Rising global temperatures have reduced yields of wheat and corn in some countries, a decline that probably has contributed to the rise in agricultural commodity prices in recent years, according to a study in the journal Science.

Researchers from Stanford and Columbia (more…)

It has become the hottest environmental debate in Brazil, one that was on the agenda of the presidential candidates during last year’s campaign.

A proposed overhaul of Brazil’s legislation that requires landowners to keep 80 per cent of the forest coverage on their land is about to get re-written due (more…)

The debate over the success, failure, and continuation of the Kyoto Protocol has begun. Yet, despite some of the uncertainty and lack of participation by several major nations, climate change issues are clearly taking a higher priority in the boardroom and executive suite of many major corporations around (more…)

Driving is an inevitable part of day-to-day life for many commuters. The impact of vehicle related CO2 emissions can no longer be ignored. There are more than 250 million cars regularly operated in the United States. In total, these cars make 365 billion trips with a combined mileage of 2.3 trillion miles per (more…)

Climate protection is good business. Entrepreneurs and companies who engage in it are prospering. That’s the message of L. Hunter Lovins and Boyd Cohen in their recently published book Climate Capitalism: Capitalism in the Age of Climate Change. They energetically urge entrepreneurs and businesses to take advantage of the opportunities opened by the need to combat (more…)

Electric vehicles are often touted as much better for the environment than cars with internal combustion engines. But just what are the environmental costs associated with electric vehicles?

It Starts with Production
For starters, electric cars are still made with materials (more…)

Historic town changes mind about historic bottled water ban… in unhistoric fashion

One year after making international headlines as the first town in the United States—and possibly the world—to ban the sale of bottled water, voters at the annual Town Meeting in Concord, Massachusetts last week rejected the water (more…)

Two new studies forecast that energy use and carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. and China will level off by about 2030, even if aggressive measures are not taken to rein in greenhouse gases.

The forecasts, particularly for China, contradict widespread predictions that China’s energy use (more…)

Carbon emission reductions achieved since 1990 by the world’s developed nations were canceled out many times over by the increase of imported goods from nations without binding emissions targets, including China, according to a new report.

While climate policies, including the Kyoto Protocol, (more…)

On April 18, 2011, Molycorp, a U.S. based producer of rare earth metals and owner of the largest rare earth mine outside of China, announced that it has acquired a processing facility to manufacture rare earth magnets. According to CNET, Molycorp paid $17.5 million to Japan-based Santoku for its U.S. (more…)