Environment news

• Prince William: African elephants could be gone in 10 years – video

  22-09-2016 22:37 via theguardian.com
  
  The Duke of Cambridge tells an audience of campaigners and policymakers at Time For Change – an event in London organised by the conservation charity Tusk, that he is not prepared to be part of a generation that lets the species disappear from the wild. William has made wildlife crime and conservation a personal cause and has lobbied the presidents of China, the US and African countries to strengthen protection. He was speaking ahead of a major global conference in Johannesburg this weeken
  
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• Beached boats, pink water as drought saps Great Salt Lake

  22-09-2016 22:10
  
  On the southern shore of Utah's Great Salt Lake, more than 100 boats are sitting high and dry in a parking lot, unable to sail the shallow, drought-stricken sea. North of the nearly empty marina, salt-loving ...
  
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• Four rare white lions cubs born in Poland

  22-09-2016 21:50 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Four rare white lion cubs have been born in a zoo in Poland.
  
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• Gabon constitutional court starts hearing on disputed election

  22-09-2016 21:38
  Gabon's Constitutional Court began hearing arguments on Thursday in advance of its ruling on an election that opposition leader Jean Ping said was rigged to give President Ali Bongo victory. The election has drawn unwelcome scrutiny on Bongo, whose family has ruled the oil-producing country for almost half a century. France has called for a recount and the European Union questioned the integrity of the results.
  
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• Marsquakes Could Potentially Support Red Planet Life

  22-09-2016 20:28
  
  Marsquakes — that is, earthquakes on Mars — could generate enough hydrogen to support life there, a new study finds. Humans and most animals, plants and fungi get their energy mainly from chemical reactions between oxygen and organic compounds such as sugars. Prior work suggested that when rocks fracture and grind together during earthquakes on Earth, silicon in those rocks can react with water to generate hydrogen gas.
  
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• Carney backs green finance to cut emissions and boost growth

  22-09-2016 20:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Bank of England governor says more investment in green technologies could help escape low-inflation low-growth trapThe Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, has thrown his weight behind the fledgling market in green investments to help cut carbon emissions and boost global economic growth. Carney used a speech in Berlin on Thursday to highlight green finance as an opportunity to boost financial stability while also tackling climate change. He said more of the $100 tn (£76tn) held by big g
  
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• Rusty patched bumble bee recommended for endangered list

  22-09-2016 20:10
  PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Federal wildlife officials on Thursday made a formal recommendation to list the rusty patched bumble bee as an endangered species because it has disappeared from about 90 percent of its historic range in just the past two decades.
  
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• Satellite-based radar confirms man-made Texas earthquakes

  22-09-2016 20:09
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists used radar from satellites to show that five Texas earthquakes, one reaching magnitude 4.8, were caused by injections of wastewater in drilling for oil and gas.
  
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• Oil rises more on U.S. crude draw, pares gains on OPEC doubt

  22-09-2016 20:03
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rallied again on Thursday, boosted for a second day by U.S. government data that showed a surprising crude inventory drop, then crude futures pared gains as traders worried that OPEC was not nearing an agreement to reduce a global glut. Oil prices got more support from the dollar's slide a day after the Federal Reserve kept U.S. interest rates unchanged. Brent crude futures rose 65 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $47.48.
  
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• Soil carbon storage not the climate change fix it was thought, research finds

  22-09-2016 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Soil’s potential to soak up planet-warning carbon dioxide has been overestimated by as much as 40%, say scientistsHopes that large amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide could be buried in soils appear to be grossly misplaced, with new research finding that the ground will soak up far less carbon over the coming century than previously thought.Radiocarbon dating of soils, when combined with previous models of carbon uptake, has shown the widely assumed potential for carbon sequestration
  
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• U.N.-backed Libyan leader open to talks with eastern rival

  22-09-2016 19:32
  By John Irish and Yara Bayoumy NEW YORK (Reuters) - The prime minister of Libya's U.N.-backed government said on Thursday he was open to talks with an eastern Libyan commander despite his self-styled army's offensive on oil facilities that threatens to plunge the country backwards. The advance is the latest power struggle over the OPEC member's energy assets after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and ensuing chaos left the North African country splintered into rival armed factions. The comman
  
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• Brazil police arrest former finance minister in Petrobras probe

  22-09-2016 19:13
  By Brad Haynes and Brad Brooks SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian police arrested former Finance Minister Guido Mantega on Thursday as a sweeping corruption investigation further struck at the heart of the Workers Party (PT) that ran the country for 13 years. Police investigators told a news conference they took Mantega, long a close confidant of recently impeached former President Dilma Rousseff and an early member of the PT, into custody at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo. Brazil's long
  
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• Second European bison found decapitated in Spain

  22-09-2016 19:10 via theguardian.com
  
  The animal was either poisoned or died naturally before beheading, a spokesman said, days after headless body of herd’s dominant male discovered at reserveSpanish authorities are investigating the death of a second European bison, which was found decapitated just days after staff discovered the headless body of the herd’s dominant male.The death of the bison was similar to that of Sauron, the 660kg (1,455lb) male whose decapitated body was found nearly a week earlier at the reserve.
  
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• UK universities struggling to reach 2020 emissions target

  22-09-2016 19:09
  
  Despite progress being made to tackle carbon emissions in the higher education sector, universities are still struggling to achieve collective 2020 reduction pledges, according to the latest Brite Green Higher Education Sector Carbon Progress Report.
  
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• Autumn equinox – in pictures

  22-09-2016 18:11 via theguardian.com
  
  The official first day of autumn is when the sun is directly over the Earth’s equator, creating a day and night of equal length Continue reading...
  
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• Scientists solve singing fish mystery

  22-09-2016 18:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists solve the bizarre mystery of the fish that hums at night.
  
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• Beachgoers in south-west England warned to avoid portuguese man o'war

  22-09-2016 18:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Marine experts say jellyfish-like creatures that have washed up in Cornwall and the Scilly Islands can inflict a very painful and potentially fatal stingMarine experts have warned beachgoers to avoid jellyfish-like portuguese man o’war that have washed up in south-west England, as they can inflict a very painful and potentially fatal sting.The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) said it had verified half a dozen photos submitted by members of the public from beaches in Cornwall and the Scill
  
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• 100 countries push to phase out potentially disastrous greenhouse gas

  22-09-2016 18:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Hydrofluorocarbons, commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioning systems, could add 0.5C to global temperatures by the end of the centuryA loose coalition of more than 100 countries, including the US and European nations, is pushing for an early phase-out of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a powerful greenhouse gas that if left unchecked is set to add a potentially disastrous 0.5C to global temperatures by the end of the century. Related: Global coral bleaching event might become new normal, e
  
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• OPEC in new push to clinch first deal to curb output since 2008

  22-09-2016 17:28
  By Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - As far as OPEC decision-making is concerned, Algeria, which plays host to oil ministers next week, has always been the land of surprises. The last two meetings of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) held in Algeria -- in 2004 and 2008 -- shocked the market with unexpected production cuts to prop up prices. The stars could align for OPEC again next week when its ministers return to Algiers and look ready to curb o
  
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• Cargo giant Maersk to bulk up transport as steers away from energy

  22-09-2016 17:23
  By Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - The world's biggest shipping firm, A.P. Moller-Maersk , set a new course on Thursday that will see the $30 billion (22.87 billion pounds) firm bulk up its transport business while seeking alliances or a separate listing for its energy operations. Low freight rates and oversupply have rocked the container shipping sector, with South Korea's Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd forced into receivership last month, stranding an estimated $14 billion (10.67 billio
  
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• Exclusive - Nigeria hunts down 700,000 firms in tax crackdown to offset oil slump

  22-09-2016 16:49
  By Alexis Akwagyiram ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria has hunted down 700,000 firms that have never paid taxes as the country seeks new revenue sources to offset low oil prices that have pushed Africa's biggest economy into its first recession in more than 20 years, its tax chief said. Tunde Fowler, executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), said in a rare interview that he also expected 10 million individuals to be discovered by December and made to pay taxes for the first time.
  
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• Paralyzing Cone Snail Venom Could Inspire New Human Insulins

  22-09-2016 16:38
  
  Venom that snails use to paralyze their prey before gobbling them up could inspire a new drug for diabetes. The venom that sea-dwelling cone snails squirt is an ultrafast-acting version of the hormone insulin, the molecular key that helps cells take in sugar from the blood and use it as fuel. "The venom insulin has to work quickly, so we could use those same principles to make a human insulin therapeutic, to use the same tricks that the snail uses to attack fish," said study co-author Mike Lawre
  
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• Prince William: African elephants could be gone from the wild by the time Charlotte turns 25

  22-09-2016 16:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Duke of Cambridge tells audience at a conservation charity event in London that he is not prepared to be part of a generation that lets the species disappear from the wildPrince William says he fears the African elephant will have disappeared from the wild due to poaching by the time Princess Charlotte turns 25.The prince told the audience of campaigners and policymakers at Time For Change – an event organised by the conservation charity Tusk, of which he is a patron – that he was &l
  
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• Prince William: 'We must do more on illegal ivory trade'

  22-09-2016 16:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Duke of Cambridge has called on world leaders to do more to combat the illegal wildlife trade.
  
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• Wood Group workers accept pay offer, preventing North Sea strikes

  22-09-2016 16:11
  Wood Group workers employed on Shell's North Sea oil platforms have accepted a new pay deal, ending a months-long dispute that saw some workers down tools in July and August. "Our negotiations with Wood Group allowed us to reduce the levels of cuts being proposed to our members' wages and terms and conditions," said Unite regional officer John Boland. Wood Group said it welcomed their employees' support.
  
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• Oil rises 2 percent, underpinned by U.S. inventory drop and dollar

  22-09-2016 16:04
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose 2 percent on Thursday, heading for its largest weekly gain in a month, after a surprisingly large drop in U.S. crude inventories emboldened investors ahead of next week's meeting between OPEC members and Russia to discuss supply. Brent crude futures rose 95 cents to $47.78 a barrel by 1345 GMT, up 4.3 percent so far this week and set for the largest one-week rise since mid-August. U.S. oil futures rose $1.09 to $46.43 a barrel.
  
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• 1,700-Year-Old Dead Sea Scroll 'Virtually Unwrapped,' Revealing Text

  22-09-2016 15:52
  
  Archaeologists found the scroll in 1970 in En-Gedi, where an ancient Jewish community thrived from about the late 700s B.C. until about A.D. 600, when a fire destroyed the site, the researchers said. The En-Gedi scroll is different than the original Dead Sea Scrolls, which a young shepherd discovered in caves near Qumran in the Judean Desert in 1947.
  
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• Exclusive - Maersk Oil eyes Shell's North Sea assets ahead of spin-off

  22-09-2016 15:41
  By Ron Bousso and Jonathan Saul LONDON (Reuters) - A.P. Moller-Maersk is in talks to buy a portfolio of North Sea assets from Royal Dutch Shell as the Danish group considers adding scale to its oil and gas business ahead of a planned spin off, banking sources said. Maersk announced on Thursday a major overhaul that will see it focus on its core transport and logistics businesses, while looking at options for its energy division within 24 months that could include a joint venture, merger or listi
  
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• Pugs are anatomical disasters. Vets must speak out – even if it’s bad for business | Anonymous

  22-09-2016 15:23 via theguardian.com
  
  Owners must be told some breeds are born to a lifetime of suffering, even if it means upsetting clients and putting livelihoods on the lineI still remember when I was introduced to the concept of a “brachycephalic” (squashed-nosed) dog as a veterinary student. We were having our first anatomy lectures on the skull and the lecturer put up various slides (yes, slides – that’s how long ago I trained to be a vet) showing x-ray images of dogs’ heads. Various different-si
  
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• Hinkley Point a boost to UK steel, but not a game changer

  22-09-2016 15:15
  By Maytaal Angel LONDON (Reuters) - UK steelmakers will likely get lucrative deals to supply the 18 billion pound nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point, not enough though to secure the future of Britain's troubled steel sector, industry experts say. UK steel firms are slowly emerging from a crisis that has seen some 5,000 jobs, or a fifth of the workforce, axed since last October, thanks primarily to rising steel prices and a falling pound making exports more competitive.. Britain approved the co
  
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• Dong Energy plans world's largest windfarm repair hub at Grimsby

  22-09-2016 15:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Danish company says creation of 200-plus long-term jobs at service centre is ‘massive vote of confidence’ in the offshore sectorDong Energy is planning to create the world’s largest offshore wind maintenance hub in Grimsby, creating at least 200 jobs.The Danish company said the hub would be up and running from March 2018, initially serving three east coast windfarms. Westermost Rough is already operational, while Race Bank and Hornsea Project One are under construction. Continu
  
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• Paris climate goal will be 'difficult if not impossible to hit'

  22-09-2016 14:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Top scientists meeting in Oxford this week say they see few scenarios that would meet the Paris target to limit temperature rise to 1.5C The global target to prevent climate catastrophe, crafted at a landmark summit last year in Paris, will be very difficult if not impossible to hit, said some of world’s top scientists meeting this week in Oxford.The first-ever climate pact to enjoin all nations vows to cap global warming at “well below” 2C compared to pre-Industrial Revolution
  
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• Birds prefer quality over quantity

  22-09-2016 14:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  In a new study that upends the way ornithologists think about a young bird’s diet – but won’t shock parents used to scanning the nutritional profile of their children’s food – Cornell researchers have found that when it comes to what chicks eat, quality trumps quantity.In recent decades, many aerial insectivores, such as tree swallows, have undergone steep population declines. Cornell researchers have demonstrated for the first time that the fatty acid composition i
  
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• Conservationists and MPs call for a total UK ban on ivory sales

  22-09-2016 14:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Group including William Hague, Jane Goodall and Stephen Hawking write to prime minister Theresa May saying recent crackdown on sales of ivory less than 70 years old does not go far enoughThe government must implement a total ban on ivory sales in the UK, according to scores of politicians, conservationists, scientists and entertainment stars including William Hague, Jane Goodall, Stephen Hawking and Ricky Gervais. Ministers this week announced a ban on ivory younger than 70 years old, but stoppe
  
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• Brazil police arrest former minister in Petrobras probe - source

  22-09-2016 13:56
  By Brad Haynes and Patricia Duarte SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian police arrested former Finance Minister Guido Mantega on Thursday as part of a sweeping corruption investigation into political kickbacks on contracts at state-run oil company Petroleo Brasiliero, according to a source close to the former minister. In a statement, prosecutors said they were investigating a former minister who was chairman in 2012 of Petrobras, as the company is known, a description fitting Mantega. Mantega served
  
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• Star Baby Boom Seen in Distant Galaxies

  22-09-2016 13:23
  
  Some of the most distant clusters of galaxies ever discovered, which were born only 4 billion years after the universe was formed, are producing baby stars at higher rates than closer galaxy clusters, a new study finds. The discovery suggests that something in the environment of clusters nearer to Earth is quenching star formation. In about 30 percent of the galaxies in distant clusters that should be forming stars, such formation isn't happening, the new study shows.
  
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• Former Brazil finance minister arrested in graft probe - source

  22-09-2016 13:17
  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian police arrested former Finance Minister Guido Mantega on Thursday as part of a sweeping corruption investigation into political kickbacks on contracts at state oil company Petrobras, according to a source close to the former minister. Mantega served as finance minister for nearly a decade under former presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff, steering Latin America's largest economy during most of the leftist Workers Party's 13 years in power. Attor
  
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• Target, measure, act: Global scale-up needed to accelerate food waste reduction

  22-09-2016 13:14
  
  One year on from the establishment of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), nations and businesses have been urged to target, measure and reduce food waste in line with Goal 12.3, which calls for food waste to be halved by 2030.
  
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• Brazil police launch new phase of corruption probe - media

  22-09-2016 12:48
  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian police launched a new phase of a sweeping corruption investigation on Thursday, with former Finance Minister Guido Mantega coming under investigation, according to Globo News. Federal police did not immediately respond to questions about the investigation, which centers on state oil firm Petrobras. The investigation has shaken Brazil's political and business establishment for the past two years, deepening a severe economic crisis. (Reporting by Alexandre Caverni,
  
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• Russia says OPEC unlikely to discuss oil output cut - RIA

  22-09-2016 12:45
  OPEC is not expected to discuss an idea for oil producing nations to cut output by 5 percent at a meeting this month, the RIA news agency cited Russia's energy minister as saying on Thursday. "There is a proposal on an (oil) output freeze," the agency quoted Alexander Novak, the minister, as saying ahead of the oil cartel's meeting in Algeria next week. Other agencies cited Novak as saying he expected constructive talks in Algeria however and that Russia was ready to coordinate its actions on th
  
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• See what a button battery can do to a child's throat

  22-09-2016 12:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Medical correspondent Fergus Walsh demonstrates what can happen if a button battery gets lodged in a child's throat, after a warning from surgeons over the dangers.
  
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• Archeologists denounce Dakota Access pipeline for destroying artifacts

  22-09-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Coalition of 1,200 archeologists, museum directors and historians say $3.8bn Dakota Access pipeline disturbS Native American artifacts in North DakotaArcheologists and museum directors have denounced the “destruction” of Native American artifacts during the construction of a contentious oil pipeline in North Dakota, as the affected tribe condemned the project in an address to the United Nations.Related: Dakota Access Pipeline plan still on despite protests across the US and worldCont
  
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• Gabon oil workers to stay home until final election result - union

  22-09-2016 11:28
  LIBREVILLE (Reuters) - Gabon oil workers will stay at home from Thursday over concerns about potential violence when a court delivers a final verdict on the central African country's disputed election result, their union said. The statement, signed by the union's deputy secretary general, Sylvain Mayabi Binet, added that the minimum service at Gabon oil installations will be assured by "expatriate staff whose families are not exposed to the danger of likely unrest". (Reporting by Gerauds Wilfrie
  
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• Oil rises on weaker dollar after U.S. crude stock draw

  22-09-2016 11:20
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose for a second day on Thursday as a weaker dollar and a surprisingly large drop in U.S. crude inventories emboldened investors ahead of next week's meeting between OPEC members and Russia to discuss supply. Brent crude futures rose 38 cents to $47.21 36.1021 (pounds) a barrel by 0917 GMT, or a 3.2 percent gain so far this week, while U.S oil futures were up 41 cents at $45.75 a barrel. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday report
  
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• Rig builder Lamprell to cut costs further, shares jump

  22-09-2016 11:11
  (Reuters) - Oil-rig builder Lamprell Plc said it was implementing further cost reductions in the face of contract cancellations, pushing its shares up more than 10 percent. Shares in the company rose as much as 10.7 percent to 62 pence on Thursday morning on the London Stock Exchange, earning a spot among the largest gainers on the FTSE small-cap index . Oil services and equipment companies have suffered from contract cancellations as explorers and producers fetched lower prices since the fall i
  
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• Nandos, Subway and Iceland join WRAP's waste reduction commitment

  22-09-2016 10:20
  
  Wrap's voluntary Courtauld Commitment 2025 - which seeks to reduce the resource intensity of Britain's food and drink sector by 20% - has added 30 new signatories this week, taking its representation to 95% of the nation's food retail market.
  
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• Rare piglets seen for first time by visitors to San Diego zoo – video

  22-09-2016 10:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Two North Sulawesi babirusa piglets make their first appearance on Monday after being born at San Diego zoo on 6 September. The pigs are endemic to the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia and inhabit tropical rain forests, thriving on the banks of rivers and swamps. They have been categorised as ‘vulnerable’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species Continue reading...
  
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• Businesses match governments with bold climate pledges during Climate Week NYC

  22-09-2016 10:10
  
  The level of climate ambition shown from businesses during Climate Week 2016 in New York City (NYC) is continuing to mount, with eight more companies making 100% renewable energy pledges and four firms committing to double the energy productivity of their operations.
  
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• Oil bet gone wrong: rusting tankers and rigs clog up Asian waters

  22-09-2016 09:27
  The 340-metre (1,115 ft) "FPSO Opportunity", a hulking so-called Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel capable of drilling for oil in deep waters, is currently surplus to requirements along with scores of other rigs, tankers and support vessels in an era of cheap oil. Matti Bargfried, head of marketing at maritime software company CODie, said a lay-up time of several years could make re-commissioning lengthy and costly.
  
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• Oil prices climb on weaker dollar, after U.S. crude stock draw

  22-09-2016 09:17
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Thursday, lifted by a weaker dollar and extending gains from the previous session when a surprise third consecutive weekly U.S. crude inventory draw tightened supply. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $45.76 per barrel at 0659 GMT, up 42 cents, or 0.9 percent, from their previous close. International benchmark Brent crude futures were also up, gaining 39 cents, or 0.8 percent, from their last close t
  
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