newsdesk.org: Environment Archives

Gas Drilling Blamed for Indonesian 'Mud Volcano'

A panel of international petroleum geologists decided exploratory drilling at a nearby gas well triggered the eruption of a mud...

Sea-Level Rise May Be Greater Than Expected

Two German experts predict sea levels will rise three feet this century, higher than the seven inches to two feet...

Solar Battery to Fuel Italian Farm

The owners of the Castello Monte Vibiano Vecchio farm in Italy claim it will be the first in the world...

Dutch Town in Hot Water for Energy Needs

In the southern Dutch province of Limburg, the city of Heerlen is now the first in the world to heat...

Methane Harvest Debuts in Texas

San Antonio, Texas will be the first city in the United States to harvest methane gas from human waste on...

Can 'Geo-Engineering' Save the Earth?

Perhaps recycling and compact fluorescent lights aren't exciting anymore -- but media have recently latched onto the concept of geo-engineering...

"Transition Towns" Tackle Climate Change

Transition towns -- part of a grassroots movement to help communities adopt carbon-neutral lifestyles -- are slowly spreading from England,...

India: Farms or Factories?

Tata Motors Ltd., which plans to build the world's cheapest car, said work on a new factory in India's West...

The State Claims Your Raindrops

Rainwater harvesting for domestic use or irrigation is a sustainable practice that may be against the law in the state...

Forests Saved by Pollution Problem

Private forest owners in California are making green -- in both the environmental and financial senses -- by reducing their...

World Forests Face Multiple Threats

It's hardly news that forests the world over are in danger from logging, human encroachment and other threats, but news...

Timber Trumps Salmon in California

Coho salmon, whose numbers have dropped 73 percent in California coastal habitat in the past year, may face an uncertain...

How Green is My Wal-Mart?

Wal-Mart may be investing in environmental initiatives to become recognized as a "green" company, but it has also been lobbying...

Ain't no Other Fish in the Sea?

Tuna may be the signature fish of Japan, the world's foremost consumer of fish, but last week Japan's largest organization...

Dreaming of a Zero-Carbon Economy

Several nations around the world have launched national programs to increase energy efficiency, cut carbon emissions and build environmentally friendly...

Climate Change, as the Crow Flies

A group of new studies find that the patterns of bird migration literally change with the weather -- or more...

Chile: Dammed if They Do

Critics of a hydroelectric dam just approved in Chile say building it in a national park is illegal and paves...

California may Sue Nestle over Water Plan

Nestle's plans to build a water-bottling plant in northern California may uncork a lawsuit against the whole operation. State Attorney...

Real Estate Slump Good for Conservationists

The mortgage crisis and real estate slump are affecting just about everyone these days, but some conservationists are not complaining....

It Takes a Tree to Save a Village

A plan to replenish the forests of the West African nation of Burkina Faso is at odds with the development...

Bioplastics: Friend or Foe?

Biodegradable plastics are raising hopes for a potential solution to overstuffed landfills, climate change and diminished fossil fuel resources. Yet...

Monsanto Loses Canadian GMO Dispute

In late March, Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser won a small victory against Monsanto Corporation after a decade-long legal engagement. His...

Fly the Cellulosic Skies: Will Second-Generation Biofuels Take Off?

Japan Airlines recently announced plans to test fly one of its aircraft using a form of "second generation" biofuel in...

The Other Kind of Green Beer

From the Rocky Mountains to Japan and Australia, beer-brewing companies are adopting practices that aim to reduce waste, as well...

Canada In Heated Debate over Global Warming Tax

Environmentalists have long proposed taxing carbon emissions as a way of combating global warming -- but if a new Canadian...

For Forests Under Fire, a Slight Return

Forests are disappearing from the Amazon to Afghanistan, but the rate has slowed, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports. A new...

Pumped up for Public Water

The tide may be turning for water privatization. Water supplies have already fallen out of private hands in developing nations...

Who Resurrected the Electric Car?

With gasoline prices climbing ever higher, private companies and government agencies are giving the electric car another look. Even Republican...

Africa's Double Dip of Global Warming

Africa is already the continent hardest hit by the worldwide food crisis, but according to a new report it's also...

Hunting Animals Who Hunt Humans

With mountain lion attacks are on the rise in rural Washington, and many residents feel the answer is more hunting....

From Bike Lanes to "Wildlife Highways"

The town of Cambourne in the United Kingdom is notable not just for its abundance of bike lanes and pedestrians,...

The Melting Mountains

The Arctic ice caps and Antarctic glaciers are well-known barometers of global warming, but melting masses of ice in the...

Sea Cow Stymies Navy's Okinawa Plan

The endangered dugong, a type of "sea cow" similar to Florida's manatee, threatens to put the brakes on a huge...

Erosion Takes a Toxic Toll in Alaska

It has been widely reported that global warming threatens to sweep scores of coastal Alaskan towns into the sea. Now,...

The Biodiesel Road Proves Bumpy in Southeast Asia

It's heralded as the clean-burning alternative to petroleum, but biodiesel's baggage has made a smooth roll-out seem unlikely. The challenges...

Genetically Engineered Trees Cut Down

An electric fence wasn't up to the task of protecting a field of genetically engineered trees in New Zealand. Twenty...

Trouble at the Roof of the World

Water rights and free speech are the latest sparks that have inflamed protests in Tibet against the Chinese government. Hundreds...

Fur Flies in Tiger Photo Fight

When Chinese officials declared this fall that a rare South China tiger had been photographed in the wild, it appeared...

A Man, a Dam and a Salmon Plan

A federal judge has rebuked the government for its latest plan to restore salmon runs along the Columbia and Snake...

Oil Industry's Amazon Frontier

Economic development and ecological conservation are once again at odds in the Amazon, where a remote region thick with rare...

Whither Cuba's Green Thumb?

Floods, storms, drought and heat, plus an array of economic concerns, are taking their toll on Cuban agriculture. Inter Press...

Sex on the Beach and Birds in Hand? Kenya's Tourist Trap

Miles of shoreline, coastal forests, mountains, plains and the continent-spanning Great Rift Valley all make Kenya a world-class tourist destination....

Cracks at the Seams? China Bolsters Three Gorges

Everything about the Three Gorges Dam seems larger than life. It was built at a cost of $15.6 billion, caused...

Uranium Wealth Ignites Niger Strife

Africa's struggle with mineral wealth and regional poverty has a new poster child, as Tuareg nomads in Niger take up...

THE ELECTRIC CAR: GM, Ford Pay the Price for Hype

GM is trying to lower expectations that their much-anticipated plug-in electric car, the Volt, will reach consumers soon. A prototype...

Record Earnings From Endangered Ocean Harvest

The fishing industry brought in a record $71.5 billion last year, most of it from ocean fisheries that lack ecological...