Environment news

• Oil ends mixed, extend gains post-settlement on U.S. draw report

  20-09-2016 23:57
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil settled up on Tuesday on speculation of demand from the planned restart of the country's main gasoline pipeline, before being joined by Brent in a post-settlement rally on data showing a surprise U.S. inventory drawdown. The American Petroleum Institute (API), a trade group, said U.S. crude inventories fell by 7.5 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 16, drawing unexpectedly for a third week in a row. The U.S. Energy Information Administ
  
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• Soil management may help stabilize maize yield in the face of climate change

  20-09-2016 23:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  How will we feed our growing population in the face of an increasingly extreme climate? Many experts suggest the answer lies in breeding novel crop varieties that can withstand the increases in drought, heat, and extreme rainfall events predicted in the not-too-distant future. But breeding is only part of the equation, according to new research from the University of Illinois and several collaborating institutions across the Midwestern U.S."It might not be necessary to put all the stress of clim
  
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• UK to ratify the Paris Agreement this year, says Theresa May

  20-09-2016 23:24
  
  UK Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed that the UK will have officially ratified the Paris Agreement by the end of 2016, although it is believed the ratification process could be finalised within a matter of weeks.
  
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• Brazil's ex-president Lula to stand trial for corruption

  20-09-2016 23:13
  By Brad Brooks SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will stand trial on corruption charges, a crusading federal judge ruled on Tuesday, adding more turbulence to the country's chaotic political landscape. Judge Sergio Moro said that Lula, who served as president from 2003-11 and has been an iconic and powerful political force in Brazil for two decades, will be judged for allegedly accepting 3.7 million reais ($1.11 million) in bribes connected to a sweeping k
  
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• Australia's emissions won't fall by 2030 without greater climate action, modelling shows

  20-09-2016 22:06 via theguardian.com
  
  RepuTex analysis says federal government paying polluters and ambitious renewable energy targets won’t have sufficient impactAustralia’s emissions will remain at the same level through to 2030, despite the federal government paying polluters billions to lower greenhouse gas emissions and some states having ambitious renewable energy targets, according to new analysis by the energy advisory firm RepuTex.Combining the effect of current policy settings with expected growth in liquefied
  
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• 'Red tape' locking small island states out of billions in climate funds

  20-09-2016 22:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Commonwealth initiative aims to enable countries such as Vanuatu and Fiji to access $100bn pledged in Paris climate talks Many small developing countries are so administratively stretched that they cannot fill in all the complex forms needed to access climate money to help them to reduce emissions and adapt to increasing global temperatures, rising sea levels and extreme weather.Although billions of dollars of climate money is theoretically available, in practice red tape and paperwork makes it
  
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• Theresa May: UK to ratify Paris climate change deal this year

  20-09-2016 21:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Prime minister uses maiden UN speech to make emissions pledge which will be received with relief by green campaignersTheresa May has given her first major commitment that Britain will continue to tackle climate change after leaving the EU, as she promised to ratify the Paris agreement by the end of the year. Related: Breakthrough as US and China agree to ratify Paris climate dealContinue reading...
  
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• U.S. crude up on demand hopes; Brent down on OPEC deal skepticism

  20-09-2016 21:19
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices edged up on Tuesday on hopes the planned restart of country's main gasoline pipeline after a leak more than a week ago will boost demand, while Brent slipped amid skepticism over a proposed deal to freeze production. Both benchmarks hit six-week lows earlier on the day in volatile trade ahead of the Sept. 26-28 informal talks in Algeria between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers on a proposed deal to c
  
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• Our roads are choked. We’re on the verge of carmageddon | George Monbiot

  20-09-2016 20:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Car use takes a huge toll on our health and on the planet. We need to kick our addiction to drivingIt was a mistake – a monumental, world-class mistake. Cars for everyone was one of the most stupid promises politicians ever made. Cars are meant to meet a simple need: quick and efficient mobility. Observe an urban artery during the school run, or a trunk road on a bank holiday weekend, and ask yourself whether the current system meets that need. The vast expanse of road space, the massive i
  
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• What the BBC needs is a Morris dance-off | Brief letters

  20-09-2016 20:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Morris dancing reality TV pitch | Drunken wood pigeons | Sycamore rehabilitation | Useful hand gesturesDue to the success of Strictly Come Dancing and the BBC’s desperate search for a replacement for The Great British Bake Off, we propose that it commission a series called Strictly Morris Dancing to be shown next year. Contestants will be put through their paces and laughed at in town squares all over the West Country, by folk. They’ll have to construct their own ridiculous costumes,
  
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• Protecting lungs from smoke and pollution | Letters from Richard Hyslop and Caroline Russell

  20-09-2016 20:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Letters from Richard Hyslop of the Independent British Vape Trade Association; and Caroline Russell, Green party London assembly memberIt is welcome news that last year vaping contributed to a record number of people in England becoming long-term ex-smokers (Number of smokers in England drops to all-time low, 20 September). If the government, working with the responsible vape industry, introduced a proportionate regulatory regime for the sector then vape products could help even more smokers swi
  
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• VW's Audi head questioned over emissions scandal

  20-09-2016 19:57
  The head of Volkswagen's luxury car division Audi has been questioned by investigators looking into the company's emissions scandal, VW Chief Executive Matthias Mueller said on Tuesday. Mueller told reporters at an event in Hanover that Audi boss Rupert Stadler had been questioned but declined to give details. Earlier, Spiegel magazine reported that experts from U.S. law firm Jones Day, which was tasked by Audi last year to investigate the scandal, would question Stadler about when he found out
  
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• Hillary Clinton 'dropped climate change from speeches after Bernie Sanders endorsement'

  20-09-2016 19:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Transcripts show the Democrat presidential candidate referred to climate change directly in less than half as many speeches after her left-wing rival conceded defeat, reports Climate HomeHillary Clinton has dropped the words “climate change” from most of her public addresses since winning the endorsement of her party rival Bernie Sanders, according to Climate Home analysis.While the presidential candidate talks regularly about her plan for the US to become a “clean energy super
  
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• Bangkok: Monitor lizards overrun Lumpini Park

  20-09-2016 18:41 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A park in Bangkok has been overrun by monitor lizards.
  
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• Oil rebounds from six-week low on OPEC speculation; gasoline tumbles

  20-09-2016 18:40
  Oil prices recovered on Tuesday from six-week lows, with U.S. crude rising as much as 1 percent, as the market weighed up OPEC comments that a possible production freeze agreement could last longer than expected.
  
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• Oil rebounds from 6-week low on OPEC speculation; gasoline tumbles

  20-09-2016 18:40
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices recovered on Tuesday from six-week lows, with U.S. crude rising as much as 1 percent, as the market weighed up OPEC comments that a possible production freeze agreement could last longer than expected. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 45 cents, or 1 percent, to $43.75. Oil prices initially fell on pessimism that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major crude producers will reach an output freeze deal a
  
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• Meet Earth's indestructible micro-beast

  20-09-2016 18:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Meet the planet's hardiest animal - the tardigrade - that has just revealed a genetic secret that could help protect human cells.
  
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• Survival secret of 'earth's hardiest animal' revealed

  20-09-2016 18:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A gene from an almost indestructible microscopic creature could provide "radiation shield" for human cells, scientists find.
  
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• Bouncing deer spotted by walker on beach in Poole

  20-09-2016 17:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A deer has been filmed bouncing along a beach in Poole Harbour.
  
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• Invasive Asian Hornet spotted in Britain for first time, experts confirm

  20-09-2016 17:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An invasive hornet that kills honey bees is spotted in Britain for the first time, experts confirm.
  
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• Dinosaur's Dark Coloring Helped It Hide in the Shadowy Forest

  20-09-2016 17:22
  
  The 120-million-year-old dinosaur, a Triceratops relative known as Psittacosaurus, had a dark-colored backside and a light underside, along with a splash of spots and stripes on its body, including its back legs, the researchers said. Creatures with countershading can use their coloring as camouflage when they're in a shadowy area, such as a forest. Given the Psittacosaurus's coloring, it's likely that the beast lived in an area with "diffuse illumination" such as a forest, the researchers wrote
  
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• Arctic Sea Ice Extent in 2016 Ties as Second Lowest in The Satellite Record

  20-09-2016 15:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  Arctic sea ice extent shrank to 1.6 million square miles earlier this month — tying 2016 with 2007 as the second lowest sea ice minimum since satellite records began. The lowest year remains 2012. The new measurements follow a decades-long trend of declining sea ice extent in the Arctic as global temperatures rise. 
  
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• Oil at six-week low as oversupply outweighs output freeze talks

  20-09-2016 15:53
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell to the lowest in nearly six weeks on Tuesday as concerns over a potential rise in U.S. crude stocks, adding to swelling oversupply, outweighed OPEC comments that a possible production freeze agreement could last longer than expected. Global benchmark Brent crude oil futures were trading at $45.20 per barrel at 1338 GMT, down 75 cents day on day and the weakest since Aug. 11. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 60 cents a
  
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• OPEC chief: oil market stabilisation deal may last one year - RIA

  20-09-2016 15:42
  By Vladimir Soldatkin and Alex Lawler MOSCOW/LONDON (Reuters) - A possible deal to support oil prices by the world's leading producer countries may last for one year, the secretary-general of OPEC said on Tuesday, longer than other officials have indicated. OPEC and non-member producers including Russia are discussing a deal to stabilise the market by at least freezing output, although key details such as the timing and baseline for any deal have yet to emerge. "One year, we are looking at one y
  
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• 'Wild Sex' Author Dishes on Weird World of Animal Mating

  20-09-2016 15:18
  
  Dating and mating in the animal kingdom aren't just complicated — they can be fraught with violence and danger. The prospect of exploring mating positions in frogs, porcupines' use of sex toys or hermaphroditic sea slugs' penis spines might seem daunting to some, but not so for biologist and writer Carin Bondar. From finding a mate, to procreating, to dealing with the successful outcome of mating — offspring — "Wild Sex" investigates the often-harsh realities of sexual beh
  
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• Should you keep your cat on a lead?

  20-09-2016 15:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Dr Peter Marra explains why pet cats should not be allowed to roam free.
  
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• From concrete to coral: breeze blocks make a splash regenerating reefs

  20-09-2016 14:27 via theguardian.com
  
  There hasn’t been much good news about coral recently, but in Grenada, one project is using towers of concrete to encourage marine life and create new reefsThe outboard motor roared into life and the rope snapped tight, flicking sand across the beach. For a fraction of a second, the inertia of half a ton of concrete held sway before the entire construction slid down the runners and into the surf. I fully expected it to sink, leaving a tattered rope to skip across the wave tops, but the tea
  
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• You Could Be Eating Endangered Fish Without Even Realizing It

  20-09-2016 14:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  When you go out for sushi or visit a seafood restaurant, how sure can you be that you’re really getting what you’ve ordered? Last week, Oceana released some shocking findings: Around the world, an average of one in five samples of seafood is mislabeled.The report examined 25,000 samples worldwide and reviewed more than 200 published studies from 55 different countries. Every continent was represented apart from Antarctica. The mislabeling was present in every
  
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• European bison found poisoned, decapitated on Spanish reserve

  20-09-2016 13:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Police investigating attack on small herd at Valdeserrillas reserve in Valencia after staff discover headless body of dominant maleSpanish police are investigating an attack on a herd of recently reintroduced European bison that left one animal decapitated, three missing and several more apparently poisoned.
  Officers were called to the Valdeserrillas reserve in Valencia on Friday after the discovery of the headless body of Sauron, the dominant male of a small herd of bison that had been brought
  
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• Bison found poisoned and decapitated on Spanish reserve

  20-09-2016 13:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Police investigating attack on small herd at Valdeserrillas reserve in Valencia after staff discover headless body of dominant maleSpanish police are investigating an attack on a herd of recently reintroduced European bison that left one animal decapitated, three missing and several more apparently poisoned.
  Officers were called to the Valdeserrillas reserve in Valencia on Friday after the discovery of the headless body of Sauron, the dominant male of a small herd of bison that had been brought
  
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• Threat to honeybees as Asian hornet's arrival in UK confirmed

  20-09-2016 13:56 via theguardian.com
  
  Invasive species has been spotted in the Tetbury area of Gloucestershire, with attempts under way to locate nestsThe Asian hornet’s long-feared arrival on the UK mainland has been confirmed, government scientists have said, with ecologists warning of dire consequences for honeybees if the species is not swiftly eliminated.The hornets eat honeybees and have become widespread in central and southern France, prompting warnings in recent years that they could arrive in the UK via pot plants fr
  
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• French MP inquiry calls for abattoir video cameras

  20-09-2016 13:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A parliamentary inquiry recommends video monitoring to tackle abuses in abattoirs, after secretly filmed videos shocked the French public.
  
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• Teleportation step toward quantum internet

  20-09-2016 13:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Physicists have set a new bar for quantum teleportation - transferring information from one place to another without anything physically travelling between the locations.
  
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• 'Shangri-La' On Saturn Moon Titan Teeming With Sand Dunes

  20-09-2016 13:22
  
  New close-up photos of Titan, Saturn's biggest moon, show its mysterious and massive dunes in more detail than ever before. The new images include an area called the "Shangri-La Sand Sea," a large dark region with hundreds of long and linear sand dunes.
  
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• Fise 2016: Cycling that's less like running, more like dancing

  20-09-2016 12:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Watching professionals compete in top-level acrobatic BMX and mountain bike sports could change your view of what it means to have fun on a bikeFor the many of us who ride and talk about bikes, it’s almost always about getting from A to B, and often as fast and as efficiently possible. But can there be another way? Touring the world, a group of some of the world’s most skilled and physically strong riders dedicate their lives to doing exactly the opposite.Their aim is to go nowhere o
  
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• US and China release fossil fuel subsidy peer reviews

  20-09-2016 12:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Climate Home: With public assessment of each others’ subsidies, China and the US take a big step on transparency, but inch forward on reformThe world’s biggest polluters have released their fossil fuel subsidy peer reviews and the obstacles to reform are clear: the US will wait on Congress, while China will wait on China.The documents, released on Monday by China’s G20 presidency, reveal the long road ahead. The G20 has commited to eliminate “inefficient” subsidies
  
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• Anglo-Saxon 'palace' found at Rendlesham near Sutton Hoo site

  20-09-2016 11:24 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Archaeologists believe they have found a lost Anglo-Saxon royal palace about four miles (6km) from one of Britain's best known finds.
  
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• Oil falls on U.S. crude stock rise, Venezuela warning

  20-09-2016 11:19
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday ahead of an expected build in U.S. crude oil stocks and on Venezuelan comments that the oil market remains oversupplied by 10 percent. Analysts polled by Reuters expect U.S. commercial crude oil inventories to have risen 2.3 million barrels in the week to Sept. 16, paving the way for a bearish market reaction because a rise in stocks indicates growing oversupply. The American Petroleum Institute (API) is scheduled to release
  
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• OPEC may decide on extra meeting immediately after Algiers - Algeria

  20-09-2016 10:57
  OPEC members could decide to hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss oil prices immediately after an informal gathering in Algiers next week, Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Bouterfa said on Tuesday. Bouterfa told local radio he was optimistic that participants would reach a consensus on how to stabilise the oil markets at the Algiers meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producers on Sept. 26-28. "Oil ministers may decide to hold an extraordinary meeting immediately," he said.
  
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• Indonesia rejects U.S. research estimate of 100,000 "haze" deaths

  20-09-2016 10:22
  By Fergus Jensen and Bernadette Christina Munthe JAKARTA (Reuters) - Harvard and Columbia university research showing smoke from land fires in Southeast Asia led to more than 100,000 premature deaths last year "makes no sense at all," an official at Indonesia's Health Ministry said on Wednesday. Indonesian government records show only 24 deaths related to forest fires in 2015, but the disaster was estimated to have left more than half a million Indonesians suffering from respiratory ailments. In
  
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• Millennials are on-board with the EV transition, survey finds

  20-09-2016 10:14
  
  The majority (53%) of millennials would consider buying an electric vehicle (EV) within the next 10 years, or already own one, whilst three-quarters see switching to an eco-friendly car as the single best action to drive a more sustainable future.
  
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• Death By A Thousand Cuts: documentary charts the dangers of deforestation

  20-09-2016 10:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Film explores how the contrasting fate of forests in Haiti and the Dominican Republic has exacerbated conflict, xenophobia, poverty and even murderIn January 2012, park ranger Eligio Eloy Varga was hacked to death by a machete near the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. This incident, still unsolved, kicks off the new documentary thriller, Death by A Thousand Cuts. Airing in the Raindance film festival in London on 1 October, the film explores how the fate of forests in two neighbouring
  
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• Tesla is building the world's largest energy storage system

  20-09-2016 10:00
  
  Electric car and energy storage company Tesla has won the contract to design and build the largest lithium-ion battery in the world, as part of an energy storage upgrade for the US city of Los Angeles.
  
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• Global trade deal threatens Paris climate goals, leaked documents show

  20-09-2016 10:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Controversial Trade in Services Agreement (Tisa) could make it harder for governments to favour clean energy over fossil fuels as part of efforts to keep temperature rises to 1.5CA far-reaching global trade deal being negotiated in secret could threaten the goals of the Paris climate deal by making it harder for governments to favour clean energy over fossil fuels, a leak of the latest negotiating text shows.The controversial Trade in Services Agreement (Tisa) aims to liberalise trade between th
  
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• Businesses remain unaware of natural capital impact, warns WWF

  20-09-2016 09:45
  
  EXCLUSIVE: The majority of businesses are critically failing to address the impact of their operations on the world's depleting stock of natural resources, according to WWF-UK's director of advocacy.
  
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• Climate Week 2016: Apple and Bank of America lead corporate charge towards net-zero economy

  20-09-2016 09:15
  
  Climate Week New York City (NYC) 2016 has kicked off in style with America's largest tech firm and second-largest bank headlining a flurry of ambitious corporate commitments to a renewable energy-based future.
  
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• Wrigley and Keep Britain Tidy slash litter rates by 30% with charity bin trials

  20-09-2016 09:00
  
  Five successful waste reduction trials across the UK has seen litter in the selected areas reduced by 30%, leading to charity Keep Britain Tidy and The Wrigley Company to extend the project to four extra regions.
  
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• L'Oreal building solar projects at Arkansas, Kentucky plants

  20-09-2016 08:28
  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Cosmetics maker L'Oreal USA announced Tuesday it is building thousands of solar panels at its manufacturing facilities in Kentucky and Arkansas, a move the company says will help cut carbon emissions and create two of the biggest solar-powered projects in each state.
  
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• Spiders' shining threads turn lifeless gardens silver

  20-09-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Blackwater, Norfolk Garden cross spiders must be among September’s most beautiful starsAt present it’s almost impossible to walk the rides around my patch and not snap spiders’ silk. It is everywhere. I notice, as I drive over, that there are even webs on both wing mirrors but, with the sun at the right angle, you can see that there is barely a twig or leaf not bound with gossamer to its neighbours. Apparently those threads are, gram for gram, five times stronger than steel. Ye
  
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• Chromium-6: 'Erin Brockovich' chemical threatens two-thirds of Americans

  20-09-2016 06:23 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘We simply can’t continue to survive with toxic drinking water,’ says Erin Brockovich, as a new report finds 200 million people exposed to chromium-6In the 2000 biographical film about a legal clerk who brings a major utility company to its knees for poisoning residents of Hinkley, California, Erin Brockovich ended on a Hollywood high note with a $333m settlement from PG&E. But chromium-6 contamination of America’s drinking water is an ongoing battle the US Environmen
  
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