Environment news

• NASA Sees Development of Tropical Cyclone 3S along Western Australia's Coast

  27-01-2017 21:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  A NASA satellite provided a look at heavy rainfall occurring in a tropical low pressure system as it was consolidating and strengthening into what became Tropical Storm 3S in Southwest Indian Ocean.On January 26 the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) warned that System 90P, a low pressure area moving westward over northwestern Australia would strengthen into a tropical cyclone and by January 27 it had become Tropical Cyclone 3S.The warm waters of the Southern Indian Ocean and low vertical wind
  
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• 100% renewable energy sources require overcapacity

  27-01-2017 20:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  Germany decided to go nuclear-free by 2022. A CO2-emission-free electricity supply system based on intermittent sources, such as wind and solar - or photovoltaic (PV) - power could replace nuclear power. However, these sources depend on the weather conditions.In a new study published in EPJ Plus, Fritz Wagner from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Germany analysed weather conditions using 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015 data derived from the electricity supply system itself
  
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• Globe-trotting pollutants raise some cancer risks four times higher than predicted

  27-01-2017 20:38 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new way of looking at how pollutants ride through the atmosphere has quadrupled the estimate of global lung cancer risk from a pollutant caused by combustion, to a level that is now double the allowable limit recommended by the World Health Organization.The findings, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition online, showed that tiny floating particles can grow semi-solid around pollutants, allowing them to last longer and travel much farther than
  
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• Toxic Mercury in Aquatic Life Could Spike with Greater Land Runoff

  27-01-2017 20:26 via feedproxy.google.com
  A highly toxic form of mercury could jump by 300 to 600 percent in zooplankton – tiny animals at the base of the marine food chain – if land runoff increases by 15 to 30 percent, according to a new study.And such an increase is possible due to climate change, according to the pioneering study by Rutgers and other scientists published today in Science Advances.“With climate change, we expect increased precipitation in many areas in the Northern Hemispher
  
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• Oil prices fall as U.S. drillers add rigs

  27-01-2017 19:37
  By Jessica Resnick-Ault NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Friday, extending losses after data suggested drilling is ramping up in the United States, easing the focus on efforts by OPEC and other producers to support prices by cutting supplies. U.S. crude futures for March delivery fell 98 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $52.80 a barrel at 1:14pm EST (1814 GMT). The U.S. weekly oil and gas rig count from Baker Hughes showed that U.S. drillers added 15 oil rigs in the week, the 12th gain in 13
  
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• Toshiba chairman Shigenori Shiga ready to step down - Nikkei

  27-01-2017 18:54
  (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp Chairman Shigenori Shiga is ready to step down to take responsibility for the huge write-downs looming over the Japanese group's U.S. nuclear power unit Westinghouse Electric Co LLC, the Nikkei business daily reported. Shiga was chairman of Westinghouse when the unit booked charges of $930 million (742 million pounds) in fiscal 2012 and $390 million in fiscal 2013, which Toshiba failed to flag at the time in violation of the Tokyo bourse's disclosure rules. Toshiba did n
  
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• NYC Toddlers Exposed to Potentially Harmful Flame-Retardants

  27-01-2017 18:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers at the Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health (CCCEH) within the Mailman School of Public Health report evidence of potentially harmful flame-retardants on the hands and in the homes of 100 percent of a sample of New York City mothers and toddlers. The study also found that, on average, toddlers in New York City had higher levels of common flame-retardants on their hands compared to their mothers.
  
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• Westminster council to become first to charge extra to park diesel cars

  27-01-2017 18:06
  
  In trial aimed at cutting air pollution, diesel motorists parking in Marylebone will pay an additional 50%, or £2.45 extra an hourWestminster will become the first council in the UK to charge drivers of diesel cars extra money to park as town halls across London battle air pollution.The charge will be introduced for a trial period from April. Drivers of diesel-powered cars and vans will pay an additional 50%, which at current rates would be an extra £2.45 an hour to park on the stree
  
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• Business-led remanufacturing body launched to advise EU policy

  27-01-2017 17:58
  
  Today (27 January) marks the launch of the European Remanufacturing Council (ERC), a new, industry-led body which plans to become the co-ordinated voice for the businesses that are currently producing £25.5bn of remanufactured goods.
  
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• Australia's 'fairy possum' faces uncertain future

  27-01-2017 17:38 via bbc.co.uk
  
  A tiny possum, an emblem of the state of Victoria in Australia, is rapidly heading towards extinction, say scientists.
  
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• Toxic air, climate tweets and sharks – green news roundup

  27-01-2017 17:36
  
  The week’s top environment news stories and green events. If you are not already receiving this roundup, sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox Continue reading...
  
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• IKEA Canada to purchase second wind farm in Alberta

  27-01-2017 17:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  Burlington, ON – IKEA Canada has signed agreements to acquire an 88MW wind farm located near Drumheller, Alberta approximately 130km east of Calgary. Consisting of 55 turbines, the Wintering Hills wind farm will generate 275 million kWh (kilowatt hours) of energy, the equivalent to the electricity consumption of 54 IKEA stores or nearly 26,000 Canadian households.
  
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• OPEC January oil output shows high compliance with supply cut deal - Petro-Logistics

  27-01-2017 17:23
  OPEC oil output is set to fall by 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) this month, a company that tracks OPEC supply said on Friday, pointing to a strong start by the exporter group in implementing a supply cut deal. "OPEC supply is on track to decrease by 900,000 bpd in January, suggesting a high level of compliance thus far into the production curtailment agreement," Daniel Gerber, chief executive of Petro-Logistics, said in an email. Petro-Logistics (www.petro-logistics.com) is among a number of con
  
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• Paris and Michael Jackson: Does Depression Run in Families?

  27-01-2017 17:19
  
  Paris Jackson recently spoke about struggling with both depression and anxiety. When family members have the same mental health condition, is it a coincidence, the result of sharing the same household environment or evidence that the condition is heritable? Depression is "in the same class as many other complex disorders, like diabetes," in terms of its heritability, Myrna M. Weissman, a professor of epidemiology and psychiatry at Columbia University in New York, told Live Science.
  
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• Harry Potter character provides name for new species of crab

  27-01-2017 16:33
  
  Harryplax severus takes name from secretive Hogwarts teacher Severus SnapeA species of crab that managed to elude capture for 20 years after it was first identified from remains has become the latest real-life creature to be named after a Harry Potter character. Harryplax severus takes its name from Harry’s notorious teacher Severus Snape, who managed to keep the secret that he was a double agent working for Hogwarts headmaster Professor Dumbledore until he died.Discovered 20 years ago in
  
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• Brexit will delay new British nuclear power stations, warn experts

  27-01-2017 16:24
  
  Analysts say exit from EU atomic treaty is ‘lose-lose’ that will raise costs and safety questions at plants such as Hinkley Point CBritain’s first nuclear power station in two decades will be delayed by a government decision to quit Europe’s atomic power treaty, experts have warned.Ministers revealed on Thursday that Brexit would involve the UK leaving Euratom, which promotes research into nuclear power and uniform safety standards. Continue reading...
  
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• Nordic countries are bringing about an energy transition worth copying

  27-01-2017 15:57 via feedproxy.google.com
  What can we learn from the Nordic low-carbon energy transition given the new US leadership vacuum on climate change? A new study by Professor Benjamin Sovacool at the University of Sussex offers some important lessons.The Trump administration's "First energy plan" criticises the "burdensome" regulations on the energy industry and aims to eliminate "harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan" which was introduced by President Barack Obama. It has also deleted all mentions of
  
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• Heathrow CEO John Holland-Kaye speech: 'Airport expansion a model for sustainable growth'

  27-01-2017 14:41
  
  Heathrow Airport chief executive John Holland-Kaye took to the stage at edie's Sustainability Leaders Forum this week to announce that all of the Airport's energy usage will be generated from renewable sources within the next few months, ahead of its controversial expansion. Here's a full transcript of his speech.
  
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• New tool helps oyster growers prepare for changing ocean chemistry

  27-01-2017 14:38 via feedproxy.google.com
  For Bill Mook, coastal acidification is one thing his oyster hatchery cannot afford to ignore.Mook Sea Farm depends on seawater from the Gulf of Maine pumped into a Quonset hut-style building where tiny oysters are grown in tanks. Mook sells these tiny oysters to other oyster farmers or transfers them to his oyster farm on the Damariscotta River where they grow large enough to sell to restaurants and markets on the East Coast.The global ocean has soaked up one third of human-caused carbon dioxid
  
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• Saudi Aramco's oil reserves confirmed by external audit - sources

  27-01-2017 14:27
  By Rania El Gamal, Reem Shamseddine and Alex Lawler DUBAI/KHOBAR, Saudi Arabia/LONDON (Reuters) - The first independent audit of Saudi Aramco's [IPO-ARMO.SE] oil reserves has confirmed the state oil company's own figures, sources familiar with the situation said, ahead of its planned share market listing next year. The listing, expected to be the world's biggest initial public offering (IPO), is a centrepiece of a Saudi Arabian government plan to transform the country by enticing investment and
  
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• Contract caterer Compass plans 10% food waste cut by 2020

  27-01-2017 13:40
  
  British contract foodservice firm Compass Group has pledged to reduce food waste by 10% by 2020 as part of the company's commitment to become a "truly sustainable business".
  
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• South Sudan aims to more than double oil output in 2017/18

  27-01-2017 13:30
  By Katharine Houreld JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan plans to more than double oil production to 290,000 barrels per day (bpd) in fiscal 2017/2018, the finance minister said on Friday, indicating a target higher than the level recorded shortly before conflict erupted in late 2013. The nation, which seceded from Sudan in 2011 but plunged into civil war just over two years later, aimed to add 160,000 bpd to existing output of 130,000 bpd in the financial year starting in July, Minister Stephen D
  
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• Global warning: sounding the alarm on climate change with a 24 hour liveblog

  27-01-2017 13:26
  
  The Guardian marked the eve of the US president’s inauguration with rolling coverage through its London, New York and Sydney offices. Here’s how we did itWhen I first started out, journalism used to involve finding out something no one else knew, writing it up, putting it in the paper, and then going home.Maybe that’s a bit simplistic, but essentially, we had a single, daily product for reaching readers: the paper. Cramming a whole day’s news into it wasn’t always e
  
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• Britain plan to leave Euratom could delay new nuclear build

  27-01-2017 13:13
  By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) - British plans to leave the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) when it exits the European Union could raise costs, delay new nuclear power projects and complicate research and international cooperation agreements, experts said on Friday. On Thursday, Britain published the legislation it will use to seek parliamentary approval for triggering the process for leaving the European Union, saying the Prime Minister has the power to notify the European Council
  
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• Hotel collapses into river after torrential rain in Peru – video

  27-01-2017 12:46
  
  The La Hacienda hotel collapses into the swollen waters of the Sicra river in the Peruvian town of Lircay on Thursday. The foundations of the three-storey tourist hotel, which is built on the river’s edge, eroded due to the constant rainfall over the past week and the rising waters. According to local media, no injuries were reported as all guests had been evacuated before it fell Continue reading...
  
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• Claim made for hydrogen 'wonder material'

  27-01-2017 12:36 via bbc.co.uk
  
  US scientists draw controversy as they claim to have fulfilled the decades-long quest to turn hydrogen into a state where it behaves like a metal.
  
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• Oil prices fall as focus shifts to U.S. output

  27-01-2017 12:31
  By Libby George LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Friday, giving up gains from earlier in the day, as market shifted its focus towards production increases in the United States from efforts by OPEC and other producers to support prices by cutting supplies. Brent crude futures , the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $55.55 per barrel at 1050 GMT, down 69 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.30 a barrel, down 48 cent
  
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• UK exit from EU atomic treaty under Brexit 'will delay power stations'

  27-01-2017 12:12
  
  Experts warn that leaving Euratom is a ‘lose-lose’ that will increase costs and raise questions over safety regimes Hinkley Point C and other new nuclear power stations in Britain will be delayed by a decision by the UK to quit Europe’s atomic power treaty, experts have warned.The government revealed on Thursday that Brexit would see the UK leaving Euratom, which promotes research into nuclear power and uniform safety standards. Continue reading...
  
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• UK-GBC: Innovation will enable sustainability leadership in construction

  27-01-2017 12:11
  
  EXCLUSIVE: Fresh from the launch of its inaugural Innovation Lab workshop, the UK Green Building Council (UK-GBC) has claimed that fostering innovation can restore confidence and strengthen leadership in the built environment during a time of "increased difficulty and uncertainty".
  
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• Big Garden Birdwatch: cold snap may bring unusual migrant birds to gardens

  27-01-2017 12:03
  
  Participants in the world’s biggest wildlife survey this weekend could see droves of charismatic waxwings arriving from Scandinavia, says RSPBUnusual migrant birds could be seen in UK gardens in the cold snap, experts said as they urged people to take part in the world’s biggest wildlife survey.More than half a million people are expected to take part in this year’s RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, which is taking place over three days for the first time. Continue reading...
  
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• Plastic bag take-back: the next step towards a circular economy?

  27-01-2017 11:01
  
  Plastic bag use is expected to fall significantly in Sweden after an innovative take-back trial conducted by Nottingham Trent University led to an 80% drop in consumer usage.
  
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• Canadian scientists offer support to muzzled US counterparts

  27-01-2017 09:00
  
  For nine years under Canada’s previous government, science suffered harsh restrictions. Now US scientists may be facing a similar fateCanadian scientists – who were muzzled for nearly a decade by the country’s previous Conservative government – have been making contact with their counterparts in the US to offer their support and solidarity amid mounting fears that Donald Trump’s presidency will seek to suppress climate science.For nine years, scientists with Canada&
  
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• Canadian scientists lend support to muzzled US counterparts

  27-01-2017 09:00
  
  For nine years under Canada’s previous government, science suffered harsh restrictions. Now US scientists may be facing a similar fateCanadian scientists – who were muzzled for nearly a decade by the country’s previous Conservative government – have been making contact with their counterparts in the US to offer their support and solidarity amid mounting fears that Donald Trump’s presidency will seek to suppress climate science.For nine years, scientists with Canada&
  
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• Oil firms on OPEC-led production cuts, but rising U.S. output caps gains

  27-01-2017 08:58
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices firmed on Friday as rising crude output from the United States was offsetting efforts by OPEC and other producers to prop up the market by cutting supplies. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $56.41 per barrel at 0753 GMT, up 17 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.99 a barrel, up 21 cents.
  
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• Shark photobombs 10-year-old surfer's big wave moment in Australia

  27-01-2017 08:48
  
  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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• MPs urge May to tackle Trump on climate change

  27-01-2017 08:34
  British lawmakers have written to Prime Minister Theresa May, urging her to challenge U.S. President Donald Trump on his views on climate change when the two leaders meet on Friday. Trump has dismissed climate change as a "hoax" and vowed during his presidential campaign to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agreement designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming. "As one of the world's largest emitters ... his approach to reducing emissions could determine whethe
  
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• Red in tooth and bored: unimpressed zoo animals – in pictures

  27-01-2017 08:00
  
  Eric Pillot photographs animals in captivity, amid poorly approximated backdrops of their natural habitats, for his award-winning series In Situ Continue reading...
  
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• Red tape chokes off drilling on Native American reservations

  27-01-2017 07:23
  By Valerie Volcovici FORT BERTHOLD, North Dakota (Reuters) - When the U.S. oil boom hit North Dakota a decade ago, wells sprang up quickly on the edges of the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, an expanse of prairie and rolling hills three times larger than Los Angeles. "The reservation looked like the hole of a donut," said Marcus Levings, who was chairman of Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) Nation's reservation at the time. "Everything around us was moving, and there was nothing in the mi
  
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• Theresa May must challenge Trump's 'contempt' for climate change, say MPs

  27-01-2017 07:06
  
  MPs from across the political spectrum say the UK prime minister must urge the US president to remain in the global Paris agreement Prime minister Theresa May must challenge President Donald Trump’s “contempt” for environmental protection and urge him to remain in the global agreement to fight climate change, according to MPs from across the UK’s political parties.May will meet Trump on Friday in Washington DC and has been warned by MPs that the US president’s appro
  
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• 'Pink girly toys don't deter women from engineering'

  27-01-2017 07:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Meet the Sellafield engineer who says playing with pink toys will not deter girls from science careers.
  
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• Oil prices dip as rising U.S. output offsets OPEC-led cuts

  27-01-2017 07:05
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Friday as rising crude output from the United States was offsetting efforts by OPEC and other producers to prop up the market by cutting supplies. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $56.17 per barrel at 0556 GMT, down 7 cents from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.77 a barrel, down 1 cent. Trading activity during Asian business hours was extre
  
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• The saltmarsh has its own rich tang of whisky, earth and algae

  27-01-2017 06:30
  
  Old Hall Marshes, Essex: Outside the seawall the sombre estuarine mud is densely carved into curled knollsA tongue of land borrowed from the mouth of the Blackwater estuary. Inside the mile-long V of grassy banks that exclude the sea the tamed land is riven by the contorted veins of once-tidal channels, now filled with freshwater. Today they are frozen into wide, snaking sheets of white. The khaki reeds that fringe the ice blend into fields of dead grass dotted with the greener humps of ancient
  
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• Uncovering the secrets of North America's largest diamond

  27-01-2017 04:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Canada has unearthed the biggest diamond ever found in North America - the Foxfire.
  
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• Australia's coal power plan twice as costly as renewables route, report finds

  27-01-2017 04:15
  
  Researcher says new coal plants aimed at reducing emissions would cost $62b, while the cost using renewables would be $24-$34bnA plan for new coal power plants, which government ministers say could reduce emissions from coal-generated electricity by 27%, would cost more than $60bn, a new analysis has found.Achieving the same reduction using only renewable energy would cost just half as much – between $24bn and $34bn – the report found. Continue reading...
  
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• Oil prices stable as U.S. output gains offset OPEC-led cuts

  27-01-2017 03:34
  By Henning Gloystein SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices were stable on Friday, with rising crude output from the United States offsetting efforts by OPEC and other producers to prop up the market by cutting supplies. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $56.21 per barrel at 0231 GMT, virtually unchanged from their last close. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.84 a barrel, up 6 cents.
  
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• World Bank loan scheme 'failing clean energy'

  27-01-2017 01:45 via bbc.co.uk
  
  World Bank funding is being used to subsidise fossil fuel projects at the expense of cleaner options, a study reports but it is a claim strongly disputed by the World Bank.
  
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• Apollo I disaster: How three astronauts died on Earth

  27-01-2017 01:15 via bbc.co.uk
  
  On 27 January 1967, the crew of Apollo I were killed when a rehearsal for their mission went wrong.
  
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• British lawmakers urge May to tackle Trump on climate change

  27-01-2017 01:10
  British lawmakers have written to Prime Minister Theresa May, urging her to challenge U.S. President Donald Trump on his views on climate change when the two leaders meet on Friday. Trump has dismissed climate change as a "hoax" and vowed during his presidential campaign to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agreement designed to curb greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming. "As one of the world's largest emitters ... his approach to reducing emissions could determine whethe
  
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• Skeleton offers clues to medieval spread of leprosy

  27-01-2017 01:05 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The remains of a religious pilgrim shed light on how leprosy came to Europe, researchers say.
  
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• Origin Energy ignores coal seam gas well leaks, whistleblower says

  27-01-2017 00:19
  
  Statement of claim lodged at federal court alleges that a general manager said company calculated it was cheaper to pay fines than comply with regulationsOrigin Energy has had a deliberate policy of ignoring coal seam gas wells that have been leaking and an offshore gas well that has potentially been leaking for more than a decade, a corporate whistleblower has alleged.The claims, filed in a revised statement of claim to the federal court and denied by Origin Energy, suggest Origin also failed t
  
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