Environment news

• London pollution: 'Very high' air pollution warning alert

  24-01-2017 23:28 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A "very high" air pollution warning has been issued for London for the first time under a new alert system.
  
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• Factbox - Trump gives nod to Keystone XL oil pipeline

  24-01-2017 23:19
  (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday to move forward with construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline, rolling back key Obama administration environmental actions in favour of expanding energy infrastructure. In 2015, former President Barack Obama rejected the cross-border crude oil line, seven years after it was first proposed, citing environmental concerns and saying it would not make a meaningful long-term contribution to the U.S. economy. THE PROJECT:
  
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• Bird flu found in flock of farmed pheasants in Lancashire

  24-01-2017 23:04 via theguardian.com
  
  Some birds have died and remaining animals at farm in Preston would be humanely culled after outbreaks of H5N8 strain, says DefraBird flu has been found in a flock of farmed pheasants in Lancashire, the UK’s chief veterinary officer has confirmed.Some of the birds at the farm in Preston had already died and the remaining live animals would be humanely culled after the discovery of the H5N8 strain, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said in a statement. Continue
  
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• Engineers eat away at Ms. Pac-Man score with artificial player

  24-01-2017 22:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  Using a novel approach for computing real-time game strategy, engineers have developed an artificial Ms. Pac-Man player that chomps the existing high score for computerized play.In the popular arcade game, Ms. Pac-Man must evade ghost enemies while she collects items and navigates an obstacle-populated maze. The game is somewhat of a favorite among engineers and computer scientists who compete to see who can program the best artificial player.
  
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• Factbox - Dakota Access Pipeline's long journey

  24-01-2017 22:16
  (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday allowing the Dakota Access Pipeline to go forward, after months of protests from Native American groups and climate activists pushed the Obama administration to ask for additional environmental review for the controversial project. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in December turned down the request for an easement for the Dakota Access Pipeline to build under the Missouri River. The following is a timeline of the proje
  
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• Insight - How Russia sold its oil jewel — without saying who bought it

  24-01-2017 21:15
  By Katya Golubkova, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Stephen Jewkes MOSCOW/LONDON/MILAN (Reuters) - More than a month after Russia announced one of its biggest privatisations since the 1990s, selling a 19.5 percent stake in its giant oil company Rosneft, it still isn't possible to determine from public records the full identities of those who bought it. The stake was sold for 10.2 billion euros to a Singapore investment vehicle that Rosneft said was a 50/50 joint venture between Qatar and the Swiss oil tra
  
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• Air pollution threat to children’s playtime | Letters

  24-01-2017 20:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Play England is deeply concerned that the worsening air quality in Britain’s cities is threatening children’s school breaktimes (‘Filthy air’ forces Khan to announce pollution warning, 24 January).The way to tackle air pollution is introducing traffic exclusion zones, not banning children from playing outside. Children’s playtime is vital. It provides an essential space for them to socialise and enjoy physical activity. They take about a third of their recommended d
  
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• Trump signs order to move controversial oil pipelines forward

  24-01-2017 20:21
  By Steve Holland and Valerie Volcovici WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Tuesday to move forward with construction of the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access oil pipelines, rolling back key Obama administration environmental actions in favour of expanding energy infrastructure. While oil producers in Canada and North Dakota are expected to benefit from a quicker route for crude oil to U.S. Gulf Coast refiners, a revival of the projects woul
  
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• Trump signs order reviving controversial pipeline projects – video

  24-01-2017 20:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Donald Trump signed a number of executive orders Tuesday that will allow construction of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines to move forward. Both projects had been blocked by Barack Obama due in part to environmental concerns, but Trump hailed the thousands of construction jobs that he said would be created. He also signed an order ensuring the pipes themselves would be made within the USDakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines to be revived by Trump administrationContinue reading...
  
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• Trump backs Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines

  24-01-2017 19:55 via bbc.co.uk
  
  President's support for Keystone XL and Dakota Access proves he is a climate threat, critics say.
  
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• Northwestern Cuts Energy Use in the Battle of the Buildings

  24-01-2017 19:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  From September 1 through November 30, 2016, Northwestern competed in the U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR's Battle of the Buildings, a national competition to reduce energy use in buildings. The top performer among the University’s competing buildings was the Tarry Research and Education Building. Over the course of the competition, the building saved more than 228,000 kWh of electricity. This is equivalent to the total annual energy usage of 17 average homes.Northwestern entered five buildings i
  
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• Extra letters added to life's genetic code

  24-01-2017 18:58 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Scientists have created bacteria that thrive using an expanded "genetic alphabet".
  
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• Trump tells carmakers he's an environmentalist on same day he revives oil pipelines

  24-01-2017 18:53 via theguardian.com
  
  New US president offers to cut regulation for auto companies but warns he will be ‘very inhospitable’ on overseas jobsDonald Trump offered auto executives the carrot and the stick on Tuesday, promising to reduce “out of control” environmental regulation while threatening tariffs on those who build cars abroad. Related: Auto industry's Trump fear: 'Everyone dreads being subject of a tweet'Continue reading...
  
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• Resurrection of Keystone and DAPL cements America's climate antagonism

  24-01-2017 18:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Contrary to all evidence, the new US president will ignore climate change science and proceed with aggressive pro-oil and gas policies
  If there were any lingering doubts over Donald Trump’s enthusiasm for shoving the US back into the smoggy embrace of fossil fuels, his decision to revive the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines banishes them utterly.
  Trump has thrown down the most provocative gauntlet possible to the environmental movement, which now sees its worst fears crystalizing wi
  
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• PM Abadi says Iraq's oil is for Iraqis, in reaction to Trump

  24-01-2017 18:11
  Iraq's oil is the property of Iraqis, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday, in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trump who argued that the United States should have taken possession of the nation's crude reserves. In a speech to CIA officials on Saturday, Trump suggested the United States should have taken Iraq's oil in reimbursement for the 2003 invasion that put an end to Saddam Hussein's rule. Trump also suggested that taking Iraq's oil would have prevented Islamic State from rising
  
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• Saudi Aramco asks banks to pitch for world's largest share sale

  24-01-2017 18:00
  By Reem Shamseddine and Tom Arnold KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia/DUBAI (Reuters) - Oil and gas company Saudi Aramco has invited banks to pitch for an advisory position on what is expected to be the world's biggest initial public offering, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley and HSBC are among banks that have received the request for proposals, one of the sources told Reuters, with the other adding that the invitation was to evaluate Aramco's business and help it with
  
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• Five in final stretch of Moon race

  24-01-2017 17:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The Google-sponsored race to put a privately funded spacecraft on the Moon has just five teams left in the competition.
  
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• EDF board approves closure of oldest nuclear power station in France

  24-01-2017 17:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Decision on Fessenheim plant comes after pressure from Berlin and need to comply with legal cap on atomic energy generationEDF has voted to begin the process of closing France’s oldest nuclear power station after pressure from Germany and a law capping the country’s reliance on atomic power.The French energy firm’s board approved plans on Tuesday to close the 39-year old Fessenheim plant in north-east France, near the German border, allaying fears that the company, which is 85%
  
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• Is the Green Investment Bank sale on the rocks?

  24-01-2017 17:10
  
  The future of the Green Investment Bank (GIB) was thrown further into doubt this week, as a rival bidder called for a Government rethink on the prospective sale to Australian bank Macquarie.
  
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• From tiny phytoplankton to massive tuna: how climate change will affect energy flows in ocean ecosystems

  24-01-2017 16:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  Phytoplankton are the foundation of ocean life, providing the energy that supports nearly all marine species. Levels of phytoplankton in an ocean area may seem like a good predictor for the amount of fish that can be caught there, but a new study by Nereus Program researchers finds that this relationship is not so straightforward.“Using measurements of phytoplankton growth at the base of the food web to estimate the potential fish catch for different parts of the ocean has long b
  
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• Study Finds Parrotfish are Critical to Coral Reef Health

  24-01-2017 16:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  An analysis of fossilized parrotfish teeth and sea urchin spines by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego showed that when there are more algae-eating fish on a reef, it grows faster.In the new study, published in the Jan. 23 issue of the journal Nature Communication, Scripps researchers Katie Cramer and Richard Norris developed a 3,000-year record of the abundance of parrotfish and urchins on reefs from the Caribbea
  
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• Plan to run pipeline through Pinelands gets public hearing

  24-01-2017 16:20
  
  PEMBERTON, N.J. (AP) — As jobs-versus-environment clashes go, few issues have been as hard fought and generated as much passion in New Jersey as a proposal to run a natural gas pipeline through federally protected woods atop some of the nation's purest drinking water.
  
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• New Technique Quickly Predicts Salt Marsh Vulnerability

  24-01-2017 15:35 via feedproxy.google.com
  If coastal salt marshes are like savings accounts, with sediment as the principal, all eight Atlantic and Pacific coast salt marshes studied are "in the red," researchers found.Scientists working on a rapid assessment technique for determining which US coastal salt marshes are most imperiled by erosion were surprised to find that all eight of the Atlantic and Pacific Coast marshes where they field-tested their method are losing ground, and half of them will be gone in 350 yea
  
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• 'Warrior of high status' was buried at Scottish Viking site

  24-01-2017 13:44 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The excavation of a rare, intact Viking boat burial in western Scotland has been set out in detail for the first time.
  
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• Why a protest camp in Florida is being called the next Standing Rock

  24-01-2017 13:30 via theguardian.com
  
  At first glance the quiet town of Live Oak seems an unlikely venue for a stand against Big Energy. But in recent weeks it’s become a centre of oppositionA north Florida river that attracted the state’s first tourists a century before Walt Disney’s famous cartoon mouse is emerging at the centre of a fight against a contentious 515-mile natural gas pipeline that many are calling America’s next Standing Rock.One section of the so-called Sabal Trail pipeline is being laid ben
  
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• Tesla rolls out new autonomous driving and energy storage features

  24-01-2017 13:26
  
  While Elon Musk was busy meeting Donald Trump at the White House, Tesla has quietly finalised two landmark features of its energy storage and electric vehicle (EV) vision.
  
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• Does Killing Birds Make Airports Safer?

  24-01-2017 13:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  After a flock of Canada geese knocked out the engines of a US Airways jetliner in January 2009, pilot “Sully” Sullenberger was famously able to safely land the Airbus A320 on the Hudson River. What became known as the “Miracle on the Hudson” was happy news, especially for the 155 passengers whose lives Sullenberger saved.But it was terrible news for geese and other birds that migrate or make their homes near the three major airports in the New York City area. To
  
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• London's largest solar retrofit project delivers big carbon savings

  24-01-2017 13:09
  
  A waste management firm has saved 361 tonnes of CO2 in nine months following the delivery of a 1000KW solar retrofit project at its plant in East London.
  
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• Bath park and ride project will ruin historic landscape, say critics

  24-01-2017 12:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Campaigners threaten to stage biggest-ever protest over meadows development and urge UN heritage committee to intervenePlans for a major development on water meadows on the edge of Bath will ruin one of the city’s most historic and beloved landscapes and could put at risk its world heritage status, protesters claim.The city’s Conservative-led cabinet will meet on Wednesday to discuss a new park and ride scheme and is expected to back one of two sites on Bathampton Meadows to the east
  
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• CDP: Big businesses are driving huge cuts in supply chain emissions

  24-01-2017 12:04
  
  The world's largest corporate buyers are ramping up efforts to reduce emissions across their supply chains, according to the latest research from global disclosure organisation CDP.
  
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• Study: real facts can beat 'alternative facts' if boosted by inoculation | Dana Nuccitelli

  24-01-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  In our current “post-truth” climate, inoculation may provide the key to making facts matter againIt’s fitting that as Donald Trump continues to flirt with anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, inoculation may provide the key to effectively debunking this sort of misinformation.That’s the finding of a new study published in Global Challenges by Sander van der Linden, Anthony Leiserowitz, Seth Rosenthal, and Edward Maibach. The paper tested what’s known as “inoculat
  
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• Oil prices rise as OPEC's output cuts drain stocks

  24-01-2017 11:53
  By Christopher Johnson LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday on evidence that the global market was tightening as lower production by OPEC and other exporters drained stocks, but analysts said higher U.S. output could eventually limit gains. Ministers were engaged in a campaign of "bullish rhetoric", talking up their deal to make sure the market responds positively, said Tamas Varga, senior analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil Associates. "Call it a charm offensive or determination to suc
  
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• Arnold Schwarzenegger spotlights fully-electric Mercedes G-Wagon

  24-01-2017 11:47
  
  Renowned actor and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, will test drive a prototype of a fully-electrified, off-road Mercedes G 350d as part of a development agreement with Austrian battery specialist Kreisel Electric.
  
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• Businesses in the dark about water retail competition, survey reveals

  24-01-2017 11:38
  
  Two-thirds of organisations remain unaware of imminent changes to the water market which will allow all non-domestic water users in England to switch suppliers of their water retail services.
  
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• North Sea specialist EnQuest buys stake in BP's Magnus oil field

  24-01-2017 10:58
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Oil producer EnQuest has agreed to buy a 25 percent stake in BP's Magnus oil field and surrounding assets in the North Sea, financed through future returns, as it pursues its strategy of trying to breathe new life into old fields. As part of the deal the North Sea-focused oil company will also take over operatorship of Britain's largest oil terminal, Sullom Voe, on the Shetland Islands, an area tipped to hold many of Britain's untapped oil reserves. "It's par
  
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• Japan launches first military communications satellite

  24-01-2017 10:36
  Japan on Tuesday launched its first military communications satellite to boost the broadband capacity of its Self Defence Forces as they reinforce an island chain stretching along the southern edge of the East China Sea. Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the military is operating further from Japan's home islands as it takes on a bigger role to counter growing Chinese military activity in the region. The satellite lifted off from Japan's Tanegashima space port aboard an H-IIA rocket at 0744 GMT a
  
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• Travel and pollution warnings as UK's cold, foggy weather continues

  24-01-2017 09:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Motorists told to take extra care, flights are disrupted across south and air quality plunges in cities from London to Belfast The continuing cold, still weather is expected to see pollution levels soaring in London with freezing fog bringing more disruption at airports and on the roads across the south of England.London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, issued the highest alert for pollution in the capital on Monday and experts say air quality is expected to remain unacceptably high on Tuesday. Contin
  
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• What if we gave universal income to people in biodiversity hotpots?

  24-01-2017 09:55 via theguardian.com
  
  Writer and professor, Ashley Dawson, argues in his new book that capitalism is behind our current mass extinction crisis. But installing universal guaranteed income in biodiversity hotspots may be one remedy.Human nature isn’t driving mass extinction – as some have argued – but our acceptance of capitalism is, according to English Professor Ashley Dawson with the City University of New York. In his recent, slim, eye-opening book, Extinction: A Radical History, Dawson lays out t
  
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• Oil prices rise as OPEC output cuts drain stocks

  24-01-2017 09:51
  By Christopher Johnson LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday on evidence the global market was tightening as lower production by OPEC and other exporters drained stocks, but an increase in drilling in the United States could keep a lid on prices. Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and big producers outside the group said on Sunday that, of the almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) they had agreed to remove from the market starting on Jan. 1, 1.5 milli
  
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• Colombia considers ban on bullfighting days after protesters clash with police

  24-01-2017 09:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Highest court to debate if practice violates laws against mistreatment of animals after police tried to disrupt first bullfight in Colombia’s capital city in four yearsColombia’s highest court is to consider a national ban on bullfighting just days after protesters battled with riot police as they tried to disrupt the first bullfight in the country’s capital city in four years.Officers used pepper spray and tear gas against the demonstrators on Sunday as they shouted “mur
  
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• Fire brigade help Yorkshire Wildlife Park give polar bear dental check-up

  24-01-2017 09:13 via bbc.co.uk
  
  South Yorkshire Fire Brigade were called in to assist in giving a polar bear a dental check-up.
  
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• Genel expects up to 34 percent drop in 2017 production

  24-01-2017 08:24
  Genel Energy , one of the main oil producers in Iraqi Kurdistan, expects production to fall by up to 34 percent this year, the company said, as it has been unable to invest enough in expanding its oilfields. Genel said 2017 production is expected to fall to 35,000-43,000 barrels per day (bpd), down from 53,300 bpd in 2016, the bottom end of its target. The company, which will publish full-year results on March 30, also said it expected to book a "material impairment" on its Miran and Bina Bawi g
  
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• Why shouldn't Prince Charles speak out on climate change? The science is clear

  24-01-2017 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Climate change is not a controversial subject – the facts are established, whatever the Mail says. That’s why Charles helped write a Ladybird book about itLadybird books will this week publish a new title on climate change. Co-authored by the Prince of Wales, the polar scientist Emily Shuckburgh and myself, the book is intended as a plain English guide to the subject for an adult readership. Short, peer-reviewed text sits alongside beautiful new paintings by Ruth Palmer to illustrate
  
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• Rare bat born by C-section in San Diego Zoo

  24-01-2017 07:12 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A Rodrigues fruit bat has been born by C-section at San Diego Zoo.
  
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• Jobs versus the environment square off in pipeline vote

  24-01-2017 06:36
  
  PEMBERTON, N.J. (AP) — A hotly contested plan to run a natural gas pipeline through New Jersey's federally protected Pinelands preserve is getting a do-over.
  
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• Birdlife thrives amid the dogwalkers

  24-01-2017 06:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Tyne Green, Hexham: Through binoculars, it feels as if I’m watching a wildlife documentary in this country park, minutes from townThe sun comes out as I near Tyne Green, saturating everything in olive-gold light; the trees on the bank, the arches under Hexham Bridge, the billowing plumes of steam from the chipboard factory. As I slow down, I become aware of Sunday morning sounds. Bells are being rung in the abbey on the hill. A women’s eight slices upriver with a rhythmical dipping o
  
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• Oil prices rebound on weaker dollar, production cuts

  24-01-2017 03:13
  By Naveen Thukral SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil climbed on Tuesday as a weaker U.S. dollar and production cuts announced by OPEC and other producers buoyed the market, but an increase in drilling activity in the United States is likely to keep a lid on prices. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose 30 cents to $55.53 a barrel by 0147 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures added 27 cents to $53.02 a barrel.
  
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• U.S. oil prices rise on weaker dollar, U.S. drilling in focus

  24-01-2017 01:41
  U.S. oil climbed on Tuesday as the dollar weakened, but an increase in drilling activity in the United States is likely to keep a lid on prices. Brent crude , the international benchmark for oil prices, was yet to start trading. The dollar slumped to a seven-week low against a currency basket on Monday, weighed by concerns about the early days of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration that have so far been marred by protests, a protectionist inauguration speech and angry comments on Twitte
  
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• No, new coal is not feasible: on price, reliability or emissions | Tennant Reed

  24-01-2017 01:28 via theguardian.com
  
  The proposition that new coal plants could be an effective solution to Australia’s energy needs should be treated with scepticismAre we going to renew Australia’s coal-fired electricity generators? It doesn’t seem likely. Here’s why.Australians want three things from their electricity system: costs they can afford, supply they can rely on, and environmental sustainability. It’s easy to trade off one of these goals against the others, and tough to maximise them all.
  
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• Australian project to improve water delivery in urban slums gets $27m funding

  24-01-2017 01:12 via theguardian.com
  
  Monash University’s Sustainable Development Institute aims to ensure water access for urban poorAn Australian project that aims to revolutionise water delivery and sanitation in urban slums has been awarded $27m in funding.Prof Rebekah Brown, the director of the Sustainable Development Institute at Melbourne’s Monash University, has been awarded a $14m research grant by the Wellcome Trust’s Our Planet Our Health awards in the UK. A further $13m from the Asian Development Bank w
  
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