emissions
Air/Climate

Flashpoint Issue 2015: Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline

WASHINGTON, DC, December 29, 2014 (ENS) – A renewed battle over the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline is shaping up for the new year. The Republicans, who favor the Alberta-Gulf Coast pipeline for jobs and energy security, will have a majority in both houses of Congress. Environmentalists say stopping the pipeline is key to fighting climate change. […]

Huddart
At Risk

Ebola Takes No Holiday

MONROVIA, Liberia, December 24, 2014 (ENS) – Christmas will be “like any other working day” for UN humanitarian worker Chris Huddart, who, like thousands across West Africa, is spending the holiday responding to the Ebola outbreak. […]

gas well
AmeriScan

AmeriScan: December 22, 2014

XTO Energy Must Restore Areas Damaged by Fracking … Savannah River Site Nuclear Waste Tanks to Be Closed … Kentucky Approves Big Solar Project … Protections Reinstated for Western Great Lakes Gray Wolves … Wind Farms Utility Sentenced for Golden Eagle Deaths … Corals Show Link Between Pacific Winds, Global Climate […]

Bucharest
Latest News

EU Traffic Noise Causes 10,000 Premature Deaths a Year

COPENHAGEN, Denmark, December 19, 2014 (ENS) – More than 125 million Europeans could be exposed to levels of road traffic noise above legal guidelines, causing up to 10,000 premature deaths each year, finds a new assessment published today by the European Environment Agency. […]

demo
Energy

New York State to Ban Fracking: ‘Reckless to Proceed’

ALBANY, New York, December 18, 2014 (ENS) – As of early next year, New York State will be permanently off-limits to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for oil and gas. The decision follows the release Wednesday of a long-awaited Department of Health report that details adverse health and environmental effects from exposure to the process. […]

Bristol Bay
Energy

Obama Bars Oil Industry From Alaska’s Bristol Bay

WASHINGTON, DC, December 16, 2014 (ENS) – President Barack Obama today designated the waters of Bristol Bay as off limits to oil and gas leasing for exploration, development or production. This action safeguards one of the nation’s most productive fisheries and preserves an ecologically rich area of the Bering Sea that is vital to the commercial fishing and tourism economy and to Alaska Native communities. […]

creek
AmeriScan

AmeriScan: December 13, 2014

California Breathes Rainsoaked Sigh of Relief … Copper Mine at Apache Leap Passes Congress … Feds Formalize Nuclear Energy Tribal Working Group … Red Knot Shorebird Listed as Threatened … Historic Critical Habitat Planned for Alaska’s Ringed Seals … Anti-Fracking Groups Denounce Lift of Maryland Ban … … Chesapeake Bay Streams Heating Up […]

marchers
Air/Climate

Crunch Time at UN Climate Talks; 20,000 March for Justice

LIMA, Peru, December 11, 2014 (ENS) – Urging “Climate Justice Now!” an estimated 20,000 people took over the streets of Lima Wednesday for the People’s Climate March. Their goal – to inject a sense of urgency into slow-moving government negotiations on a new universal, legally-binding climate change agreement to take effect in 2020. […]

Scott Base
Latest News

Sunscreens, Cosmetics Found in Antarctic Waters

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, December 10, 2014 (ENS) – Polluting chemicals found in personal care products such as cosmetics, soaps and sunscreens has been discovered in waters off Antarctica at the same levels as many urban areas, according to new research from New Zealand. […]

Shanghai
Air/Climate

World’s Mayors Adopt New Tool to Calculate Climate Emissions

LIMA, Peru, December 9, 2014 (ENS) – The first global standard to measure greenhouse gas emissions from cities was launched Monday in tandem with the ongoing UN climate summit in Lima. Now cities can develop an emissions baseline, set mitigation goals, create more targeted climate action plans and track their progress over time. […]

typhoon
At Risk

Manila Braces for Super Typhoon, One Million Evacuate

MANILA, Philippines, December 7, 2014 (ENS) – Super Typhoon Hagupit, known locally as Ruby, is expected to hit Metro Manila starting Monday evening.
Packing sustained winds of more than 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph), equal to a Category 3 hurricane, Rudy is forecast to peak in the nation’s capital at around 8 to 10 pm, according to PAGASA, the Philippine national weather agency. […]

crop
Food

EU Countries Granted the Right to Ban GMO Crops

BRUSSELS, Belgium, December 4, 2014 (ENS) – A political agreement on new legislation to allow EU member states to restrict, or ban, the cultivation of crops containing genetically modified organisms, GMOs, on their own territory, even if it is allowed at EU level, was reached by Parliament and Council delegations last night. […]

storm
Air/Climate

2014 Likely ‘Hottest’ Year on Record, Ocean Temps Spike

LIMA, Peru, December 3, 2014 (ENS) – The year 2014 is likely to go down in the record books as one of the hottest years in modern history, according to estimates released today by the World Meteorological Organization. This is due to record high global sea surface temperatures, which the WMO expects to remain above normal until the end of the year. […]

coating process
Latest News

Daimler Cylinder Coating Saves Fuel, Cuts CO2 Emissions

LYON, France, December 3, 2014 (ENS) – Daimler’s new twin wire arc spraying process that reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from combustion engines, has captured another award. On Monday night, the German automaker won the top spot for process innovation in the 2014-15 European Business Awards for the Environment. […]

sawdust
Latest News

Belgian Scientists Turn Sawdust Into ‘Green Hydrocarbons’

LEUVEN, Belgium, December 1, 2014 (ENS) – Belgian researchers have found a way to convert ordinary sawdust into building blocks for gasoline. Using a new chemical process, scientists led by a team at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven’s Centre for Surface Chemistry and Catalysis were able to convert the cellulose in sawdust into hydrocarbon chains. […]