Shares of WPX Energy traded 25% higher after President Trump tweeted that he expected a deal between Russia and Saudi Arabia to scale back oil production.

With the recent 22% rise in the price of uranium, Peter Epstein of Epstein Research considers the upside for Skyharbour's holdings in the Athabasca Basin.

The new agreement and its potential impact on Point Loma Resources are discussed in a Mackie Research Capital Corp. report.

Greenbriar Capital has signed an agreement for the design and construction of the Caribbean's largest solar project.

Shares of Kraton Corp. traded 24% higher after the specialty polymers and high-value biobased products maker reported that net income in Q1/20 increased to $209.0 million, compared to $13.6 million in Q1/19.

A new assessment tool has been developed to evaluate the sustainability initiatives of government departments. On its first application, in the UK???s Department of Work and Pensions, it identified a good mix of practice alongside areas for improvement. The authors suggest that this method could be used elsewhere to assess how well an organisation is embedding the principles of sustainable development into all aspects of its business.

Access to water is often described as a basic human right, so rights violations may be committed where corporate activities interfere with individuals' access to water. Water supply is generally the responsibility of government, but recent Dutch research has suggested that corporate social responsibility (CSR) can have a significant impact on the sustainability of freshwater supply in countries with weak governance regimes.

Sustainable consumption and production (SCP) programmes are frameworks to systemically develop sustainability. New research has analysed three national SCP programmes in the UK, Sweden and Finland and concluded that, rather than provide a strong roadmap for sustainability, they tend to be a toolbox of good but scattered initiatives.

There is a common assumption that plant species are more inclined to thrive in a non-native community than a native one, sometimes becoming 'invasive'. However, this behaviour is likely to be quite unusual and invasive alien plants are actually an important exception, according to a new study. Much can be learned from the population of a species 'at home' and should be included in official assessment criteria.

Populations of organisms that live on the bottom of an aquatic ecosystem, the benthic community, can be assessed to determine the health of the ecosystem. New research explores the many existing methods for assessing benthic communities to ensure that the most appropriate and useful tests are used under the Water Framework Directive (WFD).

Science for Environment Policy are very pleased to announce the launch of a new series of policy briefs. Entitled 'Future Briefs', these will explore emerging areas of research with implications for environmental policy.'Plastic Waste: redesign and biodegradability' is the first Future Brief, which will be published week commencing 27 June. Future Briefs will be available to download free from our website: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/index_en.htm

Urban planning policy has had a powerful influence on the amount of green space in cities, according to a recent UK study. It found that a change in planning policy in 2000 led to a decline in urban green space in nine cities between 2001 and 2006, although the amount of green space in all but one of the cities studied has increased overall since 1991.

By ranking the ???hazard potential??? of a wide range of chemicals used to make common plastics, Swedish researchers have highlighted which plastic polymers are made from the most hazardous chemicals. These should be prioritised for assessing the risk of causing human or environmental harm.

A new Spanish study has highlighted current developments in the tourism sector that have significant implications for water supply and demand, but are barely addressed in recent land use policies. The findings indicate that any tourist destination that is to follow the ???quality tourist??? model will have an increased water demand in domestic residential areas, which is one of the biggest threats to sustainable water management.

For the first time, researchers have applied a carbon footprint analysis to calculate carbon sequestration by an urban green space. Their results indicate that urban green space can act as a carbon sink, but its design and maintenance influence the amount stored.

Stricter management of fisheries is needed to prevent overexploitation and decline of tuna and their mackerel relatives, according to an international study. The researchers say fisheries managers have wrongly treated upper limits for catches as target levels for fishing, contributing to global declines and the threatened status of some species.

A new analysis of how to encourage pro-environmental behaviour highlights four effective techniques: goal-setting, prompts or reminders, witnessing the behaviour of others and introducing new behaviours that correspond with existing beliefs.

A new study has investigated the possibility of a regional industrial symbiosis of metal industries across the Sweden-Finland border. The analysis suggests that it is technologically feasible, but that regulatory support may be inefficient, particularly with respect to changing the status of a waste product to a by-product.

Global air quality will significantly deteriorate by 2050 unless further steps are taken to cut current emissions from human activities, according to recent research. Most people around the world will be affected by worsening air quality with hotspots of particularly poor air occurring in China, northern India and the Middle East.

The last two decades have seen a series of new construction waste policies management in Hong Kong. One of the most significant is an offsite construction waste sorting (CWS) programme which, since its implementation in 2006, has separated 5.11 million tonnes of construction waste into different materials. The researchers suggest that the study provides an important reference for other countries working to minimise construction waste.

A standardised method to help choose the most cost-effective measures to remediate contaminated sites has been developed by Austrian researchers. The method takes into account a wide range of factors, including the principles of sustainability.

Even small areas of semi-natural vegetation, farmlands and abandoned farmlands provide important ecosystem services in urban environments. However, there is widespread loss of these non-urbanised areas (NUAs) owing to poor planning and urban sprawl. A new five-step process has now been developed that can inform effective planning to protect and enhance the value of urban green spaces.

Researchers have found that ocean acidification leads to changes in the ways that clownfish normally respond to sound. As many species rely on hearing for orientation, habitat selection, avoiding predators and communication, ocean acidification could compromise auditory behaviour crucial for survival.

Levels of air pollution significantly increase on the island of Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic when tourist cruise ships are present, according to a recent study. With shipping levels rising in the region, the researchers recommend that stricter emissions regulations are introduced in order to limit the impact of pollution on the Arctic environment.

Current knowledge on the availability of mineral resources is explored in a recent study, which focuses on phosphorus as a key example. Static measures of availability, such as the consumption-to-production ratio, are useful as early warning signals, the researchers suggest, but more dynamic indicators that consider technological development and population change are needed to better inform policy.

New research has investigated the many ways in which technological transfer occurs for wind power projects in developing countries. These range from trading with developed countries, to local innovation. In India and China, successful transfer was found to depend more on existing capabilities in these countries than international projects, such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

A recent study compared the decentralised treatment of pharmaceutical contaminants in wastewater at hospitals with centralised treatment at conventional and upgraded wastewater plants. The results suggest that additional (post) treatments may not always provide significant benefits.

Blue-green algae, or ???aquatic cyanobacteria???, can produce harmful toxins and present a serious health hazard when they bloom in large numbers. Researchers from Germany have now identified plant species that could be used to sustainably treat water by removing such cyanobacterial toxins.

A recent study has described a simple method to screen the toxicity of materials used in consumer products. Using utility meter products as examples, the study found, for example, that stainless steel and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) had high toxicity potentials and suggests less toxic, but equally effective and priced, alternatives that could be used instead.

A recent study has revealed how water use has changed across the world over the last 60 years. Growing populations and economic development, particularly in newly-emerging countries, have increased water demand, but technological developments have led to water efficiencies and savings, which moderate these demands.

Research into mercury has identified two genes in bacteria that appear to be required for turning the metal into its most toxic form, methylmercury. The study adds to a growing body of research that helps us to understand the transformations that mercury undergoes in the environment and the microbes involved in these transformations.

Two tagged Cuvier's beaked whales have shown intense and lasting avoidance behaviours in response to military sonar. In the first study of this kind, the whales showed significant responses to sonar at volumes that are currently assumed in the US to have no effect on behaviour.

Pollination studies have, to date, focused almost entirely on bees , butterflies and hoverflies; however, other kinds of flies also have an important role to play in this vital ecosystem service, a new study suggests. Using data from 33 farms, the researchers found that non-hover flies were in fact responsible for carrying 84% of the pollen transferred by flies between flowers in farmland.

The number of overexploited or collapsed fish stocks in the Mediterranean Sea has been increasing at a rate of approximately 38 every 10 years between 1970 and 2010, a new study has shown. In the Black Sea, the equivalent figure is 13 stocks per decade, the researchers found. The study’s authors augmented traditional methods of stock assessments with a variety of other data sources on multiple fish species to give a more accurate overview of these marine ecosystems. These results should be used to improve conservation and management, they recommend.

Invasions of alien species are rising at an alarming rate, largely due to growing global trade and transport routes. Preventing the successful establishment of alien species by better understanding the factors determining success is a step toward limiting the threat of future biological invasions. Statistical modelling using observed bird invasion data — including location, event and species-level factors showed which factors were key to successful establishment by the alien species.

A circular economy, in which waste is minimised and resources are kept within the system, relies upon inventive ways of turning waste into a resource. A new study explored the possibility of using the microalga Scenedesmus obliquus to refine and process brewery wastewater. The alga efficiently removed pollutants from the effluent, produced biomass and biofuels in a range of different forms — and with different bioactive compounds — and encouraged waste barley and wheat to germinate at increased rates. This is especially important for breweries, as barley seeds are one of the main feedstocks for the industry — and thus are key to increasing its sustainability and circularity.

The most comprehensive glacier assessment yet reveals that glacier melt was responsible for 27mm of sea level rise between 1961 and 2016. Ice loss from glaciers is now the second biggest contributor to rising sea levels after warming water. If glaciers continue to melt at current rates, most — including many in central Asia, central Europe, western Canada and the USA — will vanish during the second half of this century.

Demonstration projects can represent a critical intermediate step between research and development (R&D) and large-scale commercialisation; yet many involving new sustainable technologies fail. In order to map the internal and external factors that enable or prohibit demonstration projects from reaching their goals, a case study of 21 projects was conducted. Qualitative data collected from funding applications and interviews were analysed to identify key themes. Based on these findings, the study proposes a process model outlining the key activities for setting up a new demonstration project.

As 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), begins to replace conventional manufacturing, the environmental impacts of its implementation must be assessed. This study conducted a life cycle assessment (LCA) to investigate the environmental and resource implications of using AM to manufacture the metal parts of an engine in a light distribution truck. In the LCA, the impacts of both present and possible future states of AM technology were compared with current conventional manufacturing. The results suggest that there are potential environmental and resource benefits1 to AM technologies, but that these benefits rely on the achievement of a clean energy source and further technological development.

Approximately 88 megatonnes (Mt) of food are wasted every year in the European Union, causing 186 metric tons (Mt) carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) — a universal measure for all greenhouse gases. The impact of food waste on the climate, acidification and eutrophication is around 15–16% of the environmental impact of the entire food chain. In developed countries, food waste is high at the point of consumption— so significantly reducing food losses would require a food-waste reduction in households and the food-services sector.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a large group of toxic molecules produced by forest fires, industrial processes and the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. The airborne particles containing these molecules are often washed into watercourses, where they can persist. This study uses long-term monitoring data from the Elbe river, Saxony, Germany, to show how changes in PAH sources affect both the concentrations of these chemicals and the corresponding environmental risks. The researchers suggest that controlling PAHs is the best prevention of harm to aquatic and human health.

How can we grow more crops without taking too much water away from freshwater ecosystems for irrigation? A new study indicates that it is possible to double crop production by 2050 without exceeding set limits for water extraction if more crops are grown in regions with higher rainfall and with corresponding shifts in international trade and agricultural management. However, without appropriate safeguards, and if we follow the current business-as-usual scenario, this could come at the ecological cost of converting natural land and forest into cropland. This research provides a ‘first-step’ in analysing potential trade-offs in the global food-trade-water nexus.

A survey of over 600 private boats docked in marinas throughout the Mediterranean showed that 71% are carrying non-indigenous species. In certain cases, non-indigenous species can become ‘invasive’ and have enormous and long-lasting impacts on ecosystems. The findings suggest that a common monitoring strategy may be necessary to prevent further disruptions to natural ecosystems.

A new study has investigated the possibility of a regional industrial symbiosis of metal industries across the Sweden-Finland border. The analysis suggests that it is technologically feasible, but that regulatory support may be inefficient, particularly with respect to changing the status of a waste product to a by-product.

Current knowledge on the availability of mineral resources is explored in a recent study, which focuses on phosphorus as a key example. Static measures of availability, such as the consumption-to-production ratio, are useful as early warning signals, the researchers suggest, but more dynamic indicators that consider technological development and population change are needed to better inform policy.

Fish farming in the Mediterranean has increasingly shifted from producing fish such as grey mullet, which are herbivores near the bottom of the food chain, to species such as sea bass, which are predators. This ‘farming up’ the food chain requires wild fish to be caught to provide feed. A return to farming fish lower in the food chain would use marine resources more efficiently, a new study says.

Researchers have developed a method to identify the parts that contribute the most to a product's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and evaluate alternative design solutions. When applied to a LCD television, it showed that GHG emissions could be cut by 36 per cent by using alternative parts to those currently used.

Promoting the personal benefits of sustainable consumption, such as more free time and less stress, could play an important role in encouraging more sustainable living, according to a recent study. The researchers interviewed people who lived greener lifestyles and found that self-interest influenced their decision to consume less and buy sustainable products.

The qualities of sustainable design and the obstacles that Design for Sustainability (DfS) faces are explored by a new study which provides recommendations on how to overcome these challenges. It suggests that design education needs to change and provides advice on how to improve our understanding of consumer behaviour.

Rapidly changing fashions increase the production and consumption of textiles and clothing. According to Finnish researchers, more sustainable production and consumption of clothing could be achieved if consumer values are used to rethink design and business strategies. For example, increased personalisation of clothing could increase consumer attachment to products.