Some world leaders are changing their schedules so they can arrive on the same day President Obama attends the world climate summit.
An administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says leaders that had planned on only attending the second week of the 2-week conference will now arrive on...
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China continued to promise action on emissions at talks held this weekend.
Chinese and European Union leaders have signed a series of bilateral agreements on environmental technology, including plans for reducing coal emissions, energy efficiency and building quality, and sustainable development.
The deals came at meetings in China involving Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, European...
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China is vowing to slow the growth of its carbon emissions, building more momentum for next month's Copenhagen climate talks.
A day after President Obama promised to attend the summit and propose substantial U.S. greenhouse gas emissions cuts, the Chinese government announced that it would reduce its...
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With the countdown to Copenhegen headed into its final days, the Commonwealth nations group met over the weekend with climate change at the top of their agenda.
The 54-nation bloc represents one-third of the world's population. Members declared support for achieving an "operationally binding" deal in Copenhagen -- one that includes tougher...
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The Dalai Lama weighed in on international emissions reductions today, urging world leaders to heavily consider global warming above all other issues.
The Buddhist leader warns that mitigating climate change must be a primary priority because it is a universal problem.
The Dalai Lama said today that leaders often put national interests and economic development...
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A federal judge has ruled that the US Army Corps of Engineers violated environmental laws when it issued permits for 2 mountaintop removal mines in West Virgina.
The decision involves permits issued to subsidiaries of Consol Energy and Penn Virginia Resources.
The judge said the Corps violated the Clean...
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The Energy Department is pushing a national interactive smart grid closer to reality, awarding $620 million for demonstration projects for 32 projects across 21 states.
Speaking in Columbus, Ohio, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the projects would help build a more efficient, more resilient electric grid and...
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President Obama is reportedly planning to travel to Copenhagen for next month's global climate conference.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, tells The Associated Press that the president will be in Copenhagen on Dec. 9 before heading to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. He will be among at least 65 world leaders...
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There's more fallout from the publication of e-mails and data stolen from a British climate research center.
Oklahoma Senator Jim Inhofe, the Senate's most prominent climate change skeptic, says he'll investigate how the U.S. handled climate data and whether researchers "cooked the science."
Inhofe, the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, tells...
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A new study from World Wildlife Fund and European insurer Allianz finds that doing nothing to halt climate change could cost far more than any pending proposals to attack it.
The study finds the heavily populated northeastern U.S. will be at particular risk from sea rise, while the southwest including California will be turning more arid. The study -- by three...
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The Obama administration's plans to offer short-term emissions goals at world climate talks next month are garnering praise from climate bill supporters.
But there's also a warning that offering cuts beyond what legislators are considering could undermine Congressional support.
The House climate bill would reduce emissions 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, while a...
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A senior Obama administration official says the U.S. is preparing to offer an emissions reduction target at next month's climate change conference in Copenhagen, and President Obama is still deciding whether he will attend the talks.
In a background briefing with reporters today, the senior official did not specify the target but said the goal would be in line with recent congressional proposals. The official also said...
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Climate scientists are buzzing about e-mails that the University of East Anglia in Great Britain says were stolen from its computer system.
The university says about a decade's worth of data were taken last week from its Climatic Research Unit. About 1,000 e-mails and 3,000 documents have been posted on several blogs...
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The world's polar ice melt is speeding up.
Researchers at the University of Texas say the the ice sheet in East Antarctica started to melt faster in 2006, and that could cause sea levels to rise sooner than expected.
Scientists at the University's Center for Space Research used satellite data on gravity change to measure the rate of ice melt from April 2002...
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Investigators from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are looking into the release of a small amount of radiation at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.
About 150 employees were sent home Saturday afternoon after the radiation was detected...
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British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is warning world leaders that they "cannot afford to fail" to strike a substantial deal on climate change in Copenhagen next month.
In a letter to Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen, Brown said, "I am committed to doing everything in my power to secure an agreement that marks the decisive global shift towards combating climate...
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BEIJING - China will press industrial nations to share their latest green technologies at lower costs with developing countries at next month’s climate change convention in Copenhagen, according to a Chinese delegation member.
“Technology is the only path for China to get out of its current dilemma (between reducing carbon emissions and the need for economic development),” said Wang Can, Professor of Environmental Studies at Qinghua University, who will bring to Copenhagen a detailed proposal on cross-border exchange of green...
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First Solar is working with Chinese officials to build what they hope will be the world's largest solar power plant.
The Arizona-based solar panel-maker and the Chinese government agreed this week to work on a 2 gigawatt generation project in Inner Mongolia.
The signing ceremony took place during President Obama's visit to China...
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Managers of a controversial U.S.-Chinese wind project in Texas have a new plan to create American jobs.
The U.S. Renewable Energy Group and Chinese turbine maker A-Power are planning a $1.5 billion joint venture to build a 240-turbine wind farm in West Texas.
But New York Senator Chuck Schumer urged the Energy Department to withhold $480 million in...
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The long-awaited pipeline to funnel natural gas across 8 states is now up and running.
The 1,679-mile Rockies Express Pipeline crosses from Wyoming and Colorado to the eastern edge of Ohio.
The last section of 195 miles in Ohio was completed last week. It has taken 3 years to complete and will carry 1.8 billion cubic feet of...
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President Obama is now in South Korea, the latest leg of his Asian tour.
But before he left China this morning, the President called for a broad interim accord in Copenhagen, something he says will lead to immediate action and "rally the world toward a solution on global warming."
Throughout his trip, Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao talked of a joint desire to...
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The next stop on President Obama's Asian tour is South Korea, a country that, along with Brazil, is now offering GHG reduction targets.
South Korea said today it would cut emissions by 4 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. This follows a far more ambitious target just announced by Brazil, where President Lula da Silva said his country would cut 36 to 39 percent from its...
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We now have a new prediction on climate legislation in the U.S. Senate.
Kerry-Boxer bill co-author John Kerry met yesterday with Majority Leader Harry Reid and key committee chairmen, and now Kerry says he...
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Russia and the European Union have agreed to an "early warning" system for potential energy supply cuts, in an effort to avoid a repeat of last year's natural gas dispute that left millions of people without heating fuel.
EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Russian Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko signed...
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Some climate negotiators in Copenhagen are not yet ready to concede defeat on a binding treaty next month.
Environment ministers and negotiators from some 40 nations are gathered in Denmark today and tomorrow to prepare for next month's...
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President Obama has arrived in Beijing for two days of meetings with President Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders, with next steps on climate change at the top of the agenda.
Obama and Hu were also among the 21 national leaders in Singapore Saturday who conceded a new world climate treaty can't be concluded in...
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SINGAPORE: World leaders including US President Barack Obama are acknowledging officially what's been increasingly apparent for months: that the upcoming climate treaty talks in Copenhagen will not achieve the "legally binding" treaty intended when the conference was scheduled two years ago.
Instead, as top negotiators indicated early this month in Barcelona, the talks will aim for a...
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Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and John Barasso (R-Wyo.) are joining forces to sponsor a bill designed to spur carbon capture and storage technology.
The Carbon Dioxide Capture Technology Act would establish a cash award for scientists and researchers. President Obama would...
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Speaking in India, Energy Secretary Steven Chu indicated the United States may not sign an international climate deal unless the Senate passes energy legislation. Chu is in New Delhi to hold meetings with Indian officials on clean energy technology.
The Thai-Indian news reports that he told reporters that the U.S. does not want to "repeat...
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In an effort to jump start the Energy Department's languishing loan guarantee program, Secretary Steven Chu has hired someone to run it full-time.
Jonathan Silver, the Harvard graduated venture capitalist of Core Capital Partners, will now manage the entire DOE program, from analyzing individual loan applications to negotiating the amounts and terms of loan...
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The Tennessee Valley Authority's Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant is facing penalties, after the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the facility potentially violated four safety standards.
NRC Region Two Director Luis Reyes says inspectors found "inadequate fire response procedures and inadequate emergency lighting," though NRC officials say the deficiencies do not...
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The power is back on in Brazil. Now the question is, what to do about the country's energy infrastructure.
Nearly 60 million people plunged into darkness Tuesday night.
Energy Minister Edison Lobao says the hours-long blackout was caused by severe...
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The Energy Department has a new leader for its loan guarantee program.
DOE Secretary Steven Chu has appointed venture capitalist Jonathan Silver to oversee processes.
Silver is charged with jump-starting the $7.5 billion Advanced Technology Vehicles...
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Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is in Asia, saying fighting climate change means green jobs.
Addressing the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore, Clinton said the climate challenge is really an economic opportunity for the region to boost clean-energy development and trade. The 21 members of APEC represent nearly 60 percent of world CO2...
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A new study says the Mid-Atlantic seaboard has enough wind to power every coastal state from North Carolina to Massachusetts.
The study by scientists at the University of Delaware and Stanford University was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters and...
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President Obama leaves today for his trip to the Far East with climate change at the top of his agenda.
The President will meet with Japan's Prime Minister to discuss energy efficiency and climate change policies, then stop in Singapore to attend the annual Pacific Rim summit. This is the first time any US president will meet with leaders of all...
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WASHINGTON: A top administration official told reporters Monday the White House does not expect a climate change agreement to develop out of bilateral talks with China next week during President Obama's Asia visit.
During a news conference in advance of the President's trip later this week, Michael Froman, deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs, said "We do not expect that...
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An Environmental Protection Agency endangerment finding from April of this year is now in the hands of the White House.
The finding, that greenhouse gases threaten public health, is the work of EPA scientists - concluding that climate change is a danger to human safety and welfare.
EPA spokeswoman Cathy Milbourn told Clean Skies News that the 133-page document...
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First lady Michelle Obama paid a visit to the Department of Energy on Thursday.
She praised employees for their work bolstering the economy, promoting national security and preserving the environment.
During her visit,, the first lady chatted with 7th and 8th grade students who were practicing for the upcoming "National Science...
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West Virginia authorities say a dozen coal ash dams in the state might need repairs.
A new report from the state Department of Environmental Protection says eight of the state's 20 coal-ash dams are in satisfactory condition, but there are questions about...
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Members of the California Energy Commission are delaying a vote on setting first-in-the nation energy-efficiency standards for big screen TV's.
The Energy Commission says energy efficient TV's will save California residents an average of $30 a year per TV on electric bills. And the resulting energy savings, more than $900 million a...
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Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says six renewable energy projects are now getting fast track treatment -- all of them in California.
Salazar says the Bureau of Land Management is working with the California Energy Commission to push through the applications.
Once approved, construction can begin on 1 wind farm and 5 solar plants. The six would cover...
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Because of the somewhat soured mood in Barcelona, European Union environment ministers are adding an extra meeting before Copenhagen.
They'll meet in Brussels for a half-day session Nov. 23, their last chance to discuss strategy and negotiating tactics.
EU President Fredrik Reinfeldt has made pessimistic comments this week about the...
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The top U.S. diplomat on climate change is accusing developing countries of inaction on global warming.
Todd Stern told House lawmakers Wednesday that developing countries are not following climate goals set in two key climate documents - the 1992 U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 2007 Bali Action...
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New figures out shows the Cash for Clunkers program was not as successful as first thought -- at least when it came to promoting more gas efficient vehicles.
The Associated Press analyzed sales figures from the program and found that thousands of old pickup trucks turned in were exchanged for new pickup trucks that got only slightly...
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New York Senator Charles Schumer says not so fast on that $1.5 Billion dollar Chinese Texas wind energy project, funded with stimulus dollars.
Schumer is calling on the Obama administration to reject the request for federal money. The U.S.-Chinese venture was announced last week. It would erect 240 huge Chinese-manufactured wind turbines on 36,000 acres in West Texas, with...
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Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt is in India for the 10th India-EU summit, fresh off talks this week with President Obama.
He opened the proceedings by signing a memorandum of understanding on climate change with India.
Under the MOU, India and Sweden will cooperate...
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The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has voted to approve the Kerry-Boxer climate bill, ending a three-day markup session that was boycotted by the Republican minority.
The bill calls for cutting greenhouse gases from power plants and factories 20 percent by 2020 and by 83 percent by 2050. GOP members were...
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Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says he hopes to make a decision on the Cape Wind project by the end of the year.
Salazar says the department will speak with state agencies and key stakeholders about the wind project - a proposed 468 megawatt farm off the...
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Mount Kilimanjaro's year-round snow cap is rapidly melting.
Some 85 percent of the ice that made up its mountaintop glaciers in 1912 was gone by 2007, according to a report out today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Even more dramatic, more than a quarter of the ice present on Africa's highest peak in 2000 was...
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The island nation of Maldives is looking to the wind to meet its climate change goals. The country has signed a 20-year deal with Falcon Energy of Texas to build and operate a 75 megawatt wind farm on the island by mid 2011.
Falcon will invest $200 million into the project expected to provide 40% of the energy needs of the island. GE will provide 30 large wind turbines...
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The Thai oil and gas company that has been battling a blaze at an oil rig off the Kimberley coast of Australia says the fire is under control and the leak that's blamed for the fire has been plugged.
PTTEP Austral-asia said the rig has been spewing tons of crude over the past 10...
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Cleanup efforts continue in the San Francisco Bay after several hundred gallons of oil spilled into the bay Friday when a ship's fuel line ruptured.
Investigators are looking into why safety oil containment booms were not-deployed when the "Dubai Star" began refueling operations.
Cleanup crews have been working to contain the spill and keep it from damaging...
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With its deal to buy half of Baltimore-based Constellation Energy's nuclear business, French state-owned EDF is moving its U.S. headquarters to Maryland.
The announcement came as EDF and Constellation announced they're moving quickly to close their 4.5 billion deal.
State regulators gave their OK last week with some conditions, including nearly $111 million in...
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A possible climate deal in Copenhagen is at the top of the White House agenda this morning in a busy day of meetings for President Obama.
The president and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met this morning to discuss the prospects for a deal on climate at next month's talks.
The president later met with other leaders from the European Union, including European...
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Only one Republican showed up today for the start of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee debate on the Kerry-Boxer climate bill.
Republican Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio attended the session, but six other GOP members were absent because they say an EPA analysis of the bill does not give a full accounting...
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Two European Space Agency satellites took off into earth orbit early this morning on top of a Russian rocket.
The two satellites - called SMOS or Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity and Proba-2 - were launched from northern Russia to study Earth's oceans.
The SMOS spacecraft will make the first global maps of the amount of moisture held in soils and of the quantity of salts dissolved...
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With big renewable energy plans already in place, Hawaii is now making plans to move that energy to its most power-hungry market.
The Aloha state is accepting bids from contractors for an environmental study of an undersea cable that would carry...
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An oil rig off the coast of Australia is burning out of control.
The blaze started on Sunday when workers began pumping heavy mud into a leaking well casing. That casing had been leaking for ten weeks, dumping an estimated...
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There's some welcome news this morning for the American auto industry, or at least one of the Big Three.
Ford is reporting a $1 billion third-quarter profit, fueled in part by the government's "Cash for Clunkers" rebates. Ford Focus and Ford Escape were among the top five sellers in the program, driving Ford sales up 17 percent...
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he Senate Environment Committee, the first to take up the Kerry-Boxer climate bill, plans to begin marking-up the legislation at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow.
But committee Republicans say they'll boycott the markup process altogether.
Their main complaint arose during hearings last week, when Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, said he'd been trying to get a more thorough...
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