Good Food is First Food. It is not junk food. It is the food that connects nature and nutrition with livelihoods. This food is good for our health; it comes from the rich biodiversity of our regions; it provides employment to people. Most importantly, cooking and eating give us pleasure. …
Clean water policy is in a terrible muddle, and the country has the Supreme Court to thank for it. The 1972 Clean Water Act was written to protect all the waters and wetlands of the United States. Two unfortunate Supreme Court decisions narrowed its scope, weakened its safeguards and thoroughly …
President Obama on Thursday highlighted his ambition for the development of high-speed passenger rail lines in at least 10 regions, expressing confidence in the future of train travel even as he acknowledged that the American rail network, compared with the rest of the world
Britons will get cash incentives to buy electric and plug in hybrid cars, the Labour government announced on Thursday, reports our special correspondent. The Labour government said it would provide help worth
The United States and Mexico agreed on Thursday on a new partnership to fight climate change and promote environmentally-friendly forms of energy production, they said in a joint statement. US President Barack Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, meeting in Mexico City, agreed to broaden political and technical cooperation on …
The US Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday it is seeking public comment on whether to allow a higher level of ethanol to be blended into gasoline. Growth Energy and more than 50 ethanol manufacturers petitioned the EPA last month to raise the maximum blend level for ethanol in gasoline from …
US efforts to curb emissions of greenhouse gases mean Canada will have to put a price on carbon and set up a national cap-and-trade system, an official panel said Thursday. Canada's Conservative government wants to fight global warming by reducing the intensity of emissions rather than capping them. But the …
The push to add more renewable wind and solar megawatts to the US electric mix will force changes in the way the power grid operates to keep electricity flowing reliably, said an industry watchdog Thursday. Climate-change concerns have led more than half of US states to mandate that a percentage …
Russia's greenhouse gas emissions rose by a tiny 0.3 percent in 2007 to the highest since 1990s economic downturn caused by the break-up of the Soviet Union, according to data submitted to the United Nations. Emissions edged up to 2.192 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2007 from 2.185 …
The world's forests are at risk of becoming a source of planet-warming emissions instead of soaking them up like a sponge unless greenhouse gases are controlled, scientists said. Deforestation emits 20 percent of the world's carbon dioxide when people cut and burn trees, but standing forests soak up 25 percent …
The Environmental Protection Agency said it would order the manufacturers of 67 pesticides to test whether their products disrupt the hormonal system of humans or animals. Congress passed a bill mandating such tests in 1996, but the agency took years to develop them and ensure their validity, officials said. The …
As Washington tries to rebuild its strained relationships in Latin America, China is stepping in vigorously, offering countries across the region large amounts of money while they struggle with sharply slowing economies, a plunge in commodity prices and restricted access to credit. In recent weeks, China has been negotiating deals …
Norway became on Wednesday the first Arctic state to agree limits to its northern seabed, stopping short of the North Pole in a regional territorial scramble driven partly by hopes of finding oil and gas. Norway's newly defined continental shelf covers 235,000 sq kms (90,740 sq miles), or three-quarters the …
California will receive $260 million of $1 billion in US economic stimulus funds slated for water infrastructure, US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday. The announcement comes amid California's third consecutive year of drought, a weakening state economy and a lack of consensus in the state …
The Obama administration wants to ensure that legislation being crafted by Congress to fight global climate change does not violate international trade rules and backfire on US exports, the top US trade official said in a letter to a Republican lawmaker. The letter from US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, released …
US greenhouse gas emissions rose 1.4 percent in 2007, compared to the previous year, the US Environmental Protection Agency reported on Wednesday. The report also indicates that US emissions of climate-warming gases such as carbon dioxide and methane rose 17.2 percent from 1990 to 2007. The increase in 2007 was …
There are positive signs a climate summit in December will forge a broader pact between rich and poorer nations to fight global warming, a top Australian official and an influential Chinese expert said on Wednesday. But the "wasteful and luxurious" lifestyles of rich nations could yet alienate poorer nations, with …
Just 2 percent of the growing number of self-proclaimed green products on store shelves make completely legitimate claims on their labels, a report by consulting firm TerraChoice Environmental Marketing said Wednesday. The remainder commit "greenwashing" sins, that is they mislead consumers about the environmental benefits of a product or the …
