Pro and anti whaling nations at the International Whaling Commission’s annual get-together are no nearer a compromise solution to the issues of “scientific” and “customary” whaling, despite a year of talks in advance of this meet. 

A three-year investigation by Greenpeace has led to court action being taken against the Brazilian suppliers of several major UK supermarket chains for selling meat and leather goods sourced from land illegally cleared of rainforest in the Amazon.

Japan plans to up nuclear power generation to provide about 40% of total needs by 2020 in order to meet its emissions goal of a 15% reduction in greenhouse gases by that date.

Joshua trees, iconic symbols of the western US deserts, could disappear from southern California at least within a century due to climate change and pollution.

A Norwegian scientist claims to have quantified the influential effects of aerosols on climate. Dr Gunnar Myhre says aerosol particles scatter and reflect the sun’s rays, producing a cooling effect that “masks” around 10% of global warming.

Uganda lost 30% of its forest cover between 1990 and 2005, and at this rate could lose the rest within 41 years and become a semi-desert region, a Ugandan government agency report says.

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