Latest science news in Earth & Climate
Whale meet ends with peace agenda
The International Whaling Commission's annual meeting ends with members agreeing to try and resolve their differences.
Dry Tortugas Show Positive Trends: Protected Area Slowly Rebounding
Thirty-eight research divers recently completed a successful 20-day biennial census to measure how the protected status of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary's Tortugas Ecological Reserve and Dry Tortugas National...
Abandoned farms might be key to bioenergy
STANFORD, Calif., June 25 (UPI) -- U.S. bioenergy scientists say abandoned or degraded agricultural land might be the key to biofuels becoming a sustainable part of the world's...
Acid rain studied in Adirondack lakes
TROY, N.Y., June 25 (UPI) -- U.S. environmental scientists say they have created one of the most comprehensive databases on the effects of acid rainfall.
Flooding plan 'needs improvement'
Flood defence must be taken more seriously if communities are to be protected, a report on last summer's flooding says.
Life On The Edge: To Disperse, Or Become Extinct?
The hardiest plants and those most likely to survive the climatic shifts brought about by global warming are now easier to identify. Plants existing at the edges of their natural...
Canadians argue for polar bear hunt
(AP) -- Officials from northern Canada were in Washington on Monday to make an unpopular argument: Let U.S. hunters continue to kill polar bears for sport.
Supreme Court weighs whales vs war preparation
(AP) -- The Supreme Court will have the final say on whether war preparation trumps whale protection.Acting at the Bush administration's urging, the court agreed Monday to review a...
Comcast's Fandango acquires Movies.com from Disney
(AP) -- Movie ticketing and entertainment site Fandango Inc. said Monday it has acquired Movies.com from Walt Disney Co. for an undisclosed amount.
Microbes: Smarter than we think?
PRINCETON, N.J., June 23 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists, for the first time, say they have discovered bacteria do not just react to environmental changes, but can anticipate and...
Irish scientists probe seaweed power
Ireland could become a key player in the production of biofuel from seaweed, scientists told a conference in the west of the country on Monday.
Students Join Science Team to Chase and Capture Tornado Data
Iowa State University students are spending May and June chasing tornadoes. Yes, there's some adrenaline involved. But what they're really after is some data about the weather conditions near a...
Reliance On Unverifiable Observations Hinders Successful Conservation Of Wildlife Species
Researchers from the US Forest Service's Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain Research Stations examined three cases of biological misunderstandings in which unverifiable, anecdotal observations were accepted as empirical evidence. Ultimately,...
France in EU row over tuna catch
France clashes with the EU Commission after it calls an early halt to bluefin tuna fishing in the Mediterranean.
Pandas facing bamboo shortage in China's quake zone: report
China's giant pandas are facing severe food shortages after last month's magnitude-8.0 earthquake which devastated large swathes of bamboo forest in the nation's southwest, state media reported.
Put oil firm chiefs on trial, says leading climate change scientist
Speech to US Congress will criticise lobbyists and call for 'revolutionary' policies to tackle crisis
Can the Martian arctic support extreme life?
(AP) -- Bizarre microbes flourish in the most punishing environments on Earth from the bone-dry Atacama Desert in Chile to the boiling hot springs of Yellowstone National Park to...
At Toyota greenhouse, C02 emissions no villain
In a sprawling greenhouse with shiny silver ducts running through, stacks of cardboard boxes feature prints of a flower alongside the distinctive red Toyota logo.
Hong Kong's carbon trading move too little, too late: analysts
Hong Kong has joined the international carbon trading structure with a promise to slash emissions, but analysts say the move will fail to produce any serious reductions in greenhouse gases.
Air Travel and Carbon on Increase in Europe
The low-cost airline industry has democratized air travel in Europe, but has also pumped a huge amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Sea of Trash
The world’s oceans are filling with bottles, wrappers and other flotsam. Is there anything better to be done than picking it off the beach, one piece at a time?
Jay Rayner: The future of food is not on the farm
Jay Rayner: Thanet Earth will be the largest greenhouse development ever seen in Britain, covering an area equivalent to 80 football pitches
Opposition mounts to clean air change affecting parks
(AP) -- Critics fear the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will adopt a rule in the waning days of the Bush administration that will make it easier to build coal-fired...
German university town's green plans raise a storm
A plan making solar panels mandatory in the German university town of Marburg sparked a furore Saturday with critics accusing municipal authorities of being Green "dictators."
Q & A: Peril in a Pot
Is it dangerous or unhealthy to eat fish or meat that has been frozen, cooked, refrozen, then cooked again?
Dot Earth: Acting in an Uncertain Climate
A call for action amid uncertainty on climate disruption.
Tons of PCBs May Come Calling at a Down-at-the-Heels Texas City
If a French-owned waste management company has its way, the Port Arthur, Tex., area will be the final destination for 40 million pounds of toxins from Mexico.
Dot Earth: Seas Rising Faster Than Realized
A new study indicates that heat held in by a building greenhouse blanket has largely accumulated in the oceans.