Environment news

• BHP says sees signs of recovery across commodities markets

  18-10-2016 23:58
  BHP Billiton on Wednesday said it is seeing signs of recovery in commodities markets but cautioned that supply was still running ahead of demand amid stronger-than-expected steel consumption in China. "Fundamentals suggest both oil and gas markets will improve over the next 12 to 18 months.
  
  Read more

• Oil settles up; extends gains as API reports U.S. crude draw

  18-10-2016 23:50
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices settled up on Tuesday on expectations of OPEC output curbs, then extended gains in post-settlement trade as an industry group's data showed an unexpected draw in U.S. crude inventories last week. Crude stockpiles fell 3.8 million barrels in the week to Oct. 14, the American Petroleum Institute reported. The U.S. government's Energy Information Administration (EIA) will issue official inventory numbers on Wednesday.
  
  Read more

• Unraveling the Science Behind Biomass Breakdown

  18-10-2016 23:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  Lignocellulosic biomass—plant matter such as cornstalks, straw, and woody plants—is a sustainable source for production of bio-based fuels and chemicals. However, the deconstruction of biomass is one of the most complex processes in bioenergy technologies. Although researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) had already uncovered information about how woody plants and waste biomass can be converted into biofuel
  
  Read more

• Fraser Island oil spill clean-up begins along 40km stretch of sand

  18-10-2016 23:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Dozens of people enlisted to remove small ‘patties’ found between Eurong beach and Dilli villageAn oil spill clean-up is about to begin on world heritage-listed Fraser Island in Queensland.On Wednesday dozens of people were to begin removing oil “patties” scattered along a 40km stretch of sand, from Eurong beach to Dilli village. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Climate change means no airport expansion – at Heathrow or anywhere | George Monbiot

  18-10-2016 22:02 via theguardian.com
  
  There is only one way to prevent aviation from wrecking the planet. We need to fly much lessThe correct question is not where, it is whether. And the correct answer is no. The prime minister has just announced that her cabinet will recommend where a new runway should be built. Then there will be a consultation on the decision. There is only one answer that doesn’t involve abandoning our climate change commitments and our moral scruples: nowhere.The inexorable logic
  
  Read more

• Oil ends up ahead of preliminary U.S. inventory report

  18-10-2016 21:44
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil settled higher on Tuesday as expectations of OPEC output curbs lifted prices despite forecasts that data would show a second straight weekly build in U.S. crude stockpiles. U.S. crude inventories likely rose by 2.4 million barrels in the week to Oct. 14, a Reuters poll of oil market analysts found. The American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group, will issue its report on domestic oil stocks at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT), after Tuesday's market
  
  Read more

• Yemen Houthis back truce, U.N., U.S. call for aid to flow

  18-10-2016 21:13
  Yemen's Houthi-run administration welcomed a 72-hour ceasefire starting on Wednesday intended to allow aid to reach areas cut off by months of fighting and in dire humanitarian need. In its first statement on the truce, a governing council composed of the Iranian-allied Houthi group and powerful local allies demanded a Saudi-backed Arab coalition end military attacks and lift curbs on air, sea and land transport. A ceasefire between warring factions will begin at 2359 local time (2059 GMT) on We
  
  Read more

• There are oilfields in the South Downs too | Letters

  18-10-2016 21:09 via theguardian.com
  
  Howard J Curtis of Liverpool asks why the shale gas and oil under the South Downs national park is not being exploited (Letters, 17 October). He needs to check his facts. Oil is being extracted from under the South Downs (in Lidsey, Markwells Wood, Singleton and Storrington, for example), there are applications for four wells, including horizontal drilling at Markwells Wood, and there is a site at Broadford Bridge that was prepared by one company, and which is now on the action list by another t
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Pedals the bear, YouTube star, apparently killed by hunters – video

  18-10-2016 20:17 via theguardian.com
  
  Pedals the bear, known for walking like a human on his two hind legs, has apparently been been killed by hunters near Rockaway, New Jersey. Pedals was a YouTube sensation, as people shared videos of him walking through their yards. He appears to have been was one of 562 bears shot during a seasonal six-day huntPedals the bear, known for walking on hind legs, apparently killed by hunters
  Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Sustainable cities: how can we develop the urban circular economy? – live chat

  18-10-2016 19:43 via theguardian.com
  
  Join us on this page on Wednesday 19 October, 1-2pm (BST), to debate the potential of cities to foster the circular economy 6.42pm BSTYou can send questions in advance by [email protected] or tweeting @GuardianSustBiz using the hashtag #AskGSB 6.42pm BSTMake sure you’re a registered user of the Guardian and join us in the comments section below, which will open on the day of the live chat. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Oil steadies ahead of preliminary U.S. inventory report

  18-10-2016 18:52
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Tuesday, as the dollar relinquished early gains and expectations of OPEC output curbs lifted crude prices from session lows despite forecasts for data showing a second straight weekly build in U.S. crude stockpiles. U.S. crude inventories likely rose by 2.4 million barrels in the week to Oct. 14, a Reuters poll of oil market analysts found. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) will issue official numbers on Wednesday.
  
  Read more

• Pedals the bear, known for walking on hind legs, apparently killed by hunters

  18-10-2016 18:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Body of bear with Pedals’ markings taken to weigh station by hunter, wildlife officials say, in New Jersey’s first sanctioned bow and arrow hunt in decadesPedals, a famed black bear who wandered around New Jersey on two legs like a human, appears to have been killed in the state’s first sanctioned bow and arrow hunt in four decades.
  Wildlife officials said the body of a 333lb bear with Pedals’ markings and known paw injuries was taken to a weigh station by a hunter near R
  
  Read more

• Capacity market provides another twist in the Government's air quality battle

  18-10-2016 17:59
  
  As the UK Government returns to court over illegal air quality levels, new analysis from think-tank Sandbag has warned that up to £800m could be spent in the UK to subsidise a plethora of new diesel generators during the next 15 years.
  
  Read more

• Oil drifts as dollar offsets bullish OPEC outlook

  18-10-2016 17:53
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices drifted on Tuesday, erasing early gains, after a rebound in the dollar offset optimism built on OPEC promises to curb output when it meets in November. A firmer dollar makes crude oil and other commodities denominated in the greenback less affordable to holders of other currencies. The oil rally has, however, stalled at around $50 a barrel on doubts whether OPEC will reach a deal that will satisfy all its 14 members.
  
  Read more

• Developed nations 'confident' of hitting $100bn climate action pledge

  18-10-2016 16:54
  
  Developed countries are "confident" that $100bn will be financed annually to aid climate actions in developing countries by 2020, a new report compiled by the UK and Australia has revealed.
  
  Read more

• OPEC secretary-general optimistic on reaching oil output deal in November

  18-10-2016 16:10
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC should be able to reach a deal next month to limit oil production without too much disagreement about individual countries' output levels, the producer group's secretary-general said on Tuesday. Mohammed Barkindo also told journalists on the sidelines of the Oil & Money conference that Russia, which is not in OPEC, was not backtracking on its pledge to contribute to output limits should OPEC reach a deal at its next meeting on Nov. 30. "We expect that a
  
  Read more

• Environmental groups sue Norway over oil drilling

  18-10-2016 16:08
  STOCKHOLM (AP) — Two environmental groups sued the Norwegian government on Tuesday for allegedly violating the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Norwegian constitution by allowing oil drilling in the Barents Sea.
  
  Read more

• 2016 locked into being hottest year on record, Nasa says

  18-10-2016 15:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Data shows September was the warmest in modern temperature monitoring following months of record-breaking anomalies this yearNasa has all but declared this year to be the hottest yet recorded, after September narrowly turned out the warmest in modern temperature monitoring.Last month was 0.91C above the average temperature for that time of year from 1951 to 1980, the benchmark used for measuring rises. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Oil prices rise supported by market balance signals

  18-10-2016 15:39
  By Sabina Zawadzki LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday, helped by signs that oversupply in the global market may be moderating ahead of a November meeting of OPEC producers that aims to curb crude oil output. A proposal by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut or cap output helped lift crude prices above $50, but not much more because market participants doubt the cartel's ability to strike and implement a concrete deal. Now, several analysts have said a two-year
  
  Read more

• The e-waste mountains - in pictures

  18-10-2016 15:24 via theguardian.com
  
  Sustainable development goal target 12.5 is to reduce waste. But with a planet increasingly dependent on technology, is that even possible? Kai Loeffelbein’s photographs of e-waste recycling in Guiyu, southern China show what happens to discarded computers Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Tasmanian devil milk fights superbugs

  18-10-2016 15:20 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Milk from Tasmanian devils could offer up a useful weapon against antibiotic-resistant superbugs, according to Australian researchers.
  
  Read more

• Treasury blocked moves to charge diesel cars to enter polluted UK cities

  18-10-2016 15:03 via theguardian.com
  
  High court hears evidence in air pollution case against the government that environment and transport department plans were overruledThe Treasury blocked other government departments from charging diesel cars to enter towns and cities blighted by air pollution, documents revealed during a high court hearing on Tuesday.Legal NGO ClientEarth is challenging the government’s pollution plan, which by law should cut illegal levels of nitrogen dioxide in the “shortest possible time”.
  
  Read more

• Deepwater projects survive low oil price, executives say

  18-10-2016 15:02
  By Ron Bousso and Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - The deepwater oil industry is not dead, even after the brutal drop in oil prices in recent years, but activity will focus on regions such as Brazil and the Gulf of Mexico where resources are large and costs low, executives said on Tuesday. Sanctioning of multi-billion dollar projects, that take years to develop and which drove oil supply growth earlier this decade, ground to a near halt since the oil price collapse in mid-2014 as companies deal
  
  Read more

• BEIS aims to rollout emissions reduction plan in February

  18-10-2016 14:56
  
  The permanent secretary for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Alex Chisholm revealed that he expects an emissions reduction plan to be published by the end of February 2017.
  
  Read more

• UK regulator cuts proposed earnings cap for Norway power link

  18-10-2016 14:53
  (Reuters) - British energy regulator Ofgem said on Tuesday it has revised down provisional upper and lower levels for National Grid's annual revenues from a planned electricity interconnector to Norway by around 30 percent, meaning British consumers were likely to benefit more than previously expected. The revisions mean that National Grid's revenues from the cable operations under the cap and floor regime will be lower, while consumers were more likely to get a reduction in high voltage grid ch
  
  Read more

• Researchers use 'robomussels' to monitor climate change

  18-10-2016 14:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  Tiny robots have been helping researchers study how cli­mate change affects bio­di­ver­sity. Devel­oped by North­eastern Uni­ver­sity sci­en­tist Brian Hel­muth, the “robo­mus­sels” have the shape, size, and color of actual mus­sels, with minia­ture built-in sen­sors that track tem­per­a­tures inside the mussel beds.
  
  Read more

• Norway faces climate lawsuit over Arctic oil exploration plans

  18-10-2016 13:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners say decision to open up the Barents Sea violates the nation’s constitution and threatens the Paris climate agreement A lawsuit has been filed against the Norwegian government over a decision to open up the Barents Sea for oil exploration which campaigners say violates the country’s constitution and threatens the Paris climate agreement.The case is being brought by an alliance including Greenpeace, indigenous activists, youth groups, and the former director of Nasa’s
  
  Read more

• Urban energy 'rethink' needed to ensure low-carbon transition, says IRENA

  18-10-2016 13:37
  
  Cities have an "unprecedented" opportunity to transform and decarbonise energy systems and transition to greener city infrastructure, according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
  
  Read more

• Oil rises on weaker dollar, market balance signals

  18-10-2016 13:27
  By Sabina Zawadzki LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday, helped by a weaker dollar and the notion that global markets oversupply may be moderating, ahead of a November meeting of OPEC producers that could decide to cut production. A proposal by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut or cap output helped lift crude prices above $50, but not much more because market participants doubt the cartel's ability to strike and implement a concrete deal. Brent crude rose 38 c
  
  Read more

• UN: Farming needs to harvest chance to cut emissions

  18-10-2016 13:08 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The global farming sector has a big role to play in the effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to future climate change, the UN says.
  
  Read more

• Green groups sue Norway over Barents Sea oil drilling

  18-10-2016 12:48
  STOCKHOLM (AP) — Two environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Norwegian government for allowing oil drilling in the Barents Sea.
  
  Read more

• Arsenal signs up renewable experts as official energy partner

  18-10-2016 12:36
  
  Arsenal Football Club has unveiled a new marque signing, as the UK's largest solar energy investor becomes the club's official UK energy partner in a move that will see the Emirates Stadium powered by renewable energy.
  
  Read more

• Exxon asks court to throw out New York state's climate change case

  18-10-2016 11:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Subpoena would force oil company to hand over decades of documents that would establish whether it misled investors about climate risksExxon Mobil Corp asked a federal court on Monday to throw out a subpoena from New York state that would force the oil company to hand over decades of documents as part of a wide-ranging inquiry into whether it misled investors about climate change risks. The filing means Exxon has now requested the US district court in Fort Worth, Texas for injunctions against tw
  
  Read more

• UK watchdog lowers proposed earnings cap for North Sea power link

  18-10-2016 11:38
  (Reuters) - UK energy regulator Ofgem has put forward a reduced provisional cap on developers' earnings from a planned 1.4 gigawatt power cable between Norway and Britain, saying that the new limit would benefit consumers. In its final assessment of the North Sea Link, Ofgem has set a provisional annual earnings cap of 94 million pounds, with a floor price of 53 million pounds a year, it said on Tuesday. The reduction was because construction costs have fallen, Ofgem said.
  
  Read more

• BP says will break even with oil at $55/barrel in 2017 - CEO

  18-10-2016 11:16
  BP chief executive Bob Dudley expects oil to trade at $50-$60 a barrel next year, he said on Tuesday, adding that his company would break even at prices slightly below $55. "Last year we said we needed to balance at $60 and we had a job to get it there ... Next year we will be able to balance south of $55," he told the Oil & Money annual conference.
  
  Read more

• Oil rises on dollar and market balance expectations

  18-10-2016 11:12
  By Sabina Zawadzki LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday, helped by a weaker U.S. dollar and as several analysts said that global markets might not be as oversupplied as flagged by others ahead of a November meeting of OPEC producers that could decide to cut crude production. The proposal by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries made at the end of last month to cut or cap production has helped to lift crude prices above $50, but not much more because of market participant
  
  Read more

• US Senate could block landmark HFC climate treaty, legal experts warn

  18-10-2016 10:38 via theguardian.com
  
  A new deal to reduce the use of powerful climate-changing chemicals will require Senate approval in the US, reports Climate CentralThe jubilation and relief that flowed from United Nations climate talks in Rwanda over the weekend may be short-lived in the U.S., where legal experts say the agreement risks being blocked by Republican senators.Weary U.N. diplomats finalized a deal Saturday to phase out the use of most HFCs, which are chemicals used in refrigerators and air conditioners an
  
  Read more

• Oil rises as market could be closer to balance than expected

  18-10-2016 09:01
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose early on Tuesday as some analysts said markets might not be quite as oversupplied as suggested by many, with global inventories rising less than expected ahead of the high-demand winter heating season in the northern hemisphere. Brent crude was at $51.91 per barrel at 0655 GMT, up 39 cents, or 0.76 percent from the previous close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 40 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $50.34 a barrel.
  
  Read more

• Tasmanian devil milk could kill golden staph and other antibiotic-resistant bugs

  18-10-2016 08:34 via theguardian.com
  
  Research shows milk from devils could kill superbugs and combat the facial tumour that has killed 80% of their populationMilk from Tasmanian devils could kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria like golden staph and potentially combat the deadly facial tumour disease that has killed 80% of the wild devil population in the past 20 years.According to research led by Sydney University PhD student Emma Peel, milk produced by the marsupials contains antimicrobial peptides called cathelicidins which had be
  
  Read more

• We can save elephants. But can we save wild elephants?

  18-10-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Elephants will certainly survive. But it may only be in ‘fortress’ conservation parks. Is there any way to allow elephants to stay wild?
  I have just returned from Kenya’s North Eastern Province where one night, camped out in a dry riverbed with just a mosquito net for cover, a herd of elephants emerged out of the dark – a great and almost silent mass of shapes. They passed through our makeshift camp, looming over us, their tusks white against the night. I was close enough
  
  Read more

• Green subsidies to push UK energy bills higher than planned

  18-10-2016 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  National Audit Office says household bills will be £17 higher annually than planned by 2020 due to the installation rate of windfarms and solar panels Household energy bills in four years’ time will be £17 higher annually than planned because of the number of windfarms and solar panels installed in recent years, according to the government’s spending watchdog.The amount of money levied on bills each year to pay for renewable energy subsidies is capped under a system calle
  
  Read more

• Green subsidies to push UK energy bills higher than expected

  18-10-2016 07:01 via theguardian.com
  
  National Audit Office says household bills will be £17 higher annually than previously expected by 2020 due to the installation rate of windfarms and solar panels Household energy bills in four years’ time will be £17 higher annually than previously expected because of the number of windfarms and solar panels installed in recent years, according to the government’s spending watchdog.The amount of money levied on bills each year to pay for renewable energy subsidies is cap
  
  Read more

• A bird of beauty laid to rest in the lingering fragrance of summer

  18-10-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Claxton, Norfolk I laid my song thrush down in the earth where all those life scenes and memories and scents aroseEven in death it looked perfect, spots on his chest as bold as a summer’s morning. It was a dead song thrush. The tiny yellow tips to the coverts and the faintest crease of like colour at the corners of the beak suggested a bird of the year, inexperienced in the ways of cats or windows. Yet what to do with something so beautiful?First I had work. Our garden is split in three &n
  
  Read more

• Rio police fire tear-gas during Brazil budget plan protest

  18-10-2016 03:15
  Police fired tear gas in downtown Rio de Janeiro on Monday when protesters demonstrating against a proposed government spending cap approached the headquarters of state oil company Petrobras, the GloboNews channel said. The police action marks the first time a new wave of Brazilian street protests, this time against the signature economic policy of the months-old government of President Michel Temer, have turned violent.
  
  Read more

• Oil edges up as analysts say market could be closer to balance than expected

  18-10-2016 02:44
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose early on Tuesday as some analysts said markets might not be quite as oversupplied as suggested by many, with global inventories rising less than expected ahead of the high-demand winter heating season in the northern hemisphere. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 27 cents at $50.21 a barrel. Traders said prices were receiving support from the notion that oil markets, which have been dogged by oversupply for two years, may be
  
  Read more

• David Attenborough: zoos should use peepholes to respect gorillas' privacy

  18-10-2016 02:22 via theguardian.com
  
  Naturalist says London zoo escape attempt was ‘hardly surprising’ and calls for visitors to observe animals through peepholes, not glass panelsVeteran British naturalist David Attenborough has called for gorillas in zoos to be kept behind walls with peepholes rather than glass panels, in order to respect their privacy. Related: London zoo gorilla broke enclosure glass twice before escapeContinue reading...
  
  Read more

• Peru investigates death of 10,000 Titicaca water frogs

  18-10-2016 02:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Peru's environmental agency is investigating the deaths of some 10,000 frogs whose bodies have been found in a tributary of the Titicaca lake.
  
  Read more

• Is it the end for the conker?

  18-10-2016 01:09 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Horse chestnut trees are being attacked by a combination of pests and diseases which could cause the conker to vanish
  
  Read more

Follow @UK_Environment on Twitter!