Reuters: Environment

U.S. says states can lift emission monitoring bar

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 03:44:07 -0400

(Reuters) - A U.S. federal court on Tuesday overturned a rule that prevented state and local authorities from raising emissions monitoring requirements for polluting units such as chemical plants and oil refineries.

Hopes fade for abandoned baby whale in Australia

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:53:51 -0400

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Hopes of saving a baby whale abandoned by its mother in a bay north of Sydney faded late on Wednesday as the calf continued to try to suckle from a moored yacht. International experts said it had just days to live.

U.N. climate talks seek quicker pace

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:19:48 -0400

OSLO (Reuters) - More than 150 nations meet in Ghana from Thursday trying to speed up sluggish talks on a new climate treaty and plug big gaps in a "vision" of leading industrial nations of halving world greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Australian "hot rocks" offer 26,000 yrs of power

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:51:01 -0400

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia scientists estimate that only one percent of the nation's untapped geothermal energy could produce 26,000 years worth of clean electricity.

Norway to survey seabed for planned CO2 pipelines

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:16:47 -0400

OSLO (Reuters) - North Sea gas pipeline operator Gassco has awarded Swedish Marine Matteknikk AB a contract to survey 636 km of seabed for potential pipelines to carry carbon dioxide to offshore burial sites, it said on Wednesday.

NYC mayor calls for wind turbines atop skyscrapers

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:04:19 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wind turbines would top New York City skyscrapers and bridges and dot the city's shorelines, while the mighty tides that drive the Hudson and East Rivers would also generate power under a new plan Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented on Tuesday.

Warming climate threatens Alaska's vast forests

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:27:12 -0400

KENAI NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Here in a 13,700-year-old peat bog, ecologist Ed Berg reaches into the moss and pulls out more evidence of the drastic changes afoot due to the Earth's warming climate.

Beijingers ask how long blue skies will last

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:42:07 -0400

BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing's buildings and at times even the mountains can be clearly seen during the day, while the sunset in the evening turns scattered clouds pink and orange.

Spain government vows firm action on nuclear leak

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 09:51:49 -0400

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's government said on Tuesday it would take firm action against a nuclear plant after the watchdog pressed for charges over its handling of a radioactive leak for which 2,600 people had to be screened.

Vietnam, Cambodia brace for Mekong floods

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 06:10:38 -0400

HANOI (Reuters) - Rising Mekong floods upstream may cause landslides and deep inundation in Cambodia and southern Vietnam but the seasonal floodwater would also bring farmers good crops of rice and fish, officials said on Tuesday.