For the first time in decades, the eggs of endangered sea turtles buried on a small strip of Nicaraguan beach will not be collected and sold in local food markets. A program developed by nonprofit Paso Pacífico pays residents up to $2.50 for each turtle hatchling that reaches the surf — almost 10 times what they would have brought from the market.
Satellite observations and a state-of-the art regional atmospheric model have independently confirmed that the Greenland ice sheet is losing mass at an accelerating rate, reports a new study by a team of British, Dutch and American scientists.
Emissions of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas produced by burning coal, oil and gas, increased by 19 percent in the United States from 1990 to 2007.
Representatives of 400 federally recognized tribal nations from across the United States gathered at the Department of the Interior today at the invitation of President Barack Obama for a conference the President called a “unique and historic event, the largest and most widely attended gathering of tribal leaders in our history.”
To pay for better clean water accountability and regulatory enforcement in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, Congress has authorized new funding to reduce pollution in local rivers and streams flowing into the bay. Legislation passed by the House and Senate contains a record $50 million for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Bay cleanup efforts, with $19 million in new funding for regulatory enforcement and accountability.
The California state Legislature today approved a far-reaching water package featuring an $11-billion bond as the Sun rose over the Capitol building after an all night legislative session.
The world’s religions have a crucial role to play in the fight against global climate change, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday, characterizing the battle with global warming as a “moral” issue.
The United States is using less water than during the peak years of 1975 and 1980, according to water use estimates for 2005. Despite a 30 percent population increase during the past 25 years, overall water use has remained fairly stable, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report.
A polar bear conservation and management agreement between Greenland, Canada and Nunavut was signed today at Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. The pact caps months of work by all three parties to protect bears in hunting areas shared by the Canadian territory of Nunavut and Greenland, including Baffin Bay and Kane Basin.
The U.S. Renewable Energy Group and Cielo Wind Power have entered into a joint venture agreement with China’s Shenyang Power Group to build a 600 megawatt wind farm across 36,000 acres in West Texas. This is the first time Chinese and U.S. entities have agreed to jointly develop a utility-scale wind power project.
A leopard shot seven years ago in South Africa caught up with a South Dakota man in an Aberdeen courtroom today.
The Obama administration is financing an expansion of the U.S. geothermal industry, investing $338 million in Recovery Act grant funding to support the exploration and development of new geothermal fields and research into advanced geothermal technologies. In addition, the grants will support the deployment and creative financing approaches for ground source heat pumps to heat and cool buildings.
President Barack Obama today announced the largest single energy grid modernization investment in U.S. history. The federal government has awarded $3.4 billion to 100 private companies, utilities, manufacturers, cities and other partners to fund technologies intended to move America towards what the President called “a smarter, stronger, and more secure electric grid.”
WASHINGTON, DC, October 22, 2009 (ENS) – California is the state doing the most to implement energy efficiency, followed closely by Connecticut, Oregon, New York, and Vermont, according to a new 50-state scorecard on energy efficiency policies, programs, and practices from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, ACEEE. Issuing the scorecard Wednesday, ACEEE Executive…
Nearly identical bills to prevent cruise ships from discharging raw, untreated sewage in U.S. coastal waters were introduced Wednesday in both Houses of Congress.
The world’s largest carbon dioxide capture and storage project under Barrow Island off Australia’s west coast, will be powered with compression equipment supplied by GE Oil & Gas, the company announced today.
The Center for Biological Diversity today filed a formal petition asking the federal government to protect 83 imperiled coral species under the Endangered Species Act and to designate critical habitat to ensure their survival and recovery.
The acclaimed documentary film “Crude,” which details the 16-year struggle of indigenous peoples in Ecuador’s Amazon to hold Chevron legally accountable for contamination of a huge rainforest area, opens in Washington, DC on Friday during intense scrutiny of a $27 billion liability lawsuit against the oil giant.
The Toyota Prius hybrid leads the 2010 model cars in fuel efficiency with 51 miles per gallon on the highway and 48 mpg in city driving conditions, according to the latest federal government ratings for fuel efficiency.
At a Congressional hearing today held to mark the 37th year since passage of the Clean Water Act, U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced that the agency is stepping up its efforts to enforce the law.
To help limit climate change, the international air transport industry has made a commitment to cut its carbon emissions in half by 2050, compared to 2005 levels.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew celebrated a milestone in plant conservation today, the collection and banking of 10 percent of the world’s wild plant species. The 10 percent target was set in 2000 when Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank partnership was formed.
The latest round of United Nations climate negotiations concluded in Bangkok today with mixed results. UN climate chief Yvo de Boer spoke of a “constructive” two weeks of talks, and said that “all the ingredients for a successful outcome in Copenhagen are on the table.”
Twenty unique high-tech, solar-powered houses took center stage on the National Mall today at the opening of the U.S. Energy Department’s Solar Decathlon.
It took a court order to accomplish, but threatened sea otters in southwest Alaska now will have some respite from the pressure of human activities.