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£600bn in North Sea oil? That's a fracking
fortune
The Scottish Sun covers a report claiming offshore fracking
technology could lead to a new oil and gas bonanza from the North
Sea. The report comes from Scottish business think tank N-56 and
oil industry consultancy Tulloch Energy.
Scottish Sun
Climate and energy news
Aircraft Emissions May Be Next for US Climate
Rules
The US Environmental Protection Agency is considering
regulating aircraft greenhouse gas emissions, it announced
yesterday. It will release findings of a scoping study by next
April. If it deems aircraft emissions a risk to public health, it
will begin the process of writing rules.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance
Nuclear snags raise power supply
worries
The news that four UK nuclear reactors might be out of
action until the end of the year tightens the squeeze on the
national energy generation system, reports the Financial Times. The
reactors, run by French firm EDF, were closed down unexpectedly
after a crack was found in a component of one of the units. They
will be brought back into service between October and the end of
the year - later than had originally been expected.
Financial Times
Now kettles face EU ban
New rules around climate change could see "dozens of
everyday appliances" including kettles, being de-powered or banned,
the Daily Express says. Its front-page assault on EU energy
efficiency regulations follows recent controversy over rules
designed to increase the efficiency of vacuum cleaners - and hence
reduce consumers' electricity bills. Full Fact sets the record straight, confirming
that "kettles are still not about to be banned".
Daily Express
Canada's oil sands: The steam from
below
ONE of the bleakest scenes of man-made destruction is the
strip mining of oil sands in the forests of Alberta, Canada, says
the Economist in a feature article on the region. High oil prices
have made the oil sands profitable to exploit. The oil industry has
been busy finding ways to reduce the high cost of extraction, the
article says. Over at Yale Environment 360 Ed Struzik
makes the case for a moratorium on
tar sands exploitation.
The Economist
U.S. weather forecaster pegs El Nino chances at
60-65 per cent
The will-it, won't-it saga over major Pacific ocean weather
phenomenon El Nino continues, with the latest update from the US
National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center slightly
reducing its outlook for an El Nino this autumn or
winter.
Reuters
UK and Latvia tipped for top EU climate
jobs
A leaked organisational chart hints at changes in the
structure of the European Commission when incoming president
Jean-Claude Juncker appoints commissioners next week. A senior role
in charge of EU 'energy union' could go to Latvia with a more
junior post on climate could go to the UK, the chart suggests. But
there are doubts among Brussels insiders over how accurate and
up-to-date the chart really is.
RTCC
U.N. Chief Tries to Kick-Start Sagging Enthusiasm
for Climate Deal
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is hoping to
reinvigorate the years-long effort to forge a global climate deal,
reports Reuters. Ban wants countries to outline their contributions
towards a global deal at a conference he has organised in New York
on 23 September. An article for Climate News Network
argues the talks are the "last chance to get consensus" before next
year's Paris summit, where leaders are due to agree a global
deal.
Reuters
Ban fracking from national parks, say majority of
UK public
The public don't believe government assurances that rules on
fracking in national parks have been tightened, according to a poll
for the Guardian. A large majority of respondents agreed fracking
should be banned from the nation's national parks. In
an opinion piece for the paper, Guy
Standing argues that the wealth of the UK's North Sea oil was
exploited for the benefit of the few but our shale resources should
be exploited for the many.
Guardian
BP faces up to $18bn fines after Gulf of Mexico
'gross negligence' ruling
The repercussions of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in
the Gulf of Mexico continue for oil giant BP. A judge has ruled the
company was "grossly negligent", leaving it open to fines of up to
$18bn. Shares were down 4 per cent after the ruling.
Daily Telegraph
Climate and energy comment
Is Merkel's green zeal turning
brown?
Germany is in danger of missing its emissions targets
because of increasing reliance on coal-fired power, a Reuters
feature article reports. Long seen as a leader on green energy, the
nations's emissions have risen for two years in a row.
Reuters
New York climate summit is a chance to push for
long-term climate neutrality
This month's climate summit in New York is the moment for
heads of state, cities, organisations, and companies to announce
"bold new initiatives to address climate change", write UN climate
chief Christiana Figueres and climate scientist Mario Molina in the
Guardian. It is also a moment for an ambitious, scientifically
credible and clear vision on where the world needs to aim over the
long haul, they argue.
Guardian
NATO ignores climate change at its
peril
It may seem strange for NATO to fret over climate change as
Russian forces mass on Europe's doorstep, an opinion piece for RTCC
says, but the alliance needs to learn to "walk and chew gum at the
same time". Climate change can be unpredictable and destabilising,
it says, putting stresses on food production, Arctic relations and
water security.
RTCC
New climate science
20th Century Atmospheric Deposition and
Acidification Trends in Lakes of the Sierra Nevada, California, USA
- Environmental Science & Technology
New research shows the beneficial impact of air quality
regulation on aquatic ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada. Reductions
of acid rain has resulted in a declining acidity in 50 lakes in the
region, which has allowed sensitive aquatic species to be
maintained in the lakes. The researchers claim the improvement is a
result of the Clean Air Act, and describe it as "arguably the most
important and successful environmental law in the United
States."
Environmental Science & Technology
Reductions in India's crop yield due to
ozone
A new study has found that emissions of ozone in India is
causing the loss of enough crops to feed over 90 million people.
The research analysed emissions of ozone in 2005 - from cars,
industry, and cooking stoves - and found it damaged 6 million
metric tons of wheat, rice, soybean and cotton crops.
Geophysical Research Letters
Greenland temperature response to climate forcing
during the last deglaciation
Scientists have finally solved a 20,000 year old mystery
using Greenland ice cores. Reconstructed temperature records had
previously shown that Greenland hadn't warmed until several
thousand years after the last ice age ended. By analysing nitrogen
levels in air trapped in ice cores, a new study finds that
Greenland temperatures had actually risen along with the rest of
the northern hemisphere, and as climate models
predicted.
Science