Two bills in Congress would dramatically strengthen the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ability to regulate chemicals. The bills shift the burden of proof to industry, which would have to demonstrate the safety of existing and new chemicals. That’s a major change from the existing system, in which EPA must prove that chemicals are harmful before…

The renowned primatologist and conservationist on the need for scientific empathy, the impact of economic development, and why children give her hope for the future.

The rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere means far more energy is coming into Earth’s climate system than is going out, but half of that energy is missing and could eventually reappear as another sign of climate change, scientists said on Thursday. In stable climate times, the amount of heat coming into Earth’s system…

How hot is it? It depends, of course, on where you are. From a global perspective there are agencies that check and recheck and average it all out. The world’s combined global land and ocean surface temperature made last month the warmest March on record, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Taken separately,…

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the15th annual U.S. greenhouse gas inventory report, which shows a drop in overall emissions of 2.9 percent from 2007 to 2008. The downward trend is attributed to a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions associated with fuel and electricity consumption. An emissions inventory that identifies and quantifies a…

The Montenegro government was yesterday handed a 14,764 signature petition asking it to consider alternatives to its four dam plan for the country’s second most important and most scenic River. In Montenegro, Lake Skadar – a key area for biodiversity in the Balkans – is threatened by four dams planned on the Morača River. According…

A Brazilian judge on Wednesday suspended the preliminary license for the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, a controversial project in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, citing “danger of irreparable harm,” reports the Amazon Watch, an NGO that has been campaigning on the issue. The move comes just days after a high-profile visit by James Cameron,…

Air traffic in much of northern Europe was halted Thursday by ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland, aviation authorities said. “Due to ash, air traffic on the sea area between Scotland, Norway, northern Sweden, Britain, Norway and northern Finland is being limited,” Finland’s airport agency Finavia said. A volcanic eruption in Iceland spewed black…

For those in the American Northeast last winter was rugged and fairly cold. Yet what is he world picture? The World Meteorological Organization’s latest report demonstrates that 2000-2009 is the warmest decade since modern measurements began recording temperatures around 1850. In its annual report, “WMO Statement on the Status of the Global Climate,” the WMO…

President Obama is turning his attention to energy. Recently he allowed new drilling for oil and gas along American coastlines. And he’s agreed to subsidize new nuclear power plants. Besides satisfying demands for more energy, these actions could help the president win votes for a new climate and energy bill pending in Congress. But restarting…