U.S. emissions bill a "first step": U.N. climate chief
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: OSLO - A bill going to the U.S. Senate next week seeking deep cuts in U.S. greenhouse gases by 2050 is a "first step" but not enough to avert damaging climate change, the head of the U.N. Climate Panel said on Friday.
UN biodiversity conference ends with package to protect wildlife
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: BONN, Germany - UN talks on Friday yielded a package of measures aimed at staving off what scientists fear is a mass extinction of Earth's species and blocking irreparable damage to the ecosystems on which human life depends.
UN Conference Divided over How to Protect Biodiversity
Spiegel Online reports here: Friday marks the last day of the UN biodiversity conference in Bonn and delegates are still haggling over the closing statement. Although progress has been made on issues such as establishing protected areas, concrete results are likely to be limited.
Shareholders force ExxonMobil to consider climate
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: DALLAS, Texas - Oil giant ExxonMobil tried Wednesday to placate ecology-minded shareholders by promoting energy efficiency while insisting that oil and gas remain the answer to near-term global energy demand.
Nature loss 'to hurt global poor'
Coral reefs can provide fish and a sea defence, or be excavated for building, BBC News reports here: Damage to forests, rivers, marine life and other aspects of nature could halve living standards for the world's poor, a major report is to conclude.
Canada House gives green light to biofuel bill
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: OTTAWA - Government legislation that will require all gasoline sold in Canada to contain 5 percent ethanol by 2010 passed the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Germany Pledges Funds for Protection of Tropical Forests
Spiegel Online reports here: Stopping global warming means putting a halt to deforestation. At the UN biodiversity conference in Bonn on Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged billions of euros to support that effort.
Brazil environment chief sworn in
BBC News reports here: Brazil's new environment minister Carlos Minc has being sworn in amid concern among environmentalists over whether he will be able to curb Amazon deforestation.
Heavy pollution warning issued in Beijing
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: BEIJING - Pollution levels rose sharply in Beijing on Tuesday, just 2-1/2 months before the Olympic Games in the city, prompting authorities to warn residents with respiratory problems to stay inside.
Brazil's cane production has raised environmental concerns
BBC News reports here: New protected areas must be created to prevent environmental damage from the expansion of Brazilian sugar cane, the Worldwide Fund for Nature has said.
Senate set to take up climate change debate
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - The international fight to control climate change heads to a new arena in June when the Senate is to debate a bill that could cut total U.S. global warming emissions by 66 percent by 2050.
G8 ministers endorse greenhouse gas cuts by 2050
AP reports here at Yahoo News: KOBE, Japan - Environmental ministers from the world's top industrial countries say they have the political will to move toward cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050.
What Would It Cost to Save Nature?
Spiegel Online writes here: How much is the Earth worth to us? At a global conference in Bonn, Germany, representatives of 191 nations are discussing a revolution in conservation. By making a highly profitable business out of saving forests, whales and coral reefs, environmentalists hope to put a stop to a dramatic wave of extinctions.
Methane rise points to wetlands
BBC News reports here: Higher atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas methane noted last year are probably related to emissions from wetlands, especially around the Arctic.
Sun screen lotion threatens coral: study
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: PARIS - Sun screen lotions used by beach-going tourists worldwide are a major cause of coral bleaching, according to a new study commissioned by the European Commission.
G8 climate talks seek momentum on emission cuts
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: KOBE, Japan - Environment ministers from rich countries and other major greenhouse gas emitters kicked off talks on ways to curb emissions and save species as the United States called for a global fund to develop clean technologies.
Myanmar mangroves must be replanted to bolster ecosystem: IUCN
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: GENEVA - Mangroves and other natural barriers must be urgently restored in cyclone-stricken Myanmar to bolster flood defences against any future catastrophe, environmental group IUCN warned Friday.
Analysts foresee 'new world energy order'
AP reports here at Yahoo News: PARIS, France - A leading global energy monitor fears there may not be enough oil out there to slake the world's thirst -- and is preparing a landmark forecast that could reverberate through the global economy even as major companies announce fuel-related cutbacks.
Taste for fins threatens sharks with extinction: study
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: PARIS - Overfishing driven in part by an insatiable appetite for shark-fin soup has threatened 11 species of the ocean-dwelling predators with extinction, according to a report released on Thursday.
Call to settle ocean care dispute
Turtles are among the creatures put at risk through fishing and habitat loss, BBC News reports here: Governments are being urged to agree measures for protecting open ocean and sea floor habitats at a major United Nations conservation meeting in Bonn.
Three-bin system to aid recycling
There will be a separate recycling bin for glass bottles, BBC News reports here: Residents in West Berkshire will be asked to separate their recyclable waste with the roll-out of three new household recycling containers.
Hydrogen-powered phones on the horizon
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: PARIS - French researchers said on Wednesday they had invented a hydrogen fuel cell as a backup power source for mobile phones, thus easing dependence on an electricity supply to charge the gadget.
Aviation impacts 'hotly disputed'
BBC News reports here: UK ministers have been urged to halt airport expansion until the true costs and benefits of the proposed increase in flying are properly understood.
Some biofuel crops could become invasive species: experts
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: BONN - Countries thinking of joining the rush for biofuels run the risk of planting invasive plant species that could wreak environmental and economic havoc, biologists warned on Tuesday.
US carbon dioxide emissions up 1.6 percent in 2007
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - US carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels increased 1.6 percent in 2007, a preliminary government estimate showed Tuesday.
USDA head downplays calls to cut biofuel mandate
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said ethanol is not having a "major" impact on food prices, and downplayed calls by lawmakers and industry groups to make changes to programs that promote increased use of biofuels.
Games consoles 'not green enough'
BBC News reports here: Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are not producing 'green' enough consoles, says Greenpeace.
Climate 'accelerating bird loss'
BBC News reports here: Climate change is "significantly amplifying" the threats facing the world's bird populations, a global assessment has concluded.
Nissan says moving into higher gear on electric cars
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: TOKYO - Nissan Motor Co., playing catch-up in fuel-efficient motoring, said Monday that it and NEC Corp. will invest 115 million dollars to mass produce new batteries for electric, hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles.
'Fewer hurricanes' as world warms
BBC News reports here: Tropical storms will become less frequent by the end of the century as the world warms, US researchers suggest.
Biodiversity loss costs six percent of world income: report
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: BERLIN - The destruction of flora and fauna is costing the world two trillion euros (3.1 trillion dollars) a year, or six percent of its overall gross national product, according to a report trailed by German news weekly Der Spiegel.
Researchers warn of nitrogen hazard to environment
AP reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - While carbon dioxide has been getting lots of publicity in climate change, reactive forms of nitrogen are also building up in the environment, scientists warn.
Brussels Plans Crackdown on Car Advertising
Spiegel Online reports here: The European Union bureaucracy is on a roll: After imposing restrictions on how tobacco, alcohol and food products can be advertised, it has set its sights on gas-guzzling cars. But German manufacturers and media conglomerates warn the financial impact could be devastating.
CNN Heroes - Cleaning her mountains one bottle at a time
CNN reports here: Teacher in Argentina started youth group to help clean up the environment. About 150 people take part, including about 80 children. On an average Saturday, they often collect about 60 bags of trash for recycling.
Wildlife populations 'plummeting'
BBC News reports here: Between a quarter and a third of the world's wildlife has been lost since 1970, according to data compiled by the Zoological Society of London. Populations of land-based species fell by 25%, marine by 28% and freshwater by 29%, it says. Pollution, farming and urban expansion, over-fishing and hunting are blamed.
Toyota Prius hybrid sales top one million units
AP reports here at Yaoo News: TOKYO - Toyota's Prius started out a decade ago as a risky experiment in green technology. Today, it's the world's first mass-produced gas-electric hybrid vehicle to hit the one million mark in sales.
Charles urges forest logging halt
BBC News reports here: The halting of logging in the world's rainforests is the single greatest solution to climate change, Prince Charles has said.
Trash-to-ethanol firms get digging
CNET News.com reports here: With the high price of gas and questions over biofuels, some companies turn to garbage as a feedstock for ethanol. CleanTech Biofuels is developing a multistep process designed to take municipal solid waste from a transfer station and turn out ethanol on the other side.
Norway island stores wind power for still days
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: UTSIRA, Norway - How to keep the lights on when all is still and the local windmill won't budge? A small Norwegian island testing a way to store wind-generated energy for calm days may have found the answer.
Brazil's Amazon minister Marina Silva resigns
Marina Silva opposed several development projects for the Amazon, BBC News reports here: Brazil's Environment Minister, Marina Silva, a staunch defender of the Amazon rainforest, has resigned her post. Ms Silva has blamed the increasing deforestation of the Amazon on Brazilian cattle ranchers and farmers.
Former 'Inner German Border' Provides Haven for Wildlife
Spiegel Online reports here: For half a century, Germany was divided by an internal border, running between democratic West Germany and communist East Germany. Now, 18 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the nature that found refuge in no-man's-land may finally be given official protection.
Pollution 'ups blood clot risk'
Exhaust fumes contain small particulates, BBC News reports here: Breathing in air pollution from traffic fumes can raise the risk of potentially deadly blood clots, a US study says.
McCain appeals to independents with environment pitch
CNN reports here: Kicking off a week-long push seen as outreach to independent and Democratic voters in crucial swing states, John McCain on Monday will deliver a speech outlining his vision for combating global warming.
Oil powered Norway gradually turns into the wind
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: UTSIRA, Norway - As Norway prepares for a future after oil, the gale-force potential of harvesting wind power off its long coastline has become an increasingly attractive proposition.
Beijing Olympics to boost Chinese energy demand: analysts
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: LONDON - The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will boost China's rampant demand for energy, threatening to push world oil prices beyond current record heights, according to industry analysts.
Unexplained Mass Die- Off Hits German Hives
Spiegel Online reports here: Bees in the German state of Baden-Württemburg are dying by the hundreds of thousands. In some places more than half of hives have perished. Government officials say the causes are unclear -- but beekeepers are blaming new pesticides.
Biofuels backlash in US as food costs hit home
AFP reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - A biofuels backlash has erupted in major ethanol producer the United States, as lawmakers and experts debate the merits of converting food to fuel to support America's age-old love affair with the automobile.
'Astonishing number' of bee colonies lost
AP reports here at CNN: SAN FRANCISCO, California - A survey of bee health released Tuesday revealed a grim picture, with 36.1 percent of the nation's commercially managed hives lost since last year.
Is Cheap Meat Bigger Threat to Amazon than Biofuels?
Spiegel reports here: Brazil plans to massively expand the production of biofuels but environmental campaigners worry about the effect this will have on the rainforest. Germany's environment minister, who recently visited the country, thinks demand for cheap meat presents an even great danger.
WWF Gives Germany Low Marks for Nature Protection
Spiegel Online reports here: Germans are fond of lecturing others on the environment, but it turns out they should perhaps look a little closer to home. On the eve of an international environmental summit in Bonn, the WWF is criticizing Germany's efforts to protect its nature reserves and endangered species.
Cod fall may speed 'toxic tide'
BBC News reports here: Declining fish stocks could be partly responsible for algal blooms in the oceans, researchers have found.
U.S. sees oil use down on weak economy and high prices
Reuters reports here at Yahoo News: WASHINGTON - Higher U.S. gasoline prices and a slowing economy will cut into U.S. oil demand through the summer driving season much more than previously thought, the government's top energy forecasting agency said on Tuesday.
Mangrove loss 'left Burma exposed'
BBC News reports here: Mangrove deforestation in Burma left coastal areas exposed to the full fury of Cyclone Nagris, a top politician suggests.
House Speakers Pelosi and Gingrich Come Together To Promote Action On Climate Change
Clean tech rides high on oil prices
CNET News.com reports here: PricewaterhouseCoopers report touts positive signals for venture-backed clean tech. But even with strong fundamentals, problems in the industry are clear.
Agencies issue plan to run Columbia dams, preserve salmon
AP reports here at Yahoo News: GRANTS PASS, Ore. - The Bush administration Monday issued its final court-ordered plans for making Columbia Basin hydroelectric dams and irrigation projects safe for endangered salmon.
Scientists: Warming may greatest threat to tropical species
AP reports here at Yahoo News: Tropical species are accustomed to living in a small temperature range and thus may be unable to cope with changes of even a few degrees, according to an analysis in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
200 Chinese protest chemical plant
AP reports here at Yahoo News: BEIJING - About 200 people demonstrated in southwestern China against the building of a petrochemical plant they say will pollute their city, state media reported Monday.
Smarter electric grid could be key to saving power
AP reports here at Yahoo News: Companies such as EnerNOC Inc. have built software and sensor networks that can remotely dim lights or raise refrigerator temperatures inside businesses, in an instant. For homes, upgraded electric meters can offer near-real-time feedback on energy use. And new generations of appliances and thermostats can coordinate with each other and electric meters over in-home wireless networks.