U.S. vehicles rank at bottom in world fuel efficiency
Reuters reports here at News.com: The United States ranks at the bottom of industrialized countries in vehicle fuel-economy standards, but would jump far up the list if legislation to boost mileage requirements clears Congress and is signed into law, according to a report released on Monday. U.S. fuel-efficiency requirements for passenger cars have been stuck at 27.5 miles per gallon since 1985, while the standard for pickups, minivans and other light trucks will increase from 20.7 mpg in 2004 to 24 mpg in 2011. That puts the United States behind Canada, South Korea, Australia, China, members of the European Union and Japan in vehicle fuel economy.
Poland halts wetlands road plan
Lynx, wolves and rare warblers live in the valley, BBC News reports here: Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski has said planned work on a road through one of Europe's last remaining wetlands will not go ahead.
India eyes tree planting record
In 2006, nearly a million trees were planted in a three-day event, BBC News reports here: The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is attempting to set a world record by planting 10 million trees in a single day on Tuesday.
Hybrid train debuts in Japan
AP reports here at Yahoo News: SAKU, Japan - Winding past rice paddies and lazily blowing its whistle along bubbly creeks, this two-car train in rural northern Japan is the latest entrant in the battle against global warming.
Hurricane boost 'due to warm sea'
BBC News reports here: Atlantic hurricanes have doubled in the past century, in part due to warmer seas, a new study says.
Brussels aims to halt Polish road
Lynx, wolves and rare warblers live in the valley, BBC News reports here: The European Commission is seeking a court order to prevent Poland re-starting work on a road through a protected wildlife area.
Scientists map Gulf 'dead zone'
CNN News reports here: The oxygen-poor "dead zone" off the Louisiana and Texas coasts isn't quite as big as predicted this year, but it is still the third-largest ever mapped, a scientist says.
Cloudy Germany hotspot for solar power?
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: BONN, Germany - It rains year round in Germany. Clouds cover the skies for about two-thirds of all daylight hours. Yet the country has managed to become the world's leading solar power generator.
Thousands clash with police over polluting Chinese brewery
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: BEIJING - Thousands of protesters accusing a brewery in southwest China of polluting water supplies clashed with armed police, a human rights group said Sunday, the latest violence sparked by environmental worries.
Mine spill cuts water supply in China
AP reports here at Yahoo News: BEIJING - Mine runoff spilled into a central Chinese river, temporarily cutting off drinking water to more than 200,000 people, a state news agency reported.
California cuts diesel emissions
BBC News reports here: Los Angeles - Air-quality regulators in California have introduced tough new rules controlling fuel emissions from some diesel-powered engines. Schwarzenegger says the move will prevent premature deaths.
Panel recommends climate change market
AP reports here at Yahoo News: SACRAMENTO, Calif. - As California begins mapping out its strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions, how industries will be forced to comply is emerging as one of the most complex aspects of the debate.
China to step up energy efficiency drive
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: BEIJING - China has announced plans to double spending on improving energy efficiency and slashing pollution, in an effort to combat its dismal environmental record.
Four million children die every year due to environmental hazards
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: Four million children under the age of five die every year due to environmental hazards including polluted air or water, or exposure to chemicals, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday.
Swiss name Toyota's Prius the world's greenest car
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: Zurich - Switzerland, renowned for its clean Alpine air and pristine ski slopes, has named Toyota's Prius the world's greenest car.
Hydrogen power on the go
CNET News.com reports here: Portable, hydrogen-powered generator isn't quite enough to power your house, but it can recharge power tools or run a laptop.
New material can soak up pollutants, study shows
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: A new porous material can soak up heavy metals from liquids like a sponge, U.S. researchers said on Thursday, offering a host of potential uses including removing pollutants such as mercury or lead from water.
Is Germany Taxing Biodiesel to Death?
Spiegel Online writes here: Last year's new tax on German biodiesel sent the industry into a tailspin. Now, producers are crying for help from Berlin. Politicians may be listening.
UK forecasts to zoom in on towns
BBC News reports here: Weather forecasters will soon be able to zoom in on regions that are the size of a town, UK meteorologists have said. Currently, accurate forecasts are limited to county-sized areas; but a supercomputer to be introduced at the Met Office will give much finer detail.
U.S. launches program to offset carbon with trees
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: NEW YORK - U.S. consumers who see planting trees as a way to fight global warming can now sprout them without getting out the garden tools.
Ozone has 'strong climate effect'
BBC News reports here: Ozone could be a much more important driver of climate change than scientists had previously predicted, according to a study in Nature journal.
Toyota to test plug-in hybrid, rivaling GM
The New York Times reports here at News.com: DETROIT--Toyota Motor said Tuesday that it was testing hybrid vehicles with rechargeable batteries in the United States and Japan, setting up a direct challenge with General Motors to develop the industry's first plug-in hybrids.
Pentagon Looks to the Internet Community for Space Solar Power Study
SPACE.com reports here at Yavoo News: BOSTON - A Pentagon office is taking advantage of the collaborative nature of the Internet as it studies potential applications for space-based solar power, according to one of the officials leading the effort.
Weighing the Risks of Nuclear Power
SPIEGEL Online speaks here to German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Utz Claassen, CEO of Germany's third-largest energy provider, EnBW, about whether nuclear energy can provide a way out of the climate crisis.
China's regions ignoring Beijing on environment goals
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: BEIJING - Local governments in China are continuing to invest in dirty, resource-intense industries, jeopardising Beijing's goals of saving energy and cutting pollution, state media reported Monday.
Humans 'affect global rainfall'
BBC Newsreports here : Human-induced climate change has affected global rainfall patterns over the 20th Century, a study suggests.
Spain approves installation of offshore wind farms
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: MADRID The government of Spain on Friday approved legislation that will allow offshore wind parks to be set up along the nation's vast coastline in an effort to boost the use of renewable energy sources.
Solar start-up Solaria lands $50 million investment
CNET News.com reports here: Start-up Solaria said on Monday that German solar heavyweight Q-Cells has led a $50 million investment in the company and committed to a long-term solar cell supply deal.
Europe Hit by Extreme Weather
Spiegel Online reports here: Torrential rainfall caused huge disruptions in many parts of Western Europe this weekend. Meanwhile, soaring temperatures in Eastern Europe killed 22 people.
How to Find the Most Energy-Efficient Laptop Available
PC World writes here at Yahoo News: Look for PCs wearing the EPA's new Energy Star 4 label. The Environmental Protection Agency today introduced its first complete refresh of its Energy Star specification for computers. The EPA estimates that over the next five years, the updated Energy Star computer spec will save American businesses and consumers $1.8 billion in energy costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the emissions of 2.7 million cars.
Dupont agrees to spend 66 mln dlrs to cut US pollution
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: The Justice Department said Friday that chemical firm E.I. Du Pont de Nemours Co. had agreed to spend at least 66 million dollars to cut air pollution at four US plants.
Melting glaciers raise sea level more than polar ice sheets
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: Contrary to common belief, melting glaciers due to global warming contribute more to the rising sea level than the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, researchers said Thursday in a study.
Farm bird decline 'can be halted'
BBC News reports here: Farmers who provide "bed and breakfast" for wild birds could help reverse the decline in farmland species, experts say. Measures for wildlife can be used by farmers without harming a farm's profits.
Small steps key to saving giant turtles
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: KUALA LUMPUR - Small and inexpensive steps could go a long way towards rescuing the Western Pacific's dwindling population of giant sea turtles, an expert has said.
Giuliani: More ethanol, nuclear power
AP reports here at Yahoo News: SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani on Thursday defended his commitment to renewable energy such as ethanol production despite his law firm's work on behalf of major oil companies.
Saving the environment overtakes stamping out corruption
The Globe and Mail reports here: The political landscape has changed in two years, and the issues on the minds of Canadians are dramatically different. Now the priorities are reversed: Canadians are most worried about going green, and the sponsorship scandal is seen as a thing of the past.
Meat is murder on the environment
The NewScientist.com news service reports here: A kilogram of beef is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution than driving for 3 hours while leaving all the lights on back home.
German Companies Discover the Environment
Spiegel Online reports here: In the name of increasing profits, of all things, more and more German companies are discovering climate protection. With increasingly stringent emissions laws and energy prices higher than they've been in years, sustainability has suddenly become a factor in economic growth. But can the new trend last?
Top Ways to Fight Global Warming
U.S. News & World Report writes here at Yahoo News: You don't have to stage benefit concerts on seven continents to do your part in the fight against global warming. 10. Don't use hot water when cold water will do. 9. Buy "recycled." 8. Turn on the ceiling fan. 7. Buy in bulk. 6. Strategic landscaping. 5. Discover what "power strip" means to you. 4. A better bulb. Screw in compact fluorescent bulbs. 3. The Energy Star. 2. Get with the program. 1. Get active.
Megaflood 'made Island Britain'
BBC News reports here: Britain became separated from mainland Europe after a catastrophic flood some time before 200,000 years ago, a sonar study of the English Channel confirms.
The proposed cross Panama pipeline (Colon/Taboga)
The original article from la Prensa explaining the project is located here.
They do mention that the affected areas are:
- El Parque Nacional Soberanía
- El lago Gatún
- Barro Colorado
- El Refugio de Vida Silvestre Taboga
- Manglares ubicados entre la desembocadura del río Viejo hasta María Chiquita (Colón), así como también los manglares situados al final del río Venado, en la comunidad de Veracruz (Panamá).
Remember that the Parque Nacional Soberanía is already badly hurt by the construction of the Colon Highway, now again its supposed to be cut down even more on the Canal side as well. Also remember that those eco systems are very fragile and already have a hard time to survive, in this complex eco system often loosing only one insect or plant can have a domino effect that will hurt many more.
With an extension of '19,341 hectares the Soberania National Park, located in the Province of Panama and Colon o was created in the year 1980. Not is it only one of the most accessible tropical forest areas with its famous pipeline road for birdwatchers and wildlife observers, but also constitutes one of the basic pillars for water conversation and operation of the for the Panama Canal. The Soberania National Park counts with 105 species of mammals, 525 species of birds, 79 species of reptiles, 36 species of fish and an incredible abundance of plants. For images from the Soberania National Park is Panama see this page here.
The Pipeline Road (within the Soberania Park) is considered by many to be one of the best birding locations in all of Central America if not the world. It's possible to see 300 species in a single day, and a world record of 450 species in 24 hrs. was set there in 1985. (Ironically for its name now a new pipeline will destroy all that) For reference see this Birdwatchers page here.
So should Panama destroy its crown jewels for eco tourism that is unique in this world so Chavez or whoever is behind this project will get richer???? Sad world we live in, also remember the worlds total oil resources will last for maybe another 50 to 80 years then if not earlier the project will vanish but the damage by possible oil spills and extinction of species will be irreversible. Yeah and we clean up the Panama Bay to fill it with black oil?? Hope this project will never happen unfortunately 1000 million dollars investment sounds to good for some shortsighted profiteers to pass by.
House boosts energy efficiency programs
AP reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - The House voted Tuesday to award increases to programs aimed at making cars and buildings more energy efficient and boosting research and development of alternative energy sources.
Gulf dead zone to be biggest ever
BBC News reports here: This year's lifeless expanse of water in the Gulf of Mexico may be the biggest since records began, scientists say.
China faces rising costs from pollution
AP reports here at Yahoo News: BEIJING - China's smog-choked cities and contaminated waterways are leaving many people sick and unable to work, in turn fomenting unrest and threatening the country's economic growth, an international think-tank said Tuesday in a government-requested report.
The woodlark makes comeback
3,084 pairs of woodlarks have been spotted in the UK, BBC News reports here: The woodlark, one of England's most critically endangered birds, is making a dramatic comeback, the RSPB has said.
Warming may bring hurricanes to Mediterranean
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: Global warming could trigger hurricanes, or tropical cyclones, over the Mediterranean sea, threatening one of the world's most densely populated coastal regions, according to European scientists.
Nuclear scare after Japan quake
BBC News reports here: A strong earthquake in central Japan has damaged a large nuclear power plant causing a leak of radioactive material, officials at the plant have said.
Emissions don't make Europe happy
BBC News reports here: Europe's carbon emissions have risen markedly over the last 40 years, but the extra fuel use has brought little increase in happiness, a report says.
China's recycling 'saves forests'
Recycling paper reduces the need for virgin wood, the report says, BBC News reports here: China's massive capacity to recycle waste-paper is preventing many forests around the world from being destroyed, a report has concluded.
Climate Change Debate Hinges On Economics
The Washington Post reports here: Here's the good news about climate change: Energy and climate experts say the world already possesses the technological know-how for trimming greenhouse gas emissions enough to slow the perilous rise in the Earth's temperatures. Here's the bad news: Because of the enormous cost of addressing global warming, the energy legislation considered by Congress so far will make barely a dent in the problem, while farther-reaching climate proposals stand a remote chance of passage. (more)
System relies on ice to chill buildings
The Associated Press reports here: NEW YORK - As the summer swelters on, skyscrapers and apartments around the city will be cranking up the air conditioning and pushing the city's power grid to the limit. (more)
Florida Gov. holds climate change summit
AP reports here at Yahoo News: MIAMI - Florida Gov. Charlie Crist opened a two-day summit on climate change Thursday, promising the state will lower carbon dioxide emissions and make use of alternative energy sources.
California Grapes
BBC News asks here: Could global warming spell the end for California's vineyards?
China's Weather Modification Program
Asia Times Online reports here: According to Wang Guanghe, director of the Weather Modification Department under the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, each of China's more than 30 provinces and province-level municipalities today boast a weather-modification base, employing more than 32,000 people, 7,100 anti-aircraft guns, 4,991 special rocket launchers and 30-odd aircraft across the country.
Researchers Explore Siberia's Role in Climate Change
Spiegel Online reports here: German researchers have constructed a massive tower deep in the Siberian wilderness where, under the watchful eyes of the Russian intelligence service, the scientists are measuring levels of environmental toxins and greenhouse gases. Their goal is to determine if the forests are helping to slow global warming or if they are heating up the planet even further.
India will plant trees
AP reports here at Yahoo News: NEW DELHI - India, one of the world's biggest polluters, will plant trees on 15 million acres of deforested land, the prime minister said Friday.
London's small but relentless dip
BBC News reports here: Scientists trace London's inexorable sinking in a study that will be critical to the planning of defences against sea level rise.
Butterfly shows evolution at work
BBC News reports here: Scientists say they have seen one of the fastest evolutionary changes ever observed in a species of butterfly.
Massive Spanish-German solar project enters second phase
AFP reports here: MADRID - The Spanish group ACS and German partner Solar Millennium said Wednesday they had begun the second phase of a massive solar power project near the southern city of Granada.
California to build 'world's largest' solar farm
Reuters reports here at CNN News: A San Francisco company said Friday it plans to build the world's largest solar power farm near Fresno, California. The 80-megawatt farm is to occupy as much as 640 acres and upon completion in 2011 will be 17 times the size of the largest U.S. solar farm, said Cleantech America LLC, a privately held 2-year-old company.
Study: Inaction on Warming Will Be Costly
The Washington Post reports here: The group said in a report released yesterday, the environment of the Northeast would be transformed, and cities such as Boston, Atlantic City and New York would be regularly subject to disastrous flooding. (more)
'New thinking' needed on climate
Mr Ban called on world leaders to unite on climate change, BBC News reports here: The international climate debate needs to embrace a "new way of thinking" to tackle the problem, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has urged.
Biofuels Boom Results in Pricey Pasta
Spiegel Online reports here: Italian pasta makers say bad harvests and competition from biofuel manufacturers have led to a durum disaster. Consumers will be paying for it by summer's end.
EPA investigating waste at Camp Lejeune
AP reports here at Yahoo News: RALEIGH, N.C. - The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating whether cancer-causing radioactive material was buried in the 1980s near a rifle range at Camp Lejeune, the Marine Corps' primary base on the Atlantic Ocean.
Solar variations not behind global warming: study
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: LONDON - The sun's changing energy levels are not to blame for recent global warming and, if anything, solar variations over the past 20 years should have had a cooling effect, scientists said on Wednesday.
China's energy and pollution woes need urgent attention: Wen
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: BEIJING China's Premier Wen Jiabao has reiterated that China needs to urgently face the challenges of climate change by curtailing its polluting inefficiencies, a government statement said Tuesday.
Changing Cows' Diet Could Cut Emissions
Spiegel Online reports here: Cows are methane-making machines, with their inefficient digestion producing hundreds of liters of the greenhouse gas every day. Now scientists are looking at ways to make things go down a little more gently for the ruminanting grass-munchers. (more)
Brazil gives Amazon dams go-ahead
BBC News reports here: Brazil gives an initial green light to the construction of two hydro-electric dams on the Amazon River.
Heat Wave Fuels Western Wildfires
The Associated Press reports here at the Washington Post website: HOT SPRINGS, S.D., One of dozens of fires across the West killed one person and destroyed 27 homes after racing out of a canyon in South Dakota's Black Hills on Sunday, authorities said.
Expert says rising sea levels pose threat to rice
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: Rising sea levels triggered by climate change pose an "ominous" threat to some of the world's most productive rice-growing areas, the International Rice Research Institute has warned.
Stars rock around the world for climate change
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: Some of the world's biggest pop stars performed at Live Earth concerts around the globe on Saturday to persuade fans and governments to go green.
Choking on Pollution in India
Spiegel Online reports here: The country's economy may be growing apace, but pollution in India is quickly spiraling out of control and rivers are dying by the dozen. Fully three billion liters of waste are pumped into Delhi's Yamuna River each day.
DaimlerChrysler Kisses Green Goodbye
Spiegel Online reports here: Carmaker DaimlerChrysler may appear as a green world savior at Live Earth on Saturday, but the PR push comes as the company scraps a number of its much-lauded programs to create eco-friendly cars and biofuel products. Daimler customers, unfortunately, would prefer a fat car than an environmentally friendly one.
Great Lakes fish getting worse
The Toronto Star reports here: Toxins that once only surfaced in big fish are making their way down the food chain, a sign that the Great Lakes are getting even more polluted, a new report says.
Business sees green in going green
CNN News reports here: More companies are leading the charge to develop and invest in environmentally friendly technology -- not just because its good for nature, but it's also good for the bottom line. (more)
Live Earth concerts aim to rally action against global warming
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: NEW YORK - Round-the-world Live Earth concerts on Saturday will promote the fight against global warming in eight cities with 24 hours of music by the likes of Madonna, the Police and other pop giants.
Greenpeace Slams DaimlerChryler Sponsorship
Spiegel Online reports here: Greenpeace is furious at the decision to allow DaimlerChrysler to sponsor Saturday's string of Live Earth concerts. The group claims Daimler is an environmentally unfriendly organization that should not be affiliated with the concert. Meanwhile, poor ticket sales plague the Hamburg show.
Nearly half of electricity from renewable resources by 2030: Berlin
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: Berlin - Germany plans to boost the percentage of electricity generated by renewable resources to 45 percent by 2030 in a bid to curb global warming, environment minister Sigmar Gabriel said Thursday.
Gadgets 'threaten energy savings'
Flat-screen TVs are more energy intensive than older models, BBC News reports here: The growing popularity of hi-tech devices, such as flat-screen TVs and digital radios, threaten to undermine efforts to save energy, a report says.
China 'Forced World Bank' to Doctor Pollution Report
Spiegel Online reports here: China forced the World Bank to remove damning statistics from a pollution report, the Financial Times has revealed. Among the information cut was the figure that around 750,000 people die in China each year because of pollution.
Wind farm 'is threat to eagles'
BBC News reports here: Golden eagles are gravely threatened by a £200m wind farm scheme proposed for the Hebridean island of Lewis, campaigners have warned.
Industry Prepares for Battle with Merkel
Spiegel Online reports here: Germany's industry captains fear Angela Merkel's ambitious climate protection goals could cause job losses, damage the economy and lead to the flight of skilled workers to other countries. They argue the only way to achieve her goals is to increase the country's use of nuclear energy.
Scepticism over climate claims
BBC News reports here: The public believes the effects of global warming on the climate are not as bad as politicians and scientists claim, a poll has suggested.
Northern Canada ponds drying up
AP reports here at Yahoo News: Ponds that have provided summertime water in the high arctic for thousands of years are drying up as global warming advances, Canadian researchers say. Falling water levels and changes in chemistry in the ponds first were noticed in the 1990s, and by last July some of the ponds that dot the landscape were dry, according to a report in Tuesday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
New e-waste recycling laws begin
The directive aims to increase the amount of e-waste that is recycled, BBC News reports here: A much-delayed law that makes British producers and importers of electronic goods responsible for the recycling of their products has come into force.