Environment news

• Waterloo chemists develop promising cheap, sustainable battery for grid energy storage

  26-08-2016 22:57 via feedproxy.google.com
  Chemists at the University of Waterloo have developed a long-lasting zinc-ion battery that costs half the price of current lithium-ion batteries and could help enable communities to shift away from traditional power plants and into renewable solar and wind energy production.Professor Linda Nazar and her colleagues from the Faculty of Science at Waterloo made the important discovery, which appears in the journal, Nature Energy.
  
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• Oil steady in volatile session, down 2 percent for the week

  26-08-2016 21:24
  By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices were largely unchanged on Friday in a volatile session, as traders reacted to comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen and reports of missile activity in Saudi Arabia. The market was taking its cues from the movement in the dollar, which has been choppy following Yellen's remarks. Prices gathered support briefly from Baker Hughes data showing that U.S. oil drillers kept rig count steady after eight weeks of additions.
  
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• Brazil police recommend graft charges against ex-president Lula - newspaper

  26-08-2016 19:12
  By Eduardo Simões and Daniel Flynn SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Federal police in Brazil have recommended that prosecutors bring corruption charges against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife in relation to a luxury apartment in the beach resort of Guaruja, a source familiar with the investigation said on Friday. The investigation into the popular predecessor and mentor of President Dilma Rousseff forms part of a sweeping anti-corruption probe into political kickbacks from co
  
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• Blending wastewater may help California cope with drought

  26-08-2016 18:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  Recycled wastewater is increasingly touted as part of the solution to California's water woes, particularly for agricultural use, as the state's historic drought continues. The cost of treating wastewater to meet state health standards for reuse and to reduce salt levels that damage crops presents a new set of challenges, however.Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have developed an economic model that demonstrates how flexible wastewater treatment processes which blend varyin
  
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• Oil steady in volatile session, on track for weekly loss

  26-08-2016 18:11
  By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices were modestly higher on Friday in a volatile session, as traders reacted to comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen and reports of missile activity in Saudi Arabia. The market was taking its cues from the movement in the dollar, which has been choppy following Yellen's remarks. The market was primed to react to Yellen's speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as her remarks initially caused a big rally in the dollar, which caused oil to slip.
  
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• Brazil police recommend corruption charges against ex-president Lula- newspaper

  26-08-2016 18:04
  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Federal police in Brazil have recommended that prosecutors bring charges against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for corruption and money laundering, Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported on Friday. Federal police in the southern city of Curitiba accuse Lula and his wife of receiving some 2.4 million reais ($747,896.54) in benefits from construction group OAS as part of a kick-back scheme centred on state oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), the newspa
  
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• Buried Tectonic Plate Reveals Hidden Dinosaur-Era Sea

  26-08-2016 17:53
  Using images constructed from earthquake data, geoscientists have developed a method for resurrecting a "slab graveyard" of tectonic plate segments buried deep within the Earth, unfolding the deformed rock into what it may have looked like up to 52 million years ago. This helped the researchers identify the previously unknown East Asian Sea Plate, where an ancient sea once existed in the region shortly after dinosaurs went extinct. The Pacific, Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates frame several s
  
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• National Grid brings 'exciting new chapter' for energy storage with auction launch

  26-08-2016 17:46
  
  National Grid has awarded seven firms including Vattenfall, Low Carbon and EDF Energy Renewables four-year contracts to provide balancing services to the network in the UK's first 200MW Enhanced Frequency Response (EFR) auction.
  
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• US national parks, badger cull and microplastics – green news roundup

  26-08-2016 17:20 via theguardian.com
  
  The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
  
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• Science-Proven Way to Reduce Teen Drinking

  26-08-2016 17:02
  "Family rules may be a useful complement to community rules and policies" in the effort to prevent underage drinking, said Mark Wolfson, the study's lead researcher and a professor of social sciences and health policy at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina. The researchers found that the teenagers whose parents had clear rules against underage drinking were 35 percent less likely to have attended a party where there was alcohol in the past 30 days, compared with teens whose pare
  
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• Tesla wins approval to buy SolarCity, unveils high-energy model S battery

  26-08-2016 16:10
  
  It's been a good week for Tesla chief executive Elon Musk after the electric vehicle (EV) giant's merger with SolarCity was approved and the firm unveiled a new EV battery which makes the Model one of the fastest production cars in the world.
  
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• Oil falls as Saudi Arabia douses expectations for output freeze

  26-08-2016 15:56
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil eased on Friday, on course for its largest weekly decline in a month after the Saudi energy minister watered down expectations that the world's largest producers might agree next month to limit their output. Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih told Reuters late on Thursday: "We don't believe any significant intervention in the market is necessary other than to allow the forces of supply and demand to do the work for us." He said the "market is mo
  
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• Vintage posters of America's national parks – in pictures

  26-08-2016 14:19 via theguardian.com
  
  A collection of posters created to promote tourism to the national parks is part of the creative legacy of the New Deal developed by Franklin D Roosevelt. Between 1938 and 1941, the Works Progress Administration and its Federal Arts Project designed a series of artworks promoting, and inspired by, the landscapes and wildlife of the parks. The collection is housed in the Library of Congress Continue reading...
  
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• India's Castrol India says not aware of any stake sale by BP unit

  26-08-2016 14:13
  Castrol India Ltd said on Friday it was not aware of any stake sale in the company by Castrol Ltd, a unit of oil major BP Plc, and said recent news reports that such a transaction would take place were based on market speculation. Media organisations, including Reuters, reported on Tuesday that Castrol Ltd would sell an up to $261 million stake in Castrol India, citing a termsheet that was circulated by brokers. "Castrol India Limited is not privy to any potential transactions and we had no info
  
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• No impact from Brexit on Norway gas exports to Britain - minister

  26-08-2016 13:42
  By Stine Jacobsen OSLO (Reuters) - Exports of Norwegian gas to Britain will not be affected by Britain's vote to leave the European Union, Norway's oil and energy minister told Reuters. The Nordic country is Britain's top foreign gas supplier, accounting for some 40 percent of all supplies in 2015. Norway's EU affairs minister said this week the country wants to maintain a good relationship with Britain after it leaves the EU.
  
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• UK solar deployment figures upgraded as US smashes renewables records

  26-08-2016 13:19
  
  The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has upgraded its solar deployment stats for the UK in the first half of 2016, whilst separate data for the US has revealed that renewable energy sources have set a series of domestic records for electrical generation during the same six-month period.
  
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• Synthetic prawns: a bid to make ‘seafood’ that’s sustainable and slavery-free

  26-08-2016 13:10 via theguardian.com
  
  A California biotech company receives funding to commercialise algae-based prawns, in an attempt to get people switching to more sustainable dietsHow do you describe the taste and texture of a prawn? Sort of rubbery; elastic, even. Like chicken, only better. These unappetising phrases hardly capture what makes it so good—the precise reason why prawns (called shrimp in the United States) are one of the most consumed seafoods globally. But now biotech startup New Wave Foods is on a mission t
  
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• Nigerian traditional rulers want prisoners freed before Delta talks

  26-08-2016 12:50
  By Felix Onuah ABUJA (Reuters) - Traditional leaders in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta have demanded that authorities release youths arrested by the army before they will mediate in talks with militants who have been blowing up pipelines, a government official said. On Thursday, Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu met traditional leaders from the southern region where a wave of pipeline attacks has cut the country's oil output by 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 1.56 million bpd. Kachikwu as
  
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• North Atlantic 'weather bomb' tremor measured in Japan

  26-08-2016 12:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers track a particular type of tiny vibration for the first time, as it wobbles through the Earth from the Atlantic to Japan.
  
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• England's best-loved wildlife still in serious decline, report shows

  26-08-2016 12:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Government countryside assessment paints a ‘grim picture’ with key species such as hedgehogs, dormice, birds and butterflies all continuing to decrease in numberMuch of England’s best-loved wildlife remains in serious decline, according to the latest official assessment from the government. Birds and butterflies on farmland have continued their long term downward trend and 75% of over 200 “priority” species across the country – including hedgehogs, dormice and
  
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• Indonesia seizes hundreds of frozen pangolins

  26-08-2016 11:44 via theguardian.com
  
  Authorities find more than 650 critically endangered pangolins hidden in freezers in JavaIndonesian authorities have seized more than 650 critically endangered pangolins found hidden in freezers and arrested a man for allegedly breaking wildlife protection laws, police said on Friday. Continue reading...
  
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• Looking good and making a fast buck? Why rich countries help the poor | David Hulme

  26-08-2016 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  An extract from David Hulme’s Should Rich Nations Help the Poor? examines the mix of altruism and self-interest rich states use to justify support for foreign aid
  Why do rich nations help the poor in faraway places? There are a mix of very different reasons, ranging from the high-minded – “It’s our moral duty” – to the venal – “We can look good and make a fast buck out of this”. Commonly, the governments of rich countries use combinations of
  
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• Obama to create world's largest protected marine area off Hawaii

  26-08-2016 10:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument to be expanded to more than twice the size of TexasBarack Obama is to create the world’s largest protected marine area off the coast of Hawaii, the White House has said.The president’s proclamation will quadruple the size of a protected area originally designated by his predecessor, George Bush, in 2006. The expanded Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument will cover around 582,578 sq miles (1.5m sq km), more than twic
  
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• The extension of the badger cull is horribly cruel – and it won’t help farmers | Brian May

  26-08-2016 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The government’s chief scientific adviser admits the animals may be responsible for just 6% of bovine TB. There are better solutions than yet more killingTuesday was a sad day for our wild animals. The BBC reported that the badger cull will be extended into five new areas, although the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) would not confirm that the selections had been made.News that the already failed cull would be expanded is particularly disappointing to those who h
  
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• Kerogen Capital raises $830 million in second energy fund

  26-08-2016 09:53
  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Private equity firm Kerogen Capital said on Friday it has secured $830 million (627.84 million pounds) in its second energy fund, taking its total assets under management to over $2 billion since inception. In a statement, Kerogen, with offices in Hong Kong and London, said the fund will invest in international energy sectors outside North America, providing growth capital to upstream oil and gas companies. Kerogen said it has so far made two investments, namely Zennor Petr
  
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• Carnival clean-up: Notting Hill waste to generate 100MWh of electricity

  26-08-2016 09:30
  
  Westminster City Council is planning to collect all of the waste from Notting Hill Carnival and use it to generate electricity for the National Grid - all in time to have the streets clean for the Tuesday morning commute.
  
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• Oil prices fall as Saudi Arabia dampens prospects of output freeze

  26-08-2016 08:33
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday after the Saudi energy minister tempered expectations of strong market intervention by producers during talks next month, and as analysts pointed to an ongoing supply overhang that was weighing on markets. International benchmark Brent crude oil prices were trading at $49.40 per barrel at 0632 GMT, down 27 cents from their previous close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 15 cents at $47.18 a barrel.
  
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• A pilot's view of Bangladesh – in pictures

  26-08-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Shamim Shorif Susom is a pilot and photographer from Bangladesh. As he travels he captures unique aerial views of his country, which he shares on his websiteContinue reading...
  
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• Indonesia steps up fire response as haze blankets Singapore

  26-08-2016 07:24
  JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Six Indonesian provinces have declared states of emergency as forest fires blanket a swath of Southeast Asia in a smoky haze.
  
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• Kingfisher bonds will loosen as summer fades

  26-08-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Airedale, West Yorkshire By early September mating instincts will give way to a territorial urge and this stretch of river won’t be big enough for both birdsThey’re still together, but it won’t last. The sycamore keys have started to twirl to earth and a parting of ways is on the cards. Kingfisher pairs seldom outlast the summer; by early September mating instincts will have given way to the territorial urge, and that’ll mean that this stretch of the river won’t be
  
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• Sorry Josh Frydenberg, gas is not the cleaner alternative to coal | Blair Palese

  26-08-2016 04:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Despite the government’s sudden conversion to gas as Australia’s panacea to climate change, the only real solution is 100% renewable energyThere has been a lot of hot air recently about the role of gas in Australia’s future energy generation. At last week’s COAG meeting, the overwhelming takeaway message from our newly minted energy and environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, was that gas was good, not to mention vital for our future energy solution.For Frydenberg, gas is
  
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• Mother wrestled and kicked kangaroo to save two-year-old girl

  26-08-2016 03:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Queensland woman says she had to fight the animal after finding it had her daughter pinned to the groundA Queensland mother has wrestled and kicked a kangaroo to save her two-year-old daughter at their Hervey Bay home.Argie Abejaron told the Fraser Coast Chronicle she had heard her six-year-old son scream on Tuesday and had run outside to see the kangaroo had pinned her little girl, Mileah, to the ground and was attacking her. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil prices dip as Saudi Arabia dampens prospects of output freeze

  26-08-2016 03:25
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped in early trading on Friday after the Saudi energy minister tempered expectations of strong market intervention by producers during talks next month. International benchmark Brent crude oil prices were trading at $49.55 (37.54 pounds) per barrel at 0114 GMT, down 12 cents from their previous close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 7 cents at $47.26 a barrel.
  
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• American pika vanishing from western US as 'habitat lost to climate change'

  26-08-2016 02:39 via theguardian.com
  
  The small mammal – ‘one of the cutest animals in America’ – is struggling to survive as summers get hotter and drierPopulations of a rabbit-like animal known as the American pika are vanishing in many mountainous areas of the west as climate change alters its habitat, according to findings released by the US Geological Survey.The range for the mountain-dwelling herbivore is shrinking in southern Utah, north-eastern California and in the Great Basin that covers most of Nev
  
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• 'State of flux': Hinkley alternatives would be cheaper and simpler, ECIU finds

  26-08-2016 02:01
  
  The UK could meet its future energy and climate change targets without constructing the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station, and the continued development of renewables and energy efficiency measures would in fact work out cheaper, a major new report has found.
  
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• Italy earthquake: 98 aftershocks in 36 hours

  26-08-2016 00:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  How 98 aftershocks rocked devastated areas of central Italy in the first 36 hours after the earthquake.
  
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