Environment on Earth

The world is losing momentum in the battle against global warming, the U.N. climate chief warned, urging environmental ministers from wealthy nations to revive the effort by setting clear targets for reducing greenhouse gases.
The ministers gathered in the western Japanese city of Kobe for a three-day meeting as evidence mounted that rising world temperatures have […]

Wealthy nations are shirking their duty to take a strong lead in fighting global warming, the UN’s top climate official said Friday, a day ahead of a G8 meeting of environment ministers in Kobe, Japan.
“We really need a push now from G8 countries to show leadership,” said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United […]

The state of Alaska will sue the U.S. government to stop the listing of the polar bear as a threatened species, arguing the designation will slow development in the state, Gov. Sarah Palin said on Wednesday.
Palin said the state will file a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington challenging U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne’s […]

After delaying a decision for several weeks, the U.S. government listed the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), creating new protections for the bears in their Alaskan habitat.
But officials emphasized that the decision will not be used to determine U.S. climate policy.
At announcement, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne noted the dramatic decline […]

Renowned rain forest defender Marina Silva resigned as Brazil’s environment minister on Tuesday, saying she lacked the necessary political support to protect the Amazon.
Silva did not elaborate and did not blame President Luiz Inacio da Silva in excerpts of her resignation letter that were published by the government’s official Agencia Brasil news service.
Marina Silva — […]

Classic smog results from large amounts of coal burning in an area and is caused by a mixture of smoke and sulfur dioxide.
In the 1950s a new type of smog, known as Photochemical Smog, was first described.
Smog is a problem in a number of cities and continues to harm human health.
Ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen […]

A survey conducted by National Geographic magazine and polling agency Globalscan have revealed Indians and Brazilians to be the most environment friendly and Americans to the most polluting in the world. India and Brazil have been awarded 60 green index points. They were followed by China (56.1), Mexico (54.3), Hungary (53.2) and Russia (52.4). Americans […]

Many lakes and streams examined in a National Surface Water Survey (NSWS) suffer from chronic acidity, a condition in which water has a constant low pH level. The survey investigated the effects of acidic deposition in over 1,000 lakes larger than 10 acres and in thousands of miles of streams believed to be sensitive to […]

Shares of ethanol maker Aventine Renewable Energy Inc. soared 11 percent Friday as its first-quarter revenue and adjusted net income easily beat analyst estimates.
The company reported late Thursday swinging to a first-quarter loss of $10.8 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with a gain of $14.9 million, or 35 cents per share, in the […]

South America still maintains a high percentage of the earth’s ecosystem that has not been disturbed by human activities. Unfortunately, the rate at which these are being degraded is alarming. The Amazon rainforest, spread across many countries in South America, is the world’s biggest tropical rainforest. It is home to one fifth of the planet’s […]