Environment news

• Oil rises on Goldman forecast, signs producers complying with cuts

  16-12-2016 21:04
  By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil rose on Friday, edging closer to new 17-month highs, after Goldman Sachs boosted its price forecast for 2017 and producers showed signs of adhering to a global deal to reduce output. "We're up today because Goldman Sachs bumped up its oil estimates and the Russians said their oil companies would reduce output," said Phil Davis, managing partner of venture capital fund PSW Investments in Woodland Park, New Jersey. Russia said on Friday that all of the co
  
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• Badger cull kills more than 10,000 animals in three months

  16-12-2016 18:54 via theguardian.com
  
  Ministers claim soaring number is a success in effort to cut bovine TB in England but charities question cull’s effectiveness The number of animals shot in England’s controversial badger cull soared to more than 10,000 this autumn, as part of the government’s attempt to cut tuberculosis (TB) in cattle.Ministers claimed the result as a success but a leading scientist said there was “no basis” for suggesting the cull was effective, while wildlife charities said badger
  
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• New Sea-Level Rise Projection Raises Threat to World's Coasts

  16-12-2016 18:43
  
  About one-quarter of the world's population lives in coastal areas that will be unlivable by the year 2100 because of rising sea levels, researchers say. In a special issue of the journal Earth's Future, coastal scientists and engineers detailed projections for sea-level rise for the year 2100, and described their model Monday (Dec. 12) here at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. "To really understand how this might be impacted by sea-level rise, or other kinds of change, we ne
  
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• Giant Megalodon Shark Teeth May Have Inspired Mayan Monster Myths

  16-12-2016 18:43
  
  Giant fossilized teeth from extinct megalodon sharks may have inspired portrayals of a primordial sea monster in Mesoamerican creation myths, according to a new study of the concepts of sharks in ancient Mayan society. The study looked at how the Maya combined a practical, prescientific knowledge of sharks with their traditional understanding of the world around them as the creation of gods and monsters. In the research paper, titled "Sharks in the Jungle: real and imagined sea monsters of the M
  
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• FTSE posts second week of gains, oil lends support

  16-12-2016 18:09
  By Kit Rees and Atul Prakash LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's top share index edged higher on Friday, building on a seven-week high hit the previous day and buoyed by a rally among oil stocks, though IT firm Micro Focus dropped after a rating downgrade. The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed 0.2 percent higher at 7,011.64 points after climbing on Thursday to 7,010.48 points, its highest level since late October. Energy stocks added the biggest number of points to the index, with shares in BP rising 2.1 perce
  
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• Trump's cabinet, roads and squid and chips – green news roundup

  16-12-2016 16:50 via theguardian.com
  
  The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
  
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• Alan Thicke's Death: How Do Heart Attacks Kill So Fast?

  16-12-2016 16:13
  
  Actor Alan Thicke died after a heart attack on Tuesday, TMZ reported. Heart attacks occur when blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked, starving the muscle tissue of oxygen, which causes damage. Thicke, who was 69, was playing ice hockey with his son when he suffered his heart attack on Dec. 13.
  
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• The ethical gift guide: what to get those who love to give back

  16-12-2016 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  We all know people who turn up their nose at the needless excess of the holiday season. Here’s how to wow the environmentalist, feminist and moreWe all have that one friend. The one, just like Leonardo DiCaprio, who likes to educate people about climate change and has gifted their own share of Before The Flood and Inconvenient Truth DVDs. This Christmas, you can show your environmentalist friend that you are listening by making a donation to WildEarth Guardians on their behalf. Continue re
  
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• The ethical Christmas gift guide: what to get those who love to give back

  16-12-2016 14:00 via theguardian.com
  
  We all know people who turn up their nose at the needless excess of the holiday season. Here’s how to wow the environmentalist, feminist and moreWe all have that one friend. The one, just like Leonardo DiCaprio, who likes to educate people about climate change and has gifted their own share of Before The Flood and Inconvenient Truth DVDs. This Christmas, you can show your environmentalist friend that you are listening by making a donation to WildEarth Guardians on their behalf. Continue re
  
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• Oil rises on signs of producers' compliance with output cuts

  16-12-2016 13:53
  U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was up 33 cents at $51.23 per barrel. "The market has faith in the OPEC deal and should trade higher in the near future," said Tamas Varga, lead oil analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has agreed to reduce output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1, its first such deal since 2008.
  
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• Virunga ranger killed by Mai Mai rebels while protecting gorillas

  16-12-2016 13:35 via theguardian.com
  
  Patrick Muhayirwa was trapped in an ambush while patrolling to protect gorillas in Africa’s oldest national parkAnother day, another dead wildlife ranger. We must do more to help them
  A 26-year-old wildlife ranger has been gunned down by militia operating in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).According to park authorities, Patrick Prince Muhayirwa was part of a group of rangers and DRC army personnel patrolling the huge park to prevent poaching. Continu
  
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• Millions exposed to mercury in urban Pakistan

  16-12-2016 13:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  More than 40 per cent of Pakistanis living in urban areas are exposed to mercury contamination through dust particles and bioaccumulation, says a new study.  The study, published last month (November) in Science of the Total Environment, amassed hair samples from 22 sites in five zones in Pakistan — Swat Valley & Gilgit-Baltistan regions, Kashmir Valley, Lower Himalaya Mountains and Indus Plains.
  
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• Mexico bid to save world's smallest vaquita porpoise

  16-12-2016 13:01 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Mexican authorities try to save the world's smallest porpoise by seizing illegal fishing nets.
  
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• GIB commits £35m to North Wales energy-from-waste-plant

  16-12-2016 12:08
  
  Green Investment Bank has committed £35 million of senior debt to the construction of a new energy-waste-plant in North Wales.
  
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• Green buildings make you work smarter and sleep sounder, study reveals

  16-12-2016 12:04 via theguardian.com
  
  Improved light, ventilation and heat control can boost workers’ productivity by thousands of dollars a year and reduce instances of sick building syndromePeople working in green buildings think better in the office and sleep better when they get home, a new study has revealed.
  The research indicates that better ventilation, lighting and heat control improves workers’ performance and could boost their productivity by thousands of dollars a year. It also suggests that more subjective a
  
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• This is not normal – climate researchers take to the streets to protect science | Dana Nuccitelli

  16-12-2016 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Scientists stepped outside their comfort zones to protest the attacks they face from the incoming administration
  Desperate times call for desperate measures, and for scientists, these are desperate measures.
  Tuesday in San Francisco’s Jessie Square, approximately 500 people gathered for a ‘rally to stand up for science.’ Many of the attendees were scientists who had migrated to the rally from the nearby Moscone Center, where some 26,000 Earth scientists are attending the annual
  
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• Petrobras signs $5 billion Chinese financing and oil supply deal

  16-12-2016 11:47
  SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has signed definitive terms for a $5 billion (4.01 billion pound), 10-year financing agreement with China Development Bank Corp and an oil supply accord with Chinese companies, as the Brazilian state-controlled oil company seeks to secure a stable stream of revenue and funding for the coming years. In a securities filing, Petrobras said the financing deal was signed Thursday. ...
  
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• BEIS re-appoint CLT to help commercialise cleantech

  16-12-2016 11:42
  
  Low-carbon consultancy specialist Carbon Limiting Technologies (CLT) has been re-appointed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to help deliver funding to support new energy innovations.
  
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• The Body Shop accelerates CSR commitments through East Croydon innovation hub

  16-12-2016 11:14
  
  EXCLUSIVE: The Body Shop has officially unveiled a £1m innovation hub in East Croydon that it claims will enhance the company's ability to reduce the environmental impact of its product category footprints and develop an innovation pipeline to deliver pioneering cosmetics produced from biodiversity hotspots.
  
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• Employee engagement helps P&G hit energy reduction goal four years early

  16-12-2016 11:13
  
  Consumer goods firm Procter & Gamble (P&G) has revealed that a new energy engagement initiative at manufacturing sites has improved energy efficiency by 5% in the last 12 months, which has seen the company hit a 2020 goal for energy reduction four years early.
  
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• Oil stable as planned output cuts start to materialise

  16-12-2016 09:14
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices were stable on Friday as evidence increased that producers in the Middle East were informing customers of upcoming supply cuts as part of a coordinated effort to drain a global glut. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 2 cents at $50.88 per barrel. Oil producers including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi, who are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), have notified customers that they would c
  
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• 2017 presents plethora of policy opportunities for sustainability, says IEMA

  16-12-2016 09:00
  
  The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) has outlined the five key areas of policy reformation that will shape the sustainability agenda as the UK begins its departure from the European Union (EU) in 2017.
  
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• Europe development banks plan £5.5bn backing for gas project ‘with mafia links’

  16-12-2016 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A pipeline to bring gas to Europe from central Asia has attracted companies with historic connections to cartels and the mafia, says Bankwatch reportEurope’s development banks are proposing some of their biggest investments – currently more than $6.8bn (£5.5bn) – for a gas pipeline being built by several firms with historic links to cartels, corruption and the mafia, according to a new report (pdf).The 3,500km “southern gas corridor” project is seen as an ener
  
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• Iraq boosts oil sales to China, U.S., India before OPEC supply cuts bite - sources

  16-12-2016 07:47
  By Florence Tan and Chen Aizhu SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - Iraq is selling more crude oil to its biggest customer, China's Unipec, people familiar with the matter say, digging a deeper foothold in the global supply market just before production cuts agreed with OPEC and other producers are scheduled to kick in. Three people with knowledge of the matter said the Unipec contract was signed just before the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), of which Iraq is a member, agreed
  
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• Centrica has donated to US climate change-denying thinktank

  16-12-2016 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Company owned by Centrica gave $20,000 to TPPF, praised by new US energy secretary for opposing ‘hysteria of global warming’British Gas’s parent company, Centrica, has given tens of thousands of dollars to a US thinktank that denies climate change and is backed by Donald Trump’s energy secretary.Direct Energy, a US energy company wholly owned by Centrica, donated $20,000 to the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) in 2010, according to tax filings. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil prices rise as planned oil production cuts start to materialise

  16-12-2016 06:45
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Friday after Kuwait appeared to be lining up bigger supply cuts than had been initially expected from January as part of a coordinated effort by oil producers to drain a global glut. International Brent crude oil futures were trading at $54.29 per barrel at 0538 GMT, up 75 cents, or 0.5 percent from their last settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 31 cents, or 0.61 percent, at $51.21 per barrel.
  
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• Powerful symbols chiselled into a shepherd's shelter

  16-12-2016 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Stanage, Derbyshire On a bleak night, with a folk memory of wolves and belief in evil spirits, who wouldn’t need protection?The long flowing line of Stanage Edge is, for rock climbers, one of the world’s great crags, segmented, like a gritstone worm, into various buttresses and features, each of them named, each providing many different routes to the top, each of those – and there are hundreds – also named.I am at a buttress at the crag’s southern end known, paradox
  
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• South Korea says minister, British counterpart discussed nuclear power cooperation

  16-12-2016 03:35
  
  South Korea's energy minister Joo Hyung-hwan discussed cooperation on British nuclear energy projects in a meeting in London on Thursday with Britain's business minister Greg Clark, South Korea's energy ministry said in a statement. The statement from Seoul didn't disclose details of discussions on nuclear energy, but said the two countries will hold a follow-up meeting in the first half of next year. A British government statement issued said the two countries underlined a commitment at the mee
  
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• United states of denial: forces behind Trump have run Australia's climate policy for years | Graham Readfearn

  16-12-2016 03:30 via theguardian.com
  
  For more than a decade, Australia has been held back by climate science denial and an antipathy towards environmentalismIf you can hear what sounds like a faint drumroll coming from across the Pacific then it’s the sound of millions of jaws dropping on hard surfaces. President-elect Donald Trump is a phrase journalists are regularly typing into their keyboards. That was jaw dropping enough, even for some Republicans.Continue reading...
  
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• Coalition of 24 states urges Trump to kill Obama's carbon emission plan

  16-12-2016 02:56
  (Reuters) - Officials in 24 states have urged U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to kill the centrepiece of President Barack Obama's strategy to combat climate change and shut down coal-fired power plants. The coalition requested the incoming Republican government undo the Clean Power Plan enacted by the current Democratic administration. The law was designed to lower carbon emissions mainly from coal-fired power plants by 2030 to 32 percent below 2005 levels.
  
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• Road-free areas need better protection, study says

  16-12-2016 02:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A global map of areas without roads shows large tracts of wilderness remain unprotected.
  
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• Oil prices edge up as Kuwait cuts supplies by more than expected

  16-12-2016 02:31
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on Friday after market sources said Kuwait had told customers it was cutting supplies by more than initially expected from January as part of a coordinated effort by oil producers to drain a global glut. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 24 cents, or 0.47 percent, at $51.14 per barrel. The slightly higher prices came after Kuwait, a member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), notifie
  
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• A walk through a laser-scanned forest

  16-12-2016 01:02 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Why scientists are weighing the rainforests with lasers.
  
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• Inside the largest Earth science event: 'The time has never been more urgent'

  16-12-2016 00:54 via theguardian.com
  
  With Trump set to have a ‘chilling effect’ on environmental policy, 20,000 Earth and space scientists met in California to face up to a new responsibility They argued about moon-plasma interactions, joked about polar bears, and waxed nostalgic for sturdy sea ice. But few of the 20,000 Earth and climate scientists meeting in San Francisco this week had much to say about the president-elect, Donald Trump – though his incoming administration loomed over much of the conference. Con
  
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