RSS
France Looks to ‘Clean Cars’ for Auto Industry Rescue
PARIS, France, August 15, 2012 (ENS) – The Hollande Government has proposed an auto industry revival package that focuses on producing environmentally-friendly vehicles. […]
Latest News
Air/Climate
Republicans, Democrats Join to Protect Lake Tahoe
STATELINE, Nevada, August 14, 2012 (ENS) – Clarity in Lake Tahoe has stabilized after the years of cloudiness that threatened the lake’s attractiveness to millions of visitors from around the world, politicians and business people heard Monday at the annual Lake Tahoe Summit, but new threats abound. […]
Food
Fins of Endangered Sharks Found in U.S. Soup Bowls
WASHINGTON, DC, August 14, 2012 (ENS) – Genetic testing of shark fin soup from cities across the United States found DNA from eight endangered and threatened shark species, in the first nationwide scientific analysis of shark fin soup. […]
Latest News
Hong Kong Probes Liability for Plastic Pellet Spill
HONG KONG, China, August 14, 2012 (ENS) – Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying says he supports the investigation into who is responsible for the plastic pellet spill, in which around 150 tonnes of plastic were dumped into the sea. […]
Latest News
Ontario Entices EV Buyers With Charging Stations
TORONTO, Ontario, Canada, August 14, 2012 (ENS) – The Ontario government is investing C$80 million to jump-start the widespread availability of electric car charging stations to make EVs more attractive to potential buyers. […]
Latest News
UN Chief Seeks to Strengthen Law of the Sea Treaty
YEOSU, South Korea, August 13, 2012 (ENS) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Sunday introduced the Oceans Compact, a new initiative to support and strengthen implementation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. […]
Oceans
Thousands of Dead Fish Wash Up on Galveston Island
GALVESTON, Texas, August 13, 2012 (ENS) – Thousands of dead fish that washed ashore on Galveston Island over the weekend were killed by a toxic algal bloom, state officials […]
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. […]
At Risk
Iran Rocked by Two Deadly Earthquakes
TEHRAN, Iran, August 12, 2012 (ENS) – Two severe earthquakes of magnitudes over 6.0 devastated villages in northwestern Iran on Saturday, killing at least 300 people and injuring 2,000 others. […]
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. […]
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. […]
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. […]
Energy
Obama Fast-Tracks Renewables on Military Bases, Public Lands
WASHINGTON, DC, August 8, 2012 (ENS) – The Obama Administration is moving quickly to harness solar, wind, geothermal and biomass energy resources on or near military bases across the United States and on public lands. […]
Latest News
Typhoon Dumps Tons of Plastic Pellets on Hong Kong Beaches
HONG KONG, China, August 8, 2012 (ENS) – Containers full of plastic pellets swept from a ship during Typhoon Vicente last month have broken open, scattering the pellets at sea and on at least 10 Hong Kong beaches. […]
Air/Climate
Drought Prompts Attack on U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard
WASHINGTON, DC, August 8, 2012 (ENS) – Eight U.S. biofuel industry organizations have formed a new coalition to defend the nation’s Renewable Fuel Standard and to advocate for domestic production of advanced biofuels. […]
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. […]
RSS
Cheaper, Lighter Electric Vehicle Batteries in the Works
WASHINGTON, DC, August 7, 2012 (ENS) – Nine experimental electric vehicle battery projects have been chosen for investment by the U.S. Department of Energy through its Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy […]
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. […]
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.” […]