In-active devices waste billions of dollars of electricity 8/5/2015

Approximately $19 billion worth of electricity, equal to the output of 50 large power plants, is devoured annually by U.S. household electronics, appliances, and other equipment when consumers are not actively using them, according to a groundbreaking study released yesterday by the Natural Resources Defense Council. ...more

The new homeless: Some of the world's rarest animals 8/5/2015

In 2010, a group of conservation organizations called the Alliance for Zero Extinction identified 312,000 square miles of forest habitats that it said were critical for the protection of more than 920 endangered species around the world. ...more

Norway to reduce electric car incentives 8/5/2015

Norway plans to gradually reduce some of the incentives offered to drivers of electric cars, which now account for almost a quarter of the country's new car registrations. ...more

Aspirin precursor defends acacia plants from drought 7/5/2015

A trial to develop drought-resistant acacia shrubs to combat desertification in Saudi Arabia has resulted in plants that can survive on as little as one liter of water a month. ...more

Amount of carbon dioxide in air keeps rising, hits milestone 7/5/2015

Global levels of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent heat-trapping gas, have passed a daunting milestone, federal scientists say. ...more

Beijing snuffs out suburban BBQs in pre-Olympic smog fight 7/5/2015

Beijing has extended a ban on outdoor barbecues to restaurants operating in some suburban areas as it tries to improve its notoriously poor air quality in case it wins the 2022 Winter Olympics, state news agency Xinhua reported. ...more

To protect carob groves, Cyprus recruits owls and snakes 7/5/2015

Barn owls and black snakes are being enlisted in Cyprus to protect carob trees, known on the Mediterranean island since antiquity and once a flourishing export but now threatened by urbanization and rats. ...more

Smuggler caught in Indonesia with rare birds jammed inside water bottles 7/5/2015

Indonesian police have arrested a suspected wildlife smuggler after discovering nearly two dozen rare live birds, mostly yellow-crested cockatoos, jammed inside plastic water bottles in his luggage. ...more

Curriculum needs to educate Lebanon’s youth on climate change 6/5/2015

Introducing climate change education in Lebanon is key to assessing its impacts and building more sustainable communities, experts agreed Tuesday, amid a regional conference dedicated to the issue. ...more

China, EU working on common approach on climate change 6/5/2015

The European Union's foreign policy chief said Tuesday she's confident the EU and China can agree to a common approach on climate change ahead of crucial carbon reduction talks in Paris this year. ...more