Environment news

• Google data centres to be 100% renewable-powered by 2017

  06-12-2016 23:32 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Google reveals it is on track to offset 100% of data centre and office electricity use with renewable energy.
  
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• Scientists Improve Predictions of How Temperature Affects the Survival of Fish Embryos

  06-12-2016 23:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scientists closely tracking the survival of endangered Sacramento River salmon faced a puzzle: the same high temperatures that salmon eggs survived in the laboratory appeared to kill many of the eggs in the river.Now the scientists from NOAA Fisheries and the University of California at Santa Cruz have resolved the puzzle, realizing new insights into how egg size and water flow affect the survival of egg-laying fish. The larger the eggs, they found, the greater the water flow they need to supply
  
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• Oil falls on output cut skepticism, OPEC and Russia output rise

  06-12-2016 23:09
  By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices on Tuesday ended lower for the first time since OPEC agreed on Nov. 30 to cut output, as data showing record high production in the producer group fed skepticism that it would be able to reduce supplies. Brent futures slid $1.01 to settle at $53.93 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 86 cents to $50.93 per barrel. Crude had surged more than 15 percent in the four sessions since the Nov. 30 OPEC meeting.
  
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• Sea ice extent in Arctic and Antarctic reached record lows in November

  06-12-2016 22:08 via theguardian.com
  
  ‘Almost unprecedented’ event attributed to warm temperatures and winds, with some areas more than 20C (36F) warmer than usualBoth the Arctic and Antarctic experienced record lows in sea ice extent in November, with scientists astonished to see Arctic ice actually retreating at a time when the region enters the cold darkness of winter.Related: The fate of Arctic sea ice – Science Weekly podcastContinue reading...
  
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• Arctic sea ice hits record monthly low for 7th time in 2016

  06-12-2016 21:24
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Though this is the time the Arctic is supposed to be refreezing, scientists say sea ice there hit record low levels for November. In the crucial Barents Sea, floating ice decreased when it would be expected to grow.
  
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• Oil falls on output cut scepticism, OPEC and Russia output rise

  06-12-2016 21:22
  By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices on Tuesday ended lower for the first time in a week since OPEC agreed to cut output on growing scepticism that the cartel would be able to reduce supplies as data showed record high production in most major export regions. After rising over 15 percent over the four sessions since the Nov. 30 OPEC meeting, Brent futures lost $1.01, or 1.8 percent, to settle at $53.93 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 86 cents, o
  
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• What an extraordinary, gutless capitulation by Josh Frydenberg | Katharine Murphy

  06-12-2016 20:38 via theguardian.com
  
  Forget climate policy intricacies – through this pathetic retreat the government has again revealed its true natureWhat an extraordinary capitulation.
  Just 24 hours of controversy from entirely predictable quarters and a carefully calibrated process to try to engineer a truce in Australia’s utterly wretched climate politics has been all but abandoned by its architects. Continue reading...
  
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• Adani Carmichael mine: Australia Institute demands answers from Turnbull in full-page ad

  06-12-2016 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Progressive thinktank wants to know whether company will pay full coal royalties, full company tax rate and create jobs it claims The progressive thinktank the Australia Institute is stepping up its campaign against the controversial Adani Carmichael mine proposal, publishing an open letter to Malcolm Turnbull questioning the project.The questions being posed via a full-page advertisement in the Australian Financial Review on Wednesday include whether the Adani mine, if it proceeds, will pay ful
  
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• Oil falls 2 pct on output cut skepticism, OPEC and Russia output rise

  06-12-2016 19:41
  By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices on Tuesday fell for the first session since OPEC agreed to cut output last week after data showed crude production rose in most major export regions and on growing skepticism that the cartel would be able to reduce production. After rising over 15 percent over the four sessions since the Nov. 30 OPEC meeting, Brent futures fell $1.06, or 1.9 percent, to $53.88 a barrel by 1:26 p.m. EST (1826 GMT). The Brent front-month contract has outperformed t
  
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• Green delight as Trump's Irish wall plans withdrawn

  06-12-2016 19:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Donald Trump's plan to erect a huge sea wall at his Irish golf course has been withdrawn in the light of stiff opposition.
  
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• House panel quizzes EPA on VW zero emission vehicle fund

  06-12-2016 18:56
  By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. House panel on Tuesday questioned the Environmental Protection Agency's diesel emissions settlement with Volkswagen AG , which requires the German automaker to invest $2 billion (1.58 billion pounds) in zero emission vehicle efforts over 10 years. Representative Tim Murphy, who heads a House Energy and Commerce panel, raised doubts about the government's oversight of the fund to boost electric vehicle charging stations and other green vehicle eff
  
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• Global warming talk can be a lot of hot air | Letters

  06-12-2016 18:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Alice Bell is right that we need to talk about climate change (Opinion, 6 December). However, when we do, people often say there is no point in cutting one’s own emissions (by not flying, for example) because hardly anyone else is; and they say there is no point in the UK doing anything, because other countries aren’t. Sadly, people in other countries are probably using the same arguments and so, in a self-fulfilling way, it could be argued that they are all correct. Certainly there
  
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• Gunvor values employee stock at close to $900 million

  06-12-2016 18:35
  By Julia Payne LONDON (Reuters) - Oil trading house Gunvor has given shares allocated to managers and traders a nominal value of nearly $900 million (710.09 million pound), filings seen by Reuters show, as co-founder Torbjorn Tornqvist diluted his stake in a bid to expand the firm and recruit and retain talent. The Swedish citizen founded Gunvor with Russian businessman Gennady Timchenko in 2000. It has since diversified away from Russia and changed its ownership structure to resemble rival glob
  
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• Agreement signed in Prestwick spaceport bid

  06-12-2016 18:29 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Glasgow Prestwick Airport signs an agreement with Houston Spaceport as it continues its bid to become the UK's first launch site.
  
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• Seal studies reveal secret life

  06-12-2016 18:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A project is underway to record the underwater behaviour of Britain's grey seals.
  
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• Google, Apple, Facebook race towards 100% renewable energy target

  06-12-2016 17:53 via theguardian.com
  
  A global campaign to promote 100% renewable energy use in the business world means more Silicon Valley giants are now investing in solar and wind electricityTech giants are jockeying to be the first to hit a 100% renewable energy goal. Google, which has invested in solar and wind energy for a decade, intends to get there by 2017.
  Google is the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy, and plans to buy enough wind and solar energy to offset all the electricity used by its 13 data centers and o
  
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• Statoil drops Airbus Super Puma helicopters for good

  06-12-2016 17:40
  Norwegian state-controlled oil company Statoil will not resume using Airbus's H225 Super Puma helicopters even if Norway's Civil Aviation Authority decides to lift a ban imposed after a fatal crash off Norway in April, the company said on Tuesday. Recent models of Super Puma, a workhorse of the offshore oil industry, were banned from commercial traffic in Norway and Britain following the accident that killed 13 oil workers flying from a Norwegian offshore oil platform operated by Statoil.
  
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• Exclusive - Emissions crackdown exposes Renault-Nissan engine trouble

  06-12-2016 16:50
  By Laurence Frost and Gilles Guillaume PARIS (Reuters) - The Renault-Nissan alliance is replacing its top executive in charge of combining the carmakers' engines and gearboxes, sources told Reuters, as tightening emissions regulations expose the slow pace of integration so far. Alain Raposo, global head of powertrain engineering, will be moved to an advisory role, and a successor announced this week, four people with knowledge of the matter said. A Renault-Nissan spokeswoman said there would be
  
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• Oil falls on production cut scepticism, OPEC and Russia output rise

  06-12-2016 16:42
  By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices on Tuesday fell for the first session since OPEC agreed to cut output last week after data showed crude production rose in most major export regions and on growing scepticism that the cartel would be able to reduce production. After rising over 15 percent over the four sessions since the Nov. 30 OPEC meeting, Brent futures were down $1.25, or 2.3 percent, to $53.69 a barrel at 10:13 a.m. EST (1513 GMT). The Brent front-month has outperformed the
  
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• Google to be powered 100% by renewable energy from 2017

  06-12-2016 15:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Internet giant says renewable energy is increasingly lowest cost option and it will not rule out investing in nuclear powerGoogle’s data centres and the offices for its 60,000 staff will be powered entirely by renewable energy from next year, in what the company has called a “landmark moment”.
  The internet giant is already the world’s biggest corporate buyer of renewable electricity, last year buying 44% of its power from wind and solar farms. Now it will be 100%, and an
  
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• Sandia Labs, Singapore join forces to develop energy storage

  06-12-2016 15:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  Sandia National Laboratories has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the government of Singapore’s Energy Market Authority (EMA) that will tap into the labs’ expertise in energy storage.EMA is the statutory body in Singapore responsible for ensuring a reliable and secure energy supply, promoting competition in the energy market and developing a dynamic energy sector. Last year, EMA invited Sandia to organize a workshop on the latest dev
  
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• Caesarean births 'affecting human evolution'

  06-12-2016 15:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The regular use of Caesarean sections is having an impact on human evolution, say scientists.
  
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• Oil firm Statoil makes first investment in solar tech

  06-12-2016 14:58
  Norwegian oil major Statoil has made its first investment in solar power technology, stepping up efforts to gradually complement its petroleum portfolio with renewable assets, the company said on Tuesday. "We are taking a first cautious step into solar with an investment in Oxford PV," Statoil Chief Executive Eldar Saetre told and industry conference on Tuesday. Statoil declined to disclose the price, but said it was a smaller venture investment.
  
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• When Permafrost Melts, What Happens to All That Stored Carbon?

  06-12-2016 14:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  The Arctic’s frozen ground contains large stores of organic carbon that have been locked in the permafrost for thousands of years. As global temperatures rise, that permafrost is starting to melt, raising concerns about the impact on the climate as organic carbon becomes exposed. A new study is shedding light on what that could mean for the future by providing the first direct physical evidence of a massive release of carbon from permafrost during a warming spike at the end of the last ice
  
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• German utilities set for compensation after court win on nuclear

  06-12-2016 14:34
  By Christoph Steitz and Vera Eckert KARLSRUHE/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's highest court ruled on Tuesday that hastening the shutdown of nuclear plants after Japan's Fukushima disaster violated some of the property rights of utility companies, allowing them to seek limited damages. Utilities E.ON , RWE and Vattenfall [VATN.UL] sued the German government, arguing the decision to close all nuclear plants by 2022 amounted to expropriation. Its move to end nuclear power has been welcomed by a maj
  
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• Zoology news: November’s animal antics from round the globe – in pictures

  06-12-2016 14:27 via theguardian.com
  
  A collection of zoological wonders from November 2016, featuring mobbing hyenas, speeding bats and crab power Continue reading...
  
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• Zoology news: November’s animal antics from around the globe – in pictures

  06-12-2016 14:27 via theguardian.com
  
  A collection of zoological wonders from November 2016, featuring mobbing hyenas, speeding bats and crab power Continue reading...
  
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• E.ON says does not expect nuclear compensation soon

  06-12-2016 14:00
  Germany utility E.ON on Tuesday said it was not expecting payments soon after the country's constitutional court ruled that nuclear operators were to be compensated for government decisions in 2011 that work towards speeding withdrawal from nuclear power. It added that it had invested several hundred million euros to extend the life spans of its nuclear plants after a relevant government decision in the year 2010, shortly before the Fukushima disaster triggered a policy about-turn.
  
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• Report: European utility industry not prepared for 'vital' energy storage shift

  06-12-2016 13:42
  
  European power industry professionals are acutely aware of the "vital" role that energy storage will play in transforming the energy mix over the next 10 years, but only a quarter are confident that the industry is ready to implement it.
  
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• Report: European utility industry not prepared for 'vital' energy storage

  06-12-2016 13:42
  
  European power industry professionals are acutely aware of the "vital" role that energy storage will play in transforming the energy mix over the next 10 years, but only a quarter are confident that the industry is ready to implement it.
  
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• Tesco boss calls for greater transparency to tackle food waste

  06-12-2016 13:05
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Retailers are showing a "growing appetite" to collaborate to tackle food waste, but still need to provide clearer information and deliver better reporting standards to drive change, the chief executive of Britain's largest supermarket group has told edie.
  
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• Exclusive: Tesco boss calls for greater transparency to tackle food waste

  06-12-2016 13:05
  
  Retailers are showing a "growing appetite" to collaborate to tackle food waste, but still need to provide clearer information and deliver better reporting standards to drive change, the chief executive of Britain's largest supermarket group has told edie.
  
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• Factbox: Why the shift to electric cars may surprise oil groups

  06-12-2016 12:38
  By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - While many auto executives predict electric vehicles will represent a significant share of vehicle sales in ten years, some oil companies expect electricity to still play only a bit part in transport 20 years from now. Here are some of the reasons why their outlooks vary: AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES     The Oil View: BP, Exxon’s oil market outlooks published this year do not mention driverless vehicles. The International Energy Agency said it had not
  
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• Analysis: Oil firms and carmakers diverge in costly debate

  06-12-2016 12:35
  By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - Many carmakers are predicting a significant shift to electric vehicles in the next decade. Advances in battery technology and the growth of autonomous driving and ride sharing - suited to electric vehicles - will power this expansion, they reason. Over half of all crude oil pumped is used for transport.
  
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• Cornwall to host pioneering local smart grid trial

  06-12-2016 12:31
  
  British Gas owner Centrica has launched a £19m trial to develop a 'virtual energy market' in Cornwall that will allow local businesses to sell their flexible energy capacity to the grid and the wholesale energy market.
  
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• Oil firms and carmakers diverge in costly debate

  06-12-2016 12:30
  By Tom Bergin LONDON (Reuters) - Many carmakers are predicting a significant shift to electric vehicles in the next decade. Advances in battery technology and the growth of autonomous driving and ride sharing - suited to electric vehicles - will power this expansion, they reason. Over half of all crude oil pumped is used for transport.
  
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• Indonesia takes new step to combat loss of forests, fires

  06-12-2016 12:30
  
  JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia has strengthened its moratorium on converting peat swamps to plantations in a move a conservation research group says will help prevent annual fires and substantially cut the country's carbon emissions if properly implemented.
  
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• Saudi artist: Standing Rock protesters are warning us to save what we can – video

  06-12-2016 12:29 via theguardian.com
  
  After the US Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit for the Dakota Access pipeline to drill under the Missouri river, Saudi Arabian artist Ahmed Mater joins protesters at Standing Rock to celebrate their victory. This is the fifth episode in our Crossing the line series, in which a group of Middle Eastern artists embarks on a US road trip exploring common concerns
  Standing Rock protesters asked to ‘go home’ by Sioux leader Continue reading...
  
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• Five west African countries ban 'dirty diesel' from Europe

  06-12-2016 12:02 via theguardian.com
  
  Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Ivory Coast to block imports from oil companies and traders of diesel with sulphur levels many times European limitFive west African countries have announced measures to end the practice of European oil companies and traders exporting “African quality” diesel – highly polluting fuels that could never be sold in Europe.Swiss commodity traders were accused in a report published in September by Swiss NGO Public Eye of exporting fuels to west Africa
  
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• US could see extreme rains increase of 400% by end of century

  06-12-2016 11:59 via theguardian.com
  
  As global temperatures rise, extreme downpours will increase putting huge strains on infrastructure and agriculture, finds climate studyWhen the skies open up and deluge an area, the results can be catastrophic, with roads washed out and homes destroyed by the resulting flash floods. Such extreme downpours are already occurring more often across the US, but a new study finds that as global temperatures rise, storms could dump considerably more rain and skyrocket in frequency.The study, in the jo
  
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• Oil dips as OPEC, Russian output rises ahead of production cut

  06-12-2016 11:01
  By Sabina Zawadzki LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Tuesday as crude output rose in virtually every major export region despite plans by OPEC and Russia to cut production, triggering fears that a fuel glut that has dogged markets for over two years might last well into 2017. Traders and analysts said the boost from last week's decision by OPEC to cut crude production had faded and the cartel's promise had been undermined by data showing rising production from within its member countries
  
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• German court paves way for damages claims in nuclear exit row

  06-12-2016 10:56
  Germany's highest court ruled on Tuesday that accelerating the shutdown of nuclear plants following Japan's Fukushima disaster violated some property rights, paving the way for damage claims and sending shares higher. E.ON, RWE and Vattenfall [VATN.UL] have sued the government over Germany's landmark decision in 2011, arguing the move amounted to expropriation. The constitutional court in Karlsruhe said that complaints by utilities that a 2011 decision made after Japan's Fukushima disaster to sh
  
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• Ecotricity named one of Britain's most disruptive businesses

  06-12-2016 10:34
  
  Green energy supplier Ecotricity has been identified as one of the UK's most disruptive companies in the inaugural Virgin Media Business Disrupter 10 league table.
  
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• Josh Frydenberg backtracks on emissions trading comments

  06-12-2016 09:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Energy and environment minister downplays Monday’s comments about a possible scheme for the electricity sector after internal pressureThe energy and environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, has folded in the face of internal pressure, declaring the Turnbull government will not pursue emissions trading as part of adjusting its climate policy to meet Australia’s international emissions reduction targets.
  In media interviews on Monday morning Frydenberg explicitly said a looming review of
  
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• Exxon pulls out of three exploration blocks in Kurdistan - Iraq Oil Report

  06-12-2016 09:44
  (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil has pulled out of half of the six exploration blocks it operated in the Kurdistan region, the Iraq Oil Report reported. The oil company has walked away from its operations in the Qara Hanjeer, Arbat East, and Betwata blocks, the magazine reported, citing Kurdistan's Minister of Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami and Exxon spokeswoman Lauren Kerr. Chevron , the second-largest U.S. oil company after Exxon Mobil, relinquished its interest in the Rovi block north of Erbil at the
  
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• Sinkhole in Texas swallows two cars – video

  06-12-2016 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Firefighters recover two cars from a sinkhole in Texas. An off-duty sheriff’s deputy died and two other people were hurt when two vehicles plunged into the water-filled sinkhole in San Antonio on Sunday. It appeared after a sewer line ruptured during heavy rain One dead after Texas sinkhole swallows two carsContinue reading...
  
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• Standing Rock: blizzard hits protesters as controversial pipeline halted – in pictures

  06-12-2016 08:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Over the weekend, military veterans joined Native Americans and activists at the camp in North Dakota – now amid heavy snow – where they’ve spent months trying to stop construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. Then, on Sunday, the US Army Corps of Engineers announced it would not allow the pipeline to run under a lake on the Sioux Tribes Standing Rock reservation. It remains to be seen whether the decision will be reversed next year when Donald Trump becomes president. The pr
  
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• Diesel farms make fresh bids to supply National Grid back-up power

  06-12-2016 08:01 via theguardian.com
  
  Polluting generators could win multimillion-pound contracts, with some also eligible for generous tax breaksThe owner of Britain’s energy network is gearing up to buy more power from suppliers to ensure the country’s lights stay on, with polluting diesel generators among the providers vying for contracts.The National Grid needs back-up electricity sources that kick in when, for instance, demand is high but the weather is not breezy enough to power wind farms. It secures this back-up
  
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• Modern life is rubbish: we don't need all this packaging

  06-12-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Companies and individuals have a duty to recycle everything possible and to create and use more sustainable packagingI just had a battle with my new kitchen handwash plastic bottle. I couldn’t get the pump to work. I pressed it, twisted it, fiddled with it, broke it, and then suddenly, for no particular reason, the contents squirted everywhere. Then I had another fight with the cellophane packaging on the cardboard box around my tea bags. Couldn’t get it off, couldn’t get my na
  
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• England may be in deforestation state due to lack of tree planting

  06-12-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  England fells more trees than it plants and government must keep to its targets to evade deforestation, say forestry groupsEvery year Brazil, Congo and other developing countries are lambasted by environmentalists and western politicians for deforestation at a time when trees are needed to counter climate change and prevent flooding.Now two prestigious organisations are warning that England may have tipped into deforestation, with more trees being cut down than planted for the first time in poss
  
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