http://www.enn.com/ ENN RSS News http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/36427 Governments could save human lives and millions of dollars in crop and income losses for the rural poor through better consideration of the needs of wildlife, according to a new WWF study of conflict between humans and wild elephants in Africa and Asia. Common Ground found the most serious conflict and harm to both human communities and elephants resulted from unplanned and unregulated development. http://www.enn.com/business/article/36426 A recent annual survey into the carbon reduction efforts by suppliers has revealed that business leaders dread the potential impact of emissions legislation on their activities. The survey, carried out by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a transatlantic not for profit organization, covered responses of 144 supply companies to multinational corporations. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/36424 One of the deadliest earthquakes in decades hit southwestern China this week, prompting a quick response from Beijing which was even praised by the Dalai Lama. Nevertheless, the death toll could surpass 50,000. Devin Stewart of Policy Innovations interviews Alexandra Harney, author of The China Price: The True Cost of Chinese Competitive Advantage, who comments from Shanghai on how China is tackling this obstacle as it also prepares for the Summer Olympics. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/36423 Bonn, Germany--Organizations and scientists from around the world spoke today about their opposition to genetically engineered trees which will be negotiated at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's Ninth Conference of the Parties (CBD COP-9) beginning next week in Bonn. They are demanding that governments at the UN agree to accept the proposal to suspend all releases of genetically engineered (GE) trees into the environment, due to their extreme ecological and social threats. http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/36417 The world's species are declining at a rate "unprecedented since the extinction of the dinosaurs", a census of the animal kingdom has revealed. The Living Planet Index out today shows the devastating impact of humanity as biodiversity has plummeted by almost a third in the 35 years to 2005. http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/36364 It's U.S. National Bike to Work Day on Friday and Americans are facing record high gasoline prices, but most commuters will stick to their cars. The combination of gas near $4 a gallon and the annual campaign to get people to pedal to work may prompt a few more people than usual to commute on two wheels. http://www.enn.com/agriculture/article/36414 The black truffle, one of the most exclusive and expensive delicacies on the planet, is under threat from climate change. A mysterious species of underground fungi with reported aphrodisiac and therapeutic properties, the aromatic truffles are also highly fragile and cannot withstand more than three weeks without water. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/36348 China's deadliest earthquake in decades could cut by up to 5 percent the country's supply of carbon offsets under the Kyoto Protocol over the next 12 months, a market China dominates, Lehman analysts estimated on Thursday. Rich countries can meet Kyoto greenhouse gas limits by investing in emissions cuts in developing countries, earning carbon offsets in return. http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/36347 The Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act passed the U.S Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last December by a vote of 11—8. In the coming weeks the legislation will come to a full vote on the floor of the Senate. The bill calls for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 71% below 2005 levels by 2050 — phased in at 4% by 2012 and 19% by 2020. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/36346 A new NASA-led study shows human-caused climate change has made an impact on a wide range of Earth's natural systems, including permafrost thawing, plants blooming earlier across Europe, and lakes declining in productivity in Africa. Cynthia Rosenzweig of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Science in New York and scientists at 10 other institutions have linked physical and biological impacts since 1970 with rises in temperatures during that period. http://www.enn.com/business/article/36343 The ongoing food crises in 36 countries around the globe are a cause of worry for major institutions such as the World Bank because the problems signal profound problems of disbalance in the world economy. The main reasons behind the high food prices in poor countries are the high oil price and market liberalization shocks. Biofuel crops are hardly a factor. Climate change is something that has played a role for as long as everyone can remember and it's only being recognized now. http://www.enn.com/agriculture/article/36342 The Bush administration has slipped a controversial ingredient into the $770 million aid package it recently proposed to ease the world food crisis, adding language that would promote the use of genetically modified crops in food-deprived countries. The value of genetically modified, or bio-engineered, food is an intensely disputed issue in the U.S. and in Europe, where many countries have banned foods made from genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/36340 Both sweet and sophisticated, the design of these uber modern reusable totes are reason enough to say no to paper and plastic bags forever! http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/36292 Greenhouse gases are at higher levels in the atmosphere than at any time in at least 800,000 years, according to a study of Antarctic ice on Wednesday that extends evidence that mankind is disrupting the climate. Carbon dioxide and methane trapped in tiny bubbles of air in ancient ice down to 3,200 meters (10,500 ft) below the surface of Antarctica add 150,000 years of data to climate records stretching back 650,000 years from shallower ice drilling. http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/36271 Why put nasty, toxic chemical drain cleaners into your plumbing and septic systems when Drainbo Natural Drain Cleaner can get the job done. Drainbo enlists a seven strain bacteria formula and the natural process of biological decomposition to get rid of clogs. http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/36270 It's a classic stand-off between one of the world's best loved animals and one of its most unpopular leaders, between the planet's largest bear and its most powerful man. And it comes to a head this week. On Thursday, by order of a federal judge, George W Bush must stop stalling on whether to designate the polar bear as a species endangered by global warming. The designation could have huge consequences for his climate-change policies; his administration would, by law, have to avoid doing anything that would "jeopardise the continued existence" of the mammal whose habitat is melting away. http://www.enn.com/business/article/36269 The average cell phone life is only 18 months. Many obsolete phones find their final resting place in a landfill, where hazardous chemicals pose a threat to the environment. Nokia’s new We: Recycle Program allows consumers to send in old cell phones to be properly recycled. The company mails the donor a prepaid envelope so the process is completely cost-free. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/36230 On days when there is a lot of dust and other large-particle pollutants in the air, slightly more elderly people go to hospital emergency rooms with heart problems, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. There was also an increase in hospital visits by elderly patients complaining of respiratory illnesses when "coarse," or large, particle pollution was plentiful, although the rise was not significant, the researchers said. http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/36209 Lest anyone doubt that marketing to women is a fast-track way to protect the environment, just review the presentations made at last week's M2W (Marketing to Women) conference in Chicago by Frito-Lay, Motorola, Glam Media (the fastest growing women-oriented site on the Web) and more. Women have the clout to put companies on notice: when it comes to reducing climate change, restoring our air and water, and protecting the health of our kids and families, we can -- and will -- use our purse to pull manufacturers in a cleaner, greener direction. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/36208 A campaigning project to rescue and revive an endangered and environmentally-sensitive urban park in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod has won the 2008 Volvo Adventure and the US$10,000 first prize, the five students of the 'Green Sail' team, beating off stiff competition at the World Final in Gothenburg today. Having won their own Russian national title, the power of five young students, Arthur Erofyev, Darya Aleksandrova, Mary Ermylova, Nastya Horytonova, Julia Udina was demonstrated on stage at the Gothenburg Convention Centre on Monday as they brought the plight of the park to the world in an inspired and impassioned presentation to the Volvo Adventure World Final jury and an audience of over 500 young environmentalists. http://www.enn.com/business/article/36207 Efforts to replace oil with biofuels in the United States are at a critical juncture. Double-digit growth in the production of corn-based ethanol has contributed to a sharp increase in grain and soybean prices while failing to deliver the environmental gains that had been hoped for. It's time to reduce the incentives for food-based biofuels and accelerate the transition to more sustainable alternatives - the so-called "next-generation" cellulosic technologies, which are expected to become viable in the coming years. http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/36205 An article in the San Jose Mercury News tells us that it takes a gallon of oil just to make a toner cartridge. That wouldn’t be so bad if we didn’t discard 8 empty cartridges a second in the U.S. And if it didn’t take 450 years for one to decompose. http://www.enn.com/business/article/36204 Corporate America and major green groups are starting to build ties as companies see the benefit of getting ahead of a trend toward environmental responsibility. While partnerships have been emerging case-by-case, environmentalists are starting to ramp up their efforts to target money mangers and investors in an attempt to change how corporations do businesses. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/36158 Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are talking more about "clean coal" and less about global warming as they woo voters in West Virginia and Kentucky -- two states that sit at the heart of the nation's coal economy. In a bid to draw voters ahead of Democratic primaries in West Virginia on Tuesday and Kentucky on May 20, both candidates are playing up the ascendant role of commercially untested and so far economically nonviable ways of converting America's plentiful coal supplies into electricity without spewing massive quantities of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/36136 Undertaking a home building project? Sustainable, eco-friendly materials are the only way to go — they’re better for you, as well as the planet. According to GreenBuilding.com, “the US EPA ranks indoor pollution among top five environmental risks, and unhealthy air is found in up to 30% of new and renovated buildings.”�