Environment news

• Brazil's Petrobras sells $587 million in assets, misses two-year target

  28-12-2016 23:48
  By Luciano Costa and Tatiana Bautzer SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's state-run oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro SA , on Wednesday announced the sale of ethanol and petrochemicals assets for $587 million, but said it would still fall $1.5 billion short of its divestment target for the 2015-2016 period. Petrobras, as the company is known, said it will also sell its two petrochemical units in the northeastern state of Pernambuco - Petroquimica Suape and Citepe - to Mexican group Alpek SAB de CV subs
  
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• Canadian man punches cougar in the face to save his dog

  28-12-2016 22:35
  
  Cougar killed after husky and owner injured in central Alberta forest during unusual attack on pet dogA Canadian man punched a cougar in the face to stop it attacking his dog, police have said.The incident occurred in a wooded area near a fast food chain in Whitecourt, central Alberta, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said on Wednesday. Continue reading...
  
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• Brazil's Petrobras sells stake in ethanol company Guarani for $202 million

  28-12-2016 22:25
  Brazil's state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA said on Wednesday it had sold its stake in the ethanol company Guarani for $202 million to France's biggest sugar group Tereos [TEREO.UL]. Petrobras , as the company is known, announced in October a 25 percent cut in planned investments to reduce its debts and revive investor confidence sapped by a corruption scandal, including a commitment to pull out of the biofuel sector.
  
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• Oil holds near annual peaks, awaiting OPEC cuts, supply data

  28-12-2016 19:58
  By David Gaffen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude oil prices edged up for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, close to their highest levels since mid-2015, ahead of U.S. oil inventory figures and as the market awaits evidence of OPEC supply reductions in the new year. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were up 30 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $54.20 per barrel by 1:29 p.m. EST (1829 GMT), not far from the year's high of $54.51 reached on Dec. 12. Oil prices have gained 25
  
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• Haunting 'Alien: Covenant' Trailer Is Full of Extraterrestrial Gore

  28-12-2016 19:44
  
  In a chilling new trailer for "Alien: Covenant," characters face a rough landing on a strange planet, along with ominous wildlife and plenty of abruptly gory situations. The movie, which will be released May 19, 2017, helps to bridge the gap between 2012's "Prometheus" and the core "Alien" film series that stretched from the late '70s to the late '90s. According to Katherine Waterston, the film's lead actress, the colonists are scientists, not military experts who would be better equipped to dea
  
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• Climate change driving birds to migrate early, research reveals

  28-12-2016 18:58
  
  A University of Edinburgh study finds birds are arriving at breeding grounds too soon, causing some to miss out on foodMigrating birds are responding to the effects of climate change by arriving at their breeding grounds earlier as global temperatures rise, research has found.The University of Edinburgh study, which looked at hundreds of species across five continents, found that birds are reaching their summer breeding grounds on average about one day earlier per degree of increasing global tem
  
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• Russian finance minister calls oil price of $45 'balanced'

  28-12-2016 17:30
  MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov on Wednesday said a price of $45 per barrel of oil was "balanced" for both suppliers and consumers. In an interview with the Rossiya-24 state TV channel, he also said that budget revenues from oil and gas sales had dropped by 18 percent this year due to weaker prices. Benchmark Brent crude oil front-month futures currently trade at over $56 per barrel. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
  
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• Traffic noise reduces birds' response to alarm calls

  28-12-2016 16:04 via feedproxy.google.com
  Pollution can take many forms--including noise. Excess noise in the environment from sources such as traffic can have negative effects on animals that rely on sound to communicate and get information about their surroundings. A new study from The Condor: Ornithological Applications shows that traffic noise makes birds less responsive to alarm calls that would otherwise alert them to dangers such as predators.
  
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• Sellafield unrest could dent Tory byelection chances, unions warn

  28-12-2016 14:46
  
  Unions say industrial unrest cannot be ruled out by nuclear workers in Copeland amid row over changes to pension scheme“Serious industrial unrest” at Europe’s biggest nuclear site could threaten the Conservatives’ chances of winning a forthcoming byelection, unions have warned.The byelection in the marginal Cumbrian seat of Copeland has been described as “Theresa May’s to lose”. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil holds near annual peaks, awaiting OPEC cuts

  28-12-2016 14:09
  By Dmitry Zhdannikov LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, close to their peaks since mid-2015, with the market awaiting evidence of OPEC supply reductions in the new year. International Brent crude futures were up 12 cents at $56.21 a barrel by 1248 GMT. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices were up 7 cents at $53.97 per barrel, not far from the year's high of $54.51 reached on Dec. 12.
  
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• FTSE inches higher as miners rally

  28-12-2016 13:35
  By Kit Rees LONDON (Reuters) - UK shares gained on Wednesday, helped by a rally among mining firms which tracked commodities prices higher, though volumes remained thin in the final trading days of the year. The blue chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.5 percent at 7,100.55 points by 1211 GMT, reaching its highest level since October. Mining stocks were the biggest gainers, up 3.5 percent and helped by a firmer oil price and a rally in copper, with which mining shares tend to be closely correlated.
  
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• Russia opens inquiry into men who crushed bear to death

  28-12-2016 12:57
  
  Investigation comes after video was posted on YouTube showing men running over bear with off-road vehiclesA criminal investigation has been opened into a group of men who filmed themselves killing a bear in Siberia by running over it with off-road vehicles.A video posted on YouTube on Monday and apparently filmed on a mobile phone showed a brown bear being crushed to death in the snow by two heavy duty trucks, of the kind used by oil and mining workers. The video has since been removed. Continue
  
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• Oil prices hold near annual peaks, awaiting OPEC cuts

  28-12-2016 11:32
  By Jane Chung and Dmitry Zhdannikov SEOUL/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday to trade above $56 a barrel, not far off their peaks since mid-2015, with the market awaiting evidence of OPEC supply reductions in the new year. International Brent crude futures were up 36 cents at $56.45 a barrel by 1000 GMT. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices were up 27 cents at $54.17 per barrel, not far from the year's high of $54.51 reached
  
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• Bob Hawke blames decline in quality of politicians on intrusiveness of media

  28-12-2016 08:41
  
  Former prime minister says the ‘poor quality of representatives’ is a worldwide phenomenon partly caused by media focus on politicians’ private lives Bob Hawke has blamed “the increasing intrusiveness of the media into private lives of politicians” for what he sees as a decline in quality of MPs and leaders in Australia and abroad.In a wide-ranging address at the Woodford Folk festival in Queensland, where the 87-year-old has spoken for eight years in a row, the for
  
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• How I ended up in the jungle with deadly hornets in my hair | George Monbiot

  28-12-2016 08:30
  
  When a swarm of giant hornets descended upon me in West Papua I feared I was going to die. Fortunately, a local was at hand with an antidote. Or so I thoughtThis story has no message or purpose. It is one of the winter’s tales – accounts of the many bizarre incidents that have marked my life – that I tell at this time of year. For once, I am not trying to make a point.In 1987, I was working with the photographer Adrian Arbib in the occupied territory of West Papua. Annexed by I
  
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• Trident Energy looks to invest in Southeast Asia oil and gas assets

  28-12-2016 08:02
  By Jessica Jaganathan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Private equity-backed Trident Energy will scour for oil and gas assets in Southeast Asia, with a focus on mid-life producing assets that can be redeveloped to create value, a senior executive told Reuters. Set up by former senior executives of independent Anglo-French oil firm Perenco in September, the London-based firm is looking to acquire onshore and offshore assets primarily in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. "We believe there is a big mi
  
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• Will 2017 be the year we take drug-resistant superbugs seriously?

  28-12-2016 08:00
  
  Governments are trying to stop the overuse of antibiotics in farming but action is needed from food producers and retailers to combat the threat to human healthAntimicrobial resistance, the emergence of superbugs resistant to the antibiotics that modern medicine depends on, is not a future threat looming on the horizon but a problem that is already here and likely to have a big impact on business – especially in sectors such as food and pharmaceuticals.
  The World Health Organisation estima
  
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• Grass was greener but wildlife struggled in muggy 2016

  28-12-2016 08:00
  
  Brambles and birds did well, but bees dipped and butterflies were hindered, according to a review of the year’s wildlife and weather by the National TrustFarmers made hay but rampant grass growth in 2016 made life hard for butterflies and even puffin chicks, according to a review of the year’s wildlife and weather by the National Trust.The nation’s ever more variable weather brought both booms and busts, with brambles and birds doing well, and slugs flourishing. But bumblebees
  
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• Rusty limes frozen in an arrested autumn

  28-12-2016 06:30
  
  Wenlock Edge, Shropshire On a closer look, the trees are not still holding leaves at all but are full of bracts and seedsFrom a distance, the common lime trees are a rich orangey colour. This looks wrong. The autumn leaves of these trees are buttery and the last of them blew down a month ago. The limes have a curious russet foliage, just like the coating of rust on the fallen leaves in a spring issuing from ironstone under the Short Woods a few miles north of here. The rusty limes look oddly out
  
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• Queensland man may be fined $60,000 after allegations he illegally kept rabbits

  28-12-2016 06:28
  
  Brisbane council received 11 complaints of rabbit sightings in the inner-city suburb of Red Hill A Queensland man who is allegedly keeping a cluster of illegal rabbits at his Brisbane home faces up to $60,000 in fines under the state’s tough anti-rabbit laws.Brisbane City Council received 11 complaints of rabbit sightings in the inner-city suburb of Red Hill in 2016 and a spokesman said they are believed to belong to the same person. Continue reading...
  
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• Bumblebee numbers hit by 'unsettled decade'

  28-12-2016 05:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Warm winters and bad summers have hit the insect population, but seen other wildlife flourish, says the National Trust
  
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• Bike-sharing revolution aims to put China back on two wheels

  28-12-2016 04:49
  
  From Shanghai to Sichuan, schemes are being rolled out to slash congestion, cut air pollution – and spin a profitEven through Beijing’s nicotine-tinged smog you can make out the multi-coloured frames, gliding through the pea soup towards a greener future.
  In recent months an unmissable fleet of fluorescent orange, canary yellow and ocean blue bicycles has hit the streets of urban China as part of a hi-tech bike-sharing boom that entrepreneurs hope will make them rich while simultaneo
  
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• Oil prices edge down ahead of OPEC, non-OPEC production cuts

  28-12-2016 01:50
  By Jane Chung Seoul (Reuters) - Oil prices edged down on Wednesday in quiet early Asian trading as the market waits to see how OPEC and non-OPEC members carry through on planned supply cuts in the new year. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 13 cents at $53.77 at 0021 GMT after settling up 88 cents at $53.9 a barrel in the previous session. The market is taking a wait-and-see approach on the official start of the landmark deal reached by the Organization of Petr
  
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