Environment news

• Shailene Woodley arrested while protesting North Dakota oil pipeline

  10-10-2016 22:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Actor was arrested along with 26 others demonstrating against construction of a pipeline to transport fracked crude oil near the Standing Rock Sioux reservationActor Shailene Woodley, star of The Fault In Our Stars and the Divergent series, has been arrested along with 26 other people at the Standing Rock oil pipeline protest in North Dakota.Protesters and members of more than 90 Native American nations and tribes have been encamped on the banks of the Missouri river since May to demonstrate aga
  
  Read more

• Fracking is a form of climate-change denial | Josh Fox

  10-10-2016 21:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Local communities are showing the courage to fight fossil fuel madness. We can all help them prevailHere’s one thing we don’t often want to admit: it is too late to stop many of the harshest and most destructive aspects of climate change from materialising. We’re out of time. Superstorms, droughts, floods, disappearing islands, coastlines and lost species are already here. Related: Weakening Hurricane Matthew brings flooding to south-eastern USContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Science Museum condemned for oil company sponsorship

  10-10-2016 21:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Caroline Lucas and dozens of other campaigners and scientists call on museum to drop Statoil backing of children’s galleryMore than 50 prominent scientists, campaigners and politicians have signed a letter calling on the Science Museum to drop its oil sponsorship. Despite choosing not to renew its previous controversial sponsorship deal with Shell following criticism and campaigning, the Science Museum decided to accept sponsorship from Statoil, a Norwegian multinational oil and gas compan
  
  Read more

• Science Museum should drop Statoil sponsorship of children’s gallery | Letters

  10-10-2016 21:19 via theguardian.com
  
  On Tuesday, the Science Museum will launch its new interactive gallery for children – Wonderlab: The Statoil Gallery. Despite securing sponsorship from an oil and gas company that is recklessly planning to drill seven new wells in the fragile Arctic, the London museum has also introduced an entry charge, restricting access to those visitors able to pay.It is unconscionable that in 2016 a museum of science is handing a fossil fuel company legitimacy by allowing it to sponsor a gallery
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Theresa May's local council set to spend £50,000 to fight Heathrow runway

  10-10-2016 21:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Windsor and Maidenhead council looks to increase budget for fighting expected government go-ahead for third runwayTheresa May’s local authority is prepared to spend £50,000 on a judicial review if her government approves the expansion of Heathrow next week, documents released on Monday reveal. The papers underline the scale of resistance that the prime minister will face from residents in her Maidenhead constituency, which she has represented since 1997, if she agrees to allow the th
  
  Read more

• Robert F Kennedy Jr takes big business to task over pollution at SXSW Eco

  10-10-2016 21:09 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Good environmental policy is good for economic prosperity,’ according to the environmental advocate, who admonished corporations for not doing moreRobert F Kennedy Jr, a long-time environmental advocate, took big business to task as he stood on stage at the SXSW Eco environment conference in Austin on Monday. As one would expect from an attorney who is deft at making strong arguments, Kennedy lobbed punchy attacks on the Koch brothers and companies for characterizing environmental p
  
  Read more

• New York City at risk of flooding every two decades - climate study

  10-10-2016 21:02
  By Sebastien Malo NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Hurricanes could start flooding New York City's coastline as often as every 20 years due to the effects of climate change on sea-level rise and hurricane activity, scientists said on Monday. "That's approximately - worst case scenario - once every 20 years," said Benjamin Horton, part of a team of U.S. scientists who published their findings in a study. The projections act as a reminder of the human cost of climate change, said Horton, in
  
  Read more

• Lula charged over Odebrecht Angola work in Brazil graft probe

  10-10-2016 19:52
  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian prosecutors said on Monday they had charged former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Marcelo Odebrecht, ex-CEO of engineering group Odebrecht SA, with corruption related to contracts in Angola. Lula is facing several other charges related to a sweeping kickback probe at state-run oil company Petrobras. The new charges say Lula used his influence while in office to secure financing from Brazil's development bank for Odebrecht projects in Angola - and that Ode
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Erdogan says TurkStream, nuclear power deals with Russia to be expedited

  10-10-2016 19:45
  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the TurkStream natural gas pipeline project with Russia and plans for a Russian-built nuclear power plant in Turkey would be accelerated as ties between the two countries are normalised. Speaking at a joint news conference in Istanbul after signing an agreement on TurkStream with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Erdogan said time lost on the Akkuyu project would be made up. ...
  
  Read more

• Sadiq Khan: I want business on-board to ignite London's green revolution

  10-10-2016 19:00
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Businesses will be front and centre of Sadiq Khan's ambitious plans to create "the greenest city in the world", the London Mayor told edie today (10 October) as he launched the next consultation phase of his proposals to improve the capital's worsening air quality.
  
  Read more

• Merchant ships off Yemen brace for more danger after attacks on navy craft

  10-10-2016 18:31
  By Jonathan Saul LONDON (Reuters) - Missile attacks from Yemen on Western military craft risk spilling over into nearby busy sea lanes which could disrupt oil supplies and also other vital goods passing through the tense area, shipping and insurance sources say. While shipping companies have yet to divert ships, there are growing worries that any further escalation could hinder oil supplies and potentially lead to higher insurance costs for shipments.
  
  Read more

• Oil hits one-year high as Russia ready to join output caps

  10-10-2016 17:56
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices jumped about 3 percent on Monday, with Brent hitting one-year highs, after Russia said it was ready to join OPEC in curbing crude output and Algeria's oil minister said he expected similar commitments from other non-OPEC producers. Sentiment was also boosted by a rally in Wall Street shares and news that work was underway for the launch of the first sovereign bond issue of No. 1 crude exporter Saudi Arabia before the eventual listing of the king
  
  Read more

• Bill Mollison obituary

  10-10-2016 17:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Ecologist and one of the co-creators of permacultureBill Mollison, who has died aged 88, was one of the co-creators of permaculture, an agricultural system that works with, rather than against, nature, on the basis that the natural world holds the key to stable and productive systems. Having developed the concept, he then travelled from his native Tasmania for 30 years to embed his approach worldwide. His ideas have spread widely – permaculture is practised in more than 140 countries and b
  
  Read more

• Global oil producers say possible to reach output cut when OPEC meets

  10-10-2016 17:49
  By Rania El Gamal and Ron Bousso ISTANBUL (Reuters) - OPEC's top oil producer Saudi Arabia said on Monday a global production deal to limit supplies could be reached by the group's next formal meeting in November, when an invitation to join cuts could be extended to non-OPEC nations such as Russia. "OPEC needs to make sure we don't crimp too tightly and create a shock to the market.
  
  Read more

• Global summit to strike deal on phase-out of HFCs

  10-10-2016 17:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Meeting in Rwanda seeks amendment to Montreal protocol to eliminate manufacture of the chemicals used in fridges, air conditioners and inhalers
  Governments will address the law of unintended consequences when they meet this week to revise a global treaty and try to eliminate the use of a group of greenhouse gases used in fridges, inhalers and air conditioners.
  Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) were hailed as the answer to the hole in the ozone layer which appeared over Antarctica in the 1980s because th
  
  Read more

• OPEC chief optimistic of agreement with non-OPEC states on production cut

  10-10-2016 17:17
  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkindo said on Monday he expected to reach a common understanding with non-OPEC countries at a gathering in Istanbul on the implementation of last month's Algiers agreement on cutting oil production. Barkindo said "consultations" between OPEC members and non-member states would take place at 2 pm (1100 GMT) on Wednesday in Istanbul, where representatives from oil producing states are gathered for the World Energy Congress. ...
  
  Read more

• London’s black communities disproportionately exposed to air pollution – study

  10-10-2016 17:11 via theguardian.com
  
  Black, African and Caribbean people are exposed to higher illegal nitrogen dioxide levels than the percentage of the population they account for Black communities in London are disproportionately more likely to breathe illegal levels of air pollution than white and Asian ones, new research seen exclusively by the Guardian shows.The study for the mayor of London shows black, African and Caribbean people account for 15.3% of all Londoners exposed to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels that breach EU lim
  
  Read more

• Russian social media site set up for pets

  10-10-2016 17:04 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Russian social media site launches platform for pets.
  
  Read more

• OPEC chief says severe contraction of investment poses threat to oil supply

  10-10-2016 16:56
  ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A sharp contraction in investments poses a threat to global oil supply, Mohammed Barkindo, secretary-general of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said on Monday at the World Energy Congress in Istanbul. He said oil investments were projected to contract 22 percent this year and that next year was looking bleak. OPEC officials are embarking on a flurry of meetings, starting with the gathering in Istanbul, to nail down details of their deal to cut producti
  
  Read more

• IAEA chief: Nuclear power plant was disrupted by cyber attack

  10-10-2016 16:41
  By Andrea Shalal BERLIN (Reuters) - A nuclear power plant became the target of a disruptive cyber attack two to three years ago, and there is a serious threat of militant attacks on such plants, the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said on Monday. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Yukiya Amano also cited a case in which an individual tried to smuggle a small amount of highly enriched uranium about four years ago that could have been used to build a so-called "dirty bo
  
  Read more

• Schiaparelli Mars probe 'ready for all eventualities'

  10-10-2016 16:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The European Schiaparelli probe will make its landing attempt on Mars prepared even to handle dust storms if that is what the planet throws up, the mission team says.
  
  Read more

• Oil trader Vitol says U.S. assets may have become too pricey

  10-10-2016 16:09
  By Libby George LONDON (Reuters) - Trading house Vitol believes physical oil assets in the United States may have become a bit too pricey, potentially cooling appetite for them among trading houses that once viewed the U.S. oil industry as a prime acquisition target. Two years ago, as the U.S. shale oil boom flooded the world with excess oil and the country's drivers began fuelling up in record numbers on the cheaper gasoline, trading houses described U.S. assets as a "Klondike" gold rush.
  
  Read more

• Vitol sees no oil market supply balance before second half of 2017

  10-10-2016 15:46
  By Amanda Cooper LONDON (Reuters) - The oil market may see supply and demand rebalance if OPEC and Russia deliver a meaningful enough production cut, but it will still take until the second half of 2017, Vitol [VITOLV.UL] chief executive Ian Taylor said on Monday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed in Algiers last month to limit output to bring oil supply more quickly into balance with demand. Taylor, whose heads the world's largest trader of physical crude oil, said th
  
  Read more

• Heathrow third runway expansion wins backing of Scottish government

  10-10-2016 15:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Holyrood backs plan to extend London hub amid claims it will create 16,000 jobs across ScotlandPlans for a third runway at Heathrow have received a significant boost after the Scottish government announced its backing for the scheme, which it claimed would create up to 16,000 jobs across Scotland.Holyrood made the announcement amid mounting speculation that the Westminster government is to back a third runway in the coming weeks, ending years of arguments over airport expansion. Continue reading
  
  Read more

• Butterfly numbers drop a mystery, say experts

  10-10-2016 15:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A huge drop in the number of butterflies in the UK is causing confusion among wildlife experts.
  
  Read more

• Putin says Russia ready to join OPEC output freeze

  10-10-2016 15:05
  By Olesya Astakhova ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Russia is ready to join a proposed cap on oil output by OPEC members, Russian President Vladimir Putin told an energy congress on Monday. Putin, speaking at an energy congress in the Turkish city of Istanbul, said that low oil prices have lead to underinvestment into the global energy sector which will turn into a deficit at some point and trigger new "unpredictable jumps" in prices. "That's why in the current situation we think that (an oil output) freez
  
  Read more

• Mysterious factory break-in raises suspicions about Chinese visit

  10-10-2016 14:49 via theguardian.com
  
  A burglary at an innovative Scottish wave-power company went forgotten, until a very similar project appeared in ChinaIt was an unusual burglary, in which four or five laptops were stolen from a Scottish renewable energy manufacturer in the dead of a March night in 2011. So innovative was the company that it had been been visited by a 60-strong delegation led by China’s then vice-premier only two months before.Nothing else was taken from the company and the crime, while irritating, went un
  
  Read more

• World Energy Council: Energy demand to peak at 2030 as part of 'grand transition'

  10-10-2016 14:38
  
  Disruptive trends and technology, such as the rise of renewables and the electrification of the transport sector, will create a "fundamentally new world" for the energy industry, which would see energy demand and fossil fuel use peak before 2030.
  
  Read more

• REA calls for energy policy reform to unlock storage megashift

  10-10-2016 14:10
  
  The UK has "multiple gigawatts" of energy storage capacity that is proposed or in the development pipeline, but this will fail to come to fruition without a joined-up and more supportive policy structure from Government, the Renewable Energy Association (REA) has claimed.
  
  Read more

• Coal would last 'a thousand years' in Trump's US

  10-10-2016 13:14
  
  With polling day just one month away, presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton offered two very different glimpses into the future of US energy policy.
  
  Read more

• A celebration of botanical art throughout history – in pictures

  10-10-2016 12:30 via theguardian.com
  
  A new book Plant: Exploring The Botanical World celebrates the beauty and diversity of plants from around the world across all media - from murals in ancient Greece to a Napoleonic-era rose print and cutting-edge scans Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• What do you do with your old running shoes?

  10-10-2016 12:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Got some old kicks in need of a new home - or proper recycling? Runner’s Need have a new campaign that might help. It’s a commonly asked question - when your running shoes have lost their spring, and you need a new pair, what do you do with the old ones? Of course, you can just keep them for doing gardening, or other messy activities, in. But if you don’t have the space, then you’ll probably want to either recycle or pass them on. Certainly, being a virtuous (but never sm
  
  Read more

• Caring for Creation makes the Christian case for climate action | John Abraham

  10-10-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The new book by Mitch Hescox and Paul Douglas is a marriage of science and faith
  Most of you are aware of a growing movement amongst persons of faith to bring more action on dealing with climate change. The argument is powerful for the faithful – the Earth is God’s gift to humanity. We should care for it accordingly.From within this movement, there are huge voices, widely respected by both the scientific and faith communities. Perhaps the best known is Dr. Katherine Hayhoe, a top cli
  
  Read more

• Clive Lewis appointed as shadow business and energy secretary

  10-10-2016 11:57
  
  Clive Lewis has been appointed as Labour's new shadow business and energy secretary as part of Jeremy Corbyn's first reshuffle since being re-elected as party leader.
  
  Read more

• Call for action to protect 'the lungs of the sea'

  10-10-2016 11:51 via bbc.co.uk
  
  More than 100 scientists from 28 countries have called for global action to protect seagrass meadows, which provide food and shelter for fish, marine mammals and birds.
  
  Read more

• Oil eases off four-month high as speculators doubt deal to cut output

  10-10-2016 11:13
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Oil eased off four-month highs on Monday as doubts over oil producers reaching a meaningful output cut deal brought some speculators to unwind bullish bets. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) plans to agree on an output cut by the time it meets in late November. Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Monday that OPEC should not cut oil supply too steeply, already hinting at milder market intervention.
  
  Read more

• Saudi Arabia's Falih says OPEC should not crimp supply too tightly

  10-10-2016 10:48
  Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Monday that OPEC should not crimp oil supply too tightly and said he was optimistic a global production deal to limit supplies could be reached by November. Speaking at the World Energy Congress in Istanbul, Falih said OPEC, which agreed a deal to cut production in Algiers last month, needed to behave in a balanced and responsible manner and that he continued to believe in its important role. "OPEC needs to make sure we don't crimp too tight
  
  Read more

• Small businesses 'discontent' with renewable energy supplier options

  10-10-2016 10:00
  
  Britain's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are keen to make the switch to 100% renewable energy-powered operations, but many are not receiving enough support from energy suppliers in order to do so, a new survey has revealed.
  
  Read more

• Global demand for energy will peak in 2030, says World Energy Council

  10-10-2016 09:38 via theguardian.com
  
  New technology and stricter policies will transform the energy industry as ‘phenomenal’ growth in solar and wind power continuesGlobal demand for energy per capita will peak in 2030 thanks to new technology and stricter government policies, the World Energy Council has predicted.In a report on a range of scenarios for global energy use, the group of academics, energy companies and public sector bodies outlined a “fundamentally new world for the energy industry” calling it
  
  Read more

• Record low number of British butterflies a 'shock and a mystery'

  10-10-2016 09:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Annual Big Butterfly Count records lowest ever number of usually prolific species despite the relatively warm, dry summerIf you think you saw fewer butterflies than ever this British summer, you are probably correct: the Big Butterfly Count has recorded its lowest number of common species since records began.
  Normally ubiquitous butterflies such as the gatekeeper, comma and small copper experienced their worst summers in the history of the count, which is run by Butterfly Conservation and began
  
  Read more

• Suez and TerraCycle to boost waste management for 'tricky-to-recycle' products

  10-10-2016 09:00
  
  Pens, coffee packaging and protective disposable gloves could soon be subjected to innovative new recycling techniques, after waste management firm Suez announced a new partnership with developers TerraCycle, a company renown for treating hard-to-recycle materials.
  
  Read more

• Wild West review – there’s not an awful lot of nature in the Nevada desert

  10-10-2016 08:20 via theguardian.com
  
  The scenery takes centre stage in a wildlife show from the harshest of environments. Plus: Sir Chris Hoy swaps two wheels for four in a motor raceIt’s a situation any parent will recognise. During a walk, little one suddenly stops, sits down, decides he’s not going to continue. You wait a few steps ahead, offering encouragement, then a threat: you’re not going to come back for him – is he going to stay there on his own, all night? And then, after a short standoff, you giv
  
  Read more

• U.S. Navy ship targeted in failed missile attack from Yemen - U.S.

  10-10-2016 08:05
  By Phil Stewart WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer was targeted on Sunday in a failed missile attack from territory in Yemen controlled by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, a U.S. military spokesman told Reuters, saying neither of the two missiles hit the ship. The attempted strike on the USS Mason, which was first reported by Reuters, came just a week after a United Arab Emirates vessel came under attack from Houthis and suggests growing risks to the U.S. military from Yemen'
  
  Read more

• Winner takes all on the hill of the stag

  10-10-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Ben Damh, Wester Ross Each stag is ready to fight to the death for his chance to mate – and he only has only a short window to take his opportunityBen Damh means “hill of the stag” in Gaelic. You can see why. In the season of the rut the hill is alive with the sight, sound and smell of red deer. Even before we reach the ridge we can hear roaring, like the sound of a distant lawnmower. As we stalk down onto the western slopes above Loch Damh, past musky puddles of peat where the
  
  Read more

• Record low number of UK butterflies a 'shock and a mystery'

  10-10-2016 05:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Annual Big Butterfly Count records lowest ever number of usually prolific species despite the relatively warm, dry summerIf you think you saw fewer butterflies than ever this British summer, you are probably correct: the Big Butterfly Count has recorded its lowest number of common species since records began.
  Normally ubiquitous butterflies such as the gatekeeper, comma and small copper experienced their worst summers in the history of the count, which is run by Butterfly Conservation and began
  
  Read more

• Great Barrier Reef Legacy invites Leonardo DiCaprio to join its campaign – video

  10-10-2016 05:02 via theguardian.com
  
  The conservation organisation Great Barrier Reef Legacy is raising funds to operate the reef’s only independent research vessel and it wants Leonardo DiCaprio’s help. The actor, a well-known environmentalist and activist for action against global warming, has spoken about the reef’s plight and the need to protect it Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Oil prices fall over doubts that non-OPEC producers will cut output

  10-10-2016 02:11
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell more than 1 percent in early trading on Monday over doubts that an OPEC-led plan to cut output to rein in a global fuel supply overhang would be supported by other producers, including Russia. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 57 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $49.24 a barrel. ANZ bank said that prices were pulled down by a statement by the Russian energy minister who said that "he was not expecting to sign a producti
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!