ENN Weekly: June 4th - 8th

Top Ten Articles of the Week
In the news June 4th - 8th: The new "green" Coke, Chernobyl's wildlife, wind industry regulation, World Environment Day, and much more.

1. In China, Corporations Cultivate Profits and Conscience
Coca-Cola will revamp bottling practices globally to save water and fund conservation along the Yangtze River and other major waterways, highlighting a growing emphasis on social and environmental spending by multinationals in China. Under the program, Coca-Cola Co. intends to offset some of the 76 billion gallons of water -- a two-month supply of drinking water for New York City -- that the world's largest beverage maker and its bottlers use each year to make Coke, Sprite, Fanta and other drinks.

2. Contaminated Zone Near Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Becomes Wildlife Haven, Intriguing Biologists
Two decades after an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant sent clouds of radioactive particles drifting over the fields near her home, Maria Urupa says the wilderness is encroaching. Packs of wolves have eaten two of her dogs, the 73-year-old says, and wild boar trample through her cornfield. And she says fox, rabbits and snakes infest the meadows near her tumbledown cottage.

3. House Chairman Pushes Tougher Regulation for Wind Industry
Birds and bats have a powerful advocate in the new Congress, and he is making the wind energy industry nervous. Rep. Nick Rahall, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, is pushing legislation that would more strictly regulate wind energy to protect birds, bats and other wildlife killed when they fly into the giant turbines. Wind energy advocates say the bill could significantly cripple the burgeoning industry and they brand the measure as "anti-wind."

4. Dredging May Not Eliminate Contaminants
Contaminated sediments in rivers and bays from coast to coast pose an environmental hazard, and while dredging reduces the sediment it doesn't always solve the problem, the National Research Council reported Tuesday. Inevitably dredging leaves some contamination behind, and in some cases further treatment is necessary, such as capping with a layer of clean material, the council said.

5. Tree Planting, Worm Farming on World Environment Day
Australian protesters held a "picnic rally" against the logging of native forests while hundreds of Indian policemen swapped guns for spades to plant trees on Tuesday to highlight World Environment Day. Across Asia, people learned about worm farming and composting, listened to lectures about renewable energy and cutting carbon emissions, while school children took part in plays and painting competitions.

6. U.S. Religious Leaders Assert Need To Act on Climate
Episcopal, Catholic, Jewish and evangelical Christian -- agreed Thursday on the need to confront global warming, while other faith representatives questioned the climate change threat. The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church and a former oceanographer, told the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee that most religious people have reached accord on the need to act.

7. Toyota Worldwide Hybrid Sales Hit More Than One Million; Prius Makes Up Three-Quarters
Toyota said Thursday global sales of its hybrid vehicles have topped 1 million, a landmark for the Japanese automaker that leads the world in "green" cars. Toyota Motor Corp.'s cumulative sales of gas-and-electric-powered vehicles totaled 1.047 million as of the end of May. Of those, nearly 345,000 hybrids were sold in Japan, while 702,000 were sold abroad, the company said in a statement.

8. Whole Foods, Wild Oats To Challenge FTC Lawsuit
U.S. antitrust authorities said Tuesday they would file suit to block Whole Foods Market Inc.'s proposed acquisition of rival Wild Oats Markets Inc. on grounds that the deal would hobble competition in the market for natural and organic groceries. The Federal Trade Commission said it would challenge the transaction in federal court because it would eliminate competition between "two uniquely close competitors" in many local markets around the United States.

9. Climate Change Imperils Monuments
Rising seas, spreading deserts, intensifying weather and other harbingers of climate change are threatening cultural landmarks from Canada to Antarctica, the World Monuments Fund said Wednesday. New Orleans' hurricane-ravaged historic neighborhoods, the Church of the Holy Nativity under Palestinian control in Bethlehem, cultural heritage sites in Iraq and Machu Picchu Historic Sanctuary in Peru are among the locations listed on the fund's top 100 most endangered.

10. India Uses 'Mooing' Ringtones To Catch Leopards
Forest guards in western India are using cell phones with ringtones of cows mooing, goats bleating and roosters crowing to attract leopards that have wandered into human settlements, officials said on Monday. The wild cats in the state of Gujarat often roam into villages near forests in search of food, say officials, adding that this results in attacks on people.