Environment news

• Growing mega-cities will displace vast tracts of farmland by 2030, study says

  27-12-2016 23:18
  
  Cropland losses will have consequences especially for Asia and Africa, which will experience growing food insecurity as cities expandOur future crops will face threats not only from climate change, but also from the massive expansion of cities, a new study warns. By 2030, it’s estimated that urban areas will triple in size, expanding into cropland and undermining the productivity of agricultural systems that are already stressed by rising populations and climate change.Roughly 60% of the w
  
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• Cuba says economy shrank this year in tandem with Venezuela crisis

  27-12-2016 22:15
  By Sarah Marsh and Marc Frank HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuba's economy shrank 0.9 percent this year in tandem with the crisis in its key trading partner Venezuela, President Raul Castro told the National Assembly on Tuesday in a closed-door speech, predicting a slightly brighter outlook for 2017. The figure suggests the economy contracted sharply in the second half after the cash-strapped government drastically cut imports, investment and fuel in response to lower exports and a drop in cheap oil delive
  
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• Oil rallies in thin trade, adds to year's gains

  27-12-2016 21:42
  By David Gaffen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil gained 1.5 percent Tuesday, continuing its year-end rally with support from expectations of tighter supply once the first output cut deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers in 15 years takes effect on Sunday. U.S. crude prices have surged 25 percent since mid-November, helped by expectations for OPEC's supply cut and generally solid U.S. economic figures that have also bolstered equity prices. Trading was thin on Tuesday as just 257,000 front-month futur
  
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• Australia in 2016: the year leaders flailed as populism sailed

  27-12-2016 21:08
  
  Malcolm Turnbull only just won an election and struggled with a rightwing surge, while allegations of mistreatment of the vulnerable peppered a bleak 2016. Thank heavens for Crowded House and Helen Garner, writes Katharine MurphyThis was the year when voters around the world declined, en masse, to be polite. Britons Brexited, in the United States Donald Trump sailed like a battleship into the White House while the world quivered and, in Australia, Malcolm Turnbull almost lost the federal electio
  
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• The Guardian view on climate change: bad for the Arctic | Editorial

  27-12-2016 19:20
  
  Warmer winters may seem good for Arctic animals. In fact they can be deadlyNot even donkeys get a worse deal in popular culture than the reindeer. Rabbits, mice, cats and even bears all have their distorted images in cartoons, but all of them show some sympathetic qualities of intelligence or kindness. Only the reindeer is forced in songs and cartoons to live down to the mangy and dispirited creatures chained up and sweating in rainy British theme parks. Even rats make cartoon heroes. Only reind
  
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• Nigeria's army says 3,000 people who fled Boko Haram return to hometown

  27-12-2016 16:39
  More than 3,000 people in northeast Nigeria who were forced to flee the seven-year insurgency waged by Islamist militants have returned to their hometown following the reopening of major roads in the area, the army said on Tuesday. Damasak - in the northwest of Borno, the state worst hit by the militants - was taken over by Boko Haram in late 2014, when it controlled an area the size of Belgium in northeast Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday that the army had taken back Boko Ha
  
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• Oil rises further above $55, looming supply cuts support

  27-12-2016 16:22
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil edged further above $55 a barrel on Tuesday, drawing support from expectations of tighter supply once the first output cut deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers in 15 years takes effect on Sunday. Jan. 1 is the official start of the deal agreed by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and several non-OPEC producers to lower production by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). Brent crude was up 54 cents at $55.70 a barrel at 1501 GMT.
  
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• Russia shocked by video of bear being crushed to death

  27-12-2016 15:49
  
  Russian investigators are examining footage to determine whether it constitutes an animal cruelty criminal offenceRussian investigators are looking into a disturbing video of a bear being crushed to death by a group of men riding in off-road vehicles over Siberian tundra.In the video, apparently shot by one of the assailants, two trucks normally used by Russian oil and mining workers in off-road conditions repeatedly drive over a brown bear sitting in the snow. Continue reading...
  
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• What Satellites Can Tell Us About How Animals Will Fare in a Changing Climate

  27-12-2016 13:37 via feedproxy.google.com
  From the Arctic to the Mojave Desert, terrestrial and marine habitats are rapidly changing. These changes impact animals that are adapted to specific ecological niches, sometimes displacing them or reducing their numbers. From their privileged vantage point, satellites are particularly well-suited to observe habitat transformation and help scientists forecast impacts on the distribution, abundance and migration of animals.
  
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• Toshiba flags hit of 'billions of dollars' on U.S. nuclear acquisition

  27-12-2016 13:17
  By Makiko Yamazaki TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp said it may have to book several billion dollars in charges related to a U.S. nuclear power acquisition, a shock warning that sent its stock tumbling 12 percent and rekindled concerns about its accounting acumen. Such a hit would be another slap in the face for a sprawling conglomerate hoping to recover from a $1.3 billion accounting scandal as well as a writedown of more than $2 billion for its nuclear business in the last financial year."This w
  
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• Oil steadies above $55 ahead of supply cut deal

  27-12-2016 12:46
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil steadied above $55 a barrel on Tuesday, drawing support from expectations of tighter supply once the first output cut deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers in 15 years takes effect on Sunday. Jan. 1 is the official start of the deal agreed by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and several non-OPEC producers to lower production by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). Brent crude was unchanged at $55.16 a barrel at 1128 GMT.
  
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• Facts matter, and on climate change, Trump's picks get them wrong | Dana Nuccitelli

  27-12-2016 12:00
  
  The President-elect’s nominees to key positions deny the existence, threats, and solutions to human-caused global warming
  When speaking about climate change, President-elect Trump has flip-flopped between acceptance and denial, which suggests that he hasn’t put much thought into one of humanity’s greatest threats. However, what his administration does is far more important than what he thinks. Unfortunately, Trump has nominated individuals to several critical climate leadership
  
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• Cheetah 'more vulnerable to extinction than previously thought'

  27-12-2016 11:34
  
  Urgent action is needed to stop the world’s fastest land animal becoming extinct, experts have warnedUrgent action is needed to stop the cheetah – the world’s fastest land animal – becoming extinct, experts have warned.Scientists estimate that only 7,100 of the fleet-footed cats remain in the wild, occupying 9% of the territory they once lived in. Asiatic populations have been hit the hardest, with fewer than 50 surviving in Iran, according to an investigation led by the
  
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• Cheetahs heading for extinction, study says

  27-12-2016 11:19 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Urgent action is needed to stop the cheetah - the world's fastest land animal - becoming extinct, scientists say.
  
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• Oil edges further above $55 ahead of supply cut deal

  27-12-2016 10:54
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil edged further above $55 a barrel on Tuesday, drawing support from expectations of tighter supply once the first output cut deal between OPEC and non-OPEC producers in 15 years takes effect on Sunday. Jan. 1 brings the official start of the deal agreed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and several non-OPEC producers to lower production by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). Brent crude was up 5 cents at $55.21 a barrel by 0941 GMT.
  
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• The funniest and most unusual animal photos of 2016

  27-12-2016 10:00
  
  A selection of images captured by photographers over the past 12 months, including a Donald Trump lookalike pheasant, kissing parakeets, and a lost sloth Continue reading...
  
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• Toshiba flags 'billions of dollars' loss on U.S. nuclear acquisition

  27-12-2016 09:45
  By Makiko Yamazaki TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp said it may have to book several billion dollars in losses related to a U.S. nuclear power acquisition, a shock warning that sent its stock tumbling 12 percent and rekindled concerns about its accounting acumen. The Japanese group said cost overruns at U.S. power projects handled by a nuclear construction business newly acquired from Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I) would be much greater than initially expected, potentially requiring a huge w
  
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• Toshiba flags big impairment loss on U.S. nuclear business acquisition

  27-12-2016 08:29
  Toshiba Corp said on Tuesday that it expects to book an impairment loss on the acquisition of a U.S. nuclear power business by its Westinghouse unit, a figure that could reach several billions of dollars. The Japanese conglomerate said it planned to book several billions of dollars in goodwill related to the purchase of CB&I Stone and Webster but added that was seeking to determine if it should write down the entire value of goodwill or just part of it.
  
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• Northern lights illuminate the Pennine skies

  27-12-2016 06:30
  
  Allendale, Northumberland The lights dance and shift, fading or intensifying, undulating in curtains of colourAs I open the back door, the path shows up in a rectangle of light, the gravel sparkling like golden sugar. My breath shows in pale mists that billow and dissipate in the air. The owls that called repeatedly at dusk are now silent, hunting for voles across the frozen haugh. There’s the sharp smell of cold, and the river seems much louder than it does by day.
  Here, in the frost holl
  
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• Solar energy and rethinking geothermal: Arena's hits and misses

  27-12-2016 06:17
  
  As demand for sustainable energy increases, Australia’s independent renewable energy agency has to choose to fund some projects over others – to varying degrees of success As any punter will know, backing winners isn’t easy. There’s a little bit of science, a little bit of art and a whole lot of luck.
  Australia’s independent renewable energy agency came into being in 2012 though an act of parliament, with a $2.5bn, 10-year mission to improve the affordability of ren
  
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• Science selection

  27-12-2016 05:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A selection of the best science and environment reads this year.
  
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• China November industry profits grow well, but chance to sustain gains clouded

  27-12-2016 05:34
  China's industrial sector showed the strongest profit growth in three months in November, suggesting the world's second-largest economy was improving, though policymakers noted gains were too dependent on rebounding prices for oil products, iron and steel. Industrial profits have had a solid rebound this year after falling last year, boosted by a recovery in commodity prices as supply tightened due to a capacity reduction drive and an infrastructure boom. Profits in November rose 14.5 percent to
  
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• Horse, possum and donkey meat on menu under South Australian food safety changes

  27-12-2016 04:59
  
  Proposal, which has been opposed by the Animal Justice party, would be implemented by September if adoptedHorse, possum, camel and donkey will be available for sale from South Australian butchers from September next year if recommended changes to food safety regulations are adopted.The SA government, which has to update the regulations by 1 September 2017, has suggested the state should adopt the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards code definition of “game meat”, which governs
  
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• Oil steady in quiet holiday season trade; supply cut deal to kick in January 1

  27-12-2016 04:49
  By Osamu Tsukimori TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday in light pre-New Year holiday trading with markets adopting a wait-and-see stance less than a week before the first output cut deal agreed between OPEC and non-OPEC members in 15 years is scheduled to kick in. London Brent crude for February delivery was down 1 cents at $55.15 a barrel by 0335 GMT after settling up 11 cents on Friday. Oil markets were closed on Monday after Christmas at the weekend.
  
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• Toshiba may book big loss on US nuclear acquisition, shares plunge

  27-12-2016 03:47
  By Makiko Yamazaki TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp said on Tuesday it may book a goodwill impairment loss of several hundreds of billion yen on a U.S. nuclear power acquisition made by its Westinghouse division, sending its stock tumbling 12 percent. Toshiba did not specify a figure in its statement. Toshiba said a board meeting would be held later in the day and any necessary announcements would be made after that.
  
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• China industry profits grow faster in November as oil, steel prices rebound

  27-12-2016 03:20
  China's industrial sector showed stronger profit growth in November, suggesting the world's second-largest economy was improving, though policymakers noted growth was too dependent on a rebound in prices for oil products and iron and steel. Profits in November rose 14.5 percent to 774.6 billion yuan ($111 billion), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement on Tuesday. "Industrial profits rose relatively fast due to a lower base last year, and the growth was overly reliant on a
  
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• Oil gains post-Christmas ahead of OPEC, non-OPEC cuts

  27-12-2016 01:38
  U.S. oil prices extended gains on Tuesday in post-Christmas trading, as OPEC and non-OPEC members are set to start curbing output in less than a week to support oil prices. London Brent crude for February delivery was yet to trade after settling up 11 cents at $55.16 a barrel on Friday. Oil has been supported in the past several weeks as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC members have agreed to lower output by almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) from Jan. 1.
  
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• Australian man bitten by taipan snake dies after six days in hospital

  27-12-2016 01:00
  
  David Pitt, 77, went into cardiac arrest after highly venomous reptile bit him on the foot in his home in far north QueenslandAn elderly man bitten by a taipan at his home in Queensland has died after spending nearly a week in hospital.David Pitt, 77, went into cardiac arrest after the highly venomous snake bit him on the foot at his home in Yorkeys Knob, Cairns, on 20 December. Continue reading...
  
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