Blizzard of Bill signings in California Pleases Conservation Groups

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday released a tidal wave of environmental laws, signing more than 20 bills that establish significant new policies to reduce diesel soot, ban pollution from cruise ships and require more old cars to get smog checks. >> Read the Full Article

Coming Soon &#151 gene-engineered insects

Coming soon to a jungle near you — mosquitoes genetically engineered so they cannot give people malaria. But this time scientists want to do it right. >> Read the Full Article

Macedonia Hosts U.N.-Organized Regional Conference on Environment

International experts and officials from southeastern Europe gathered in the Macedonian capital this week to discuss ways of joining forces in tackling the region's environmental problems. >> Read the Full Article

Plan Would Turn Farmland Back to Marshes and Mudflats for Salmon Runs at Washington Wildlife Refuge

A 15-year plan would restore salt marshes and mudflats for migrating salmon at the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, more than 100 years after the farmland was drained and diked. >> Read the Full Article

Owls Use Dung to Fish for Beetles and Other Stories

Owls are tool-users, a new study finds. Douglas Levey and his colleagues at the University of Florida in Gainesville suspected burrowing owls (Athene cuniculari) of collecting dung to lure in their favorite food: dung beetles. After all, their front stoops were coated in the feces of local mammals, and the owls' own droppings were full of beetle parts. >> Read the Full Article

China's Energy Crisis Blankets Hong Kong in Smog

To gaze across Hong Kong's harbor at the city's glittering skyscrapers and soaring peaks is to take in one of the world's most spectacular urban vistas. >> Read the Full Article

Mebane, N.C., foam insulation firm reduces landfill output to nearly nothing

Armacell, a manufacturer of foam insulation, used to send millions of pounds of waste to the Orange Regional Landfill. But the light, porous foam created big problems, literally. >> Read the Full Article

Spain Calls Out the Army to Fight Pesky Zebra Mussel

Soldiers went underwater to battle a tiny but prolific new enemy, using spatulas and vacuum cleaners against mussels infesting Spain's mightiest river. >> Read the Full Article

Virginia group helps industries, businesses find viable options for recycling

One company's trash may be another's treasure. >> Read the Full Article

Death Toll Rises to More Than 700 in Floods in Haiti; Officials Estimate 250,000 Homeless

U.N. peacekeepers fired into the air to keep a hungry crowd at bay Wednesday, as aid workers handed out bread, the first food in days for some in this city devastated by floods that have killed more than 700 people in Haiti. >> Read the Full Article