15 February 2011
BP Plc is facing a new lawsuit by state pension funds in Ohio and New York that claim the oil giant misled investors about its commitment to safety before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The funds filed the class-action suit in the U.S. District Court in the southern district of Texas Monday seeking compensation for the investments lost after the April 20 disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
Posted in Oil & Petroleum0 Comments
15 February 2011
A group of 20 penguins rescued from Brazilian beaches last year have been sent to the U.S. for an exhibition on climate change. Brazilian scientists say the Magellanic penguins arrived safely this weekend in Los Angeles, where they will be kept in quarantine before being sent to California's Monterey Bay Aquarium, AFP reports.
Posted in Birds0 Comments
15 February 2011
The European Union is placing new restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions for commercial vans in an effort to reduce fuel costs and eliminate the heat-trapping gases blamed for climate change. The European parliament voted Tuesday for new limits that will require auto manufacturers to reduce CO2 emissions by 14 percent by 2017, AFP reports. A 28 percent reduction from 2007 levels would follow in 2020.
Posted in Global Warming0 Comments
15 February 2011
Monarch butterfly colonies in Mexico have seemingly bounced back from last year, when bad storms decimated their numbers by 75 percent. The orange-and-black butterflies, which migrate from Canada and the U.S. to Mexico each year, have more than doubled since last year's low - but their numbers remain below average, scientists say.
Posted in Bugs, Insects, & Invertebrates0 Comments
15 February 2011
A federal judge says he will allow the slaughter of hundreds of wild bison that wandered from Yellowstone National Park into Montana. U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell said in a 72-page ruling Monday that he will deny requests from sportsmen, Indian tribes and environmentalists to stop the mass kill.
Posted in Mammals0 Comments
14 February 2011
Chevron will appeal an Ecuador court ruling that ordered the U.S. oil giant to pay $8 billion damages for allegedly causing widespread environmental devastation in the Amazon jungle. The company on Monday rejected the disputed lawsuit's ruling as "illegitimate," Reuters reports.
Posted in Oil & Petroleum0 Comments
14 February 2011
Kenyan conservationists are worried that the burgeoning demand for ivory will undo years of work getting the country's elephant population to healthy numbers. Wildlife officials say that a survey of an elephant sanctuary from an aerial census showed that growth had slowed to two percent from four percent in 2008, AFP reports.
Posted in Mammals0 Comments
14 February 2011
U.S. President Barack Obama is calling for additional federal funding for clean energy research as part of his 2012 budget. The proposed plan, which was released Monday and is pending approval from Congress, also seeks to eliminate longstanding subsidies for fossil fuels.
Posted in Global Warming, Policies0 Comments
14 February 2011
Iranian authorities used tear gas to disperse protesters gathered for Egypt-inspired demonstrations in central Tehran Monday. The Wall Street Journal reported that protesters rallied in Tehran's Enghelab or Revolution Square, chanting "death to the dictator" and "down with the Taliban, in Cairo and Tehran."
Posted in Other0 Comments
14 February 2011
As Egypt's military worked to clear the remaining protesters from Cairo's central square, an unconfirmed report surfaced that ousted President Hosni Mubarak was in a coma. Quoting "well-informed sources," Al-Masry al-Youm said Mubarak had fallen into the coma in Sharm el-Sheik, while pro-government daily al-Gomhuria said he was in a "severe psychological condition" but not a coma, UPI reports.
Posted in Politics & Politicians0 Comments
