Environment news

• Canada will tax carbon emissions to meet Paris climate agreement targets

  03-10-2016 23:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement in parliament as debate started over whether Canada should ratify the Paris accord on climate changeCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that Canada will impose a tax on carbon emissions starting in 2018 as part of its efforts to meet targets set by the Paris climate change accord.Trudeau made the announcement in parliament on Monday as debate started over whether Canada should ratify the Paris accord on climate change. The House
  
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• 'Indiana Jones' shark gains protection at Cites meeting

  03-10-2016 23:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Known for its long whip-like tail, the threatened Thresher shark is among a number of marine species given extra protection at the Cites meeting.
  
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• Brazil's new parties fail to capitalise on anti-corruption mood

  03-10-2016 21:55
  By Silvio Cascione BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's municipal elections showed that new parties have failed to capitalise on voters' disenchantment with a corruption-tainted political establishment, making it unlikely an outsider will win the 2018 presidential poll. In the first elections since President Dilma Rousseff was dismissed in August for breaking budget rules, her leftist Workers Party lost nearly two-thirds of the cities it controlled, amid a backlash at a massive graft scandal at state o
  
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• Farming with forests

  03-10-2016 21:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  Feeding the world’s burgeoning population is a major challenge for agricultural scientists and agribusinesses, who are busy developing higher-yielding crop varieties. Yet University of Illinois researchers stress that we should not overlook sustainability in the frenzy to achieve production goals.More than a third of the global land area is currently in food production. This figure is likely to expand, leading to deforestation, habitat loss, and weakening of essential ecosystem services, a
  
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• Oil settles above $50 as Iran calls for non-OPEC support

  03-10-2016 21:24
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil rose more than 1 percent on Monday, with Brent settling above $50 a barrel the first time since August and U.S. crude hitting three-month highs, after Iran exhorted the need for other oil producers to join OPEC in supporting the market. OPEC member Iran, the No. 4 crude exporter, will sign on Tuesday a new petroleum contract that would be cornerstone to raising its crude output to the pre-sanction levels of 4 million bpd.
  
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• Montana man details how he survived grizzly bear attack in Facebook video

  03-10-2016 21:23 via theguardian.com
  
  The battered and blood-streaked survivor said in a video posted to Facebook that the mother bear attacked him twice as he played deadA battered and blood-streaked survivor of a bear attack said in a video he shot on his way to the hospital that the animal attacked him twice as he played dead before hiking three miles to his truck to seek help. Continue reading...
  
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• Iranian president tells Venezuela essential to raise oil prices

  03-10-2016 21:13
  Iran's President Hassan Rouhani told his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro in a phone call that it was essential for oil producing countries to take a decision to raise the price of oil and stabilise the market, Iranian state news agency IRNA said. Iran and Venezuela are both members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which agreed at an informal meeting in Algeria last week on modest oil output cuts in the first such deal since 2008.
  
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• Colombia peace vote setback rattles markets, ratings agencies

  03-10-2016 19:34
  By Nelson Bocanegra and Julia Symmes Cobb BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian financial markets slid on Monday on concern that voters' rejection of a peace deal with Marxist rebels could jeopardize tax reforms aimed at compensating for lost oil income, putting pressure on the nation's credit ratings. Colombians voted narrowly against a pact with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Sunday's referendum, plunging the nation into uncertainty. The Colombian peso was down 1.7 percent, trimmi
  
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• Oil up with Brent back at $50 as Iran calls for non-OPEC support

  03-10-2016 19:23
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices were up nearly 1 percent on Monday, taking Brent above $50 a barrel and U.S. crude to three-month highs after comments by Iran's leader exhorting the need for other oil producers to join OPEC in supporting the market. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani told his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro in a telephone conversation that it was essential for oil producing countries to take a decision to raise the price of oil and stabilise the mark
  
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• BP platform leaks 95 tonnes of oil into North Sea

  03-10-2016 19:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Spill 46 miles off Shetland is being monitored by air and said to be heading away from land and dispersingAbout 95 tonnes of oil have been leaked into the North Sea from a BP platform, the company has said.The leak is about two and a half times smaller than the biggest North Sea spill in recent years, at Shell’s Gannet platform off Aberdeen in 2011. Continue reading...
  
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• The devil's in the detail as Tories and Labour outline low-carbon strategies

  03-10-2016 19:01
  
  Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Secretary Greg Clark addressed the Conservative Party Conference on Monday (4 October) with a promise to "upgrade" the UK's clean energy system, but a distinct lack of specific green policy pledges contrasted with the raft of legislation proposals made at last week's corresponding Labour Party Conference.
  
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• Devil's in the detail as Tories and Labour outline low-carbon strategies

  03-10-2016 19:01
  
  Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Secretary Greg Clark addressed the Conservative Party Conference on Monday (4 October) with a promise to "upgrade" the UK's clean energy system, but a distinct lack of specific green policy pledges contrasted with the raft of legislation proposals made at last week's corresponding Labour Party Conference.
  
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• Black dormouse discovered in the UK for the first time

  03-10-2016 18:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Rare find in Blackdown Hills in Somerset hailed as ‘fantastic’ at a time when Britain’s population of dormice is under threatThe first black dormouse ever recorded in the UK has taken up residence in a nest box in the Blackdown Hills of Somerset. Britain has only one native species of dormouse, the hazel dormouse. The one discovered in Somerset is a hazel dormouse but instead of having the normal golden-brown fur it is black.Continue reading...
  
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• Colombian markets dip after shock rejection of peace deal

  03-10-2016 18:11
  By Nelson Bocanegra and Julia Symmes Cobb BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian financial markets dipped on Monday in anxiety over voters' rejection of a peace deal with Marxist rebels that may complicate government efforts to maintain the nation's credit ratings and pass tax reforms to compensate for lost oil income. Colombians voted narrowly against a pact with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Sunday's referendum, plunging the nation into uncertainty over whether it will return to w
  
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• Ian Mercer obituary

  03-10-2016 18:06 via theguardian.com
  
  Conservationist who was the first national park officer for Dartmoor and the first chief executive of the Countryside Council for WalesIan Mercer, who has died aged 83, spent more than half a century in countryside conservation. His work as the first national park officer for Dartmoor (1973-90) and as the first chief executive of the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW, 1990-95) had a lasting impact not only on the landscapes over which he presided but on the management of land for wildlife, amen
  
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• Report: Air pollution could be resulting in more UK road accidents

  03-10-2016 17:55
  
  A new correlation between air pollution and traffic accidents has heightened the need to improve air quality, an action that could be accelerated through the use of infrared technology acting as a visual demonstration of vehicle emissions.
  
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• Paris climate accord to go into force - but faces test of enforcement

  03-10-2016 17:40
  By Alister Doyle OSLO (Reuters) - A global agreement on climate change is set to win enough ratifications by signatory nations this week to go into force in November, heralding a harder phase of turning promises into cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. The 2015 Paris Agreement, outlining a shift from fossil fuels this century, says efforts to oversee compliance will be "non-adversarial and non-punitive", raising questions about how to ensure governments pull their weight. The European Parliament i
  
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• Oil drifts after Brent hits $50 per barrel, U.S. crude touches three-month highs

  03-10-2016 17:19
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices drifted on Monday after Brent crude hit $50 a barrel and U.S. crude reached three-month highs as traders weighed weaker stock markets and a strong dollar against OPEC's first planned output cut in eight years. Brent rose 9 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $50.28 a barrel by 10:46 a.m. EDT (1.46 p.m. BST), retreating from a six-week high of $50.90. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was unchanged at $48.24. It earlier hit $48.87, its highest since July 5. ...
  
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• Brent crude oil steadies above $50 as investors weigh up OPEC deal

  03-10-2016 16:26
  By Sabina Zawadzki LONDON (Reuters) - Global oil prices steadied on Monday as market players weighed last week's news of a planned OPEC production cut with doubts over its implementation and effectiveness at wiping out a crude supply overhang. December Brent crude futures remained above $50 a barrel in European trading but by 3.00 p.m. BST were flat on the day at $50.19 a barrel, after erasing earlier slight gains. U.S. crude futures were $48.23 a barrel, a cent lower.
  
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• Wildlife on your doorstep: share your October photos

  03-10-2016 16:22 via theguardian.com
  
  October sees the northern hemisphere preparing itself for more signs of autumn, with the southern hemisphere enjoying springtime. We’d like to see your photos of the October wildlife near youThe sun might still be shining for now but the temperature is only going one way in the northern hemisphere, with autumn colours starting to dominate surroundings. The southern hemisphere will be revelling in the spring sunshine and summer months ahead. So what sort of wildlife will we all discover on
  
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• Efforts to boost elephant protection fails at Cites

  03-10-2016 16:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Attempts to give the maximum level of international protection to all African elephants have foundered at a key species conference in Johannesburg.
  
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• Bid for strongest protection for all African elephants defeated at wildlife summit

  03-10-2016 15:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Cites meeting blocks proposal for ban on all trade of ivory from four southern African countries with stable or increasing elephant populations - but passes other vital conservation measures A bid to give the highest level of international legal protection to all African elephants was defeated on Monday at a global wildlife summit. The EU played a pivotal role in blocking the proposal, which was fought over by rival groups of African nations. Continue reading...
  
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• BP's North Sea oil spill heading away from land

  03-10-2016 15:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Oil on the surface of the water appears to be moving north following a spill west of Shetland on Sunday, energy firm says An oil spill from a North Sea platform is heading away from land, according to BP.
  Its Clair platform was shut down on Sunday following the leak. Continue reading...
  
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• Tetra Pak cuts emissions during period of growth

  03-10-2016 15:23
  
  Despite the number of packages sold rising by 16% over the last 12 months, Swedish food processing and packaging company Tetra Pak has revealed that emissions have tumbled as it closes in on its 2020 climate goals.
  
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• Revealed: MRSA variant found in British pork at Asda and Sainsbury's

  03-10-2016 14:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Tests find UK-produced pork products infected with the livestock strain of the superbug, with potentially serious implications for human healthMeat produced from British pigs has been shown to be infected with a livestock strain of MRSA, the Guardian can reveal, raising concerns that the UK is on the brink of another food scandal.Tests on a sample of 97 UK-produced pork products from supermarkets show that three – sold at Asda and Sainsbury’s – were contaminated with the superb
  
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• First evidence of deep-sea animals ingesting microplastics

  03-10-2016 14:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  Following the news that the UK government is to ban plastic microbeads by the end of 2017, a team of scientists led by the University of Oxford has discovered the first evidence of microplastics being ingested by deep-sea animals.Researchers working on the Royal Research Ship (RRS) James Cook at two sites in the mid-Atlantic and south-west Indian Ocean found plastic microfibres inside creatures including hermit crabs, squat lobsters and sea cucumbers at depths of between 300m and 1800m.
  
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• Exclusive - U.S. helped clinch Iraq oil deal to keep Mosul battle on track

  03-10-2016 13:50
  By Stephen Kalin and Dmitry Zhdannikov BAGHDAD/LONDON (Reuters) - - Shuttle diplomacy by the United States' envoy to the anti-Islamic State coalition brokered an oil deal between Iraq and its Kurdish region vital to a climactic battle with the jihadists, diplomats, officials and oil men say.      The oil revenue-sharing deal sealed in August was critical to getting the central and regional governments to coordinate planning for a push on the Islamic State stronghold Mosu
  
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• Baker & McKenzie becomes first law firm to join carbon price coalition

  03-10-2016 13:46
  
  Multinational law firm Baker & McKenzie has become the first legal industry representatives to join the World Bank's Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC) in a commitment to help clients "respond innovatively to the risks - and opportunities" of an economically regulated low carbon future.
  
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• Medicine Nobel for cell recycling work

  03-10-2016 13:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The 2016 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine goes to Yoshinori Ohsumi for discoveries about the secrets of how cells can remain healthy by recycling waste.
  
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• BP says oil from North Sea spill to disperse naturally

  03-10-2016 12:01
  BP said on Monday that a technical issue at its Clair platform in the UK North Sea a day earlier resulted in a brief oil spill which will be allowed to disperse naturally into the sea. "At present, we believe the most appropriate response is to allow the oil to disperse naturally at sea, but contingencies for other action are being prepared," BP said in a statement.
  
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• DOE charts show why climate doom and gloom isn't needed | Dana Nuccitelli

  03-10-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Clean tech costs have fallen 41–94% over the past 7 years. Wind and solar accounted for two-thirds of new energy installations in the US in 2015.A new report from the US Department of Energy paints a bright picture for our prospects to cut carbon pollution and prevent the most dangerous levels of climate change. The report looked at recent changes in costs and deployment of five key clean energy technologies: wind, residential solar, utility-scale solar, batteries, and LED bulbs. For each
  
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• Report: Innovation can cut offshore wind energy costs by a third

  03-10-2016 11:43
  
  Innovation improvements surrounding the design, maintenance, construction and operations of European offshore windfarms could cut associated energy costs by a third in the next 15 years, a new report from sustainable innovation engine KIC InnoEnergy has found.
  
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• Oil breaks above $50 a barrel as investors warm to OPEC deal

  03-10-2016 11:29
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose to its highest since August above $50 a barrel on Monday, supported by a planned production cut by exporter club OPEC, although analysts cautioned the stubbornness of the existing supply overhang could temper a longer-lasting rally. December Brent crude futures were last up 42 cents at $50.61 a barrel by 0913 GMT, off a session low of $49.74, while U.S. crude futures rose 37 cents to $48.61 a barrel, above the day's low at $47.78. The Organization of
  
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• Eyewitness: Kitakyushu, Japan

  03-10-2016 11:13 via theguardian.com
  
  Photographs from the Eyewitness series Continue reading...
  
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• South Australia seeks to put 'emissions intensity' trading scheme in play

  03-10-2016 10:53 via theguardian.com
  
  State pushes for greater integration of Australia’s electricity network – but Josh Frydenberg says the idea will have to waitThe South Australian government expects a special meeting of energy ministers scheduled for Friday to examine the factors behind last week’s power blackouts in the state will also canvas whether there should be a national “emissions intensity” trading scheme for the electricity sector.
  South Australia has been pushing for the adoption of a nat
  
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• Lord Stern: Business must build 'green growth' story to advance industrial strategy

  03-10-2016 10:00
  
  Lord Nicholas Stern has called on businesses to make an effective case for low-carbon investment in the upcoming months to help construct an industrial strategy that is "green, sustainable and provides a leading example" to the world economy.
  
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• 'Flying ivory' hornbill bird gains extra protection

  03-10-2016 09:43 via bbc.co.uk
  
  An Asian bird species under threat for it's ivory-like "helmet" has gained extra protection at the Cites conference in Johannesburg.
  
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• Woman uses sandal to scare off stalking crocodile in Northern Territory

  03-10-2016 09:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Reptile retreats after woman claps rubber shoe against her hand at famous Kakadu national park feeding ground, where rangers are calling for stricter safety controlsNorthern Territory rangers and traditional owners are calling for greater safety measures after a woman shooed away a saltwater crocodile with her thong in Kakadu national park last month.The woman and her small dog had a dangerous confrontation with the nearly four-metre predator while standing at the water’s edge on the East
  
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• Woman shoos away crocodile in Northern Territory as rangers call for safety measures

  03-10-2016 09:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Rangers and Indigenous elders are alarmed at increasing interaction between people and crocodiles at Kakadu national park feeding groundNorthern Territory rangers and traditional owners are calling for greater safety measures after a woman shooed away a saltwater crocodile with her thong in Kakadu national park last month.The woman and her small dog had a dangerous confrontation with the nearly four-metre predator while standing at the water’s edge on the East Alligator River at Cahill&rsq
  
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• Woman scares off crocodile with sandal – video

  03-10-2016 09:28 via theguardian.com
  
  A woman walking her dog shoos away a saltwater crocodile by clapping her sandal on her hand. The incident happened last month at a famous feeding ground for crocodiles at the Kakadu national park in the Northern Territory Woman uses thong to scare off stalking crocodile in Northern TerritoryContinue reading...
  
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• Woman scares off crocodile with flip flop - video

  03-10-2016 09:28 via theguardian.com
  
  A woman walking her dog shoos away a saltwater crocodile by clapping her rubber shoe on her hand. The incident happened last month at a famous feeding ground for crocodiles at the Kakadu national park in the Northern Territory Woman uses thong to scare off stalking crocodile in Northern TerritoryContinue reading...
  
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• Oil prices stable on planned OPEC cut, but current glut still weighs

  03-10-2016 09:04
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Brent crude oil prices steadied above $50 a barrel on Monday, supported by a planned production cut by exporter club OPEC, but still under pressure from an overhang in supply that currently exceeds consumption. International benchmark Brent crude futures were trading at $50.25 per barrel at 0651 GMT, up 6 cents from their last close, although U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down 8 cents at $48.16 a barrel. Oil prices had been supported "
  
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• Coca-Cola bottler extends 2020 sustainability targets

  03-10-2016 09:00
  
  One of Coca-Cola's leading bottlers, Coca-Cola HBC, has on Friday (30 September) unveiled seven new sustainability goals to build on the company's initial 2020 targets made last year.
  
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• Six billion plastic bags can’t be wrong – so what do we tax next?

  03-10-2016 08:10 via theguardian.com
  
  In the first six months of the 5p charge in England, 6bn fewer bags were handed out. Watch out coffee cups and plastic bottlesOnce, my family’s kitchen cupboard would have contained dozens of plastic bags. But today – a year after the introduction of England’s 5p plastic bag charge – I count just six (three secondhand ones, given to us by other people, one corner-shop bag and two small bags supplied with meat and fish).England’s plastic bag charge was a long time co
  
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• Iran sells first cargoes of oil, condensate to British companies - Mehr news agency

  03-10-2016 08:07
  Iran has sold its first cargoes of natural gas condensate and crude oil to British companies, the director of international affairs at National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said on Monday. "A cargo of one million barrels of natural gas condensate was delivered to BP," Mohsen Ghamsari was quoted as saying by Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency.
  
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• Shell’s Rio roadshow: springboard for green startups or just a Lott of oily spin? | Jonathan Watts

  03-10-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Shell is not an obvious champion of sustainable business ideas but, beyond the glitz of an event staged in a Rio favela, and featuring pop stars like Pixie Lott, the oil firm has a chance to show it is serious about renewable energy investmentCan you imagine a more affordable source of lighting for the world’s poorest families than a lamp powered by gravity, or a more ingenious way to charge electric cars than by harvesting the air turbulence they cause alongside motorways? Can you imagine
  
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• Butterfly photobombs koala film shoot at Australian zoo

  03-10-2016 07:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A butterfly struck up an unlikely friendship with a koala joey at Symbio Wildlife Park in New South Wales, Australia, with adorable results.
  
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• Butterfly photobombs koala film shoot at Australia zoo

  03-10-2016 07:10 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A butterfly struck up an unlikely friendship with a koala joey at Symbio Wildlife Park in New South Wales, Australia, with adorable results.
  
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• Virtual reality project lets users see life as a doomed cow or piece of coral

  03-10-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Scientists hope immersive experience, enabling people to experience the world through the eyes of a cow destined for market or a coral on a dying reef, can increase people’s connection with environmental issuesScientists have taken the notion ‘you are what you eat’ to a new level by using virtual reality to help people see the world through the eyes of a cow – or a piece of coral – to make them feel part of the natural world.With several consumer virtual reality hea
  
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• Reykjavík: the geothermal city that aims to go carbon neutral

  03-10-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Icelandic capital plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2040 by reversing urban sprawl and promoting walking, cycling and public transportReykjavík used to be marketed as a place of ‘pure energy’, run on geothermal power – and now Iceland’s capital is trying to become the world’s first carbon neutral city.Last month, Iceland became the one of the first countries to ratify the Paris climate deal with a unilateral parliamentary vote, shortly a
  
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