Sustain Our Earth

Where does concrete come from? The material has become such a pervasive symbol of human alienation from nature that it's tempting to assume it's just another brutish product of the ...

Forecast global temperature rise of 4C a calamity for large swaths of planet even if predicted extremes are not reached

A vote over fluoridated water has prompted something of an existential crisis in this left-leaning city. Weighing in: Indie rockers, craft-beer brewers and organic-food purveyors.

WATFORD CITY, North Dakota (Reuters) - In towns across North Dakota, the wellhead of the North American energy boom, the locals have taken to quoting the adage: Whiskey is for drinking, and water is for...

Beach nourishment projects will restore shorelines but require expensive upkeep and affect ecosystems; federal taxpayers will foot the bill.

Hong Kong (AFP) May 18, 2013 - Hong Kong saw its first electric taxis hit the streets on Saturday in a step towards reducing the city's high levels of roadside pollution.

Brussels (AFP) May 19, 2013 - The latest tit-for-tat EU-China trade disputes could signal worse to come but both sides have a lot to lose if things get out of hand and harm the much-needed economic growth they seek, analysts said.

Beijing (AFP) May 18, 2013 - Three Foxconn workers have committed suicide at a factory in China in the past three weeks, a labour rights group said Saturday.

Houston TX (SPX) May 20, 2013 -
Frustration led to revelation when Rice University scientists determined how graphene might be made useful for high-capacity batteries.

Detroit (UPI) May 18, 2013 -
An invasive insect from Asia first spotted in Michigan two years ago could pose a major threat this year to fruit growers, officials say.

San Francisco CA (SPX) May 20, 2013 -
African frogs, originally imported for early 20th century pregnancy tests, carried a deadly amphibian disease to the U.S., according to a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE.

A large, violent tornado has carved a long, destructive path on the south side of Oklahoma City.

As China absorbs the news that quite a bit of its rice contains too much of the toxic metal cadmium, the state-run media are advising people to diversify the geographical sources of their food, to reduce risk.

Residents of Manhattan will not just sweat harder from rising temperatures in the future, says a new study; many may die. 

Researchers at Columbia University estimate deaths linked to warming climate may rise some 20 percent by the 2020s, and, in some worst-case scenarios, 90 percent or more 70 years hence. 

Higher winter temperatures may partially offset heat-related deaths by cutting cold-related mortality, but even so, scientists say annual net temperature-related deaths might go up a third.

KSN-TV employees and meteorologists took shelter from a tornado Sunday while continuing to broadcast from a safe place.

Parts of the vast High Plains Aquifer, once a prodigious source of water, are now so low that crops can’t be watered and bridges span arid stream beds.

Wang Fuguo, a 63-year-old cotton farmer, does not know when his ancestors began tilling the land in the dusty village of Weijie. But he is fairly sure he will be the last of his family to do so.

A growing body of mortality research on immigrants has shown that the longer they live in the United States, the worse their rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Washington (AFP) May 17, 2013 - Apple and US lawmakers are gearing up for a showdown over taxes - specifically how to deal with the huge stockpile of cash held by Apple and other multinational firms offshore.

Beijing (AFP) May 18, 2013 - China will not pay for CO2 emissions by its airlines on flights within Europe, a top civil aviation official reportedly said after the European Commission warned eight Chinese firms face fines for nonpayment.

Taipei (AFP) May 19, 2013 - Thousands of Taiwanese marched through the capital Taipei Sunday urging the government to halt construction of a nearly completed nuclear power plant, citing the Japanese atomic crisis.

Washington (UPI) May 17, 2013 -
The U.S. Interior Department has released revised proposed rules governing hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for oil and natural gas on federal land.

Chiang Mai, Thailand (AFP) May 19, 2013 - Asia's flood-prone megacities should fund major drainage, water recycling and waste reduction projects to stem deluges and secure clean supply for their booming populations, experts said Sunday.

Paris (AFP) May 19, 2013 - A global warming pause over the past decade may invalidate the harshest climate change predictions for the next 50 to 100 years, a study said Sunday - though levels remain in the danger zone.