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. […]

Curiosity rover
Latest News

Curiosity Lands on Mars Seeking Signs of Life

PASADENA, California, August 6, 2012 (ENS) – NASA’s Curiosity rover landed safely on Mars at 10:32 pm August 5, PDT, sparking joy and relief in hundreds of scientists with the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration who contributed to the mission. […]

Hispanic Vote sign
Energy

Poll: Latino Voters Favor Clean Energy Economy

WASHINGTON, DC, August 1, 2012 (ENS) – An overwhelming majority of Latino voters who responded to a new public opinion poll support clean energy, are very concerned about the public health effects of fossil fuel production and use, believe that global climate change is happening, and want to protect the nation’s public lands. […]

Enbridge pipeline
Energy

Enbridge Pipeline Spills Oil in Wisconsin

CHICAGO, Illinois, July 31, 2012 (ENS) – An oil spill from a broken Enbridge Energy pipeline in Wisconsin has been contained, the company says, but it could not have come at a worse time for the Canadian company, which is trying to get approval for new pipelines in Canada and the United States. […]

London Olympic Stadium
Business

London Olympics Clears Sustainability Hurdles

LONDON, UK, July 31, 2012 (ENS) – The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games has met the vast majority of its sustainability targets, says the United Nations official in charge of helping Olympic Games host cities produce events that protect the environment and make smart use of their resources. […]

oil spill
Energy

Tar Sands Protests Mark Kalamazoo Spill Anniversary

WASHINGTON, DC, July 26, 2012 (ENS) – People across the United States and Canada this week are marking the two-year anniversary of the Kalamazoo River tar sands oil spill with demonstrations, candlelight vigils and news conferences that all deliver a single message – a similar spill could happen anywhere. […]

cornfield
Air/Climate

Crop-Damaging Drought Will Raise Food Prices: USDA

WASHINGTON, DC, July 25, 2012 (ENS) – Retail food prices are predicted to rise as soon as this fall due to the high temperatures, low rainfall and 70-year record drought across the Midwest that have boosted commodity prices for corn, soybeans and other field crops, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today. […]

elephant ivory
Latest News

Legal International Elephant Ivory Trade Proposed

GENEVA, Switzerland, July 25, 2012 (ENS) – “We meet at a time when the illegal killing and illegal trade in African elephants and rhinoceros have reached the highest levels in over a decade,” John Scanlon told a gathering of those who govern international trade in protected wildlife on behalf of 175 governments. […]