Reuters: Environment

Japan priest fights invisible demon: radiation

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:28:10 -0500

FUKUSHIMA (Reuters) - On the snowy fringes of Japan's Fukushima city, now notorious as a byword for nuclear crisis, Zen monk Koyu Abe offers prayers for the souls of thousands left dead or missing after the earthquake and tsunami nearly one year ago.

Canada PM vows to ensure key oil pipeline is built

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:16:51 -0500

GUANGZHOU, China (Reuters) - Canada's prime minister on Friday made his strongest comments yet in support of a proposed pipeline from oil-rich Alberta to the Pacific coast, saying his government was committed to ensuring the controversial project went ahead.

La Nina seems to have peaked, set to decline: WMO

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:51:06 -0500

GENEVA (Reuters) - La Nina, a weather phenomenon usually linked to heavy rains and flooding in Asia-Pacific and South America and drought in Africa, seems to have reached its peak and is expected to fade between March and May, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday.

Bungled conservation effort kills South African rhino

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:58:49 -0500

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A group of animal conservationists in South Africa accidentally killed a rhinoceros they were attempting to make safe from poachers in a botched public relations event.

NRC approves first new nuclear plant in a generation

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:53:37 -0500

ROCKVILLE, Maryland (Reuters) - Regulators on Thursday approved plans to build the first new nuclear power plant in the U.S. in more than 30 years, despite objections of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman, who cited safety concerns stemming from Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster.

Insight: Poland's shale gas play takes on Russian power

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:29:28 -0500

LESNIOWICE, Poland (Reuters) - When Wieslaw Radzieciak took office as the mayor of Lesniowice in the gently-rolling farmland of southeastern Poland 26 years ago, the Soviet garrisons that dotted the county were a stark reminder of which superpower was in control.

Inspector: no improper influence on Keystone line

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:44:43 -0500

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The State Department Inspector General issued a review on Thursday that found "no evidence" the company that wants to build the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL crude oil pipeline had improperly influenced on a contractor that performed the environmental review of the project.

BP wins spill trial ruling, old accidents kept out

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:41:29 -0500

(Reuters) - BP Plc won a court order to keep references to some previous accidents out of this month's trial to assess blame for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the oil company's second victory in as many days to bar potentially damaging evidence.

UK wants sustained cuts to solar panel tariffs

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:27:18 -0500

LONDON (Reuters) - The UK government on Thursday recommended slashing subsidies for solar panels on homes from July 1 after a boom in installations last year nearly exhausted its support budget.

New 367 MW offshore wind farm opens in UK

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:42:05 -0500

LONDON (Reuters) - A new 367 megawatt offshore wind farm opened off the Cumbrian coast in Britain Thursday and will supply up to 320,000 households with renewable power a year, the companies behind the project said.