trees
Air/Climate

Earth’s Green Cover Increasing Despite Deforestation

SYDNEY, Australia, March 31, 2015 (ENS) – China’s large-scale tree planting efforts and increasing rainfall on three continents have contributed to an increase in the total amount of vegetation on Earth over the past decade – reversing previous global forest loss, an international team of scientists reports. […]

candles
Air/Climate

Earth Hour Lights Out Inspires Climate Action

SINGAPORE, March 27, 2015 (ENS) – Bearing the message “use your power to change climate change” WWF’s Earth Hour is motivating people to turn out their lights for one hour across 24 time zones and six continents on Saturday, March 28. […]

lion
Latest News

Australia Bans Lion Hunting Trophy Imports

CANBERRA, Australia, March 27, 2015 (ENS) – The Australian Government is taking action to protect African lions from what Environment Minister Greg Hunt called “the barbaric practice of canned hunting” by banning the import and export of trophies made from lions. […]

vaccination
At Risk

Two Ebola Vaccines Test Safe in Liberia

BETHESDA, Maryland, March 26, 2015 (ENS) – Two experimental Ebola vaccines appear to be safe based on their evaluation in more than 600 volunteers who participated in the first stage of the Partnership for Research on Ebola Vaccines in Liberia (PREVAIL) Phase 2/3 clinical trial. […]

Guinean women
At Risk

First Ebola Vaccine Test Starts in Guinea

CONAKRY, Guinea, March 25, 2015 (ENS) – One year after the current outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa that has claimed more than 10,000 lives, the Guinean government with the World Health Organization this week began the first trial of an Ebola vaccine in an affected community. […]

planting tree
Land Use/Forests

Global Forest Restoration Goal Grows

BONN, Germany, March 23, 2015 (ENS) – New forest restoration initiatives were announced by Latin America, Southeast Asia and Africa at the second international Bonn Challenge conference on forest landscape restoration taking place in Germany on the weekend. […]

Congress
Air/Climate

Obama Vows to Cut Federal Greenhouse Gases 40 Percent

WASHINGTON, DC, March 20, 2015 (ENS) – President Barack Obama is using his executive authority to control the climate-warming greenhouse gases emitted by operations of the federal government. His climate-saving actions have inspired a host of private sector government suppliers to follow suit. […]

9/11
Latest News

U.S. EPA Forced to Review Toxic Dust Limits

WASHINGTON, DC, March 18, 2015 (ENS) – A chemist with the U.S. EPA who protested for years that the agency’s toxic dust standard is scientifically inaccurate and jeopardized the lives of 9/11 first responders, has won a lawsuit that will force the agency to consider tightening its limits on corrosive dust. […]

family
At Risk

Disaster Risk Reduction Meeting Jolted by Cyclone Pam

SENDAI, Japan, March 17, 2015 (ENS) – Cyclone Pam devastated the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu just as UN officials and insurers gathered in Japan this week for a long-planned conference on disaster risk reduction. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told delegates that the cyclone “tragically underscored” the importance of global efforts on disaster risk reduction. […]

hummingbird
Latest News

Pollinating Birds, Mammals Falling Victim to Extinction

GLAND, Switzerland, March 13, 2015 (ENS) – It’s not just bees, the world is losing its pollinating birds and mammals, new research shows. More pollinating bird and mammal species are moving towards extinction than away from it, finds the first global assessment of trends in pollinators. […]

elephants
Latest News

Malawi Could Be Next to Torch Ivory Stockpile

LILONGWE, Malawi, March 12, 2015 (ENS) – Tens of thousands of elephants are killed each year by wildlife criminals for their ivory. Kenya commemorated World Wildlife Day by torching of 15 tonnes of ivory to destroy its economic value to poachers. Malawi could be next. […]

trucks
Latest News

U.S. Heavy Duty Trucks Could Cut Fuel Use 40 Percent: Study

WASHINGTON, DC, March 12, 2015 (ENS) – When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announce a new heavy-duty truck fuel efficiency standard this spring, they should require new trucks to reduce their fuel use by at least 40 percent, recommends a study by the nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists. […]