Environment news

• Cloudy feedback on global warming

  31-10-2016 22:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have identified a mechanism that causes low clouds -- and their influence on Earth's energy balance -- to respond differently to global warming, depending on their spatial pattern and location.The results imply that studies relying solely on recent observed trends underestimated how much Earth will warm due to increased carbon dioxide. The research appears in the Oct. 31 edition of the journal, Nature Geosciences
  
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• The ifs and buts of long-term weather forecasting

  31-10-2016 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Predicting the weather more than 30 days ahead is fraught with difficulty. But that doesn’t stop meteorologists tryingEver since the Met Office was derided for predicting a barbecue summer, long-range weather forecasting for the season ahead has been avoided. The most that is attempted is 30 days, and the current forecast contains so many ifs, buts and possibilities that almost any weather might occur in November and no one could complain.That does not mean that predicting the weather for
  
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• Wetland archaeological sites at risk

  31-10-2016 22:23 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Archaeological remains at wetland sites across the world could be at risk of being degraded and lost to environmental change, say scientists.
  
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• One million people 'check in' on Facebook to support Dakota pipeline protesters

  31-10-2016 22:20 via theguardian.com
  
  More than 1 million people answered a call on Facebook to ‘overwhelm and confuse’ law enforcement, though police deny tracking activists on social mediaSupport our independent journalism with a contribution or by becoming a memberMore than 1 million people have checked in on Facebook to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in response to a viral post claiming that doing so would help protect activists in North Dakota protesting against an oil pipeline from police surveillance. Relate
  
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• Facebook users 'check in' to support North Dakota pipeline protests

  31-10-2016 22:09
  Thousands of supporters of a Native American tribe and environmental activists fighting construction of an oil pipeline in North Dakota turned to social media on Monday in a bid to confuse police who they believe are using it to track the protesters. More than 4,600 people used Facebook's location tagging feature to "check in" on Monday afternoon at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, near the site of the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline, vastly boosting the numbers actually there.
  
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• Oil ends at one-month low on OPEC doubts, expected record output

  31-10-2016 20:58
  By Ethan Lou NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices settled at one-month lows on Monday after dropping over 3 percent on doubts about OPEC's ability to implement its planned production cuts, with the market further weighed by expectations that the cartel had record output in October. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) approved a document on Monday outlining its long-term strategy, a sign its members are achieving consensus on managing production. A Reuters survey found on Mond
  
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• Thousands 'check in' on Facebook to support Dakota pipeline protesters

  31-10-2016 20:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Hundreds of thousands answered a call on Facebook to ‘overwhelm and confuse’ law enforcement, though police deny tracking activists on social mediaSupport our independent journalism with a contribution or by becoming a memberHundreds of thousands of people have checked in on Facebook to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in response to a viral post claiming that doing so would help protect activists in North Dakota protesting against an oil pipeline from police surveillance. Relate
  
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• The oil detox: these companies are using yeast to wean us off fossil fuels

  31-10-2016 19:50 via theguardian.com
  
  For over a century, oil has ruled the chemical landscape. But some companies are betting that yeast may be able to push petroleum to the sideJoin us! The Guardian Green Chemistry Conference on 2 Nov in New York
  In the future, the 20th century may well be regarded as the fossil fuel century. Oil, coal and natural gas powered vehicles and power plants and provided the raw materials for millions of products ranging from paints to packaging to clothing.But, as the 21st century kicked into gear, stoc
  
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• West Coast record low snowpack in 2015 influenced by high temperatures

  31-10-2016 19:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  The western-most region of the continental United States set records for low snowpack levels in 2015 and scientists, through a new study, point the finger at high temperatures, not the low precipitation characteristic of past “snow drought” years.The study suggests greenhouse gases were a major contributor to the high temperatures, which doesn’t bode well for the future, according to authors of a new study published today in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. 
  
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• OPEC oil output hits new record on Nigeria, Libya - Reuters survey

  31-10-2016 19:15
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC's oil output is likely to set another record high in October, a Reuters survey found on Monday, as Nigerian and Libyan output partially recovered from disruptions and Iraq boosted exports. The rise in output could add to scepticism about OPEC's ability to finalise a plan agreed in September to limit supplies. Oil , which rallied to a 2016 high near $54 a barrel following the decision, has since slipped towards $48.
  
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• Argentina negotiates oil worker contracts in effort to woo investment

  31-10-2016 18:54
  By Juliana Castilla BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's government is negotiating more flexible oil workers' contracts to woo investors to the Vaca Muerta shale fields and overcome an energy deficit, the head of one of the sector's most powerful unions told Reuters on Monday. High labour costs are thought to be the primary obstacle to investment in the country's oil and gas sector, and negotiations are politically sensitive in a country with an influential labour movement, meaning some changes
  
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• 'Bionic' plants can detect explosives

  31-10-2016 18:52 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists have transformed the humble spinach plant into a bomb detector.
  
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• M&S Energy funds 26 community energy projects

  31-10-2016 18:22
  
  The energy arm of British retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) has today (31 October) announced the winners of a £350,000 Community Energy Fund which supports a range of projects looking to install on-site clean technology systems.
  
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• Ladybird invasion

  31-10-2016 18:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The last weekend of October sees ladybirds swarm public spaces, people's homes and ex-footballers.
  
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• The Sustainable Business Covered podcast: Episode 14 - The past, present and future of green buildings

  31-10-2016 17:54
  
  As edie's green buildings month draws to a close, we visit the inspirational home of the UK Green Building Council for a live episode of the podcast, including an exclusive chat with the Council's campaign and policy director John Alker.
  
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• Oil down more than $1 on OPEC output-cut concerns

  31-10-2016 17:45
  By Ethan Lou NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices dropped more than $1 a barrel on Monday to hit one-months low on doubts about OPEC's planned production cut and a build in U.S. crude inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub. Officials from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-member producers met in Vienna on Saturday, but did not come to specific terms, agreeing only to meet again before a scheduled regular OPEC meeting on Nov. 30. On Friday, talks in Vienna
  
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• OPEC officials approve group's delayed long-term strategy - sources

  31-10-2016 17:44
  By Alex Lawler and Rania El Gamal LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - OPEC officials approved on Monday a document outlining the exporter group's long-term strategy, in a sign its members are making progress in ironing out differences over how and when to manage production levels and, ultimately, oil prices. The approval of the document has been repeatedly postponed with OPEC price hawks such as Algeria and Iran saying the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries should be prepared to defend oil p
  
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• Business leaders recognise 'incredible opportunities' of smart energy technology

  31-10-2016 17:37
  
  The vast majority of Britain's business leaders have given their backing to the rollout of smart technology across the country, according to new research.
  
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• GE to merge oil unit with Baker Hughes to create service giant

  31-10-2016 17:30
  General Electric Co said on Monday it would merge its oil and gas business with Baker Hughes Inc , creating the world's second-largest oilfield services provider as industry competition heats up to supply more-efficient products and services to the energy industry. The deal to create a company with $32 billion (£26.30 billion) in annual revenue will combine GE's strengths in making equipment long-prized by oil producers with Baker Hughes's expertise in drilling and fracking new wells. GE i
  
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• Study: Drilling may have caused deadly 1933 California quake

  31-10-2016 17:03
  LOS ANGELES (AP) — New research suggests oil drilling decades ago may have triggered earthquakes in the Los Angeles region, including the 1933 quake that killed more than 100 people.
  
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• 12 ways environment and development sectors can collaborate to meet the SDGs

  31-10-2016 16:55 via theguardian.com
  
  The 2030 agenda intertwines goals for human development and environmental protection. An expert panel explains how the two sectors can work togetherSectoral thinking is partly what will hinder us from meeting the sustainable development goals. The question is not how these sectors can collaborate, but how they can become increasingly intertwined to reflect the joined-up nature of the goals. A good example is the transformation from marine governance to ecosystem governance that took place in som
  
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• UAE jails seven for links to Hezbollah

  31-10-2016 16:49
  A United Arab Emirates court sentenced seven people to up to life in prison for establishing a cell linked to the Lebanese Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah, state media said on Monday. The charges included "handing over information about a government department" and "oil production in the UAE" as well as "maps of a gas field" to Hezbollah, WAM said. In February, the UAE along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait - all U.S.-allied Sunni Muslim states - declared the Iran-backed Hezbo
  
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• Western powers voice support Libyan PM in standoff with rivals

  31-10-2016 16:33
  Western and some Middle Eastern powers expressed support on Monday for Libya's U.N.-brokered unity government and Prime Minister Fayez Seraj's push to restore order across the chaotic country and revive its oil-based economy. After the meeting, a spokeswoman for U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the ministers, who included British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Italy's Paolo Gentiloni, said they had reaffirmed the "strong international support" for the GNA. The meeting included a sess
  
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• Green Building Council office refurb sets record for low-carbon impact

  31-10-2016 16:20
  
  The central London headquarters of the UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC), which played host to edie's latest podcast episode, has achieved the lowest embodied carbon footprint ever recorded for a UK office refurbishment.
  
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• World's children breathing dangerous air - in pictures

  31-10-2016 16:19 via theguardian.com
  
  Three hundred million children live in areas with extreme air pollution, Unicef research shows. A new photo collection shows the scale of the problem in highly polluted countries in Africa and Asia Continue reading...
  
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• Shell, Vitol boost UAE storage to handle Iraqi crude - sources

  31-10-2016 15:42
  By Rania El Gamal DUBAI (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell and trading house Vitol are stepping up their operations in the port of Fujairah to store Iraqi crude as production from the OPEC member rises, industry sources said. Iraq is OPEC's second largest producer after Saudi Arabia and its output has almost doubled since the start of the decade at 4.7 million barrels per day (bpd). With a target of 5.5-6 million bpd by 2020, Iraq wants to be exempt from the cartel's bid to boost oil prices with prod
  
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• Ministers reject calls for charge on UK's disposable coffee cups

  31-10-2016 15:21 via theguardian.com
  
  Therese Coffey claims 5p charge is not warranted as industry and chains are already doing enough voluntarily to reduce wasteMinisters have rejected calls for a charge on the 2.5bn disposable coffee cups thrown away each year because they believe coffee shop chains are already taking enough action to cut down waste.Therese Coffey told the Liberal Democrats, who have urged the government to impose a 5p charge similar to that levied on plastic bags, that industry and chains were already doing enoug
  
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• Species speed up adaptation to beat effects of warmer oceans

  31-10-2016 15:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  Such changes mean species threatened by climate change may find ways to adapt far quicker than through changes in DNA, which come with evolution.Researchers studied the Winter Skate (Leucoraja ocellata), in waters that are around 7000 years old and significantly warmer than those where the rest of the species range is found. They observed many physical and functional adaptations which allow the species to cope with the significantly different set of environmental conditions observed in this shal
  
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• Commonwealth drives strategies to put climate change into reverse

  31-10-2016 15:15 via theguardian.com
  
  Highways lined with wind turbines among designs on show as Commonwealth aims to be a pathfinder that can ‘say sorry for screwing up’ on climateCities that mimic forests, bricks made from converted carbon dioxide and highways lined with wind turbines powered by traffic. These are ideas that, for now, still belong to a distant, brighter future – when the world’s focus can be turned from halting runaway climate change to actually reversing it. Yet these were among the innova
  
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• Paul Polman: Every business in the world must make a climate commitment

  31-10-2016 15:10
  
  Unilever chief executive Paul Polman has urged the business community to act on its moral duty and deliver on the sustainability objectives set through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement.
  
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• I’m gunning for trouble, but grouse moors should be subsidised by taxpayers | Ian Gregory

  31-10-2016 15:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Jealousy of the rich is energising the social media campaign against shooting. The fact is that the grouse industry and moorland protection are vitalIt’s easy to imagine that grouse moors involve rich men shooting birds for fun and the countryside becoming a Bermuda Triangle for birds of prey. So how then can it be possible to persuade you that £4m of public subsidy should be paid to the grouse industry?Well, first of all, Friends of the Earth is wrong to suggest that the subsidies g
  
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• Vampires are more real than you think

  31-10-2016 13:40 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The 'Prof of Goth' Nick Groom on the origin of the vampire
  
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• The elephant who helped me through one of the darkest periods of my life

  31-10-2016 13:30 via theguardian.com
  
  After years of battling psychological demons, Jake Dorothy took the radical decision to go and work in an elephant sanctuaryOne of the most significant moments in my life came one afternoon about five months ago, when I was volunteering in an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. I was tidying the park as part of my duties when I came across a beautiful, solitary elephant with a badly deformed front leg. Concerned as to why she was alone and curious about her physical health, I asked a guide.Kabu was
  
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• Dakota pipeline protesters set for 'last stand' on banks of Missouri river

  31-10-2016 12:47 via theguardian.com
  
  Completion of controversial oil pipeline near as work moves quickly, but one protester says: ‘There is no time for waiting any more’Support the Guardian’s independent journalism by making a contribution or becoming a memberNative American protesters are preparing to take a “last stand” against the Dakota Access pipeline after police raided their camps and arrested hundreds, paving the way for construction of the final stretch of the controversial oil project. Relate
  
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• The RSPB is wrong not to back a ban on driven grouse shooting | Nicholas Milton

  31-10-2016 12:15 via theguardian.com
  
  The organisation’s stance puts it at odds with its members and conservationists and misses the opportunity to be the decisive voice in the debateMPs will on Monday debate a ban on driven grouse shooting following a petition signed by more than 120,000 people. But there will be one missing signature that could have swayed the argument decisively behind a ban: that of the RSPB.As a former employee and lifelong member I have become increasingly frustrated with the society’s desire to pr
  
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• Oil slides as non-OPEC nations demure on output limit plan

  31-10-2016 12:09
  By Libby George LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices slid on Monday after non-OPEC producers made no specific commitment to join OPEC in limiting oil output levels to prop up prices, suggesting they want the oil producing group to solve its differences first. Officials and experts from OPEC countries and non-OPEC nations including Azerbaijan, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Oman and Russia met for consultations in Vienna on Saturday and only agreed to meet again in November before a scheduled regular OPEC
  
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• Doubt over OPEC output deal keeps oil price view in check - Reuters poll

  31-10-2016 12:01
  Reservations over the ability of the world's largest oil producers to reach a binding agreement to limit output has prompted analysts to leave their price outlook broadly unchanged, a Reuters poll showed on Monday. The 35 analysts and economists polled by Reuters forecast Brent crude futures will average $44.78 a barrel in 2016 and $57.08 in 2017, compared to the $44.74 a barrel and $57.28 outlook for the same periods in the previous month's survey. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Co
  
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• Interest in latest UK oil exploration tender lowest in 14 years

  31-10-2016 11:50
  Britain's latest tender for offshore exploration permits attracted the lowest interest in 14 years, underlining how the mature North Sea is struggling to entice explorers to extract the 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent left untapped. The 29th round for offshore licences, which included unexplored areas around the Shetlands, received only 29 applications for 113 blocks, compared with 1,261 blocks on offer, Britain's Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) said on Monday. "Long standing investors continue
  
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• GE to merge oil and gas business with Baker Hughes

  31-10-2016 11:27
  (Reuters) - General Electric Co , banking on a recovery in oil prices, said on Monday it would merge its oil and gas business with No. 3 oilfield services provider Baker Hughes Inc . GE will own 62.5 percent of the new company, which will have combined revenue of $32 billion (26.30 billion pounds), while Baker Hughes shareholders will own 37.5 percent. Shareholders of Baker Hughes, which had a market value of about $26 billion (£21.37 billion) as of Friday, will get a special one-time cash
  
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• Offshore wind deployment could grow by 650% in 15 years, says IRENA

  31-10-2016 11:20
  
  Technological innovations for offshore wind energy generation hold the potential to grow the sector from 13GW of capacity in 2015 to more than 100GW in 2030, according to new analysis from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
  
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• Coal doesn’t help the poor; it makes them poorer | Dana Nuccitelli

  31-10-2016 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Climate denial often centers around myths about the importance of coal in alleviating poverty
  A dozen international poverty and development organizations published a report last week on the impact of building new coal power plants in countries where a large percentage of the population lacks access to electricity. The report’s conclusions are strikingly counter-intuitive: on the whole, building coal power plants does little to help the poor, and often it can actually make them poorer.Deliv
  
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• Growth of city trees can cut air pollution, says report

  31-10-2016 10:39 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Planting trees is a cost-effective way to tackle urban air pollution, which is a growing problem for many cities, a study suggests.
  
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• Toxic smog covers Delhi after Diwali

  31-10-2016 10:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Fireworks associated with the Hindu festival add to pollution in Indian capital as particulates in the air soar above safe levelsDelhi has been blanketed in a toxic fog the morning after the Hindu festival of Diwali, when hundreds of thousands of people in the Indian capital celebrate by setting off crackers and fireworks.Air quality in the Indian capital, one of the world’s most polluted cities, is usually very poor due to road dust, open fires, vehicle exhaust fumes, industrial emissions
  
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• Imagine a world without animals. You’ll soon see how much we need them | Jules Howard

  31-10-2016 09:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Hand-pollinating crops, growing meat in labs and dealing with the stench of scavenging fungus – this is the future we faceA couple of years ago we heard news that 50% of all vertebrate species had disappeared in 40 years. On Thursday, we were greeted with news that by 2020 the figure is likely to rise to 66% of all vertebrates. It is no wonder that the conservationists are shouting. It is no wonder that they are so desperate to get their message heard. Animals, it seems, are on the way out
  
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• The Ivory Game review – timely account of elephants' death throes

  31-10-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The Chinese government has legitimised and stimulated the ivory trade, leading, as this angry, valuable documentary shows, to the near extinction of a speciesIt is obviously more than a game and this documentary directed by Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani – and exec-produced by Leonardo DiCaprio – showing on Netflix, brings a new urgency to an old subject: the ivory trade, which is threatening the world’s elephants. This threat has not been cancelled or brought under control,
  
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• Newly formed Aker BP beats third-quarter earnings forecast, sets dividend

  31-10-2016 08:14
  Norwegian oil firm Aker BP reported inaugural earnings ahead of analysts' expectations for the third quarter on Monday and said it would initially pay a dividend of at least $250 million (205 million pounds) per year. Formed in September through the combination of BP's Norwegian unit and Det norske oljeselskap, a firm controlled by investment firm Aker ASA , the new entity is owned 30 percent by BP and 40 percent by Aker. "The integration process continues to be on track," Aker BP said in a stat
  
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• Kering and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation launch separate sustainability curriculum modules

  31-10-2016 08:00
  
  French apparel company Kering has launched a new curriculum to gain understanding of the environmental impacts of student fashion designs, just days after the Ellen MacArthur Foundation moved to place circular economy into International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum.
  
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• The costly gridlock: how can we keep our cities moving?

  31-10-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  As the UK’s population continues to grow, transport systems in our urban centres will increasingly feel the strain. So what can be done?Cities around the world confront a huge and pressing problem: how do you accommodate growing numbers of people? It is forecast that by 2050, two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas, and transport planners face the daunting task of making sure everyone can move around without too much of a struggle.The UK’s population is ex
  
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• The river gushes through a gorge where the Romans quarried

  31-10-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Gelt Woods, Cumbria The modern river has sunk down into a narrow channel, carving the rock into strange shapes like rolling muscles or slumped candle waxThe sides of the river Gelt glow with beech leaves, flat ovals of burnt orange sticking to wet ledges. We take the footpath into the woods at Low Geltbridge, crossing the little Powterneth beck where it joins the main course. Vines of honeysuckle drape the trees, their scarlet berries vivid in the flat light. Acorns pummel our shoulders and lie
  
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• 2 billion children breathe toxic air worldwide, UNICEF says

  31-10-2016 06:03
  
  As Indians wake Monday to smoke-filled skies from a weekend of festival fireworks, New Delhi's worst season for air pollution begins — with dire consequences. A new report from UNICEF says about a third ...
  
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