than half its carbon emissions cuts – report

  30-06-2016 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Climate Change Committee warns of rising transport pollution, failed action on buildings emissions and says leaving the EU throws some policies into doubtThe UK has no policies in place to meet more than half of the carbon emission cuts required by law by 2030, the government’s official advisers warned on Thursday, the same day ministers committed to the target. The advisers also warned that the UK’s Brexit vote had thrown some EU-linked climate policies into doubt. Continue reading.
  
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• Britain targets 57 percent emissions cut by 2032

  30-06-2016 12:36
  By Susanna Twidale LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will aim to reduce emissions blamed for climate change by 57 percent by 2032, the government said on Thursday. The target, based on 1990 levels, was suggested last year by a government advisory body, the Committee on Climate Change, as a part of Britain's fifth carbon budget (2028-2032). Britain needs to cut the amount of electricity it generates using fossil fuels, such as coal and gas, which provided around 50 percent of the country’s electri
  
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• Fifth Carbon Budget: UK Government sends positive message with ambitious emissions reduction plan

  30-06-2016 12:23
  
  BREAKING: The UK Government has approved the much-anticipated Fifth Carbon Budget, taking heed of proposals from MPs and green groups to limit the nation's annual emissions to 57% below 1990 levels by 2032.
  
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• Philippines hopes for 'soft landing' in sea dispute with China

  30-06-2016 12:22
  The Philippines hopes for a "soft landing" in a dispute with China over the South China Sea when the arbitration court in The Hague delivers its ruling, the foreign minister said on Thursday, hours after Rodrigo Duterte was sworn in as president. China claims almost all the South China Sea, where about $5 trillion worth of trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim the sea believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas.
  
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• Business: PM putting party first by delaying airport expansion choice

  30-06-2016 11:46 via theguardian.com
  
  BCC and EEF condemn government for deferring decision on whether to expand Heathrow or Gatwick amid Tory turmoilThe government has been accused of indulging in “internal party politics” at the expense of the national interest after David Cameron delayed a decision on whether to expand Heathrow or Gatwick airport. Continue reading...
  
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• Airport expansion decision to be left to new British PM

  30-06-2016 11:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Trade group condemns failure to show UK is open for business after Brexit as government defers decision on whether to expand Heathrow or GatwickThe government has been accused of letting party politics get in the way of the national interest, after David Cameron delayed a decision on whether to expand Heathrow or Gatwick airport.The prime minister had been expected to confirm which project would get the go-ahead in the coming weeks if the UK voted to remain in the EU.Continue reading...
  
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• UK sets ambitious new 2030s carbon target

  30-06-2016 11:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Amber Rudd allays fears that target would be casualty of EU referendum and adopts fifth carbon budget to reduce emissions 57% by 2032 on 1990 levelsThe UK has announced an ambitious new carbon target for the early 2030s, allaying fears that the climate goal would be a casualty of the EU referendum. Amber Rudd accepted the advice of the government’s statutory climate advisers, setting a target on Thursday of reducing carbon emissions 57% by 2032 on 1990 levels. Continue reading...
  
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• Rosetta comet probe given termination date

  30-06-2016 11:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Rosetta probe will be crash-landed on Comet 67P on Friday 30 September, the European Space Agency has confirmed.
  
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• Oil falls towards $50 on higher supply outlook, economic worries

  30-06-2016 11:21
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell towards $50 a barrel on Thursday, pressured by higher Nigerian output and concern about the economic outlook following Britain's vote to leave the European Union last week. Returning Nigerian supply will put pressure on prices, Goldman Sachs said, adding that outages caused by Canadian wildfires would virtually end by September. "Supply is gradually improving in Canada, although in Norway we still have some risk," said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix, who
  
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• Airport expansion decision to be left to Cameron's successor

  30-06-2016 10:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Government to say decision on whether to expand capacity at Heathrow or Gatwick to be deferred until new Tory leader electedThe government is set to announce that the decision on whether to expand airport capacity at Heathrow or Gatwick will be left for David Cameron’s successor. The prime minister had been expected to confirm which project would get the go-ahead in the coming weeks if the UK voted to remain in the EU.Continue reading...
  
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• UK Government urged to future-proof renewables amid Brexit 'volatility'

  30-06-2016 09:48
  
  The vote to leave the European Union (EU) may have created a "fragile" confidence within the clean energy industry, but multiple organisations have called on the Government to build a cross-party coalition that provides wind energy with a viable route to market.
  
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• Beijing slams South China Sea case as court ruling nears

  30-06-2016 09:25
  By Ben Blanchard and Anthony Deutsch BEIJING/AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - An international court said it would deliver a hotly anticipated ruling in the Philippines' case against China over the South China Sea on July 12, drawing an immediate rebuke from Beijing, which rejects the tribunal's jurisdiction. The United States, which is a close ally of the Philippines and is concerned about China's expansive South China Sea claims, reiterated its backing for The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration a
  
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• Oil falls on improving supply outlook, economic worries

  30-06-2016 09:06
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday as the prospects for supply improved while the economic outlook darkened, but analysts said they still expect prices to rise in the second half of the year. "With a ceasefire in Nigeria and Canadian wildfires (receding) oil prices may come under pressure," ANZ bank said.
  
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• Japan says Chinese military activity in East China Sea escalating

  30-06-2016 08:59
  By Tim Kelly TOKYO (Reuters) - Chinese military activity is escalating in the East China Sea, Japan's top military commander said on Thursday, with Japanese emergency scrambles to counter Chinese jets almost doubling in the past three months. "It appears that Chinese activity is escalating at sea and in the air," Admiral Katsutoshi Kawano, chief of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces, said at a regular press briefing in Tokyo. Japan is embroiled in a dispute with China in the East China Sea over ow
  
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• Frozen planet: digital landscapes on the edge of disaster – in pictures

  30-06-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  By mapping glaciers and mountains in ultra-fine detail, Dan Holdsworth’s digital images remind us of the majesty – and fragility – of a thawing Earth Continue reading...
  
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• Strawberry moon is solstice first for Rutland Water

  30-06-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Egleton, Rutland The lightest night of the year couldn’t be any lighter, the tree-line stark against a fading stripe in the skyThe weather report said clear skies and a 9.30 sunset, so I drove to the lake. The western sky was wild, the sun brilliantly diffuse behind flings of cloud and fat vapour trails.If the lake were calm the water might mirror the light and make the solstice’s half-night brighter still. In December, I was in north Scotland near the opposite pitch of this seasonal
  
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• Scotch egg company claims to have cracked problem of eggshell waste

  30-06-2016 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  An egg mayonnaise supplier has partnered with scientists at Leicester University to turns leftover eggshells into a filler for plastics
  Leicester-based egg processing plant Just Egg hard boils and peels 1.5m eggs a week for snacks such as egg mayonnaise and Scotch eggs, creating mountains of shells to dispose of. It’s a dilemma the company’s owner, Pankaj Pancholi, has been keen to crack since he launched the business 14 years ago.Continue reading...
  
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• Oil prices fall as supply outlook improves

  30-06-2016 05:53
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell in early trade on Thursday, with Brent futures struggling to defend $50 per barrel as fears over strike outages in Norway faded and as Nigeria's production improved. International Brent crude oil futures were trading at $50.10 per barrel at 0226 BST, down 51 cents, or 1 percent, from their last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 38 cents, or 0.76 percent, at $49.50 a barrel.
  
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