Environment news

• Most humpback whales to be taken off federal endangered species list

  06-09-2016 23:48 via theguardian.com
  
  Nine of 14 distinct populations to be removed from endangered listFour populations still listed as endangered, one as threatenedFederal authorities are taking most humpback whales off the endangered species list, saying they have recovered enough in the last 40 years to warrant being removed. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) said on Monday that nine of the 14 distinct populations of humpbacks will be removed, while four distinct populations remain listed as endangered and one as thre
  
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• Climate Change Authority's move to Canberra raises independence concerns

  06-09-2016 22:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Exclusive: Department of Environment confirms agency’s ‘mid-September’ move from Melbourne ‘to improve operating efficiency’The Climate Change Authority will be moved from Melbourne to Canberra within the next fortnight, putting its independence from government under the spotlight.A spokesperson for the Department of Environment has confirmed the move in “mid-September” to Guardian Australia, and said it was being done “in order to improve its oper
  
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• Gabon leader under scrutiny as EU questions election win

  06-09-2016 21:56
  By Gerauds Wilfried Obangome LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Gabon's re-elected President Ali Bongo came under international scrutiny on Tuesday, as a European Union mission questioned the validity of his narrow win, France recommended a recount and the African Union said it would send mediators. At least six people have died in riots in Libreville and other cities since the result of the Aug. 27 election was announced last Wednesday, giving Bongo victory by around 5,000 votes. Opposition leader Jean Pin
  
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• New simulations of wind power generation

  06-09-2016 21:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  There has been a massive boom in wind power capacity both in Europe and worldwide. In 2015 global installed capacity was around 350 gigawatt (GW), with 135 GW installed in Europe, distributed across some 87,000 wind turbines. Wind power now provides a bigger share (13 percent) of electricity than nuclear power stations. In countries such as Spain, Denmark and Germany, the amount of wind power already installed is in theory enough to cover nationwide demand for electricity under ideal conditions,
  
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• Brent crude futures ease as hope for output freeze fades

  06-09-2016 21:28
  By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global benchmark Brent crude fell almost 1 percent on Tuesday as hopes waned for an agreement between two of the biggest oil producers to freeze output to tackle a global supply glut. Brent had jumped 5 percent on Monday, after Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to cooperate in world oil markets.
  
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• Arctic Ocean shipping routes 'to open for months'

  06-09-2016 21:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Shipping routes across the Arctic are going to open up significantly this century even with a best-case reduction in CO2 emissions, a new study suggests.
  
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• Brent crude down 1 percent on waning hopes for output freeze

  06-09-2016 20:13
  By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global benchmark Brent crude fell about 1 percent on Tuesday as hopes waned for an agreement between two of the biggest oil producers to freeze output to tackle a global supply glut. Brent had jumped 5 percent on Monday, after Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to cooperate in world oil markets. On Tuesday, Brent futures fell 1.4 percent, or 65 cents, to $46.98 (34.9700 pounds) a barrel, by 1:34 p.m. EDT (1734 GMT).
  
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• Pope should know that resisting birth control is bad for the environment | Letter

  06-09-2016 20:09 via theguardian.com
  
  While the call by Pope Francis that religions should take far more responsibility for rampant environmental damage is most welcome (Environmental destruction is a sin, says pope, 2 September), he should be reminded that by far the most damaging cause of impending crisis is the huge near-threefold increase in the human population over the last 75 years to more than 7 billion.Organised religion has stubbornly resisted all realistic forms of birth control and must take its
  
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• Saudi formin says would go along with a freeze if oil producers agree one

  06-09-2016 19:42
  Saudi Arabia said on Tuesday it would go along with a freeze in oil output if other producers agreed one but cautioned that Iran could foil any attempt to limit output. "If there's a freeze, Saudi Arabia will go along with it and we are hoping there could be a meeting of the minds when this comes together," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in London.
  
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• Oil slips 2 percent as hopes for production freeze wane

  06-09-2016 18:11
  By Catherine Ngai NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell 2 percent on Tuesday, falling further from the previous session's one-week high on receding hopes for an agreement between the world's top two producers to freeze output to tackle a global supply glut. Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Monday to cooperate in world oil markets, prompting Brent crude to jump almost 5 percent only for it to pare gains after Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said there was no need to freeze output for now. O
  
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• EU hits energy reduction target six years early

  06-09-2016 18:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Major savings reported across all sectors before 2020 goal but analysts warn UK could reverse gains after BrexitEurope has met a landmark goal of slashing its energy consumption six years ahead of time, cutting greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the switching off about 400 power stations.In 2014, the EU’s 28 member countries consumed 72m tonnes of oil equivalent less than had been projected for 2020, according to a report by the EU’s science arm, the Joint Research Centre (JRC).
  
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• Climate change is a racist crisis: that’s why Black Lives Matter closed an airport | Alexandra Wanjiku Kelbert

  06-09-2016 18:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Today’s BLM protest at London City airport makes perfect sense: whether it’s via air pollution or police detention, race inequality is alive and kicking in BritainThis morning London City airport was shut down. This was a Black Lives Matter action. Since then our phones have been ringing constantly, with requests to explain, and comment on the action.“But how is this in any way linked to the last action on 5 August? Aren’t you moving away from the original narrative of de
  
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• Enbridge buying Spectra in $28 billion deal

  06-09-2016 17:50
  Canada's Enbridge Inc said on Tuesday it would buy Spectra Energy Corp of Houston in an all-stock deal valued at about $28 billion (21 billion pounds) to create the largest North American energy infrastructure company. The takeover, the most significant energy deal since oil and natural gas prices crashed in mid-2014, highlights how pipeline companies are under pressure to merge as they grapple with overcapacity and sliding tariffs that have slowed dividend growth and unnerved investors. Enbridg
  
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• State schools face solar tax hike - but private schools exempted

  06-09-2016 17:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners say the government intends to charge business rates for small solar installations on schools, but academies, private and free schools will be exempt due to charitable status State schools with solar panels will be hit with a tax hike that exempts private schools, free schools and academies, according to campaigners.The government proposes to end an exemption for small solar panel installations (less than 50 kilowatts) and charge business rates on them from April 2017. The charity 10:
  
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• Iran is 'closer to idea' of freezing oil production - Argus

  06-09-2016 17:17
  LONDON (Reuters) - Iran is "closer to the idea" of freezing levels of oil production than it was when OPEC ministers last met in June, Argus Media cited Iranian state-owned NIOC's international head Mohsen Ghamsari as saying. (Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson)
  
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• Iran gives cautious nod to oil deal as bargaining starts

  06-09-2016 17:14
  By Alex Lawler, Rania El Gamal and Parisa Hafezi LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Iran signalled on Tuesday it was prepared to work with Saudi Arabia and Russia to prop up oil prices as Tehran began to bargain with OPEC on possible exemptions from output limits. Iran has been the main factor preventing an output deal between OPEC and non-OPEC Russia as Tehran argued it should be excluded from any such agreement before its production recovers from Western sanctions that ended in January.
  
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• Swedish Nobel judges fired in Karolinska medical scandal

  06-09-2016 17:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Two judges are asked to leave a Swedish panel that picks the Nobel prize for medicine in a scandal over a disgraced Italian transplant surgeon.
  
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• Exclusive - Renault sees diesel disappearing from most of its European cars

  06-09-2016 16:25
  By Laurence Frost and Gilles Guillaume PARIS (Reuters) - Renault expects diesel engines to disappear from most of its European cars, company sources told Reuters, after the French automaker reviewed the costs of meeting tighter emissions standards following the Volkswagen scandal. It shows how, a year after VW admitted engineering software to cheat U.S. diesel emissions tests, the repercussions are forcing major European carmakers to rewrite strategic plans that will shape their futures for year
  
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• Black Lives Matter airport protest: climate change is a 'racist crisis' – video report

  06-09-2016 16:11 via theguardian.com
  
  All flights at London City airport were disrupted on Tuesday morning by a Black Lives Matter UK protest on the runway. Nine people chained themselves together on the runway to highlight the environmental impact of air travel on the lives of black people locally and globallyNine Black Lives Matter protesters arrested after City airport travel chaos
  Protesters lie in chains on London City airport runway – aerial video
  Continue reading...
  
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• Plantlife: Jessica Albarn's meadow art

  06-09-2016 16:02 via theguardian.com
  
  At the family farm in Devon, artist Jessica Albarn has turned a sheep field into a study plot for her electric ink drawings of spiders, crickets and bumblebeesCrickets bounce, bees wobble, hoverflies dart and Jessica Albarn stands in the middle of her steep, sunny meadow and scrunches up her hands in delight. “Quite a bit of my work is about layers,” she says, crouching down to investigate the depth of the grass with her fingers. “It’s about being able to get right in the
  
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• Oil slips below $47 as hopes for producer action wane

  06-09-2016 16:00
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil slipped below $47 a barrel on Tuesday, falling further from the previous session's one-week high on receding hopes for imminent action to tackle a global supply glut. Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Monday to cooperate in world oil markets, prompting Brent to jump almost 5 percent only for it to pare gains after Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said there was no need to freeze output for now. Brent crude for November was down $1.20 at $46.43 a barrel
  
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• Detecting forest fragility with satellites

  06-09-2016 15:48 via feedproxy.google.com
  Over the past decades’ forests in different parts of the world have suffered sudden massive tree mortality. Now an international team of scientists led by researchers from Wageningen University in the Netherlands has found a way to spot from satellite images which forests may be most likely to fall prey to such die-off events.
  
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• European Commission urged to revamp bioenergy and shipping policies

  06-09-2016 15:29
  
  The European Commission has been greeted with across-the-board support from MEPs to include emissions from shipping in the European Union's 2030 emissions reduction target, while non-profits are also calling for improved bioenergy policies.
  
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• Trump's warnings of a 'rigged' election may be dangerous | The daily briefing

  06-09-2016 14:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Trump may be intimidating voters; Obama cancels on Philippine president after ‘son of a whore’ remark; Earth’s oceans are warming at an astonishing paceElection lawyers, donors and a former member of Congress have warned that Donald Trump’s claims that if he loses in November it will be due to a “rigged” election could lead to voter intimidation. “Trump’s rhetoric is troubling and casts a shadow over the legitimacy of the elections,” said ele
  
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• Canada's Enbridge to buy Spectra Energy in $28 billion deal

  06-09-2016 13:34
  Enbridge Inc , Canada's largest pipeline company, said on Tuesday it would buy Spectra Energy Corp in an all-stock deal valued at about C$37 billion (21 billion pounds) to create the largest North American energy infrastructure company. Enbridge's biggest-ever deal comes as the company has been steadily expanding its North American pipeline network, which carries the bulk of Canadian crude oil to the United States. Spectra shareholders will get 0.984 shares of the combined company for each Spect
  
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• Vacherin becomes zero-waste business one year ahead of schedule

  06-09-2016 13:14
  
  London catering business Vacherin has revealed that it has achieved a zero-waste to landfill business status, one year ahead of schedule, as it also closes in on an 80% recycling target set for 2018.
  
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• G20 vows to 'scale up green finance' in collaboration with business

  06-09-2016 13:13
  
  The G20 has highlighted the necessity to "scale up green financing" in partnership with the private sector in order to shift trillions of dollars from dirty to clean investments.
  
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• African Union says to mediate in Gabon election crisis

  06-09-2016 13:07
  The African Union said on Tuesday it would send a delegation to help resolve a standoff over presidential election results in Gabon that triggered days of deadly riots. Official results showed President Ali Bongo narrowly held on to power in the central African oil producer last week - but opposition challenger Jean Ping cried foul, claimed he had won the poll and called for a general strike. "It is an urgent matter and I expect the high-level delegation to be dispatched very soon," African Unio
  
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• G20 reaffirms climate commitments – but dodges deadlines

  06-09-2016 12:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Climate Home: Leaders back rapid implementation of the Paris agreement and ramping up of green finance, but fail to set timeline for phase-out of fossil fuel subsidiesLeaders of the world’s biggest economies reaffirmed their commitment to tackling climate change as the G20 summit came to a close in Hangzhou on Monday night.What they did not agree on were hoped-for deadlines to ratify the Paris climate agreement and phase out fossil fuel subsidies. Continue reading...
  
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• Brexit negotiators urged to examine tougher rules on farming antibiotics

  06-09-2016 12:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners and politicians say discussion is a matter of urgency following fresh revelations of superbugs in UK supermarket meat productsTougher regulations on the use of antibiotics on farm animals are needed as a matter of urgency as part of Brexit negotiations, campaigners and politicians have urged, after fresh revelations of superbugs found in UK supermarket meat products.E coli germs resistant to all of the currently used antibiotics have been found in UK supermarket meat, with a quarter
  
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• Iran supports $50-60 oil price, stability measures-state TV

  06-09-2016 12:07
  By Parisa Hafezi ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran supports an oil price of $50-60 per barrel and any measure to stabilise the market, state TV quoted the country's oil minister as saying on Tuesday. "Iran wants a stable market and therefore any measure that helps the stabilisation of the oil market is supported by Iran," Bijan Zanganeh said after meeting OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo in Tehran. OPEC's third-largest producer, Iran has signalled willingness to support the possible revival of a g
  
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• Obama's Hawaii marine conservation area is just a drop in the ocean

  06-09-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  At three times the size of California, the scope of the Papahānaumokuākea reserve has also highlighted how little of the world’s oceans are protectedAs a grand gesture in the dying embers of a presidency, Barack Obama’s decision to create the world’s largest marine protected area in Hawaii was a chance to flex American exceptionalism with little downside.“I love our president,” said Kevin Chang, of conservation group Kua’aina ulu ‘auamo. Chang
  
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• Hawaii marine conservation area is just a drop in the ocean

  06-09-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  At three times the size of California, the scope of the Papahānaumokuākea reserve has also highlighted how little of the world’s oceans are protectedAs a grand gesture in the dying embers of a presidency, Barack Obama’s decision to create the world’s largest marine protected area in Hawaii was a chance to flex American exceptionalism with little downside.“I love our president,” said Kevin Chang, of conservation group Kua’aina ulu ‘auamo. Chang
  
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• Conservative media bias is inflating American climate denial and polarization | Dana Nuccitelli

  06-09-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  New studies show that climate polarization is on the rise in the US; WSJ climate coverage is full of denial.
  A new study by a team of sociologists at Oklahoma State University has found political polarization on climate change is growing in the United States. Today’s Republicans are less likely than they were a decade ago to accept that the effects of global warming have begun, that humans are responsible, and that there is a scientific consensus on these questions. Democrats and independe
  
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• Corbyn pledges to create £300m energy research agency: report

  06-09-2016 11:51
  
  Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to create a new £300 million US-style energy research agency to help combat climate change, Labour List has reported.
  
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• Demand Response 'vital' even if Hinkley gets green lights, says Flexitricity

  06-09-2016 11:30
  
  Demand response (DR) will form a "vital part of a secure, affordable and sustainable energy future" and shouldn't necessarily be viewed as a competitive alternative to the delayed Hinkley Point C nuclear project.
  
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• Demand response 'vital' even if Hinkley gets green light, says Flexitricity

  06-09-2016 11:30
  
  Demand response will form a "vital part of a secure, affordable and sustainable energy future" and shouldn't necessarily be viewed as a competitive alternative to the delayed Hinkley Point C nuclear project.
  
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• Australian kitesurfer killed by shark off New Caledonia

  06-09-2016 11:26 via theguardian.com
  
  West Australian man in his 50s, whose name has not been released, bitten while kitesurfing inside the reef at KoumacA shark has bitten and killed an Australian kitesurfer off New Caledonia in the second fatal attack in the South Pacific territory in six months, officials say.
  “The man in his 50s was kitesurfing inside the reef at Koumac. He fell and was bitten,” Nicolas Renaud, head of the archipelago’s marine rescue coordination centre, said on Tuesday. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil slips towards $47 as hopes for producer action wane

  06-09-2016 10:52
  Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on Monday to cooperate in world oil markets. Brent jumped almost 5 percent, only to pare gains after Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said there was no need to freeze output for now. "The two nations' cooperation is understandable," said Kaname Gokon, a strategist with Okato Shoji Co Ltd. "But when oil output is reduced, other producers would receive the benefit.
  
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• Japan to provide planes, ships for Philippines amid sea dispute with China

  06-09-2016 10:31
  Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday agreed to provide two large-sized patrol ships and lend up to five used surveillance aircraft to the Philippines, a Japanese government spokesman said, with both countries locked in territorial disputes with China. Abe and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte agreed in Vientiane to strengthen cooperation to ensure a peaceful resolution of the South China Sea dispute, Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda said. Brunei, Malaysia, the P
  
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• Turkish coal plants in line for public subsidies

  06-09-2016 10:20 via theguardian.com
  
  MPs and campaigners warn new amendment could open the door to dirty, harmful coal projects with no means to demand environmental assessments Turkish coal plants are in line for eye-watering public subsidies and exemptions from environmental regulations, under an amended energy package delivered by the country’s parliament, late last week. Turkey is a member of the G20, whose two leading economies – the US and China – agreed to ratify the Paris climate change agreement on Saturd
  
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• OPEC secretary-general meets Iran oil minister in Tehran

  06-09-2016 10:20
  ANKARA (Reuters) - A meeting between OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo and Iran's oil minister to discuss global oil market conditions and crude prices has started in Tehran, the ministry's official website reported on Tuesday. "The meeting between the OPEC official and Minister (Bijan) Zanganeh started a few minutes ago. Barkindo arrived in Tehran on Monday night," SHANA, the ministry's information service, said. ...
  
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• Palm oil firm accused of hiring men to kidnap smog inspectors in Indonesia

  06-09-2016 10:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Seven people from a ministry of environment team documenting illegal forest fires were taken hostage and threatened, ministry saysUp to 100 Indonesian men, believed to have been hired by a palm oil firm, took a team of official environmental investigators hostage on Friday and threatened to burn them alive, Indonesia’s environment ministry has said.The government team of seven were documenting illegal forest fires, which are often set ablaze deliberately by agriculture firms to clear land
  
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• What we want from BEIS: a wishlist for the green economy - Part one

  06-09-2016 09:30
  
  In the first of a two-part feature, edie speaks to the sustainability professionals, politicians, businessmen and environmental activists working across the green economy to find out they want to see from the Government in this new Parliamentary session.
  
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• Oil extends gains after Russia, Saudi Arabia sign pact

  06-09-2016 09:04
  By Osamu Tsukimori TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices extended gains on Tuesday, buoyed after top producers Russia and Saudi Arabia agreed to cooperate on stabilising the oil market, but a lack of immediate action to rein in output capped gains. London Brent crude for November delivery was up 22 cents at $47.85 a barrel by 0643 GMT, after settling up 80 cents on Monday. The global benchmark on Monday hit a near one-week high of $49.40 after the Russia-Saudi news, but has since pared gains after Saudi
  
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• Wales gives cyclists legal right to propose new bike routes

  06-09-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A law has been passed in Wales that obliges politicians to listen to anyone who asks for safe walking and cycling routes to be built in their areaTo negotiate parts of the Cardiff Bay trail by bike on a sunny day is, if not an art, then at least a good test of spatial awareness. Among those on foot and two wheels are families with pushchairs, older people on bikes, kids running, and kids on go-karts and scooters. It’s a picture postcard of the pent-up demand for safe walking and cycling ro
  
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• The fate of Arctic sea ice – Science Weekly podcast

  06-09-2016 08:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The extent of the Arctic sea ice continues to drop, but how accurate are the predictions that measure it? And what could happen if it finally disappears?In his latest book A Farewell to Ice, Peter Wadhams, professor of ocean physics at Cambridge University, explores the current crisis faced by Arctic sea ice, and in doing so makes some alarming predictions. But how accurate are these? And do they even matter, when the potential ramifications of the total disappearance of Arctic sea ice are consi
  
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• Iraq puts out more oil fires at northern field, some still burning

  06-09-2016 08:28
  Iraq has put out fires at six more oil wells in the Qayyara region, which Iraqi forces recaptured from Islamic State late last month, but at least three fires are still blazing, the oil ministry said on Tuesday. The militants sabotaged much of Qayyara's oil infrastructure before fleeing ahead of the government advance, sending black smoke into the sky for days and oil pouring into main thoroughfares. "The firefighting consisted of removing explosives from these wells, putting out the fires and p
  
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• Australia seeks $120m for Great Barrier Reef damage from Chinese coal ship

  06-09-2016 08:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Federal court hears crash site was contaminated with paint particles tainted with tributyltin but carrier’s owner says cleanup cost ‘unsubstantial and unrealistic’The Australian government is seeking at least $120m from the owners of a Chinese coal carrier that destroyed part of the Great Barrier Reef.Shenzhen Energy Transport is arguing against paying for the clean-up of the Douglas Shoal, which was severely damaged when the Shen Neng 1 went off-course and grounded in April 20
  
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• Life after the Lac-Mégantic oil explosion – in pictures

  06-09-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Photographer Michel Huneault arrived in Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, less than a day after an oil explosion levelled its downtown and killed 47 people. He spent the next year charting a community pulling itself back together Continue reading...
  
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