Environment News

 

IKEA to move to clean energy by 2020, protect forests

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OSLO - IKEA, the world's largest furniture retailer, will shift to renewable energy by 2020 and grow more trees than it uses under a plan to safeguard nature that has won support from environmentalists.

Italian scientists convicted over earthquake warning

L'AQUILA, Italy - Six scientists and a government official were sentenced to six years in prison for manslaughter by an Italian court on Monday for failing to give adequate warning of an earthquake that killed more than 300 people in L'Aquila in 2009.

Impoverished Niger creates fund to fight desert spread

NIAMEY - Niger said on Monday it will launch a $110 million project to counter the impact of rapid expansion of deserts and increasingly unpredictable rains in one of the world's poorest countries.

5:03pm EDT

Sempra to build $1 billion natural gas line Arizona to Mexico

NEW YORK - Sempra Energy unit Sempra Mexico has been chosen to build a $1 billion natural gas pipeline that will connect the U.S. grid in Arizona with northwest Mexico, after a bidding process was completed, the company said on Monday.

5:12pm EDT

Tropical Storm Sandy forms in the Caribbean

MIAMI - Tropical Storm Sandy formed in the western Caribbean Sea on Monday and put Jamaica, Cuba and Haiti on alert for severe weather over the next few days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

5:52pm EDT

Anbaric could help TenneT with German offshore link plan

BERLIN/DUESSELDORF - Institutional investors led by U.S. energy transmission developer Anbaric Transmission are interested in pumping up to 4 billion euros ($5.2 billion) into linking German offshore wind farms with the mainland.

1:52pm EDT

Dominion closing nuclear plant due to low natgas prices

- Dominion Resources Inc plans to shut its Kewaunee plant in Wisconsin next year, the first U.S. nuclear plant to fall victim to the steep drop in power prices as rising natural gas production makes some plants uncompetitive.

Nuclear Power 4:42pm EDT

Appeals court: Kinder Morgan's Ruby Pipeline should get another look

SAN FRANCISCO - A U.S. appeals court on Monday ruled that federal wildlife authorities improperly certified the Ruby Pipeline Project without taking into account its impact on groundwater wells and certain fish species along the route.

2:59pm EDT

Argentine storms to help grain output, hurt quality

BUENOS AIRES - Argentine grains output will benefit from this year's early and potent arrival of El Nino-related rains, but low crop quality linked to flooding is likely to undermine the expected increase in soy and corn volume.

Natural Disasters 11:37am EDT

Solyndra bankruptcy plan approved over U.S. objections

WILMINGTON, Delaware - Solyndra, the solar panel maker that failed despite a $528 million federal loan, on Monday won court approval for its plan to repay creditors and end its politically charged bankruptcy, after a judge overruled objections by the U.S. government.