Great Lakes treated like great big sewer
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: Cities in the United States and Canada are dumping billions of gallons of untreated sewage into the Great Lakes each year, a report by a Canadian environment organization said on Wednesday.
Mild hurricane season was an aberration, expert says
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports here: The slower season, with five hurricanes compared to 15 in 2005, was an aberration, says Colorado State University professor William Gray, a noted hurricane forecaster. He warned next year likely will be busy again because the Atlantic and Caribbean still have abnormally warm waters, the main ingredient that fuels storm activity.
EU outlines new carbon permits
BBC News reports here: The EU sets carbon limits under the next phase of the European Trading Scheme, a tool to tackle global warming.
Global warming case goes before Supreme Court
Reutersreports here at Yahoo News: Environmental groups and a dozen states will argue the U.S. government should regulate emissions of greenhouse gases that spur global warming in a pivotal case before the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Humpback whales have 'human' brain cells
Reuters reports here at CNN News: Humpback whales have a type of brain cell seen only in humans, the great apes, and other cetaceans such as dolphins, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. This might mean such whales are more intelligent than they have been given credit for.
UN warning on e-waste 'mountain'
Up to 75% of computers in some shipments are unusable, BBC News reports here: The world's richest nations are dumping hazardous electronic waste on poor African countries, says the head of the UN's Environment Programme (Unep).
Professor devises new form of solar cell
AP reports here at Yahoo News: A University of Idaho professor is devising a new form of solar cell she says could lead to a breakthrough that would make solar energy commercially feasible.
Forest fragmentation hurts Amazon biodiversity
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: Chopping up the dense forests of the Amazon lets hot winds blow in and around ancient trees, killing them off hundreds of years early, researchers reported on Monday. Many species of trees, and other plants and animals that depend on them, are disappearing more quickly than most experts anticipated, William Laurance of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and colleagues said.
Carbon emissions show sharp rise
BBC News reports here: The Global Carbon Project says that emissions were rising by less than 1% annually up to the year 2000, but are now rising at 2.5% per year.
Invasion of the Wild Boars
Spiegel Online reports here: They came out of nowhere. Wild boars stormed the elegant Bavarian town of Veitshöchheim on a peaceful Saturday morning and left mangled cars, smashed fences and a wrecked boutique in their wake. Police had to open fire to restore order.
Global Warming Student Speakout - Top 50 Ideas
Google recently partnered with Global SchoolNet to invite teachers and students to use Google Docs & Spreadsheets collaborative software in a project to brainstorm strategies for combating global warming. Children of all ages from more than 80 schools around the world participated, and on November 27th we took out a full-page ad in USA Today to put their ideas in the spotlight. Without further ado, here are their top 50 ideas.
Tuna quotas cut as stocks decline
BBC News reports here: Cuts are agreed in Atlantic and Mediterranean tuna catches, but conservation groups say they are weak.
UN seeks to save developing world from e-waste
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: The United Nations has pressed for a watertight framework to save developing nations from unregulated imports of electronic wastes that release heavy metals and chemicals.
Politicians being forced to grapple with climate change
Politicians on all sides are being forced to grapple with climate change so they are not rejected by voters whose fears have been inflamed by drought. David Humphries reports here at the The Sydney Morning Herald's web site.
On the Move to Outrun Climate Change
Self-Preservation Forcing Wild Species, Businesses, Planning Officials to Act, the Washington Post reports here: As the Bush administration debates much of the world about what to do about global warming, butterflies and ski-lift operators, polar bears and hydroelectric planners are on the move.
High Court Mulls Greenhouse Gas Regulation
The Associated Press reports here at the Washington Post website: The Supreme Court plunged on Monday into the acrimonious debate over global warming and whether the government should regulate "greenhouse" gases, especially carbon dioxide from cars. The ruling could be one of the court's most important ever on the environment.
Energy Firms Come to Terms With Climate Change
By Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin write here at the Washington Post: While the political debate over global warming continues, top executives at many of the nation's largest energy companies have accepted the scientific consensus about climate change and see federal regulation to cut greenhouse gas emissions as inevitable.
Now hot in Brazil: 'carbon credits' to fight global warming
Isabelle Hourcade reports here for AFP at Yahoo News: Programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions are blossoming in Brazil, with the "carbon credit" system winning interest from companies in industrialized countries.
Three New Species of World's Smallest Primate
Tonia Sorrentino reports here at Spiegel Online: Deep in the forests of Madagascar German scientists have discovered three new species of the world's smallest primate, the mouse lemur. But the habitat these tiny creatures call home is now being threatened by mass deforestation.
China punishes officials for river spill
AP reports here at Yahoo News: Environment officials and senior executives of a state-owned petroleum company and its listed subsidiary have been punished for a toxic river spill a year ago that forced officials to temporarily cut off water to millions living in northeastern China and Russia, state media reported Friday.
Sustainable development: Big not boring
Viewpoint from Jonathon Porritt here at BBC News: Sustainable development is not a "boring catch-phrase for sad gits with nothing better to do with their lives", says Jonathon Porritt. In this week's Green Room, he explains why it holds the key to a better future, and why politicians ignore it at their peril.
U.N. fails in bid to ban ocean trawling
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: United Nations negotiators failed to agree on Thursday on a measure banning a fishing practice known as high-seas bottom trawling that environmentalists say chews up the ocean floor and depletes fish stocks.
EPA to Regulate Nanosilver
Rick Weiss a Washington Post staff writer reports here: Environmentalists worry that products made with tiny germ-fighting particles may be hazardous.
Rare zoo lion cubs poisoned
BBC News reports here: Rare Abyssinian lion cubs are being poisoned at a zoo in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, and their bodies are then sold on to be stuffed.
Your car runs on poison
Your car runs on poison, grain alcohol -- and mothballs. Check the ingredients in your tank in this article by Patrick Di Justo from Wired magazine.
EPA to regulate form of nanotechnology
AP reports here at Yahoo News: Consumer products using extremely small particles of silver to kill germs will need Environmental Protection Agency approval, part of the government's first move to regulate the burgeoning nanotechnology industry.
London blazes anti-pollution trail with vehicle congestion charge
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: London is blazing a trail for the world's cities by slapping "congestion" charges on vehicles to reduce traffic, curb air pollution and fight global warming, environmentalists say.
China's industry under fire as pollution worsens
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: Dangerously high pollution levels are getting worse as local governments and industries ignore environmental laws in the pursuit of economic growth, China's environment watchdog said. (more)
The 10 Billion Euro Energy Bet
Spiegel Online asks here: Could imitating the sun eliminate the West's dependence on unsavory regimes for energy and at the same time fight climate change? The EU and six other countries are banking on it.
Green schemes for Thames Gateway
BBC News reports here: Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly has announced she wants the Thames Gateway housing development to eventually emit no carbon dioxide. She said her vision is for a project which sets new environmental standards for the rest of the country.
China's "sorrow" river flows red from pollution
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: A stretch of China's Yellow River, the country's second longest, has turned red from pollution for the second time in a month, local media reported on Wednesday.
Global warming said killing some species
AP reports here at Yahoo News: Animal and plant species have begun dying off or changing sooner than predicted because of global warming, a review of hundreds of research studies contends.
A Sunnier Forecast for Solar Energy
The Washington Post reports here: Still Small, Industry Adds Capacity and Jobs to Compete With Utilities.
Japan Killing Dolphins!
The Washington Post reports here: A coalition of marine scientists has launched a campaign to halt Japan's annual "dolphin drive," in which thousands of bottlenose dolphins are herded into shallow coves to be slaughtered with knives and clubs.
California to restrict ocean fishing
AP reports here at Yahoo News: California's water's will soon be off-limits to fishing under one of the nation's most ambitious plans to protect marine life.
Beijingers told to stay indoors as smog hangs over north China
AFPreports here at Yahoo News: Beijing residents have warned to stay indoors due to high pollution levels, as a blanket of heavy smog across northern China caused traffic chaos and delayed flights throughout the region.
Climate talks question
Richard Black Environment correspondent at BBC News website asks here: Climate talks, what is any of this actually doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
U.N. climate pact unlikely until after Bush steps down
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: This week's U.N. climate talks kept a plan for fighting global warming on track for expansion beyond 2012, but breakthroughs look unlikely before U.S. President George W. Bush steps down, experts said on Saturday.
22 states say EPA too soft on mercury
AP reports here at Yahoo News: Air quality regulators in at least 22 states have concluded that the Bush administration's approach to cutting mercury pollution from coal-burning power plants is too weak and are pursuing tougher measures of their own.
BMW Hydrogen 7 Not as Green as it Seems
Spiegel Online writes here: BMW is manufacturing the first series of hydrogen fueled cars. The BMW Hydrogen 7 are not as green as they seem. For a start, they're incredibly thirsty -- and they will put more strain on the environment than a heavy diesel truck.
U.N. nations reach deal to cut emissions
AP reports here at Yahoo News: With a concession to China, more than 180 nations at the U.N. climate conference appeared to reach preliminary agreement Friday on next steps toward negotiating deeper future cuts in global-warming emissions, Germany's environment minister said.
Signs of warming continue in the Arctic
AP reports here at Yahoo News: Signs of warming continue in the Arctic with a decline in sea ice, an increase in shrubs growing on the tundra and rising concerns about the Greenland ice sheet.
Pollution Penalties for the US?
Spiegel Online reports here: EU climate policy is gearing up to confront the US. Imports from countries that refuse to ratify the Kyoto Protocol could be subject to punitive tariff duties -- a new measure intended to pressure the Bush Administration. A climate tax on flights may also be introduced.
White House sued over global warming
AP reports here at Yahoo News: Environmentalists sued the Bush administration Tuesday for failing to produce a report on global warming's impact on the country's environment, economy and public health.
Case for trawl ban 'overwhelming'
There may be as few as 200 bottom-trawlers worldwide, BBC News reports here: Marine scientists say the case for a moratorium on the use of heavy trawling gear in deep waters is now overwhelming and should be put in place immediately.
Diseases appear on rise with temperature
AP reports here at Yahoo News: A warmer world already seems to be producing a sicker world, health experts reported Tuesday, citing surges in Kenya, China and Europe of such diseases as malaria, heart ailments and dengue fever.
Global warming could cause bird extinctions: WWF
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: Unchecked climate change could force up to 72 per cent of bird species in some areas into extinction but the world still has a chance to limit the losses, conservation group WWF said in a report on Tuesday.
Study hopeful for world's forests
The future may be a little brighter for forests, BBC News reports here: A new technique for measuring the state of the world's forests shows the future may not be as bad as previously feared.
Global warming isolates Canadians in far north
Reuters reports here at CNN News: Aboriginal communities in Ontario's far north are becoming increasingly isolated as rising temperatures melt their winter route to the outside world and impede their access to supplies.
Antarctic Ice Core Reveals Climate Link with Greenland
Spiegel Online reports here: The ice in the Antarctic is giving German scientists a unique glimpse of the earth's climate history. They have discovered evidence of a global temperature seesaw, connecting the two hemispheres.
Rain capture answer to water woe
BBC News reports here: Rainwater harvesting could prove a cheap, easy solution to Africa's water woes, according to a UN report.
Cash row looms at climate talks
BBC News reports here: A row over managing a fund to help poor nations adapt to climate change threatens UN talks in Nairobi.
Country needs to be on war footing against global warming
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: The government needs to rally its people to fight a "war" against global warming much the way it mobilized for World War II, a leading member of the Labour Party has said.
'Obscenity' of carbon trading
Kevin Smith at BBC News writes in this article here: Carbon trading will make profits, but won't curb climate change.
Kenyan children demand action on climate change
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: Kenyan children led a march by hundreds of people through the capital Nairobi on Saturday to call for rich nations to do more to fight global warming. One man carried a poster of President Bush reading: "Wanted -- For Crimes Against the Planet."
The Day the Climate Changed
Spiegel Online asks here: The climate change debate may have turned an important corner. Sir Nicholas Stern's report not only put a price tag on global warming, but also argues for an economically viable solution. But will humanity act in time?
Environmentalists warn of shark troubles
AP reports here at Yahoo News: Many species of shark are facing a serious threat to their existence because of worldwide fishing trends, environmentalists said Wednesday.
Kenyan Nobel laureate launches 'Billion Tree Campaign' at UN climate meet
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: Kenyan Nobel peace laureate Wangari Maathai launched a massive drive aimed at curbing global warming and related environmental damage by planting a billion new trees by the end of next year.
Merkel demands US share the burden on climate protection
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Berlin would make the fight against global warming a centerpiece of its European Union presidency and press the United States to join the effort.
Duty to save albatross - Charles
BBC News reports here: Prince Charles has said he believes the world has a duty to save the endangered albatross from extinction.
World risks 'dirty' energy future
BBC News reports here: The world's future energy mix will still be "dirty and insecure" if nations fail to act, an influential report warns.