Environment news

• Brazil court to try Lula on Angola corruption charges - Globonews

  13-10-2016 23:08
  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A federal court in Brazil will try former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for an alleged bribery scheme related to work by construction giant Odebrecht in Angola, GloboNews TV reported on Thursday. Separately, Globo TV's website G1 reported that federal judge Sergio Moro had decided to try Eduardo Cunha, former speaker of the lower house of Congress, for his alleged role in a graft scandal at oil giant Petrobras. Court representatives did not immediately comment on the
  
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• Former Brazil senator sentenced to 19 years in Petrobras probe

  13-10-2016 22:46
  By Brad Brooks SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A former Brazilian senator was sentenced on Thursday to 19 years in prison for corruption, money laundering and obstruction of justice in the investigation of kickbacks at state-run oil company Petrobras. Gim Argello was arrested in April on evidence he took 7.35 million reais ($2.28 million) in bribes to ensure executives at major infrastructure companies would not be summoned by an investigative congressional committee in 2014. Argello, a senator for the fe
  
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• Autumn: a season of saints and little summers

  13-10-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  According to folklore there could be several distinct spells of good weather in autumn, each named after a saint’s daySpells of fine autumn weather used to be known as gossamer, a contraction of “goose summer”. The name was applied because this was when geese were eaten, having been fattened up in the previous months. These spells were notable for gossamer threads, the mass of fine spider webs which catch the sun in stubble fields on a bright autumn morning. Now gossamer is use
  
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• Oil ends up; refined products draw offset U.S. crude build

  13-10-2016 21:44
  By Barani Krishnan and Ethan Lou NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices settled up on Thursday after a U.S. government report showing hefty draws in diesel and gasoline offset the first crude inventory build in six weeks. Crude prices fell initially when the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude stocks swelled 4.9 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 7. The EIA reported a drop of 3.7 million barrels for distillates, which include diesel and heating oil, and 1.9 million barrels decli
  
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• Station state

  13-10-2016 21:14 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A group of Vienna-based scientists is working on plans to create a pacifist nation state, called Asgardia, in space.
  
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• Scientists creating super grass to cut methane emissions from cows

  13-10-2016 21:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  Danish scientists are developing a grass that will cut down how often cows burp and pass gas — reducing the amount of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, they release into the atmosphere.
  
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• Culinary criticisms that leave a bad taste | Brief letters

  13-10-2016 20:34 via theguardian.com
  
  National dishes | London’s garden bridge | Small talk | Richmond Park deer | Harold IIAntonio Carluccio claims there is no such dish as spaghetti bolognese in Italy (Shortcuts, G2, 12 October). Yet I have eaten it in Bologna. It was disappointing – made, as Carluccio says “without any herbs”. I have also eaten paella with chorizo, chicken and prawns in Spain (Jamie Oliver’s paella brings fractured Spain together … against him, 5 October).
  Caroline Ewans
  Londo
  
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• Bird tracking could provide flu early warning system

  13-10-2016 20:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Monitoring wild birds on their long migrations may provide early warning of bird flu outbreaks, say scientists.
  
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• Gorilla recaptured after escape at London zoo

  13-10-2016 19:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Animal reportedly shot with tranquilizer dart after zoo said it was ‘managing an incident’
  A gorilla has been recaptured after reportedly being shot with a tranquilizer dart follow its escape from an enclosure at London zoo.The zoo said earlier it was “managing an incident” amid reports that a gorilla was on the loose and the public had been locked in. Continue reading...
  
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• Stanford researchers capture Central Asia's 'de-greening' over millions of years into a modern-day desert

  13-10-2016 18:43 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new study chronicles how central Asia dried out over the last 23 million years into one of the most arid regions on the planet. The findings illustrate the dramatic climatic shifts wrought by the ponderous rise of new mountain ranges over geologic time.Researchers have long cited the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan Mountains around 50 million years ago for blocking rain clouds’ entry into central Asia from the south, killing off much of the region’s plant
  
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• Oil prices steady; product draws offset U.S. crude build

  13-10-2016 18:38
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Thursday, as a U.S. government report of larger-than-expected draws in diesel and gasoline helped prices rebound from losses incurred when data showed the first crude inventory build in six weeks was much larger than expected. Crude prices fell when the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said U.S. crude stocks swelled 4.9 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 7, much more than the 700,000 barrels forecast by analysts polled by
  
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• Gulf Keystone beefs up board under new shareholder structure

  13-10-2016 18:11
  Gulf Keystone Petroleum has appointed two new board members following the completion of its debt-for-equity swap with bondholders, beefing up its leadership team as it shifts from survival to growth. The oil producer focussed on Iraqi Kurdistan has appointed industry veterans David H. Thomas and Garrett Soden as non-executive directors, it said on Thursday, at the same time as announcing the completion of a restructuring deal converting more than $500 million of debt into equity for bondholders.
  
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• Stranded seal rescued from river Thames in London

  13-10-2016 17:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Animal found on a pontoon near Kew Bridge brought to safety after a 90-minute rescue, to applause from watching publicA stranded seal has been rescued from the Thames to applause from the watching public in west London.The animal was discovered on a pontoon near Kew Bridge in Brentford, and brought to safety after a 90-minute rescue involving the fire brigade and RSPCA. Continue reading...
  
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• Electric vehicles could go first at traffic lights under UK clean air zone plans

  13-10-2016 17:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Government proposals to tackle air pollution in five UK cities could see electric vehicle drivers using bus lanes and getting priority at traffic lightsDrivers of electric vehicles could be allowed to use bus lanes in five UK cities and even go first at traffic lights, to tackle illegal levels of air pollution, the government has suggested.Launching its consultation on clean air zones to be introduced in Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby and Southampton, the environment department said air po
  
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• Power stations to get early warning against jellyfish invasions

  13-10-2016 16:27 via theguardian.com
  
  Researchers say forecasting tool will stop coastal plants from being shut down by swarms blocking cooling water intakesInvasions of jellyfish have proved adept at shutting down power plants in recent years. But an early warning tool is now in development to alert power stations to incoming swarms which block the cooling water intakes of coastal plants.EDF’s Torness nuclear power plant in Scotland was closed for a week in 2011 after a mass of moon jellyfish invaded and the company is now wo
  
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• Mercuria sees oil sector going digital with blockchain

  13-10-2016 16:19
  The traditionally old-fashioned oil and gas industry could start adopting the technology behind the bitcoin electronic currency within the next year, according to one of the world's largest commodity traders. The commodities world is generally perceived to be one where many basic processes, such as the paperwork needed to load oil onto a tanker, for example, are still fairly archaic. "I don’t know if it is 17th or 18th century, but it's not that sophisticated and ... with today's technolog
  
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• EnQuest CEO pledges own cash to clinch restructuring deal

  13-10-2016 16:16
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - The chief executive of EnQuest has pledged to buy up to $50 million (40.98 million pounds) worth of new shares in the North Sea oil producer, a move that clinched a broader restructuring deal for the company struggling with mounting debt. EnQuest, which had $1.7 billion in debt at the end of June, said the deal announced on Thursday would bring in $410 million of extra cash mainly to be used at its Kraken oil field, which is due to come on stream in the first
  
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• The EU's effect on Blackpool's beaches – before and after pictures

  13-10-2016 15:30 via theguardian.com
  
  As Brexit puts the future of EU laws protecting the environment in doubt, Greenpeace sent photographer Vanessa Miles to Blackpool to recreate a series of images she took in 1990 when just one in five UK beaches met bathing guidelinesContinue reading...
  
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• Oil price gains limited by higher OPEC output, U.S. crude stocks

  13-10-2016 15:03
  By Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - The price of crude oil climbed on Thursday, gaining support from record Chinese imports, but gains were limited after OPEC said its production had risen to the highest level in at least eight years and following reports of an increase in U.S. crude stocks. Brent crude futures were trading at $51.91 per barrel at 1037 GMT, up 10 cents from their previous close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 3 cents, at $50.21 per barrel.
  
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• Dollar curbs, tough marketing crimp Iran oil deals - traders

  13-10-2016 14:54
  By Julia Payne and Ahmad Ghaddar LONDON (Reuters) - Nine months after sanctions on Iran were lifted, some of the world's biggest traders have yet to strike major oil deals with the OPEC member, stymied by Tehran's tough stance on marketing its crude and restrictions on dollar trades. Top executives from Vitol, Glencore, Trafigura and Gunvor told the Reuters Commodities Summit this week that while they are keen for a slice of the business, hurdles remain. "It's still very difficult," Ian Taylor,
  
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• Wave energy researchers dive deep to advance clean energy source

  13-10-2016 14:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  One of the biggest untapped clean energy sources on the planet — wave energy — could one day power millions of homes across the U.S. But more than a century after the first tests of the power of ocean waves, it is still one of the hardest energy sources to capture.
  
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• Europe poised for electric car boom as sales surge towards half a million

  13-10-2016 14:16
  
  Europe will have more than 500,000 electric vehicles (EVs) on its roads by the end of 2016 thanks to technology advancements, a rapid fall in the price of batteries and successful European Union (EU) policy enablers, a new report has revealed.
  
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• Retailers and restaurants stepping up to the plate on sustainable seafood

  13-10-2016 14:11
  
  Fisheries, supermarkets and foodservice businesses are together driving up demand for traceable, sustainable seafood as a new report from the Marine Stewardship council (MSC) reveals that the volume of MSC-certified catch increased by a further 6% last year.
  
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• Red squirrels in Wales protected with military-style strategy

  13-10-2016 13:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Ogwen valley, which allows easy defence against grey squirrels, is selected for new colonyConservationists have turned to military strategy to ensure a new wild colony of red squirrels is protected from its bushy-tailed grey adversary in Wales.A site at Ogwen valley, five miles from Bangor, has been selected because it is ringed by mountains and cut off from grey squirrels. Continue reading...
  
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• Global deal to curb aviation emissions 'not enough', MEPs warn

  13-10-2016 12:09
  
  European lawmakers on Wednesday (12 October) gave a lukewarm reception to the landmark deal reached by the 191 members of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to limit aviation emissions.
  
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• Brexit, Paris and low-carbon heat: 10 green policy messages for the UK Government

  13-10-2016 12:08
  
  As the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) releases three new reports on the UK meeting its climate commitments, edie rounds up the key green policy calls made by the Committee surrounding low-carbon heat, Brexit and the Paris Agreement.
  
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• UN moves to ban 'fastest growing' greenhouse gases

  13-10-2016 12:06 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Banning the cooling gases currently used in refrigeration and air conditioning could save half a degree of global warming if a deal can be agreed in Rwanda.
  
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• Businesses urged to view water as economic risk rather than environmental issue

  13-10-2016 12:00
  
  Efforts to combat water scarcity are "absent from the portfolios" of investors, and it is now the responsibility of the private sector to step up water efficiency practices to build understanding that water is an economic risk as well as an environmental one.
  
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• Cycling, saints and Santini: Italy's legendary Giro Di Lombardia

  13-10-2016 11:29 via theguardian.com
  
  The end-of-season classic is not only among the oldest races, but also one of the toughest. Peter Kimpton delves into its course, kit and cultureSnaking down forested hairpin bends towards the finish, just 61 riders remain from 201, most beaten down by a gruelling 240km and multiple climbs across some of Italy’s most challenging but beautiful terrain. Dubbed “la classica delle foglie morte” (the race of the falling/dying leaves), the Giro Di Lombardia recently completed its 110
  
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• Dragon in the tank

  13-10-2016 10:56 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Land Speed Record holder Andy Green reflects on the partnership the Bloodhound supersonic car project has forged with Chinese auto group Geely.
  
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• Chinese President Xi Jinping visits loyal friend Cambodia

  13-10-2016 09:24
  By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in Cambodia for a two-day visit on Thursday, praising the close ties that have seen Cambodia back China's position on the South China Sea, and looking to forge dozens of economic agreements. About 2,000 school students waving flags and holding portraits of Xi and Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni lined the road from Phnom Penh airport into the city to greet the Chinese leader. Cambodia has shielded China from criticism b
  
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• Climate watchdog calls for 'concrete green policy action' amidst Paris Agreement and Brexit

  13-10-2016 09:15
  
  Britain's green policies must be preserved or strengthened post-Brexit and a credible new strategy on low-carbon heat must be delivered as soon as possible, but it is still too early for the Government to adopt stricter targets for tackling climate change in line with the soon-to-be-ratified Paris Agreement, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) has said.
  
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• The real Sharknado: how sharks deal with extreme weather

  13-10-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  It doesn’t involve flying killer sharks, but research into how sharks sense pressure during tropical storms and other weather events is still fascinating Love them or hate them, the Sharknado films have been a hugely successful franchise (in fact, the fourth Sharknado film yes that’s right, the fourth, aired on the Syfy channel at the end of July). I couldn’t possibly comment on their value as films, but as a shark scientist I can say that they inspire in me a feeling of regret
  
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• Sweet potato Vitamin A research wins World Food Prize

  13-10-2016 08:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Four scientists are awarded the 2016 World Food Prize for crop work that delivers health benefits in developing nations.
  
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• I dream of a utopian Lagos – but here's what African cities really need to prosper

  13-10-2016 08:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The UN’s global convention on urbanisation must remember that not all cities are created equal. It is unfair to suggest that Addis Ababa, Nairobi and my city, Lagos, should not develop the way Amsterdam, London and New York once grewThere is a place in Lagos I go to when I need to clear my head. It’s an old jetty in the city’s Ikoyi neighbourhood that sticks out into the still waters of Five Cowrie Creek, which separates Lagos Island from the Lekki Peninsula at its westernmost
  
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• E.ON considers power grids spin-off, capital hike - WirtschaftsWoche

  13-10-2016 08:18
  German utility E.ON is considering spinning off at least part of its power grids or raising capital to offset falling grid fees, a pending payment for radioactive storage and possible writedowns, a German magazine reported. E.ON spun off a majority stake in its power generation and energy trading business Uniper as part of a strategic overhaul last month and is expected to have to write down the value of the asset, hitting its already weakened balance sheet. It is also expected to have to pay bi
  
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• Electric cars set to pass 2m landmark globally by end of 2016

  13-10-2016 08:01 via theguardian.com
  
  China leads EU and US in market size, with Nissan Leaf taking the top spot for best-selling model followed by Tesla’s Model S and two Chinese-made modelsThe number of plug-in electric cars on the world’s roads is set to pass the landmark of two million vehicles by the end of 2016, with industry observers saying the electric car revolution is finally underway. A surging market in China is leading the way and Chinese-made models have pushed into the top five best-selling models. Europe
  
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• UK must focus on carbon removal to meet Paris goals, climate advisers urge

  13-10-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Report from the Committee on Climate Change says a government strategy to deploy new, radical technologies at scale by 2050 must begin nowThe UK government needs to kickstart technologies to suck carbon dioxide from the air if it is to play its part in meeting the goals of the Paris climate change agreement, according to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the government’s official advisers.The global climate deal, which the prime minister, Theresa May, says the UK will ratify by the en
  
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• Moratorium on logging Tasmania's old growth forests could be reversed

  13-10-2016 06:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Environmentalists furious that 2020 moratorium on 400,000ha of Tarkine forests could be reversed to help Forestry Australia ‘stand on its own feet’Old growth forests in the Tarkine could be logged by private companies under plans being considered by the Tasmanian government to reverse a moratorium on harvesting 400,000ha of high conservation value forests.The forests were part of 500,000ha protected under the forest peace deal signed by the former Labor government in 2013, which woul
  
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• Shambling fox is caught out

  13-10-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Ouse Fen, Cambridgeshire There is a looseness, a jauntiness in an off-duty fox, an actor out of costume, performance over. But why was this one stopping so often?Halfway through the morning, with fog rising from the fen, a fox was caught out at the end of its night shift. It had opted to cross an open field of winter wheat, whose short, narrow blades offered no cover at all. Plenty saw the fox coming. A pair of Egyptian geese that had been grazing at the fringe made a precautionary lift off. A c
  
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• Don't let fracking kill our ecologically unique wildflowers | Piers Verstegen

  13-10-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Western Australia is host to the longest unbroken evolution of plant species on the planet. But our unique wildflowers are threatened by frackingKwongan Heath country in the midwest of Western Australia is one of the of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Whereas Europe and North America have had the evolution of their flora species reset to near zero several times due to extended glacial periods, Western Australia is host to the longest unbroken evolution of plant species on the planet. Y
  
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• British public support for fracking sinks to lowest ever level

  13-10-2016 06:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Long-running YouGov poll shows support for shale gas extraction at 37.3% – just as industry gears up to begin drillingThe British public’s support for fracking has fallen sharply in the last year and is now at the lowest level ever, according to a long-running poll published as the industry gears up to begin drilling.New polling by YouGov for the University of Nottingham, which has been tracking attitudes towards shale gas extraction for more than four years, shows support for fracki
  
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• UK government 'short' on climate target

  13-10-2016 03:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK's official advisers have issued a sombre assessment of government plans to hold climate change at a safe level.
  
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• Oil prices fall on higher OPEC output, rise in U.S. crude stocks

  13-10-2016 03:13
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Thursday after OPEC said that its production had risen to its highest level in at least eight years and following reports of an increase in U.S. crude stockpiles. International Brent crude oil futures were trading at $51.52 per barrel at 0103 GMT, down 29 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their previous close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 35 cents, or 0.7 percent, at $49.83 per barrel.
  
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• Shark attack victim worries nets will snare turtles and dolphins

  13-10-2016 02:29 via theguardian.com
  
  Seneca Rus, 25, was bitten by a suspected white pointer in surf in Ballina on Wednesday The surfer attacked by a shark on the NSW north coast is worried the use of nets around beaches could hurt marine life.Seneca Rus, 25, was bitten by a suspected white pointer on Wednesday at Sharpes beach in Ballina when surfing with his mates. Continue reading...
  
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• Preserving historical buildings: the most sustainable thing is not to build new stuff

  13-10-2016 00:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Making heritage buildings sustainable is just as important as preserving their history – and they can offer energy-efficiency lessons of their own After grinding grain since 1897, Sydney’s Crago Flour Mill finally cranked to a halt in the mid 80s. Over the years, this handsome industrial Newtown site became rundown, a dusty labyrinth of rooms sprawled over four buildings.Given the job in 2008 of transforming the mill into 47 strata studios, architects Allen Jack+Cottier (AJ+C) made a
  
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