Environment news

• Alberta weighs ban on spear hunting after man films 'humane' bear killing

  16-08-2016 23:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Environment ministry describes video of Josh Bowmar fatally spearing a bear ‘archaic’ and ‘unacceptable’ as Bowmar defends killing as ethicalAuthorities in the Canadian province of Alberta have vowed to ban spear hunting and are weighing whether to lay charges against an American hunter after a video surfaced showing him killing a black bear with a spear.
  The video – one of several hunting videos posted to the YouTube account of Josh Bowmar – shows Bowmar hold
  
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• Offshore Wind Moves a Step Closer for North Carolina

  16-08-2016 22:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  While we’re a long way behind countries like the UK, there seems to be a growing momentum behind US offshore wind development—suggesting we might finally get serious about the incredible potential for this increasingly competitive technology. The latest such signal is an announcement from the Department of Interior proposing a lease sale for the 122,405-Acre Kitty Hawk Wind Energy Area.
  
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• What do America's national parks mean to you? Share your stories and photos

  16-08-2016 22:34 via theguardian.com
  
  The National Parks Service celebrates its 100th birthday in August. How have America’s natural wonders impacted your life? Share your stories and photos For 100 years, the National Parks Service has been providing Americans and international visitors alike with unspoiled vistas – and vacations to match. Ahead of the centennial on 25 August, we want to hear from you. Do you have a particularly memorable hiking adventure to tell us about? Or an undeniably beautiful shot of a waterfall
  
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• Australia’s rarest tortoises get new home to save them from climate change

  16-08-2016 22:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Natural range of critically endangered western swamp tortoise increasingly untenable owing to reduced rainfallTwenty-four of Australia’s rarest tortoises have been released outside their natural range because climate change has dried out their remaining habitat.The natural range of the critically endangered western swamp tortoise, Pseudemydura umbrina, has shrunk to two isolated wetlands in Perth’s ever-growing outer suburbs, and a herpetological expert, Dr Gerald Kuchling, said redu
  
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• Alaskan village votes on whether to relocate because of rising sea

  16-08-2016 22:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Coastal village of Shishmaref, which is losing ground to rising sea levels, could become the first in the US to move over the threat of climate change The residents of an Alaskan coastal village have begun voting on whether to relocate because of rising sea levels.If they vote to move, the village of Shishmaref, just north of the Bering Strait, and its population of 650 people, could be the first in the US to do so because of climate change. Continue reading...
  
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• Mapping the health threat of wildfires under climate change in US West

  16-08-2016 22:08 via feedproxy.google.com
  A surge in major wildfire events in the U.S. West as a consequence of climate change will expose tens of millions of Americans to high levels of air pollution in the coming decades, according to a new Yale-led study conducted with collaborators from Harvard.The researchers estimated air pollution from past and projected future wildfires in 561 western counties, and found that by mid-century more than 82 million people will experience "smoke waves," or consecutive days with high air pollution rel
  
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• Today's electric vehicles can make a dent in climate change

  16-08-2016 21:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  Electric cars that exist today could be widely adopted despite range constraints, replacing about 90 percent of existing cars, and could make a major dent in the nation's carbon emissions, new research indicates.The study, which found that a wholesale replacement of conventional vehicles with electric ones is possible today and could play a significant role in meeting climate change mitigation goals, was published today in the journal Nature Energy by Jessika Trancik, the Atlantic Rich
  
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• World's hottest month shows challenges global warming will bring

  16-08-2016 21:31 via theguardian.com
  
  July was hotter than any month globally since records began – but some areas, such as the Middle East, suffer more than othersIn Siberia, melting permafrost released anthrax that had been frozen in a reindeer carcass for decades, starting a deadly outbreak. In Baghdad, soaring temperatures forced the government to shut down for days at a time. In Kuwait, thermometers hit a record 54C (129F).July was the hottest month the world has endured since records began in 1880, scientists have said,
  
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• The grouse shooters aim to kill: the first casualty is the truth | George Monbiot

  16-08-2016 21:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Their campaign against the RSPB is a shameful example of ‘astroturfing’. The public should bewareThis is how, in a democracy, you win when you are outnumbered: you purchase the results. It’s how politics now works. The very rich throw money at the parties, lobby groups and thinktanks that project their demands. If they are clever, they keep their names out of it.Here’s an example: a campaign fronted by the former England cricket captain Sir Ian Botham, called You Forgot t
  
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• Obama tightens emissions and fuel efficiency rules for heavy duty trucks

  16-08-2016 20:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Second phase of new benchmark will cut equivalent of greenhouse gases emitted by electricity and power from all US residences in one year, officials say US trucks will produce 10% less carbon dioxide and consume 10% less fuel within a decade under the last major plank of Barack Obama’s climate policy.The second phase of a new benchmark for medium- and large-sized trucks will cut more than 1bn metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and 2bn barrels of oil use, the Environment Protection A
  
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• Greener alternatives to Hinkley Point C | Letters

  16-08-2016 19:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Simon Jenkins writes that “To question China’s good intentions in financing the power station [at Hinkley Point] is silly. It is a French-built plant, and the idea that Beijing might contrive to embed and then activate some doomsday bug is absurd” (Trade with China is a good thing. But Hinkley Point is a dud, 11 August).Not that absurd. The China General Nuclear Group (CGN), which is involved in financing Hinkley Point, expects to build a new nuclear station with its own r
  
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• Piranhas with human-like teeth in Michigan fuel concern over invasive fish

  16-08-2016 19:33 via theguardian.com
  
  The large, South American tropical fish were probably illegally dumped in the Great Lakes by pet-owners who no longer wanted to keep them in aquariumsThree large vegetarian piranhas with human-like teeth have been discovered in Michigan, amid growing concern among wildlife officials over tropical and invasive fish infiltrating the Great Lakes region.Over the past month, two red-bellied pacu piranhas have been caught in Lake St Clair and one other in the Port Huron area in Michigan. They were pro
  
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• Oil at five-week high as OPEC sources, Russia, talk of cooperation

  16-08-2016 19:25
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude futures hit five-week highs for a second straight day on Tuesday as sources at OPEC spoke of Saudi Arabia's apparent desire for higher oil prices while Russia met the producer group to discuss the market. Focus on production losses in Nigeria, where more than 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) have been lost to militant attacks and pipeline problems, also supported crude prices. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will probably revive ta
  
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• Gabon opposition chooses Ping as candidate for August 27 election

  16-08-2016 18:50
  Gabon's main opposition parties chose former foreign minister Jean Ping as its candidate in an election on Aug. 27 against President Ali Bongo, who is standing for a second term in one of Africa's leading oil-producing nations. Ping, aged 74, is considered one of Africa's foremost diplomats. Ping fell out with Ali Bongo, who won a disputed election in 2009, and resigned from the ruling party in 2014.
  
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• 'Googly-eyed' stubby squid spotted off California coast – video

  16-08-2016 18:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers have captured rare footage of the stubby squid – a purple-colored species with large eyes – during an exploration voyage off Santa Monica, California. The somewhat rare species, which looks like a cross between an octopus and squid, spends its life on the seafloor, burrowing into the sand for camouflage and using its large eyes to spot incoming prey, such as shrimp and small fish Continue reading...
  
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• World's largest offshore wind farm receives go-ahead from UK Government

  16-08-2016 17:53
  
  The world's largest offshore wind farm has today (16 August) received development consent from the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Secretary Greg Clark.
  
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• Louisiana woman visits evacuated home after floods to rescue cats – video

  16-08-2016 17:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Southern Louisiana has been ravaged by a slow-moving rainstorm that the National Weather Service has called a ‘1,000-year’ disaster. Thousands of people have evacuated their homes and at least eight people are dead as of Tuesday morning. The historic storm began in the corner of Florida’s gulf coast in the first week of AugustLouisiana begins recovery from devastating storm – in pictures
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• Methane leaks: A new way to find and fix in real time

  16-08-2016 17:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers have flown aircraft over an oil and gas field and pinpointed -- with unprecedented precision -- sources of the greenhouse gas methane in real time. The technique led to the detection and immediate repair of two leaks in natural gas pipelines in the Four Corners region of the U.S. Southwest.The technique led to the detection and immediate repair of two leaks in natural gas pipelines in the Four Corners region of the U.S. Southwest. The approach could inform strategies for meeting new
  
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• Neonic pesticide link to long-term wild bee decline

  16-08-2016 17:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The large-scale, long-term decline in wild bees across England has been linked to the use of neonicotinoid insecticides by a new study.
  
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• High pesticide levels on oilseed rape crops harm wild bees, scientists prove

  16-08-2016 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Species that feed most on the bright yellow flowers of the crop treated with controversial neonicotinoids have fallen by as much as 30%Pesticides used on oilseed rape crops, whose bright yellow flowers have become an increasingly common sight across the British countryside, are harming native populations of wild bees, scientists have conclusively proved.Species that feed most on the flowers of the now-profitable cash crop used for vegetable oils and animal fodder are down by as much as 30%, acco
  
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• Oil firms on producer action speculation

  16-08-2016 16:57
  By Libby George LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices reached their highest levels in more than five weeks on Tuesday as the market largely held gains that came from speculation producers would take action to prop up the market. Production losses in Nigeria, where more than 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) was missing due to militant attacks and pipeline problems, also helped to support prices. Much of the gains have been attributed to investor expectation that oil producers will take action to rein in bal
  
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• Culham Science Centre nuclear experts fear quarry dust

  16-08-2016 16:48 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists carrying out international nuclear fusion work are concerned dust from a planned quarry could affect their experiments.
  
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• South Africa enters awkward coalition era after ANC domination

  16-08-2016 15:27
  By Joe Brock and Mfuneko Toyana ATTERIDGEVILLE, South Africa (Reuters) - Gladys Sithole had voted for the ruling African National Congress (ANC) ever since its long-jailed former leader Nelson Mandela swept to power in South Africa at the end of apartheid 22 years ago. Standing in the doorway of her house in Atteridgeville near Pretoria and wrapped in a blanket against the cold, she explained the sea change among ANC supporters in local elections on Aug 3 which nudged South Africa from post-apar
  
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• Louisiana floods: state begins recovery from devastating storm – in pictures

  16-08-2016 15:26 via theguardian.com
  Historic flash floods in the southern state have left at least seven people dead and caused more than 20,000 people to be rescued. The storm has put another 12,000 people into temporary shelters. Residents were pulled from water-logged homes, flooded cars and at-risk hospitals across the southern portion of the stateLouisiana left stunned by damage from ‘1,000-year’ flood: ‘It just kept coming’Continue reading...
  
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• Britain backs expansion of world’s largest wind farm

  16-08-2016 15:26
  By Susanna Twidale LONDON (Reuters) - Britain on Tuesday approved plans to expand an offshore wind farm project that could ultimately have more than 600 turbines spread across an area of the North Sea more than twice the size of London. The Hornsea Two windfarm project, to be built by DONG Energy , is part of Britain's push to invest in new electricity generation capacity needed to overcome a squeeze on power supplies in the next decade. All but one of Britain's existing nuclear plants, which pr
  
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• Iraq aims to work with OPEC to achieve balance in group - oil minister

  16-08-2016 14:36
  Iraq's new oil minister Jabar Ali al-Luaibi said on Tuesday he is looking forward to work with OPEC to achieve balance within the exporting group and "strengthen the role of Iraq". Luaibi, who was confirmed in his new post by the Iraqi parliament on Monday, also said he has "big plans" to increase the OPEC member's oil and gas production and add to its reserves through new exploration and more investments. "We will work to draw up stable policies and work to achieve balance within the Organizati
  
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• Siccar Point in first North Sea oil deal as private equity warms to sector

  16-08-2016 14:22
  By Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - Private equity-backed oil and gas venture Siccar Point Energy announced its first North Sea investment on Tuesday and said it planned to do more deals over the next year as cash-rich firms step up activity after a two-year rout in the sector. Siccar Point, headed by Jonathan Roger, a former Centrica executive, and backed by private equity firm Blue Water Energy and Blackstone , acquired a 8.9 percent stake in the UK North Sea Mariner field from JX Nippon . Severa
  
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• Second phase of world's biggest offshore windfarm gets go-ahead

  16-08-2016 14:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Multibillion-pound Hornsea Project Two, 55 miles off Grimsby coast, would see 300 turbines span an area five times size of HullThe world’s biggest offshore windfarm off the Yorkshire coast is to be expanded to an area five times the size of Hull after being approved by ministers.The multibillion-pound Hornsea Project Two would see 300 turbines – each taller than the Gherkin – span more than 480 sq km in the North Sea. Continue reading...
  
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• Unilever refuses to reinstate IOI contracts until 'tangible progress' is shown

  16-08-2016 13:54
  
  Consumer goods giant Unilever has announced that it will not reinstate the Malaysian palm oil supplier group IOI as a contractor until "tangible progress" is made evident of the groups desire to implement a new ethical sustainability action plan.
  
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• Nissan data reveals spike in public awareness over air pollution

  16-08-2016 13:40
  
  Electric vehicle (EV) producer Nissan has revealed that UK internet searches relating to air pollution have increased by 750% in the last ten years, in the same week that that the Mayor of London's air quality alerts were introduced at transport hotspots across the capital.
  
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• Oil trades at fresh August high on hopes producer action

  16-08-2016 13:05
  By Libby George LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices reached their highest levels in more than five weeks on Tuesday as the market rode optimism over potential producer action to prop up the market. Oil production losses in Nigeria, where more than 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) was missing due to militant attacks and pipeline problems, were also helping to support prices in the Atlantic Basin.
  
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• Antarctica's sea ice said to be vulnerable to sudden retreat

  16-08-2016 12:56
  By Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - Sea ice around Antarctica shrank in a warm period more than 100,000 years ago, an indication that man-made climate change could also trigger an abrupt retreat, a scientific report said Tuesday. A thaw would reverse a paradoxical expansion of the extent of floating ice on the ocean around the frozen continent in recent decades, apparently defying the trend of global warming blamed on greenhouse gases. Winter sea ice around Antarctica shrank 65 percent in a natura
  
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• China launches quantum-enabled satellite Micius

  16-08-2016 12:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  China successfully launches its first quantum-enabled satellite, named after the ancient Chinese scientist and philosopher Micius.
  
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• UK approves application for Dong Energy's North Sea wind farm

  16-08-2016 12:46
  Britain has given planning permission for Dong Energy's Hornsea Two wind farm project in the North Sea, the government said on Tuesday, paving the way for expansion of the world's largest offshore wind project. If built Hornsea Two, off the coast of Yorkshire, will comprise 300 turbines and is expected to generate around 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of electricity, enough to power up to 1.8 million homes, Britain's Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said in a statement. Denmark's Dong
  
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• Open data provides £400m opportunity for UK heat networks

  16-08-2016 12:33
  
  The UK energy market could save £400m and reduce emissions by 800,000 tonnes over the next decade by using open and transparent data to reveal energy generation, consumption and distribution inefficiencies, new analysis has revealed.
  
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• Young Londoners launch independent air pollution billboard campaign

  16-08-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Artists teamed with photographer and volunteers to produce posters that will warn young people of air quality on some of the capital’s most polluted streetsYoung Londoners concerned about air pollution from traffic have launched an independent billboard campaign to warn their peers of the dangers of diesel fumes.
  Artists Vasilisa Forbes and Claire Matthews, together with photographer Terry Paul and a group of 16 to 25-year-old volunteers, have printed 12 large 20 x 12-foot posters which wi
  
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• Disasters like Louisiana floods will worsen as planet warms, scientists warn

  16-08-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to classify disaster as the eighth flood considered to be a once in every 500-year event in the US in a year
  The historic and devastating floods in Louisiana are the latest in a series of heavy deluges that some climate scientists warn will become even more common as the world continues to warm.On Tuesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) is set to classify the Louisiana disaster as the eighth flood considered to be a once
  
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• Private equity-backed Siccar Point makes first North Sea oil deal

  16-08-2016 11:51
  By Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - Oil and gas venture Siccar Point said on Tuesday it had acquired a 8.9 percent stake in the UK North Sea Mariner field from JX Nippon , the private equity-backed firm's first acquisition. The deal highlights the growing role that such cash-rich ventures are playing in the ageing North Sea basin where oil and gas companies have struggled in recent years to sell assets following a sharp drop in oil prices. Siccar Point, headed by industry veteran Jonathan Roger, a
  
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• Simulated black hole experiment backs Hawking prediction

  16-08-2016 11:25 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Results from a lab experiment have lent support to one of Stephen Hawking's most important predictions about black holes.
  
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• Amazon chiefs visit British Museum as part of dam-building protest

  16-08-2016 11:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Leaders of the Munduruku people will be shown the storeroom’s head-dresses and other objects made by their tribe more than 150 years ago Amazonian leaders, in Britain to protest against the construction of several large dams which they say will destroy the lives of thousands of indigenous people, will on Tuesday be shown head-dresses and other objects made by their tribe more than 150 years ago.The two chiefs of the Munduruku civilisation, which has flourished peacefully for centuries by f
  
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• BHP Billiton books record loss, says commodity price "free fall" over

  16-08-2016 10:30
  By Sonali Paul MELBOURNE (Reuters) - BHP Billiton reported a record $6.4 billion (4.9 billion pounds) annual loss on Tuesday, hammered by a bad bet on shale, a dam disaster in Brazil and a commodities slump, but sounded a note of optimism as prices stabilise and its costs fall. The world's biggest mining company said cost cuts and a reduction in net debt should see it double its free cash flow to more than $7 billion this year at current prices for its major commodities, iron ore, copper, coal,
  
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• Climate change sceptic versus Cox

  16-08-2016 10:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Professor Brian Cox has verbally sparred with a newly elected Australian politician Malcolm Roberts who believes climate change is a global conspiracy.
  
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• Gabon aims to cut yawning poverty gap by ending its dependency on oil | Ruth Maclean

  16-08-2016 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  With a third of its citizens below the poverty line, the African country urgently needs to diversify and is banking on palm oil production to create rural jobsGabon is 85% rainforest. Flying over the giant canopy, the miles pass without a glimpse of the forest floor.Then a bald patch emerges. In the clearing in Awala, which has become Africa’s biggest industrial plantation, men in boots tend to thousands of small palm trees in long rows. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil remains near five-week high on expectation of producer action

  16-08-2016 09:55
  By Mark Tay SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices remained near five-week highs on Tuesday, fuelled by talk of producers taking action to prop up the market, although some investors cashed in during Asian hours on the 16 percent rally since early August. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at $45.76 a barrel, up 2 cents from its previous close, and still over 16 percent above its $39.19 monthly low from Aug. 3. The gains were driven by expectations from investors that oil producers may tak
  
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• Elephant dies after 1,000-mile journey from India to Bangladesh

  16-08-2016 09:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Conservation officials’ attempt to transport animal to safari park after it was separated from herd in floods in Assam failsAn elephant thought to have travelled at least 1,000 miles (1,600km) from India into Bangladesh after floods separated it from the herd has died, despite efforts to save it.The distressed animal was tranquillised three times during repeated attempts to transport it to a safari park in Bangladesh, after the elephant crossed the border in late June. Continue reading...
  
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• Could anaerobic digestion combat drug-resistant 'superbugs'?

  16-08-2016 09:30
  
  UK malt suppliers and producers Muntons has revealed that by-products formed at its anaerobic digestion (AD) plants could eventually be used to combat drug-resistant "superbugs" such as E. coli.
  
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• Weak oil prices hurt Wood Group's first-half core earnings

  16-08-2016 08:46
  (Reuters) - Oilfield services company John Wood Group Plc reported a 26.3 percent fall in first-half core earnings, hurt by weak demand from oil and gas producers. ** The company, founded in 1912 as a ship repair and marine engineering firm, said earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) fell to $166.4 million, from $225.9 million a year earlier. ** John Wood, which counts BP Plc as one of its customers, maintained its forecast for a 20 percent drop in full-year EBITA. (Reporting by
  
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• Global miner BHP Billiton slumps to record loss

  16-08-2016 08:26
  BHP Billiton reported a record $6.4 billion (4.9 billion pounds) annual loss on Tuesday, hammered by a bad bet on shale, a dam disaster in Brazil and a commodities slump, but said it expects its free cash flow to more than double this year. "While commodity prices are expected to remain low and volatile in the short to medium term, we are confident in the long-term outlook for our commodities, particularly oil and copper," Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie said in a statement. The underlying prof
  
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• Global oil market faces less Venezuela supply in 2017 - Columbia University

  16-08-2016 08:09
  By Marianna Parraga HOUSTON (Reuters) - The global oil market faces a sharp drop in supply in 2017 from Venezuela, traditionally a prominent exporter, as an acute political and economic crisis halts investments needed to squeeze more crude from wells, Columbia University said in a report released on Tuesday. As the political opposition pushes for new elections to replace President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela's economy has worsened, creating doubts about the ability of the Organization of the Petro
  
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• Sadiq Khan's first 100 days as London mayor: how is he doing?

  16-08-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  So far, so good – but Londoners will soon want to see progress on key policy areas, including housing, transport and policingAs Labour nationally sinks into an internecine slough, it is easy to forget how emphatically it passed its biggest electoral test since the general election as recently as 5 May this year. Sadiq Khan’s triumph over Conservative Zac Goldsmith strengthened Labour’s dominance in the capital despite a heavily negative Tory campaign. In his first 100 days at C
  
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