Environment News Service

U.S. Senate Bars GMO Labels as March Against Monsanto Revs Up

editor@ens-news.com — Sat, 25 May 2013 00:47:53 +0000

WASHINGTON, DC, May 24, 2013 (ENS) - Two days before thousands across the United States plan to march against Monsanto's genetically engineered crops, the U.S. Senate Thursday turned down a measure allowing states to require labels on foods made with genetically modified ingredients.

Beijing’s Goal: 50,000 Electric Vehicles by 2015

editor@ens-news.com — Fri, 24 May 2013 20:32:09 +0000

BEIJING, China, May 24, 2013 (ENS) - The City of Beijing plans to have 50,000 electric cars on the streets by 2015, 30,000 of which will be owned privately, according to the Legal Evening News, a Beijing newspaper.

EPA Employees on Furlough for ‘Don’t Fry Day’

editor@ens-news.com — Fri, 24 May 2013 19:53:45 +0000

WASHINGTON, DC, May 24, 2013 (ENS) - Most of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 17,700 employees are on furlough today to meet the budget requirements of the sequester, but still the agency is recognizing the Friday before Memorial Day as “Don’t Fry Day.”

Global Scientists, California Governor Call for Climate Action

editor@ens-news.com — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:47:47 +0000

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California, May 23, 2013 (ENS) - Warning that Earth is rapidly approaching a tipping point at which human impacts are causing alarming levels of harm to our planet, California Governor Jerry Brown today joined more than 500 scientists to release a call to action on climate change and other global threats to all humanity.

U.S. Groundwater Consumption Accelerating

editor@ens-news.com — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:17:13 +0000

RESTON, Virginia, May 23, 2013 (ENS) - Aquifers across the United States are being drawn down at an increasing pace, finds a new study released today by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Mountains of Wealth in Afghanistan

editor@ens-news.com — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:08:15 +0000

ASSADABAD, Afghanistan, May 23, 2013 (ENS) - Illegal and risky it may be, but mining for gemstones is an irresistible way of earning a living for some Afghans.

Act to Stop ‘Climate Deniers’ From Winning the Information War

editor@ens-news.com — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:37:43 +0000

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada, May 22, 2013 (ENS) - The global warming deniers are at it again, and it is high time that the environmental movement in the United States and Canada launched an organized campaign to expose these scientific community charlatans.

Australia OKs Mine on World Heritage Quality Cape York

editor@ens-news.com — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:18:06 +0000

CANBERRA, Australia, May 22, 2013 (ENS) - Australian Environment Minister Tony Burke has approved Rio Tinto Alcan's new South of Embley bauxite mine on Cape York, the peninsula in northern Queensland that the Australian government intends to propose as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Public Employees Sue Over ‘Political Deals’ Behind Wolf Delisting

editor@ens-news.com — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:37:08 +0000

WASHINGTON, DC, May 22, 2013 (ENS) - The Obama Administration's plan to remove the gray wolf from the protections of the Endangered Species Act, as detailed in a draft Federal Register notice released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, PEER, is temporarily on hold.

Cooking Oil to Biodiesel Plant Planned for Colorado

editor@ens-news.com — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:23:15 +0000

BOULDER, Colorado, May 21, 2013 (ENS) - A new biodiesel production plant to be built in Boulder will make 11.5 million gallons a year of the clean burning fuel from used cooking oil collected from local restaurants.

Oklahoma Twister Kills 51, Injures Dozens More

editor@ens-news.com — Tue, 21 May 2013 05:52:01 +0000

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, May 20, 2013 (ENS) - A powerful tornado tore through Moore and south Oklahoma City Monday, killing at least 51 people, including 20 children.

India Bans Captive Dolphin Shows as ‘Morally Unacceptable’

editor@ens-news.com — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:47:30 +0000

NEW DELHI, India, May 20, 2013 (ENS) - India's Ministry of Environment and Forests has decided to forbid the keeping of captive dolphins for public entertainment anywhere in the country.

U.S. Musters Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Partners

editor@ens-news.com — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:20:05 +0000

WASHINGTON, DC, May 20, 2013 (ENS) - To foster the adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles, the U.S. Energy Department has embarked on a new public-private partnership to develop the country's hydrogen infrastructure.

Sarawak Native Leader Barred from Hydropower World Congress

editor@ens-news.com — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:08:22 +0000

KUCHING, Sarawak, Malaysia, May 20, 2013 (ENS) - This morning Sarawak indigenous leader Peter Kallang, chairman of the SAVE Rivers network, which opposes a dozen dams planned for the rivers of Borneo, was barred from the first meeting of the International Hydropower Assocation's World Congress ever held in Asia.

California’s High Court Upholds Los Angeles Bag Law

editor@ens-news.com — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:52:30 +0000

SACRAMENTO, California, May 20, 2013 (ENS) - A plastic bag manufacturer's appeal to the California Supreme Court against the Los Angeles County reusable bag ordinance has failed.

Six Die as 200 mph Tornado Howls Across Texas

editor@ens-news.com — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:39:14 +0000

AUSTIN, Texas, May 16, 2013 (ENS) - Six people have lost their lives and nearly 100 others were injured as tornadoes touched down in north-central Texas overnight. More than 100 homes were damaged or destroyed.

Arctic Council Prioritizes Sustainable Development, Climate Action

editor@ens-news.com — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:33:33 +0000

KIRUNA, Sweden, May 16, 2013 (ENS) - Ministers from the eight Arctic states and representatives of the Arctic Indigenous Peoples Wednesday adopted a shared vision statement for the future development of the region as a "zone of peace and stability."

California Father and Son Rhino Horn Smugglers Imprisoned

editor@ens-news.com — Thu, 16 May 2013 01:46:53 +0000

LOS ANGELES, California, May 15, 2013 (ENS) - A father and son team from Orange County, described by prosecutors as being "at the apex of the rhino horn smuggling pyramid within the United States," each will spend more than three years in federal prison on federal smuggling and money laundering convictions.

Loud Seismic Tests Probed for Harm to Whales, Dolphins

editor@ens-news.com — Thu, 16 May 2013 00:51:59 +0000

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana, May 15, 2013 (ENS) - The U.S. federal agency that oversees offshore oil exploration will analyze the effects of noisy underwater seismic blasts on whales and dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico.

Indian Ocean Cyclone Threatens Over Eight Million People

editor@ens-news.com — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:20:59 +0000

DHAKA, Bangladesh, May 15, 2013 (ENS) - A cyclone blowing across the Indian Ocean is expected to hit Bangladesh on Thursday, threatening the lives of 8.2 million people in northeast India, Bangladesh and Myanmar (Burma). The highest storm surge and rainfall predictions are for Bangladesh's coastal cities of Chittagong and Cox's Bazaar.