Environment news

• Fixing America's Waste Problem

  19-08-2016 23:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  America’s massive, growing landfills are the result of many decades of bad policies and decisions. And it will take a concerted, society-wide effort to solve this problem. Let’s dive deeper into just how big our landfill waste problem is and how we can begin to shift toward a circular economy.
  
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• New Study Challenges Assumption of Asbestos' Ability to Move in Soil

  19-08-2016 22:23 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new study led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego scientist Jane Willenbring challenges the long-held belief that asbestos fibers cannot move through soil. The findings have important implications for current remediation strategies aimed at capping asbestos-laden soils to prevent human exposure of the cancer-causing material.Willenbring, along with University of Pennsylvania postdoctoral researcher Sanjay Mohanty, and colleagues tested the idea that
  
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• Angolan president Dos Santos re-elected leader of ruling MPLA party

  19-08-2016 22:16
  Angola's long-ruling president Jose Eduardo dos Santos was overwhelmingly re-elected leader of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) party on Friday, results showed. Dos Santos, the sole nominee, won 99.6 percent of the vote, according to preliminary results gathered from delegates at the party's convention in the capital Luanda. There had been speculation before the congress that Dos Santos, who has ruled the oil-rich southern African nation since 1979, might not make himsel
  
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• Oil posts strong weekly gains; analysts say rally unjustified

  19-08-2016 21:58
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices settled steady to higher on Friday, with U.S. crude posting its biggest weekly gain since March after surging nearly 25 percent in a little over two weeks, a rally analysts cautioned was not justified by fundamentals. "We would argue that improved fundamentals are not a key reason for the recent price bounce," analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a note. "Crude oil demand is anemic, gasoline demand has decelerated globally, and China crude oil imp
  
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• Europe's oldest known living inhabitant

  19-08-2016 20:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  A Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii) growing in the highlands of northern Greece has been dendrocronologically dated to be more than 1075 years old. This makes it currently the oldest known living tree in Europe. The millenium old pine was discovered by scientists from Stockholm University (Sweden), the University of Mainz (Germany) and the University of Arizona (USA).
  
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• Popular Yellowstone River closes after thousands of fish die

  19-08-2016 19:52
  BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Montana wildlife officials closed a 183-mile stretch of the Yellowstone River on Friday to fishing, rafting and other activities to prevent the spread of a parasite that is believed to have killed tens of thousands of fish.
  
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• Holmes truths for Theresa May | Brief letters

  19-08-2016 19:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Tidal power | Great British Bake Off | Theresa May on holiday | Michael Gove’s beard | Three feet | Christmas stamps | KnickersPhil Jones (Letters, 18 August) says that tidal energy cannot possibly provide baseload power, because it offers energy in “four three-hour blocks a day”. Make that 80 three-hour blocks a day: the tide is a wave that takes 20 hours to move around the British Isles. True, one tidal project can’t provide baseload on its own – but Jones asks yo
  
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• 2014 Napa earthquake continued to creep, weeks after main shock

  19-08-2016 19:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  Nearly two years ago, on August 24, 2014, just south of Napa, California, a fault in the Earth suddenly slipped, violently shifting and splitting huge blocks of solid rock, 6 miles below the surface. The underground upheaval generated severe shaking at the surface, lasting 10 to 20 seconds. When the shaking subsided, the magnitude 6.0 earthquake -- the largest in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1989 -- left in its wake crumpled building facades, ruptured water mains, and fractured roadways.
  
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• NASA spots strong convection in strengthening Tropical Storm Kay

  19-08-2016 18:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  NASA's Aqua satellite passed over tropical cyclone Kay as it was designated a depression in the Eastern Pacific and identified areas of strong convection. That strong uplift of air continued to generate more powerful storms in the system and on Aug. 19 it strengthened into a tropical storm.The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder or AIRS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua satellite analyzed Kay as it was classified as a depression on Aug. 18 at 4:53 p.m. EDT (2053 UTC).
  
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• Oil retreats from eight-week highs as rally pauses

  19-08-2016 18:31
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Friday, retreating from eight-week highs, as market participants took profits from one of this year's strongest rallies in crude that analysts called fundamentally unjustified. "We would argue that improved fundamentals are not a key reason for the recent price bounce," analysts at Morgan Stanley said in a note. "Crude oil demand is anemic, gasoline demand has decelerated globally, and China crude oil imports are likely to decelerate,"
  
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• Elon Musk leads Tesla effort to build house roofs entirely out of solar panels

  19-08-2016 18:18 via theguardian.com
  
  In latest clean energy plan, Tesla purchases SolarCity to make solar ‘shingles’: ‘It’s not a thing on the roof. It is the roof,’ CEO saysA new venture spearheaded by Elon Musk will create house roofs made entirely of solar panels, in a sweeping expansion of Tesla’s clean energy ambitions.Tesla has finalized a $2.6bn deal to buy solar power company SolarCity to produce solar “shingles” – photovoltaic material that would be fashioned into the s
  
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• Cloth masks offer poor protection against air pollution

  19-08-2016 18:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  Results of a new study by environmental health scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggest that inexpensive cloth masks worn by people who hope to reduce their exposure to air pollution vary widely in effectiveness and could be giving users a false sense of security, especially in highly polluted areas.Researchers Richard Peltier, Kabindra Shakya and colleagues believe theirs is the first study to rigorously test disposable surgical masks and washable cloth masks, which are wid
  
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• As Louisiana floods rage, Republicans are blocking modest climate action | Raul M Grijalva

  19-08-2016 16:33 via theguardian.com
  
  If a common sense proposal for federal agencies to consider climate change in their decisions on the environment is shot down, what hope is there?If we needed a reminder of the importance of taking climate change seriously, the floods in Louisiana are providing a big one on a daily basis. When it comes to the big environmental issues, our country’s polarization is historically unusual, and it’s already gone way too far. That’s why the latest fight to break out in Washington ove
  
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• Sea potatoes wash up en masse on Cornish beach

  19-08-2016 16:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Marine experts say mysterious orbs found at Long Rock, near Penzance, are species of urchin stirred up from sandy burrowsWith their biomechanical, other-worldly appearance, these orbs look like baseballs reprocessed through the imagination of HR Giger. So their appearance en masse on a beach near Penzance this week left locals uneasy. “I took one home with me, then panicked and put it in the bin in case it attacked,” said one dog walker who found hundreds on the beach at Long Rock, b
  
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• Ford gears-up for fully-autonomous, ride sharing fleet by 2021

  19-08-2016 14:55
  
  Automotive giant Ford have announced plans to roll-out fully autonomous vehicles, in high volumes, by 2021 as part of a collaborative commercial mobility service that ventures into the sharing economy market.
  
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• EY: Renewables remain 'safe bet' for investors amid global market volatility

  19-08-2016 14:17
  
  Renewable energy sources continue to remain "safe bets" for investors as clean energy transactions thrived in the second quarter of 2016 amid ongoing global market volatility, according to EY's latest report on the global power and utilities sector.
  
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• Brent crude softens, but on track for third week of gains

  19-08-2016 13:40
  By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - Brent crude oil fell on Friday after hitting an eight-week high, as weak fundamentals countered a lift in sentiment over talks next month on a possible output freeze, though futures remained on track to rise for a third consecutive week. International benchmark Brent futures were trading at $50.70 per barrel at 1228 BST, down 19 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 9 cents at $48.13 a barrel after reaching $48
  
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• European shares, oil ease as markets return to Fed-watching

  19-08-2016 13:33
  By Vikram Subhedar LONDON (Reuters) - European shares were poised to post their biggest weekly loss in two months on Friday while crude oil snapped its winning streak after a weaker dollar and hopes of production cuts had lifted prices to eight-week highs. With the corporate earnings season in the United States and Europe largely out of the way, the focus is back on the U.S. Federal Reserve and whether it decides to raise interest rates. Mixed messages from the Fed in recent days have left inves
  
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• Millennium and Copthorne retains Carbon Trust Standard certification

  19-08-2016 12:46
  Millennium and Copthorne (M&C) Hotels has achieved a re-certification to the Carbon Trust Standard after achieving a 10.9% reduction in emissions over a two-year period.
  
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• Brent crude slides, but on track for third week of gains

  19-08-2016 11:34
  By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - Brent crude oil fell on Friday after hitting an eight-week high, as weak fundamentals countered a lift in sentiment over talks next month on a possible output freeze, though futures remained on track to rise for a third consecutive week. International benchmark Brent futures were trading at $50.50 per barrel at 0840 GMT, down 39 cents from their last close. Brent earlier hit $51.22, its highest since June 22. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures we
  
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• The 'ecosystem canaries' which act as warning signs of collapse

  19-08-2016 10:57 via theguardian.com
  
  The success or failure of certain species can be used to predict the future health of an entire ecosystem, research says The Earth’s biodiversity is under attack. We would need to travel back over 65 million years to find rates of species loss as high as we are witnessing today. Conservation often focuses on the big, enigmatic animals - tigers, polar bears, whales. There are many reasons to want to save these species from extinction. But what about the vast majority of life that we barely
  
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• Study identifies key species which act as warning signs of ecosystem collapse

  19-08-2016 10:57 via theguardian.com
  
  The success or failure of certain species can be used to predict the future health of an entire ecosystem, research says The Earth’s biodiversity is under attack. We would need to travel back over 65 million years to find rates of species loss as high as we are witnessing today. Conservation often focuses on the big, enigmatic animals - tigers, polar bears, whales. There are many reasons to want to save these species from extinction. But what about the vast majority of life that we barely
  
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• China says Australia grid sale decision will hurt trade relationship

  19-08-2016 10:35
  Australia's decision to block grid sale to Chinese firms showed uncertainty in its investment environment and will seriously hurt the willingness of Chinese companies to invest in the country, China's commerce ministry said on Friday. The decision will have a negative impact on the China-Australia trade relationship, and China hopes Australia will provide a fair and transparent environment for foreign investment, the commerce ministry said in a statement on its website.
  
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• Zebra finch 'heat song' changes hatchling development

  19-08-2016 10:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A study of Australian zebra finches makes the surprising discovery that singing to eggs can alter hatchling development.
  
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• Gas supplies to rise and secret contracts to be scrapped under Coag reform plan

  19-08-2016 09:20 via theguardian.com
  
  States agree to develop coal seam gas and make deals more transparent in an effort to increase competition and reduce pricesGas supplies in Australia will be expanded and suppliers forced to publish previously secret prices under reforms agreed to by state and federal ministers at the Coag energy council meeting in Canberra.All states except Victoria, which has a blanket ban on coal seam gas, agreed to focus on expanding onshore gas activities. The state government in Melbourne agreed to conside
  
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• Brent crude oil rises, on track for seventh day of gains

  19-08-2016 08:57
  By Mark Tay SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude oil prices rose above $51 a barrel on Friday to hit an eight-week high and were on track to rise for a seventh trading day, as hopes that producers could agree measures to support crude buoyed sentiment. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures were trading at $51.17 per barrel at 0647 GMT, up 28 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures, were at $48.69 a barrel, up 47 cents, or 1 percent.
  
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• Brent crude oil rise; on track for seventh-straight day of gains

  19-08-2016 08:27
  By Mark Tay SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude oil prices rose above $51 a barrel on Friday to hit an eight-week high and was on track to rise for a seventh trading day, as hopes that producers could agree measures to support crude buoyed sentiment. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures were trading at $51.15 per barrel at 0618 GMT, up 26 cents from their last close. Brent prices remain in a bull-run that has lifted the market by over 20 percent since early August. Brent earlier hit $51
  
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• Water voles to be reintroduced to England's highest lake

  19-08-2016 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  National Trust will release 100 of the endangered animals, not seen at Malham tarn in Yorkshire dales for 50 yearsBritain’s endangered water voles will reach new heights when they are returned to Yorkshire’s Malham tarn for the first time in 50 years.Around 100 water voles will be reintroduced on Friday to the National Trust estate in the Yorkshire dales, home to England’s highest freshwater lake, in what the trust says is the highest-altitude reintroduction of the species it h
  
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• High on Kinder Scout, land at the end of its tether

  19-08-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Kinder Scout, Derbyshire Far from being a dismal, greasy world of chocolate peat, the plateau appeared luxuriantly greenThere is something littoral about the northern rim of Kinder Scout, the plateau that includes Derbyshire’s highest point. Its start in life was estuarine. Its famous gritstone cap, abrasive icing on a sedimentary layer cake, began as infill of a vast river delta, a Ganges in north Derbyshire. As I picked my way westwards along this narrow shoreline, between Kinder’s
  
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• Culling 5,000 brumbies: 41 scientists back controversial Kosciuszko proposal

  19-08-2016 05:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Academics say plan to slash number of wild horses is needed to protect delicate Snowy Mountains environmentA plan to cull more than 5,000 brumbies in the Snowy Mountains has received the support of leading scientists from around Australia.Forty-one scientists from 16 universities have written to the New South Wales premier, Mike Baird, to support the proposed cull of 90% of the brumby population in Kosciuszko national park. Continue reading...
  
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• Conjoined baby turtle saved by Italian marine biologists

  19-08-2016 05:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Survivor from twin endangered loggerheads is separated by scientists and freed in Mediterranean SeaMarine biologists in southern Italy have separated conjoined twin loggerhead turtles and released the surviving newborn into the Mediterranean Sea.The release occurred this week along the beaches of Campania where the endangered loggerheads nest every year. Continue reading...
  
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• Water voles: National Trust releasing 100 in Yorkshire Dales

  19-08-2016 04:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  About 100 voles will soon be released in the Yorkshire Dales in what is thought to be Britain's largest water vole reintroduction project.
  
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• Brent crude oil prices dip on U.S. profit taking

  19-08-2016 03:15
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude oil prices dipped in early Asian trading hours on Friday, but remained near two-month highs with Brent still holding above $50 per barrel in a bull-run that has lifted the market by over 20 percent since early August. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures were trading at $50.80 per barrel at 0156 London time, down 9 cents from their last close. Brent on Thursday rose above $50 a barrel for the first time since June 24 in a sharp bu
  
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• The Sustainable Business Covered podcast: Episode 09 - Doddle deliveries and zero-waste restaurants

  19-08-2016 02:31
  
  What happens when the sharing economy meets parcel delivery services? Have we reached a crucial tipping point in consumer awareness of key CSR issues? And what does the sustainable restaurant of the future look like?
  
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• UK Governments have succeeded on renewables but failed on energy security, say business leaders

  19-08-2016 02:30
  
  British energy policy since the turn of the century has been successful in increasing the use of renewables and reducing carbon, but has failed on delivering secure and competitively-priced energy, a poll of nearly 1,000 business directors has found.
  
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• Governments of all stripes have failed on energy, say business leaders

  19-08-2016 02:30
  
  British energy policy since the turn of the century has been successful in increasing the use of renewables and reducing carbon, but has failed on delivering secure and competitively-priced energy, a poll of nearly 1,000 business directors has found.
  
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• 'Secret' gas contracts hurting competition, Josh Frydenberg says

  19-08-2016 02:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Coag meeting will agree on a significant suite of reforms, federal energy and environment minister says • If energy ministers bow to gas industry they’ll be deciding in the darkA meeting of state and territory energy ministers will tackle secret long-term gas contracts in an effort to make the sector more competitive, the federal environment and energy minister has said.Speaking to ABC’s AM on Friday, Josh Frydenberg took aim at the opaque contracts’ role in raising the pr
  
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• Dissolvable batteries and the world's smallest hydro station: the best green innovations of the week

  19-08-2016 02:01
  
  In a week that saw two landmark sustainability initiatives secured in the UK and the US, edie rounds up some of the latest and greatest green innovations that could also benefit from support by Government-backed funding schemes.
  
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• If energy ministers bow to gas industry they'll be deciding in the dark

  19-08-2016 01:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Coag meeting could spark a run on exploration and development – yet do nothing to increase competitionFriday’s meeting of every energy minister in Australia is looking to be at risk of bowing to gas industry demands and sparking a run on gas development around the country to head off a supposed shortage.
  If they do that, it will be in the absence of any clear picture of actual gas supplies in Australia. Continue reading...
  
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• Lawyer accused of fraud by U.S. in BP oil spill case is acquitted

  19-08-2016 01:35
  A prominent Texas lawyer was acquitted on Thursday of charges he made up thousands of fake clients to sue BP Plc for damages that the oil company caused in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico spill, court records show. Mikal Watts was among five defendants found not guilty by a Mississippi federal jury of charges related to an alleged scheme to defraud a programme set up by BP to compensate people who suffered economic losses from the spill. Two other defendants were found guilty.
  
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• HMT Arfon: Sunken WWI mine trawler protected

  19-08-2016 01:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The sunken wreck of a fishing trawler that swept for mines during World War One is given special protection by Historic England.
  
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• Caterpillar to explore options for some mining products, cut jobs

  19-08-2016 00:26
  (Reuters) - Caterpillar Inc said on Thursday it would explore options, including a possible divestiture for some of its mining products, and would stop taking orders for machinery specific to underground soft rock mining. The decision for Caterpillar to review its options for products in its mining division indicates more of a long-term decline in global mining instead of a cyclical dip. Chief Executive Office Doug Oberhelman said last month he was not expecting an upturn in mining or oil in 201
  
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• Pacific sea level predicts global temperature changes

  19-08-2016 00:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  The amount of sea level rise in the Pacific Ocean can be used to estimate future global surface temperatures, according to a new report led by University of Arizona geoscientists.Based on the Pacific Ocean's sea level in 2015, the team estimates by the end of 2016 the world's average surface temperature will increase up to 0.5 F (0.28 C) more than in 2014.In 2015 alone, the average global surface temperature increased by 0.32 F (0.18 C).
  
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