World Environment News
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Latest News (187 stories)
Methane Discovery Hints At Living Martian Microbes
Photo: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin/G.Neukum/Handout
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: US
Author: Will Dunham
WASHINGTON - Plumes of methane in the atmosphere of Mars provide evidence of the possible existence of microbes living below the Martian surface that produce the gas as some do on Earth, U.S. scientists said on Thursday.
Air Pollution May Prompt Abnormal Heart Rhythm
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: US
Author: SOURCE: European Heart Journal, December 2008.
NEW YORK - Patients with heart rhythm disturbances who have an implantable heart defibrillator are particularly vulnerable to air pollution, a Swedish study indicates.
WITNESS: Back In Time In Antarctica
Photo: Alister Doyle
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: ANTARCTICA
Author: Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
REPTILE RIDGE - Away from the high-tech British Antarctic base, we stepped back in time to use tents, oil lamps and wooden sledges little changed in more than a century of exploration of the icy continent.
First Solar To Help Power UAE
Photo: Jumana El Heloueh
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Author: Stanley Carvalho
ABU DHABI - Abu Dhabi's Masdar said on Thursday it is building the Middle East's largest solar power plant for the carbon-neutral Masdar City.
Depressed Carbon Prices To Have Ripple Effects
Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: UK
Author: Michael Szabo - Analysis
LONDON - Tumbling prices for emissions permits may have knock-on effects on the world's $120 billion carbon market, including a slowing of U.N. offset supplies and a shake out in green project developers.
Repairing A Hut, Antarctic-Style: Mind The Seals
Photo: Alister Doyle
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: ANTARCTICA
Author: Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
LAGOON ISLAND - A group of elephant seals lolling by a damaged wooden hut in Antarctica vastly complicated simple repairs Wednesday, a sign of extra hazards to people on the frozen continent.
Russia Officials May Have Shot Endangered Sheep: WWF
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: RUSSIA
Author: James Kilner
MOSCOW - A hunting party of senior Russian officials may have illegally shot endangered mountain sheep from a helicopter before it crashed, environmental group WWF has said.
Transport Can Help Propel World To Greener Future
Photo: Chaiwat Subprasom
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: JAPAN
Author: Risa Maeda
TOKYO - Shipping, airlines and road transport need to clean up their emissions and help drive governments toward policies to fight global warming, a top U.N. official said on Thursday.
Economic Stimulus Bill Pushes Renewable Energy
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: US
Author: Ayesha Rascoe
WASHINGTON - The $825 billion economic stimulus package unveiled by Democrats in the House of Representatives on Thursday contains billions of dollars in tax breaks for renewable energy as well as spending for energy efficiency and transmission.
Fish Digestions Help Keep The Oceans Healthy
Photo: Finbarr O'Reilly
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: UK
Author: Michael Kahn
LONDON - The digestive systems of fish play a vital role in maintaining the health of the oceans and moderating climate change, researchers said on Thursday.
Sun-Reflecting Crops Could Ease Global Warming
Photo: Carlos Barria
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: UK
Author: Michael Kahn
LONDON - Farmers could help produce cooler temperatures and limit global warming if they grow crop varieties that reflect more sunlight into space, British researchers said on Thursday.
Companies Lay Out Wishes For U.S. Carbon Law
Photo: Fred Prouser
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: US
Author: Roberta Rampton and Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK - A group of large U.S. companies, including the troubled Big Three automakers, on Thursday offered Congress a blueprint for greenhouse gas regulation with looser limits than President-elect Barack Obama has called for.
Computing Industry CO2 Emissions In The Spotlight
Photo: Hannibal Hanschke
Date: 16-Jan-09
Country: UK
Author: Farah Master
LONDON - The global computing industry is starting to rival aviation in its contribution to global warming, but not yet equaling its criticism as Britain gave the green light to expand London's Heathrow airport on Thursday.
Extinct Tasmanian "Tiger" DNA Has Clues To Demise
Photo: Smithsonian Institution archives/E.J. Keller/Handout
Date: 15-Jan-09
Country: US
Author: Smithsonian Institution archives/E.J. Keller/Handout
WASHINGTON - DNA taken from the hair of two extinct Tasmanian "tigers" suggests the Australian marsupials last seen 70 years ago may have become too inbred to survive as a species, researchers reported on Monday.
Ancient Bird Dung Gives Clues To Pre-Human New Zealand
Photo: Otago Times/Files
Date: 15-Jan-09
Country: HONG KONG
Author: Tan Ee Lyn
HONG KONG - Researchers have managed to get a peek into pre-human New Zealand after finding feces of giant extinct birds buried in caves and rock shelters in remote areas across southern New Zealand.
EU Premiers Plead With Ukraine And Russia For Gas
Photo: Denis Sinyakov
Date: 15-Jan-09
Country: UKRAINE/RUSSIA
Author: Oleg Shchedrov and Yuri Kulikov
MOSCOW/KIEV - EU states cut off for days from Russian gas in freezing temperatures pleaded with Moscow and Kiev on Wednesday to end wrangling which has stalled a deal to restore fuel supplies.
Tesla May Use Evonik Battery Cell Widely
Date: 15-Jan-09
Country: US
Author: Chang-Ran Kim and Kevin Krolicki
DETROIT - Electric car startup Tesla Motors Inc said on Tuesday it may use battery cells produced by Evonik Degussa GmbH, an affiliate of Daimler AG, for its own cars if they proved a better option than products from its current Japanese suppliers.
E.On Gets Approval For Onshore Windfarm In Scotland
Date: 15-Jan-09
Country: UK
Author: Nao Nakanishi
LONDON - E.ON, headquartered in Germany, has won approval after four years to build its biggest onshore wind farm in Camster in northern Scotland, which could power up to 35,000 homes, the company said on Wednesday.
Contaminated Water Kills 27 Children In Nigeria
Date: 15-Jan-09
Country: NIGERIA
Author: Anamesere Igboeroteonwu
ONITSHA - At least 27 children in a village in southeastern Nigeria have died from gastroenteritis after drinking contaminated water from a communal pool, the local health commissioner said Wednesday.
Halt All Carbon Emissions By 2050: Worldwatch
Photo: Mick Tsikas
Date: 15-Jan-09
Country: US
Author: Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
WASHINGTON - To avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, world carbon emissions will have to drop to near zero by 2050 and "go negative" after that, the Worldwatch Institute reported on Tuesday.
USDA Nominee Backs Biofuels, Healthier Food
Photo: Brian Snyder
Date: 15-Jan-09
Country: US
Author: Charles Abbott
WASHINGTON - Former Gov. Tom Vilsack of Iowa told senators on Wednesday he will promote renewable energy like biofuels and work for "more nutritious food produced in a sustainable way," if confirmed as U.S. agriculture secretary.
Lawmakers Push "Clunker" Plan To Spur Auto Sales
Date: 15-Jan-09
Country: US
WASHINGTON - Congressional lawmakers proposed a consumer incentive on Wednesday to help revive slumping auto sales and get the oldest, most polluting and less fuel efficient vehicles off U.S. roads.
Bill Proposed To Regulate Coal Ash
Date: 15-Jan-09
Country: US
Author: Ayesha Rascoe
WASHINGTON - On the heels of a major U.S. coal ash spill, a lawmaker has introduced legislation on Wednesday that would regulate the disposal of some wastes from coal-fired power plants.
Alaska Seeks To Block U.S. Protections For Belugas
Photo: Laura Morse/NOAA National Marine Mammal LaboratoryPermit #782-1719-06/Handout
Date: 15-Jan-09
Country: ALASKA
Author: Yereth Rosen
ANCHORAGE - Five months after suing to keep polar bears off the U.S. threatened species list, Alaska's government said Wednesday it plans to issue a similar challenge to block federal protections for a struggling population of beluga whales in Cook Inlet, a mature oil-producing basin.
Obama's EPA Pick Must Restore Integrity: Senators
Photo: Jonathan Ernst
Date: 15-Jan-09
Country: US
Author: Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
WASHINGTON - Lisa Jackson, President-elect Barack Obama's choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency, needs to restore integrity to a department that fallen into disrepute, Democratic senators said on Wednesday.
As Humans Hunt, Their Prey Gets Smaller: Study
Photo: Vasily Fedosenko
Date: 14-Jan-09
Country: US
Author: Maggie Fox
WASHINGTON - Hunting and gathering has a profound impact on animals and plants, driving an evolutionary process that makes them become smaller and reproduce earlier, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.
Australians Pull No Punches When It Comes To Sharks
Photo: Tasmania Police/Handout
Date: 14-Jan-09
Country: AUSTRALIA
Author: Michael Perry
SYDNEY - An Australian man fought off a shark as he snorkeled near Sydney Monday, freeing his leg from its jaws with a punch.
Norwegians Lead South Pole Ski Race At Midpoint
Photo: Deborah Zabarenko
Date: 14-Jan-09
Country: NORWAY
Author: John Acher
OSLO - A two-man team from Norway has taken the lead from British rivals in a race to the South Pole nearly a century after Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen beat Britain's Robert Scott, organizers said on Tuesday.
Black-And-White Haute Couture For Pandas' Sake
Photo: Carlo Allegri
Date: 14-Jan-09
Country: CHINA
Author: Miral Fahmy
BEIJING - Pandas turned from China's national icon into a fashion statement as New York designer Vivienne Tam showcased black-and-white outfits at a Beijing show to raise funds for the endangered animal's quake-stricken habitat.
Too Little, Too Late For "Green" Big 3?
Photo: Mark Blinch
Date: 14-Jan-09
Country: US
Author: Peter Bohan
DETROIT - Automakers at the world's premier auto show have pinned their hopes on "green" models but for some companies the immediate future is shaping up as a battle for survival.