Climate Climate & Energy

All's Quiet on the Rocky Mountain Front

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an industry appeal of a 1997 U.S. Forest Service decision to ban oil and gas exploration on Montana’s Rocky Mountain Front, a 1.8 million-acre swath of land where the plains meet the Rocky Mountains. The area, which is home to grizzlies, wolves, and bighorn sheep, also […]

Butterflies in Their Stomachs

Seventy-five percent of butterfly species in the United Kingdom are in decline, according to a study published this week in the journal Nature. Some experts had expected butterflies to be doing well as a result of global warming, because milder weather was expected to increase the ranges of many species. But temperature increases in the […]

Bus-ted

The city of New Delhi has less than four months to convert all diesel buses to natural gas, following an order today by India’s Supreme Court. New Delhi has missed several previous court deadlines, and at least 9,000 of the city’s 12,000 public buses still rely on diesel fuel. The Supreme Court orders have sparked […]

The U.S. should take a cue from nature in its fight against terrorism

Foulbanks, Alaska

More than 100 workers are busily cleaning up a 285,600-gallon oil spill outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, that began Thursday when a man fired a .338 caliber rifle at the trans-Alaskan pipeline. About a third of the spilled oil has been recovered, but a representative of the company managing the cleanup said it would be years […]

Fill Up Yer Camel, Sir?

A court in Pakistan ruled yesterday that Britain’s Premier Oil can go ahead with plans to test for natural gas in the country’s largest national park, which is home to rare urial sheep, ibex, and chinkara gazelle. Shehri-Citizens for a Better Environment and Friends of the Earth International say Premier’s exploratory surveys would threaten the […]

The Bus Stops Here

India’s Supreme Court today postponed a Sunday deadline for all buses in Delhi to convert from diesel fuel to compressed natural gas, saying that commuters would be inconvenienced if diesel buses were taken off the road because the city has done little to comply with a court order to improve air quality. About 9,000 of […]

Lots Toulouse

An explosion at one of France’s largest petrochemical plants last Friday has left 29 people dead, 10 missing, and 2,500 injured. The blast from the AZF plant in Toulouse sent acid clouds into the air and caused problems as far as three miles away. Philippe Douste-Blazy, the mayor of Toulouse, said some 20,000 homes, apartments, […]

Ayatollah You So

Iran is in the midst of its worst drought in 30 years, heightening problems caused by poor water management, climate change, and rapid population growth. The country’s largest body of freshwater, Lake Hamoun, is now desert and 100 nearby villages are disappearing beneath sand. Drinking water is being rationed in more than 30 cities, including […]

At the Head of the Class

Lawyers from top environmental groups in the U.S. are considering such new legal strategies as broad-based class-action lawsuits to force the U.S. and corporations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Whether in federal courts or international tribunals, the lawyers would sue on behalf of people or whole countries suffering from the effects of global warming. For […]