Environment news

• Indonesian illegal gold mining – in pictures

  06-02-2017 23:34 via theguardian.com
  
  Indonesian miners painstakingly sift through the waste for scraps from the largest gold mine in the world: the Grasberg mine in West Papua Continue reading...
  
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• Why climate change is good news for wasps

  06-02-2017 22:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Their numbers vary enormously from year to year, but warmer weather will provide wasps with more favourable conditionsSeveral new species of wasp have arrived in Britain with our warming weather, and their larger relative the hornet, once confined to the extreme south, has spread across England.But how is our common wasp fairing? Most queen wasps still do not survive the winter. However, it is not cold that will have killed them, but spiders or other predators.Continue reading...
  
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• Bison return to Banff national park in Canada

  06-02-2017 22:18 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The staged reintroduction since the end of last month is going smoothly, officials say.
  
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• Oil falls as U.S. supplies, speculative length counter OPEC cuts

  06-02-2017 21:45
  By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell on Monday as ample U.S. supplies and excess speculative length outweighed OPEC output curbs and rising tensions between the United States and Iran. Brent futures fell $1.09, or 1.9 percent, to settle at $55.72 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude lost 82 cents, or 1.5 percent, to close at $53.01. "We feel that the bulk of the price decline related to the larger-than-expected increase in net WTI speculative length as well as another he
  
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• Q&A: refugees put a human face on debate over Trump's travel ban

  06-02-2017 20:45 via theguardian.com
  
  Return of ABC’s panel show is dominated by discussion of Australia’s resettlement deal with the US and Trump administration’s climate change policyThe politicking around refugees following Donald Trump’s travel ban was given a human face on Q&A on Monday night with personal and probing questions from two Syrian refugees.After two panellists expressed support for Trump’s move to limit migration from seven predominantly Muslim countries, audience member Omar Al Ka
  
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• The environmental impact of coal and oil | Letters

  06-02-2017 20:40 via theguardian.com
  
  Last week a Scottish Power executive called for coal to be excluded from the UK’s capacity market scheme (Report, 31 January). Five days later UK coal plants were awarded taxpayer-funded subsidies worth up to £72.8m. With the government’s consultation on phasing out coal-fired power generation by 2025 closing on Wednesday, for coal plant operators it must be like being asked to leave the party while being bought a drink.Likewise, while CO2 emissions are subject to a carbon
  
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• Stewards of Federal Lands Feel Threatened, Survey Shows

  06-02-2017 20:13
  
  Many of the people who take care of U.S. federal lands and wildlife refuges say their jobs have become more dangerous, according to a new survey. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), a nonprofit that represents government staff, released the results of the survey on Feb. 2. The group gathered responses from 104 out of 302 managers of the Fish and Wildlife Service's federal refuge and 364 employees of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), including scientists, archaeologi
  
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• NASA Sees Tropical Cyclone Carlos Over La Reunion and Mauritius

  06-02-2017 20:07 via feedproxy.google.com
  Tropical Cyclone 04S formed north of La Reunion Island on February 4 and continued to track slowly toward the island. This ended an unusual drought of tropical cyclone formation in that part of the Indian Ocean that began in July 2016. When NASA's Terra passed over the newly-formed tropical cyclone imagery showed a concentration of strong thunderstorms around the center of the compact storm. The storm was later renamed Tropical Cyclone Carlos.
  
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• Shell expects to split Motiva assets with Saudi Aramco in second quarter

  06-02-2017 20:04
  Shell Oil Co, the U.S. unit of Royal Dutch Shell Plc , said on Monday it expects to divide the refineries and other assets of the Motiva Enterprises [MOTIV.UL] joint venture with co-owner Saudi Aramco in the second quarter of 2017. "We are pleased with the progress we have made to date, and anticipate completion of the transaction in Q2 2017," Shell spokesman Ray Fisher said in an email. "The April 1 date is a target that the internal project teams are working toward." Neither Mot
  
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• Luxury flats instead of birdsong: can regeneration ever be the right thing? | Patrick Barkham

  06-02-2017 19:57 via theguardian.com
  
  The priceless tranquillity of an inner-city green space – yards from St Pancras station – is threatened by a developer. And the developer is a Labour councilSeventy paces beyond the western side of St Pancras station you’ll find one of London’s overlooked small miracles: a scruffy park, a community garden, mature trees, ready-to-eat lettuce, a squirrel chomping a nut, a great tit singing, and local people enjoying these free pleasures. This priceless tranquillity is threa
  
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• Increasing the water table in agricultural peatland could hold key to reducing UK's greenhouse gas emissions

  06-02-2017 19:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  The research, led by scientists from the University of Sheffield, found increasing the level below which the ground is saturated with water – known as the water table – in radish fields by 20cm not only reduced soil CO2 emissions, but also improved the growth of crops.
  
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• With Norway in Lead, Europe Set for Surge in Electric Vehicles.

  06-02-2017 19:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  On Europe’s northern margins, lightly populated Norway has been at the cutting edge of electromobility for years, even decades now. The capital of Oslo, like most of Norway’s cities and towns, boasts bus-lane access for electric vehicles (EVs), recharging stations aplenty, privileged parking, and toll-free travel for electric cars. The initiative began in the 1990s as an effort to cut pollution, congestion, and noise in urban centers; now its primary rationale is combating climate ch
  
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• African Nations and Scientists Sound Alarm Over Spread of Crop Pest

  06-02-2017 19:43 via feedproxy.google.com
  Scientists and government officials are growing increasingly concerned about the rapid spread of fall armyworm — an agricultural pest known to cause major damage to staple crops such as maize — across Africa in recent months. 
  
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• Europe escalates action against UK for breaching air pollution limits

  06-02-2017 19:15 via theguardian.com
  
  UK fails to apply environmental law on air quality, water standards, and the conservation of several species, EU review revealsAn EU review has revealed multiple failings by the UK in applying environmental law, on the same day that the commission escalated its action against Britain for breaching air pollution limits.Britain has been in breach of EU nitrogen dioxide (NO2) limits since 2010, with London overshooting its annual air pollution limit for the whole of 2017 in just the first five days
  
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• Luxembourg opens criminal case over VW emissions scandal

  06-02-2017 18:10
  Luxembourg has launched criminal proceedings over Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal, showing the German carmaker is still struggling to draw a line under the crisis some 17 months after it broke. The European Union country said on Monday that following investigations it was taking legal action against "unknown persons" over the EA 189 engine made by Volkswagen's (VW) Audi division. The engine, which was tested and certified by Luxembourg authorities, was used in most of the cars that VW has
  
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• Oil slips lower as dollar strength counters OPEC cuts

  06-02-2017 18:05
  By Scott DiSavino NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil fell more than 1 percent on Monday as a stronger dollar, ample U.S. supplies and excess speculative length outweighed OPEC output curbs and rising tensions between the United States and Iran. Brent futures were down 88 cents, or 1.5 percent, at $55.93 a barrel by noon EST (1700 GMT).
  
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• Live Q&A: What can we do to help elephants?

  06-02-2017 18:05 via theguardian.com
  
  Volunteer? Raise money? Be a citizen scientist? Join us Monday 13 Feb at 1 - 2.30pm GMT to talk about what we can all do to help elephants. In the face of falling elephant populations around the world, it’s easy to feel a little hopeless. But in fact there are a number of things you can do to help - from volunteering to becoming a citizen scientist yourself, to supporting some of the extraordinary organisations out there. We’re putting together a database of actions to launch next Mo
  
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• Low-Cost Imaging System Detects Natural Gas Leaks in Real Time

  06-02-2017 17:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  Researchers have developed an infrared imaging system that could one day offer low-cost, real-time detection of methane gas leaks in pipelines and at oil and gas facilities. Leaks of methane, the primary component of natural gas, can be costly and dangerous while also contributing to climate change as a greenhouse gas.
  
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• 'Mud Monsters' Galore! Mariana Trench Dive Yields Bizarre Deep-Sea Life

  06-02-2017 17:06
  
  A recent underwater expedition to the Mariana Trench, the deepest known ocean spot in the world, filmed many forms of bizarre marine life close to the seafloor, and captured the first-ever footage of a shrimp feeding at record-breaking depths. Sponges on stalks, ghost-pale lizard fish and a hermit crab carrying an anemone hitchhiker were among the so-called "mud monsters" that paraded in front of the cameras of the remotely operated vehicle (ROV), offering a rare glimpse of deep-sea animals' hab
  
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• Cheerleaders of the Deep: How Pom-Pom Crabs Got Their Name

  06-02-2017 17:06
  The mystery of a bizarre crab that is always found clutching two sea anemones in its claws may have been solved: The crabs clone their poufy accessories, new research suggests. Lybia leptochelis, also known as a boxer crab or a pom-pom crab, will fight over the sea anemones and then split the remaining ones in two. The split sea anemones will regenerate over the course of a few days.
  
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• Lakes respond differently to nitrogen disposition

  06-02-2017 16:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  Nitrogen deposition caused by human activities can lead to an increased phytoplankton production in boreal lakes. The response of boreal lakes to nitrogen deposition will strongly depend on each lake’s content of organic carbon, which are predicted to increase with future warmer and wetter climate. This according to a thesis at Umeå University.The worldwide increase of inorganic nitrogen deposition via fossil fuel combustion, fertilization and forestry has been intervening drasticall
  
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• Russia, Venezuela say global oil deal has positive impact on market

  06-02-2017 16:32
  Energy ministers of Russia and Venezuela said on Monday that the global oil deal to cut production has a positive impact on the global market, Russia's energy ministry said in a statement. Russian energy minister Alexander Novak has discussed the deal with Venezuelan oil minister Nelson Martinez and foreign minister Delcy Rodriguez on Monday.
  
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• A future for skiing in a warmer world

  06-02-2017 16:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  As the world struggles to make progress to limit climate change, researchers are finding ways to adapt to warmer winter temperatures — by developing environmentally friendly ways of producing artificial snow.Chances are if you know anything about Norway, you know it’s a place where skiing was born.Norse mythology describes gods and goddesses hunting on skis, and 4000–year-old petroglyphs from northern Norway include some of the earliest known drawings of people on skis. One of
  
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• SLAC Study Helps Explain Why Uranium Persists in Groundwater at Former Mining Sites

  06-02-2017 16:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  Decades after a uranium mine is shuttered, the radioactive element can still persist in groundwater at the site, despite cleanup efforts.A recent study led by scientists at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory helps describe how the contaminant cycles through the environment at former uranium mining sites and why it can be difficult to remove. Contrary to assumptions that have been used for modeling uranium behavior, researchers found the contaminant bi
  
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• Terrific Scientific: BBC Breakfast's fizzy bottle rocket flop

  06-02-2017 16:07 via bbc.co.uk
  
  BBC Breakfast presenters battle it out in the Terrific Scientific Bottle Rocket Challenge.
  
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• Luxembourg opens criminal case over VW emissions scandal - minister

  06-02-2017 15:32
  Luxembourg has started criminal proceedings in response to the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal, saying on Monday that regulators had been cheated by car manufacturers. Following an investigation into the scandal, the European Union country's infrastructure minister said it was lodging a complaint with prosecutors without naming any of the parties under suspicion. "We have decided that, as there is a large probability that a defeat device was used, to launch a lawsuit against unknown persons,
  
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• Luxembourg opens criminal case over Volkswagen emissions scandal: minister

  06-02-2017 15:32
  Luxembourg has started criminal proceedings in response to the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal, saying on Monday that regulators had been cheated by car manufacturers. Following an investigation into the scandal, the European Union country's infrastructure minister said it was lodging a complaint with prosecutors without naming any of the parties under suspicion. "We have decided that, as there is a large probability that a defeat device was used, to launch a lawsuit against unknown persons,
  
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• Oil slips further below $57 as dollar strength counters OPEC

  06-02-2017 15:24
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil slipped further below $57 barrel on Monday as a stronger dollar and ample U.S. supplies outweighed OPEC output curbs and rising tensions between the United States and Iran. U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a 13th week in 14, data showed on Friday, and U.S. crude inventories rose by more than expected last week. Brent crude was trading at $56.56 a barrel by 1402 GMT, down 25 cents, having touched an intra-day high of $57.13.
  
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• EU falls short in applying air pollution, waste laws - Commission

  06-02-2017 15:18
  (Reuters) - European Union nations could save 50 billion euros (£43 billion) a year by fully carrying out existing environmental laws in areas such as air pollution and waste, the European Commission said on Monday. Twenty-three of the 28 member states were breaching air pollution quality standards, according to the Commission's Environmental Implementation Review, which it said was a new way to help track and compare environmental performance. Better health would be the main economic bene
  
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• Norwegian firms to create offshore oil industry supply vessels giant

  06-02-2017 15:17
  By Gwladys Fouche and Jonathan Saul OSLO/LONDON (Reuters) - The pace of consolidation in the crisis-hit shipping industry accelerated on Monday after three of Norway's biggest offshore oil industry service vessel (OSV) operators announced plans to merge to create one of the biggest fleets in the sector. Shipping tycoon John Fredriksen and Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke said they had agreed a restructuring plan for Farstad Shipping , via a debt-for-equity swap and additional share issue,
  
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• Green party councillor arrested at Sheffield tree protest

  06-02-2017 15:07 via theguardian.com
  
  Alison Teal among seven people detained during latest demonstration against felling of roadside trees in cityA Green party councillor was among seven people arrested after a standoff with police during the latest protest against tree-felling in Sheffield.
  Alison Teal and six others were detained on suspicion of preventing workmen from chopping down a tree in Chippinghouse Road, Nether Edge, at about 9.30am on Monday. Continue reading...
  
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• LED lighting could have major impact on wildlife

  06-02-2017 14:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  LED street lighting can be tailored to reduce its impacts on the environment, according to new research by the University of Exeter.The UK-based study found predatory spiders and beetles were drawn to grassland patches lit by LED lighting at night, but the number of species affected was markedly reduced when the lights were dimmed by 50% and switched off between midnight and 4am.
  
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• Study tracks vegetation resilience to salvage logging after severe wildfire

  06-02-2017 14:26 via feedproxy.google.com
  Nearly a decade after being logged, vegetation in forested areas severely burned by California's Cone Fire in 2002 was relatively similar to areas untouched by logging equipment. The findings of a U.S. Forest Service study shed light on how vegetation responds to severe wildfire and whether further disturbances from logging affect regrowth.
  
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• Satisfying the thirsty

  06-02-2017 14:26 via bbc.co.uk
  
  Land Speed Record holder Andy Green describes how the Typhoon jet engine in the Bloodhound supersonic car will be fed with fuel.
  
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• Blackouts? What blackouts? How National Grid keeps the lights on

  06-02-2017 14:12 via theguardian.com
  
  A visit to the chief control centre in Berkshire reveals how solar and windpower are keeping blackouts at bay … for nowDespite claims that Britain is on the brink of blackouts and amid forecasts of a looming cold snap, all is calm inside the room where a score of engineers and analysts work to ensure the lights stay on.Below a huge, illuminated map of the UK’s electricity network and myriad displays, a gentle hubbub of conversation washes over the desks of the control centre in Berk
  
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• First batch of businesses offer support for net-zero building project

  06-02-2017 14:08
  
  Three businesses have thrown their weight behind a new project aimed at achieving net zero emissions in the global building stock by 2050.
  
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• Government thought to be planning diesel scrappage scheme

  06-02-2017 13:59
  
  As German car manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) faces its first legal action from a German customer over the "dieselgate" scandal, fresh reports suggest the UK Government is considering the national rollout of a diesel scrappage scheme.
  
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• Cavendish Asset Management urges Ithaca shareholders to reject Delek deal

  06-02-2017 13:53
  Ithaca investor Cavendish Asset Management said it "strongly urges" shareholders in the North Sea oil producer to reject a $524 million offer from Delek Group to buy 80 percent of Ithaca's equity it does not already own. "I anticipate lots of potential deals in the future...This acquisition would be relatively cheap, and Delek Group will see good payback in a short space of time," said Paul Mumford, fund manager at Cavendish Asset Management, which has over 13 million shares in Ithaca, or about
  
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• Oil steadies as Iran and OPEC offset by U.S. drilling rebound

  06-02-2017 13:48
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil steadied near $57 barrel on Monday as OPEC supply cuts and rising tensions between the United States and Iran were countered by ample inventories and signs that higher prices will revive U.S. output. The Trump administration's new sanctions against Iran, though not affecting oil output, raised concern about the potential for further developments that could hinder export growth in OPEC's third-largest producer. U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a 13th
  
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• Shell looking to sell stake in Danish venture - banking sources

  06-02-2017 13:31
  By Ron Bousso and Clara Denina LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell is seeking to sell its stake in the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC), an offshore oil and gas joint venture, in what would mark the company's effective exit from Denmark, three banking sources said. The stake is valued at up to $1 billion, according to two sources. Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) is running the sale process, the sources said.
  
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• California protests lead the way for Trump resistance movement

  06-02-2017 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  State has embraced its reputation for progressive politics and civil rights activism, cementing its role leading the movement to defy the White HouseThe activists entered the train tracks, chained themselves together with PVC piping and halted all commuter rail traffic in San Francisco. Two miles away, hundreds shut down Uber’s corporate offices, blockaded Wells Fargo’s global headquarters and formed a barricade at the Israeli consulate.While protests erupted across the US on Donald
  
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• Gas line rupture in southeastern Iran kills two

  06-02-2017 12:57
  A gas pipeline rupture in southeastern Iran during a pressure test killed two workers, Mehr news agency reported on Monday. The pipeline between the cities of Bazman and Zahedan in Sistan and Baluchestan province did not contain any gas, and the testing and cleaning process were conducted with air and water, a local oil official was quoted as saying by Fars news. Mehr news agency also quoted the spokesman of the National Iranian Gas Company as saying that the incident was not an explosion as the
  
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• Israel's Delek expands in North Sea with Ithaca Energy deal

  06-02-2017 12:56
  By Tova Cohen and Karolin Schaps TEL AVIV/LONDON (Reuters) - Israel's Delek Group has offered to buy Ithaca Energy Inc in a deal valuing the North Sea oil producer's equity at $646 million and building on Delek's expansion in the North Sea ahead of a planned London listing. Ithaca, listed in Toronto and London, said on Monday its board had recommended the Israeli conglomerate's cash offer of C$1.95 per share, which equates to 1.20 pounds. Delek, with natural gas exploration and production activi
  
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• Explanation demanded for GIB restructure

  06-02-2017 12:50
  
  The chair of the Environmental Audit Committee has written to business and energy minister Nick Hurd to challenge government's plans to privatise the Green Investment Bank.
  
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• Repeal without replace: a dangerous GOP strategy on Obamacare and climate | Dana Nuccitelli

  06-02-2017 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  House Republicans are explicitly saying that protecting public and environmental health isn’t worth a few jobs or a small cost.
  House Republicans have introduced a bill to rewrite the Clean Air Act. The bill, which has 114 co-sponsors (all Republicans), would revise the Clean Air Act such that:The term ‘air pollutant’ does not include carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride. Continue reading...
  
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• Low-carbon boom to stall fossil fuel demand by 2020, say researchers

  06-02-2017 11:59
  
  The demand for coal and oil will peak in 2020 as low-carbon technology prices continue to tumble, a new report which examines the energy sector has claimed.
  
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• Veolia and Southern Water turn to sewage to boost renewables generation

  06-02-2017 11:53
  
  Southern Water has moved to reduce its carbon footprint by converting sewage into renewable energy, after waste specialists Veolia installed new combined heat and power (CHP) engines at treatment facilities in Hampshire and Kent.
  
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• Oil stuck near $57 as Iran, OPEC countered by U.S. drilling rebound

  06-02-2017 11:22
  By Alex Lawler LONDON (Reuters) - Oil steadied close to $57 barrel on Monday as rising tensions between the United States and Iran and OPEC supply cuts were countered by ample inventories and signs that higher prices will revive U.S. output. U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a 13th week in the last 14, data showed on Friday. Despite the OPEC cuts, U.S. crude inventories increased more than expected last week.
  
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• Villagers in Bolivia refuse to be left high and dry by drought – in pictures

  06-02-2017 11:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Despite January rains heavy enough to cause flooding in some areas, the effects of severe drought continue to be felt keenly in many areas of Bolivia, affecting about 125,000 families. A resourceful village in Mizque province has come up with ways to eke out what little water is availableAll photographs by Andrew Philip/Tearfund Continue reading...
  
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