Global warming could lead to more arctic energy

Reuters reports that, according to the European Union, 'the Arctic offers new energy and fishing resources as a result of global warming and new technology' (Photo: Reuters).

Bush to relax endangered species regulations

The USA Today reports that 'Animals and plants facing possible extinction could lose the protection of government experts who make sure that dams, highways or other projects do not pose a threat, under rules the Bush administration is set to put in place before President-elect Barack Obama can reverse them' (Photo: Reuters)

Auction of land in U.S. national parks for oil upsets environmentalists

The International Herald Tribune reports that 'late on election day, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced a Dec. 19 auction of more than 50,000 acres of oil and gas parcels alongside or within view of Arches National Park and two other redrock national parks in Utah: Dinosaur and Canyonlands'. (Photo: Reuters).

California to plan climate change strategy

The International Herald Tribune reports that California governor 'Arnold Schwarzenegger has instructed state agencies to prepare for climate change, especially rising seas, as they plan to replace, upgrade and repair the system of pipelines that distributes water around sewage treatment plants and low-lying airports, among other things'.

Future of coal burning plants uncertain

The Associated Press reports that 'the fate of scores of new coal-burning power plants is now in limbo over whether to regulate heat-trapping greenhouse gases' after 'an Environmental Protection Agency appeals panel on Thursday rejected a federal permit for a Utah plant, leaving the issue for the Obama administration to resolve' (Photo: Reuters).

Setback for carbon-trapping technology in EU talks

Reuters reports that 'Plans to put billions of euros of public funds behind cutting-edge technology to trap and bury global warming gases suffered at setback in European Union talks on Friday' (Photo: Reuters).

EPA Advisers Seek Perchlorate Review

The Washington Post reports that 'the Environmental Protection Agency's scientific advisers have warned the agency that it should delay final action on its decision not to set a federal drinking-water standard for perchlorate, a chemical in rocket fuel, because the computer model underlying the decision may have flaws' (Photo: New York Times).

US officials to address security implications of warmer planet

The New York Times reports that "As a new administration committed to addressing climate change takes office, intelligence and defense officials are laying plans to address the national security implications of a warmer planet" - having discussed in recent months "the impact on personnel, equipment and installations of extreme weather events, rising ocean temperatures, shifts in rainfall patterns and stresses on natural resources" (Photo: Reuters).

US Sugar to sell Florida 181,000 acres to save everglades

The New York Times reports that "United States Sugar Corporation has agreed to sell 181,000 acres of farmland to the State of Florida for $1.34 billion in a slimmed-down deal intended to rescue the Everglades while letting the company stay in business" (Photo:Reuters)

Alaska's North Slope holds one of nation's largest recoverable natural gas deposits

The Washington Post reports that "federal scientists have concluded that Alaska's North Slope holds one of the nation's largest deposits of recoverable natural gas in the form of gas hydrates, a finding that could open a major new front in domestic energy exploration" (Photo: Reuters).

Results may come soon in test of tree response to warming

AP reports that "for more than a decade, the federal government has spent millions of dollars pumping elevated levels of carbon dioxide into small groups of trees to test how forests will respond to global warming in the next 50 years" and "scientists think they are on the cusp of receiving key results from the time-consuming experiments" though the "Department of Energy, which is funding the project, has told the scientists to chop down the trees, collect the data and move on to new research." (Photo: Reuters)

Bush's vision for protecting Pacific hits resistance

"President Bush's vision for protecting two vast areas of the Pacific Ocean from fishing and mineral exploitation, a move that would constitute a major expansion of his environmental legacy, is running into dogged resistance both inside and outside the White House," the Washington Post reports. (Photo: Associated Press)