Devastating as Katrina was, it would have been far worse but for a puff of dry air that came out of the Midwest, weakening the hurricane just before it reached land and pushing it slightly to the east. (Associated Press)
The level of floodwaters that rushed into New Orleans this week after levees holding back Lake Pontchartrain gave way has stabilized, Major General Dan Riley of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told reporters. (AFP)
The past 10 years have seen more ferocious and more frequent hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and scientists are confident that there will be more to come, and while some believe it's due to global warming, others say it's just part of a natural cycle. (LiveScience.com)
Researchers are drying off after a successful Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes (TCSP) mission in Costa Rica, where they tracked two major Atlantic Ocean hurricanes, witnessed the entire lifecycle of tropical storms and documented a number of unexpected surprises about the short, violent lives of these seagoing tempests. (Space Daily)
California, New Mexico and Oregon sued the Bush administration over the government's decision to allow road building, logging and other commercial ventures on more than 90,000 square miles of untouched forests. (Associated Press)
Pollution spikes caused by hot, windless weather and vacationers returning home prompted French authorities to cut speed limits around Paris and Marseille. (AFP)
The first detailed global map of the world's great apes -- from gorillas to orangutans -- shows they are in deep trouble. (Reuters)
An endangered Hawaiian monk seal known as Seal 310 gave birth to a pup on the beach in front of Kiahuna Plantation Resort near Poipu. (Associated Press)
Seabird colonies in Scotland have suffered one of the worst breeding seasons on record, experts have warned. (BBC)
Salvadoran authorities activated emergency plans as a western volcano continued to spew gas and vapor in what experts said was a "significant increase" in activity. (Associated Press)
The key Millennium Goal of halving poverty in a decade cannot be met without better environmental protection, according to a new report. (BBC)
Almost 90 percent of coral reefs hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami escaped severe damage, according to research. (BBC)
The first status report on wild fish in a decade suggests that nearly half the native species in the state are at risk of extinction. (Associated Press)
The discovery of bison bones in Peoria County proves the animals were in Illinois about 1,700 years earlier than previously thought, according to scientists. (Associated Press)
About 1,000 volunteers will next month clean up rubbish-strewn Malaysian beaches where rare turtles lay their eggs amid fears over a steep decline in nesting, organizers say. (AFP)
A federal judge issues a preliminary injunction barring wildlife officials from poisoning a Sierra waterway in an attempt to recover a rare species trout. (Associated Press)
As Hurricane Katrina slows down and fades over the next couple of days, the full extent of her wrath will be evaluated and compared to previous weather disasters, and so far, Katrina has been responsible for more than 80 deaths and billions of dollars of destruction along the Gulf Coast. (LiveScience.com)
Fresh floods, fires and looting rode in the destructive wake of Hurricane Katrina, deepening a humanitarian crisis that left hundreds feared dead and sections of New Orleans submerged to the rooftops. (AFP)
Floodwaters engulfed much of New Orleans as officials feared a steep death toll and planned to evacuate thousands remaining in shelters after the historic city's defenses were breached by Hurricane Katrina. (Reuters)
Rescuers along the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast pushed aside the dead to reach the living in a race against time and rising waters, while New Orleans sank deeper into crisis and Louisiana's governor ordered storm refugees out of this drowning city. (Associated Press)
For all its numbing ferocity, Hurricane Katrina will not be a unique event, say scientists, who say that global warming appears to be pumping up the power of big Atlantic storms. (AFP)
Taiwan issued a land warning as a powerful typhoon headed toward the island with the government warning of strong wind and heavy rain that could trigger landslides and flooding in mountain regions. (Reuters)
The seasonal ozone hole over Antarctica has widened sharply this year, making it the biggest hole since 2000 and the third largest on record, according to measurements reported by the European Space Agency (ESA). (AFP)
The ozone layer has stopped shrinking but it will take decades to start recovering, U.S. scientists say. (Reuters)
Wildfires which strike Portugal every summer have taken a lasting toll on the environment, ravaging forests, destroying the habitats of animals and increasing the risk of soil erosion and polluted water supplies, experts say. (AFP)
Environmental regulators say the same process that gives Napa and Sonoma Valley such tasty wine is also producing a share of the smog that makes the region one of the nation's dirtiest air basins -- and they aim to do something about it. (Associated Press)
A strong earthquake measuring about 6.2 on the Richter scale hit northeastern Japan, meteorological services said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. (AFP)
The increasing urbanization of eastern Idaho cities, coupled with brighter security lights at Idaho National Laboratory and the Idaho Cleanup Project, are making it harder to spot heavenly bodies from the region. (Associated Press)
Hurricane Katrina may cost U.S. insurers more than $30 billion, which would make the storm the most expensive to hit the United States, a storm modeler says. (Reuters)
Hurricane Katrina makes landfall in southeast Louisiana with 140-mph winds and the threat of a catastrophic storm surge. (Associated Press)
Hurricane Katrina claimed its first victims in Louisiana as it slammed into barrier islands while dumping torrential rain on a wide swath of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast and threatened more death and massive destruction. (AFP)
As Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans experts said it could turn one of America's most charming cities into a vast cesspool tainted with toxic chemicals, human waste and even coffins released by floodwaters from the city's legendary cemeteries. (Associated Press)
Spain has posted its worst wildfire damage for a decade, with nearly 130,000 hectares (321,000 acres) of forests and pasture charred since the beginning of the year, the Spanish environment ministry said. (AFP)
Experts say conditions are right this year for a severe hurricane to lash Long Island, New York, but it's been a long time - 67 years - since the last Big One, and officials worry that Long Islanders accustomed to the glancing blows of minor storms have little grasp of just how devastating a major hurricane could be. (The New York Times)
When Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans within the next day, it could turn one of America's most charming cities into a vast cesspool tainted with toxic chemicals, human waste and even coffins released by floodwaters from the city's legendary cemeteries. (Associated Press)
A monstrous Hurricane Katrina barreled toward New Orleans with 160-mph winds and a threat of a 28-foot storm surge, forcing a mandatory evacuation of the below-sea-level city and prayers for those who remained to face a doomsday scenario. (Associated Press)
Countries across a swath of central and eastern Europe were counting the cost of a flood crisis that left at least 70 people dead, thousands evacuated and a massive reconstruction bill. (AFP)
Switzerland will need to spend billions in the coming years if it is to escape a repeat of last week's flood crisis which killed six people, forced the evacuation of thousands and caused massive damage. (AFP)
Four new wildfires broke out in Portugal as temperatures rose - just hours after firefighters tamed three blazes overnight, including one that raced through a nature reserve. (AFP)
A computer simulation of the Earth's climate 250 million years ago suggests that global warming triggered the so-called "great dying." (BBC)
Get your sweaters, mittens and hats ready; The Farmers' Almanac warns that the coming winter will bring unusually sharp fluctuations in temperature, and says readers "may be reminded of riding a roller, or in this case, 'polar' coaster." (Associated Press)
Flood waters were receding in Europe, following a weeklong crisis which left at least 70 people dead across the center and east of the continent. (AFP)
Katrina became a major hurricane as it strengthened over the warm Gulf of Mexico waters, with winds near 185 kilometers (115 miles) per hour threatening New Orleans and offshore oil rigs. (AFP)
Florida's panhandle braced for yet another hit as Hurricane Katrina strengthened over the Gulf of Mexico after pummeling the Miami area, killing seven people and leaving 1.4 million without power. (AFP)
Powerful typhoon Mawar hit central Japan, bringing heavy rain and fierce winds that left at least one person dead, two people missing and four injured, officials say. (AFP)
Scientists are undertaking a $3 million, 45-day field project to uncover key processes within a hurricane that help turbo-charge it or sap its strength in a matter of hours; research that will ultimately enable forecasters to predict trends in the landfall strength of a hurricane 12 to 24 hours before it reaches shore. (Christian Science Monitor)
Police in Portugal have arrested 127 people suspected of starting forest fires that have destroyed swaths of land as authorities stepped up efforts to ensure fires do not restart when temperatures rise again. (Reuters)
The Spanish government approved a 2005-2010 Renewable Energy Plan that envisages renewable energy sources accounting for 12 percent of total electricity generation in 2010, officials say. (AFP)
Brazil's government has announced estimates suggesting that deforestation of the Amazon rainforest has fallen by 50 percent this year. (Associated Press)
The Forest Service admits to making a "serious" mistake that allowed the logging of 17 acres inside a rare tree reserve in Oregon as part of the salvage harvest of timber burned by a fire in 2002. (Associated Press)
A solar-powered buoy bobbing on the surface of Grand Traverse Bay is providing boaters, forecasters and other interested people with up-to-date information about the Lake Michigan waterway's sometimes volatile weather. (Associated Press)
The potential for harnessing the power of waves has drawn serious study by Oregon State University, federal and state agencies, and communities along the Oregon Coast. (Associated Press)
Last year's Sumatra tsunami focused its death and destruction on the lands around the Indian Ocean, but the great wave traveled around the world and was recorded as far away as Peru and northeastern Canada. (Associated Press)
Hurricane Katrina slammed into Florida's densely populated southeastern coast with sustained winds of 80 mph and lashing rain; two people were killed by falling trees. (Associated Press)
Powerful Typhoon Mawar slammed into central Japan, bringing heavy rain and fierce winds that left at least one person dead and two injured, police and the weather bureau says. (AFP)
The solid core that measures about 1,500 miles in diameter is spinning about one-quarter to one-half degree faster, per year, say researchers. (Associated Press)
Italy is blessed with some of Europe's most brilliant sun and cursed with some of its highest electricity rates, but the nation has long lagged behind its more inclement neighbors in harnessing energy from the sun's rays. (Associated Press)
Scientists publicly presented recordings of the ivory-billed woodpecker, noting that the tape suggests there might be more than one of the rare birds in an eastern Arkansas swamp. (Associated Press)
Tanzania gets a World Bank loan to help it conserve and protect stocks of fish, a vital food source for millions living by the sea. (Reuters)
Scientists now think Earth's soil contains 100 times more bacteria species than previously thought. (LiveScience.com)
Nine forest fires were burning in parched central and northern Portugal just hours after firefighters aided by cooler weather brought blazes which have ravaged the country over the past two weeks under control. (AFP)
Twelve people were killed and 20 injured in landslides triggered by monsoon rains in India's northeastern Assam state as the main Brahmaputra River swelled to danger levels, officials says. (AFP)
The disastrous flooding that has swept through Switzerland over the past four days has triggered an increase in the number of Earth tremors, the Swiss seismological service says. (AFP)
Up to two million Cambodians may face serious food shortages next year as the impoverished country suffers its worst drought in 50 years. (AFP)
Trees don't seem to grow any faster when given an extra dose of carbon dioxide, Swiss scientists say, a finding that could shatter the widespread belief that rising concentrations of carbon dioxide may be kept partly in check by blossoming plant growth. (Nature)
Many glaciers in Peru will soon disappear and the nation is one of the countries worst affected by climate change in the world, say scientists. (BBC)
A coalition of environmental and development agencies has launched a new program which aims to stem the loss of fish stocks worldwide. (BBC)
A group of international explorers claims it has pinpointed a new site for the source of China's storied Yangtze River, placing it 4 miles farther west than previously thought. (LiveScience.com)
Fears that the most fertile agricultural land in the Indonesian province of Aceh has been wrecked by seawater that swept inland from the December 26 tsunami are unfounded, scientists say. (AFP)
A federal appeals court ruled that the federal government must increase protections for a Pacific fish species whose population has been depleted by overfishing. (Associated Press)
Thousands of American white pelicans that abandoned the Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge in central North Dakota after their chicks mysteriously died appear to have headed across the border to Canada, in southern Manitoba. (Associated Press)
A major geomagnetic storm washed over Canada early in the day and a second smaller event was forecast, providing a light show for sky watchers and potential headaches for satellite companies. (Canadian Press)
Portuguese forest fires flared anew, defying hopes that cooler weather would bring relief for one of the country's worst outbreaks of fires in decades. (Reuters)
Officials of nine Northeastern states have reached a preliminary agreement on an initiative to freeze power plant greenhouse gas emissions at current levels and reduce them by 10 percent by 2020, a newspaper reports. (Associated Press)
A space boulder that disintegrated in a fiery descent over Antarctica last year has sparked a theory that meteor dust may play a hidden role in our climate system. (AFP)
Beginning this month the complex computer programs used by forecasters are getting more data on temperatures, water vapor and gases in the air and on how the ground affects the weather, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says. (Associated Press)
The rate of ice melting in the Arctic is increasing and a panel of researchers says it sees no natural process that is likely to change that trend. (Associated Press)
If the current warming trends continue in the Arctic, the region may have ice-free summers within 100 years, a new report concludes. (LiveScience.com)
Farmers in Zimbabwe who attended meetings to learn how the forecasts were made and then used those outlooks in making their planting decisions did better in both dry and normal seasons, according to a new study. (Associated Press)
Rescue workers piled sandbags to hold back surging floodwaters and evacuated hundreds of people from alpine valleys as heavy rains and landslides battered central and southern Europe. (Associated Press)
Severe floods caused havoc in southern Germany as rivers burst their banks and towns were cut off from the outside world, authorities say. (AFP)
Two people were killed and two were missing after three days of heavy rain in central and eastern Switzerland turned Alpine streams into raging torrents and triggered flooding around the country's lakes. (AFP)
Rescue workers struggled to contain floods that left a trail of death and destruction across parts of central Europe, as parched Spain and Portugal in contrast battled dozens of raging wildfires. (AFP)
Around 7,000 people have been left homeless by raging flood waters in southern Ethiopia after heavy rain caused rivers to burst their banks in the Horn of Africa's Oromia state. (AFP)
Local authorities declared a state of emergency in northern Croatia over fears that the Mura River on the border with Slovenia could burst its banks. (AFP)
The death toll from landslides caused by torrential rain in parts of central China's Hubei province has risen to 25, with five others still missing. (AFP)
A Cameroon government scientist dismissed a warning that the natural dam holding back Lake Nyos in the northwest of the country was about to burst, threatening thousands of lives. (Reuters)
Jose, the 10th tropical storm of the Atlantic season, started falling apart over the mountains of central Mexico, less than a day after it gained enough strength to earn its name. (Associated Press)
Water-dumping aircraft from around Europe battled to help drought-hit Portugal contain raging forest fires that have killed at least 14 people. (Reuters)
Firefighters in the northwestern Spanish province of Galicia battled 24 blazes, including one that has burned for three days and threatened homes near the coast, local government sources say. (AFP)
Two new species of birds called Tapaculos have been identified in the mountains of Colombia, a conservation group says. (Reuters)
Barbary apes are threatened with extinction in their native habitat in North Africa, scientists say, but the species is doing well in Europe, and some have even been restored. (AFP)
Federal wildlife officials say they would cut by nearly half the amount of land set aside for the California tiger salamander, saying it would be too costly to restrict development in those areas to protect the threatened amphibian. (Associated Press)
The winter hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica appears to have grown from last year but is still smaller than in 2003, when it was at its largest, the World Meteorological Organization says. (Reuters)
Asian governments are failing properly to restore coastal mangrove forests damaged in the tsunami, which saved lives and homes by absorbing the force of the waves. (AFP)
The northern coastline of the Gulf of Thailand is retreating at a rate of at least 65 meters (213 feet) per year due to rapid industrialization and overuse of groundwater. (AFP)
Malaysia said it will take action against four plantations which conducted open burning during the haze crisis that recently choked parts of the country. (AFP)
The Ilulissat glacier in Greenland, a United Nations heritage site considered one of the wonders of the world, has shrunk by over 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) in just a few years, in one of the most alarming examples of global warming in the Arctic region. (AFP)
Heavy rains and an international firefighting effort on Indonesia's Sumatra have extinguished most forest fires that had spewed choking haze over parts of the island and neighboring Malaysia, officials say. (Reuters)
Fire-fighting aircraft from Germany, Italy and the Netherlands headed to Portugal as the country struggled to contain its biggest wave of wildfires to hit so far this year amid rising temperatures. (AFP)
Two Swiss firemen have been killed in a landslide as heavy rain caused flooding and cut roads, railway and electricity lines across central and western Switzerland. (AFP)
The Bulgarian army is helping build dykes and re-build houses in flood-hit regions near Sofia and in the east of the country where thousands are still homeless, the Defense Minister says. (AFP)
Heavy rain and landslides have killed at least 47 people across China and storms are snarling transport and flooding reservoirs, domestic media reports. (Reuters)
Four people were killed in a landslide triggered by heavy rain in the Black Sea province of Rize in northeast Turkey. (AFP)
A rare Chinese tiger brought to South Africa to learn how to hunt has died, dealing a fresh blow to efforts to save the species from extinction. (Reuters)
Water management issues must be an integral aspect of sustainable development and ought to be adapted to take specific country situations into account, experts said as a World Water Week conference opened in Stockholm. (AFP)
The armies of several central and eastern European countries were mobilizing to cope with heavy rains and floods which have killed nearly 70 people in the region this summer, with Romania and Bulgaria the worst hit. (AFP)
Firefighters are getting a high-tech ally in their battle against wildfires: a remote-controlled spy plane that doesn't mind smoke, never sleeps and can see in the dark. (Associated Press)
A survey of Cobscook Bay has uncovered the presence of sea squirts, an invasive species that scientists fear could overwhelm valuable shellfish beds and alter the marine ecosystem, researchers say. (Associated Press)
Scientists are one step closer to developing radar technology that will make more accurate measurements of space weather conditions possible. (LiveScience.com)
On the small Italian island of Lampedusa south of Sicily, a "field hospital" maintained by a group of volunteers from the World Wildlife Fund ecological activist group gives a second chance to sea turtles injured as a result of human activity. (AFP)
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.0 jolted northern Japan, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. (Reuters)
The original manuscript of Albert Einstein's paper "Quantum theory of the monatomic ideal gas," published in 1925, has been found in the archives of Leiden University's Lorentz Institute for Theoretical Physics, scholars say. (Associated Press)
Canada hopes to squeeze more hydroelectric power out of Niagara Falls, the famed honeymoon destination on the Canada-U.S. border, officials say. (AFP)
A smoky haze that shrouded parts of Southeast Asia this month, forcing schools and businesses to close, is just one element of an air pollution problem that kills hundreds of thousands of people in the region annually, the World Health Organizations says. (Associated Press)
The Great Lakes of the U.S., the planet's largest concentration of fresh water, is thawing earlier each spring, according to an analysis of ice break-ups dating back to 1846. (New Scientist)
The death toll from extensive floods across Romania over the past four days has risen to 14, with more than 1,200 people evacuated from their collapsing houses, the Interior Ministry says. (Reuters)
For seven months, U.S. pioneer and environmentalist Michael Fay flew low over Africa in a small plane, and he brought back 100,000 photographs and a dire warning of an environmental and human debacle. (AFP)
Researchers in Switzerland have succeeded in breaking the cosmic speed limit by getting light to go faster than, well, the speed of light - by using simple off-the-shelf optical fibers, without the aid of special media such as cold gases or crystalline solids. (LiveScience.com)
Scientists are recommending speed zones for ship traffic as one way to help to help the endangered North Atlantic right whale population. (Associated Press)
Russian trawlers are flouting cod quotas in the Arctic in a threat to the last major stock of the fish, the World Wildlife Fund says. (Reuters)
A federal judge ordered the Bush administration to step up efforts to restore the gray wolf to four northeastern states, a ruling environmentalists called a major victory. (Associated Press)
African conservationists dismissed with contempt a suggestion by U.S. scientists that the best way to save the planet's large wild mammals, most of them native to Africa, is to build a huge nature preserve in the Midwest United States. (AFP)
Europe's rarest songbird is facing extinction, despite being the most promiscuous and energetic lover in the avian world, and concerned scientists are looking urgently for ways to save it. (Reuters)
A ten-year survey in Cameroon by scientists from the United Kingdom's Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew has turned up more than 200 previously unknown plants. (BBC)
Humans have around 30,000 genes that determine everything from our eye color to our sex, but Pelagibacter has just 1,354, U.S. biologists report. (BBC)
Worried that global warming could impact Los Angeles' water supply, the Department of Water and Power is studying how to deal with potential changes in supply and demand. (Los Angeles Daily News)
University of Colorado researchers have found several new kingdoms of life previously unknown to science two years ago in the frozen soil beneath Colorado's alpine snowpack, a discovery that could lead to a greater understanding of the global biosphere and new antibiotics. (Scripps Howard)
Hundreds of firefighters backed by water-dropping aircraft were battling eight blazes that raced through tinder-dry forests in the center and north of the country, which is facing its worst drought since 1945. (AFP)
Tornadoes flipped over cars and damaged trees in an area about 85 kilometers (53 miles) west of Toronto, according to Canada's main weather authority, while at least one unconfirmed report said a funnel had touched down just outside the city. (Reuters)
Temperatures dipped below freezing in some parts of Alberta early today for about two hours, Environment Canada says. (Reuters)
Climate change is to blame for alterations in the number and distribution of birds in Britain, and more changes are expected, according to a new report. (Associated Press)
Greenland will introduce hunting quotas on polar bears as of January 2006 to protect the species threatened by global warming in the Arctic, but will also allow a limited tourist hunt, officials say. (AFP)
Coral reef ecosystems, among the oldest and most diverse forms of life, are declining in U.S. waters because of overfishing, climate change, marine diseases, land-based pollution, storms and grounded ships. (Associated Press)
The worst drought that parched Spain has endured since the 1940s has reopened a 'water war' among agricultural workers in the southwestern corner of the country around Murcia. (AFP)
A rash of tornadoes killed one man, and injured at least 30 others, while destroying or damaging 200 homes in small towns near Madison. (Associated Press)
Looking ahead at a warmer planet, British insurers see more frequent and severe storms ahead, with losses on insured property perhaps rising 65 percent by 2080, but climate change is barely on the radar for the U.S. insurance industry. (The Argus, San Francisco)
Environmental ministers and officials from 23 countries met near a glacier that is retreating at an alarming pace and agreed that governments must stop arguing over global warming and start acting. (Associated Press)
Climate changes that affected Africa over a million years ago may have profoundly influenced human evolution, according to a new study published in this week. (Discovery.com)
Lions are killing people in Tanzania three times as often as they did 15 years ago, and the study's authors say that farmers should clear their land of bush pigs, an attractive prey to lions, to reduce the number of clashes between lions and local people. (Nature)
Prominent ecologists are floating an audacious plan that sounds like a Jumanji sequel - to transplant African wildlife to the Great Plains of North America. (Associated Press)
Biologists think the Georgia gopher has been devastated by loss of natural habitat -- longleaf pine savannas and naturally vegetated rolling sand hills. (Associated Press)
Flooding forced about 150 people out of their homes along the shore of a West Texas lake that had risen about 9 1/2 feet above its normal level following torrential rainfall. (Associated Press)
Hurricane Irene continued weakening as it headed northeastward across the north Atlantic, far from land. (Associated Press)
Saplings of a giant tree that was a snack for dinosaurs and was believed to also be extinct until a chance discovery in Australia will be offered for sale to the public next month for the first time. (Reuters)
Hundreds of firefighters battled several heat-fueled forest fires that raged across Spain and Portugal amid a severe drought that has dried reservoirs and led to water restrictions in many places. (AFP)
The Nyiragongo volcano that looms over Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo could soon wipe out the city, said a risk analysis report by volcano experts. (AFP)
Japan's meteorological agency says it warned residents of a major earthquake 14 seconds before it hit under a new trial alert system in one of the world's most quake-prone countries. (AFP)
After a nearly 10-year delay, the Kenyan parliament has approved legislation to protect the nation's dwindling forests from rampant encroachment, Environment Minister Kalonzo Musyoka says. (AFP)
For the past three weeks the monsoon has been messing with many sections of California's mountains and deserts; as the National Weather Service issued 80 flash flood warnings for southwest California, 35 severe-storm warnings, plus a tornado warning. (San Diego Union Tribune)
A new NASA-funded study finds that predicted increases in precipitation due to warmer air temperatures from greenhouse gas emissions may actually increase sea ice volume in the Antarctic's Southern Ocean. (Science Daily)
The dog days of summer are here, and many people are feeling the heat, but scientists continue to debate whether prolonged hot spells, which have hit many areas of the world this summer, might be linked to global warming. (National Geographic)
Fresh from a trip to Barrow, America's northernmost city, senators say anecdotes from Alaskans and residents of the Yukon Territory confirm scientific evidence of global warming. (Associated Press)
Mud and sand at the bottom of Puget Sound is increasingly tainted by pollution from vehicle exhaust, not heavy industry, a state Department of Ecology study says. (Associated Press)
Contra Costa County, California, could soon be on the forefront in the battle against global warming, as officials voted unanimously to begin working on an ordinance to help the county find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (San Jose Mercury News)
Malaysia and Singapore have called for a coordinated Southeast Asian response to the annual haze problem, as the smoke and dust which smothered Malaysia last week shifted north to Thailand. (AFP)
Nearly 2,200 firefighters were battling dozens of wildfires in parched Portugal, including 10 major blazes which were raging out of control and forced the evacuation of several mountain villages, officials say. (AFP)
Carpets of poisonous blue-green algae which regularly invade Baltic coastlines in the summer could be eliminated with massive injections of oxygen, Swedish researchers say. (AFP)
An unusually fierce red tide bloom this summer has choked off oxygen and killed undersea life in a region of the Gulf of Mexico bottom about 10 miles off the coast of Florida, scientists say. (Associated Press)
The northerly winds that sustain the Pacific Coast's marine ecosystems have returned, but their arrival came too late for fish and birds that couldn't survive the unseasonably warm waters. (Associated Press)
A powerful earthquake off Japan's Pacific coast has injured at least 56 people, set off small tsunami waves and swayed towering buildings in the heart of Tokyo. (AFP)
The five named tropical storms recorded in July were the most on record for that month, and worldwide it was the second warmest July on record, the National Climatic Data Center reports. (Associated Press)
Internet shoppers in search of the exotic have sparked a booming trade that is threatening the existence of many endangered species, a report shows. (Reuters)
Torrential downpours and severe flooding have killed at least 14 people in northern and central China and left scores missing. (AFP)
Global warming and rising water levels could force Seattle to build its new Elliott Bay sea wall higher than expected. (Seattle Post Intelligencer)
Japan will set up a climate change monitoring and assessment network in cooperation with Asian neighbors to study how global warming affects developing countries in the region. (AFP)
A researcher finds that forests, like those in the Amazon, may not absorb as much carbon dioxide as earlier believed. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Wildfires which have raged in parched woodland in Portugal over the past three days, killing two firefighters, worsened as temperatures soared to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some regions. (AFP)
China, the factory of the world, is being slowly choked by the pollution brought on by its unrelenting economic transformation and the government is starting to realize it needs to do something about it. (AFP)
China plans to construct its first offshore wind power complex next year in hopes of easing chronic electricity shortages, the official Xinhua News Agency reports. (Associated Press)
Scientists announce the discovery of 16 new species of "moon jellyfish" while also saying the creatures are invading marine environments all over the world. (LiveScience.com)
An alien seaweed introduced in Hawaii 31 years ago has spread rapidly and has even reached the remote, unspoiled Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, worrying scientists. (Associated Press)
Twice a day, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 drops down in Barrow, Alaska, and as the jet disgorges one carefully wrapped scientific instrument after another from the cargo hold, the Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport takes on the air of a bazaar, one whose currency is scientific knowledge. (Los Angeles Times)
The government is examining a British-designed system for spraying seawater into the air to make clouds whiter to reflect more radiation away from the Earth and slow the worldwide rise in temperatures. (The Sunday Times, Britain)
A choking smog persisted over northern Malaysia as Kuala Lumpur lashed out at Indonesia's handling of forest fires causing the haze. (Reuters)
More than 800 firefighters in Portugal battled wildfires which swept the parched center and north of the country for the third consecutive day amid scorching temperatures, emergency services say. (AFP)
Tropical Storm Irene started moving away from the East Coast and posed no threat to land, forecasters say. (Associated Press)
A tropical storm swept ashore in southern China after bringing heavy rain a week after a typhoon tore up the east coast killing three people and causing havoc. (Reuters)
Over 157 people have died from water-borne illnesses in India's financial capital Mumbai and surrounding regions following a week-long deluge of rain, health officials say. (AFP)
Palm oil farmers have used fire to clear their land of tall grass, shrubs and trees for years, without any idea that the noxious fumes caused problems in neighboring Malaysia or anywhere else. (Associated Press)
Anatoly Larkin, a University of Minnesota researcher whose work led to advances in the understanding of theoretical physics, died at age 72. (Associated Press)
Park officials recently discovered a 400-foot waterfall in a remote corner of the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, 43,000 acres of wilderness in northern California. (Associated Press)
The federal government has cut back the critical habitat for 19 species of threatened and endangered Pacific salmon, arguing that an earlier designation demanded by environmentalists was poorly executed and that voluntary habitat improvements will work better. (Associated Press)
Hong Kong officials hoisted the year's first typhoon warning as Tropical Cyclone Sanvu inched within range of the southern Chinese territory. (AFP)
Frontline firefighters expressed optimism in the battle against wildfires that caused part of the northwestern United States to be declared an emergency zone. (AFP)
Portugal has been hit hardest by wildfires which have swept drought-hit southern Europe this year because of human negligence and a focus on planting profitable but highly combustible tree species, experts say. (AFP)
Floods and related disasters have killed 910 people in China so far this year with another 218 missing, the International Red Cross says as it launched an emergency appeal for 4.4 million dollars in aid. (AFP)
Scientists have tracked a tagged polar bear swimming at least 74 kilometers (46 miles) in just one day -- and maybe up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) -- providing the first conclusive proof the bears can cover such giant distances in the water. (Reuters)
A huge expanse of western Siberia is going through an unprecedented thaw that could speed the rate of global warming dramatically, scientists say. (AFP)
Georgia pine trees harbor a record of every hurricane to hit the area in the past century, a new study found, and further research across the Southeast uncovered a hurricane record stretching back more than two centuries. (LiveScience.com)
A renewed Tropical Storm Irene was gradually intensifying Thursday as it moved closer to the East Coast, forecasters say. (Associated Press)
At least 43 people have drowned and another 15 are missing in flash floods caused by torrential rains in Golestan province in northeastern Iran, the official news agency IRNA reports. (AFP)
Floods caused by days of heavy rain have caused the collapse of some 3,000 houses and left up to 20,000 people homeless in the capital of the Central African Republic, a local Red Cross official told state radio. (AFP)
Whether the storm was over land, ocean or coastal areas, clouds with more ice produced more lightning, finds new research. (Associated Press)
New research funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation shows that major volcanic eruptions far north of the equator affect the world's climate much differently than volcanoes in the tropics. (Terra Daily)
Although most scientists today recognize the Earth's temperature is warming, disputes over the issue of global warming may have been caused in part by the placement of sensors on weather balloons when studies were done in the 1970s, researchers say. (Reuters)
The Greenland glacier Kangerdlugssuaq has unexpectedly picked up speed and become one the world's fastest moving glaciers because of global warming, the environmental organization Greenpeace says. (AFP)
Summers in European cities have grown up to 2.2 degrees Celsius (4.0 degrees Fahrenheit) hotter since the 1970s and global warming may cause ever more sweltering temperatures, the WWF conservation group says. (Reuters)
Our Sun was already shining brightly more than 4.5 billion years ago, as dust and gas was swirling into what would become the planets of the solar system, U.S. researchers report. (Reuters)
A thick haze, created from burning by farmers, plantation owners, loggers and miners to clear land, is creating especially unhealthy conditions in Malaysia, where asthma attacks have soared, tourists are holing up in their hotels, and some schools, ports and airports have closed. (Reuters)
Fires which have ravaged thousands of acres of forests in a national park in southern Spain are under control but have left an ecological disaster behind them, according to the park's head. (AFP)
Satellite images show Portuguese authorities have seriously underestimated the damage from wildfires that have ravaged the drought-stricken country, a report from the European Union's executive commission says. (AFP)
Firefighters battled a wildfire that has devoured more than 41,000 acres of forest and ranch land and destroyed 35 homes in the state of Washington, officials say. (AFP)
Forest tent caterpillars have munched through thousands of acres of trees this year, but state officials don't expect the state's sugar maples to suffer any long term damage. (Associated Press)
A volcano on Australia's remote, tiny and uninhabited McDonald Island in the Southern Ocean is erupting for the first time since 2001, when lava flows had doubled its size, the government announces. (AFP)
Emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide from U.S. cars and trucks soared 25 percent between 1990 and 2003 as more vehicles hit the roads and consumers flocked to gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles, a U.S. environmental group says. (Reuters)
Lakes and waterways in North America, especially in eastern Canada, are struggling to recover from the effects of acid rain, despite reduced emissions of the pollutants that cause it; but without further cuts, it could be millennia before the worst-affected sites recover, say environmentalists. (Nature)
Northern Illinois University and the University of Nebraska in Lincoln will share a $13 million grant from the National Science Foundation for ongoing Antarctic research on global warming. (Chicago Sun-Times)
As temperatures soared and New York City broke records for electricity use at the end of July, landscapers were installing a "green" roof at Silvercup Studios, hoping to use data collected from it to convince commercial property owners and developers that not only are green roofs good for the environment, they can benefit the bottom line. (The New York Times)
Britain records its hottest day ever as the temperature soars to 38.1 degrees Celsius (100.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in Gravesend, Kent, beating the previous record of 37.1 degrees Celsius (98.8 degrees Fahrenheit), set in Cheltenham in 1990. (BBC)
Common species of blackberries, goats and red ants are endangering the survival of far rarer flora and fauna native to the Galapagos Islands. (NPR)
Scientists beware: don't count your extinct bird species - because one of them may hatch - but there's still no hope for some, such as the famed dodo of Mauritius, a large flightless bird that died out long ago because of human activities such as overhunting, says the WWF. (Reuters)
Two new species of lemur have been found in Madagascar, bringing the number of known species to 49. (BBC)
America's national forests are becoming islands of green that are increasingly trapped by an expanding sea of new houses, according to a new study. (LiveScience.com)
Firefighters in Portugal said the arrival of cooler, damper weather had helped them bring a wildfire which ravaged the nation's largest protected area for over 36 hours under control. (AFP)
A fire which has laid waste to some 7,400 acres of vegetation in the southern Spanish region of Jaen remains out of control, two days after breaking out, local government sources says. (AFP)
Tropical depression Irene was getting better organized in the central Atlantic, forecasters said, but still posed no threat to land. (Associated Press)
Flood waters in the western Indian state of Maharashtra including India's commercial capital Mumbai have receded, allowing life to slowly return to normal, state officials say. (AFP)
Extensive shoreline water testing resulted in 20,000 days of beach closings in 2004. (Christian Science Monitor)
Newfoundland and Labrador has narrowed its search for proposals to build a massive hydroelectric project that could supply electricity to up to 2 million homes. (Reuters)
Malaysians have been advised to wear masks outdoors to protect themselves from thick haze blanketing several cities including the capital Kuala Lumpur, reports says. (AFP)
A tropical storm that killed 13 people in eastern China churned toward the capital, where authorities prepared to evacuate tens of thousands of residents in outlying areas prone to landslides. (Associated Press)
The Pacific Ocean off of Oregon has experienced a die-off of birds, declining fisheries and wildly fluctuating conditions in the past few months, and has set the stage for another hypoxic "dead zone" like those of 2002 and 2004, according to experts at Oregon State University. (Oregon News Online)
Southwest Alaska's sea otters, which came back from the brink of extinction in the 1800s, are facing another dramatic decline and could be named a "threatened" species. (Associated Press)
Planting trees and bushy plants between buildings and the ocean helped to lessen the impact of the waves when the December 26 killer tsunami struck in the Maldives Islands, University of Hawaii researchers say. (Associated Press)
Researchers are using a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation in an effort to learn why sudden, dramatic changes occur in the intensity of hurricanes, focusing on how the interaction between a storm's outer rain bands and its inner eye can influence abrupt fluctuations in its strength. (Associated Press)
For the past 20 years climatologists have been working in Alaska studying climate change and now they have discovered a rich new source of records extending their knowledge back by decades through the oral history of native Alaskans. (BBC)
Several forest fires were raging out of control in Spain, the day after two firefighters were killed battling blazes in the center and northwest of the country, which is experiencing both very hot weather and its worst drought in 60 years. (AFP)
Two new fires were spreading in southeastern France, while a blaze that began earlier near the southern city of Aix-en-Provence was in check but not yet under control, firefighting officials say. (AFP)
Taiwan's state power company is planning ambitious wind-generated electricity projects estimated to cost at least 120 billion Taiwan dollars ($3.76 billion U.S.) as oil prices hit record levels, an official says. (AFP)
The ninth named storm of the busy Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Irene, formed but posed no immediate threat to land, forecasters say. (Associated Press)
Aircraft could reduce their impact on global warming just by making small changes in altitude, as the streams of water vapor and ice particles that form behind them, called contrails, are known to create cirrus clouds that warm the planet. (New Scientist)
More than 1.2 million people have been evacuated as Typhoon Matsa pounded the coast of eastern China, causing widespread flooding. (AFP)
Taiwan lifted sea alerts around its coast after Typhoon Matsa churned toward mainland China, but the storm caused considerable damage to agriculture and infrastructure, the government says. (Associated Press)
The Khor al-Beidah lagoon is a pristine tidal flat teeming with wildlife, including endangered birds, sea turtles and manatee-like dugong that swim among its tangles of mangroves; but the area is about to be overtaken with luxury homes, shops, marinas and beach resorts aimed at foreign buyers and tourists. (Associated Press)
Canada and the United States announced a deal that could end years of bickering over plans to drain a North Dakota lake into rivers that end up in Canada, saying there would be safeguards to prevent pollution and minimize risk from "nuisance species" of fish. (Reuters)
A U.S. chemist is trying to determine how the world will produce enough energy to supply 9 billion people by mid-century -- and whether that can be done without pumping off-the-charts amounts of carbon dioxide into the air. (Associated Press)
Firefighters in Portugal, Spain and France battled forest and brush fires as scorching temperatures punished the region hit by its worst drought in six decades. (AFP)
An estimated one in four whales are spotted by aerial surveys, leaving the rest vulnerable to ship strikes or fishing gear entanglements, but scientists say an underwater listening system they're developing will dramatically improve detection and reduce whale deaths. (Associated Press)
A green sea turtle dug out of a nest in the sands of a Virginia resort beach left 124 eggs -- the first documented case of the protected turtle laying its eggs in the state. (Associated Press)
A Reno, Nevada scientist is among a team of researchers who will spend the next several weeks studying the icy Arctic Ocean to document historic climate changes. (Associated Press)
Portugal called in the army to help hundreds of stretched firefighters battle 22 major blazes which raged across the parched country amidst forecasts that temperatures will remain over 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) over the coming days. (AFP)
Indian Ocean nations agreed to share real-time seismic data, despite some security sensitivities, and to set up seven regional tsunami warning centers instead of one. (Reuters)
An Indian task force said that the country's tigers were under siege from poachers and people living in protected reserves, and called for thousands of villagers to be relocated to save the endangered big cat. (Reuters)
Villages in western and southern India were evacuated with at least 222,000 people moving to higher ground as waters released from near-bursting dams flooded vast rural tracts, officials say. (AFP)
Authorities in flood-hit western India stepped up rescue and relief operations as thousands of people were evacuated from low-lying areas because of threats from overflowing dams. (AFP)
Endangered turtles have disappeared from Malaysia's famous nesting beaches this year, with just one landing recorded compared to the thousands that used to lay eggs there, experts say. (AFP)
The Zino's Petrel, a rare seabird found only on the highest peaks of Portugal's Madeira Island in the Atlantic, has moved slightly away from extinction, a government official says. (AFP)
In a sort of ecological trade-off, conservationists headed into the Arkansas woods to kill dozens of trees in hopes of helping the ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird that up until recently was feared extinct. (Associated Press)
The annual arrival of millions of Monarch butterflies from the forests of eastern Canada to the central Mexican mountains for the winter is an aesthetic and scientific wonder, and a crew of two plans to accompany the butterflies on their 3,415 mile-journey while riding in an oversized hang-glider to raise awareness to conserve the butterfly's habitats. (Associated Press)
The mountain views along Red Stone Road suggest early autumn, with splashes of red, orange and rusty brown dotting the green hillsides above the homes and condominiums of a Colorado resort town; but this is summer and the colors represent dead pine needles on hundreds of pine trees that have been killed by beetles. (Associated Press)
The ice cap on Germany's highest mountain peak, the Zugspitze, will have melted away within two decades due to global warning, Bavaria's state environment minister says. (AFP)
Scotland's temperature has risen half way towards the limit forecasted by scientists, says WWF Scotland. (BBC)
Michelangelo's peak, a mountain in the Apuan Alps where the Tuscan artist discovered some of the world's most prized marble, could disappear soon, environmentalists and art historians warn. (Discovery.com)
Taiwan have battened down for the approach of Typhoon Matsa with hundreds of villagers evacuated, as meteorologists say it could hit the north of the island and unleash torrential rain and strong winds. (AFP)
Last year's Hurricane Ivan generated an ocean wave that towered higher than 90 feet at one point, says a study that also suggests such giants may be more common than once thought. (Associated Press)
Tropical Storm Harvey gained strength as it moved away from Bermuda after it soaked the mid-Atlantic British colony but caused little disruption. (Reuters)
When lightning strikes an airliner in the sky there is little risk, although the lights might fail; but if it strikes immediately after landing the brakes may fail, an expert says in light of the Airbus crash in Toronto in a storm. (AFP)
The Moon's soil is impregnated with nitrogen that came from Earth's atmosphere, according to Japanese scientists. (AFP)
The collapse of a huge ice shelf in Antarctica in 2002 has no precedent in the past 11,000 years, according to a study to be published that points the finger at global warming. (AFP)
Four U.S. senators plan a trip to Alaska in two weeks to view melting permafrost, retreating glaciers and other consequences of global climate change. (Associated Press)
After a fresh analysis, scientists today warned again that global warming is threatening the stability of fragile glacier systems in the Antarctic and could lead to sea level increases worldwide. (LiveScience.com)
University of California-Berkeley research suggests that it may be possible to literally take the wind out of hurricanes by simply pouring something like soapy water on the seas in front of an approaching storm. (ABC)
India was chosen to chair an international group tasked with implementing an early warning system for Indian Ocean countries after the December tsunamis killed more than 200,000 people. (AFP)
Geologists are drilling a borehole into the San Andreas Fault to better understand the physics of earthquakes that have hit a seismically active section of the fault for the first time. (Associated Press)
The alpha female at the head of the Geode Creek wolf pack in Yellowstone National Park has disappeared, and biologists think the rest of the pack may have been killed or dispersed. (Associated Press)
A top federal wildlife official says the pelican mystery at the Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge in North Dakota may be a natural correction. (Associated Press)
The snakehead fish, a voracious predator from Asia, has taken up residence in a lake in New York, and experts are mulling options, including salt and poison, to evict it. (Reuters)
A colorful summer marine phytoplankton bloom fills much of the Baltic Sea, European satellite imagery shows. (Science Daily)
With seven storms, including two hurricanes, already recorded -- a record for this early in the year -- National Weather Service Director David L. Johnson says there could be 11 to 14 more tropical storms, including seven to nine more hurricanes, by the end of November. (Associated Press)
Recordings of the ivory-billed woodpecker's distinctive double-rap sounds have convinced doubting researchers that the large bird once thought extinct is still living in an east Arkansas swamp. (Associated Press)
State Forestry is attempting to help an endangered plant that grows only in the Holy Ghost Canyon of the upper Pecos watershed by trying to grow it in two other areas. (Associated Press)
Northern Arizona University (NAU), along with Duke, Penn State, and Michigan State, will create the National Institute for Climatic Change Research to support research by academic scientists studying the effects of climate change on ecosystems and the atmosphere. (Arizona Daily Sun)
Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur was blanketed in a choking haze after smoke from over 500 fires in Indonesia made its way over to the country. (AFP)
Bombay restored train and telephone service, while cranes and bulldozers cleared landslide-hit areas in the outlying regions of India's financial capital after a week of torrential rains. (Associated Press)
All of mainland Portugal will face a high risk of wildfires due to a forecast rise in temperatures and expected low humidity levels, the agriculture ministry warns. (AFP)
A new study of 60 beaches in Southern California concludes that water pollution varies with the lunar cycle, reaching the highest levels when tides are ebbing during the New and Full Moon. (LiveScience.com)
The environmental group Greenpeace has boarded three shrimp trawlers in the northwest Atlantic to investigate the environmental damage done by bottom trawling, a Greenpeace spokesperson says. (AFP)
By using the latest techniques, government officials hope to discover new pools of oil and gas hidden miles under the ocean floor, but environmentalists fear the process - which involves blasting the ocean floor with sound waves - could threaten marine life. (Christian Science Monitor)
Marine biologists are seeing mysterious and disturbing things along the Pacific Coast this year: higher water temperatures, plummeting catches of fish, lots of dead birds on the beaches, and perhaps most worrisome, very little plankton -- the tiny organisms that are a vital link in the ocean food chain. (Associated Press)
The dead zone off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas is nearly the size of Connecticut and much larger than federal researchers had predicted earlier this year, according to a new survey. (Associated Press)
Beneath its ice, the Arctic Ocean is teeming with life, says a team of international scientists that just completed a 30-day expedition to the northern ocean. (Associated Press)
Two University of Maine scientists studying the effects of climate change in the Arctic have discovered that two glaciers in Greenland are moving at a not-so-glacial pace. (Associated Press)
A species of beetle never before seen in North America has been discovered in a Massachusetts forest, but the Asian insect does not appear to pose an ecological threat, experts say. (Associated Press)
Bug scientists in seven states will unleash swarms of hungry Asian beetles on a stubborn tree species that is choking life out of the West's waterways. (USA Today)
The loss of once-plentiful wolves in a part of Canada's west allowed the elk population to mushroom, pushing out beavers and songbirds and showing the importance of top predators, Canadian researchers say. (Reuters)
Workers pushed on with a massive clean-up in India's financial hub Mumbai after torrential monsoon rain eased for the first time in a week, but high waters forced thousands to leave home and weather damage was put at around $888 million. (AFP)
A Slovakian forest fire that broke out over the weekend in the northern High Tatras mountains, the worst blaze in 60 years, has not yet been brought completely under control, a fire official says. (AFP)
2.3 billion years ago, bacteria suddenly developed the ability to break down water and release oxygen, destroying methane in the atmosphere, which had acted as a blanket to keep the planet warm, a new study finds. (LiveScience.com)