typhoon
At Risk

Asian Storms Leave Hundreds Dead, Millions Displaced

BEIJING, China, August 13, 2012 (ENS) – Three typhoons that hit China in the past two weeks have caused 51 deaths. In Bangladesh, flash floods have killed 130, in India more than 100 people have died, while in the Philippines rain and floods have claimed 92 lives in Metro Manila. […]

Energy

U.S. Opens Alaska Reserve to Onshore, Offshore Drilling

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, August 13, 2012 (ENS) – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today proposed to allow oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, NPR-A. Salazar said the plan would protect caribou herds, bird habitat and subsistence hunting for Alaska Natives. […]

hydropower dam
Air/Climate

California Gathers Facts to Plan for a Hot, Dry Future

SACRAMENTO, California, August 10, 2012 (ENS) – California could lose up to 20 percent of its hydropower generation as climate change causes high-elevation reservoirs to shrink, finds a new report from the California Natural Resources Agency and the California Energy Commission. […]

carbon emissions
Air/Climate

Largest UK Firms Must Disclose CO2 Emissions

LONDON, UK, August 10, 2012 (ENS) – More than 1,100 public companies listed on the London Stock Exchange will have to report their greenhouse gas emissions from next April under plans announced at the Rio+20 Summit that are now moving forward. […]

cotton
Land Use/Forests

Maharashtra State Revokes Monsanto’s Cotton Seed License

NEW DELHI, India, August 9, 2012 (ENS) – This was a difficult day for the proponents of genetically modified crops in India. In Parliament, the Agriculture Committee tabled a report seeking a ban on genetically modified food crops. And the state of Maharashtra cancelled Mahyco Monsanto Biotech’s license to sell its genetically modified Bt cotton seeds. […]

Hiroshima
At Risk

Nuclear Weapons: Earth’s Greatest Environmental Threat

HIROSHIMA, Japan, August 7, 2012 (ENS) – Japan held a solemn ceremony Monday to mark the 67th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bomb attack. About 50,000 people gathered in Hiroshima’s peace park near the center of the American bomb blast that destroyed much of the city and killed about 140,000 people. […]

dispersant
Energy

Groups Seeking Oil Spill Dispersant Rule Sue EPA

WASHINGTON, DC, August 7, 2012 (ENS) – A coalition of conservation, wildlife and public health groups in the Gulf of Mexico region and in Alaska filed a Clean Water Act lawsuit Monday to compel the U.S. EPA to issue a rule on oil dispersant chemicals. […]

Indian Point
Energy

U.S. Freezes All Nuclear Power Plant Licensing Decisions

WASHINGTON, DC, August 7, 2012 (ENS) – Federal nuclear regulators today froze at least 19 final reactor licensing decisions in response to a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit that spent nuclear fuel stored on-site at nuclear power plants “poses a dangerous, long-term health and environmental risk.” […]

Typhoons Damrey and Saola
At Risk

China Braces for Record Third Typhoon in a Week

BEIJING, China, August 7, 2012 (ENS) – China is facing its third typhoon in a single week, as Haikui strengthened into a typhoon on Monday. “Within seven days our nation may be hit successively by three typhoons, the first time such circumstances have arisen since records have been taken,” said Minister of Water Resources Chen Lei. […]

seals
At Risk

Bird Flu Jumps to Seals, Humans Could Be Next

NEW YORK, New York, August 6, 2012 (ENS) – A bird flu virus known for 10 years has now infected aquatic mammals, and the scientists who discovered the source of the infection are warning that the virus could become a public health threat. […]