Environment news

• To Help Bees, Skip Herbicides and Pesticides, Keep Lawns Naturally Diverse

  07-10-2016 23:23 via feedproxy.google.com
  Declining populations of pollinators is a major concern to ecologists because bees, butterflies and other insects play a critical role in supporting healthy ecosystems. Now a new study from urban ecologists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggests that when urban and suburban lawns are left untreated with herbicides, they provide a diversity of “spontaneous” flowers such as dandelions and clover that offer nectar and pollen to bees and other pollinators. 
  
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• Scotland to Generate Some of World's First Kite-Driven Power in 2017

  07-10-2016 22:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  The United Kingdom will begin harnessing energy from kites flying 450 meters above ground as early as next year. Developed by UK-based Kite Power Solutions, the system is composed of two 40-meter wide kites that rise and fall in tandem, spooling a tether line to turn a turbine.
  
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• Election in Georgia to test stability amid slump

  07-10-2016 22:02
  By Margarita Antidze TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia holds a parliamentary election on Saturday seen as a test of the stability of the ex-Soviet state criss-crossed by strategically important oil and gas pipelines and traditionally buffeted between Russia and the West. A fifth of Georgian territory remains under the control of pro-Russian separatists following a short war with Russia in 2008 and the economy is emerging from a deep slowdown that has eroded living standards. Polls suggest the ruling G
  
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• Oil ends down 1 percent, snapping week-long OPEC-fueled rally

  07-10-2016 21:45
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell about 1 percent on Friday as players took profits on a rally over the past week that propelled prices nearly 15 percent to four-month highs on hopes of OPEC crude output cuts. A closely watched report by oil services provider Baker Hughes showed U.S. drillers adding rigs in 14 of the past 15 weeks. OPEC is "back in business," determining oil prices, and only a "brave person" would bet against the cartel, an avowed oil bull, Andy Hall, said in a le
  
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• Overwhelming global response to giving away Australian wildlife sanctuary

  07-10-2016 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Harry Kunz’s search for a successor willing to continue his legacy of caring for injured creatures has been met by an avalanche of calls, emails and visitsFor Harry Kunz, the wildlife rescuer who joked he worked with animals because “humans I can’t understand anymore”, it’s been the kind of week that just might have restored some faith in his own species.The Austrian-born Kunz has been overwhelmed by the global response to his offer to give away his north Queensland
  
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• Oil down 2 percent as players take profit on OPEC-fueled gains

  07-10-2016 19:09
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell nearly 2 percent on Friday as players took profit on rally with little pause over the past week that propelled prices nearly 15 percent to four-month highs on hopes of OPEC crude output cuts. The closely-watched rig data from oil services firm Baker Hughes has not shown declines for the past 14 weeks. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 86 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $49.74.
  
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• Hurricane Matthew: Matt Drudge conspiracy comments kick up storm

  07-10-2016 18:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Conservative US blogger Matt Drudge suggests warnings over Hurricane Matthew are a government conspiracy, but critics say his comments are wrong and dangerous.
  
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• Hundreds expected to protest at Lancashire fracking site

  07-10-2016 17:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Environmentalists plan sustained campaign against Cuadrilla after government gave it green light for drilling
  Hundreds of people are expected to protest near a fracking site in Lancashire that was given the green light by the government this week.The Lancashire Responds rally on Saturday is the first shot across the bows of Cuadrilla, in what anti-fracking groups and local residents say will be a sustained campaign of action to stop the company fracking next year.Continue reading...
  
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• UK fracking, record temperatures and fishy accents – green news roundup

  07-10-2016 17:15 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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• The Ghanaian villages destroyed by climate change – in pictures

  07-10-2016 17:10 via theguardian.com
  
  Worsening coastal and riverine erosion is sweeping away homes and livelihoods on the Ghana coast. Photographer Nyani Quarmyne visited the small fishing village of Totope, which was once three miles from the sea but has now virtually disappeared Continue reading...
  
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• Kite power to take flight in Scotland next year

  07-10-2016 16:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Kite Power Solutions plans to open UK’s first kite power plant and predicts the technology could global ease energy costsGiant kites could supply green energy without the need for taxpayer-funded subsidies within years, according to one of the firms developing the technology.Kite Power Solutions expects to open the UK’s first kite power plant in March 2017 at the Ministry of Defence’s West Freugh site in Stranraer, Scotland. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil little changed capping a week of growth post-OPEC week

  07-10-2016 15:55
  By Sabina Zawadzki LONDON (Reuters) - Oil futures were little changed on Friday, capping a week of price growth supported by the prospect of a crude production cut by OPEC countries even though doubts lingered over the cartel's ability to wipe out a persistent excess of oil. Brent traded at $52.50 at 1410 BST, a cent lower, while U.S. crude oil futures were a cent up at $50.45. The front-month contracts have now risen more than 10 percent since OPEC countries, including Middle Eastern foes Saudi
  
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• Wales doubles recycling rates in 10 years

  07-10-2016 15:31
  
  Wales continues to lead the UK on waste management as new recycling figures for this year reveal that the country has doubled the amount of waste it has recycled over the past decade.
  
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• OPEC officials set for flurry of meetings to nail down Algeria deal

  07-10-2016 15:15
  By Rania El Gamal and Alex Lawler DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC officials are embarking on an unusual flurry of meetings in the next six weeks, OPEC sources said on Friday, to nail down details of their deal to cut production agreed last week in Algiers. First up, OPEC energy ministers will be meeting each other and Russian officials for informal talks on oil output in Istanbul next week as the Turkish city hosts the World Energy Congress from Oct. 9-13. Citing Energy Minister Alexander Novak, R
  
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• The Paris agreement really does change everything

  07-10-2016 14:20 via theguardian.com
  
  It’s easy to be cynical about pledges on climate change. But the signing of the treaty on carbon emissions sets us on an irreversible path towards clean energyWednesday was a historic day for the climate. No, not another record-breaking hottest month. Not another devastating hurricane. For once, it was a good day. Wednesday was the day enough countries – representing more than 55% of global carbon emissions – ratified the Paris agreement on climate change for the treaty to
  
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• Bees Are Declared Endangered for the First Time in the U.S.

  07-10-2016 14:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  For the first time in history, a group of bees in the U.S. will be protected under the Endangered Species Act, following a recent announcement from wildlife officials.The group of bees, who are commonly known as yellow-faced bees because of the markings on their faces, are endemic only to the Hawaiian islands. While there are dozens of species, scientists identified several of them who are at risk of extinction and have been calling for their protection for years.
  
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• What price Tory localism when fracking’s on offer in Lancashire? | Jennifer Mein

  07-10-2016 13:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Sajid Javid has overturned my county council’s decision to stop drilling. So much for talk of devolution to communitiesLast year a committee of county councillors from Lancashire dealt with one of the biggest planning applications ever put before any council, as they considered Cuadrilla’s applications to drill and frack for shale gas in two rural locations between Preston and Blackpool. Anyone in any doubt about the depth of feeling generated by fracking need only have seen and hear
  
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• Gatwick pioneers green taxi scheme

  07-10-2016 13:30
  
  Gatwick Airport has announced a ground-breaking deal with its on-airport taxi company to reduce emissions by 75% per journey by 2020 using alternatively-fuelled vehicles, as part of the Airport's overarching strategy to cut its carbon footprint in half by 2020.
  
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• Gatwick pioneers CO2-saving green taxi scheme

  07-10-2016 13:30
  
  Gatwick Airport has announced a ground-breaking deal with its on-airport taxi company to reduce emissions by 75% per journey by 2020 using alternatively-fuelled vehicles, as part of the Airport's overarching strategy to cut its carbon footprint in half by 2020.
  
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• Hadfield: 'You should be afraid of the dark'

  07-10-2016 13:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Astronaut Chris Hadfield discusses with Sarah Montague the importance of fear.
  
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• Delay to curbs on toxic shipping emissions 'would cause 200,000 extra premature deaths'

  07-10-2016 12:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Unpublished study warns of the global health consequences of delaying by five years a cap on the sulphur content of shipping fuelsA push by the shipping and oil industries for a five-year delay to curbs on toxic sulphur emissions would cause an extra 200,000 premature deaths from lung cancer and heart disease, according to an unpublished International Maritime Organisation (IMO) study. Fatalities from illnesses such as asthma were not covered by the leaked paper, which was based on shipping sate
  
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• Global aviation climate deal agreed: 'Mission accomplished' or 'timid step' forward?

  07-10-2016 12:45
  
  Representatives from 191 nations finally pieced together a global deal to introduce a carbon offset scheme for the aviation sector in Montreal last night (6 October), although the agreement has been acknowledged as a "timid step in the right direction" by green groups.
  
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• North Sea or Great Australian Bight, oil drilling is always a risky business | John Sauven

  07-10-2016 12:32 via theguardian.com
  
  As BP pushes ahead with plans to drill in the pristine Bight, the oil leak off the coast of Scotland serves as a timely reminder of the company’s track record on environmental disastersMonday’s news of an oil leak at a BP platform off the coast of Scotland could not have come at a worse time for the company. This latest stain on BP’s environmental record coincides not only with Hollywood reminding everyone of BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster, but with the company’s f
  
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• Oil ebbs as physical excess undermines futures push

  07-10-2016 12:29
  By Libby George LONDON (Reuters) - Brent crude futures fell on Friday after briefly nearing their 2016 high, as financial market confidence in the rally came up against a physical excess of crude. Brent traded at $52.11 at 1000 GMT, 40 cents down, after touching $52.84 earlier, two cents below the 2016 high. U.S. oil futures traded as high as $50.74 a barrel, a three and a half month high, before falling by 30 cents to $50.14 a barrel. On Thursday they settled at $50.44 per barrel - the first se
  
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• Cautious view of OPEC deal dampens oil price revival hopes - Reuters poll

  07-10-2016 12:08
  Oil analysts are not convinced that OPEC's proposal to cut output for the first time since 2008 will result in much higher prices, as doubts run high over the feasibility of the group's decision, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.
  
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• Scotland opens up 'circular regions' funding to drive SME resource revolution

  07-10-2016 12:05
  
  Scotland's Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change, Environment and Land Reform Roseanna Cunningham has this week announced a targeted funding call to better support the nation's SMEs in embrace the shift to a circular economy.
  
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• Scotland announces 'circular regions' funding to drive SME resource revolution

  07-10-2016 12:05
  
  Scotland's Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change, Environment and Land Reform Roseanna Cunningham has this week announced a targeted funding call to better support the nation's SMEs in embrace the shift to a circular economy.
  
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• Japan to sign global climate pact 'as soon as possible' - minister

  07-10-2016 11:36
  Japan will seek to ratify the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement to cut emissions and prevent climate change as soon as possible, after support from European nations sent the accord over an important threshold earlier this week. "We would like to make our best efforts to complete ratification as soon as possible," Japanese environment minister Koichi Yamamoto told a news conference on Friday, adding the government will submit a ratification bill to parliament as early as Oct. 11. Backing for th
  
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• Poor countries urge fast action on Paris deal to stop catastrophic warming

  07-10-2016 11:35 via theguardian.com
  
  As the climate agreement is ratified, developing nations warn that money pledged is still nowhere near enough to adapt to expected sea level rises UN back-slapping for the record speed at which the Paris agreement on climate change has been ratified this week has been tempered by the reality that the new treaty will not stop catastrophic warming as it stands, and that the money so far pledged by rich countries is nowhere near enough to allow developing countries to adapt to expected sea level ri
  
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• Green infrastructure investment 'key to reigniting global growth'

  07-10-2016 10:00
  
  Leading economists and political figures including former President of Mexico Felipe Calderón and former UK environment Minister Lord Nicholas Stern have this week warned that that more than $90trn (£70m) of infrastructure investment will be needed to deliver a climate-resilient, sustainable economy.
  
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• Total sells Atotech chemicals unit to Carlyle for $3.2 billion

  07-10-2016 09:40
  PARIS (Reuters) - Total has agreed to sell its speciality chemicals business Atotech to private equity firm Carlyle Group for $3.2 billion (2.57 billion pounds) , part of a $10 billion asset sale programme the French oil firm hopes to complete by the end of 2017. Total said the sale price was equivalent to 11.9 times 2015 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for the business which specialises in metallization, panel plating and corrosion protection. (Reporting by Andrew C
  
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• Approval of new oil search permit for Great Australian Bight sparks moratorium call

  07-10-2016 09:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Environmentalists call for moratorium on new licences as concerns grow about BP’s plans to drill for oil in BightAnother company has been given a permit to explore for oil in a marine reserve in the Great Australian Bight, sparking calls from environmentalists for a moratorium on new licences.Karoon Gas Australia announced to the Australian Stock Exchange on Thursday that it had been approved to explore for oil in “17,793 square kilometres of Australia’s most active and prospec
  
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• Philips develops 'world's most efficient' LED bulb for Dubai rollout

  07-10-2016 09:20
  
  Philips Lighting has partnered with the Dubai Municipality to launch the "world's most sustainable LED lamp", which has been developed for residential and professional use across the city by 2017.
  
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• Chief scientist to lead review into Australia's energy security

  07-10-2016 09:12 via theguardian.com
  
  State and territory ministers agree on the exercise, which will take stock of the national electricity market while also assessing climate change commitmentsAustralia’s chief scientist, Alan Finkel, will lead an energy security review determining whether the national electricity market can deliver reliable base load power while meeting Australia’s climate change commitments.
  Energy ministers held an emergency meeting on Friday and agreed to hold the independent review, which will del
  
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• Toyota set to unveil 'world's first' net zero energy automotive dealership

  07-10-2016 09:00
  
  Motor giant Toyota is "on schedule" to unveil the world's first certified net-zero energy automotive dealership, after striking a deal with the architects of the building to collect data to ensure that the facility is producing more energy than it uses.
  
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• BP to set up fuel stations in India, challenge state firms' dominance

  07-10-2016 08:57
  By Nidhi Verma NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Global oil major BP plans to open up to 3,500 fuel stations in India, becoming the second overseas firm drawn to rising demand for gasoil and gasoline in the world's fastest growing major economy. BP will join European oil major RoyalDutch Shell as the only foreign firms selling fuel in the country, challenging the market share of state refiners that control 93 percent of India's more than 56,000 outlets. A BP India spokeswoman confirmed the company had appli
  
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• Total sells Atotech speciality chemical arm to Carlyle for $3.2 billion

  07-10-2016 08:49
  PARIS (Reuters) - Total has agreed to sell its speciality chemicals arm Atotech for $3.2 billion (2.57 billion pounds) to private equity firm Carlyle Group, part of a programme under which the French oil company hopes to divest $10 billion worth of non-core assets by 2017. Total said the sale price was equivalent to 11.9 times 2015 EBITDA earnings for the business which specialises in metallization, panel plating and corrosion protection. (Reporting by Andrew Callus; Editing by Adrian Croft)
  
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• Chainsaws turn into unlikely saviour for Tasmania’s endangered swift parrots

  07-10-2016 08:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Conservationists hope human-made hollows designed for nesting will lead to a breeding season boon for the birds. But they warn the ‘Band-Aid solution’ affords the parrots a temporary reprieve from a far bigger battle: habitat lossThe sound of chainsaws fills the forest of Bruny Island in Tasmania as a group of 30 arborists cut into white peppermint trees, which provide essential nesting for the endangered swift parrot.The arborists, from Victoria and Sydney, paid for their own flight
  
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• Hounds hot on the heels of poachers in rhino country

  07-10-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Tracker dogs trained on human scent are the latest weapon being used to help catch criminals in South Africa’s Kruger national park, the epicentre of the rhino poaching epidemic“I am ready to die for conserving the rhino,” says Wisdom Makhubele. But the brave young ranger now has another weapon in the war against rhino poaching: the extraordinary nose of tracking hounds.
  The trained dogs can run poachers to ground far faster than people, sometimes even being set free in packs a
  
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• Oil curves move above $50 as financial confidence in crude rises

  07-10-2016 07:53
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. oil futures held above $50 per barrel on Friday as the entire crude forward curve pushed above that level in a sign that financial markets have increasing confidence in the sector. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures settled at $50.44 per barrel on Thursday - the first settlement above $50 since June 24 - and were up 6 cents on Friday at $50.50 per barrel at 0542 GMT. With both front-month contracts above $50 per barrel and each forward curv
  
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• Whale calf seen pushing stranded mother off sandbank

  07-10-2016 07:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A humpback whale which was stranded on a sandbank off Australia frees itself after its calf was filmed apparently pushing her into deeper water.
  
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• Our love of cheap seafood is tainted by slavery: how can it be fixed?

  07-10-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Murder and slavery have become endemic in the global fishing industry. Will an ongoing legal case recognise crew members’ rights? And how can the industry police and fix itself?A rusting, unusable boat, abandoned at sea. Its crew left to fend for themselves 70 nautical miles off the coast of Guinea, west Africa, without radio or safety equipment, abandoned by the boat’s operator.This is just one shocking story of a global fishing industry that is rife with incidents of abuse, murder
  
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• Rattle and screech as jays and magpies go on raptor alert

  07-10-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Dibbinsdale, Wirral The alarm builds, then we hear a plaintive whistle from on high, the birds take flight and we glimpse the buzzardEntering Thornton Wood you have to watch your feet, treading cautiously through crisp leaves to avoid disturbing the bumblebees burrowing into the soft soil of the bank. This is one of the wildest patches of the Dibbinsdale woodland and there are no accessible footpaths or signed trails to lead the way.Brambles and nettles are running rampant after summer growth sp
  
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• Once the storm settles, a clearer picture emerges of government's energy goals | Katharine Murphy

  07-10-2016 04:58 via theguardian.com
  
  Lecturing the state governments about their emissions reduction policies tends to work better if you have a clear medium-term pathway of your ownAs things stand at the moment, I can’t tell you what the re-elected Turnbull government is about. I don’t think anyone would be able to tell you. As some pundits would put it, there is no narrative. As I would put it, there is no coherent agenda.
  But what there is, in abundance, is problem solving. Continue reading...
  
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• Whale calf nudges stranded mother in effort to free her from sandbank – video

  07-10-2016 04:18 via theguardian.com
  
  Aerial footage shows a humpback whale calf desperately nudging its mother in an apparent attempt to free her from a sandbank off North Stradbroke Island, Queensland. The mother is eventually able to free herself and the pair are seen swimming away from the shallow water Continue reading...
  
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• Norway gas plant workers agree wage deal, avoid strike

  07-10-2016 03:32
  Workers at three plants serving Norway's gas and oil industry agreed a new wage deal early on Friday, avoiding a strike that could have cut supplies of natural gas to Britain and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to customers worldwide, the negotiators said. Nyhamna processes gas from the Ormen Lange field off Norway, which can provide up to 20 percent of Britain's gas needs.
  
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• Entire oil futures curve moves above $50 as financial confidence in crude rises

  07-10-2016 03:30
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. oil futures held above $50 per barrel on Friday as the entire crude forward curve pushed above that level in a sign that financial markets have increasing confidence in the sector. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled at $50.44 per barrel on Thursday - the first settlement above $50 since June 24 - and were trading on Friday up three cents at $50.47 per barrel at 0123 GMT. With both front-month contracts above $50 per barrel and
  
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• It seems like a good time to ask: is privatisation of electricity networks ever a good idea? | Van Badham

  07-10-2016 02:53 via theguardian.com
  
  South Australia’s energy wars really began with the privatisation of the electricity network in the 1990s. It’s worth looking at what we’ve learnt since thenBlackouts, when I was a kid, were fun. The emergency candles would be collected from under the sink, Mum would crack open a packet of cards, or the Trivial Pursuit box, and in the newly low-lit illumination of our surroundings, we’d eat squares of chocolate and indulge low-tech amusements as if stolen into an unexpect
  
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• Why are Nobel Prize winners getting older?

  07-10-2016 02:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Nobel laureates are getting older in every field but one. Could it all be down to quantum mechanics?
  
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• Let's leave it to the experts to work out what caused South Australia's blackout | Tristan Edis

  07-10-2016 01:08 via theguardian.com
  
  Politicians and amateur power system sleuths have decided wind power was to blame for power failures but shouldn’t we let the engineers decide? As someone who has spent much of my career engaged in energy market issues, it has been faintly amusing to read the media and political commentary that has swarmed over South Australia’s blackout and whether or not it was the wind farms that caused it. Normally such serious matters of power system engineering where people’s lives are po
  
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