Across U.S., Health Concerns Vie with Fracking Profits

Peter “Pete” Seeger is a 93-year old U.S. folk legend who resides near Wappingers Falls in southern New York. He can be spotted occasionally on the traffic-heavy Route 9, flanked by world peace signs and armed with a banjo.

U.S. Hopes for Some Rapprochement After Chávez

While the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama says it would like to improve relations with Venezuela in the aftermath of the death Tuesday of President Hugo Chávez, officials and independent analysts here believe any rapprochement will take time and faces political obstacles both here and in Caracas.

For Iran and Pakistan, Energy Trumps Enmity

Iran appears to be putting its immediate economic and strategic needs ahead of religious solidarity as it seeks to promote ties with neighbouring Pakistan.

Cuba Diversifies – But Energy Focus Still on Oil

Cuba continues to focus heavily on oil for its energy needs, through agreements with partners like Venezuela, with the hope of discovering commercially exploitable wells in the Gulf of Mexico.

Draft Assessment of Tar Sands Pipeline “Devastatingly Cynical”

The U.S. State Department late Friday released a draft environmental impact assessment of a contentious pipeline project that simultaneously acknowledged the dangers posed by climate change while also noting the project would “not likely result in significant adverse environmental effects”.

U.S. Security Establishment Increasingly Worried about Climate Change

More than three dozen national security officials, members of Congress and military leaders are warning of the threat climate change poses to U.S. national security, the latest in an indicator that U.S. intelligence and national security circles are increasingly worried about a warming planet.

Killer Heat Waves and Floods Linked to Climate Change

Killer heat waves, floods and storms are increasingly caused by climate change, new research reveals.

Green Energy Solves Dual Crises of Poverty and Climate

Green energy is the only way to bring billions of people out of energy poverty and prevent a climate disaster, a new study reveals.

Winter of Discontent Progresses to Bulgaria

Bulgarian prime minister Boiko Borisov of the ruling centre-right Citizens for the European Development of Bulgaria (GERB), announced his resignation Wednesday, following two weeks of sustained protests across the country which were sparked by rising electricity and heating costs.

Open Pit Miners Strike in Colombia

Two weeks into an indefinite strike called by workers at Cerrejón, one of the largest open-pit coal mines in the world, the company has agreed to sit down again and negotiate with Colombia's National Union of Coal Industry Workers (Sintracarbón).

Stopping Uranium to Fight Off Nuclear

Local activists have begun protests in Slovakia after a government ministry appeared to give its backing to a controversial uranium mining project despite reassurances to people living near the proposed site that no mining would be allowed to take place.

Israeli Licence to Cheney-Linked Energy Firm on Golan Heights Raises Eyebrows

In a potential new source of contention between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel has reportedly granted a U.S. energy firm with heavyweight political connections to explore for oil and gas in the occupied Golan Heights.

Biofuels Converting U.S. Prairielands at Dust Bowl Rates

The rush for biofuels in the United States has seen farmers converting the United States' prairie lands to farms at rates comparable with deforestation levels in Brazil, Malaysia and Indonesia – rates not seen here since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

Carnival Food Carts Go Solar in Northern Argentina

It’s carnival time in sunny northwest Argentina, and as usual, food vending carts are everywhere. But some of the carts are different this year: they offer food cooked on the spot – by the sun.

In Conservatives’ Canada, It’s Not Easy Being Green

Canada's police and security agencies think citizens concerned about the environment are threats to national security, and some are under surveillance, documents reveal.

Saving Heat from Going Down the Drain

Whenever hot water from the kitchen tap or the bathroom shower goes down the plughole, a substantial amount of heat energy goes with it. In some German buildings this is being recovered and used to heat buildings in the winter and run air conditioning systems in the summer, representing a real energy-saver.

Climate Rally Draws “Line in the Sand” on Canadian Pipeline

The largest climate rally in U.S. history is expected Sunday in Washington DC with the aim of pressuring President Barack Obama to reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline.

Climate Change Added to U.S. Government “High Risk” List

For the first time, a U.S. government auditor has added climate change to a list of issues that pose the greatest financial risk to the government and country. It is also warning that Washington is markedly unprepared to deal with the scope of the problem.

Brazilian Ethanol in the Slow Lane to Global Market

Following a promising start, Brazil's dream of positioning ethanol in the global market on an equal standing with petroleum-based fuels is hindered by new and old challenges.

Q&A: Venerable Sierra Club Gets Radical on Tar Sands

The term “civil disobedience” takes its roots from an 1849 essay by U.S. poet, philosopher and environmentalist, Henry David Thoreau, originally entitled “Resistance to Civil Government”.

Thawing Permafrost May Be “Huge Factor” in Global Warming

Thawing permafrost is emitting more climate-heating carbon faster than previously realised. Scientists have now learned that when the ancient carbon locked in the ice thaws and is exposed to sunlight, it turns into carbon dioxide 40 percent faster.