Environment news

• Shell wins tender to sell Nigerian crude cargo to Argentina - traders

  11-07-2016 23:59
  Anglo-Dutch oil company Royal Dutch Shell was awarded a tender last week to sell 1 million barrels of Nigeria's Bonny Light crude to a group of refining firms in Argentina, traders said on Monday. Firms buying the cargo include Oil Combustibles, Axion Energy, Petrobras Argentina and Shell. The crude must be delivered on August 1-10 and it will be processed at several domestic refineries.
  
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• NASA camera catches moon 'photobombing' Earth

  11-07-2016 23:27 via feedproxy.google.com
  For only the second time in a year, a NASA camera aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured a view of the moon as it moved in front of the sunlit side of Earth."For the second time in the life of DSCOVR, the moon moved between the spacecraft and Earth," said Adam Szabo, DSCOVR project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "The project recorded this event on July 5 with the same cadence and spatial resolution as the first 'lunar photob
  
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• Oil hits two-month low on glut fears, technical selling

  11-07-2016 22:32
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than 1 percent on Monday, hitting two-month lows on extended selling after the market's break below a key technical support level last week due to oversupply fears. "We have shifted to a bearish trading stance and off a neutral posture that we had maintained for approximately a month following transition from a bullish view in early June," said Jim Ritterbusch of Chicago-based oil markets consultancy Ritterbusch & Associates. U.S.
  
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• We might not feel we've had a summer yet, but for migrating birds it's nearly over

  11-07-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Weatherwatch Species that breed around the Arctic Circle are already heading southJuly may not feel like autumn, but in the world of birds, the return migration has already started – bringing an autumnal tinge to the air. Species that breed around the Arctic Circle – mostly waders such as plovers and sandpipers – are already heading south, towards their winter quarters in sub-Saharan Africa.These birds may only have passed through Britain in the opposite, northerly direction a
  
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• Hillary Clinton could run on strongest climate change platform ever

  11-07-2016 21:18 via theguardian.com
  
  The Democrats’ draft platform won’t be ratified until the convention, but climate activists are already hailing it as a ‘monumental victory’ Hillary Clinton could campaign much more aggressively against climate change than any US presidential candidate before her, under a draft platform adopted by Democratic party leaders.The leaders committed the presumptive Democratic nominee to a carbon tax, a climate test for future pipelines and tighter rules on fracking – all
  
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• Libya's government says in talks to reopen two major oil ports

  11-07-2016 20:37
  Libya's U.N.-backed government in Tripoli is in negotiations with an armed brigade controlling two main oil ports to reopen the terminals and lift a force majeure to restart exports, a member of its ruling council said on Monday. Libya's oil industry has been battered by conflict among rival armed factions who control quasi-fiefdoms in a challenge to successive governments, and also by attacks by Islamic State militants which has expanded in the chaos. The Tripoli statement follows positive rema
  
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• President Trump would be a climate catastrophe | Michael B Gerrard

  11-07-2016 20:12 via theguardian.com
  
  His pro-coal, anti-wind dogma would set climate action back years – and leave a harmful legacy for generationsTo prevent climate change that floods large portions of coastal cities, dooms small island nations and turns whole regions into deserts, we need to accelerate the transformation of the world’s energy economy away from fossil fuels. Those who have crunched the numbers say this can still be achieved, but just barely. Hitting the brakes would send us over the cliff.
  Over we go i
  
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• Monkeys in Brazil have used stone tools for hundreds of years at least

  11-07-2016 20:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  New archaeological evidence suggests that Brazilian capuchins have been using stone tools to crack open cashew nuts for at least 700 years, and the new research paper asks whether human behaviour was influenced through watching the monkeys. Researchers say, to date, they have found the earliest archaeological examples of monkey tool use outside of Africa. In their paper, published in Current Biology, they suggest it raises questions about the origins and spread of tool use in New
  
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• Rewilding could be the way to save Britain’s farms | Patrick Barkham

  11-07-2016 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  After Brexit EU subsidies will disappear and the UK’s less-productive farmland could be abandoned. But a Dutch ecologist is inspiring a new type of cultivationIt’s English countryside as you’ve never seen it before. Taking a walk through Knepp Castle estate in the leafy Sussex countryside is bewildering, challenging and utterly thrilling.A fallow deer hurtles from a blackthorn thicket. Buzzards rise from every copse. A purple emperor butterfly glides around an oak. A shrew scut
  
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• Monkey archaeology: Ancient evidence of tool use found

  11-07-2016 18:54 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Capuchin monkeys in Brazil have used stone tools for at least 700 years, according to scientists.
  
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• Oil slips to two-month low; Canada output, more U.S. rigs weigh

  11-07-2016 17:35
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday, hitting two-month lows, pressured by rising Canadian supplies, a higher U.S. oil rig count and cuts in bullish hedge fund bets on crude. The rising Canadian output pressured prices even though traders said data from market intelligence firm Genscape showed a drawdown of 488,625 barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub for U.S. crude futures during the week to July 8. Also pressuring crude prices, data on Friday showed the U.
  
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• Fruit and veg give you the feel-good factor

  11-07-2016 17:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  University of Warwick research indicates that eating more fruit and vegetables can substantially increase people's later happiness levels.Published in the prestigious American Journal of Public Health, the study is one of the first major scientific attempts to explore psychological well-being beyond the traditional finding that fruit and vegetables can reduce risk of cancer and heart attacks.Happiness benefits were detected for each extra daily portion of fruit and vegetables up to 8 portio
  
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• Keepers to use missing lynx's attachment to mum to trap him

  11-07-2016 16:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Dartmoor zoo staff have taken delivery of mother lynx’s bedding and are waiting for recording of her calls as part of planKeepers trying to track down an escaped lynx from a Devon zoo are attempting to use the creature’s attachment to his mum to tempt him back into captivity.Flaviu the lynx has been missing from Dartmoor zoo for five days and though staff are confident they know roughly where he is, attempts to trap him have so far failed.Continue reading...
  
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• Oil edges up, but demand concerns weigh

  11-07-2016 16:08
  By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - Oil climbed slightly on Monday after shedding nearly 2 percent the same day, as signs emerged that U.S. shale drillers have adapted to lower prices and renewed indications of economic weakness in Asia weighed on prices. Brent crude was trading at $46.86 per barrel at 1459 London time, up 10 cents from its last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 11 cents at $45.52 a barrel.
  
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• New platform uses data to highlight the business case for energy projects

  11-07-2016 16:04
  
  Businesses have been urged to explore third party financing and take into account project benefits outside of returns on interest (ROI), after a report revealed that around half of commercially-viable energy projects are being ignored.
  
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• Andrea Leadsom withdraws Tory leadership bid

  11-07-2016 14:36
  
  Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom has today (11 July) announced that she is pulling out of the Conservative Party leadership contest, paving the way for Home Secretary Theresa May to become the UK's next Prime Minister.
  
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• Scotland to monitor pollution from Iceland's volcanoes

  11-07-2016 13:03 via theguardian.com
  
  ENDS UK: Environment agency consults on new air quality monitoring network that would detect the release of particulates and sulphur dioxides The eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 led to the closure of European airspace and harmed air quality.The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is consulting on a new air quality monitoring network intended to detect the release of particulates and sulphur dioxide from Iceland’s volcanoes. Continue reading...
  
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• Scottish Government announces partnership for £20m low-carbon infrastructure projects

  11-07-2016 13:02
  
  A working coalition between the Scottish Government, public agencies and sector specialists has today (11 June) announced the launch of funding support aimed at the delivery of large scale transformational low-carbon infrastructure projects based in Scotland.
  
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• Scottish Government announces £20m investment for low-carbon infrastructure projects

  11-07-2016 13:02
  
  A working coalition between the Scottish Government, public agencies and sector specialists has today (11 June) announced the launch of funding support aimed at the delivery of large scale transformational low-carbon infrastructure projects based in Scotland.
  
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• Food shortages and sea level rise US voters' top climate change concerns

  11-07-2016 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Survey of Guardian readers appalled at lack of climate discussion in 2016 campaign finds food and water shortages viewed as most pressing consequenceDiminishing food and water security and ruinous sea level rise are the leading climate change concerns of a section of the American electorate that is aghast at the lack of discussion of global warming during the presidential debate. Related: Climate change: the missing issue of the 2016 campaignContinue reading...
  
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• Every car on the road will be electric within 15 years, says Richard Branson

  11-07-2016 12:56
  
  The rise of electric vehicles (EV) as a mainstream automotive option gained more traction this week, after Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Group, predicted that within 15 years "every car on the road will be electric".
  
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• Oil falls further under $50 on Asia demand concern

  11-07-2016 12:27
  By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell on Monday over signs that U.S. shale drillers have adapted to lower prices and on renewed indications of economic weakness in Asia where refiners are already trimming crude runs. Brent crude was trading at $46.26 per barrel at 1042 London time, down 50 cents from its last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 57 cents at $44.84 a barrel on the futures market.
  
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• Why the Euro 2016 final was overrun by moths

  11-07-2016 12:16 via theguardian.com
  
  A swarm of Silver Y moths at the Stade de France turned into a swarm of memes after one moth tended to the injured Ronaldo. Watch out, they could be heading for Premier League stadiums nextIt will forever be remembered as the moth balls final: a rather drab climax to Euro 2016 enlivened by a swarm of moths.As soon as pictures were broadcast of dozens of moths flapping around the stadium during the warm-up, out fluttered the moth memes. It became a meme swarm for many British critics of the
  
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• We just broke the record for hottest year, 9 straight times | Dana Nuccitelli

  11-07-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Earth’s record hottest 12 consecutive months were set in each month ending in September 2015 through May 20162014 and 2015 each set the record for hottest calendar year since we began measuring surface temperatures over 150 years ago, and 2016 is almost certain to break the record once again. It will be without precedent: the first time that we’ve seen three consecutive record-breaking hot years.But it’s just happenstance that the calendar year begins in January, and so it&rsqu
  
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• Solar Impulse: Zero-fuel plane leaves Seville for Cairo

  11-07-2016 11:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The zero-fuel aeroplane, Solar Impulse, has begun what should be its penultimate flight, leaving Seville in Spain bound for Cairo in Egypt.
  
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• Oil falls on economic woes; drillers adjust to lower prices

  11-07-2016 09:03
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil fell on Monday over signs that U.S. shale drillers have adapted to lower prices and on renewed indications of economic weakness in Asia. Brent crude was trading at $46.38 per barrel at 0653 GMT, down 38 cents from its last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 46 cents at $44.95 a barrel.
  
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• Scottish Government joins devolopers in offshore wind collaboration

  11-07-2016 09:00
  The Scottish Government has announced a £7.9m collaboration with nine of Europe's largest offshore wind developers to reduce costs, and improve efficiency and availability of offshore wind farms, easing doubts about the UK's ability to invest in renewables post-Brexit.
  
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• Leaked TTIP energy proposal could 'sabotage' EU climate policy

  11-07-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  EU proposal on a free trade deal with the US could curb energy saving measures and a planned switch to clean energy, say MEPsThe latest draft version of the TTIP agreement could sabotage European efforts to save energy and switch to clean power, according to MEPs.A 14th round of the troubled negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade deal between the EU and US is due to begin on Monday in Brussels. Continue reading...
  
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• Massive mangrove die-off on Gulf of Carpentaria worst in the world, says expert

  11-07-2016 06:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Climate change and El Niño the culprits, says Norm Duke, an expert in mangrove ecology, after seeing 7,000ha of dead mangroves over 700kmClimate change and El Niño have caused the worst mangrove die-off in recorded history, stretching along 700km of Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria, an expert says.The mass die-off coincided with the world’s worst global coral bleaching event, as well as the worst bleaching event on the Great Barrier Reef, in which almost a quarter of the
  
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• Cormorants watch for trout beneath the mirror surface of the lake

  11-07-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Watendlath Tarn, Borrowdale At my approach the soot-black, long-necked bird opens its hook-tipped bill, and utters a harsh croakWatendlath Tarn shines like a burnished mirror. Perfect reflections of the surrounding hills and a Chelsea blue sky are disrupted only by the occasional splash of mallards and greylag geese and jumping trout. Black buzzer flies (chironomids or non-biting midges) on the surface are hatching from the tarn bed.I think of Judith Paris, the historical novel by Hugh Walpole,
  
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• Cutting the cable: Kangaroo Island eyes switch to 100% renewable energy

  11-07-2016 06:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Australia’s third-biggest island could combine wind, solar, PV and battery storage to fuel own electricity needs – and set a blueprint for the rest of the country Kangaroo Island is one of the great icons of Australian tourism. As Andrew Boardman, the chief executive of the Kangaroo Island council, says: “You can’t buy a name like that.” But now the third-biggest island in Australia, which lies just 120kms from Adelaide, wants to make its mark in a different way: by
  
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• Oil near two-month low on economic woes; drillers adjust to lower prices

  11-07-2016 04:54
  U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 44 cents at $41.97 a barrel. Traders said the lower prices were a result of Asian refiners beginning to cut crude orders in an adjustment to a sharp rise in crude prices since January, and also to the region's economic slowdown. "Crude imports to Asia over the last few months are falling ... (but) volumes were so high over the last year thanks to the rush to take advantage of the low oil prices, that it was rather natural that we would see a slow
  
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• Oil near two-month low despite Saudi comment on market balance

  11-07-2016 01:24
  Crude prices edged down in early Asian trade on Monday to hold near two-month lows on seasonally weak consumption, despite comments from the Saudi Arabian oil minister that the oil market was becoming more balanced. London Brent crude for September delivery was down 22 cents at $46.54 a barrel by 2247 GMT on Sunday. It settled up 36 cents on Friday after the U.S. economy posted the largest job gains in eight months in June and on worries about fresh militant attacks on Nigerian oil infrastructur
  
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• Unfounded fear?

  11-07-2016 01:17 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Radiation levels in the Pacific are almost back to their pre-Fukushima levels (except around Fukishima itself), and are expected to have fully recovered by 2020.
  
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