Environment news

• Sellafield 'riddled with safety flaws', according to BBC investigation

  05-09-2016 23:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Panorama programme claims there are numerous, potentially lethal safety flaws at the Cumbria nuclear plant The Sellafield nuclear site is riddled with potentially lethal safety flaws, according to a BBC investigation. The Panorama programme, broadcast on Monday night, uncovered a raft of safety issues on the site in Cumbria which stores almost all of the country’s nuclear waste. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• How Storm Desmond left its mark on the Lake District

  05-09-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Nine months after the storm broke, the National Trust is still counting the cost of the extraordinary damage inflicted on the landscape When Storm Desmond broke the UK’s 24-hour rainfall record with 341.4mm (9in) of rain in 24 hours in the Honister Pass in Cumbria on 5 December last year, it did extraordinary damage to the Lake District. The headlines were about homes and businesses flooded, roads collapsed and bridges washed away. But across this beautiful landscape, one fifth owned by th
  
  Read more

• Toxic air pollution particles found in human brains

  05-09-2016 21:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Detection of ‘abundant’ magnetite particles raises concerns because of suggested links to Alzheimer’s diseaseToxic nanoparticles from air pollution have been discovered in human brains in “abundant” quantities, a newly published study reveals.The detection of the particles, in brain tissue from 37 people, raises concerns because recent research has suggested links between these magnetite particles and Alzheimer’s disease, while air pollution has been shown to
  
  Read more

• Greens cannot afford to ignore economics | Letters

  05-09-2016 20:24 via theguardian.com
  
  John Harris provides, as usual, an excellent piece on what is wrong with British politics (Politics can’t heal until politicians stand clear of the revolving door, 3 September). However, former politicians and functionaries moving to lucrative jobs in the private sector and people from the private sector moving to less lucrative but influential positions in government is neither new nor a particularly British or European malady. What is missing from Harris and sadly from the Guardian in ge
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Soaring ocean temperature is 'greatest hidden challenge of our generation'

  05-09-2016 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  IUCN report warns that ‘truly staggering’ rate of warming is changing the behaviour of marine species, reducing fishing zones and spreading diseaseThe soaring temperature of the oceans is the “greatest hidden challenge of our generation” that is altering the make-up of marine species, shrinking fishing areas and starting to spread disease to humans, according to the most comprehensive analysis yet of ocean warming.The oceans have already sucked up an enormous amount of he
  
  Read more

• Oil pares gains after one week-high as Russia-Saudi sign pact

  05-09-2016 19:52
  By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - Crude oil futures touched a one-week high before paring gains on Monday after top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia confirmed they had agreed to cooperate on stabilising the oil market, and raised hopes of limiting output in the future. Saudi Arabia and Russia said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China they had signed an agreement to set up a task force to review oil market fundamentals and to recommend measures and actions that would secure market stabi
  
  Read more

• Planet smash-up 'brought carbon to Earth'

  05-09-2016 19:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Much of Earth's life-giving carbon could have been delivered in an asteroid collision about 4.4 billion years ago, a theory suggests.
  
  Read more

• Airlifting ice from the alps

  05-09-2016 18:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ice taken from a retreating Alpine glacier is moved into a freezer at the start of a mission to store it permanently in Antarctica.
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Endangered glaciers: Alpine ice begins Antarctic voyage

  05-09-2016 18:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Ice taken from a retreating Alpine glacier is moved into a freezer at the start of a mission to store it permanently in Antarctica.
  
  Read more

• Final speaker line-up confirmed for edie's energy efficiency webinar

  05-09-2016 17:25
  
  The final speaker line-up has been confirmed for edie's free-to-watch live webinar later this month, with representatives from Costa Coffee, Hilton Worldwide and E.ON all set to provide expert insight and advice about cutting through the complexities of energy management.
  
  Read more

• Asian typhoons becoming more intense, study finds

  05-09-2016 17:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Giant storms that wreak havoc across China, Japan, Korea and the Philippines have grown 50% stronger in the past 40 years due to warming seasThe destructive power of the typhoons that wreak havoc across China, Japan, Korea and the Philippines has intensified by 50% in the past 40 years due to warming seas, a new study has found. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Climate change could make coffee extinct by 2080

  05-09-2016 16:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  The sun may be setting on a popular morning brew. According to a new report issued by the Climate Institute, global warming will underpin an estimated 50 percent drop in coffee production by 2050. Bad news for coffee lovers, but catastrophic for the 120 million people in dozens of mostly developing nations who depend on the coffee trade to make ends meet.
  
  Read more

• Saudi Arabia and Russia sign oil pact, could limit output in future

  05-09-2016 16:34
  By Ruby Lian, Josephine Mason and Rania El Gamal HANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Monday to cooperate in oil markets, saying they will not act immediately but could limit output in future, sending oil prices higher on hopes the two top producers would work together to tackle a global glut. The joint statement was signed by the country's energy ministers in China on the sidelines of a G20 gathering and followed a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Sa
  
  Read more

• Polystyrene packaging debate hots up as industry rejects chefs' claims

  05-09-2016 16:06
  
  A recent call from a group of top chefs for policymakers to ban the use of polystyrene packaging in London has been condemned by the Food Packaging Association (FPA) and other waste management experts.
  
  Read more

• Despite cuts, Big Oil to expand production into the 2020s

  05-09-2016 15:51
  By Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - Never mind the drop in crude prices, huge spending cuts and thousands of job losses - the world's top oil and gas companies are set to produce more than ever for some time. While top oil companies struggle with slumping revenues following a more than halving of prices since mid-2014 after years of spectacular growth, their production has persistently grown as projects sanctioned earlier in the decade come on line. Overall production at the world's seven biggest o
  
  Read more

• Philae: Lost comet lander is found

  05-09-2016 15:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Europe's comet lander Philae, last seen in November 2014, has been identified in new pictures from the Rosetta probe.
  
  Read more

• Pressure mounts on UK to 'work with Europe' and ratify Paris deal

  05-09-2016 15:48
  
  The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has revealed that it will seek to ratifying the Paris Agreement "as soon as possible", after both the Liberal Democrats and Labour urged the Government to ratify the deal..
  
  Read more

• Take that, extinction: giant pandas and the other animals fighting back

  05-09-2016 15:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Fans of the panda are celebrating its removal from the endangered list – and it’s not the only species to have been pulled back from the brinkThe most famous thing about pandas, apart from them spending all day eating bamboo and not having sex, is how endangered they are. However, the animal has just been moved off the “endangered” species list by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Although the giant panda is still considered “vulnerable&rdqu
  
  Read more

• Freddie Mercury: Asteroid named after late Queen star to mark 70th birthday

  05-09-2016 15:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Freddie Mercury is honoured with an asteroid named after him to mark what would have been his 70th birthday.
  
  Read more

• Price and performance dominant factors for sustainable products, says Kingfisher

  05-09-2016 14:26
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Companies that "plaster their products with 'eco'" are unlikely to make the same connection with consumers, compared with those creating sustainable products that offer other tangible benefits such as better price and enhanced performance.
  
  Read more

• Tory MPs call for shift in farming subsidies to green protections

  05-09-2016 13:46 via theguardian.com
  
  Letter from 36 MPs urges Theresa May to redirect billions of pounds of post-Brexit subsidies towards environmental and public servicesDozens of Conservative MPs have written to the prime minister, Theresa May, urging her to shift billions of pounds of post-Brexit farm subsidies towards protecting and improving the environment.The 36 MPs, including former environment ministers, also urge May to maintain the strong protection for wildlife and water provided by EU directives. During the EU referend
  
  Read more

• Oil pares gains after Saudi, Russia sign pact

  05-09-2016 13:28
  By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - Crude oil futures pared gains on Monday after top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia said they have agreed to cooperate on stabilising the oil market, including limiting output. Saudi Arabia and Russia said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in China that they signed an agreement to set up a task force to review oil market fundamentals and to recommend measures and actions that will secure market stability. Saudi deputy crown prince told Russian President Vladi
  
  Read more

• Skye's Storr Lochs Monster fossil unveiled in Edinburgh

  05-09-2016 13:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The fossilised skeleton of a 170 million-year-old Jurassic predator discovered on the Isle of Skye is unveiled in Edinburgh.
  
  Read more

• Mary Rose: How the dead were digitised

  05-09-2016 12:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Human skulls and other artefacts found aboard the Tudor shipwreck, the Mary Rose, are being exhibited online for the first time.
  
  Read more

• 'We’re not going anywhere,' say Climate Change Authority dissenters | Graham Readfearn

  05-09-2016 11:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Authority’s recommendations will ‘sanction further delay’ with ‘serious consequences’ for Australia, minority report saysDespite its brevity, the dissenting report from two members of the government’s supposedly independent Climate Change Authority has landed with a dull and uncompromising thud.
  Last week the CCA published its report advising the government what it should and shouldn’t do in the wake of the Paris climate agreement. In short, the report r
  
  Read more

• Drone films white southern right whale calf off Australia

  05-09-2016 11:21 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Researchers have captured images of an extremely rare white southern right whale calf off swimming with its mother off the coast of Western Australia.
  
  Read more

• Oil jumps amid talk of producer action to support prices

  05-09-2016 11:16
  By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - Crude oil futures rose sharply on Monday amid renewed speculation that major producers including Saudi Arabia and Russia could cooperate to tackle weak prices and rein in oversupply. Brent crude futures for November delivery were up $2.09 per barrel at $48.92 a barrel at 0902 GMT. Saudi Arabia and Russia later on Monday are due to make a joint statement during the G20 summit in China calling for cooperation to support oil markets, several sources with knowledg
  
  Read more

• Eastern gorilla now critically endangered while giant panda situation improves

  05-09-2016 10:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Largest living primate joins three other great ape species on International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list, but pandas no longer endangeredHumanity has moved a step closer to wiping out our closest evolutionary relatives, with four of the six great ape species now listed internationally as critically endangered.The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the eastern gorilla, the largest living primate, as critically endangered in its latest“red l
  
  Read more

• Tax haven money could power half the world with renewable energy

  05-09-2016 10:00
  
  Campaign group Friends of the Earth has issued a "wake-up call" for the G20 leaders with a new report revealing that the money hidden in tax havens could be enough to power half of the world using 100% renewable sources by 2030.
  
  Read more

• Oil prices reverse early losses, but glut worries cap gains

  05-09-2016 09:20
  By Osamu Tsukimori TOKYO (Reuters) - Crude prices reversed early losses on Monday as the dollar lost its momentum, but persistent concerns over a global glut despite some signs producers may try to tackle weak oil futures kept a lid on gains. Oil prices fell about 1 percent earlier in the day with the dollar holding firm as disappointing U.S. jobs growth data did little to change investors' perception that the Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates in coming months. Brent rallied to a
  
  Read more

• The British Wildlife Photography Awards 2016 winners - in pictures

  05-09-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A selection of images which document a family common weasels throughout the seasons scoop the top prize this year.Winning images are chosen from thousands of entries in fifteen separate categories including a special film category for Wildlife in HD Video and two junior categories to encourage young people to connect with nature through photography. For more information see the awards website. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Havana's dirty truths: rubbish-strewn streets spark anger at city's failings

  05-09-2016 08:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Amid all the stories of Cuba’s new prosperity, residents of its capital are growing frustrated by the daily reality of uncollected rubbish, overflowing sewage and water leaks – and asking: ‘Why did Havana become like this?’On a street corner in Vedado, Havana’s most affluent suburb, pedestrians have had to manoeuvre around a metre-wide hole in the pavement on Calle 10 for months. Smashed concrete spills on to the road, encircling what has since turned into a pit of
  
  Read more

• Morocco to give 600 mosques a green makeover

  05-09-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Mosques across Morocco will be fitted with solar energy systems in government scheme to boost clean energy awareness Six hundred “green mosques” are to be created in Morocco by March 2019 in a national consciousness-raising initiative that aims to speed the country’s journey to clean energy.
  If all goes to plan, the green revamp will see LED lighting, solar thermal water heaters and photovoltaic systems installed in 100 mosques by the end of this year. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Crude edges down on firm dollar, glut worries

  05-09-2016 06:42
  By Osamu Tsukimori TOKYO (Reuters) - Crude prices inched down on Monday, paring 3 percent gains in the previous session, as the dollar firmed and traders eyed persistent concerns over a global oil glut despite some signs oil producers may try to tackle weak oil prices. The U.S. dollar held firm as Friday's disappointing U.S. jobs growth figures did little to change investors' perception that the Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates in coming months. "Crude is down now because they t
  
  Read more

• Invasion of the monster plants

  05-09-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The Chevin, Otley, West Yorkshire The most prolific plants spring up to monstrous heights and otherwise orderly places become twisted and tangledThere is a point every summer where the pastoral dream of the English countryside turns feverish, almost psychedelic. The most prolific plants spring up to monstrous heights and otherwise orderly places become twisted and tangled. In Yorkshire’s gritstone country, these individual takeovers feel like a conspiracy, as if the armies of entropy are s
  
  Read more

• Woodside buys half of BHP's stake in Australian gas fields for $400 million

  05-09-2016 06:11
  By Sonali Paul MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Woodside Petroleum has agreed to buy half of BHP Billiton's stake in the Scarborough area gas fields off Western Australia for $400 million (£300.53 million), in a move that could help speed a decision to develop the long delayed project. The sale fits with BHP's effort to shift its petroleum focus to the United States and more on oil, while boosting Woodside's resources without any exploration spending at a time when weak oil and gas prices have dented
  
  Read more

• Queensland University of Technology to dump fossil fuel investments

  05-09-2016 05:15 via theguardian.com
  
  QUT vice-chancellor says university’s $300m endowment fund will divest its shares in coal, oil and gas companiesOne of Australia’s largest universities, the Queensland University of Technology, has committed to dumping fossil fuel investments after a two-year campaign by students and staff.In a move that surprised and delighted campaigners, the university’s vice-chancellor, Peter Coaldrake, revealed on Friday the university’s $300m endowment fund would divest its shares i
  
  Read more

• Pressure grows on UK to ratify Paris climate change deal

  05-09-2016 04:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Pressure is growing on the UK government to ratify the Paris climate change deal immediately.
  
  Read more

• Mary Rose shipwreck skulls go online in 3D

  05-09-2016 03:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  For the first time, skulls and other artefacts from the 1545 wreck of the Mary Rose warship are being exhibited online, as part of a project testing the limits of digital archaeology.
  
  Read more

• Barangaroo: Sydney's largest urban renewal project aims to recycle more water than it uses

  05-09-2016 02:39 via theguardian.com
  
  The developers have built an onsite treatment plant in an effort to conserve, recycle and export water, but no one has signed up yetSun, sea and sand might be among Australia’s finest selling points but this combination comes at a cost, given the country is also the driest inhabited continent in the world.With a drop in average annual rainfall in recent years, ominous climate change projections and an ever-increasing population, the federal government has begun releasing billions of dollar
  
  Read more

• Crude edges down on oil glut worries

  05-09-2016 01:35
  Crude prices inched down on Monday in Asia, paring 3 percent gains in the previous session amid worries over a global oil glut. It was also helped by a report that Russian President Vladimir Putin supports OPEC's attempts to implement an output freeze with other producers. Brent rallied to above $50 a barrel by late August helped by growing talk of a coordinated production freeze, but the prices have since fallen as few believe OPEC will cut output.
  
  Read more

• Fracking fight

  05-09-2016 01:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Grace Livingstone talks to members of Mapuche indigenous communities living near a fracking site in Argentina about their concerns for their health and their environment.
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!