Air/Climate
Earth Heating Up: 2014 Warmest Year in Modern Record
NEW YORK, New York, January 18, 2015 (ENS) – The year 2014 ranks as Earth’s warmest since record keeping began in 1880, according to two separate analyses by scientists […]
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At Risk
Earth’s ‘Planetary Boundaries’ Disrupted by Human Activities
WASHINGTON, DC, January 16, 2015 (ENS) – Human activities have “dangerously compromised” four of the nine processes that are crucial to maintaining the stability of the planet, warns an international team of researchers. […]
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Local Motors Prints Driveable 3D Car at Detroit Auto Show
DETROIT, Michigan, January 15, 2015 (ENS) – Local Motors showed off its three-dimensional printed car, a world’s first, by live-printing one on the show floor at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. […]
Health
Scientists Aim to Boost City Residents’ Immune Systems
HELSINKI, Finland, January 15, 2015 (ENS) – Allergies and numerous autoimmune diseases, such as asthma and type 1 diabetes, have become more common in the past 50 years, especially in urban environments. Now a new research team is working to help the human immune system function better in cities. […]
Food
Brazilian Lab Turns Fruits, Veggies Into Edible Plastic
BRASILIA, Brazil, January 14, 2015 (ENS) – Imagine putting a pizza in the oven without having to remove the plastic casing that protects the pizza from contamination. The plastic film consists of tomatoes and, when heated, it will become part of the pizza. […]
Air/Climate
Obama’s Proposed Methane Emissions Cuts Ignore Existing Sources
WASHINGTON, DC, January 14, 2015 (ENS) – The Obama Administration today announced a new goal to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40 to 45 percent from 2012 levels by 2025, and a set of actions to put the United States on a path to achieve this goal. […]
Business
Retail Investors Snap Up World Bank Green Growth Bonds
WASHINGTON, DC, January 14, 2015 (ENS) – The first equity index-linked World Bank Green Bond available to retail investors just closed, and it was a big hit, raising more than US$91 million to support environmental solutions, the bank has announced. […]
Food
European Parliament Backs GMO Choice for Member States
STRASBOURG, France, January 13, 2015 (ENS) – New legislation to allow member states of the European Union to restrict or ban the cultivation of crops containing genetically modified organisms on their own territory, even if this is allowed at the EU level, was passed by the European Parliament on Tuesday. […]
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Chevrolet Reveals Sleek Bolt EV Concept With 200 Mile Range
DETROIT, Michigan, January 14, 2015 (ENS) – Chevrolet unveiled the Bolt EV concept – a bright orange car that embodies the company’s vision for an affordable, long-range, all-electric vehicle – Monday at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. […]
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U.S. to Ban Foreign Fish Caught By Killing Whales, Dolphins
NEW YORK, New York, January 9, 2015 (ENS) – In a landmark settlement with three environmental groups, the U.S. government has agreed to adopt new rules that ensure seafood imported into the United States meets high standards for protecting whales and dolphins. […]
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Baltimore Harbor, Patapsco River Must Be Cleared of Trash
BALTIMORE, Maryland, January 9, 2015 (ENS) – The trashy litter in Baltimore area streams and the city’s harbor must be removed under new pollution limits set by federal and state regulators, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Tuesday. […]
Gov/Politics
Environmental Champion Senator Barbara Boxer Bows Out
WASHINGTON, DC, January 9, 2015 (ENS) – Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, said Thursday that she will not seek reelection after her fourth term in the U.S. Senate concludes in 2016. […]
Energy
Nebraska Court Upholds Keystone XL Pipeline Route
LINCOLN, Nebraska, January 9, 2015 (ENS) – TransCanada’s proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline now has a legal route through Nebraska that would take the controversial pipeline through the sensitive Sand Hills region and across the Ogallala aquifer. […]
Air/Climate
China, Russia, US, Middle East Urged: Leave Fuels Underground
LONDON, UK, January 9, 2015 (ENS) – A third of the world’s oil reserves, half of gas reserves and over 80 percent of all coal reserves should remain in the ground and not be burned before 2050 if global warming is to stay below the 2°C target agreed by world governments, finds new research by the University College London’s Institute for Sustainable Resources. […]
Business
U.S. Congress Blocks World Bank Move to Slash Safeguards
WASHINGTON, DC, January 8, 2015 (ENS) – Environmental and social justice groups in the United States and around the world are applauding a provision of the 2015 Omnibus Appropriations Act, passed by the U.S. Congress just before the Christmas recess. It requires the U.S. Treasury Department to oppose any World Bank policy that provides less protection for the environment or for human rights than the bank’s current safeguards. […]
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Toyota Opens Hydrogen Fuel Cell Patents Royalty Free
LAS VEGAS, Nevada, January 6, 2015 (ENS) – Toyota is “opening the door to the hydrogen future,” offering to share nearly 6,000 hydrogen fuel cell patents with other automakers – royalty free. Bob Carter, senior vice president of Automotive Operations at Toyota Motor Sales, USA Inc. announced the offer Monday at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. […]
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From Finland: Green Winter Tires for Electric Cars
NOKIA, Finland, January 5, 2015 (ENS) – A winter tire designed for BMW’s i3 electric car goes on sale this month, designed and manufactured by Finnish tiremaker Nokian. Known for its winter tires, Nokian operates the world’s only permanent winter tire testing facility. […]
At Risk
Ship Collision Spills Tonnes of Oil in Singapore Strait
SINGAPORE, January 3, 2015 (ENS) – A collision Friday between an oil tanker and a bulk carrier at the eastern end of the Strait of Singapore, where it meets the South China Sea, has spilled thousands of tons of crude oil, threatening white sand beaches and endangered sea turtles in Indonesia. […]
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Single Hull Oil Tankers Barred From U.S. Waters
WASHINGTON, DC, January 2, 2015 (ENS) – As of January 1, 2015 single-hull oil tankers are no longer allowed in U.S. waters. The single-hull tankers are forbidden under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, passed after the disastrous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. […]
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. […]