Environmental News Network

California emissions waiver formally blocked
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Friday formally rejected California's bid for a waiver from U.S. law to set its own tailpipe emissions standard to reduce global warming. The Environmental Protection Agency released a regulatory notice signed by Administrator Stephen Johnson, canceling California's plans to impose a state law that would have forced automakers to reduce emissions by making cars that achieve sharply higher gas mileage beginning next year. >> Read the Full Article
Antarctic boulders may point to sea level rise
OSLO (Reuters) - Boulders as big as soccer balls show that a thinning of West Antarctic glaciers has become 20 times faster in recent decades and may hold clues to future sea level rise, scientists said on Friday. Rocks trapped in glacier ice start to react like clockwork when exposed to the air because of a bombardment of cosmic rays. Scientists studied boulders by three glaciers to find how long they have been out of the ice and so judge the pace of thinning. >> Read the Full Article
Only Austria and Denmark have issued 2008 EUAs: EU
LONDON (Reuters) - Just two countries have so far met a deadline on Thursday to give their industry permits to emit carbon dioxide, the European Union's executive Commission said, likely delaying a 2008 carbon spot market. Thirteen countries have submitted the necessary information to the Commission to be able to allocate EUAs, and of these, five have received Commission approval to issue. >> Read the Full Article
Record-warm winter in Finland may boost crops
HELSINKI (Reuters) - The warmest winter ever recorded in Finland may boost grain crops as the growing season is likely to be longer than usual, experts said on Thursday. The Finnish Meteorological Institute said the December-February period was the warmest since records began more than 100 years ago, with average temperatures about 5 degrees Celsius (9 Fahrenheit) higher than usual. >> Read the Full Article
Climate change and urban sprawl alter Iditarod race
WASILLA, Alaska (Reuters) - Urban sprawl and dwindling snow have forced organizers of the world's most famous sled-dog race to bypass Wasilla, a fast-growing Alaskan city that calls itself "Home of the Iditarod." The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has formally moved the start of the race's timed competition to Willow, a hamlet 40 miles north of Wasilla. >> Read the Full Article
Field Dispatch: Natural Habitat Antarctica Final Dispatch
How can I discuss the profound experience of visiting Antarctica in a way that hasnâ€™t already been done? Libraries are filled with books that describe travels to the continent, but most seem to describe it as a place to be conquered, or at least survived. Practically a whole subgenre of literature concerns the incredible survival stories from the early and not-so-early explorers; names like Scott, Mawson, Byrd, Ross, Amundsen, and of course, Shackleton, are embedded in our collective consciousness as men who challenged the continent â€“ and who sometimes paid the ultimate price. Fortunately, however, Antarctica is being seen more recently as something greater than just a savage world to be survived. >> Read the Full Article
Death toll from Madagascar cyclone hits 60
ANTANANARIVO (Reuters) - Cyclone Ivan killed 60 people when it tore through Madagascar last week, officials said on Tuesday, more than doubling the previous death toll of 22. "More than 200,000 people are affected," Jean Rakotomalala, head of the country's National Office of Disasters and Risk Management, told reporters. >> Read the Full Article
Using organic fertilizers could protect against climate change
Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, and Singapore (25 February, 2008) â€“ Applying organic fertilizers, such as those resulting from composting, to agricultural land could increase the amount of carbon stored in these soils and contribute significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, according to new research published in a special issue of Waste Management & Research (Special issue published today by SAGE). >> Read the Full Article
Power users warn EU investment stalls over climate
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Energy-intensive industries in Europe warned on Thursday that big investment decisions are being put on hold until the European Union hammers out its plan for fighting climate change after 2012. A month after the EU's executive announced proposals to curb greenhouse gas emissions in the 27-nation bloc, executives from some of Europe's biggest companies said they could not afford to wait long for details of how the system will work. >> Read the Full Article
Greenland's Rising Air Temperatures Drive Ice Loss At Surface And Beyond
Greenland's enormous ice sheet is home to enough ice to raise sea level by about 23 feet if the entire ice sheet were to melt into surrounding waters. Though the loss of the whole ice sheet is unlikely, loss from Greenland's ice mass has already contributed in part to 20th century sea level rise of about two millimeters per year, and future melt has the potential to impact people and economies across the globe. So NASA scientists used state-of-the-art NASA satellite technologies to explore the behavior of the ice sheet, revealing a relationship between changes at the surface and below. >> Read the Full Article