Gore announces anti-warming effort
AP reports here at Yahoo News: NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Former Vice President Al Gore launched a three-year, multimillion-dollar advocacy campaign Monday calling for the U.S. to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
"Kyoto II" climate talks open in Bangkok
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: BANGKOK - The first formal talks in the long process of drawing up a replacement for the Kyoto climate change pact opened in Thailand on Monday with appeals to a common human purpose to defeat global warming.
Gray wolf: Still endangered?
CNN International reports here: YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Montana - The gray wolf was officially removed from the Endangered Species Act's "threatened" list Friday after three decades -- a decision that has stoked controversy among environmentalists and ranchers.
California utility to add 250 MW in solar cells
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: NEW YORK - Utility Southern California Edison said on Thursday it would spend $875 million to build a network of 250 megawatts of photovoltaic solar power generation, making it the biggest solar cell project in the nation.
Massive Computer Centers Worse than Air Traffic
Spiegel Online reports here: There's been a lot of hand-wringing lately about how much air traffic contributes to global warming. An even more damaging culprit, however, has recently been found: the Internet. Computer centers consume massive amounts of energy, and their use is growing astronomically. Creative solutions are being sought -- and found.
'Earth Hour' to plunge millions into darkness
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: SYDNEY - Twenty-six major cities around the world are expected to turn off the lights on major landmarks, plunging millions of people into darkness to raise awareness about global warming, organisers said.
Warning on plastic's toxic threat
BBC reports here: Plastic waste in the oceans poses a potentially devastating long-term toxic threat to the food chain, according to marine scientists.
Wind power breaks records in Spain
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: MADRID - Wind power is breaking new records in Spain, accounting for just over 40 percent of all electricity consumed during a brief period last weekend, the country's wind power association said Tuesday.
Huge Antarctic ice chunk collapses
AP reports here at CNN: WASHINGTON - A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan suddenly collapsed, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk, scientists said Tuesday.
Study: Warming may threaten Lake Tahoe
AP reports here at Yahoo News: RENO, Nev. - A new study predicts water circulation in Lake Tahoe is being dramatically altered by global warming, threatening the lake's delicate ecosystem and famed clear waters.
Australian wine industry feels heat from climate change
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: MELBOURNE - Australian grape growers reckon they are the canary in the coalmine of global warming, as a long drought forces winemakers to rethink the styles of wine they can produce and the regions they can grow in.
Curbing soot could blunt global warming: study
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: PARIS - Sharply reducing the amount of black carbon -- commonly known as soot -- in the atmosphere could help slow global warming and buy precious time in the long-term fight against climate change, according to a study released Sunday.
Truckers slowing down to save fuel
AP reports here at Yahoo News: BISMARCK, N.D. - Coast-to-coast trucker Lorraine Dawson says fellow drivers used to call her "Lead Foot Lorraine." But with diesel fuel around $4 a gallon, she and other big-rig drivers have backed off their accelerators to conserve fuel.
South Korea announces plans to freeze emissions
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: SEOUL - South Korea on Friday announced a plan to freeze greenhouse gas emissions at 2005 levels for the next five years, sparking cricitism from activists who are demanding more drastic measures.
World Water Day
By resolution 47/193 of 22 December 1992, the UN General Assembly declared 22 March of each year World Day for Water starting in 1993. It is a unique occasion to remind everybody that concrete efforts to provide clean drinking water and increase awareness world-wide of the problems and of the solutions, can help make the difference.
Japan must lead way on nuclear energy, say advisors
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: TOKYO - A government advisory body on Friday urged Tokyo to take the lead in promoting nuclear energy worldwide as part of efforts to fight global warming.
Toxin scare hits mozzarella sales
BBC News reports here: Sales of mozzarella cheese made from buffalo milk have been hit by a contamination scare.
Is Carbon Capture a False Hope for Coal Power?
Spiegel Online reports here: Dirty coal power plants could be made environmentally friendly by capturing the CO2 they emit. The technology is currently being tested on a small scale. But will the cost of the new technology make coal power unprofitable?
Green Party Wants Politicans to Swap BMWs for Bikes
Spiegel Online reports here: Politicians in the German parliament are ferried around in a fleet of Mercedes and BMWs while on official business. The Green Party says this sets a bad example: They want politicians to trade in their luxury sedans for less polluting cars -- and bikes.
Japan to pay billions to cut emissions
AP reports here at Yahoo News: TOKYO - Japanese households and businesses could end up paying more than $500 billion to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 11 percent over the next decade, the trade and industry ministry said Wednesday.
Arctic losing long-term ice cover
Ice has been transported south during the Arctic winter, BBC News reports here: The Arctic is losing its old, thick ice faster than in previous years, according to satellite data.
India can lead world in renewable energy: Al Gore
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: NEW DELHI - India, as an advanced developing nation, can help lead the world in renewable energy technologies to solve "the climate change crisis," former US vice president and Nobel Peace winner Al Gore said.
Is Beijing Manipulating Air Pollution Statistics?
Time.com reports here at Yahoo News: The withdrawal of the world's leading marathon runner from this summer's event over concerns about air quality highlights the stakes in a spat between Chinese authorities and an American researcher.
Fuel-cell cars still far from showroom: Toyota
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: TOKYO - Work is moving ahead to build a next-generation eco-friendly car running on fuel cells but it will take years to make it commercially viable, the head of auto giant Toyota said Thursday.
Europe's Next Green Thing
Spiegel Online reports here: Ireland's OpenHydro and Germany's RWE are spending millions to try to turn the power of waves into electricity.
U.N.: Glaciers shrinking at record rate
AP reports here at CNN: ZURICH, Switzerland - Glaciers are shrinking at record rates and many could disappear within decades, the U.N. Environment Program said Sunday.
Blair urges binding gas cuts by all countries
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: MAKUHARI, Japan - Tony Blair on Saturday urged the world's heaviest polluters including the United States, China and India to agree to binding emissions cuts, saying failure to act on global warming would be "unforgivably irresponsible."
EU Carcass Laws Starve Europe's Scavengers
Spiegel Online reports here: An EU regulation designed to stop the spread of BSE has had the unintended effect of starving scavengers, many of which are protected species. Around Europe, vultures, eagles and bears are going hungry due to a lack of carrion. Now animal activists are demanding action.
EU agrees climate plan deadline
The EU aims to cut CO2 gases by 20% by 2020, compared with 1990 levels, BBC News reports here: EU leaders have agreed to finish talks on an ambitious plan to fight climate change by the end of 2008.
EU set to agree emission cut plan
Climate change has dominated the spring summit, BBC News reports here: European leaders meeting in Brussels are set to endorse binding measures for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Germany's Cuckoos Are Stuggling to Survive
Spiegel Online reports here: The country that made the cuckoo bird famous with its clocks is now worried the bird might follow the tragic path of the dodo -- into extinction. Nature and clock preservationists are teaming up and fighting back to save the species.
US tightens air quality standards - EPA orders tougher standards
AP reports here at CNN: WASHINGTON - The air in hundreds of U.S. counties is simply too dirty to breathe, the government said Wednesday, ordering a multibillion-dollar expansion of efforts to clean up smog in cities and towns nationwide. But standard is short of what some say is needed to help cut heart, asthma attacks.
Climate and Energy to Dominate EU Summit
Spiegel Online reports here: Euopean Union leaders are gathering in Brussels for a two-day summit, with climate change and energy expected to top the agenda. The EU is hoping to agree on concrete plans to tackle emissions ahead of next year's global meeting on climate change.
Pollution alters brain function
The study replicated what city traffic wardens might expect to inhale, BBC News reports here: An hour sniffing exhaust fumes may not just give you a headache - it could even alter the way the brain functions, Dutch researchers have suggested.
Philippines to spend 142 mln dlrs on environment in 2008
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: MANILA - The Philippines is to spend 141.5 million dollars on nature conservation and alternative energy in 2008, President Gloria Arroyo said Wednesday.
NZ dolphin rescues beached whales
BBC NEws reports here: A dolphin has come to the rescue of two whales which had become stranded on a beach in New Zealand.
Hundreds of Baby Seals Could Starve to Death
Spiegel Online reports here: Rising temperatures could spell disaster for seals living in the Baltic Sea in nothern Europe. An environment group is warning that hundreds of baby seals are now facing a painful death.
Brazil tops five million hybrid cars: auto industry
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: SAO PAULO - More than five million vehicles and almost nine in ten new vehicles in Brazil now run on both gasoline and ethanol derived from sugar cane, the car manufacturing association Anfavea said Monday.
AP probe finds drugs in drinking water
AP reports here at Yahoo News: A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.
Reef fish eavesdrop to find home
A cardinalfish hiding in coral off the coast of the Philippines, BBC News reports here: Coral reef fish spend weeks scouting out a new neighbourhood before they move in - just like human house buyers do, Edinburgh scientists have revealed.
Japanese whaling ship and activists clash in Antarctic waters
CNN reports here: Japanese whalers and anti-whaling activists clashed in the waters near Antarctica on Friday, with each side offering conflicting accounts of the confrontation - the second between the two boats in a week.
Northern Europe Experiences Record Warm Winter
Spiegel Online reports here: This has been the warmest-ever winter in parts of Scandinavia, where dog sled owners have faced snow shortages, ski races have been cancelled and Baltic Sea ice is at an all-time low. Germany has also seen an unusually mild winter.
British Supercomputer Forecasts Weather Months in Advance
Spiegel Online reports here: Everyone knows never to trust the weather report. But European scientists are using a supercomputer to predict the weather months in advance. And whether it's for bikinis or umbrellas, big-money businesses are taking notice.
New Research Confirms Antarctic Thaw Fears
Spiegel Online reports here: New research confirms that ice sheets in West Antarctica are thinning at a far faster rate than in past millennia. Although scientists are divided as to the cause of the melt, many feel it is directly related to climate change.
Carbon Confusion
Spiegel Online reports here: To help shoppers make green choices, companies are slapping carbon labels on products. But even if the public can interpret the information, will it help reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
Sewage-based fertilizer safety doubted
AP reports here at Yahoo News: AUGUSTA, Ga. - It was a farm idea with a big payoff and supposedly no downside: ridding lakes and rivers of raw sewage and industrial pollution by converting it all into a free, nutrient-rich fertilizer. Then last week, a federal judge ordered the Agriculture Department to compensate a farmer whose land was poisoned by sludge from the waste treatment plant here. His cows had died by the hundreds.
EPA reconsidering mercury emission rules
AP reports here at Yahoo News: TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Responding to a lawsuit by Michigan and eight other states, the Bush administration is reconsidering its policy on mercury emissions from cement plants, which critics say allows too much air pollution.
General Motors says states must do more to promote biofuels
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: GENEVA - General Motors took the uncharacteristic step of urging government intervention in its industry, specifically to promote the use of ethanol as an alternative energy source.
Manmade flood roars through Grand Canyon
AP reports here at CNN: PAGE, Arizona - Federal officials have started a flood in the Grand Canyon in hopes of restoring its ecosystem.
Green Gets Real at Geneva Auto Show
Spiegel Online reports here: Environmentally friendly cars are no longer just a PR ploy for automakers. But there's still a lot of mileage left in gas-powered vehicles.
China premier promises to cut pollution
AP reports here at Yahoo News: BEIJING - China's premier promised in a major speech Wednesday to cut pollution emissions, conserve energy and shut down outmoded and inefficient factories in heavily polluting industries such as electricity, coal and steel.
French biologists sound alarm over imperilled species
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: PARIS, - French experts on Monday voiced concern after a study of 291 animals and plants representative of national biodiversity found a third to be endangered.
Rare birds in danger from tourism
The rare capercaillie could be further threatened by tourism, BBC News reports here: Researchers have warned that winter sports tourism is raising stress levels among rare capercaillie birds.
Climate crisis getting short shrift in US president race: Gore
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: MONTEREY, California (AFP) - Former US vice president and renowned climate change fighter Al Gore said Saturday that the global warming crisis is getting short shrift in this year's presidential race.
China environment agency gets more power
AP reports here at Yahoo News: BEIJING - China's government is boosting the authority of its environmental watchdog agency in an attempt to rein in the rampant pollution that has become a byproduct of the nation's rapid economic growth.