BONN, Germany, May 14, 2012 (ENS) - Governments met in Bonn Monday to tackle curbing global greenhouse gas emissions and helping developing countries adapt to the unavoidable effects of climate change. During the next 10 days, they will work towards writing a global, legally-binding climate agreement, extending the Kyoto Protocol into a second commitment period, and building funding support for developing nations to US$100 billion a year by 2020. >>more

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 11, 2012 (ENS) - For the first time, an electric vehicle is attempting an unassisted journey from Nairobi to Johannesburg, South Africa - a distance of 4,800 kilometers (2,982 miles). The driver is Xavier Chevrin, who left today after a sendoff news conference Thursday at the Nairobi headquarters of the United Nations Environment Programme. Chevrin is an English teacher on the French Ile de la Réunion with a history of long trips in electric cars. >>more

By Muhammad al-Zaidi and Khalid Waleed
BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 10, 2012 (ENS) - While millions of dollars have been spent on clearing the 1,730 square kilometres (667 sq. miles) planted with landmines in Iraq, only a fraction of the work has been done although the 10-year deadline for demining the country expires in 2018. Iraq is among the countries worst affected by landmines and unexploded munitions, according to the United Nations. Government officials blame the lack of maps showing where the mines lie. >>more

By Juan Pablo García Medina
GUADALAJARA, Jalisco, Mexico, May 9, 2012 (ENS) - For over 500 years, the Wixaritari Indians of Mexico have suffered from poverty, malnutrition and racism - today, they are also victims of global climate change. For this ancient indigenous people living in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range of northwestern Mexico, droughts are growing more severe and more frequent, until now many communities have little or no water supply. >>more

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, May 9, 2012 (ENS) - As the climate warms, plant species that prefer a colder environment are disappearing from the mountain ranges of Southern Europe. Since many of these species have small distribution areas, they are now threatened with extinction, according to two new studies from European researchers. "Many alpine plant species are disappearing from mountain ranges in Southern Europe, and for some of them - those that are only found in a single mountain range - the outlook is extremely bleak," said one scientist. >>more

PRIMM, Nevada, May 8, 2012 (ENS) - The first utility-scale solar energy facility on U.S. public lands started delivering power on Monday with the flip of a switch by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. Located 40 miles south of Las Vegas, the Enbridge Silver State North solar project is a 50-megawatt plant that will use thin film photovoltaic technology to generate enough power for about 9,000 Nevada homes. The facility is owned by Enbridge, a Canadian energy company based in Calgary, Alberta. >>more

NEW DELHI, India, May 7, 2012 (ENS) - India is considering integrating Israeli water technologies into a national initiative to clean up the polluted Ganges River, which provides water for 40 percent of India's population in 11 states through which it flows. Indian engineers, scientists and company officials visited Israel late last month to explore the possibilities. The cooperative effort to clean India's holiest river has its source in a new water technology cooperation agreement signed by the two countries. >>more

LOS ANGELES, California, May 7, 2012 (ENS) - Eight U.S. and German automakers have agreed to utilize a fast-charging technology that recharges EV batteries in just 15 to 20 minutes. Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Porsche and Volkswagen have agreed to support a harmonized single-port fast charging approach for use on electric vehicles in Europe and the United States. Live charging demonstrations of the new system are on view during Electric Vehicle Symposium 26 in Los Angeles through Wednesday. >>more

WASHINGTON, DC, May 5, 2012 (ENS) - A federal government proposal requiring oil and gas companies to disclose the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing only after the completion of fracking operations is running into opposition from environmental groups. The Bureau of Land Management Friday issued a proposed rule that would, for the first time, require companies to publicly disclose the contents of their fracking chemical cocktails - but not before the chemicals are pumped deep underground. >>more

BEIJING, China, May 4, 2012 (ENS) - The United States and China have agreed to jointly develop low carbon strategies, and conduct research on smart grids and electric vehicles, and conserve large rivers under five new EcoPartnerships signed Thursday in Beijing. In addition, Chinese officials announced China has joined the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves during a tour of a clean cookstove exhibit with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is in Beijing on a diplomatic visit. >>more

HARTLEY BAY, British Columbia, Canada, May 3, 2012 (ENS) - The Gitga'at Nation of Hartley Bay has reported an oil spill between two and five miles long in the Grenville Channel, not far from the tanker route for the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway pipeline. Just 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast of Hartley Bay lies the Port of Kitimat, terminus of the proposed Enbridge pipeline. There, crude oil from the Alberta tar sands would be loaded onto tankers and shipped to China and other Asian countries. >>more

LONDON, UK, May 3, 2012 (ENS) - BMW will have 240 electric and hybrid cars at the London Olympics this summer as part of the fleet of 4,000 vehicles the German automaker is supplying to the Games as Official Automotive Partner. BMW is bringing 160 units of the 1 Series ActiveE small family car and 40 of the even smaller Mini E, with another 40 units of the 5 Series Active Hybrid. The fleet will transport medal winners, media, judges, officials and medical personnel during the Games, which open on July 27 and conclude on August 12. >>more

WASHINGTON, DC, May 2, 2012 (ENS) - Forty-five areas across the country are not meeting the latest government standards for ground-level ozone or smog, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday. In 2008, EPA set a new smog standard at 75 parts per billion measured over eight hours, tightening the standard from the 80 parts per billion set in 1997. Three areas in two states - Wyoming and California - are identified for the first time as failing to meet smog standards. >>more