Environment news

• NASA's Aqua satellite scans powerful Typhoon Nepartak

  05-07-2016 23:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Typhoon Nepartak after it became a major typhoon in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean.The second tropical cyclone of the northwestern Pacific Ocean season formed on July 3 and strengthened quickly into a tropical storm that was named Nepartak.On July 5 at 0359 UTC (11:59 p.m. EDT) infrared data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder aboard NASA's Aqua satellite detected strong thunderstorms completely surrounding the center of Nepartak with temperatures colder than
  
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• 'Fearsome Raisin' Ant Sports Striking Fingerprint Pattern

  05-07-2016 22:15
  
  Myrmecina magnificens, named for its beauty, lives in leaf litter on the forest floor and probably preys on tiny mites, said discoverer Mark Wong, an ecologist and independent researcher in Singapore. "Some people say it looks a little bit like a fearsome raisin," Wong told Live Science.
  
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• Oil ends down nearly 5 percent on Brexit worry, supply builds

  05-07-2016 22:00
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices tumbled nearly 5 percent on Tuesday as investors worried that Britain's exit from the European Union would slow the global economy, making it unlikely energy demand will grow enough to absorb a supply glut. "There are risk-off trades across the board," said David Thompson, executive vice-president at Washington-based commodities broker Powerhouse. Oil prices are up almost 80 percent from 12-year lows of around $27 for Brent and $26 for U.S. crud
  
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• The cruelty of cloning endangered animals | Letters

  05-07-2016 20:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Harvesting the eggs, sperm and tissue of endangered animals for future cloning is a good plot for a horror film, but not reality (Report, 5 July). We need to spend time and resources on saving existing animals whose natural habitats are fast disappearing, rather than trying to resurrect them. Cloning animals after they’ve vanished from nature is fraught with problems, such as severe birth defects, premature degenerative diseases and poor immunity. If wild animals were cloned, they would li
  
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• Has the LHC discovered a new particle?

  05-07-2016 19:59 via bbc.co.uk
  
  After its much heralded re-start last year, has the Large Hadron Collider found a new particle?
  
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• California droughts caused mainly by changes in wind, not moisture

  05-07-2016 19:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  Droughts in California are mainly controlled by wind, not by the amount of evaporated moisture in the air, new research has found. The research increases the understanding of how the water cycle is related to extreme events and could eventually help in predicting droughts and floods.The findings were published in Geophysical Research Letters, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, on June 30. The research increases the understanding of how the water cycle is related to extreme events
  
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• Oil down 5 percent; biggest drop since Feb on Brexit, supply builds

  05-07-2016 19:25
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices tumbled 5 percent on Tuesday, with U.S. crude heading for its steepest daily decline in five months, as investors worried that Britain's exit from the European Union would slow the global economy, making it unlikely energy demand will grow enough to cut a supply glut. Brent crude was down $2.44, or nearly 4.9 percent, at $47.66 a barrel by 1:09 p.m. EDT (1709 GMT). "There are risk-off trades across the board," said David Thompson, executive vice
  
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• Nigerian militants say they blew up oil facilities near Warri

  05-07-2016 18:51
  Nigerian militant group the Niger Delta Avengers said on Tuesday it had blown up a Chevron well and oil pipelines near the city of Warri in the country's southern oil hub. The group, which says it wants a greater share of oil wealth to go the impoverished Niger Delta region, the source of most of the country's crude, has pushed production to 30-year lows in the last few weeks through a spate of attacks. It said it blew up a NPDC (Nigerian Petroleum Development Company) manifold, close to Banta,
  
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• The Little Guy v The Man: when ordinary people take on Trump, Fox​ and the government

  05-07-2016 18:05 via theguardian.com
  
  From fighting the American billionaire’s Scottish golf course plans to saving Happy Birthday from entertainment giant Warner and facing down a fracking firm: real-life David and Goliath legal battlesDavid Milne, 51, lived in peace on the Menie estate north of Aberdeen when Donald Trump rolled up with plans to bulldoze the area. The residents’ fight against dirty tactics became the focus of the documentary You’ve Been Trumped – and continues today. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil slumps 4 percent on global economic jitters, supply builds

  05-07-2016 17:26
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slid more than 4 percent on Tuesday as investors worried that Britain's exit from the European Union would slow the global economy, and as data showed a build in stockpiles at the delivery point for U.S. crude futures. Brent crude was down $2.22, or 4.3 percent, at $47.88 a barrel by 11:08 a.m. EDT (1508 GMT). "There are risk-off trades across the board," said David Thompson, executive vice-president at Washington-based commodities broker Powerh
  
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• Leadsom vows to continue with UK's climate commitments

  05-07-2016 17:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Tory leadership candidate and EU Leave campaigner says she remains committed to current pledges to cut emissions and decarbonise energy supplyAndrea Leadsom, the Tory leadership candidate and campaigner to leave the EU, vowed on Tuesday to continue with the UK’s commitments to tackle climate change and decarbonise the energy supply.
  She said that reducing greenhouse gases was a duty to future generations, and pledged to continue with the UK’s carbon budgets to set a limit on emission
  
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• Light Pollution Is Waking Trees Up Early for Spring

  05-07-2016 16:02
  
  Light pollution in the United Kingdom was linked to early "budburst," or the date that green leaves just begin to emerge from a budding tree. Later-budding trees such as the European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) were most affected by light pollution, researchers report today (June 28) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. "It was an amazing result, really," study researcher Richard ffrench-Constant, an etymologist at the University of Exeter, told Live Science.
  
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• Tallest Mountain in US Arctic Crowned

  05-07-2016 15:58
  
  Though Denali is the uncontested highest peak in North America — with a summit elevation of 20,310 feet (6,190 meters) — there has been a more than 50-year debate over which U.S. mountain can be crowned the tallest beyond the Arctic Circle. U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps from the 1950s show either Mount Chamberlin or Mount Isto as the highest mountain in the eastern Alaska Arctic region. At 8,975.1 feet (2,735.6 m), Mount Isto is the tallest peak in the U.S. Arctic, and
  
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• Oil falls below $49 on economic jitters, ample supply

  05-07-2016 15:29
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell below $49 a barrel on Tuesday, pressured by concerns that a potential slowdown in economic growth could sap demand and by persistent signs of abundant supply despite another militant attack on Nigeria's oil industry. Worries about the economic impact of leaving the European Union hit Britain's property market and drove the pound to a 31-year low. Brent crude was down $1.19 at $48.91 a barrel at 1309 GMT.
  
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• 'An issue of life and death': Sadiq Khan unveils bold air quality plans for London

  05-07-2016 15:26
  
  On the 60th anniversary of the UK's Clean Air Act, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has announced a wide-ranging action plan to tackle toxic air in the capital, including the implementation of clean bus corridors, an extension of the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and an emissions surcharge on the most polluting vehicles.
  
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• Is it an e-bike, is it an e-car? No, it’s a bio-hybrid

  05-07-2016 15:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Damian Carrington tests a concept vehicle touted as a ‘solution for future urban transport’ in a rapidly urbanising worldI’m sitting in a cross between an electric-assisted bicycle and an electric car that looks like a cool golf buggy.
  The model I am in is also the only one in the world and cost a lot of money to build. So no pressure as I take this concept vehicle for my first spin. The Schaeffler Bio-Hybrid looks hi-tech, but luckily it is very easy to drive. Or do I mean rid
  
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• The missing issue of the 2016 campaign? Climate change | The daily briefing

  05-07-2016 14:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Voices of America highlights key issues ignored in primary season; Juno reaches orbit of Jupiter after five-year trip; gun control bill may get a vote Across the country, the Guardian has been asking American voters about what really matters to them in this presidential year – in questions online, in person as they went to the polls, and in discussion groups on campuses, in restaurants and in their homes. Resoundingly, the largest group of participants pointed to climate change. More than
  
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• Oil falls to $49 on economic concerns, ample supply

  05-07-2016 14:03
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell below $50 a barrel on Tuesday on concerns that a potential slowdown in economic growth could sap demand and persistent signs of abundant supply despite another militant attack on Nigeria's oil industry. Brent crude was down $1.21 at $48.89 a barrel at 1140 GMT. "Asia has been relatively weak and China is not providing much support," said Olivier Jakob, oil analyst at Petromatrix, who also said weak refined products were pressuring crude.
  
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• Climate change: the missing issue of the 2016 campaign

  05-07-2016 13:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Guardian US survey reveals anger of voters as election year debate fails to deal with concerns over the gathering global disasterThe race for the White House is failing to grapple with the key issues of the day, especially the urgent need to combat climate change before atmospheric changes become irreversible, a slice of the American electorate believes. Continue reading...
  
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• Asia Pulp & Paper backs community-led Indonesian biofuels project

  05-07-2016 12:37
  
  One of the world's biggest pulp, paper and packaging firms has announced its support for a new community-led pilot scheme aimed at reducing the use of fossil fuels and increasing the availability of bio-fuels in Indonesia.
  
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• UK will miss renewable energy target, warns National Grid

  05-07-2016 12:19
  
  The UK is on track to miss a target to produce of 15% of all energy from renewables by 2020, National Grid has warned.
  
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• Could rewards schemes reinvigorate Britain's static recycling rates?

  05-07-2016 12:17
  
  Long-term investment in rewards-based behaviour change schemes is the only way to reinvigorate plateauing recycling rates in a post-Brexit Britain, with 'quick-win' solutions failing to deliver for local authorities across the country.
  
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• New research: climate may be more sensitive and situation more dire | Dana Nuccitelli

  05-07-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  When comparing apples to apples, a new study finds energy budget climate sensitivity estimates consistent with climate models Scientists use a variety of approaches to estimate the Earth’s climate sensitivity – how much the planet will warm as a result of humans increasing greenhouse effect. For decades, the different methods were all in good general agreement that if we double the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, Earth’s surface temperatures will immediately warm by
  
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• Mark Rylance backs campaign to stop dredging off Kent coast

  05-07-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Wolf Hall actor lends his support to Save our Sands, which wants to stop the dredging of Goodwin Sands for the development of Dover port The actor Mark Rylance has lent his support to a campaign to stop the dredging of a stretch of sandbanks off the Kent coast. Dover Harbour Board has applied for a licence to dredge Goodwin Sands, which had been proposed as a marine conservation zone, for aggregate to be used in the expansion and development of Dover port. Continue reading...
  
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• Japanese knotweed web advice 'confusing'

  05-07-2016 11:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Gardeners searching the web for advice on the best way to tackle Japanese knotweed are likely to find confusing and contradictory advice, a study says.
  
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• Sadiq Khan unveils plans for extra charge on London's most polluting cars

  05-07-2016 11:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Mayor to target older, dirtier vehicles with £10 charge from 2017 as part of proposals to tackle the capital’s ‘toxic’ air Older, dirtier cars will have to pay a £10 pollution charge to drive in central London, according to plans set out by Sadiq Khan on Tuesday.
  The charge, on top of the existing £11.50 congestion charge, would apply from 2017 to cars first sold before 2005. The mayor of London’s proposals to tackle the capital’s “toxic&rdqu
  
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• Oil falls below $50 on economic concerns

  05-07-2016 11:09
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell below $50 (£37) a barrel on Tuesday as concern about a potential slowdown in economic growth that would weigh on demand trumped supply outages in Nigeria and other exporting nations. Brent crude was down $1.04 at $49.06 a barrel at 0847 GMT (0947 BST). "Asia has been relatively weak and China is not providing much support," said Olivier Jakob, oil analyst at Petromatrix, who also said weak refined products were pressuring crude.
  
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• Warming unlikely to limit chances of UK soggy summers

  05-07-2016 11:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Random shifts in the paths of Atlantic storms during the summer are more responsible for changes in temperatures than greenhouse gases, according to a new study.
  
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• Juno probe enters into orbit around Jupiter

  05-07-2016 10:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US space agency's Juno probe puts itself in orbit around Jupiter after a five-year-journey.
  
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• Plastic waste dumped in UK seas 'carried to Arctic within two years'

  05-07-2016 10:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Analysis shows most UK plastic ends up in the Arctic, where it does ‘extreme harm’ to the fragile polar environment Plastic dumped into the seas around the UK is carried to the Arctic within two years, scientists have revealed, where it does “extreme harm” to the fragile polar environment.Marine plastic pollution is a huge problem, with 5tn pieces of plastic now floating in the world’s oceans. The plastic is frequently mistaken for food by fish and birds, causing da
  
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• Tesco's distribution fleet at risk of being 'left behind' in decarbonisation movement

  05-07-2016 10:00
  
  Tesco's engineering and maintenance manager has claimed that there is "no love for the lorry" when it comes to promoting fuel efficiency and decarbonising exhaust emissions, and has called on Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and policymakers to provide more clarity on a low-carbon future for freight fleets.
  
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• Britain urged to improve air quality efforts 'whatever the outcome of Brexit'

  05-07-2016 09:30
  
  The UK Government is once again being urged to ramp up efforts to deal with the "deadly issue" of air pollution, this time as new reports suggest that "watered-down" proposals agreed by European Union (EU) Member States could lead to nearly 10,000 additional deaths across the continent.
  
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• Life before the Clean Air Act - your memories and pictures

  05-07-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  To mark the 60th anniversary of the Clean Air Act, we’ve been asking Guardian readers to share their memories and stories of what the UK was like before the act came into force. You can see all the contributions – or submit your own – via GuardianWitnessThe great smog of 1952 swathed London in a toxic smog of pollution, resulting in thousands of deaths over a four-day period. The Clean Air Act was a groundbreaking piece of legislation that led to the phase-out of coal in Britai
  
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• Can sport shed it's wasteful reputation and go green? - live chat

  05-07-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Footballers have had their fair share of attention but join us on Tuesday 12 July, 1-2pm to discuss the unsung heroes making sport more sustainable
  Few might have realised as they watched the semi-final of the recent UEFA European Championship tournament, that the Stade Vélodrome stadium has micro urban wind turbines or that the venue, which is the largest club football ground in France, recovers heat from a nearby wastewater treatment plant.Huge sporting events such as the Euros present b
  
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• These marshes are awash with invisible chemistry

  05-07-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Claxton, Norfolk Ants allow us to reflect upon a chemical realm we can seldom know empirically. They are governed by itIf I set aside the rag-winged rooks and moulting lapwings, and forget the storms that this land has just endured, the morning seems utterly still. I stand to watch a long flotilla of cumulus over the marsh, as beautiful and unmoving as sail ships becalmed in doldrums. There is so little breeze that neither foreground nettle nor the red-tinged Yorkshire fog beyond so much as stir
  
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• Nasa: 'Juno welcome to Jupiter'

  05-07-2016 06:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The US space agency has successfully put a new probe in orbit around Jupiter.
  
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• Pauline Hanson's One Nation will bring climate science denial to the Senate

  05-07-2016 06:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Fringe political groups such as One Nation, Family First and the Liberal Democrats still reject the evidence that humans are causing climate changeSo we’re in that post-election twilight zone where analysts, psephologists and columnists try and pull something cogent out of all the mess of uncertainty.Who’ll be the next prime minister? Which party will lead and how will they do it? What does it all mean, and did Donald Trump have anything to do with it? What do psephologists do when t
  
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• How air pollution affects your health - infographic

  05-07-2016 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exposure to air pollutants has been linked to suppressed lung growth, asthma, heart disease, foetal brain growth damage and the onset of diabetesAir pollution from traffic and industry is leading to the premature death of more than three million people a year. Globally, that’s more than malaria and HIV/Aids combined. Pollutants including nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter from road traffic and sulphur dioxide, from the burning of fossil fuels, have been linked to suppressed lung growt
  
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• Shark warning as 12-metre whale washes up on Western Australian beach

  05-07-2016 05:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Authorities to remove carcass of humpback whale on Honeycombs beach because it is a popular surf location and decomposing animal could attract sharksA 12-metre humpback whale weighing up to 40 tonnes has washed up on the beach near Margaret River prompting a shark warning.
  The Department of Parks and Wildlife will remove the whale carcass that washed up on Honeycombs beach in Leeuwin-Naturaliste national park in the WA’s south-west. Continue reading...
  
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• US army veteran shoots through rope to free bald eagle hanging from tree

  05-07-2016 03:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Marksman Jason Galvin too 150 shots to release the bird – later named ‘Freedom’ – that was found hanging upside down and tangled in a rope A US army veteran has used his sharp-shooting skills to free a bald eagle trapped in a Minnesota tree ahead of the Fourth of July holiday. Jackie Gervais Galvin of Rush City, Minnesota, said on her Facebook page that the eagle had become entangled in a rope in the tree. It had hung upside down from a branch near the cabin belonging to
  
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• Renewable energy: UK expected to miss 2020 targets

  05-07-2016 03:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK is almost certain to miss its EU 2020 targets for renewable energy, the National Grid says.
  
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• Oil prices dip on economic concerns, demand worries

  05-07-2016 02:44
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Crude prices dipped in early trading on Tuesday, with Brent falling back below $50 per barrel as economic concerns took centre stage with many analysts saying oil demand will stall later this year. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures were trading at $49.95 per barrel at 0030 GMT, down 15 cents from their last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 39 cents at $48.60 a barrel.
  
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• Otterly famous

  05-07-2016 01:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Meet the furry stars of Singapore who live in Marina Bay, the heart of Singapore's central business district.
  
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• Dolly the Sheep creator calls for biobank to save endangered animals

  05-07-2016 01:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Sir Ian Wilmut said building an ‘ark’ that preserves material from at-risk species could save them from extinction A modern-day “ark” that holds tissues from endangered animals should be built as an insurance policy to save species from extinction, Sir Ian Wilmut, the creator of Dolly the Sheep, has said.A biobank that preserves sperm, eggs and other material from at-risk animals would ensure that scientists had the biological tissues at hand to resurrect extinct creature
  
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• Dolly's legacy

  05-07-2016 00:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  What has been the human and scientific impact of cloning since Dolly the sheep's birth in 1996?
  
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