Environment news

• Sunny or stoical? Your weather tweets depend on your coordinates

  10-08-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Twitter weather offerings vary county to county, the tone and number driven by how novel we find the snow or baking sunThese days we don’t just talk about the weather; we tweet about it too. Recently British Gas analysed a quarter of a million UK weather tweets, and the results suggest that people’s feelings about the weather might depend on where they live.Despite being blessed with more than average amounts of sunshine, people living in Surrey and Hampshire have a tendency to moan,
  
  Read more

• Galápagos faces first-ever bird extinction

  10-08-2016 21:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scientists have discovered a new species of colorful songbird in the Galápagos Islands, with one catch: it's extinct. Researchers from the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco State University (SFSU), the University of New Mexico (UNM), and the San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory (SFBBO) used molecular data from samples of museum specimens to determine that two subspecies of Vermilion Flycatchers, both found only in the Galápagos, should be elevated from subspecies to
  
  Read more

• Why we need to keep rivers cool with riverside tree planting

  10-08-2016 21:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  With some climate predictions warning that river water temperatures will exceed safe thresholds for river fish, the Keep Rivers Cool (KRC) campaign is calling for more riverside tree planting.Fish in Britain's rivers are under threat from warmer waters. Cold-water species such as Atlantic salmon and brown trout, are struggling to cope as climate change brings significant increases in temperature.Today there's a call for urgent action to Keep Rivers Cool by planting broadleaf native trees alongsi
  
  Read more

• Oil ends down 2 percent as U.S. crude build offsets gasoline draw

  10-08-2016 21:09
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell around 2 percent on Wednesday after the second-biggest weekly draw in U.S. gasoline this summer was countered by an unseasonal build in crude stockpiles. Adding to renewed worries about a global crude glut, top crude exporter Saudi Arabia told the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that the kingdom's output reached a record high of 10.7 million barrels per day in July. U.S. crude inventories rose 1.1 million barrels in
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Strategies needed for light-duty vehicle greenhouse gas reduction

  10-08-2016 21:04 via feedproxy.google.com
  The White House wants to cut U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 80 percent by 2050, but the goal raises questions about one of the greatest sources of those pollutants, light-duty vehicles (LDVs). The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has taken a close look at what specific combination of measures national experts have determined is needed to slash LDV emissions from 1,514 million metric tons (MMTs) to 303 MMTs of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year and meet this larg
  
  Read more

• Fracking ‘bribes’ raise problematic questions | Letters

  10-08-2016 20:51 via theguardian.com
  
  The latest “community support” offer from the Treasury (Fracking payouts condemned as ‘bribes’, 8 August) for those areas having fracking rigs installed is truly a Russian roulette gamble for local people. An article in the Washington Post on 10 April last year, headlined “Rise of deadly radon gas in Pennsylvania buildings linked to fracking industry”, reported on a detailed study in the journal Environmental Health Perspective that revealed a “disturbin
  
  Read more

• Dairy groups blast methane reductions: ‘Cows expel gas so they don’t explode’

  10-08-2016 20:51 via theguardian.com
  
  California wants to limit the amount of greenhouse gas emitted by belching and farting of 5.5 million cows, but the industry is hitting back with a dose of reality California’s attempt to curb emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, is facing vocal opposition from a dairy industry that fears government meddling in the flatulence of its cows.The California Air Resources Board (ARB) has set a goal of slashing methane emissions by 40% by 2030, from 2013 levels, and has targeted the b
  
  Read more

• Warmer climate could lower dengue risk

  10-08-2016 20:48 via feedproxy.google.com
  Health researchers predict that the transmission of dengue could decrease in a future warmer climate, countering previous projections that climate change would cause the potentially lethal virus to spread more easily.Hundreds of millions of people are infected with dengue each year, with some children dying in severe cases, and this research helps to address this significant global health problem.Co-lead researcher Associate Professor David Harley from The Australian National University (ANU) sa
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• The Guardian view on granny orcas: nothing to do with humans | Editorial

  10-08-2016 20:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Fascinating work is being done on the family life of killer whales. But like research into New Caledonian crows, it has nothing to do with the way we live our livesEvolutionary biologists from British universities have found new evidence to support their theory that, despite their infertile state, post-menopausal killer whales play a beneficial role in the lives of their grandchildren. The scientists have a serious purpose: they want to find out why orcas go through the menopause, a characterist
  
  Read more

• Scientists Dive to WWII-Era Japanese Warship: How to Watch Live

  10-08-2016 20:08
  
  A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) will explore the wreckage of the Hayate, a destroyer in the Imperial Japanese Navy's fleet that was sunk by American forces in December 1941. The dive is part of an ongoing expedition aboard the research vessel Okeanos Explorer, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship. Reserachers are currently exploring the largely uncharted deep-sea ecosystems and seafloor near the Wake Atoll Unit of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PR
  
  Read more

• Oil rig in Western Isles may have leaked tonnes of diesel into Atlantic

  10-08-2016 19:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Salvage teams believe two fuel storage tanks on Transocean Winner platform have been breached after rig crashed into rocks in stormSalvage experts fear that tonnes of diesel has leaked into the Atlantic after a drilling rig ran aground, breaching its fuel tanks, in the Western Isles of Scotland earlier this week.The specialists believe two of the four fuel storage tanks on the Transocean Winner platform were damaged as well as water stability tanks, when the 17,000-tonne rig crashed into rocks n
  
  Read more

• Oil down 2 percent as U.S. crude build offsets gasoline draw

  10-08-2016 19:14
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell 2 percent on Wednesday after the second-biggest weekly draw in U.S. gasoline this summer was countered by an unseasonal growth in crude stockpiles. Data showing Saudi Arabia pumping oil at record high volumes in July added to worries about a global crude glut. U.S. crude inventories gained 1.1 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 5, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported, in a third straight week of builds that surprise
  
  Read more

• Agriculture and overuse greater threats to wildlife than climate change – study

  10-08-2016 19:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Efforts to address climate change must not overshadow more immediate priorities for the survival of the world’s flora and fauna, say researchersAgriculture and the overexploitation of plants and animal species are significantly greater threats to biodiversity than climate change, new analysis shows.Joint research published in the journal Nature on Wednesday found nearly three-quarters of the world’s threatened species faced these threats, compared to just 19% affected by climate chan
  
  Read more

• Can the Alligator Gar Solve Our Asian Carp Problem?

  10-08-2016 18:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  The prehistoric-looking alligator gar was once driven out of its native waters, but recent reports are touting the top level predator as a possible solution to the influx of Asian carp that are devastating local fish stocks. But could reintroduction actually work?The Associated Press reports:But the once-reviled predator is now being seen as a valuable fish in its own right, and as a potential weapon against a more threatening intruder: the invasive Asian carp,
  
  Read more

• FTSE notches up fifth day of gains on firm financials

  10-08-2016 18:17
  By Sudip Kar-Gupta LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top equity index rose on Wednesday in its fifth straight day of gains as stronger financial stocks offset weaker energy shares which tracked a pullback in oil prices. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.2 percent to 6,866.42 points, near its highest level in 14 months. Financial stocks added the most points to the UK stock market, as insurer Prudential Plc advanced 2.2 percent, helping lift rivals such as Legal & General and Admiral , with Admi
  
  Read more

• APNewsBreak: Officials skeptical $57M fish project will work

  10-08-2016 18:14
  BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A group of Montana and federal wildlife officials have lined up in opposition to a $57 million concrete dam and fish bypass that the U.S. government says would help an ancient and endangered fish species in the Yellowstone River.
  
  Read more

• Cooked Medium Rare? This 'Bloody' Burger Is Actually Vegan

  10-08-2016 18:12
  
  There's a new "bloody" burger in town, but this one is entirely vegan. The juicy patty contains exactly zero animal products, but because of a bright red molecule called heme, it looks like a hamburger served medium rare, said the burger's creators, Impossible Foods. The new delicacy, called the Impossible Burger, contains a number of ingredients, including wheat protein for chewiness, coconut oil for its fatty flavor and potato protein to help the burger cook like meat, Impossible Foods (IF) sa
  
  Read more

• California Freeways to Go Greener by Generating Electricity

  10-08-2016 17:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  Energy conservation is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about freeways jammed with idling vehicles.But in California, which has some of the most congested freeways in the country, that’s about to change. The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved a pilot program in which piezoelectric crystals will be installed on several freeways.
  
  Read more

• Oil down more than 1 percent as U.S. crude build offsets gasoline draw

  10-08-2016 17:31
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than 1 percent on Wednesday after the second-biggest weekly draw in U.S. gasoline this summer was countered by an unseasonal growth in crude stockpiles. U.S. crude inventories rose unexpectedly for a third straight week, gaining 1.1 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 5, compared with analysts' expectations for a 1 million-barrel draw, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. U.S. gasoline stocks fell 2.8 million barre
  
  Read more

• Pressure mounts on retailers to reform throwaway clothing culture

  10-08-2016 17:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Americans dispose of about 12.8m tons of textiles annually. But a growing number of environmentalists and clothing retailers say it’s time to begin making new clothes out of old items on a large scale, reports Yale Environment 360Fast-growing, fast-fashion retailer H&M, which has more than 4,000 stores in 62 countries, sold $24.5bn worth of T-shirts, pants, jackets, and dresses last year. It also took 12,000 tons of clothes back. In a glossy, celebrity-studded video, H&M says: &ldq
  
  Read more

• London organisations urged to feed the vulnerable through food donation schemes

  10-08-2016 16:46
  
  National charity FoodCycle is calling on London-based charities, community projects and faith centres to join them in the fight to tackle both food waste and poverty in the capital.
  
  Read more

• Oil up on expectations of U.S. crude, gasoline draws

  10-08-2016 16:14
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose as much as 1 percent on Wednesday in anticipation the U.S. government would report a weekly drop in crude and gasoline stockpiles, tempering glut worries heightened by Saudi Arabia's record high oil output. Analysts expect the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) to cite a drawdown of about 1 million barrels each in both domestic crude and gasoline inventories for the week ended Aug 5 in data due at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT). The Am
  
  Read more

• Egypt government approves five oil and gas exploration deals

  10-08-2016 15:59
  CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's government has approved five oil and gas drilling and exploration agreements with foreign companies, Petroleum Minister Tarek El Molla said on Wednesday. Once an energy exporter, Egypt has turned into a net importer because of declining oil and gas production and increasing consumption. It is trying to speed up production at recent discoveries to fill its energy gap as soon as possible. Four of the deals are offshore Mediterranean gas exploration and drilling agreements
  
  Read more

• OPEC points to 2017 oil surplus as Saudi output hits record

  10-08-2016 15:00
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia boosted its oil output to a record high in July, it told OPEC, in a sign key members remain focused on market share rather than tackling a supply glut by curbing production. The drop in prices has prompted speculation OPEC may seek to revive a deal with outside producers to freeze output. "Cheap crude has led refiners to produce more refined products worldwide, adding to the oversupplied market," OPEC said in the report.
  
  Read more

• Oil eases on oversupply as calls for producer talks draw scepticism`

  10-08-2016 14:35
  International benchmark Brent crude futures were down 13 cents at $44.85 per barrel at 1216 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $42.50 per barrel, down 27 cents from their last settlement. OPEC said in its monthly oil report citing secondary sources its crude output, including Gabon, rose to 46,000 bpd in July to 33.11 million bpd compared with June.
  
  Read more

• Happy World Lion Day!

  10-08-2016 14:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  Today, August 10th is World Lion Day so to help us celebrate, here are some surprising lion facts you may not know.
  
  Read more

• Piltdown review points decisive finger at forger Dawson

  10-08-2016 14:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  After an eight-year study, researchers conclude that history's most infamous fake fossils were made by one man - the prime suspect, Charles Dawson.
  
  Read more

• Chemicals giant launches new circular economy packaging using recycled waste

  10-08-2016 13:55
  
  Refinery and chemicals giant Total has launched a new range of recyclable polymer packaging made from at least 25% recycled household waste from Western Europe, as part of the companies pledge to embed closed-loop models in its production phase.
  
  Read more

• Chemicals giant launches new circular economy packaging using 25% recycled waste

  10-08-2016 13:55
  
  Refinery and chemicals giant Total has launched a new range of recyclable polymer packaging made from at least 25% recycled household waste from Western Europe, as part of the companies pledge to embed closed-loop models in its production phase.
  
  Read more

• Chemicals giant launches new circular economy packaging resin

  10-08-2016 13:55
  
  Refinery and chemicals giant Total has launched a new range of recyclable polymer packaging made from at least 25% recycled household waste from Western Europe, as part of the companies pledge to embed closed-loop models in its production phase.
  
  Read more

• Forget Nessie, now is the time to spot basking sharks in Scottish waters

  10-08-2016 13:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Hunted until the 1990s, UK basking shark numbers are still recovering, but August marks the height of the shark spotting season off Scotland’s West Coast“There’s one!” Came a voice from the back of the boat, “Ah… sorry, just a dolphin.” I turned around to see the keen-eyed fellow grinning. Normally I’d be pretty pleased with dolphin sightings. In the lea of the low islands of Coll and Tiree the sea was flat calm. We were on the lookout for the fin
  
  Read more

• KFC urged to phase out harmful antiobiotics in meat supply

  10-08-2016 13:43
  
  Consumer groups and shareholder investors are calling upon fast-food chain KFC to phase out harmful antibiotic use in its meat supply in order to combat the "catastrophic" global health threat of antibiotic-resistant "superbug" bacteria.
  
  Read more

• Satellite eye on Earth: July 2016 – in pictures

  10-08-2016 13:40 via theguardian.com
  
  China’s floods, Russian wildfires and urban expansion in Delhi were among the images captured by European Space Agency and Nasa satellites last monthClew Bay in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, contains Ireland’s best example of sunken glacial drumlins – low hills formed from glacial sediment deposited at the end of the last ice age. The bay is associated with Elizabethan pirate queen Grace O’Malley and Dorinish, a private island purchased by John Lennon.Continue reading
  
  Read more

• Western nations urge calm at Libyan oil port

  10-08-2016 12:22
  Western countries including the United States, France and Britain said in a joint statement on Wednesday they were concerned by mounting tension around the Zueitina oil terminal in Libya. Washington, Paris, London and the governments of Germany, Spain and Italy urged a return to government control of all oil and gas installations and called on all parties "to abstain from any act of hostility and avoid all actions that could damage or disrupt energy infrastructure". Zueitina is one of three east
  
  Read more

• Rising avocado prices fuelling illegal deforestation in Mexico

  10-08-2016 12:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Mexican farmers can make higher profits than most other crops so are thinning out pine forests to plant young avocado trees The popularity of the avocado in the US and rising prices for the “superfood” are fuelling deforestation in central Mexico.Mexican farmers can make much higher profits growing avocados than from most other crops and so are thinning out pine forests to plant young avocado trees. Once the avocado trees grow, they cut back the forest even more to give them more sun
  
  Read more

• The lake that left town: why is this California community drying up?

  10-08-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Eagle Lake is one of the largest in the state, but receding waters have caused the town around it, and its industries, to dwindle. Is climate change to blame? Val Aubrey parked her boat trailer on the shore of Eagle Lake, in northeastern California. She walked to an overlook where a sign warned against swimming and diving. “This” – she opened her arms wide – “used to be the marina.”
  Down below, docks sat among nettles and thistles growing on what used to be th
  
  Read more

• Climate scientists make a bold prediction about sea level rise | John Abraham

  10-08-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  John Fasullo and colleagues predict that satellites will detect accelerating sea level rise within the next decade
  One of the great things about science is that it allows you to make predictions. Three top climate scientists just made a very bold prediction regarding sea level rise; we should know in a few years if they are correct.As humans emit greenhouse gases, it’s causing the Earth to warm. That’s indisputable and proven. We can actually measure the amount of extra heat. Since m
  
  Read more

• Eyewitness: Kuikka, Finland

  10-08-2016 11:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Photographs from the Eyewitness series Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• O2 customers recycle two million mobiles through the Think Big programme

  10-08-2016 11:37
  
  Mobile phone provider O2 has revealed that its customers have saved more than £135m since 2009, by recycling old mobiles through the company's Think Big programme.
  
  Read more

• Oil falls on oversupply as calls for producer talks draw scepticism`

  10-08-2016 11:19
  By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell on Wednesday, hit by improved prospects for U.S. output and a glut in refined products, while analysts largely expected no impact on supplies from talk of a potential producer meeting to discuss propping up prices. International benchmark Brent crude futures were down 63 cents at $44.35 per barrel at 0839 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $42.13 per barrel, down 64 cents from their last settlement.
  
  Read more

• Western countries concerned by tension around Libya's Zueitina oil terminal

  10-08-2016 10:59
  Western countries including the United States, France and Britain said in a joint statement on Wednesday they were concerned by mounting tension around the Zueitina oil terminal in Libya. "The government of national accord must work with the National Oil Corporation to relaunch oil production in order to rebuild Libya's economy," the six countries said in a statement released by the French foreign ministry. Libya's state oil company on Sunday called on rival armed factions to avoid damaging the
  
  Read more

• Hinkley Point: Mandelson urges government to support China-backed project

  10-08-2016 10:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Labour peer says Brexit vote has put UK in difficult position and ‘we can’t be too fussy about who we trade with’Peter Mandelson, the former business secretary, has urged the government to go ahead with the controversial, Chinese-backed Hinkley Point nuclear project, saying that after Brexit “we can’t be too fussy about who we do trade with”.Lord Mandelson, an architect of New Labour who served in several key positions under the Blair and Brown governments, sa
  
  Read more

• FTSE retreats from 13-month high as oil stocks weigh

  10-08-2016 10:58
  By Atul Prakash LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top equity index retreated from a 13-month high on Wednesday, with shares in Smith & Nephew falling on a broker downgrade and energy shares losing ground after crude oil prices fell on oversupply concerns. The UK Oil and Gas index fell 1.1 percent, the top sectoral decliner, after a global supply glut weighed on the energy market and analysts said that talks of a potential producer meeting to discuss propping up prices was unlikely to have any imp
  
  Read more

• Shipping noise impairs ability of humpback whales to forage, study shows

  10-08-2016 10:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Shipping noise in the North Atlantic could impact population levels of the whales, new research showsIncreased shipping noise is disrupting the foraging behaviour of humpback whales in the North Atlantic, according to a new study.
  Scientists in the US and UK said their findings could impact upon the numbers of humpback whales in the long term. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Ignoring innovation is the biggest risk companies can take, warns Unilever

  10-08-2016 10:15
  
  EXCLUSIVE: A failure to utilise innovation and take risks is "arguably the biggest risk a company can take" in the global transition to a low-carbon economy, the senior vice president of global marketing at Unilever has said.
  
  Read more

• Rising seal numbers in Thames estuary hide triple threat to populations

  10-08-2016 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Scientists conducting annual count of grey and common seals warn of potential impact of dredging, a deadly virus and predation between species Scores of seals loll on the riverbank of the Stour, snorting and bellyflopping as they sun themselves a couple of miles outside Ramsgate’s busy marina.
  Far from exceptional, these are just a smattering of the hundreds of seals that the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) hopes to count this week in the Greater Thames estuary. The mammals are sighted
  
  Read more

• More seals in greater Thames estuary, reports London zoo – video

  10-08-2016 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Conservation scientist Jo Barker from London zoo takes us on a tour of the greater Thames estuary to see the harbour and grey seal populations. The harbour seal population has largely increased in spite of the episodic phocine distemper virus. There are concerns that the seals’ habitat will be damaged as a result of dredgingContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Prepare for a global 'timber supply crunch', WWF warns UK retailers

  10-08-2016 09:18
  
  "Urgent action" is needed from British businesses to invest in more sustainable timber sourcing practices, as highly-sourced areas suffer from a dangerous shortage of resources, a new report commissioned by the WWF has warned.
  
  Read more

• Oil falls on oversupply; calls for producer meeting met with scepticism

  10-08-2016 09:02
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday as a global supply overhang weighed on markets, while talk of a potential producer meeting to discuss propping up prices was largely expected by analysts to have no impact on supplies. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $42.43 per barrel at 0657 GMT, down 34 cents from their last settlement, or 0.79 percent. International Brent crude futures were at $44.62 per barrel, down 36 cents, or 0.8 p
  
  Read more

• Paul McCartney and Ranulph Fiennes back Amazon tribe threatened by dams

  10-08-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Artists, poets, film directors and musicians call on Brazilian government and European companies to recognise the rights of the Munduruku peopleSome 48 musicians, poets, chefs, artists, film directors and other celebrities including Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Mark Rylance have called on the Brazilian government and European companies to recognise the rights of an Amazonian group whose territory is threatened by a large complex of dams.In a letter to the Guardian, the group says
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!