US Energy Secretary Dr Steven Chu has said the new administration's budget will axe funding for development of hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles because the technology "will not be practical" within the next 20 years, and that projects that would bear fruit more quickly were preferred. The press for hydrogen-powered cars was a major initiative of the Bush government.

When you've unpacked that gadget, what do you do with the Styrofoam? Turn it into biodiesel. A new study suggests polystyrene can be dissolved into biodiesel, where it breaks down almost instantly and can be used in concentrations of up to 20 percent.

What is touted as the first state of the environment report in the Arab world is critical of high fertiliser application and intensive water use in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, and puts the cost of environmental degradation across 22 Arab nations at an average five percent of GDP.

A US Environmental Protection Agency report showing increased cancer and other health risks from coal ash was kept secret for more than five years by the Bush administration, and now that details have been released, it makes disturbing reading: perhaps 1 in 50 more cancers from drinking water polluted by coal ash; high risk of liver and kidney damage or nervous system disorders; and dramatic impacts on aquatic life, with boron concentrations up to 2000 times and selenium 10 times safe levels.

Rising ocean temperatures may spell the end of the shrimp cocktail. Northern shrimp stocks could be in danger of collapse, new research warns.

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