Environment news

• Why air conditioning is a vicious circle

  22-08-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Pumping heat from our cars and buildings into the outside world adds to climate change, increasing the need to stay cool Air conditioning was a luxury in Britain 40 years ago, but the long hot summer of 1976 changed that. The scorching heat that summer lasted two months and most people sweated it out indoors with only open windows and electric fans for ventilation. After that, air conditioning no longer seemed so extravagant and its popularity soared.Air conditioners consume huge amounts of ener
  
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• Oil down 3 percent as rally snaps on rising crude, China fuel exports

  22-08-2016 20:24
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell nearly 3 percent on Monday, retreating from last week's two-month highs, on worries about burgeoning Chinese fuel exports, more Iraqi and Nigerian crude shipments and a rising U.S. oil rig count. China's July diesel and gasoline exports soared 181.8 percent and 145.2 percent, respectively, from the same month last year, putting pressure on refined product margins. On the crude oil front, U.S. drillers added 10 oil rigs in the week to Aug. 1
  
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• Libya's eastern parliament votes against U.N.-backed against in Tripoli

  22-08-2016 20:12
  By Ayman al-Warfalli BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) - Opponents of Libya's U.N.-backed unity government dealt the beleaguered body a blow on Monday by voting to reject it in a rare session of the eastern-based parliament, though the government's supporters dismissed the move as unconstitutional. The Government of National Accord (GNA), the product of a U.N.-backed deal signed in December, has been seeking endorsement for months as it tries to extend its influence and authority beyond its base in Trip
  
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• Fragile habitats, but sturdy Ikea flatpacks | Brief letters

  22-08-2016 19:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Grouse shooting | Sugar and schoolchildren | Ikea furniture | Uber drivers | Cryptic crossword | ‘Pithicisms’George Monbiot is right: wholesale destruction of wildlife is obscene (The grouse shooters aim to kill, 16 August). Why no grousing, then, on the imminent destruction of the diverse habitats and endangered species, including many red list birds, on the west coast of Cumbria? Why no grouse about the collateral damage in obsessive pursuit of the “biggest nuclear developmen
  
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• Eat your food packaging, don't bin it - scientists

  22-08-2016 19:03
  By Alex Whiting ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Scientists are developing an edible form of packaging which they hope will preserve food more effectively and more sustainably than plastic film, helping to cut both food and plastic waste. The packaging film is made of a milk protein called casein, scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture said at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. The film looks similar to plastic wrapping, but is up to 500 times better at protecting food fr
  
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• Renewable energy developers pass Contracts for Difference subsidy milestone

  22-08-2016 18:50
  
  The Low Carbon Contracts Company (LCCC) has confirmed that all 39 Contracts for Difference (CfD) renewable projects in the UK have past their delivery milestone requirements as part of the second round of CfD funding.
  
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• Circular economy provides golden opportunity to save lives in Rio and beyond, report claims

  22-08-2016 18:50
  
  As the curtains draw on the 2016 Olympics, a new report has claimed that toxic waste polluting the environment in the Olympics Host City of Rio de Janeiro and other cities across the world could actually be used to alleviate poverty and save lives through a circular-economy approach to waste management.
  
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• South-east UK set for heatwave as parts of north face floods

  22-08-2016 18:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Temperatures in south could reach low 30s by midweek but could be 10 degrees cooler in rain-hit northSouth-east England is set for more hot weather while parts of the north are on flood alert.Following heavy rain in North Yorkshire, water has been gushing on to roads from White Scar Caves in Ingleton, in the Yorkshire Dales national park. Video footage from the scene shows cars driving slowly through deep floodwater.Continue reading...
  
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• Four people injured in Romanian Black Sea refinery fire

  22-08-2016 18:19
  Four people were injured in a fire and blast at Romania's Black Sea Petromidia crude refinery, deputy Interior Minister Raed Arafat said on Monday. Arafat told Digi24 TV that a fire and blast at a nitrogen tank in the refinery was being dealt with by firefighters as footage taken from the nearby sea resort of Mamaia showed the facility spewing thick clouds of black smoke. "The fire is now extinguished," a spokeswoman for the refinery, Costinela Dragan, told Reuters by telephone at about 1600 GMT
  
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• Study measures methane release from Arctic permafrost

  22-08-2016 18:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  A University of Alaska Fairbanks-led research project has provided the first modern evidence of a landscape-level permafrost carbon feedback, in which thawing permafrost releases ancient carbon as climate-warming greenhouse gases.The study was published today in the journal Nature Geoscience.The project, led by UAF researcher Katey Walter Anthony, studied lakes in Alaska, Canada, Sweden and Siberia where permafrost thaw surrounding lakes led to lake shoreline expansion during the past 60 ye
  
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• Oil down 2 percent as rally snaps on rising crude, China fuel exports

  22-08-2016 17:20
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than 2 percent on Monday, retreating from last week's two-month highs, on worries about burgeoning Chinese fuel exports, more Iraqi and Nigerian crude shipments and a rising U.S. oil rig count. Iraq's plans this week to increase exports of Kirkuk crude by 150,000 bpd from northern fields weighed on prices, traders said. The group had in the past claimed a wave of attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta.
  
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• Iraq's new oil minister sticks by demand to review foreign contracts

  22-08-2016 16:53
  Iraq wants to review contracts with oil companies to cut the fees that the firms receive when crude prices are low, the OPEC nation's new oil minister said, standing by a demand made by his predecessor. Oil Minister Jabar Ali Al-Luaibi conveyed his position at a meeting on Monday in Baghdad with BP's head in Iraq, Michael Townshend, the ministry said in a statement. The minister also discussed increasing oil and gas output from BP's giant Rumaila field in southern Iraq.
  
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• Removal of trade barriers key to reaching global climate targets, says World Energy Council

  22-08-2016 16:52
  
  As analysis suggests that the Paris Agreement could be ratified by the end of this year, a new report from the World Energy Council concludes that the energy objectives set at COP21 could be met if national Governments reduce barriers to trade and investment of environmental goods.
  
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• Saudi Arabia to discuss energy cooperation with China, Japan - SPA

  22-08-2016 16:13
  Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, plans to discuss energy cooperation agreements with China and Japan, the Saudi cabinet said on Monday. Discussions with Japan for an MOU for cooperating in the energy sector were also approved by the cabinet, SPA said. Saudi Arabia has traditionally accounted for most of the crude imports by Asia, the world's biggest oil-consuming region.
  
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• Crab not seen in Devon for 30 years has been found living near Plymouth coastline

  22-08-2016 16:10
  
  St Piran’s crab suffered a decline in population because of rising pollution and sea temperatures.
  
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• Country split by weather as parts of north put on flood alert while the south sizzles in the heat

  22-08-2016 15:56
  
  The Environment Agency currently has 19 flood alerts in place across the north west.
  
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• Oil falls as China fuel exports jump, U.S. rig count rises

  22-08-2016 15:44
  By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell nearly 3 percent on Monday as China ramped up exports of refined products, U.S. oil producers added rigs for an eighth consecutive week and prospects emerged for increased exports from Iraq and Nigeria. Brent crude futures were down $1.36 at $49.52 a barrel by 1326 GMT, with U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude slipping by $1.16 to $47.36. Because of the production and storage overhang in fuel markets, Barclays said that this month's 20 per
  
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• Mystery stone structure under Neolithic dump on Orkney

  22-08-2016 15:42 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Archaeologists have uncovered a mysterious stone structure buried under what they describe as Scotland's "largest Neolithic rubbish dump".
  
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• Could a '100% recyclable' polymer drive the new plastics economy?

  22-08-2016 15:39
  
  The developers of a packaging polymer that is both 100% recyclable and 100% biodegradable in standard waste management facilities claim the new material could help to create a much-needed circular economy for plastic packaging.
  
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• Enterprise Rent-A-Car becomes paid Alec member despite green efforts

  22-08-2016 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Car rental company has joined conservative organization that fights environmental rules with prewritten legislation, the Guardian has learnedIt’s not easy enough being green for Enterprise Rent-A-Car.Though the auto rental service has trumpeted tree-planting initiatives and its fleet of hybrid vehicles, the Guardian has learned that Enterprise recently became a paying member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (Alec), the business consortium that sends legislators prefabricated dr
  
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• Investing in Walkable Neighborhoods

  22-08-2016 14:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  According to Redfin, several American cities – some the usual progressive suspects, but others quite surprising – are making moves to build more homes in walkable neighborhoods. Other, however, are stuck in the past, building more of the distant suburbs.Why do we need more walkable cities? Quite simply because walkable cities are, by definition, sustainable cities. Transportation remains a major source of greenhouse gas pollution, and, unlike electricity or agriculture, the United St
  
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• Earth's Oldest Oceanic Crust Uncovered in Mediterranean Sea

  22-08-2016 14:12
  The Mediterranean Sea is home to what could be the world's oldest oceanic crust, an undisturbed section of Earth's outermost shell that scientists say is about 340 million years old. Most oceanic crust is less than 200 million years old, because it is typically recycled back into the Earth's mantle at subduction zones (where two tectonic plates collide). In the new study, researchers used magnetic sensing equipment to profile areasof the eastern Mediterranean.
  
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• Climate change will mean the end of national parks as we know them

  22-08-2016 13:49 via theguardian.com
  
  As the National Parks Service turns 100 this week, we look at how receding ice, extreme heat and acidifying oceans are transforming America’s landscapes, and guardians of national parks face the herculean task of stopping itAfter a century of shooing away hunters, tending to trails and helping visitors enjoy the wonder of the natural world, the guardians of America’s most treasured places have been handed an almost unimaginable new job – slowing the all-out assault climate chan
  
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• Spider silk helps creates microscope superlens

  22-08-2016 13:27 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Spider silk is used to create a superlens for a microscope, allowing Bangor University scientists to view objects previously deemed "invisible".
  
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• Oil falls as China fuel exports jump, U.S. rigs rise

  22-08-2016 12:56
  By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell nearly 3 percent on Monday as China ramped up exports of refined products, U.S. oil producers added rigs for an eighth consecutive week, and prospects emerged for increased exports from Iraq and Nigeria. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down $1.27 at $47.25 a barrel. China's July exports of diesel and gasoline soared by 181.8 and 145.2 percent respectively compared with the same month last year, putting pressure on refined product m
  
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• Energy storage sector calls for grid contracts clarity to ignite 'smart power revolution'

  22-08-2016 12:47
  
  The business case for energy storage is being undermined by many uncertainties within the burgeoning sector, such as limited revenue streams and grid services contract availability, according to new research from green energy consultancy SmartestEnergy.
  
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• Historical documents reveal Arctic sea ice is disappearing at record speed | Dana Nuccitelli

  22-08-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Summer Arctic sea ice is at its lowest since records began over 125 years agoScientists have pieced together historical records to reconstruct Arctic sea ice extent over the past 125 years. The results are shown in the figure below. The red line, showing the extent at the end of the summer melt season, is the most critical:Continue reading...
  
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• Ark-shaped museum to show evolutionary crossroads in Israel

  22-08-2016 11:45
  TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Legions of insects, sea creatures and ancient fossils are lining up in a new museum shaped liked a giant Noah's Ark, telling the story of a crucial evolutionary byway across Israel. Experts say all humans and other animals had to pass through Israel on their first journey out of Africa into Europe and Asia. Around five million specimens will go on show from next year in the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, based on Tel Aviv University campus and named after its main bac
  
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• BP says first half oil output at Azeri projects up to 16 million tonnes

  22-08-2016 11:11
  BAKU (Reuters) - Oil output from BP-led oilfields in Azerbaijan in the first half of 2016 rose year-on-year to 16 million tonnes (655,000 barrels per day) from 641,000 bpd in the same period last year, BP-Azerbaijan said on Monday. January-June natural gas production stood at 5.4 billion cubic metres and condensate output was 1.3 million tonnes. (Reporting by Nailia Bagirova; writing by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Dmitry Solovyov)
  
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• Iraqi children pay high health cost of war-induced air pollution, study finds

  22-08-2016 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers identify exposure to toxic materials from explosion of munitions and burning of military waste by US army as cause of birth defects and cancersAir pollution caused by war may be a major factor in the numbers of birth defects and cancers being reported in Iraq and other war zones, a study has suggested.Human exposure to heavy metals and neurotoxicants from the explosion of bombs, bullets, and other ammunition affects not only those directly targeted by bombardments but also troops and
  
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• Protecting the environment in Senegal? There's an app for that

  22-08-2016 09:06
  By Emmanuelle Landais DAKAR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Hunched over her laptop, eyes locked on the screen, Marième Seye listens to the step-by-step instructions given by her teacher. With 24 other Senegalese students, she is learning to develop a mobile app to raise awareness about the environment. In small groups, the students develop apps focusing on environmental issues, in the format of their choice – such as a game, quiz or a platform to look up potentially unfamiliar terms
  
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• Sluggy McSlugface no more: sea slug named for fly-in, fly-out mining workers

  22-08-2016 06:51 via theguardian.com
  
  Multicoloured slug, a species of nudibranch, was discovered in 2000 off the Western Australian coast and will be officially named Moridilla fifo A multicoloured sea slug discovered off the coast of Western Australia has been named for the state’s fly-in, fly-out mining workforce after a judging panel ruled that Sluggy McSlugface breached the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.The slug, which is a species of nudibranch, was discovered in 2000 off the coast of Dampier, about 1,500
  
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• The power of water to drive a mill and break a bridge

  22-08-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Burneside, Cumbria I walked a narrow bank, the mill race on one side and a steep drop to the swirling Sprint on the other. And I thought of last December’s floodSprint Mill sits in a small wooded gorge below a cascade of sinuous waterfalls on the river Sprint. There has been a cloth manufacturing or processing mill on this site since at least the 1400s, all dependent on water power provided by the river. The current owners have restored the 19th-century mill with the help of a grant from N
  
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• Oil falls as August price rally seen overblown, China fuel exports jump

  22-08-2016 04:39
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday as analysts doubted upcoming producer talks would rein in oversupply, saying that Brent would likely fall back below $50 a barrel as August's more than 20-percent crude rally looks overblown. Soaring exports of refined products from China also pressured prices, as this was seen as the latest indicator of an ongoing global fuel glut, traders said. China's July exports of diesel and gasoline soared by 181.8 and 145.2 percent resp
  
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• Cassowary 'Ruthie' relocated after trying to break into elderly man's home

  22-08-2016 04:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Bird in Queensland’s Innisfail had come to associate people with being fed, says environment department, and decision to relocate it was taken ‘reluctantly’Wildlife officers have relocated a young cassowary, known by locals as Ruthie, after it threatened an elderly man and tried to enter his Innisfail home.It is the second time this month a cassowary has been relocated in north Queensland due to aggressive behaviour. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil prices fall as analysts say August price rally has been overblown

  22-08-2016 02:41
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Monday as analysts doubted upcoming producer talks would be able to rein in oversupply, saying that Brent would likely fall back below $50 a barrel as August's over 20-percent crude rally looks overblown. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures were trading at $50.43 per barrel at 0125 London time, down 45 cents, or 0.88 percent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 27 cents, or 0.56 percent, at $48.25 a
  
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