Environment

• Thursday, October 18th 2012 - 18:14 UTC

  Astronomers working from Chile discover Earth ‘clone’ in ‘our backyard’

  

  Astronomers have found a new planet, the closest yet outside our solar system and just an astronomical stone's throw away at four light years, raising the chances of finding a habitable planet in Earth's neighbourhood.

• Thursday, October 18th 2012 - 16:04 UTC

  Protector catches stunning sonar imagery and bathymetric survey off St Helena

  

  The Royal Navy Ice patrol HMS Protector heading for another Antarctic season previous visit to South Africa and Falkland Islands has produced stunning sonar imagery of the wreck of a wartime RFA tanker to help salvage experts study the state of it.

• Thursday, October 18th 2012 - 10:33 UTC

  Monsanto suspends collection of royalties in Brazil following state court ruling

  

  Monsanto, the world’s biggest seed company, suspended collection of royalties for its Roundup Ready soybeans in Brazil while it appeals a state court ruling on intellectual property rights.

• Thursday, October 18th 2012 - 07:10 UTC

  Ecuadorian court orders seizure of 200m dollars in Chevron oil assets

  

  As part of an ongoing lawsuit between US Chevron oil and plaintiffs from various Amazonian villages, an Ecuadorian court has ordered the seizure of approximately 200 million dollars worth of the company's assets.

• Friday, October 12th 2012 - 16:44 UTC

  Noble Energy says Falklands’ oil production in six years if exploration well proves successful

  

  Noble Energy Inc. (NBL) executives said on Thursday that oil production in the Falkland Islands could begin in about six years if an exploration well proves to be successful.

• Friday, October 5th 2012 - 22:06 UTC

  HMS Protector on route to the Antarctic previous surveying in St Helena

  

  The Royal Navy’s Ice Patrol ship HMS Protector is on her way for an eight-month deployment surveying and patrolling Antarctica. She left Portsmouth late September and is currently visiting St Helena to conduct surveys of the harbour in preparation for the building of a new jetty.

• Thursday, October 4th 2012 - 16:41 UTC

  Falklands’ commercial oil production projected to commence in 2017

  

  By Alicia Dunkley-Willis (*) - With commercial oil production projected to commence in 2017 for the 3,000 population Falkland Islands, efforts are now underway to ensure that the impending wealth does not upset the order here.

• Wednesday, October 3rd 2012 - 23:07 UTC

  Australian Great Barrier Reef lost more than half its coral cover in last 27 years

  

  The Australian Great Barrier Reef has lost more than half its coral cover in the past 27 years, a new study shows. Researchers analysed data on the condition of 217 individual reefs that make up the World Heritage Site.

• Tuesday, October 2nd 2012 - 20:07 UTC

  UN aquaculture initiative to help low-income countries fight hunger

  

  A United Nations-backed initiative that will form partnerships among governments, development agencies and universities has been launched to better understand how aquaculture can help low-income countries fight hunger.

• Monday, October 1st 2012 - 22:27 UTC

  Report says fish species expected to shrink in size because of global warming

  

  Fish species are expected to shrink in size by up to 24% because of global warming, say scientists. Researchers modelled the impact of rising temperatures on more than 600 species between 2001 and 2050.