Environment news

• Can't stand the heat? Study reveals how we work out if we're too hot

  17-08-2016 23:38 via feedproxy.google.com
  With temperatures soaring across the UK, our ability to detect and avoid places that are too warm is vital for regulating our body temperature. However, until now, little was known about the molecular mechanisms responsible for detecting warmth in the sensory neurons of our skin.A new King's College London study, published today in Nature, reveals that a gene called TRPM2 initiates a 'warm' signal in mice that drives them to seek cooler environments. When this gene is removed, the mice are
  
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• NASA Graphic Shows Severity of Rainstorm That Caused Louisiana Flooding

  17-08-2016 22:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new graphic created by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency illustrates the severity of a recent rainstorm that caused widespread flooding in Louisiana this week, killing 11 people and forcing tens of thousands of residents from their homes. 
  
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• Energy companies withholding supply to blame for July price spike, report finds

  17-08-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Analysis of temporary jump in prices in South Australia showed generation capacity far exceeded demand, pointing to market manipulationFossil fuel electricity generators in South Australia withheld their supply to push up prices and reap bigger profits, according to an analysis of the causes behind the extremely high prices there in early July. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil up fifth day on U.S. stock draws; Saudi output threatens rally

  17-08-2016 22:27
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil's rally extended for a fifth day on Wednesday, helped by a weaker dollar and an unexpected drawdown in U.S. crude and gasoline but traders said the run up may not last, pointing to galloping Saudi output and technical factors. Crude futures have gained as much as 13 percent since Thursday after Saudi Arabia, the kingpin in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, stoked speculation that OPEC was ready for an output freeze deal with produc
  
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• Flowering meadows benefit humankind

  17-08-2016 22:16 via feedproxy.google.com
  The more it swarms, crawls and flies the better it is for humans. This is the finding of a study published in "Nature". More than 60 researchers from a number of universities were involved, including the Technical University of Munich, the Institute of Plant Sciences at the University of Bern and the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre in Frankfurt. A diverse ecosystem populated by many species from all levels of the food chain provides higher levels of ecosystem services, the t
  
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• Sea ice strongly linked to climate change in past 90,000 years

  17-08-2016 22:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  "The Arctic sea ice responded very rapidly to past climate changes. During the coldest periods of the past 90,000 years the sea ice edge spread relatively quickly to the Greenland-Scotland Ridge, and probably far into the Atlantic Ocean." says first author Ulrike Hoff, a researcher at Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate (CAGE).Sea ice amplifies the climate changes that are occurring at any given time. Its growth and melting has profound effects on climate, the marine environme
  
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• Majority of Victorians support urgent shift to renewable energy, poll finds

  17-08-2016 22:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A ReachTEL poll commissioned by Friends of the Earth shows 68% of the state, including a majority of Liberal voters, want to see an end to reliance on coal The vast majority of people in Victoria – and even a majority of Liberal voters – support the state moving towards 100% renewable energy “as a matter of urgency,” a new poll has found.The polling comes as the state government works to rewrite the Climate Change Act, including pre-2050 emissions reduction targets. Conti
  
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• The Guardian view on the heatwave: still hope on climate change | Editorial

  17-08-2016 20:54 via theguardian.com
  Ira Glass the radio show host says global warming may not be amusing or surprising but it is still the most important thing that’s happeningThe documentary broadcaster Ira Glass, the man behind the hit radio programme This American Life, is in Britain this week with his theatre show, Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host. The production, a collaboration with the experimental dancers of Monica Bill Barnes & Company, puts storytelling and dance together in an improbable but, the review
  
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• Tidal energy support ebbs and flows | Letters

  17-08-2016 19:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Steve Emsley is wrong when he compares tidal lagoons with Hinkley and asks why tidal energy is not even being discussed (Letters, 17 August). The latest estimated cost of the lagoon proposed for Swansea Bay is £1.3bn. Hinkley would produce 65 times as much electricity, all day, every day – true “baseload”. Tidal lagoons would produce variable amounts (four times as much on a spring tide as on a neap tide in Swansea and a bigger difference further up the Severn estuary) an
  
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• Star snapped before and after nova explosion

  17-08-2016 19:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Astronomers capture rare images of a white dwarf - before, during and after it exploded as a "classical nova".
  
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• Oil rally under pressure; record Saudi output offsets U.S. drawdown

  17-08-2016 18:53
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil's near week-long rally sputtered on Wednesday as players weighed up the market after a surprise drawdown in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories was offset by worries Saudi Arabia was cranking output to record highs even as OPEC talked of ways to ease a glut. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 21 cents at $46.37 a barrel by 12:30 p.m. EDT (1630 GMT). Oil prices rose briefly after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) s
  
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• Four ways technology will change how we commute in the future

  17-08-2016 18:44 via theguardian.com
  
  From self driving cars to streetlight sensors, we highlight some of the grand ideas for urban transportation from cities across the USColumbus, Ohio, is a mid-size city known primarily as the home of Ohio State University, not as a hub of cutting edge technology for public transportation. But that is exactly what this city of 790,000 people plans to be.By 2019, residents of Columbus could see autonomous shuttles cruising the Easton commercial district, motion-sensitive LED streetlights that also
  
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• Russia regional boss - Bashneft sale should be postponed for up to five years

  17-08-2016 17:41
  The Russian government should delay selling its stake in mid-sized oil producer Bashneft for up to 5 years and until the company is worth more, but it is up to Moscow to decide, the head of an oil-producing region told Reuters. Rustem Khamitov, President of Russia's internal Republic of Bashkortostan, which owns a 25 percent stake in Bashneft, said he supported the government's decision to postpone selling a 50.08 percent stake, which it announced on Tuesday. "In my opinion, after certain work r
  
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• Oil up as U.S. inventory draws offset record Saudi output concerns

  17-08-2016 17:26
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices gained modestly on Wednesday after a drawdown in U.S. crude and gasoline stocks offset signs that Saudi Arabia was cranking production to record highs, adding to a global glut. U.S. crude inventories fell 2.5 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced, surprising analysts who had expected a build of 522,000 barrels. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose by 15 cents to $46.73 by 11:00 a.m. EDT
  
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• Surveys reveal growing consumer demand for food supply chain ethics

  17-08-2016 17:05
  
  New research has revealed that an overwhelming majority of UK consumers believe it is the responsibility of Governments and businesses to guarantee food supply chain sustainability, while a separate YouGov poll has found that most Brits would now be willing to pay a premium for products which possess strong green credentials.
  
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• Slower snowmelt affects downstream water availability in western mountains

  17-08-2016 16:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  Western communities are facing effects of a warming climate with slower and earlier snowmelt reducing streamflows and possibly the amount of water reaching reservoirs used for drinking water and agriculture, according to a study published in July."As the climate warms, there is actually a slower snowmelt - both in timing and rates, which makes for a less efficient streamflow," Adrian Harpold, ecohydrologist at the University of Nevada, Reno said. Harpold, who initiated the study two years ago at
  
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• Exclusive - Saudi signals it may hit new oil output record ahead of freeze talks: sources

  17-08-2016 16:06
  By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Rania El Gamal MOSCOW/DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia is sending signals that it could boost its crude oil supplies in August to a new record level, overtaking Russia, the world's top oil producer, as it gets ready for tough talks next month for a global output freeze pact. Industry sources say the kingdom, already the world's largest oil exporter, started to raise production from June, after holding it steady for the first half of the year, to meet rising seasonal domest
  
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• Mutiny behind Malaysian tanker's change of course - authorities

  17-08-2016 15:33
  An oil tanker which was first reported to have been hijacked and sailed into Indonesian waters, was likely taken over by its own crew due to a dispute with their employer, Malaysian authorities said on Wednesday. Vier Harmoni, carrying 900,000 litres of diesel worth around 1.6 million ringgit ($390,000), went missing after leaving the Tanjung Pelepas port on the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia on Tuesday before it was relocated in the waters off Batam, Indonesia. Malaysian and Indonesian au
  
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• New species of fossil dolphin found

  17-08-2016 14:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists have identified a new species of dolphin that lived 25 million years ago.
  
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• The coral die-off crisis is a climate crime and Exxon fired the gun | Bill McKibben

  17-08-2016 13:11 via theguardian.com
  
  This week we’re staging protests on the ‘crime scene’ of the world’s affected reefs to send a signal that we’re not going to let fossil fuel firms get away with murder Coral reefs are probably Earth’s most life-packed ecosystem; those who’ve had the privilege of diving in the tropics know the reef as an orderly riot of colour and flow, size and shape. Which is why a white, dead reef is so shocking – as shocking in its way as a human corpse lying on
  
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• Audi's new shock absorber prototype generates electricity while you drive

  17-08-2016 12:37
  
  Car manufacturer Audi is currently working on a new damper prototype that will convert kinetic energy from driving over potholes and bumps in the road into electricity.
  
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• Home nations continue to set waste strategy example for England

  17-08-2016 12:36
  WRAP Cymru has published the outcomes of a "ground-breaking" waste analysis project, highlighting strong national recycling performances, as week after the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) vowed to help regulated businesses to reduce all forms of waste beyond compliance standards.
  
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• What Is Dark Matter Made Of? New Studies Slash Candidate Pool

  17-08-2016 12:32
  
  Since 2008, NASA's orbiting Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has been collecting evidence of the observable universe's most powerful explosions and energetic emissions. "We've looked for the usual suspects in the usual places and found no solid signals, so we've started searching in some creative new ways," Julie McEnery, Fermi project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, said in a statement.
  
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• Shirley Rodrigues named London deputy mayor for environment and energy

  17-08-2016 12:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Sadiq Khan has appointed another woman to a senior role in his adminstrationHaving marked his first 100 days as London mayor, Sadiq Khan has chosen his 101st to announce the appointment of a deputy mayor for environment and energy. Shirley Rodrigues, who is currently acting executive director for climate change at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), a philanthropic organisation which operates in developing countries, has previously worked at City Hall on implementing London&r
  
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• Sadiq Khan names his deputy mayor for environment and energy

  17-08-2016 12:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Shirley Rodrigues has become the latest woman to be appointed to a senior role by London’s mayorHaving marked his first 100 days as London mayor, Sadiq Khan has chosen his 101st to announce the appointment of a deputy mayor for environment and energy. Shirley Rodrigues, who is currently acting executive director for climate change at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), a philanthropic organisation which operates in developing countries, has previously worked at City Hal
  
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• Sadiq Khan names deputy mayor for environment and energy

  17-08-2016 12:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Shirley Rodrigues has become the latest woman to be appointed to a senior role by London’s mayorHaving marked his first 100 days as London mayor, Sadiq Khan has chosen his 101st to announce the appointment of a deputy mayor for environment and energy. Shirley Rodrigues, who is currently acting executive director for climate change at the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), a philanthropic organisation which operates in developing countries, has previously worked at City Hal
  
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• Visitors rush to the Great Barrier Reef to catch it before it’s gone

  17-08-2016 12:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Survey finds that 69% of visitors to the world’s largest coral reef system are motivated by the fear that it might disappear, reports Climate HomeIn a reversal of the normal travel bucket list, tourists are rushing to see the Great Barrier Reef before it dies. Half of the reef’s coral has disappeared in the past three decades due to a combination of warming ocean temperatures, coastal development, invasive starfish and agricultural runoff. Continue reading...
  
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• The deep ocean: plunging to new depths to discover the largest migration on Earth

  17-08-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The deep ocean makes up 95% of Earth, yet only 0.0001% has been explored – the Guardian joined a mission off Bermuda looking deeper than ever beforeVideo: a dive into Bermuda’s hidden depthsThe largest migration on Earth is very rarely seen by human eyes, yet it happens every day. Billions of marine creatures ascend from as far as 2km below the surface of the water to the upper reaches of the ocean at night, only to then float back down once the sun rises.
  This huge movement of organ
  
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• A deep sea dive into Bermuda’s hidden depths – video

  17-08-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Guardian environment reporter Oliver Milman joins a group of scientists on an underwater expedition off the Bermuda coast to help chart its hidden depths and gauge the general health of the area’s reef and coral. Travelling in a two-man submersible, Milman and submarine pilot Kelvin Magee go on a journey 500ft below the surface Continue reading...
  
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• Malaysian oil tanker taken over commercial dispute, not hijacked - maritime official

  17-08-2016 11:09
  An oil tanker, which was earlier reported to have been hijacked and sailed into Indonesian waters, was believed to have been taken due to a commercial dispute, Malaysian authorities said on Wednesday. Vier Harmoni, carrying 900,000 litres of diesel, went missing after leaving the Tanjung Pelepas port on the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia on Tuesday before it was relocated in the waters off Batam, Indonesia. A Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) spokesman confirmed to Reuters that
  
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• Shipping traffic suspended in Turkey's Bosphorus after collision - shipping agent

  17-08-2016 09:36
  Traffic in Turkey's Bosphorus Strait, a key international shipping lane for oil and grain, was suspended on Wednesday after a bulk carrier collided with a coast guard boat, shipping agent GAC said. Six people were rescued and taken to hospital, a spokesman at the office of the Istanbul governor said. The coast Guard in Istanbul said it was unable to provide information on the accident.
  
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• How the fossil fuel industry's new pitch is more like an epitaph than a life lesson

  17-08-2016 09:08 via theguardian.com
  
  New fossil fuel advocacy group launched to celebrate an industry that’s driving dangerous climate changeBright and glistening with all the glory of youth and promise, her eyes glance upwards. A jet crosses a cloudless sky.A field of wheat sways in the breeze. She opens her arms in a wide embrace, open to the horizon. Continue reading...
  
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• AECOM partners with University of Salford to fund sustainable infrastructure research

  17-08-2016 09:00
  
  Environmental consultancy firm AECOM and the University of Salford have struck up a new partnership that aims to improve understanding of how major infrastructure programmes interact with the environment.
  
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• 'Industrial' farms should lose subsidies

  17-08-2016 08:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  In its vision for the future of post-Brexit agriculture the Campaign to Protect Rural England says too much money is given to large-scale farms.
  
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• The Queen and David Attenborough urged to cut ties with charity linked to Finland mining plans

  17-08-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Flora and Fauna International has been hired by a British mining firm to assess the environmental value of a national park in the Arctic circle
  Environmentalists and indigenous reindeer herders are calling on the Queen, Sir David Attenborough and Stephen Fry to disassociate themselves from a charity contracted to help a mining operation in a national park in Finland.Fauna and Flora International (FFI), whose patron is the Queen, has been hired by the British-listed mining company Anglo American
  
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• 'We have to stop the bulldozers': swaths of koala habitat lost, say activists

  17-08-2016 07:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Queensland’s relaxed land-clearing laws have allowed 84,000ha of habitat to be destroyed and must be rolled back, say WWF and Australian Koala FoundationA relaxation in Queensland’s tree clearing laws led to the destruction of 84,000 hectares of critical koala habitat in the two years after the national icon was listed as vulnerable, according to new mapping by conservationists.That koala habitat made up about 14% of all land cleared between mid-2013 and mid-2015 was an alarming reve
  
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• Scotland's rare mountain plants disappearing as climate warms, botanists find

  17-08-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Research by the National Trust for Scotland shows rare mountain plants in the Highlands and islands are retreating higher or disappearing entirelyThere is clear evidence that some of Britain’s rarest mountain plants are disappearing due to a steadily warming climate, botanists working in the Scottish Highlands have found.The tiny but fragile Arctic plants, such as Iceland purslaine, snow pearlwort and Highland saxifrage, are found only in a handful of locations in the Highlands and islands
  
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• On the trail of Scotland's rare mountain plants - in pictures

  17-08-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Ecologists and botanists have been working with highly skilled mountaineers in a series of intensive studies to map and track mountain plants and help ecologists understand the impact and speed of climate change Continue reading...
  
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• Malaysian authorities say ship carrying diesel hijacked

  17-08-2016 06:50
  KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - An oil tanker carrying 900,000 litres of diesel has been hijacked and taken into Indonesian waters, Malaysian maritime authorities said on Tuesday. The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) said in a statement that the ship, Vier Harmoni, has been located in the waters off Batam, Indonesia. The MMEA said they have yet to confirm the identity of the hijackers. The ship, which sailed from the Tanjung Pelepas port in Malaysia on Monday, was carrying diesel with an es
  
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• An abandoned tin mine blossoms above ground

  17-08-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Drakewalls, Tamar Valley The spoil tips and the dressing floors where ore was processed have been covered in earth, and seeded with grass and flowersUp the hill from Gunnislake, Drakewalls mine was the first stop for the Man Engine on the huge mechanical puppet’s celebratory journey through the world heritage mining landscapes of Cornwall this summer. Now the site is quiet again, bereft of the admiring crowds. Consolidated ruins of engine houses and chimneys remain from the 19th century, w
  
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• Foreign ministers of Japan, China, South Korea likely to meet next week - media

  17-08-2016 06:07
  TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan, China and South Korea are in talks to hold a meeting of their foreign ministers next week, despite rows between Tokyo and Beijing over China's maritime expansion in the South China Sea and the East China Sea, a Japanese daily said on Wednesday. Last month, a senior Japanese foreign ministry official said Japan was considering holding the meeting in late August, but the flare-up in Sino-Japanese tension had fuelled concern it was difficult to have such a meeting now. ...
  
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• Oil prices fall on doubts producers can agree output restraint

  17-08-2016 04:41
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell away from 5-week highs early on Wednesday, as analysts doubted possible producer talks to rein in ballooning oversupply would be successful. Brent crude futures were trading at $48.92 per barrel at 0158 GMT, down 31 cents from their last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was at $46.38 per barrel, down 20 cents from its last close, but still up 18 percent from early August.
  
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• The multicoloured wonders of Atauro Island – in pictures

  17-08-2016 03:45 via theguardian.com
  
  A Conservation International team has counted an average of 252 species of reef fish at each site in the waters around Atauro Island – more any other place on the planet. There is a push to protect the island, which is 24km north of Timor-Leste’s capital, Dili, with a view to developing an ecotourism industry. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil prices fall on doubts that producers can agree output restraint

  17-08-2016 02:36
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell away from 5-week highs early on Wednesday, as analysts doubted a successful outcome from producer talks to rein in ballooning oversupply. International Brent crude oil futures were trading at $48.85 per barrel at 0018 GMT, down 38 cents from their last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $46.30 per barrel, down 28 cents from their last close, but are still up about 18 percent from early August.
  
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• Ghana state oil firm ready to sell to local refinery

  17-08-2016 02:05
  Ghana's state oil firm is prepared to sell crude from its new TEN field to the country's under-supplied refinery, instead of shipping it all offshore as it currently does, its chief executive said on Tuesday. Alex Mould told Reuters the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) would be subject to the refinery's ability to meet its requirements, including ensuring the refinery, which suffers periodic financial troubles, pays up. "We are prepared and willing to supply crude to the Tema Oil Refi
  
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• Scientists claim pesticides are linked to bee decline

  17-08-2016 01:20 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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• Alaskan village votes on whether to relocate because of climate change

  17-08-2016 00:43 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 changeThe 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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• Solid batteries improve safety

  17-08-2016 00:03 via feedproxy.google.com
  Lithium-ion batteries store a lot of energy in a small space, making them the energy source of choice for mobile electronic devices. Today, mobile phones, laptops, e-bikes and electric cars are all powered by such batteries. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now developed a type of battery that, unlike conventional ones, consists entirely of solid chemical compounds and is non-flammable.Conventional lithium-ion batteries are not without their dangers: mobile phone batteries have exploded several ti
  
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