Environmental Glance
The American landscape is dotted with hundreds of thousands of new wells and thousands of drilling rigs, as the country scrambles to tap into this century’s gold rush — for natural gas.
The gas has always been there, of course, trapped deep underground in countless tiny bubbles, like frozen spills of seltzer water between thin layers of shale rock. But drilling companies have only in recent years developed techniques to unlock the enormous reserves, thought to be enough to supply the country with gas for heating buildings, generating electricity and powering vehicles for up to a hundred years.
"Unknown Organism" Found in Roundup Ready Crops
Canadian officials have acknowledged the country used Agent Orange to clear roadside brush as late as the 1980s. Provincial Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne promised an inquiry after the Toronto Star revealed use of the Vietnam War-era defoliant.
Soybeans, corn, cotton and canola -- most of the acres planted in these crops in the United States are genetically altered. "Transgenic" seeds reduce the use of some insecticides. But herbicide use is higher, and respected experts argue that some genetically engineered crops may also pose serious health and environmental risks. The benefits of genetically engineered crops may be overstated.
A central question about the Endangered Species Act was behind the legal wrangling Wednesday in a federal courtroom: What, if anything, can be done to save polar bears as the earth warms and sea ice recedes?
Three-quarters of the world's coral reefs are at risk from overfishing, pollution and climate change, according to a report.
