Environment news

• Fossil fruit from 52 million years ago revealed

  05-01-2017 22:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Fossils of ancient plants shed light on how the family that includes crops such as potatoes evolved.
  
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• UK electric plug-in vehicle sales reached 10,000 in 2016

  05-01-2017 18:12
  
  New research has revealed a growing demand for ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in the UK, with both plug-in and hybrid sales increasing over the last 12 months.
  
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• Oil prices fall on big build in U.S. gasoline, distillate stocks

  05-01-2017 18:12
  By David Gaffen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Thursday after a surprisingly large increase in U.S. inventories of gasoline and distillates, slamming the brakes on an early rally on news that Saudi Arabia had started talks with customers about reducing crude sales. U.S. crude stocks fell sharply to end the year, the Energy Information Administration said, with a draw of 7 million barrels, but stocks of gasoline and distillates surged as refiners ramped up production to reduce crude i
  
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• All that glitters is not green: Costa Rica's renewables conceal dependence on oil

  05-01-2017 17:51
  
  Costa Rica produced 98% of its electricity last year without fossil fuels but the sustainable success story unravels with the rising demand for gasoline and carsUnless you’ve avoided social media for the last week, you probably know that last year, Costa Rica was able to produce 98% of its electricity without oil – a feat that most larger and wealthier countries have never accomplished.Over the past few days, reports of Costa Rica’s 271 days of fossil-fuel free electricity has
  
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• Origins of Elusive 'Ghost Shark' Revealed

  05-01-2017 17:21
  
  A 280-million-year-old skull of a so-called ghost shark has helped researchers determine exactly how chimaeras — mysterious, mostly deep-sea fish with wing-like fins and pointy snouts — are related to sharks, a new study finds. The ancient skull, belonging to the 4-foot-long (1.2 meters) shark-like fish Dwykaselachus oosthuizeni, was a rare find, as this animal's skeleton is made of cartilage, which rarely fossilizes, the researchers said. An anatomical examination showed that the an
  
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• Labour launches Industrial Strategy consultation

  05-01-2017 16:55
  
  The Labour Party has today (5 January) launched a consultation with businesses, trade unions and the public about the priorities of its proposed Industrial Strategy.
  
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• Hot weather not to blame for Salmonella on egg farms

  05-01-2017 16:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  New research conducted by the University of Adelaide shows there is no greater risk of Salmonella contamination in the production of free range eggs due to hot summer weather, compared with other seasons.
  
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• OECD to examine complaint against WWF over human rights abuses in Cameroon

  05-01-2017 16:25
  
  OECD to scrutinise an international charity for the first time, rather than a commercial company, over complaint that the world’s largest conservation organisation facilitated abuses of the Baka tribal peopleA human rights abuses complaint against WFF, the world’s largest conservation organisation, is to be examined by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation (OECD) in an unprecedented step.
  Anti-poaching government “eco-guards” in the Cameroon rainforests, part-funded a
  
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• Human rights abuses complaint against WWF to be examined by OECD

  05-01-2017 16:25
  
  In unprecedented move, OECD will look into allegations that world’s largest conservation organisation facilitated abuse of Baka people of CameroonA human rights abuses complaint against WWF, the world’s largest conservation organisation, is to be examined by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation (OECD) in an unprecedented step.Anti-poaching government “eco-guards” in the Cameroon rainforests, part-funded and logistically supported by WWF, are alleged to have destroyed
  
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• More frequent hurricanes not necessarily stronger on Atlantic coast

  05-01-2017 16:20 via feedproxy.google.com
  Active Atlantic hurricane periods, like the one we are in now, are not necessarily a harbinger of more, rapidly intensifying hurricanes along the U.S. coast, according to new research performed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. 
  
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• Zimbabwe claims sale of elephants to China was to support conservation

  05-01-2017 16:19
  
  Activists denounce ‘clandestine’ move as authorities try to ‘extract value out of our wildlife’ to prop up self-sustaining wildlife agency amid economic turmoilZimbabwe’s wildlife agency has sold 35 elephants to China, saying the measure was intended to ease overpopulation and raise funds for conservation, amid criticism from animal welfare activists that such sales are unethical.This once prosperous country’s economy has fallen apart, and Zimbabwe’s gov
  
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• Polar ship's Antarctic base gets £100m upgrade

  05-01-2017 15:46 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK's largest Antarctic research station which will be home to the ship nearly named Boaty McBoatface gets a £100m upgrade.
  
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• James Delingpole article calling ocean acidification 'alarmism' cleared by press watchdog

  05-01-2017 14:50
  
  Climate sceptic journalist’s claim that marine life has nothing to fear from rising ocean acidity levels is not misleading but ‘comment’, says IpsoA magazine article claiming “marine life has nothing whatsoever to fear from ocean acidification” has been deemed neither misleading nor inaccurate by the UK’s press regulator.The feature, written by journalist and climate-change sceptic James Delingpole, appeared in the Spectator under the headline “Ocean aci
  
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• Nigeria resumes payments to former Niger Delta militants

  05-01-2017 14:33
  Nigeria has resumed payments of cash stipends to former militants agreed under a 2009 amnesty in the country's Niger Delta oil hub, a government official said on Thursday. The government has been holding talks with militants to end attacks on crude pipelines which reduced Nigeria's output by 700,000 barrels a day for several months last year. Authorities had originally cut the budget for cash payments to militants to end corruption but later resumed payments to stop pipeline attacks crippling vi
  
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• OPEC oil output falls from record high ahead of planned cuts - Reuters survey

  05-01-2017 14:02
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - OPEC's oil output in December fell from a record high ahead of a deal to cut production, a Reuters survey found on Thursday, helped by attacks on Nigeria's oil industry and top exporter Saudi Arabia trimming exports. Supply from OPEC in December fell to 34.18 million barrels per day (bpd) from a revised 34.38 million bpd in November, according to the survey based on shipping data and information from industry sources. Oil hit an 18-month high of $58.37 a barrel
  
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• The biggest environmental battles facing the Trump administration

  05-01-2017 14:00
  
  Some flashpoints for environmental activists relating to climate change that are likely to erupt in the first few months of Donald Trump’s presidencyDonald Trump is likely to face unprecedented opposition from environmental groups during his presidency as activists prepare to battle the new administration on a number of fronts across the US. While environmentalists clashed with Barack Obama over the Keystone and Dakota Access oil pipelines, these fights could pale in comparison to the arra
  
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• Seal found in Blakeney garden 2km away from the sea

  05-01-2017 13:37 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A seal is found in the back garden of a holiday home, 2km (1.2 miles) away from the sea.
  
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• Yellowstone fish deaths point to huge toll of human activity on rivers

  05-01-2017 12:46
  
  A recent outbreak of a fish parasite on Yellowstone may have seemed unremarkable, but new research shows it could be linked to years of human activities that are slowly chocking river systems to death, reports Environment 360The Yellowstone river has its headwaters in the mountain streams and snowy peaks of the famous US national park with the same name, and makes an unfettered downhill run all the way to the Missouri river, nearly 700 miles away. It is the longest undammed river in the Lower 48
  
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• Tesla Gigafactory commences battery cell production

  05-01-2017 12:34
  
  Tesla has begun mass production of a new battery cell that will be used in Tesla's energy storage products and upcoming Model 3 at its Nevada-based Gigafactory.
  
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• The solar cooker that seeks its own place in the sun | Kate Hodal

  05-01-2017 12:14
  
  Solar cookers need to be moved during the day, an inconvenience that leads to some being discarded. But what if a clever unit did its own sun tracking?Solar cookers have been promoted as a safe alternative to boil water, cook food, or even sterilise medical equipment, but many require the user to move the unit so that its focal point is in direct line with the sun. It is a seemingly simple move, but critics claim it has tended to deter users from cooking with them.Roughly 3 billion people worldw
  
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• Cuadrilla starts work on Lancashire fracking site

  05-01-2017 12:06
  
  Energy firm says it is building access road at site in Fylde after receiving government green light last yearEnergy company Cuadrilla has started work on a controversial shale gas site in Lancashire that will later this year become the first well to be fracked in the UK since 2011.The site at Preston New Road in the Fylde is one of two that Lancashire county council rejected but whose decision was overturned last year by the communities secretary, Sajid Javid.Continue reading...
  
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• Less than a third of $175bn natural catastrophe losses covered by insurance

  05-01-2017 11:31
  
  Deadly storms and earthquakes across the globe led to the costliest twelve months for natural catastrophe losses since 2012, with insurers paying out around $50bn to cover just 30% of global losses.
  
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• Green Investment Bank sale is 'deeply troubling', say Scottish ministers

  05-01-2017 10:57
  
  Climate minister Nick Hurd told bank’s portfolio will be broken up and asset-stripped by Australia’s MacquarieThe prospect of the UK Green Investment Bank being stripped of its assets in a sale to Australian investment bank Macquarie is “deeply troubling”, Scottish ministers have told Westminster.The sale of the Edinburgh-based bank, which supports offshore windfarms and other green projects, is expected to be agreed in January. But the Labour party, Liberal Democrats, Gr
  
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• Oil steady on U.S. data, doubts over output cuts

  05-01-2017 10:32
  By Christopher Johnson LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices steadied on Thursday as a fall in U.S. crude inventories balanced doubts that producers would cut output as promised to reduce global oversupply. Benchmark Brent crude oil was down 15 cents a barrel at $56.31 by 0900 GMT. U.S. light crude oil was down 10 cents a barrel at $53.16.
  
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• AECOM sustainability chief awarded MBE

  05-01-2017 10:30
  
  Multinational construction firm AECOM's sustainability director Ant Wilson has received an MBE in the 2017 New Year's Honours for his services to green building design and engineering.
  
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• Iraq begins reducing oil output in keeping with OPEC decision - minister

  05-01-2017 10:03
  Iraq has begun implementing measures to reduce national oil output in keeping with an OPEC decision, the oil minister said on Thursday. "Iraq affirms its commitment to the OPEC decision which was taken in the last meeting in Vienna by putting in place a studied plan to reduce production from the country's fields from the start of the new year," Jabar Ali al-Luaibi said in a statement. OPEC agreed in November to cut output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 2017 to support prices.
  
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• China to invest £292bn in renewable power by 2020

  05-01-2017 09:27
  
  World’s largest energy market looks to move from coal towards cleaner fuelsChina will plough 2.5tn yuan (£292bn) into renewable power generation by 2020, the country’s energy agency has said, as the world’s largest energy market continues to shift away from dirty coal power towards cleaner fuels.The investment will create more than 13m jobs in the sector, the National Energy Administration said in a blueprint document that lays out its plan to develop the nation’s e
  
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• Oil stable on firm U.S. data, but doubts over global output cut linger

  05-01-2017 09:00
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices were stable on Thursday, supported by data showing a fall in U.S. crude inventories and by record U.S. car sales, although lingering doubts that producers will deliver on promises to cut output still weighed on markets. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $53.27 per barrel at 0746 GMT, up 1 cent from the last day's settlement, when prices rose 2 percent. WTI prices were supported by an American Petroleum Insti
  
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• Tullow says finance head on medical leave; names interim CFO

  05-01-2017 08:56
  (Reuters) - Africa-focused oil producer Tullow Oil Plc named Les Wood, vice president of finance and commercial, as interim chief financial officer as its finance chief Ian Springett takes an extended leave of absence for medical treatment. The company, which has production assets in Ghana and exploration acreage in Mauritania, Namibia and Zambia, did not specify how long Wood would remain the interim CFO. The change comes amid a prolonged slump in oil prices, which has pressured Tullow's balanc
  
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• Small businesses key to UK low-carbon transition, report claims

  05-01-2017 08:56
  
  A tenth of UK small businesses now produce their own electricity, according to a new report which calls on the Government to make it easier for small firms to contribute to green energy generation.
  
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• Bluefin tuna auctioned for £517,000 at Tokyo market – video

  05-01-2017 08:55
  
  A 212kg bluefin tuna sells for 74.2m yen (£517,000) at the first auction of the year at Tsukiji market in Tokyo, amid warnings that decades of overfishing by Japan and other countries is taking the species to the brink of extinctionBluefin tuna sells for £500,000 at Japan auction amid overfishing concernsContinue reading...
  
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• Living near heavy traffic increases risk of dementia, say scientists

  05-01-2017 08:25
  
  Study tracking 6.6 million people estimates effect on one in 10 cases of Alzheimer’s while those living by busy roads are 12% more likely to be diagnosed with dementia
  People living near a busy road have an increased risk of dementia, according to research that adds to concerns about the impact of air pollution on human health.Roughly one in 10 cases of Alzheimer’s in urban areas could be associated with living amid heavy traffic, the study estimated – although the research sto
  
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• Nomads no more: why Mongolian herders are moving to the city

  05-01-2017 08:00
  
  Climate change and the end of Soviet state support have forced 600,000 to migrate to the capital, leaving it struggling to copeIn Altansukh Purev’s yurt, the trappings of a herder’s life lie in plain sight. In the corner are his saddle and bridle. By the door, he has left a milk pail. If you didn’t know better, you might think his horses and cattle were still grazing outside on the remote plains of outer Mongolia.But they aren’t. Altansukh’s milk pail stands empty.
  
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• How can we reverse the UK's falling recycling rates? Send in your questions for our live Q&A

  05-01-2017 08:00
  
  Join us on this page on Thursday 19 January, 1-2pm (GMT), to debate how businesses and consumers can help boost recycling 3.53pm GMTRecycling rates in the UK have been stalling over the past five years. Government figures published in December show that the recycling rate in England actually fell from 44.8% in 2014 to 43.9% in 2015.This debate will explore potential solutions: how can producers and consumers be incentivised to recycle more? Would a tax on the manufacturers of packaging, for exam
  
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• Bluefin tuna sells for £500,000 at Japan auction amid overfishing concerns

  05-01-2017 06:57
  
  Huge fish sells for 74m yen as conservationists call for moratorium to help stabilise plunging Pacific stocksA bluefin tuna has fetched 74.2m yen (£517,000) at the first auction of the year at Tsukiji market in Tokyo, amid warnings that decades of overfishing by Japan and other countries is taking the species to the brink of extinction.The 212kg fish, caught off the coast of Oma in northern Japan, was bought by Kiyomura, the operator of the Sushi Zanmai restaurant chain, after its presiden
  
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• UK military to build prototype 'laser weapon'

  05-01-2017 06:31 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The UK Ministry of Defence has officially awarded a £30m contract to produce a prototype laser weapon.
  
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• Dance of wings over the white crests

  05-01-2017 06:30
  
  Roker beach, Sunderland Storms tore wracks from the seabed and raucous black-headed and herring gulls rode the wavesStorms had torn wracks and kelps from the seabed and driven them against Roker pier, forcing the heap higher up the beach with each successive tide. This afternoon it was seething with seabirds.There were sanderlings, conspicuous in their pale grey and white plumage, and turnstones, whose feathers so closely matched the hues of the brown fronds that they would have been all but inv
  
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• Family out on day trip saves whale caught in fishing net – video

  05-01-2017 04:01
  
  A family enjoying a new year’s trip has freed a humpback whale it found entangled in fishing nets off the coast of Antofagasta, Chile. Juan Menares said two of his children dived in to free the distressed 10-metre animal on Monday. Menares said: ‘That feeling after doing something good ... fills me with joy, fills me with pride and to be able to do something that I really had never done before.’ Continue reading...
  
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• Oil dips on doubts over touted production cuts

  05-01-2017 03:27
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Thursday on doubts producers would fully deliver on promises to cut output, although record U.S. automobile sales and falling crude stocks offered markets some support. Brent crude futures , the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $56.28 per barrel at 0150 GMT, down 18 cents from their last close. Traders said the decline came on the back of worries that plans by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countr
  
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• Climate change: Fresh doubt over global warming 'pause'

  05-01-2017 02:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  New research backs a controversial study that found there had been no slowdown in global warming.
  
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• Oil prices firm on U.S. crude inventory fall, record car sales

  05-01-2017 01:38
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices were firm on Thursday, buoyed by data showing a fall in U.S. crude inventories and by record car sales in the United States. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures were trading at $53.26 per barrel at 0024 GMT, unchanged from their settlement on Wednesday, when prices rose around 2 percent. Traders said that WTI had been lifted by a report by the American Petroleum Institute (API) stating that U.S. crude inventories fell 7.4 mil
  
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• Record-breaking extreme weather in Australia in 2016 devastates ecosystems

  05-01-2017 01:37
  
  Bureau of Meteorology’s annual climate statement cites unprecedented bushfires in regions that don’t usually burn and worst coral bleaching on record Australia’s weather was extreme in 2016, driven by humankind’s burning of fossil fuels as well as a strong El Niño, according to the Bureau of Meteorology’s annual climate statement.That extreme weather led to devastated ecosystems both on land and in the sea, with unprecedented bushfires in regions that don&rsq
  
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• Living near heavy traffic increases dementia risk, say scientists

  05-01-2017 00:30
  
  Study tracking 6.6 million people estimates effect on one in 10 cases of Alzheimer’s while those living by busy roads are 12% are more likely to be diagnosed with dementia
  People living near a busy road have an increased risk of dementia, according to research that adds to concerns about the impact of air pollution on human health.Roughly one in 10 cases of Alzheimer’s in urban areas could be associated with living amid heavy traffic, the study estimated – although the research
  
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• Venezuela names economy czar, oil minister in cabinet shuffle

  05-01-2017 00:29
  
  By Brian Ellsworth CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday shuffled his cabinet by naming a new economy czar to oversee the OPEC country's decaying socialist system and a new oil minister to confront the economic difficulties caused by low oil prices. The country is suffering from triple-digit inflation, Soviet-style production shortages and increasing street protests as a combination of dysfunctional state controls and low oil prices. Maduro says he is the victim of
  
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• China Announces End to Ivory Trade in 2017

  05-01-2017 00:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  In an announcement that could prove to be extremely good news for elephants in the wild, the Chinese government has promised to end its domestic ivory market by the end of this year.Every year, thousands of elephants are killed for their tusks by poachers. Between 2011 and 2014, more than 100,000 elephants were slaughtered. The African elephant population dropped 30 percent from 2007 to 2014. More elephants are being killed than are being born.
  
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