Japanese scientists are simulating the awesome force of a tsunami with a man-made 8-foot-tall wave that will help determine the power and behavior of a tsunami, allowing engineers to devise better seawalls and develop more precise evacuation plans for coastal communities at risk of a direct hit. (Associated Press)
A detection system to warn of tsunamis like the one that devastated the coasts of south Asia last December will be operational by July 2006, the United Nations science and culture organization UNESCO says. (AFP)
New research suggests tiny pollutant particles, once airborne, can reflect sunlight back into space, easing temperatures in what is known as aerosol cooling. (Christian Science Monitor)
After an epic season of mudslides, floods and sinkholes, the rainfall total in Los Angeles for the year ending June 30 fell just short of a record, with 37.25 inches, well above the normal 15 inches. (Associated Press)
Energy major BP and three partners are planning to build a plant in Scotland which would be the first in the world to generate "carbon free" electricity from hydrogen, the companies say. (Reuters)
A breakthrough new study supports a leading theory that melting starts when the fundamental structure of matter begins to crack. (LiveScience.com)
Thousands of marine species are at risk from global warming because of acidification of the world's oceans, scientists say. (Reuters)
Global warming could drastically alter Africa's southern sand dune systems, spreading desert-like conditions and destroying the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people before the end of the century, new research warns. (Associated Press)
Extra precipitation expected as a result of global warming could create a lopsided world in which sea ice increases around the South Pole while the far north melts away. (LiveScience.com)
Since the late 1960s, much of the North Atlantic Ocean has become less salty, in part due to increases in fresh water runoff induced by global warming, and researchers have now quantified this fresh water influx, allowing them to predict the long-term effects on a "conveyor belt" of ocean currents. (LiveScience.com)
A British think tank opposed what it said were draft plans by the Group of Eight (G8) industrial nations to expand the use of nuclear energy as a way to fight global warming. (Reuters)
Global temperatures in the future could be much hotter than scientists have predicted if new computer models on climate change are correct, researchers say. (Reuters)
The European Union needs to reduce greenhouse gases by 40 percent by 2030 to reach its long-term goal of curbing global warming, the European Environment Agency says. (Associated Press)
Ontario asked electricity users to cut back, the second appeal to conserve energy this week as demand soared because of a heat wave that has swept the province. (Reuters)
Tropical Storm Bret was downgraded to a tropical depression after moving inland from the Gulf coast of Mexico about 360 miles south of the Texas border, according to the National Hurricane Center. (Associated Press)
Persistent hot weather following months of low rainfall raised the specter of serious drought in many parts of Europe. (AFP)
Known as the breadbasket of Portugal for its wheat production, the entire southern province of Alentejo where the white-walled village of Nossa Senhora da Cola is located is suffering from "extreme" drought conditions. (AFP)
China raised the number of killed and missing in this year's floods to 771, and warned scorching temperatures in previously inundated areas create "ideal" conditions for infectious diseases. (AFP)
A heat wave in Italy has put the health of one million people at risk and the government has warned the situation could be even worse than the summer of 2003 when 20,000 people died due to soaring temperatures. (Associated Press)
The cost of cleaning up storm damage will balloon unless the world takes urgent action to cut harmful emissions warming the globe, the Association of British Insurers says. (Reuters)
Many scientists at NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency responsible for balancing hydroelectric dams against endangered salmon, say they know of cases where scientific findings were altered at the request of commercial interests, according to a survey released by two watchdog groups. (Associated Press)
Thousands of people, including hundreds of tourists, remained stranded in northern India after a river flood from neighboring Tibet washed away bridges, roads and houses, officials say. (AFP)
India's monsoon rains, which play a crucial role in determining its economic growth, have covered 90 percent of the country and are expected to sweep the other regions over the next two days. (AFP)
Southern China's densely populated Guangdong province stepped down from the highest flood alert level after rains killed 65 people there, but officials warned against complacency. (AFP)
Southern Europe was on heat wave alert faced with baking temperatures and drought conditions, two years after the heat claimed tens of thousands of lives across the continent. (AFP)
The heat wave that hit much of Europe in 2003 killed almost 20,000 people throughout Italy, more than double the previous official estimate of the toll and taking it above that recorded in neighboring France. (AFP)
A searing heat wave across Pakistan has killed at least 196 people, with relief from annual monsoon rains not expected for days. (AFP)
Scientists say they know of fault areas that have caused earthquakes in the past and are accumulating pressures that will probably lead to more quakes someday, but it's difficult to predict when they will occur because they lack data from miles and miles deep in the earth. (Associated Press)
A wild idea to combat global warming suggests creating an artificial ring of small particles or spacecrafts around Earth to shade the tropics and moderate climate extremes. (LiveScience.com)
More than 2,000 square kilometers (770 square miles) of brush and forest have been eaten up by 19 fires in Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah in recent days, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. (AFP)
In Alaska, thousands of mysterious lakes are all the same shape and have grown steadily for thousands of years, the geological record shows, and a new study indicates heat waves are the likely cause. (LiveScience.com)
The collapse of cod stocks off Nova Scotia changed the marine ecosystem so dramatically that it may be impossible for cod to recover, according to a study by Canadian scientists that could have ramifications for cod stocks at Georges Bank. (Associated Press)
An intense earthquake occurred in northeastern Indonesia on the six-month anniversary of a massive quake and tsunamis in the country, seismologists say. (AFP)
A moderate earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter Scale rattled northern California, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries, seismologists say. (AFP)
The struggle to protect Asia's endangered wildlife has enjoyed rare progress over recent years but government inaction means many species are still doomed to extinction, activists say. (AFP)
More than three decades after the Endangered Species Act gave the federal government tools and a mandate to protect animals, insects and plants threatened with extinction, the landmark law is facing the most intense efforts ever to limit its reach. (The New York Times)
The sea-level edge of the Exit Glacier, just outside the town of Seward, Alaska, and one of the most visited bodies of ice in the north, has receded by nearly 1,000 feet over the last 10 years - and many believe it's just one of several environmental changes due to global warming - urging some to visit the state sooner rather than later. (The New York Times)
Workers erected flood barriers and disinfected towns and villages against water-borne diseases as China braced for more rain after deluges that left at least 730 people dead or missing. (AFP)
India's monsoon rains, vital for its farm-reliant economy, have advanced to cover more areas of the country and bring relief from a searing June heat wave that has claimed 334 lives, a weather official says. (AFP)
Recent efforts to unlock a frozen source of natural gas deep under the permafrost and ocean floor have energized prospects for a methane-hydrate industry. (Science News)
Through mid-July, scientists from NOAA's National Coast Data Development Center and the agency's Fisheries Service at Stennis Space Center will look at data about dissolved oxygen from the "dead zone" areas in the Gulf of Mexico. (Associated Press)
France needs to introduce an early strategy to cope with climate change, whose effects will ripple across almost every sector of society and the economy, a report unveiled by government experts says. (AFP)
Using its natural environment as a freezer of sorts, Norway has announced it will create a seed bank on a remote Arctic island that aims to protect the genetic materials of critical world food crops from such threats as plant epidemics, climate change, war and natural disasters, officials say. (Associated Press)
The Jordan River is heavily polluted with sewage and is in danger of drying up after decades of conflict and intense agricultural use, environmentalists say. (Reuters)
The European Union agreed to new cleanliness standards for groundwater, meaning water which trickles down through rocks will have to meet the same quality standards for nitrate and pesticide pollution as rivers and lakes in intensively farmed areas. (Reuters)
The last time the Earth was warm the waters of the Pacific Ocean may have been stuck in an El Nino pattern that lasted more than a million years, scientists say. (The New York Times)
Scientists aboard Australia's national research vessel say corals found about 600 kilometers (373 miles) north of Darwin could already be showing signs of global warming. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Six months after the December tsunami, there are many ongoing efforts to prevent such a disaster in the future, including a high-tech network of ocean monitoring technology and community response drills. (BBC)
The United States is discussing with other nations a joint venture to develop an early-warning system to detect tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. (Associated Press)
NASA hurricane researchers are deploying to Costa Rica next month to investigate the birthplace of eastern Pacific tropical cyclones. (Science Daily)
Many homes could generate their own power by wind or solar energy and sell the surplus, the UK government says. (BBC)
From hilly San Francisco to more rural settings, California landowners, businesses and officials have hired goats to devour the grass and brush that fuel wildfires. (Reuters)
At least 375 people have died from sunstroke and dehydration in a month-long heat wave sweeping India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as South Asia endures one of its hottest summers on record, authorities say. (Reuters)
Car manufacturers need to step up efforts to meet their pledge to cut carbon dioxide pollution from vehicles by 2008, the European Union says. (Reuters)
Mexico's Popocatepetl volcano spewed a giant vapor and ash column some 900 meters (3,000 feet) high, local authorities say. (AFP)
An official from China's National Climate Center warned warmer winter and summers in a fragile environmental region will ruin a rail link to Tibet by 2050. (The Washington Times)
Tiny ocean plants, called phytoplankton, can change dramatically in both size and population due to the physical processes associated with El Nino and La Nina, affecting ocean ecology and influencing Earth's climate by impacting carbon storage in the ocean. (Science Daily)
Scientists have discovered the first organism known to rely on photosynthesis in a place where the sun never shines, a creature that lives well more than a mile under the sea and captures dim radiation coming from hydrothermal vents. (LiveScience.com)
As many as 200,000 sockeye salmon disappeared last year between the Ballard Locks and spawning grounds above Lake Washington and scientists suspect rising water temperatures could be the culprit. (Associated Press)
China's Pearl River estuary is so badly polluted the fish that once thrived in its waters have virtually vanished. (AFP)
Scientists believe they have lifted the veil on an earthquake-prone region in the southern United States that lies more than 2,000 kilometers (1,650 miles) from the nearest boundary in the Earth's plates, the major source of quakes. (AFP)
Meteorologists in Bangladesh, which suffered the shortest winter in a decade, blamed global warming for the country's most overdue monsoon in 33 years. (AFP)
Europe should reduce its energy consumption by 20 percent by 2020 through more efficient technology, the EU executive Commission says, helping cut dependency on oil and to meet climate change targets. (Reuters)
A Stanford University scientist believes America needs an Apollo-style program to encourage the development of alternative energy sources -- in part by allowing fossil fuels to become more expensive. (MSNBC)
An oceanic "conveyor belt" that helps keep New England relatively warm could begin to slow in a century, according to new research from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. (The Boston Globe)
The Anatahan Volcano north of Saipan has resumed rumbling in recent days, spewing steam and ash as high as 50,000 feet, the U.S. Geological Survey says. (Associated Press)
Three teams of researchers conducting separate studies have concluded that high ozone pollution is linked to higher death rates, especially among older populations during the summer season. (The New York Times)
Farmers in Manitoba have run out of time to plant up to 1.5 million acres of crops before insurance deadlines after excessive rains, particularly in the eastern half of the province, government officials say. (Reuters)
A cold winter and increased coal-burning power production raised carbon dioxide emissions in 15 European Union states by 1.8 percent between 2002 and 2003, the EU environment agency says. (Reuters)
With tens of thousands of deaths in a sizzling summer of 2003 still fresh on people's minds, Europe suffered in a new heat wave the first day of summer, while farmers warned of a historic drought. (AFP)
The planet is warming, humans are mostly to blame, and plants and animals are going to dramatic lengths to cope - that's the consensus of a number of recent studies that used wildlife to gauge the extent of global warming and its effects. (LiveScience.com)
More than a third of housing and hundreds of miles of roads hit by last year's tsunami were destroyed in Indonesia's Aceh province. (AFP)
Wildlife officials estimate 18,850 breeding pelicans have returned to Chase Lake in central North Dakota, but this time last year the nesting grounds were empty, leaving an ornithological mystery that biologists say may never be solved. (Associated Press)
Efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa will fail unless urgent action is taken to halt climate change, a coalition of aid and environment groups claims. (BBC)
California officials say they are working to shore up the state's emergency notification system - including a proposed hot line to link state and local officials - because of scattered failures and confusion in the wake of a rare tsunami warning last week. (The Boston Globe)
Charles D. Keeling, whose measurements showed a carbon dioxide buildup in the atmosphere that helped raise concern over global warming, died at age 77. (Associated Press)
More than 200 people have died across India due to a searing heat wave that has scorched the country before the arrival of the seasonal monsoon rains, officials say. (AFP)
NASA intends to keep flying the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) beyond this summer, a decision that will require the U.S. space agency to waive safety guidelines that call for a controlled de-orbit of the aging spacecraft. (Space.com)
June 19-25 is lightning safety awareness week and NASA's ongoing lightning research is helping to forecast thunderstorms and improve aviation safety. (Science Daily)
The death toll from a heatwave smothering much of India touched 183, as the weather office reported that annual monsoon rains are moving slowly toward the parched regions. (AFP)
Excitement over residential solar energy may not be running high everywhere, but providing homes with electricity and heat from the sun is getting more buzz than it has in decades as state programs developed in the last few years are making it possible for homeowners to cut the cost of a system by more than half. (The New York Times)
California's earthquake on June 16 near Yucaipa struck close to the Banning fault, rather than the San Andreas, increasing the probability for a major earthquake in the near future. (The New York Times)
Just hours after a moderate earthquake shook most of Southern California, a strong quake (magnitude 6.6) struck off the state's northern coast to become the fourth significant shaker to jolt California this week. (Associated Press)
The science of seismology is too young to be able to predict whether a major earthquake will occur in 10 minutes or 100 years, but there's a good chance a major quake may strike the western U.S. soon, potentially killing thousands and costing hundreds of billions of dollars in a three-state area, along with temporarily wiping out the ability of ports like Vancouver, Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland to function for many months. (ABC)
The Indian Ocean tsunami's devastating waves brought more than death to Sri Lanka -- they upset some of the country's key ecosystems, the U.N. environmental agency warns. (Associated Press)
Scientists are convinced another giant tsunami will one day sweep across the Indian Ocean -- what they are not sure about is when. (Reuters)
The population of bald eagles has rebounded so dramatically in Pennsylvania that the species may soon be moved off the state's endangered list and accorded the less serious status of a threatened species. (Associated Press)
Britain's biggest fish appears to be moving to Scottish waters - and experts say it may be due to global warming. (BBC)
Nearly 3,000 Ontarians die prematurely each year from the effects of air pollution originating in the United States, according to an Ontario government report. (Globe and Mail)
Researchers find that climate change could make future hurricanes stronger, but it is unknown whether it will change the total number of storms. (LiveScience.com)
Coal-burning power plants have taken their lumps on pollution, but increased investment in coal gasification technology by electric utilities could dramatically reduce carbon dioxide emissions without damaging the economy, according to a new Carnegie Mellon University study. (Pittsburgh Post Gazette)
Haze that clouds vistas at the Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains and other national parks should begin to clear under federal rules designed to cut air pollution that the Environmental Protection Agency will soon enforce. (Associated Press)
Far from cleaning up the atmosphere, the Amazon is now a major source of pollution with rampant burning and deforestation, mostly at the hands of illegal loggers and of ranchers, releasing hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the skies each year. (Los Angeles Times)
Desertification threatens to drive millions of people from their homes in coming decades while vast dust storms can damage the health of people continents away, an international report says. (Reuters)
A moderate earthquake shook most of Southern California, startling people and knocking items off shelves, desks and walls, but there were no immediate reports of significant damage or injuries. (Associated Press)
Coastal dwellers in far northern California and southern Oregon knew to take it seriously when tsunami sirens sounded after a 7.0-magnitude offshore earthquake, and thousands of people were safely evacuated within minutes. (San Diego Union Tribune)
Federal regulators were set to vote on a plan to protect deep water corals and other sensitive fish habitats that will likely include a permanent ban on bottom trawling in large tracts of the Pacific Ocean. (Associated Press)
Federal scientists are planning to shoot a small number of barred owls they say are crowding out the threatened spotted owl in northern California -- an experiment that could lead to killing thousands of the larger owls on the West Coast. (Associated Press)
The number of people rescued in the United States thanks to the Search and Rescue satellite (SARSAT) system that relies on NOAA's polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites to detect and locate emergency signals from ships and boats, aircraft, hikers and campers has topped 5,000, officials say. (Washington Post)
Inuit hunters threatened by melting Arctic ice plan to file a petition accusing the U.S. government of violating their human rights by fueling global warming, an Inuit leader says. (Reuters)
The Antarctic's environment will be protected by new rules forcing polluters to clean up or pay up for any contamination after 45 nations reached a new agreement. (Reuters)
River currents strengthened by rising sea levels have devoured half of Bangladesh's biggest island in 40 years, leaving half a million people homeless, researchers say. (AFP)
Hidden deep inside the Earth may be the "roots" that anchor mantle plumes - narrow pipes that bridge the gap between the Earth's crust and its super hot core - possibly forming volcanic islands like Hawaii. (LiveScience.com)
A new poll reveals nearly six in 10 Americans think global warming likely is under way and as many accept that human activities play a significant role, but they oppose immediate government action. (ABC)
A growing number of sandstorms as far away as China that researchers blame on climate change are contributing to an increase in health problems for Canadians, such as coughing, fevers and sore eyes, a new international report warns. (Canadian Press)
Britain pledged to help companies fund projects to store greenhouse gas emissions under the North Sea as part of the fight against climate change. (Reuters)
A planet with an estimated radius about twice that of Earth, too hot for life as we know it, has been discovered orbiting a nearby star. (Associated Press)
Never mind fancy computers, satellites and Doppler radar - most people have limited faith that meteorologists can accurately forecast the weather, shows a new poll. (Associated Press)
Nearly four dozen people evacuated last week from a town at the base of Mexico's Volcano of Fire have been allowed to return to their homes, even though the peak continues to smolder and occasionally spout ash. (Associated Press)
Baby energy waves, once thought too small to detect, have been spotted and studied by researchers. (LiveScience.com)
Incessant rains have kept more than 500,000 acres in Manitoba unplanted, provincial government specialists estimated, representing 5 to 10 percent of total crop land in the Canadian Prairie province. (Reuters)
They survived the dinosaurs, but leatherback turtles may have moved one step closer to extinction when last December's tsunami washed away some of their most important nesting beaches in India's Nicobar Islands. (Associated Press)
A major 7.0 magnitude earthquake in the Pacific Ocean and 90 miles west of Crescent City, California, briefly sparked fears of a tsunami, but officials quickly canceled a warning as the danger receded and damage appeared minimal. (Reuters)
While most citizens of the U.S. west coast were adequately warned of a possible tsunami following an earthquake off the California coast, one major way of alerting Washington coastal residents - an alert from NOAA weather radio - didn't get out because a critical phone line was down, forcing officials to develop a backup for the system. (Associated Press)
After decades of debate over whether the planet is heating and, if so, whose fault it is, divergent groups including corporations, politicians, and religious groups are joining hands to deal with a problem they say people can no longer avoid. (USA Today)
A powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake shook Chile's northern mining region, causing at least 11 deaths, cutting power and driving residents from their homes in the port city of Iquique. (Reuters)
Farmers' routine application of chemical fertilizers and manure to the land poses a far greater environmental problem to freshwater lakes than previously thought, potentially polluting the water for hundreds of years, according to new research. (Associated Press)
The English country garden is unlikely to survive in the South East beyond the next 100 years, scientists say, and climate change means the rolling lawns and herbaceous borders of Surrey, Kent, Hampshire and Sussex may be replaced by olive groves and grape vines. (BBC News)
The remnants of Tropical Storm Arlene spread rain into the Ohio Valley after breezing through the Gulf Coast with little damage other than power outages and street flooding. (Associated Press)
The death toll from a devastating flood that swept through an elementary school in northeastern China rose to 92, including 88 elementary school students, state press and residents say. (AFP)
The death toll due to the heatwave sweeping most of central and southern India climbed to at least 65 with 30 new deaths reported from eastern Orissa state, officials say. (AFP)
Bosnia, still struggling to rebuild its war-shattered economy, has turned towards frantic exploitation of forests, while experts warn it could have irreparable consequences for the country's environment. (AFP)
The massive red tide festering off the coast of New England has spread to federal waters, closing thousands of square miles to shellfishing by Massachusetts boats as levels of the algae bloom's toxin hit all-time highs in the region's clams and mussels. (Boston Globe)
A National Park Service biologist is attempting to slow the loss of Jamaica Bay (New York) salt marsh islands, which experts say are shrinking at an alarming rate -- about 40 acres a year. (Newsday)
Conservationists are warning that the south-east Asian island of Borneo could lose almost all its lowland forest within a decade. (BBC)
The water in the Great Salt Lake has begun rising again after years of drought, changing the landscape and starting to submerge one of Utah's best-known artifacts: an enormous earth sculpture called the Spiral Jetty. (Associated Press)
About two years ago, the survival chances for Arizona's endangered Sonoran pronghorns were grim, but after above-average winter rains, a favorable spring and initial success from a recovery program, the shy creatures are making a comeback. (Associated Press)
Federal wildlife officials say they plan to propose ending Endangered Species Act protection for grizzly bears around Yellowstone National Park. (Associated Press)
A 30-acre patch of forest near Idyllwild, California, has been outfitted with robotic cameras and other high-tech gadgets that spy on wildlife, trees and even roots as part of a pioneering effort by scientists to take nature's pulse. (Associated Press)
Western Mexico's Volcano of Fire spewed glowing, volcanic rock and a cloud of ash, before sending gray smoke a half-mile into the air, officials say. (Associated Press)
Sheltered spots with cooler temperatures could be found in Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago, a finding that might provide clues on the impact of these scorching currents on urban areas. (Discovery.com)
New research shows that giant sinking mucus "houses" produced by tadpole-like animals gather small critters and food particles as they sink to the sea floor, providing food and allowing life to flourish at the ocean bottom. (LiveScience.com)
The classic picture of the ocean food chain has been turned on its head, say Canadian marine biologists, who have proven that the disappearance of cod from over-fishing in the northwest Atlantic has triggered a chain reaction in other species that cascades back down the food chain. (Discovery.com)
Governor Mitt Romney declared a state of emergency because of the red tide bloom off the coast of Massachusetts, a move that allows the state to seek federal disaster aid for the shellfish industry. (Associated Press)
Vast resources hidden on the international deep sea floor need protection from excessive commercial exploitation that could have catastrophic consequences, according to a new report from the United Nations University Institute for Advanced Studies. (AFP)
The number of tornado deaths has decreased by nearly half since a network of Doppler weather radars were installed nationwide a decade ago, according to a new study. (LiveScience.com)
Illegal logging has doubled since 1992 in Russia, which contains a quarter of the world's forests, according to new official figures. (AFP)
As calls to limit production of greenhouse gases grow louder and more frequent, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, is becoming the first in the area to study how much its residents contribute to the problem. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
States working toward a plan for the first mandatory carbon dioxide reductions from U.S. power plants have missed a target to begin regulating emissions this spring, but hope to finish an outline on how the program would work by the fall. (Reuters)
Millions of people in England and Wales are being seriously affected by pollution and global warming, the Environment Agency says, and experts believe flooding and extreme weather will be among Britain's biggest problems in the future. (BBC)
The United Kingdom has backed proposals to set up an international expert panel tasked with reducing the casualties and damage caused by natural disasters. (BBC)
Coral mining, landscaping and other instances of human development in Sri Lanka helped last December�s devastating tsunami sweep even further inland than it might have, causing intense destruction, scientists say. (Reuters)
Volcanoes can cool the planet by keeping methane-producing bacteria at bay, researchers say. (Nature)
The Indonesian island of Sumatra, smashed by a tsunami and shaken by an enormous earthquake in the past six months, is now at risk from two potentially major quakes, one of which could generate waves 10 meters (32.5 feet) high, seismologists warn. (AFP)
Mexico's Volcano of Fire has been hurling hot lava into the air and dusting surrounding towns with ash, forcing evacuations and raising concerns of a much larger explosion. (Associated Press)
Australian authorities agreed to urgently build a pipeline channeling water to a parched country town struggling to cope with one of the country's worst droughts. (AFP)
More than 500 firefighters in Portugal were battling five separate forest fires raging across the drought-hit country amid soaring temperatures, emergency services workers say. (AFP)
NASA-funded scientists studied the movement of ozone through a dozen hurricanes and found the chemical can provide better indications of whether a hurricane will form and where it will move. (LiveScience.com)
A research engineer has designed the pyramid - a nearly circular disc, about the size of a car's tire but only a few inches high, with a ring of windows and video cameras - that travels inside tornadoes to photograph them. (ABC)
A NASA-funded study finds that high intensity lightning charges are the key ingredient in sprite formation. (LiveScience.com)
An environmental coalition urged the United Nations to take steps to protect whales, dolphins and other marine life from the powerful sound waves used in oil and gas exploration and by the world's navies to navigate and detect submarines. (Reuters)
Migrating birds are unlikely to be seriously affected by offshore wind farms, according to a study showing that less than one percent are in danger of colliding with the giant structures. (BBC)
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences joined similar groups from other nations in a call for prompt action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, warning that delays will be costly. (Associated Press)
Scientists, including from the United States and China, threw down the gauntlet to world leaders saying mankind was the major source of global warming and urging action. (Reuters)
At least 255 people were killed in floods and storms in China last month, the start of the country's rainy season. (AFP)
Forty-five people were evacuated from a hamlet near western Mexico's rumbling "Fire Volcano," which is the most volatile it has been in more than a decade, civil protection officials say. (Reuters)
An international science group chose Colorado as the site of a $50 million observatory to measure the cosmic rays that continually bombard the Earth. (Associated Press)
NASA's Science Mission Directorate will commit $22 million in 23 projects over the next three years with national organizations that include water management, public health, air quality, ecosystem stewardship and disaster management. (SpaceRef.com)
Officials closed two areas off Martha's Vineyard to shellfishing as the largest red tide outbreak in decades continued to spread through New England waters. (Associated Press)
A new NOAA project is encouraging Maryland residents to grow bay grass at home, school or work for later planting in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries to help raise awareness of the steep decline of a critical bay resource. (Associated Press)
Japanese researchers have found that a subtropical area in the western Pacific absorbs about 60 million tons of carbon dioxide a year, a major greenhouse gas. (United Press International)
Clear evidence of human-produced warming in the oceans verifies some of the most important predictions of climate models, suggesting it is time for action about the existence of greenhouse warming, according to a paper by Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists. (United Press International)
More than 300 scientists, experts and government representatives gathered to discuss the environmental issues facing the South Pole and the effects global warming and increased tourism may have on the icy continent. (Associated Press)
The eruption of the 12,533-foot Colima volcano, located 430 miles northwest of Mexico City, sends a massive column of black ash into the clouds and is one of the strongest eruptions in the past 20 years, officials say. (Associated Press)
Wide areas of southern China are placed on high alert for further flooding, as officials say more than 200 people had been killed and over 100,000 homes destroyed by floods in the past week. (Reuters)
The 10 western provinces of China suffer an annual economic loss of up to 18 billion dollars because of environmental deterioration, state media says. (AFP)
Big city mayors from around the world signed a series of pacts to improve the conditions of urban centers, capping a five-day U.N. World Environment conference. (Associated Press)
A new study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the northern Gulf of Mexico is sinking much faster than previously believed, and a large portion of southern Louisiana may sink into the Gulf of Mexico by the end of the century. (United Press International)
The worst red tide in decades, driven by abnormally strong easterly winds, has idled about two-thirds of the shellfish beds in Massachusetts as the toxic algae bloom spreads off the coast to Nantucket. (Associated Press)
An iceberg more than twice the size of Malta has broken adrift near Australia's Casey Station in Antarctica, officials say. (AFP)
The devastating impact of mankind on the planet is dramatically illustrated in new pictures and satellite images showing explosive urban sprawl, major deforestation and the sucking dry of inland seas over less than three decades. (Reuters)
A new fast-scanning, mobile radar unit promises to allow researchers to take the best ever images of brewing twisters. (LiveScience.com)
A new study finds 125 large lakes in the Arctic have vanished as temperatures rose over the past two decades. (LiveScience.com)
To help forecasters determine which storms might pose a threat to U.S. coastlines, British researchers say they've developed a valuable software tool based on sea surface temperatures and wind speeds in the upper atmosphere. (ABC)
Last year's hurricanes in Florida churned up oozy, polluted muck that had settled on Lake Okeechobee's bottom over decades, making it a soupy mess and crippling its ecosystem - killing many plant and animal species. (New York Times)
Still battered from an onslaught of catastrophic storms last year, Caribbean countries are bracing for another hurricane season that experts warn could bring more trouble to a region made vulnerable by lingering damage, poverty and environmental decay. (Associated Press)
NASA has signed a cooperative agreement with the University of North Dakota-Grand Forks to house and operate the agency's DC-8 jet aircraft, a premier scientific resource. (Science Daily)
Environmental groups, developers and government agencies are working to protect several species of animals from the western U.S. drought, but officials also are investigating long-term solutions, saying population spikes and global warming could lead to future dry spells. (Associated Press)
Accumulated rainfall from an unusually wet winter most likely triggered the 2005-06-01 landslide that destroyed 18 luxury hillside homes in California, scientists say. (Associated Press)
China is facing "severe" environmental problems, including pollution in most of its rivers and lakes and worsening acid rain, the government says, blaming the booming economy and urban growth. (AFP)
A temblor felt across northwest Tennessee caused little damage, but it was strong enough to remind people they live in one of the country's most active earthquake zones. (Associated Press)
The actual ruptured ground that helped launch the deadliest tsunami in history may have been found and photographed deep under the sea near Sumatra. (Discovery.com)
Indian geologists will study molten rock samples from a volcano on a tiny island in the Bay of Bengal to find out if last week's eruption could be traced to December's earthquake and tsunami, experts say. (Reuters)
More than a fifth of the planet's bird species face extinction as humans venture further into their habitats and introduce alien predators, an environmental group says. (Reuters)
Australia's agricultural heartland is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years and government agencies say the dry-spell is affecting economic growth. (AFP)
New York City and the Northeast have been hit hard by hurricanes in the past and scientists say a major hurricane will likely strike the area again - a concern to emergency management officials who would have to start evacuations sooner than what is typically ordered in Florida and elsewhere. (LiveScience.com)