Environment news

• Suncor to acquire 30 percent stake in OMV's UK North Sea Rosebank project

  09-08-2016 23:36
  CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Suncor Energy , Canada's largest oil and gas producer, said on Tuesday it is buying a 30 percent stake in the UK North Sea Rosebank project from OMV Limited for an initial payment of $50 million (38 million pounds). In the event of regulatory approval and partners in the Rosebank joint venture approving a final investment decision, Suncor could pay OMV up to an additional $165 million. Rosebank, located 80 miles (130 kilometres) northwest of the Shetland Isles in wat
  
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• OMV agrees to sell 30 percent stake in British Rosebank field to Suncor

  09-08-2016 23:26
  Austrian energy group OMV has agreed to sell most of its 50 percent stake in the British Rosebank field to Canada's Suncor Energy for as much as $215 million (165 million pounds), OMV said on Tuesday. OMV said it would also book a pretax impairment charge of 530 million euros ($589 million) in the second quarter for its stake in the field, which would shrink to 20 percent. The Rosebank field, northwest of Shetland in the North Sea, is one of OMV's major exploration projects and is operated by U.
  
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• Oil down 1 percent on glut worry, API cites surprise U.S. crude build

  09-08-2016 23:15
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell 1 percent on Tuesday, extending losses in post-settlement trade after preliminary data showed a surprise U.S. crude stockpile build last week, heightening worries about a global petroleum glut. The market also lost the previous day's upward momentum as speculation fizzled that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers would embark on another round of talks on price cooperation after their failed effort in
  
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• Wildlife officials urge people to stop painting endangered turtle shells

  09-08-2016 21:52
  
  ‘If you want to paint something, paint a rock,’ Florida officials implore after shells of a threatened tortoise species were found daubed with paintWildlife officials in Florida have urged people to not illustrate the shells of a threatened tortoise species after several animals were found daubed with paint.
  The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has released photos of gopher tortoises that were painted red and a shade of turquoise. The FWC said the “illega
  
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• I’ve converted to veganism to reduce my impacts on the living world | George Monbiot

  09-08-2016 21:22
  
  Nothing hits the planet as hard as rearing animals. Caring for it means cutting out meat, dairy and eggsThe world can cope with 7 or even 10 billion people. But only if we stop eating meat. Livestock farming is the most potent means by which we amplify our presence on the planet. It is the amount of land an animal-based diet needs that makes it so destructive.An analysis by the farmer and scholar Simon Fairlie suggests that Britain could easily feed itself within its own borders. But w
  
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• I’ve converted to veganism to reduce my impact on the living world | George Monbiot

  09-08-2016 21:22
  
  Nothing hits the planet as hard as rearing animals. Caring for it means cutting out meat, dairy and eggsThe world can cope with 7 or even 10 billion people. But only if we stop eating meat. Livestock farming is the most potent means by which we amplify our presence on the planet. It is the amount of land an animal-based diet needs that makes it so destructive.An analysis by the farmer and scholar Simon Fairlie suggests that Britain could easily feed itself within its own borders. But w
  
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• Oil down 1 percent as global glut offsets U.S. crude draw forecast

  09-08-2016 20:08
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell as much as 1 percent on Tuesday as worries about a stubborn global petroleum glut offset forecasts for a weekly drop in U.S. crude inventories. Prices ended the previous day's upward momentum as speculation fizzled that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers would embark on another round of talks on price cooperation. Brent crude was down 37 cents, or nearly 1 percent, at $45.02 a barrel by 2:00 p.m. E
  
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• Double whammy for important Baltic seaweed

  09-08-2016 19:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  Wherever ecosystems rich in species develop on the rocky shores of the Baltic Sea, the bladder wrack Fucus vesiculosus has provided perfect groundwork. By colonizing pebbles and rocks, it creates habitats for many other species. Other algae grow on the seaweed to be grazed by snails, isopods and amphipods. Crustaceans, mussels and predatory fish as well as many smaller organisms that are important for the Baltic Sea ecosystem thrive in submarineFucus forests. Fucus vesiculosu
  
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• 'Stay away' from beached oil rig

  09-08-2016 19:22 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A small team of salvage experts is lowered onto the stranded oil rig in the Western Isles.
  
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• Life thriving on UK's biggest underwater mountains

  09-08-2016 19:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A deep-sea expedition discovers a remarkable array of life on the UK's tallest underwater mountains.
  
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• Britain's tallest mountain is underwater

  09-08-2016 19:03 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists from Plymouth University have visited the UK's tallest mountains - over 100 metres under the sea.
  
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• Early-bird deadline for Sustainability Leaders Awards fast-approaching

  09-08-2016 19:00
  
  Individuals and organisations that are helping to deliver excellence within the green economy now have less than one week left to take advantage of the cheaper early-bird entry to edie's 2017 Sustainability Leaders Awards.
  
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• New shale consultation deepens fracking controversy

  09-08-2016 18:29
  
  Payments for communities near fracking wells will not be circulated until a new well site begins operating and producing gas, the Government has confirmed in a consultation published on the shale wealth fund.
  
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• U.S. EIA lifts 2016 world oil demand growth forecast

  09-08-2016 18:08
  WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday raised its 2016 world oil demand growth forecast by 10,000 barrels per day to 1.45 million bpd. In its monthly forecast, the agency cut its oil demand growth estimate for 2017 by 40,000 bpd to 1.45 million bpd.
  
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• Oil seesaws as global glut pit against U.S. crude draw forecast

  09-08-2016 17:46
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday as the market weighed forecasts for a weekly drop in U.S. crude inventories against a stubborn global petroleum glut. The market also lost the momentum of the previous day's rebound when crude futures rose nearly 3 percent on talk that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers might initiate another round of talks on price cooperation. Brent crude was down 5 cents at $45.34 a bar
  
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• Oil rises further above $45, hope for producer action counters glut

  09-08-2016 16:05
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose further above $45 a barrel on Tuesday as forecasts for a drop in U.S. inventories and speculation of producer action to prop up prices countered concern about a supply glut. U.S. crude inventories were expected to have fallen by 1 million barrels in weekly reports, although market intelligence firm Genscape reported a rise of more than 307,000 barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub for U.S. oil, traders said. Brent crude for October was up 7 cent
  
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• China-UK investment: key questions following Hinkley Point C delay

  09-08-2016 15:33
  
  Theresa May’s decision to put off approval for nuclear power station has put Chinese-British business relationship under strainThe relationship between the British and Chinese governments is under strain after the prime minister, Theresa May, decided to delay approval of the planned £18bn Hinkley Point C nuclear power station because of concerns over China’s 30% stake in the project.The move has prompted a warning from the Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, who said in
  
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• Why the EU is right to oppose a global ivory ban | Colman O’Criodain

  09-08-2016 15:17
  
  Controversial proposals ahead of this year’s global wildlife trade summit threaten to fuel a divisive debate and divert attention away from the real measures needed to tackle the illegal ivory tradeAnyone paying even cursory attention to wildlife stories in recent years would have heard all about Africa’s elephant poaching crisis. And with good reason. An estimated 30,000 animals are being killed for their ivory every year, a shockingly high figure that threatens the survival of cent
  
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• Oil trades near $45 as glut overshadows hope for producer action

  09-08-2016 15:01
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil traded around $45 a barrel on Tuesday as concern about a supply glut countered forecasts for a drop in U.S. inventories and speculation of producer action to prop up prices. Total U.S. crude inventories were expected to fall by 1 million barrels in weekly reports, although market intelligence firm Genscape has reported a rise of more than 307,000 barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma U.S. crude delivery hub, traders said. Brent crude for October was down 29 cents
  
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• Melting ice sheet could expose frozen Cold War-era hazardous waste

  09-08-2016 14:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  Climate change is threatening to expose hazardous waste at an abandoned camp thought to be buried forever in the Greenland Ice Sheet, new research out of York University has found.Camp Century, a United States military base built within the Greenland ice sheet in 1959, doubled as a top-secret site for testing the feasibility of deploying nuclear missiles from the Arctic during the Cold War. When the camp was decommissioned in 1967, its infrastructure and waste were abandoned under the assumption
  
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• Aviation industry urged to ramp up commitment to combat climate change

  09-08-2016 14:15
  
  The aviation industry must prepare for the impacts of climate change by utilising clean technology and policy tools to significantly reduce its carbon footprint, the International Civil Aviation Organisation has claimed.
  
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• Brent oil price held back by crude stored offshore Britain

  09-08-2016 14:11
  Freight is very cheap." The North Sea market helps set global oil prices through the dated Brent benchmark. While arbitraging the crude out of the region can boost the market, the buildup of unsold Forties has weighed on prices.
  
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• China to UK - 'golden' ties at crucial juncture over nuclear delay

  09-08-2016 13:41
  By Guy Faulconbridge and Kylie MacLellan LONDON (Reuters) - China has cautioned Britain against closing the door to Chinese money and said relations were at a crucial juncture after Prime Minister Theresa May delayed signing off on a $24 billion nuclear power project. In China's sternest warning to date over May's surprise decision to review the building of Britain's first nuclear plant in decades, Beijing's ambassador to London said that Britain could face power shortages unless May approved th
  
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• Britain defends decision to review $24 billion nuclear plant

  09-08-2016 13:35
  Britain on Tuesday defended its decision to review a planned $24 billion nuclear power project after criticism from China which is helping to fund the deal. China has cautioned Britain against closing the door to Chinese investment and said on Tuesday relations were at a crucial juncture after new Prime Minister Theresa May delayed signing off on the project. "This decision is about a huge infrastructure project and it's right that the new government carefully considers it," a government spokesm
  
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• London to roll out low-emission bus zones along most polluted routes

  09-08-2016 13:32
  The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has confirmed plans to roll out the first batch of low-emission bus zones along the capital's most polluted transport routes.
  
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• Action needed to 'future-proof' pollinators

  09-08-2016 13:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  International scientists are calling for action to "future proof" the insects, birds and mammals that pollinate crops and wild plants.
  
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• edie launches Responsible Retail Conference to discuss business-critical sustainability challenges

  09-08-2016 13:20
  
  Retailers will be equipped with the tools they need to influence and engage with stakeholders on sustainability and realise the commercial benefits of low-carbon, resource-efficient business models at a brand new edie conference in September.
  
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• Beware the walruses

  09-08-2016 13:11 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Paddling from Greenland to Scotland in a canoe is risky business.
  
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• Oil above $45 on U.S. inventories, producer action speculation

  09-08-2016 12:59
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil edged further above $45 a barrel on Tuesday as forecasts for a drop in U.S. inventories and speculation of producer action to prop up prices countered concern about a supply glut. Total U.S. crude inventories were expected to fall by 1 million barrels in weekly reports, although market intelligence firm Genscape has reported a rise of more than 307,000 barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma U.S. crude delivery hub, traders said. Brent crude for October was up 13 c
  
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• Scientists develop dissolving battery

  09-08-2016 12:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers have developed a battery which self-destructs when dropped into water.
  
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• 'Golden' ties at crucial juncture over nuclear delay - China to UK

  09-08-2016 12:07
  By Guy Faulconbridge LONDON (Reuters) - China has cautioned Britain against closing the door to Chinese money and said relations were at a crucial juncture after Prime Minister Theresa May delayed signing off on a $24 billion nuclear power project. In China's sternest warning to date over May's surprise decision to review the building of Britain's first nuclear plant in decades, Beijing's ambassador to London said that Britain could face power shortages unless May approved the Franco-Chinese dea
  
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• EU regulators okay French aid for heat and power plants

  09-08-2016 11:46
  EU state aid regulators cleared on Tuesday a French scheme for combined heat and power plants using natural gas designed to increase the country's renewable energy output, saying the public support was in line with the bloc's rules. Under the scheme, energy plants will be granted either a feed-in premium on top of the market price or a feed-in tariff depending on their power output. "The scheme will reduce CO2 emissions and improve energy efficiency, in line with EU energy and climate goals, wit
  
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• Exclusive: BP seeks buyers for its half of China petchem venture

  09-08-2016 11:36
  By Arno Schuetze and Denny Thomas FRANKFURT/HONG KONG (Reuters) - British oil major BP is seeking buyers for its 50 percent stake in Chinese petrochemicals joint venture SECCO, its largest investment in China, in a deal sources said could fetch $2-$3 billion (£1.5-2.3 billion). State-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) , which owns the other half of the venture and has a right of first refusal, said it was discussing the conditions put forward by BP, but has made no decisio
  
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• Oil slips to $45 as glut overshadows hope for producer action

  09-08-2016 10:55
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell below $45 a barrel on Tuesday after rallying to a two-week high the previous day, as concern about a supply glut outweighed hopes of producer action to prop up prices. In the latest sign of ample supplies, market intelligence firm Genscape reported a rise of more than 307,000 barrels at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub for U.S. crude, traders said. U.S. inventory reports are due on Tuesday and Wednesday.
  
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• Amec Fosters' trading profit beats its own estimates

  09-08-2016 10:40
  (Reuters) - Oilfield services firm Amec Foster Wheeler Plc reported revenue and trading profit above consensus estimates compiled by it, and said it continued streamlining operations to insulate itself from the impact of the oil price slump. The company's trading result forecast for the full year remained unchanged, said Chief Executive Jonathan Lewis, who assumed office in June and initiated a review of its strategy and organisation structure. Shares in the company rose 8.5 percent to 506 pence
  
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• Belarus under fire for 'dangerous errors' at nuclear plant

  09-08-2016 10:24
  
  Neighbouring countries denounce ‘Soviet-style secrecy’ over accidents during energy site’s construction, RFE/RL reportsThirty years after world’s worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl, Belarus, which saw a quarter of its territory contaminated in the disaster, is building its first energy plant powered by the atom.However a series of mishaps at the site in Astravets are raising concerns over safety, particularly in Lithuania whose capital, Vilnius, lies less than 31 miles (
  
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• Greenpeace sounds alarm over China's long-distance fishing fleet

  09-08-2016 10:05
  
  The government is subsidising an industry that is growing rapidly, fishing in waters as far away as South America and AntarcticaChina’s vast, long-distance fishing industry has expanded to more than 10 times the size of America’s and its growth is depleting fisheries and creating conflicts, according to a Greenpeace report.From 2012 to 2014, the number of Chinese vessels involved in “distant water fishing” [DFW] – harvesting seafood on the high seas or in other coun
  
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• Will DECC's replacement de-prioritise Britain's climate change strategy?

  09-08-2016 10:00
  
  The majority of large business energy users fear that the recent removal of the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) will leave climate change "swept under the rug", according to a survey addressing the implications of the newly-formed Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) for business-led climate action.
  
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• Nobody can buy the silence of a climate spinning out of control | Caroline Lucas

  09-08-2016 10:00
  
  Attempts by ministers to bribe local people who oppose fracking is an insult to those who have fought hard to protect the environmentThe government’s reckless pursuit of fracking has reached new lows with the announcement that ministers will attempt to buy off widespread community opposition to the controversial new fossil fuel source through the introduction of a £1bn Shale Wealth Fund. At a time when we need to be making the transition to a jobs-rich zero-carbon future, this would
  
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• Sinopec studying BP's terms for SECCO JV exit plan

  09-08-2016 09:59
  HONG KONG (Reuters) - State-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) is currently discussing the conditions put forward by British oil and gas major BP plc for its planned exit from their SECCO petrochemicals joint venture, a Sinopec spokesman told Reuters on Tuesday. Reuters earlier reported that BP has hired an investment bank to find buyers for its 50 percent stake in SECCO, a deal that could fetch up to $3 billion. The Sinopec spokesman said the company had not made a decision on
  
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• Mike Baird says another bidder for Ausgrid will emerge if sale to Chinese company rejected

  09-08-2016 08:04
  
  Premier says national security a matter for federal government after Scott Morrison’s comments on sale of electricity distributorThe New South Wales premier, Mike Baird, says if the federal government knocks back the sale of the state electricity distributor Ausgrid to a Chinese ­company another bidder will step in.
  Baird told reporters on Tuesday national interest and national security concerns were ultimately matters for the federal government in assessing foreign investment transact
  
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• Modern life doesn't have to be rubbish: helping Mumbai clean up its act

  09-08-2016 08:00
  
  On a suburban beach scores of volunteers take on mountains of waste and years of apathy in India’s most populous cityA plastic bag peeked out from under the mud. Neerav Ghosh put on his synthetic gloves and got to work with his daughter, yanking it out along with the other detritus embedded in the beach.
  It was 1.30pm on a Sunday, and as the rains lashed Versova beach in an upmarket suburb of Mumbai, they went about pulling, plucking and clearing rubbish. Standing on the edge of the water,
  
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• BMC Ecology Image competition 2016 - the winners in pictures

  09-08-2016 08:00
  
  A Kalahari desert sunrise and a wren’s nest under a bike seat are among the winning images in the scientific journal’s annual competition, which showcases biodiversity, natural beauty and biological interactions photographed by ecologists Continue reading...
  
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• Exclusive: BP seeks buyers for China petchem JV stake in up to $3 billion deal - sources

  09-08-2016 06:46
  By Arno Schuetze and Denny Thomas FRANKFURT/HONG KONG (Reuters) - British oil major BP is seeking buyers for its 50 percent stake in a Chinese petrochemicals joint venture, its single largest investment in China, in a deal that would fetch $2-$3 billion (1.5-2.3 billion pounds), people familiar with the matter told Reuters. BP has hired an investment bank to sell its shareholding in SECCO as part of a drive to cash out of businesses where it lacks control, the people added. A successful deal wou
  
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• Oil falls as glut, profit-taking beat back optimism over OPEC meet

  09-08-2016 06:34
  By Osamu Tsukimori TOKYO (Reuters) - Crude prices edged lower on Tuesday on continued worries over a global oil glut and as investors took profits on gains of nearly 3 percent from the previous session, beating down upwards momentum from a possible meeting of oil producers. Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino said on Monday that a meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC countries may take place "in the coming weeks" as the crisis-stricken South American nation sought support to prop up weak oil m
  
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• The first slim flocks of starlings gather by a muddy river

  09-08-2016 06:30
  
  Waltham Brooks, West Sussex Now breeding has finished, the numbers of starlings gathering together are building up again, and will rise into the thousands in the coming monthsThe river Arun has slowed almost to a stop, the bare strip of dried earth along the bank betraying the low water level. Large bunches of dark green weed are exposed. Along the grassy footpath, there are a still a few thistles in bloom, glowing purple in the evening sunshine, but many other thistle heads have now exploded, t
  
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• How Florida and Colorado are trying to build smart cities from the ground up

  09-08-2016 06:00
  
  Ambitious new cities Songdo and Masdar may not have lived up to their promise, but smaller projects in the US aim to be laboratories for sustainable city planningMasdar, on the edges of Abu Dhabi, was billed as the world’s first sustainable city when it was conceived in 2006. It was intended to be a zero-carbon, zero-waste city, with smart technology embedded across all the city’s functions. A decade on and ambitions have cooled. The completion date has moved from 2016 to 2030 and ci
  
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• Why Malcolm Roberts' demand for 'empirical evidence' on climate change is misleading

  09-08-2016 04:29
  Scientist and Nobel prize-winner Peter Doherty says new One Nation senator ‘has no understanding of how science works’Across Australia, climate science denialists are beside themselves with glee at the voting into office of one of their own.Late last week, the Australian Electoral Commission confirmed that Pauline Hanson’s One Nation party had snagged Queensland’s final 12th Senate spot. Her candidate, Malcolm Roberts, is now a senator.Continue reading...
  
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