Judy Pasternak | Grand Canyon National Park, AZ | May 4

LAT - Thanks to renewed interest in nuclear power, the United States is on the verge of a uranium mining boom, and nowhere is the hurry to stake claims more pronounced than in the districts flanking the Grand Canyon's storied sandstone cliffs.

On public lands within five miles of Grand Canyon National Park, there are now more than 1,100 uranium claims, compared with just 10 in January 2003, according to data from the Department of the Interior.

CBC/CP | May 3

CBC - An oil company has taken out full-page ads in some Canadian newspapers to apologize for the deaths of 500 ducks at an Alberta oilsands plant.

The open letter-style ads, which are signed by Syncrude Canada CEO Tom Katinas, appear in the Alberta editions of several newspapers.

Syncrude Canada owns the waste-filled tailings pond where the oil-coated ducks were found earlier this week. The pond is filled with waste from Syncrude's oilsands operation at the Aurora North Site mine, north of Fort McMurray.

Of the roughly 500 ducks that landed on the pond, only five were rescued. Company officials acknowledge more ducks landed on the pond but flew away.

Leonard Doyle | Washington | May 2

The Independent - Efforts to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale from being killed by ships are being blocked by Vice President Dick Cheney according to leaked documents.

A behind the scenes struggle is raging between the White House and US government scientists who want to force ships to slow down near the calving grounds of the almost extinct right whale.

Todd Pitman | Dakar, Senegal | May 2

AP - South Africa lifted a 13-year ban on killing elephants yesterday, a move conservationists warn could encourage poachers to slaughter the animals for ivory and threaten dwindling populations elsewhere on the continent.

Elephants - once on the verge of extinction in some parts of South Africa - are flourishing, with the population there growing more than 5 percent annually in recent years as a result of a well-managed national parks industry.

Richard Black | Oakland, CA | April 29

BBC - A judge has told the US government to decide within weeks whether to list polar bears as an endangered species.

The decision was hailed by conservation groups which have been hounding the government on the issue for years.

Dublin | April 28

AFP - Ireland, which has seen an immigration surge in recent years, has a new foreigner on its shores, scientists said Monday: the greater white-toothed shrew.

The mammal, Crocidura Russula, has been discovered in parts of the midlands and south-west of the republic. Its natural range is in parts of Africa, France and Germany.

Professor Ian Montgomery, head of the School of Biological Sciences at Queen's University in Belfast, says the animal is likely to have been introduced recently to Ireland and the discovery of a new mammal species in Ireland is extremely rare.

"Most species which occur in Ireland also occur in Britain but the nearest this species of shrew has been found is on the Channel Islands and the Scilly Isles."

Les Blumenthal | April 27

McClatchy - No one knows exactly why they started appearing in increasing numbers off Washington state and Oregon, or how many of them there are, but scientists and commercial fishermen believe jumbo squid, known to attack divers, could threaten the declining salmon population and signal another change brought on by global warming.

Seth Borenstein | April 26

AP - The polar bear has become an icon of global warming vulnerability, but a new study found an Arctic mammal that may be even more at risk to climate change: the narwhal.

The narwhal, a whale with a long spiral tusk that inspired the myth of the unicorn, edged out the polar bear for the ranking of most potentially vulnerable in a climate change risk analysis of Arctic marine mammals.

Not a day goes by without mention of the phrase “tipping point”, and with good reason. Different variations of this phrase include “critical mass”, “precipice” and the ever popular “day of reckoning”. The truth is alarming when one considers how many times these phrases are used, and used correctly. Our nation and the World are facing challenges that need to be addressed, and addressed as swiftly as possible. The human race can no longer pass off the responsibility of meeting challenges by doing nothing while we put the onus of problem solving onto our children and grandchildren. The time of band-aids and temporary short term fixes in regard to our most pressing problems is just about over. This planet is poised to reap the rewards that have come about from choosing half measures and politically acceptable “solutions” that are not solutions at all, but rather compromises expressly designed to placate the people, while protecting political, economic or religious interests.

Tokyo | April 23

BBC - Leaders of Japan and the European Union have called for "highly ambitious and binding" global targets to fight climate change.

Leaders said the G8 summit of rich nations - to be held in Japan in July - must be a real moment of breakthrough on greenhouse gas emissions.

Elizabeth Rosenthal | Civitavecchia, Italy | April 23

NYT - At a time when the world’s top climate experts agree that carbon emissions must be rapidly reduced to hold down global warming, Italy’s major electricity producer, Enel, is converting its massive power plant here from oil to coal, generally the dirtiest fuel on earth.

Over the next five years, Italy will increase its reliance on coal to 33 percent from 14 percent. Power generated by Enel from coal will rise to 50 percent.

Zachary Coile | Washington | April 23

San Francisco Chronicle - When the Bush administration announced proposed regulations Tuesday to raise fuel economy standards for cars and trucks to 31.6 miles per gallon by 2015, even some environmentalists applauded. But then they read the fine print.

Tucked deep into a 417-page "Notice of Proposed Rulemaking" was language by the Transportation Department stating that more stringent limits on tailpipe emissions embraced by California and 17 other states are "an obstacle to the accomplishment" of the new federal standards and are "expressly and impliedly preempted" by federal law.

Alok Jha | April 18

The Guardian - Fears that the rapid draining of water from the top of Greenland's ice sheet may be contributing to the rise of global sea levels have been allayed by new research. Though scientists confirmed that the water can drain away faster than Niagara Falls, it did not seem to accelerate the movement of the ice sheet into the ocean as previously thought.

Receding ice sheets are of major concern to climate scientists because the melting water could lead to a rise in sea levels. In addition, the melting can encourage feedback mechanisms that amplify the warming effects of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere: ice and snow reflect sunlight, so less of them means more heat is absorbed by the Earth. Observations have already shown that the speed at which glaciers at the edge of Greenland are moving into the sea has doubled in the past two decades.

Thousands of lakes form on top of Greenland's glaciers every summer due to the increased sunlight and warmer air. Satellite observations have shown that these lakes often disappear, often in as little as a day, but no one knew where the water was going or how quickly it moved.

Susanne Rust | April 17

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - We bred them to protect us and warn us of impending trouble.

According to a new report, our pets are doing their job.

The Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental watchdog group, released a study Thursday showing that dogs and cats are carrying heavy burdens of many household chemicals - flame retardants, plasticizers and stain-resisting chemicals - in their blood and urine.

Many of these chemicals have been linked to illness, cancer and developmental delays in laboratory and companion animals. Some of these chemicals, such as lead and mercury, are also known toxins for people.

The study found that in some cases, the concentrations of chemicals in pets were more than 20 times higher than what's been detected in the typical adult.

The end of cheap food, and absolute shortages are on the way. There are a number of reasons, which include the following:

1) The early instability caused by global warming, whose first effects are less increased temperatures than unpredictable weather patterns has lead to key areas having lower crops than in the past.

2) Aquifers in large parts of the world are being drained at unsustainably fast rates. This includes most of the American southwest, large parts of China, huge swathes of India and many areas in Africa. In India there are already villages that have had to be abandoned because no matter how deep they drill, there's no water. This is only going to get worse.

3) Desertification and reduced fertility. US farmland fertility is less than half of what it was 50 years ago. Large areas of China are deserts, with dust storms boiling out of them on a regular basis. It is only a matter of time before we have full on dust bowls in many major food producting regions, just as we did in the 20's and 30's.

4) Modern agriculture is actually very dependent on oil, and the demand and supply curves for oil are not looking good. Reduced soil fertility has been made up for by increasing the amount of energy used. That energy, at the very least, is becoming more and more expensive and will continue to do so. That will drive up food prices significantly, or force a return to the use of much more human labor. Probably both.

5) In the short run foolish subsidies for ethanol have driven up the price of food staples as farmers switch to corn to sell for ethanol.

I hardly expect the current administration to do a great deal about this, but I still encourage people to sign the ONE Campaign's petition for Bush. Making it very clear that this is an issue that matters to a lot of people is the only way that politicians will take it seriously. The sooner we start, the better, and the life you save (or the pocketbook you help) will as likely be your own as anyone else's.

So please take a few moments and go sign.

Meg Carter | April 18

Independent -

It all started with a failed attempt to secure a plot on a local allotment. "After four years, I was still only 22nd on the waiting list," says Sebastian Mayfield, co-founder of Food Up Front. "So I began looking for an alternative closer to home. And then it dawned on me while lying in the bath one day, why don't we make better use of the space we already have?"

Mayfield's Eureka moment led him to petition a small group of locals living in the streets neighbouring his home in Balham, south London, to join him growing vegetables in front gardens or on their window sills, balconies and roofs. The idea was simple: by pooling resources and sharing expertise, participants could eat local by growing their own.

Twelve months on and Food Up Front is now signing up people for year two. It has a network of more than 30 street rep co-ordinators, and has attracted the interest of would-be urban farmers from neighbouring boroughs and beyond.

For a contribution of just £20 towards running costs, each will receive a starter pack including growing containers, locally-produced organic compost, a selection of seeds and a basic planting and harvesting guide.

Damian Wroclavsky | Playa Punta Norte, Argentina | April 17

Reuters - The park ranger gestured forcefully, ordering me to throw myself down on the sand and stay quiet.

Some sea lion pups paddled tentatively in the shallow surf, learning to swim at Punta Norte beach in eastern Patagonia, and we were staring at the sea, watching for a huge black fin.

It was my first visit to see orcas hunting baby sea lions on the Valdes peninsula, a natural phenomenon unique to the killer whale group in this region.

I tried to stick carefully to the instructions the park ranger gave us before leading us to a thin stretch of sand near the ocean where Mel, a giant orca, was preparing to hunt.

Six of us -- a Reuters cameraman, the park ranger, three nature photographers, and I -- were waiting to see one of the animal world's most spectacular attacks on this beach, where killer whales swim up a channel of deep water to get right onto the sand. They risk death if they become stranded.

Stretched out like sharp-shooters 30 yards from water's edge, we watched, transfixed, as an enormous black fin approached one wobbly pup in the shallow water.

April 10

U Va. - Air pollution from power plants and automobiles is destroying the fragrance of flowers and thereby inhibiting the ability of pollinating insects to follow scent trails to their source, a new University of Virginia study indicates. This could partially explain why wild populations of some pollinators, particularly bees – which need nectar for food – are declining in several areas of the world, including California and the Netherlands.

The study appears online in the journal Atmospheric Environment.

"The scent molecules produced by flowers in a less polluted environment, such as in the 1800s, could travel for roughly 1,000 to 1,200 meters; but in today's polluted environment downwind of major cites, they may travel only 200 to 300 meters," said Jose D. Fuentes, a professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia and a co-author of the study. "This makes it increasingly difficult for pollinators to locate the flowers."

Vienna | April 16

Sydney Morning Herald - Global sea levels are likely to rise faster than predicted by the United Nations climate panel, scientists in Vienna are warning.

Geoscientists attending the European Geosciences Union's (EGU) annual meeting, say their claims are prompted by the fact the world's glaciers are melting faster than previously estimated.

A statistical reconstruction of sea levels over the past 2,000 years showed that while sea levels remained stable within 20 centimetres in the past two millennia, they can be expected to rise by 0.8 to 1.5 metres by 2100, Svetlana Jevrejeva of Britain's Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory said.

Roger Harrabin | Berkeley/San Diego, CA | April 14

BBC - China has already overtaken the US as the world's "biggest polluter", a report to be published next month says.

The research suggests the country's greenhouse gas emissions have been underestimated, and probably passed those of the US in 2006-2007.

The University of California team will report their work in the Journal of Environment Economics and Management.

They warn that unchecked future growth will dwarf any emissions cuts made by rich nations under the Kyoto Protocol.

[...]

Next month's University of California report warns that unless China radically changes its energy policies, its increases in greenhouse gases will be several times larger than the cuts in emissions being made by rich nations under the Kyoto Protocol.

Tania Branigan | April 15

The Guardian - China yesterday unveiled ambitious plans to improve its capital's heavily polluted air in time for the Olympics, including halting construction and heavy industry.

Beijing's Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau laid out a range of tough measures to cut back pollution, such as closing numerous petrol stations and even banning spray-painting.

The bureau's deputy director, Du Shaozhong, warned that even more "strident" measures would be taken if the weather was unfavourable by the time the games begin in August. The month is regarded as one of the worst in terms of pollution in the city because the air is humid and often stagnant.

Beijing is one of the most polluted cities in the world. But the authorities say they have invested £8.6bn to tackle the city's infamous smog - an unpleasant combination of carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter of which much is produced by the building industry.

Cahal Milmo | UK | April 15

IHT - From today, all petrol and diesel sold on forecourts must contain at least 2.5 per cent biofuel. The Government insists its flagship environmental policy will make Britain's 33 million vehicles greener. But a formidable coalition of campaigners is warning that, far from helping to reverse climate change, the UK's biofuel revolution will speed up global warming and the loss of vital habitat worldwide.

Amid growing evidence that massive investment in biofuels by developed countries is helping to cause a food crisis for the world's poor, the ecological cost of the push to produce billions of litres of petrol and diesel from plant sources will be highlighted today with protests across the country and growing political pressure to impose guarantees that the new technology reduces carbon emissions.

Graham Wynne, chief executive of the RSPB, said: "The volume of biofuel that can be genuinely described as sustainable is at present very small indeed and is nowhere near enough to warrant the 2.5 per cent obligation. The impacts of biofuel production on forests and wetlands are already being seen worldwide. It is a tragedy that customers' money is going to be spent on driving this destruction."

Geoffrey Lean | April 13

Independent - Documents that government fought for three years to keep secret reveal warnings of devastation to wildlife

Britain agreed to bankroll controversial drilling for oil and gas, despite a warning from its own officials of the "potentially devastating effects" on a critically endangered species of whale. The decision to flout their own experts' advice is revealed in deeply embarrassing documents the Government fought for three years to keep secret.

The documents – finally released last week under the Freedom of Information Act after a High Court ruling – warn that the drilling, off Sakhalin Island in the far east of Russia, could cause the extinction of one of the world's most vulnerable populations of the marine mammals.

Nevertheless, the Government's powerful export credits and guarantees department (ECGD), which provides support to the exports industry, agreed to help back the $20bn (£10bn) project by Sakhalin Energy Investment Company, in which Shell has a major share.

Frank Greve | Washington | April 11

McClatchy - Lots of people lunged for bottled water after they were told last month that tap water in many U.S. cities contains traces of pharmaceuticals.

"They wanted five-gallon bottles, half-liter cases — anything that wasn't municipal water," said Jennifer Brandon, who was taking phone orders for home-delivered Deer Park water the day the Associated Press story broke.

Responding to the public alarm, Sens. Barbara Boxer, D-Cal., and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J. called for a hearing on the federal response to drugs in drinking water, now set for Tuesday.

Despite the sudden clamor, however, many water-quality researchers kept doing what they'd done for years about contaminants in tap water: nothing. They kept drinking local tap or well water, a half dozen of them told McClatchy.

For one thing, they knew that bottled water is less regulated than municipal supplies are. The big reason, however, was that researchers were less anxious than senators and a public jolted by another new environmental scare for which risk and remedy are both unknown.

Mother Jones | April 11
by James Ridgeway

A private security company organized and managed by former Secret Service officers spied on Greenpeace and other environmental organizations from the late 1990s through at least 2000, pilfering documents from trash bins, attempting to plant undercover operatives within groups, casing offices, collecting phone records of activists, and penetrating confidential meetings. According to company documents provided to Mother Jones by a former investor in the firm, this security outfit collected confidential internal records—donor lists, detailed financial statements, the Social Security numbers of staff members, strategy memos—from these organizations and produced intelligence reports for public relations firms and major corporations involved in environmental controversies.