Environment news

• Researchers Work to Restore the Long-Lost Flavor of Tomatoes

  26-01-2017 22:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  New research reveals which genes are needed to reinstate the rich, original flavor of tomatoes, now absent in many grocery shelf varieties of this fruit. The results are published in the 27 January issue of Science.
  
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• How Insects Decide to Grow Up

  26-01-2017 20:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scientists discover key mechanism that controls when fruit flies sexually matureLike humans, insects go through puberty. The process is known as metamorphosis. Examples include caterpillars turning into butterflies and maggots turning into flies.But, it has been a long-standing mystery as to what internal mechanisms control how insects go through metamorphosis and why it is irreversible.
  
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• CT Scan helps rare washed-up turtle

  26-01-2017 20:57 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A rare sea turtle discovered washed up on an Anglesey beach is closer to full health after scans reveal why she found it difficult to dive.
  
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• High-Tech Maps of Tropical Forest Diversity Identify New Conservation Targets

  26-01-2017 20:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  New remote sensing maps of the forest canopy in Peru test the strength of current forest protections and identify new regions for conservation effort, according to a report led by Carnegie’s Greg Asner published in Science.Asner and his Carnegie Airborne Observatory team used their signature technique, called airborne laser-guided imaging spectroscopy, to identify preservation targets by undertaking a new approach to study global ecology—one that links a forest’s variety o
  
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• Scientists Develop New Flu Vaccines for Man's Best Friend

  26-01-2017 20:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  It’s that dreaded time of year – flu season. And we humans aren’t the only ones feeling the pain. Dogs can get the flu, too.Scientists at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry have developed, for the first time, two new vaccines for canine influenza. This research is not only important for improving the health of our furry friends, but for keeping us safe, too. Dogs that have been infected with multiple influenza viruses have the potential to act as &ldqu
  
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• EPA staff experiencing stress and fears Trump will suppress climate science

  26-01-2017 20:35
  
  Environmental Protection Agency spokesman says employees are anxious after Trump team placed a hold on the release of work and edited websiteFears that Donald Trump’s presidency will suppress climate science at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are causing widespread unease, with a spokesman for the administration admitting staff are experiencing “tension and stress” over the transition.Related: Standing Rock Sioux tribe says Trump is breaking law with Dakota Access ord
  
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• Nigeria court orders temporary forfeiture of Shell, Eni oilfield in corruption probe

  26-01-2017 20:29
  By Camillus Eboh ABUJA (Reuters) - A Nigerian court has ordered the temporary forfeiture of assets and the transfer of operations of a long-disputed oilfield owned by Shell and Eni , among others, to the federal government, court papers showed. The court orders will last until Nigeria's anti-corruption agency concludes an investigation into how the current owners acquired oil prospecting licence (OPL) 245, according to the papers released on Thursday. This is the latest of many inquiries, includ
  
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• Standing Rock Sioux tribe says Trump is breaking law with Dakota Access order

  26-01-2017 19:32
  
  Tribe says Donald Trump’s executive order instructing the Army corps of engineers to approve project is not backed by ‘proper consultation’The Standing Rock Sioux tribe has called Donald Trump’s decision to push forward the controversial Dakota Access pipeline “utterly alarming”, and warned the president that rushing through the project would break federal law.Related: Resurrection of Keystone and DAPL cements America's climate antagonismContinue reading...
  
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• Martin Alder obituary

  26-01-2017 19:12
  
  My friend Martin Alder, who has died aged 69 from an embolism, was a driving force in building the renewable energy industry in Britain.Martin led the renewable energy committee of the Association of Electricity Producers from 1992 until 2014, by which time it had become Energy UK. He also served as the association’s vice-chair, supporting renewable energy interests on the board alongside representatives from the largest British electricity companies. He steered this broad church of member
  
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• Margaret Bowdery obituary

  26-01-2017 18:53
  
  The name of my friend, Margaret Bowdery, who has died aged 83, will be forever linked with the public footpaths of east Berkshire.When she moved to Maidenhead in 1964 the paths were in a dire state. An officer from the former Berkshire county council told her that they were not needed and should not be maintained. Margaret was indignant and swiftly called a public meeting to form the East Berkshire Ramblers’ Group, with herself as footpath secretary. Continue reading...
  
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• Human-pig 'chimera embryos' detailed

  26-01-2017 18:00 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Embryos that are about 0.001% human could lead to human organs being grown in animals.
  
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• Here Comes the Sun: Abbey Road Studios to run on renewable energy

  26-01-2017 17:57
  
  Wind and solar energy is set to power music recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios thanks to a deal struck this week between Universal Music UK and renewable electricity supplier Ecotricity.
  
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• Oil up 2 percent on stock market, but U.S. supply caps gains

  26-01-2017 17:45
  By Christopher Johnson LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices were driven 2 percent higher by an ongoing rally in the U.S. stock market on Thursday, although gains were capped by plentiful supplies and bulging inventories in spite of efforts by producers to cut output. U.S. light crude futures were up $1.22 to $53.97 a barrel, a gain of 2.2 percent, while Brent crude rose $1.25, or 2.3 percent, to $56.33 by 10:49 a.m. ET (1549 GMT). Oil popped with U.S. crude hitting $54.0, its highest level in
  
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• Shark photobombs young surfer's big wave moment in Australia

  26-01-2017 17:34
  
  Boy, 10, was surfing off Port Stephens when picture-taking father realised son was on collision course with possible great white A man photographing his 10-year-old son surfing captured more than either of them bargained for when he snapped the boy sharing a wave with a shark.Chris Hasson was taking pictures of Eden off Samurai beach, Port Stephens, eastern Australia, this week when he realised that he had photographed a twisting shark – thought to be a great white - just below the surface
  
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• US climate action under siege ahead of Trump meeting with May

  26-01-2017 17:30
  
  As Theresa May prepares to become the first world leader to meet officially with Donald Trump on Thursday (27 January), a flurry of reports have suggested that the US president is set to diminish the country's climate change commitments.
  
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• Doomsday clock moves closer to apocalypse

  26-01-2017 17:30 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The minute hand of the symbolic Doomsday Clock moves to two-and-a-half minutes to midnight.
  
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• What does the sustainable business of the future look like?

  26-01-2017 17:22
  
  Disruptive innovations such as 'smart' water technology, artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber security offer companies an opportunity to address global risks and drive business growth in the coming decades, according to a new UN-backed study of the future of sustainability.
  
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• Court rules Shell can't be sued in London for Nigeria oil spills

  26-01-2017 17:22
  By Karolin Schaps and Libby George LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell cannot be sued in London over oil spills in Nigeria, the High Court ruled on Thursday, in a setback to attempts to hold British multinationals liable at home for their subsidiaries' activities abroad. Villagers from the Bille and Ogale communities in the oil-producing Niger Delta in southern Nigeria had said they were affected by pollution and had sought to take action against Shell in London rather than its subsidiary in Ni
  
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• Yorkshire fish-lovers set up first ethical sturgeon caviar firm

  26-01-2017 17:11
  
  KC Caviar uses method of extracting eggs that does not kill the fish, which will be allowed to retire to lakes across EuropeIt is better known for its parkin cake, rhubarb and Sunday roast puddings, but one fishery is hoping to add to Yorkshire’s culinary credentials as what it claims is the world’s first producer of ethically sourced sturgeon caviar, using a technique that does not kill the fish in the process.
  KC Caviar, based in Leeds, was set up by the fish enthusiasts John Addey
  
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• Brazil police seek former billionaire Batista in graft probe

  26-01-2017 17:04
  By Pedro Fonseca and Rodrigo Viga Gaier RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilian police are seeking the arrest of fallen commodities tycoon Eike Batista as part of a vast political bribery probe, investigators said on Thursday, adding that the former billionaire appeared to have already flown to New York. Batista, who ranked as Brazil's richest man just five years ago, seems to have left the country on a German passport on Tuesday night and will be considered a fugitive if he does not surrender soon
  
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• Decarbonising the UK economy

  26-01-2017 16:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  This week the UK Government published its long awaited industrial strategy, marking a distinctive break from the previous Conservative regime. Gone is David Cameron's more laissez faire attitude to managing the economy.  In its place is a more proactive approach, which seeks to stimulate industry with targeted investment.  Taking advantage of the greater flexibility afforded by freedom from the EU's state aid rules the plan sees some exciting developments in the decarbonisation of the
  
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• EU gets tougher with its members over policing carmakers

  26-01-2017 16:13
  By Alissa de Carbonnel BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission issued guidance on Thursday on how EU members should be policing carmakers, a move EU officials said would likely lead to legal action against countries that fail to clamp down on cheating of diesel emissions regulations. The EU executive is frustrated that member states, which are responsible for regulating carmakers, have not taken a tougher stance against the industry, despite discovering in the wake the Volkswagen's emission
  
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• Doomsday Clock Ticks Half-Minute Closer to Midnight in Historic Move

  26-01-2017 16:11
  
  For the first time in its history, the Doomsday Clock, an imaginary timepiece that represents humanity's proximity to annihilation through mechanisms of our own design, has moved 30 seconds closer to calamity, with the minute hand now at 2 and a half minutes to midnight, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced this morning (Jan. 26). The minute hand's new position for 2017 was determined by the Bulletin's Science and Security Board in consultation with a team of experts including 15 Nobe
  
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• NASA's Aurora-Watching Rocket Campaign Blasts Off

  26-01-2017 16:10
  
  NASA is known for its awe-inspiring missions to explore the far reaches of the cosmos, but this month, the space agency is preparing for very different kinds of rocket launches: ones to explore the mysteries of Earth's auroras. Over three missions and five launches, NASA will launch rockets into the Earth's upper atmosphere to help scientists better understand the planet's magnetic environment. From auroras to solar winds, the rockets will examine what's known as near-Earth space, NASA researche
  
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• New Exosuit Fabric Could Boost Mobility in People with Disabilities

  26-01-2017 16:09
  
  Knitting and weaving artificial muscles could help create soft exoskeletons that people with disabilities could wear under their clothes to help them walk, according to new research. Textile processing is one of humanity's oldest technologies, but in recent years there has been renewed interest in using it to create "smart" textiles that can do everything from harvest power from the environment to monitor our health. Now, Swedish researchers have created actuators — devices that convert en
  
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• Floating towards water treatment

  26-01-2017 15:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  Floating wetlands may seem odd but are perfectly natural. They occur when mats of vegetation break free from the shore of a body of water. That got ecological engineers curious about how they affect the water they bob up and down in.A group from Saint Francis University in Pennsylvania and the University of Oklahoma, including researcher William Strosnider, has found that the floating wetlands show promise for water treatment. They engineered four different floating treatment wetlands designs us
  
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• Changes in Rainfall, Temperature Expected to Transform Coastal Wetlands This Century

  26-01-2017 15:27 via feedproxy.google.com
  Changes in rainfall and temperature are predicted to transform wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico and around the world within the century, a new study from the USGS and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley concludes.Sea-level rise isn’t the only aspect of climate change expected to affect coastal wetlands: changes in rainfall and temperature are predicted to transform wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico and around the world within the century. These changes will take place regardless of sea-le
  
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• Antarctic Bottom Waters Freshening at Unexpected Rate

  26-01-2017 15:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  In the cold depths along the sea floor, Antarctic Bottom Waters are part of a global circulatory system, supplying oxygen-, carbon- and nutrient-rich waters to the world’s oceans. Over the last decade, scientists have been monitoring changes in these waters. But a new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) suggests these changes are themselves shifting in unexpected ways, with potentially significant consequences for the ocean and climate.In a paper published January 25
  
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• Court rules villagers cannot sue Shell in London over Nigerian oil spill

  26-01-2017 15:02
  By Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Oil major Royal Dutch Shell cannot be sued in London courts over Nigerian oil spill allegations, the High Court ruled on Thursday, dealing a setback to attempts to hold multinationals liable at home for subsidiaries' activities. If the High Court had ruled in favour of the two groups, other claimants against British-based multinationals could have been emboldened to pursue legal action through the British courts, some legal experts had said. Villagers from th
  
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• Two wildlife rangers shot dead in Catalonia

  26-01-2017 14:36
  
  Accused has ‘no memory’ of shotgun killings in Spanish olive groveTwo forest rangers have been shot dead in the Spanish region of Catalonia after approaching a hunter reportedly carrying an unlicensed shotgun.The rangers, who worked for the region’s agriculture department, were on a routine mission on Saturday when they met a hunter in an olive grove and asked to see his firearms licence, according to Roger Cole, from the International Rangers Federation.Continue reading...
  
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• Nigerian oil pollution claims against Shell cannot be heard in UK, court rules

  26-01-2017 14:32
  
  Campaigners hoped case would pave way for lawsuits to be brought against corporations for actions abroadThe high court has ruled that tens of thousands of Nigerians affected by oil pollution cannot proceed with a legal challenge in the UK against Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary.The ruling is a blow for campaigners who called the ruling an “outrage”. They had hoped the case would set an important precedent on jurisdiction, paving the way for other cases to be brought against UK-base
  
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• BP replaces Total as Renault F1 fuel partner

  26-01-2017 13:48
  BP and its Castrol brand will replace French oil company Total as the Renault Formula One team's official fuel and lubricant supplier this season, both sides said on Thursday. The two companies last worked together in 1997 when the then-world champions Williams had Renault engines and BP sponsorship. "With the new aerodynamic regulations for the 2017 Formula One season, power sensitivity will increase," said Renault Sport managing director Cyril Abiteboul.
  
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• BEIS commits £28m to energy innovation

  26-01-2017 13:43
  
  As part of its commitment to reduce industrial energy costs and decarbonise the UK economy, Government has committed £28m to energy innovation projects.
  
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• Bangladesh uses tear gas, water cannon to break up power plant protest

  26-01-2017 13:02
  By Ruma Paul DHAKA (Reuters) - Police in Bangladesh on Thursday used tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators protesting against a coal-fired power plant they say will damage ecologically sensitive mangrove forest and disrupt the lives of thousands. UNESCO last year sought the relocation of the 1,320-megawatt power plant from the 742-hectare (1,834-acre) site where it is being built, saying it posed a risk to the nearby Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest and a World Heri
  
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• Oil rises on weaker dollar, but U.S. supply caps gains

  26-01-2017 12:38
  By Christopher Johnson LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Thursday, driven up by a weakening dollar, though gains were capped by plentiful supplies and bulging inventories despite efforts by OPEC and other producers to cut output to prop up the market. Benchmark Brent crude was up 35 cents a barrel at $55.43 by 1125 GMT. Traders attributed the gains largely to a weakening dollar , which has lost 3.9 percent in value since peaking in January.
  
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• We may be closer than we thought to dangerous climate thresholds | John Abraham

  26-01-2017 12:00
  
  A new study identifies an extra 0.1°C of human-caused warming
  We don’t want the Earth to warm more than 1.5–2°C (2.7-3.6°F) compared to the pre-industrial climate. These targets are not magical; they are expert judgements about what it takes to avoid some of the more serious effects of climate change. We know the seas will rise (they already are). We know droughts and flooding will get more severe (they already are). We know there will be more heat waves, more intense sto
  
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• Tim Peake's capsule goes on display at Science Museum

  26-01-2017 11:53 via bbc.co.uk
  
  UK astronaut Tim Peake talks about returning to space as the capsule that carried him to the ISS goes on display.
  
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• European shares get M&A boost, climb to one-year high

  26-01-2017 11:24
  By Atul Prakash LONDON (Reuters) - European shares climbed to a one-year high on Thursday, supported by mergers and acquisitions-related optimism, with Johnson & Johnson's $30 billion deal to buy Actelion lifting shares in the Swiss biotech firm. Actelion surged 20 percent after the U.S. healthcare giant's move to make an all-cash purchase that includes spinning off Actelion's research and development pipeline. "We are likely to see more of such deals as many companies that want to merge or
  
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• Kazakhstan, Shell-Eni group continue talks over tax dispute

  26-01-2017 11:17
  Kazakhstan has agreed to continue talks about a tax dispute with the Karachaganak consortium of oil majors led by Shell and Eni despite beginning arbitration proceedings, the Kazakh Energy Ministry said on Thursday. Quoting minister Kanat Bozumbayev, a ministry spokesman said the sides had agreed in December to extend talks by nine months and Kazakhstan might stop the arbitration if it was satisfied with the consortium's offer.
  
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• Oil rises on weakening dollar, but plentiful supplies cap gains

  26-01-2017 09:34
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Thursday, driven up by a weakening dollar, but gains were capped by plentiful supplies and inventories despite an effort by OPEC and other producers to cut output and prop up the market. Brent crude futures , the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $55.56 per barrel at 0801 GMT, up 48 cents, or 0.87 percent, from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.19 a barrel, up 43 cents
  
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• Makhado mine: flashpoint for tensions over South Africa's pro-coal policies

  26-01-2017 08:00
  
  A campaign by locals and farming businesses to halt a large opencast mine highlights a far wider conflict over South Africa’s continued addiction to coalOn the horizon are the mountains, verdant rainforest on their well-watered, shaded southern slopes and arid scrub on the dry reverse slopes. Then there is the plain, studded with baobab trees and outcrops. Finally there is the river Limpopo. Beyond is another country: troubled, restive Zimbabwe.But here in the far north-east of South Afric
  
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• Exclusive: Millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil stuck at sea in dirty tankers

  26-01-2017 07:08
  By Marianna Parraga and Mircely Guanipa HOUSTON/PUNTO FIJO, Venezuela (Reuters) - More than 4 million barrels of Venezuelan crude and fuels are sitting in tankers anchored in the Caribbean sea, unable to reach their final destination because state-run PDVSA cannot pay for hull cleaning, inspections, and other port services, according to internal documents and Reuters data. About a dozen tankers are being held back because the hulls have been soiled by crude, stemming from several oil leaks in th
  
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• Breeze transforms a thinly seeded field into a rippling upland river

  26-01-2017 06:30
  
  Sandy, Bedfordshire Nothing seemed to have changed here in months. The stubble of skeleton stems appeared not so much dormant as deadOn one side of a straight farm track, winter held about 2.5m plants in a state of suspense. The land had been tilled and drilled in November, and vestigial warmth in the soil had tempted the first narrow leaves to rise 10cm high in a matter of days. Two months – and numerous visits– later, there was still a green baize, but the leaves stood no taller.My
  
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• Leading chemist's Australia Day honour a 'recognition of science'

  26-01-2017 06:15
  
  OLED pioneer Andrew Holmes says science and technology are ‘just as important cultures as the arts’An Australian chemist who stumbled across a light-emitting plastic that could revolutionise solar technology and create printable football-field-sized televisions, says his appointment as a companion of the Order of Australia should be seen as an award for all Australian scientists.Andrew Holmes is a professor at the Bio21 Institute and the University of Melbourne, and president of the
  
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• OPEC cuts will not impact Saudi oil supply to Japan - Saudi official

  26-01-2017 06:05
  TOKYO (Reuters) - Last year's agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC countries to cut output will not impact Saudi Arabia's oil supplies to Japan, Aabed Al-Saadoun, deputy minister for company affairs at Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, said on Thursday. "The recent agreement among OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and non-OPEC members for oil exports reduction will not impact our commitments and oil exports to Japan," the official said, spea
  
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• Conservationists crowdfund drones to capture land clearing

  26-01-2017 05:35
  
  Wilderness Society has funds to launch SkyScout craft in Queensland and NSW – and wants a third for Western AustraliaConservationists are raising funds to launch a drone program across three Australian states, aiming to catch farmers conducting broadscale clearing and to share the images with the world. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil prices rise on weakening dollar, but plentiful supplies cap gains

  26-01-2017 03:00
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices edged up on Thursday, driven up by a weakening dollar, but gains were capped by plentiful supplies and inventories despite an effort by OPEC and other producers to cut output and prop up the market. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $55.44 per barrel at 0137 GMT, up 36 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.07 a barrel, up 32 cents.
  
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• Iowa oil spill underscores pipeline risks day after Trump revives major projects

  26-01-2017 02:01
  
  Rupture of 138,600 gallons is ‘not a major disaster’ but environmental advocates say it highlights their fears about the Keystone XL and Dakota Access projectsJust a day after Donald Trump signed executive orders to revive the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline projects, a pipeline rupture spilled 138,600 gallons of diesel fuel in northern Iowa.Magellan Midstream Partners, an Oklahoma company with more than 10,000 miles of oil and ammonium pipeline, acknowledged that the spill be
  
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