Environment news

• Stronger turbine blades with molybdenum silicides

  23-09-2016 23:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers at Kyoto University have found that molybdenum silicides can improve the efficiency of turbine blades in ultrahigh-temperature combustion systems.Gas turbines are the engines that generate electricity in power plants. The operating temperatures of their combustion systems can exceed 1600 °C. The nickel-based turbine blades used in these systems melt at temperatures 200 °C lower and thus require air-cooling to function. Turbine blades made out of materials with higher melting
  
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• SpaceX blast investigation suggests breach in oxygen tank's helium system

  23-09-2016 20:14
  By Irene Klotz DALLAS (Reuters) - A SpaceX rocket that burst into flames on its launch pad early this month likely suffered a large breach in its upper-stage helium tank, the company said on Friday. SpaceX, owned and operated by technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, was fuelling a Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad in Florida on Sept. 1 in preparation for a routine test-firing when a bright fireball suddenly emerged around the rocket's upper stage. "At this stage of the investigation, preliminary re
  
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• Oil slumps 4 percent as no output deal expected for OPEC

  23-09-2016 20:04
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices tumbled about 4 percent on Friday on signs Saudi Arabia and arch rival Iran were making little progress in achieving preliminary agreement ahead of talks by major crude exporters next week aimed at freezing production. Oil prices are typically volatile ahead of OPEC talks and Friday's session was tempered with caution despite market sentiment on a high this week after the U.S. government reported on Wednesday a third straight weekly drop in crud
  
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• Panda cubs enjoy the sunshine – video

  23-09-2016 19:46 via theguardian.com
  
  A group of panda cubs living in the Chengdu panda base in China, still unable to walk, learn to sit and climb trees. The online streaming site iPanda.com was launched by China Network Television in 2013 and gives a 24-hour view of how the pandas spend their days. This video shows them on Wednesday, enjoying the sunshine after a meal Continue reading...
  
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• How to reduce the risks of carmageddon | Letters

  23-09-2016 19:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Geoge Monbiot (Our roads are choked. We’re on the verge of carmageddon, 21 September) bemoans Brits’ reluctance to travel by bike. Apart from climate and geography (try popping to the shops on a wild day in the mid-Pennines) there is a dearth of suitably safe and inviting cycleways. The national cycling charity Sustrans was set up to establish a cycling network for Britain. Although great progress has been made, the routes opened are entirely aimed at leisure cycling – not
  
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• Saudis offer oil cut for OPEC deal if Iran freezes output - sources

  23-09-2016 19:09
  By Rania El Gamal and Dmitry Zhdannikov DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has offered to reduce oil production if rival Iran caps its own output this year, four sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters, as Riyadh tries to strike an elusive OPEC deal to curtail supply and boost prices. The offer, which has yet to be accepted or rejected by Tehran, was made this month, the sources told Reuters on condition of anonymity. OPEC holds an informal meeting next week in Algiers, which non-O
  
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• Andrew Veitch obituary

  23-09-2016 18:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Trailblazer in science journalismAndrew Veitch, who has died aged 70, was one of those journalists with a sustained talent for self-invention: a talent driven by enthusiasm, curiosity and a generous sense of responsibility. It took him to Channel 4 News as science correspondent, covering health and environment stories, as well as the occasional international crisis, and then from 2003 to BBC World, working as a freelance producer, writer and presenter of documentaries made by Rockhopper Producti
  
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• Oil slumps 3 percent on report Saudis do not see output deal

  23-09-2016 18:16
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell about 3 percent on Friday, paring weekly gains, on a report that Saudi Arabia did not expect an agreement at talks next week among major crude exporters aimed at freezing production. Crude futures slumped after Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia did not expect a decision at Algiers, the capital of Algeria where the biggest oil producers are expected to convene next week for talks, traders said. Bloomberg cited a "delegate" as source, said
  
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• The Science of Boredom

  23-09-2016 17:43
  Although boredom is as familiar a feeling as excitement or fear, science has only begun to understand what makes people bored. Recently, six scientists who emerged after living for a year in isolation on the Mauna Loa volcano as part of the HI-SEAS (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) experiment, which simulated the isolation that future space travelers might experience traveling to and living on Mars, said that boredom was their biggest challenge. Boredom "has been understudied unti
  
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• Sunoco, behind protested Dakota pipeline, tops U.S. crude spill charts

  23-09-2016 17:37
  By Liz Hampton HOUSTON (Reuters) - Sunoco Logistics, the future operator of the oil pipeline delayed this month after Native American protests in North Dakota, spills crude more often than any of its competitors with more than 200 leaks since 2010, according to a Reuters analysis of government data. The lands of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe sit a half mile south of the proposed route of the Dakota Access pipeline. The tribe fears the line could destroy sacred sites during construction and that
  
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• Wildlife trade summit is a 'do or die' moment for endangered animals

  23-09-2016 17:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Conservationists urge countries to give imperilled species the highest level of protection at the global Cites summit opening on Saturday to prevent them becoming extinct in the wildA global wildlife summit opening on Saturday is a “do or die” moment for endangered animals around the world, say conservationists, from iconic species such as elephants and lions to lesser known, but equally troubled, creatures such as devil rays and the psychedelic rock gecko.The summit in Johannesburg
  
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• Inexpensive semiconducting organic polymers can harvest sunlight to split carbon dioxide into alcohol fuels

  23-09-2016 16:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  Chemists at The University of Texas at Arlington have been the first to demonstrate that an organic semiconductor polymer called polyaniline is a promising photocathode material for the conversion of carbon dioxide into alcohol fuels without the need for a co-catalyst."This opens up a new field of research into new applications for inexpensive, readily available organic semiconducting polymers within solar fuel cells," said principal researcher Krishnan Rajeshwar, UTA distinguished professor of
  
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• Skeleton find could rewrite Roman history

  23-09-2016 16:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Two skeletons have been discovered in a London graveyard which could change our view of the history of Europe and Asia.
  
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• Poland says has begun ratification of Paris climate deal

  23-09-2016 16:17
  By Agnieszka Barteczko WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's president will sign off on the Paris climate deal to curb global warming within days, the country's environment minister said on Friday, boosting an EU push for its adoption ahead of U.N. climate talks in November. EU officials have long worried about Poland dragging its feet, with Warsaw having said it wanted to see how much of the burden of reducing the 28-member bloc's emissions would fall to its coal-powered economy before ratifying the acco
  
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• Earth's Atmospheric Oxygen Levels Continue Long Slide

  23-09-2016 15:57
  
  Atmospheric oxygen levels have declined over the past 1 million years, although not nearly enough to trigger any major problems for life on Earth, a new study finds. Atmospheric oxygen levels are fundamentally linked to the evolution of life on Earth, as well as changes in geochemical cycles related to climate variations. As such, scientists have long sought to reconstruct how atmospheric oxygen levels fluctuated in the past, and what might control these shifts.
  
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• Laos promises to phase out tiger farms: Conservation groups

  23-09-2016 15:40
  JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Laos has promised to phase out farms that breed endangered tigers for their body parts, a positive step from a country believed to be a major hub of wildlife trafficking in Asia, conservation groups said Friday.
  
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• The Sustainable Business Covered podcast: Episode 10 - Back to CSR school

  23-09-2016 15:20
  
  Is sustainability evolving into just another elite job? Should CSR companies be looking beyond graduates to find the next generation of leaders? Or could universities do more to develop the softer skills needed to triumph in the sector?
  
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• Dutch parliament votes to close down country's coal industry

  23-09-2016 14:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Non-binding vote for 55% cut in CO2 emissions will require closure of remaining five plants and ensure country meets its Paris climate commitmentsThe Dutch parliament has voted for a 55% cut in CO2 emissions by 2030, which would require the closure of all the country’s coal-fired power plants.The unexpected vote on Thursday night by 77 to 72 would bring the Netherlands clearly into line with the Paris climate agreement, with some of the most ambitious climate policies in Europe. Continue r
  
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• Existing coal, oil and gas fields will blow carbon budget – study

  23-09-2016 14:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Expansion of fossil fuel extraction amounts to ‘climate denial’, says thinktank Oil Change International, but observers argue some additional oil and gas could be safe. Climate Home reportsThe world’s working coal mines and oil and gas fields contain enough carbon to push the world beyond the threshold for catastrophic climate change, according to a report released on Thursday.If all the existing fuel were to be burned, projects currently operating or under construction could b
  
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• Ivory crackdown, Greenland ice loss and Asian hornets – green news roundup

  23-09-2016 14:45 via theguardian.com
  
  The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
  
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• A Cruise Ship Just Sailed the Northwest Passage, Thanks to Climate Change

  23-09-2016 14:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  The Northwest Passage originated as an unattainable and lethal legend when Europeans arrived in the Americas and longed for an easy sea route across North America. Now, a cruise ship has successfully traversed the route in only a month.It wasn’t until 1906 that Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen successfully — but with extreme difficulty — navigated what had, until then, been a theoretical journey. In the years since, heavily fortified ships with ic
  
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• On-the-go H2O spearheads Ford's company-wide innovation drive at 'record pace'

  23-09-2016 14:05
  
  Motor giant Ford's recent innovation push is being driven by employees across all areas of the business at "record pace", with a prototype that turns condensation from air conditioners into drinking water just one of the 3,500 innovations submitted this year.
  
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• 'Impossible' Cloud On Saturn's Moon Titan May Resemble Earth's Ozone Killers

  23-09-2016 14:05
  
  A strange cloud on Titan that seems to appear out of nowhere may form through process similar to one that depletes the ozone layer at Earth's poles. The weird cloud, which NASA officials described as "impossible" in a statement, is made of dicyanoacetylene (C4N2), which is one of several hydrocarbons that give Titan's atmosphere it's orange-brown hue. One cloud just like it was first seen by Voyager 1, which passed by Saturn in 1980.
  
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• Oil rises on Saudi offer to cut output as OPEC talks loom

  23-09-2016 13:26
  By Sabina Zawadzki LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped on Friday after sources told Reuters Saudi Arabia could reduce its crude production should regional foe Iran cap its own output this year. The Saudi offer, ahead of next week's meeting of OPEC ministers trying to staunch oil price losses, has yet to be accepted by Tehran, three sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters. Brent crude oil and U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures turned positive immediately after the news, with t
  
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• AkzoNobel unveils new paint remanufacturing centre

  23-09-2016 12:42
  
  The world's largest paint and coatings manufacturer has unveiled an innovative not-for-profit paint remanufacturing facility in North West England, as part of the company's ambition to produce 100,000 litres of remanufactured paint by the end of 2017.
  
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• Norway's wolf cull pits sheep farmers against conservationists

  23-09-2016 12:37 via theguardian.com
  
  Norway’s recent decision to destroy 70% of its tiny endangered population of wolves shocked conservationists worldwide and saw 35,000 sign a local petition. But in a region dominated by sheep farming support for the cull runs deepConservation groups worldwide were astonished to hear of the recent, unprecedented decision to destroy 70% of the Norway’s tiny and endangered population of 68 wolves, the biggest cull for almost a century.But not everyone in Norway is behind the plan. The w
  
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• Species body says extra elephant protection could boost ivory trade

  23-09-2016 12:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The body tasked with managing trade in endangered species will oppose efforts to increase global protection for elephants, saying it could spark a new trade in ivory.
  
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• An indigenous community's battle to save their home in the Amazon – in pictures

  23-09-2016 12:21 via theguardian.com
  
  There are currently over 60 major hydroelectric dam projects in the Amazon. The third largest project is the Belo Monte on the Xingu River, Brazil, which has already displaced 20,000 indigenous and riverine people. Aaron Vincent Elkaim documents the story of the Munduruku tribe, who are fighting against the industrialisation of this region Continue reading...
  
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• Terns follow record warm temperatures in 'shock' migration to north of Alaska

  23-09-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers on north-west coast of Alaska startled to discover Caspian terns 1,000 miles farther north than species had been previously recordedEyebrows would be raised if American crocodiles, found on the southern tip of Florida, decided to relocate to New York’s Fifth Avenue or Moroccan camels suddenly joined the tourist throng outside Buckingham Palace in London. Yet this is the scale of species shift that appears to be under way in Alaska.
  In July, researchers in Cape Krusenstern natio
  
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• Terns flee warming temperatures in epic migration north to Alaska

  23-09-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers on north-west coast of Alaska startled to discover Caspian terns an incredible 1,000 miles further north than species had been previously recordedEyebrows would be raised if American crocodiles, found on the southern tip of Florida, decided to relocate to New York’s Fifth Avenue or Moroccan camels suddenly joined the tourist throng outside Buckingham Palace in London. Yet this is the scale of species shift that appears to be under way in Alaska.
  In July, researchers in Cape Kru
  
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• Ratifiying the Paris agreement will be a major step but must be the first of many

  23-09-2016 11:32 via theguardian.com
  
  Making the accord legally binding is not enough to guarantee the world keeps warming within agreed limits. That will take much more - not least ending our reliance on fossil fuelsIn a rare show of international unity, more than 30 countries this week declared their plans to translate into national laws the Paris agreement on climate change.As a result, by the end of this year, or soon after, the accord should come into effect and become binding under international law. Continue reading...
  
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• A total ban on ivory would be disastrous for elephants. Better to legalise it | Simon Jenkins

  23-09-2016 11:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Allowing African farmers to profit from ivory in a carefully controlled market would give them an incentive to conserve wildlifeThe iron law of the market is that you do not stifle demand by trying to stifle supply. It applies to drugs. It applies to alcohol. It applies to sex. It applies to ivory. For a generation, an international bureaucracy of UN officials and NGOs has been trying to stamp out ivory supply in Africa, much as it has been trying to stamp out cocaine supply in Latin America. Al
  
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• Oil prices slip after two days of strong increases

  23-09-2016 11:15
  By Libby George LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday in a sell-off following two sessions of strong rises and on caution ahead of a gathering of OPEC ministers next week in Algeria to discuss possible production cooperation to rein in global oversupply. Brent crude oil futures were down 60 cents, or 1.26 percent, at $47.05 (36.1718 pounds) a barrel, at 0903 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $45.55 per barrel, down 77 cents, or 1.66 percent, from th
  
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• Bird flu poses threat to penguins - scientists

  23-09-2016 11:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Flu carried by migratory birds poses a risk to penguins living in Antarctica, scientists warn.
  
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• Scotch whisky makers set 'challenging' green goals

  23-09-2016 10:13
  
  The Scottish whisky industry has this week unveiled four new "challenging" sustainability targets in an effort to reduce carbon, drive water efficiency and embrace circular economy models in the supply chain.
  
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• Oil prices fall as traders take profit after two days of strong rises

  23-09-2016 09:11
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Friday, pulled down by a sell-off following two sessions of strong rises and on caution ahead of a gathering of OPEC ministers next week in Algeria to discuss possible production cooperation to rein in global oversupply. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $45.98 per barrel at 0648 GMT, down 34 cents, or 0.7 percent, from their previous close. International Brent crude oil futures were down 25 cents, o
  
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• Oil industry welcomes Indonesia's tax reform, but says it's not enough

  23-09-2016 08:10
  By Florence Tan SINGAPORE/JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's removal of taxes on oil and gas explorers is a good first step, but more is needed to lure investment from companies that have cut budgets and laid off staff after a precipitous plunge in prices, industry analysts said on Friday. The Indonesian government is trying to revive its flagging upstream oil and gas sector as the country's proved oil and gas reserves have fallen and companies slashed spending after a nearly 60 percent drop in oil
  
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• As rivals circle, Japan boosting firepower to buy global energy assets

  23-09-2016 07:11
  By Yuka Obayashi TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan plans to rush through a bill to provide more financial muscle for its companies to compete for global energy assets, just as other resource-hungry Asian economies such as China and India are also looking to snap up depressed oil assets. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet intends to revise a law governing the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) to allow the state-run agency to partake in purchases of foreign oil and gas companies, government
  
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• In the service of the queen, hornets hunt day and night

  23-09-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Marshwood Vale, Dorset Workers grab their prey in flight, and dismember it, discarding all but the meaty thorax before returning to the nestOn the way upstairs, I hear a deep, droning buzz, loud as a distant engine. Then the sound of crashing as something collides weightily with the lampshade. Sudden silence. Where has it gone? Ah, there she is, resting on the wall by the bed, banded abdomen poised and pulsing, brown legs spread, one antenna delicately patting the wallpaper. Vespa crabro vexator
  
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• Farming on the edge: the Indian salt producers coping with 48C heat

  23-09-2016 06:00 via theguardian.com
  
  An initiative to support female salt farmers in Gujarat provides loans to help them switch to solar in the face of climate changeOn the sunbaked salt flats of Gujarat, India, the vast, shimmering expanse of salt shines starkly in farmers’ eyes as they toil in the intense heat. India is the world’s third largest salt producer. More than 80,000 smallholder producer families harvest the salt in the Surendranagar district, its most prolific salt-producing region, in the dry months from O
  
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• Australians waste $10bn of food a year and Gen Y is largely to blame, says report

  23-09-2016 05:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Survey finds households wasting up to $1,100 of food each year with problem worst in capital citiesAustralians waste $10bn of food annually with “excitable” Generation Y consumers the worst offenders, according to a new report.The RaboDirect Financial Health Barometer 2016 Food and Farming Report found that households wasted up to $1,100 worth of food each year, or 14% of their weekly groceries, with one in four Gen Y consumers saying they threw out up to 20% of their weekly grocerie
  
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• BP's planned response to any Great Australian Bight oil spill too slow, says expert

  23-09-2016 05:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Andrew Hopkins says BP’s plans to drill in Bight fall short of best practice and would not be allowed in other regionsBP is proposing to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight using plans that fall a long way short of industry best practice and would not be allowed in some other regions, according to an expert in oil spill disasters.Andrew Hopkins, emeritus professor at the Australian National University, has researched BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 20
  
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• Oil dips on technical selling after two days of strong rises

  23-09-2016 04:03
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices eased on Friday, pulled down by a technical sell-off following two sessions of strong rises and on caution ahead of a gathering of OPEC ministers next week in Algeria to discuss possible production cooperation to rein in global oversupply. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $45.80 per barrel at 0151 GMT, down 52 cents, or 1.12 percent, from their previous close. International Brent crude oil futures were down
  
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• Dry tropical forests 'overlooked and under threat'

  23-09-2016 03:49 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Tropical dry forests are among the most threatened habitats on the planet, yet remain overlooked by scientists and conservationists, warn researchers.
  
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• How climate science deniers can accept so many 'impossible things' all at once | Graham Readfern

  23-09-2016 03:47 via theguardian.com
  
  New research claims psychological traits could help explain why climate science deniers often make contradictory argumentsSometimes, climate science deniers will tell you that we can’t predict global temperatures in the future. Sometimes, they’ll say we’re heading for an ice age.Occasionally, contrarians will say that no single weather event can prove human-caused global warming. But then they’ll point to somewhere that’s cold, claiming this disproves climate change
  
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• Work on sex life of rats, life as a badger honoured at Ig Nobel Prizes

  23-09-2016 02:44
  By Scott Malone CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters) - Scientific research into how polyester pants affect the sex life of rats, what it's like for a human to live like a badger and how different the world looks when viewed through your legs was honoured at this year's Ig Nobel spoof awards. The group also took a dig at Volkswagen AG, lauding it in chemistry for engineering its vehicles to produce fewer emissions "whenever the cars are being tested." The prizes will be awarded for a 26th straight year at
  
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• UK researchers tap into China's scientific powerhouse

  23-09-2016 02:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The government is to outline its plans to strengthen collaborative research between the UK and China.
  
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• Waste-eating sharks and body heat harvesters: the best green innovations of the week

  23-09-2016 02:10
  
  As Climate Week 2016 in New York City draws to a close, edie rounds up the latest low-carbon, resource efficient technologies and innovations that could thrive in a Post-Paris Agreement world.
  
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• Greener pastures: the dairy farmers committed to sustainability

  23-09-2016 01:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Biological farming, conservation planning and water recycling are part of a concerted push to make the milk industry more ‘carbon confident’It was a soil bacteria course in New Zealand that convinced Reggie Davis to change his farming methods.The fourth-generation Victorian dairy farmer had become increasingly concerned by the costs, chemicals and time involved in the use of nitrate fertilisers to maintain – what was considered to be – high-quality pasture for his dairy h
  
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• Ig Nobel win for Alpine 'goat man'

  23-09-2016 01:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A British man who lived in the Swiss Alps as a goat for three days wins one of this year's Ig Nobel prizes.
  
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