http://www.enn.com/ ENN RSS News http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/40738 The holidays are here and with them family, friends, parties and germs. This year, in light of the H1N1 outbreak, many fear that the most wonderful time of the year will end up being the unhealthiest, too. http://www.enn.com/agriculture/article/40737 Innovative agricultural technologies can produce crops that meet climate change challenges, says ICRISAT head William Dar. New strategies must be built around 'green' agricultural technologies, such as adaptive plant breeding, pest forecasting, rainwater harvesting and fertiliser microdosing. http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/40736 A US judge has ruled that negligence by the US Army Corps of Engineers led to massive floods in parts of New Orleans as Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. It was the first time a US court has found the federal government directly responsible for some of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/40735 Conservationists searching for one of the world's most endangered crocodile species say they have found dozens of the reptiles lounging in plain sight at Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center in Cambodia. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/40734 Melting of the Arctic sea ice due to global warming is diluting surface waters and this is endangering some species of shellfish which need minerals in the water to form their shells and skeletons, scientists have found. In a paper published in Science, they warned that this has serious implications for ecosystems in the Arctic. http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/40732 It's not just ruthless whaling and foolhardy fishing practices that are plaguing the world's oceans. Underwater, things are bad all over — from the acidifying Atlantic to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. A perfect storm of climate change, pollution, and rapacious global fishing practices has the potential to gravely imperil Earth's oceans and their intricate, highly sensitive ecosystems. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/40733 If Internet companies and some utilities have their way, the smart grid will rely on the existing infrastructure of the information superhighway in order to function. They argue that by relying on existing standards like Internet Protocol (IP), the smart grid will grow faster and more organically than if utilities adopt an assortment of proprietary methods. http://www.enn.com/business/article/40731 The NightHawks--who claim to be the nation's longest-running minor-league basketball franchise--have gone green, changing their name, attracting green-friendly sponsors like Honest Tea and Sweet Green and CarbonFund.org, and holding an introductory event at which the promise of a bamboo court, hemp nets and uniforms made from either recycled plastic or recycled bamboo were floated. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/40730 The UK-based the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), in working with the U.N., recently hosted 200 representatives from nine major world religions spanning over 60 different religious organizations. Baha’i, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Shintoists, Taoists and Sikhs all gathered at London’s Windsor Castle with a united environmental agenda. In an era of increasing religious divide, a once little thought of topic known as “the environment”� was able to bring together ancient faith groups to discuss a modern solution. And with Islam at the forefront of today’s news, Muslim leaders proved Islam’s ability to adapt and meet new needs. http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/40729 A University of Montreal entomologist is investigating a type of wasp (Dinocampus coccinellae) present in Quebec that forces ladybugs (Coccinella maculata) to carry their larvae. These wasps lay their eggs on the ladybug's body, a common practice in the insect world, yet they don't kill their host. http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/40728 The chemical Bisphenol A, which has been used for years in clear plastic bottles and food-can liners, has been restricted in Canada and some U.S. states and municipalities because of potential health effects. The Food and Drug Administration will soon decide what it considers a safe level of exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA), which some studies have linked to reproductive abnormalities and a heightened risk of breast and prostate cancers, diabetes, and heart disease. http://www.enn.com/business/article/40727 Manchester, NH — Nike has taken the top score for the annual Climate Counts scorecard for the second year in a row, but there are some companies hot on Nike's heels and others that made large leaps in the past year. http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/40726 Women bear the brunt of drought, rising seas, melting glaciers and other effects of climate change but are mostly ignored in the debate over how to halt it, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said today. Because women are often the poorest in society and have less power over their lives, less recognition of economic worth, and bear the brunt of raising children, they suffer more. http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/40725 The US Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a new one — hour Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) standard. The SO2 standard has not been changed since 1971. There has not been a health based standard shorter than 24 hrs for SO2 since short term acute effects have not been well known. A secondary standard of 3-hrs has been in effect. This was set to address welfare considerations, not health. http://www.enn.com/lifestyle/article/40724 In an effort to reduce automobile usage and greenhouse gas emissions, the Dutch cabinet has approved a driving tax that would charge motorists seven cents a mile. The mileage charges would be higher at rush hour, for large cars, and for commercial vehicles. http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/40723 The widespread use of genetically modified (GM) crops engineered to tolerate herbicides has led to a sharp increase in the use of agricultural chemicals in the U.S. This practice is creating herbicide-resistant "super weeds" and an increase in chemical residues in U.S. food, according to a new report released today by The Organic Center, the Union for Concerned Scientists, and the Center for Food Safety. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/40722 For the past year, President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana has traveled the world offering to place his nation's forests under international supervision if other countries paid his citizens not to deforest the tropical landscapes. The campaign received major support last week when Norway announced a $30 million commitment for the small South American nation to implement an "avoided deforestation" plan. http://www.enn.com/climate/article/40721 African leaders agreed on Tuesday on how much cash to demand from the rich world to compensate for the impact of climate change on the continent but kept the figure secret ahead of next month's Copenhagen talks. The United Nations summit in Denmark will try to agree on how to counter climate change and come up with a post-Kyoto treaty protocol to curb emissions. http://www.enn.com/energy/article/40720 Marine Current Turbines' SeaGen, the world’s only commercial scale tidal stream turbine, is running reliably and delivering more energy than originally expected. The generators can produce enough energy to meet the average electricity needs for 1500 UK homes during each ebb and each flood tide. http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/40719 Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, found in everything from cosmetics to sunscreen to toothpaste to paint to vitamins, caused systemic genetic damage in mice, according to a comprehensive study conducted by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. The TiO2 nanoparticles induced single- and double-strand DNA breaks and also caused chromosomal damage as well as inflammation, all of which increase the risk for cancer. http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/40718 On one of the Galapagos islands whose finches shaped the theories of a young Charles Darwin, biologists have witnessed that elusive moment when a single species splits in two. http://www.enn.com/business/article/40716 A growing number of American consumers would like to tell President Obama to focus on the economy first before tackling environmental issues, according to research published today. The finding, part of the monthly Green Confidence Index, is that while significant numbers of Americans support the administration's environmental stance, their principal concern remains focused on the economy. http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/40715 A United Nations plan to protect the world's tropical forests to fight climate change could threaten more animals and plants with extinction, scientists said on Monday. The U.N. scheme, to be discussed at climate talks in Copenhagen next month, could save some species, while inadvertently endangering many others, according to the team of international researchers. http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/40714 Recording hundreds of thousands of signals sent by satellite transmitters fitted on penguins, albatrosses, and marine mammals, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Birdlife International have released the first atlas of South America’s Patagonian Sea. The atlas contains the most accurate maps ever assembled for this ecosystem. http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/40713 According to a recently published article in the journal Chemosphere, an inexpensive new method has been developed at the University of Utah to remove oil sheen from polluted water by repeatedly pressurizing and depressurizing ozone gas, creating microscopic bubbles that attack the oil so it can be removed by sand filters.