G20 renews FX mantra, China says yuan band move possible

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (Reuters) - China's central bank chief said on Sunday it could consider a wider trading band for the yuan currency after finance chiefs from the Group of 20 economic powers renewed calls for greater currency flexibility.

WWF competition nets sustainable fishing solutions

A team of inventors from the US state of Rhode Island has won the fourth annual WWF International Smart Gear Competition for an invention that could save fish and other marine life from dying or being discarded each year.

This year’s winning solution, the "Eliminator”, is an innovative device that captures haddock while reducing the accidental netting, or bycatch, of other marine species. The invention takes advantage of the haddock’s natural tendency to swim upwards, not downwards, which is the norm for other fish.

Local sources major cause of US near-ground aerosol pollution

A new NASA study estimates that most ground-level particulate pollution in the United States stems from regional sources in North America and only a small amount is brought to the country from other parts of the world.

Researchers using an innovative global aerosol tracking model have for the first time produced a global estimate of sources and movements of aerosols near the ground where they can affect human health and run afoul of environmental regulations. Previously, researchers studying aerosols moving between continents focused primarily on tracking a single type of aerosol, such as dust or black carbon, or measuring their quantities throughout the atmosphere. This left gaps in understanding where ground-level particulate pollution comes from.

Another aftershock strikes northern Chile

There were no early reports of damage or injuries from Sunday's quake, which was centered in the Pacific about 40 miles north-northwest of Antofagasta, Chile, near the mineral-rich country's northern border with Peru.

Other OPEC members yet to join Saudi climate pledge

Riyadh (Reuters) - No other OPEC leaders at a summit in Riyadh have joined the world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia in committing cash for research into helping the environment, Algeria's energy minister said on Sunday.

Fear for humpbacks as Japan whaling fleet sets sail

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese whaling fleet left on Sunday for an expedition that activists say will for the first time target humpbacks, a perennial favorite among whale-watchers.

Noah's Ark flood spurred European farming

LONDON (Reuters) - An ancient flood some say could be the origin of the story of Noah's Ark may have helped the spread of agriculture in Europe 8,300 years ago by scattering the continent's earliest farmers, researchers said on Sunday.

Using radiocarbon dating and archaeological evidence, a British team showed the collapse of the North American ice sheet, which raised global sea levels by as much as 1.4 meters, displaced tens of thousands of people in southeastern Europe who carried farming skills to their new homes.

Saudi to give $300 million for environmental research

"We will give $300 million for research into helping the environment," he said in a speech during a summit of OPEC heads of state which is taking place in the Saudi capital.

Technology alone will not solve energy crisis

There is a strong sense of déjà vu in the bleak picture that the International Energy Agency (IEA) –– sometimes described as "the rich world's energy watchdog" –– painted last week of likely global energy consumption over the next two decades, and its consequences for climate change.

In the early 1970s, open conflict between the Arab states and Israel set oil prices skyrocketing. Simultaneously, the Club of Rome and other organisations warned that the world risked running out of many key natural resources. Both led to widespread calls for massive investment in alternative renewable-energy sources, and for new, non-energy-intensive lifestyles.

U.N. says new report must spur climate change action

VALENCIA, Spain (Reuters) - Governments must do more to fight global warming, spurred by a new U.N. scientific report and damage to nature that is already as frightening as science fiction, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday.