Makkah to keep Arafat green 7/11/2013

The Makkah municipality in a statement on Tuesday, denied recent reports that it was planning to cut down all trees in Arafat because they had become a source for increasing number of insects. ...more

Greenhouse gas volumes reached new high in 2012: WMO 7/11/2013

Atmospheric volumes of greenhouse gases blamed for climate change hit a new record in 2012, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said on Wednesday. ...more

China to close schools, stop outdoor activities during heavy smog 7/11/2013

Chinese cities should close schools, cut working hours and stop outdoor activities during the most severe spells of air pollution, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Wednesday. ...more

Playing loud pop music boosts output of solar panels by 40% 7/11/2013

Playing loud pop and rock music improves the performance of solar cells, according to new research from scientists at Queen Mary University of London and Imperial College London. ...more

UN highlights role of farming in closing emissions gap 7/11/2013

Changing farming practices could play an important role in averting dangerous climate change says the UN. ...more

Endangered Arabic bustard makes Paris Zoo debut 6/11/2013

The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) iconic Houbara bustards made an appearance in western Europe Tuesday when eight of the endangered Asian birds were officially unveiled at a ceremony in Paris at the Menagerie, the zoo of the Jardin des Plantes (National Museum of Natural History) in Paris. ...more

Beijing slashes car sales quota in anti-pollution drive 6/11/2013

China's capital, Beijing, infamous for its thick smog and heavy traffic, will slash the city's new car sales quotas by almost 40 percent next year, as it looks to curb vehicle emissions and hazardous levels of pollution, the city government website said. ...more

BASF challenges EU ban on fipronil pesticide 6/11/2013

German chemicals group BASF said it launched a legal challenge against the European Commission's ban of BASF's insecticide fipronil, imposed in July on concern its use as seed treatment is linked to declining bee populations. ...more

Tanzania seizes 797 elephant tusks, arrests Chinese nationals 6/11/2013

Police in Tanzania arrested three Chinese nationals and seized hundreds of elephant tusks in the past week in anti-poaching raids in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam and the southern town of Mtwara. ...more

Mysterious disease turning starfish to 'slime' on U.S. West Coast 6/11/2013

Scientists are struggling to find the trigger for a disease that appears to be ravaging starfish in record numbers along the U.S. West Coast, causing the sea creatures to lose their limbs and turn to slime in a matter of days. ...more