polar bear
Gov/Politics

Wildlife at the Mercy of International Trade Politics

ARLINGTON, Virginia, February 27, 2013 (ENS) – In a rare reversal of diplomatic relations, the U.S. government has aligned with China on a proposal to ban international trade in rare turtles and against Canada on the polar bear trade. Next week, the proposals go before wildlife officials from 178 countries for a vote. […]

Kulluk
Energy

Shell Oil Cancels Offshore Alaska Drilling for 2013

THE HAGUE, The Netherlands, February 27, 2013 (ENS) – After its troubled attempt to open an oil frontier off Alaska’s north shore last year, Royal Dutch Shell today said it will not drill in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas in 2013. Shell intends to “pause” to prepare equipment and resume exploratory drilling “at a later stage.” […]

BPA-free bottle
Latest News

Plastics Chemical Bisphenol A May Harm Brain Development

DURHAM, North Carolina, February 25, 2013 (ENS) – Environmental exposure to bisphenol A, a chemical found in plastics and resins, may suppress a gene vital to nerve cell function and to the development of the central nervous system, finds new research led by scientists at Duke Medicine. […]

UNEP reception
Food

Environment Ministers Feast on Wasted Food

NAIROBI, Kenya, February 25, 2013 (ENS) – Ministers and high-level officials from 193 countries dined on perfectly good food grown by Kenyan farmers but rejected by UK supermarkets for cosmetic imperfections at UN Environment Programme, UNEP, headquarters in Nairobi. […]

Sandy containers
Gov/Politics

Sequester Spending Cuts Will Hurt the Environment

WASHINGTON, DC, February 24, 2013 (ENS) – If Congress does not act this week, automatic federal spending cuts, called the sequester, will go into effect March 1 that will impact the environment. Funding for parks, energy development, travel, clean air and water, fish and wildlife protection, pollution prevention, and disaster readiness will be cut. […]

BP oil spill
At Risk

BP Escapes Penalty for Oil Recovered in Gulf Spill

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, February 21, 2013 (ENS) – A federal judge has agreed with British oil company BP that the 810,000 barrels of oil the company recovered from its 2010 spill site in the Gulf of Mexico should not be part of the court’s determination of Clean Water Act penalties. […]

Bow Kiso
At Risk

Chemical Tankers Collide in Gulf of Mexico

HOUSTON, Texas, February 21, 2013 (ENS) – An oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico was averted by the quick action of crew members aboard one of two inbound chemical tankers that collided on Wednesday, approximately 70 miles south of Galveston, Texas. The early morning collision caused some internal damage to one of the tankers. […]

illegal timber
Land Use/Forests

Interpol Arrests 194 in Illegal Logging Sting

LYON, France, February 20, 2013 (ENS) – Interpol’s first international operation against illegal logging and forest crimes has resulted in nearly 200 arrests and the seizure of millions of dollars’ worth of timber and some 150 vehicles across Latin America. […]

personal care products
At Risk

Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals Linked to Cancers: WHO/UNEP Report

GENEVA, Switzerland, February 19, 2013 (ENS) – Chemicals in household and industrial products that disrupt the human hormone system are linked to high global rates of breast, ovarian, prostate, testicular and thyroid cancers, warns a report released today by the UN Environment Programme and the World Health Organization. […]