Headlines Archive

AdventureCORPS events happen not in a man-made stadium, but in the real world "out there." We care deeply about the natural world for we are intrinsically linked with it and because we want to enjoy these events in their awesome natural settings for a long, long time. Stay tuned to the Headlines section of this page for a steady stream of links to useful, informative, interesting, and entertaining stories about the venues for our events, the natural world in which they are held, the action heroes who work to protect them, and what you can do to support your own health and the health of the world "out there." We generally update the Headlines section several days a week, so bookmark our front page and enjoy it with your morning tea, or while you're surfing at work, every day! As new news items get posted to the top of the Headlines section, those off the bottom will move here to this Headlines Archive. Stay in the loop, stay involved, stay active!

Lessons of the Exxon Valdez: "Tuesday marks the 20th anniversary of one of this country’s great ecological disasters. The Exxon Valdez slammed into Bligh Reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, spilling 11 million gallons of crude oil, damaging 1,300 miles of shoreline, disrupting the livelihoods of thousands of Americans and fouling one of the country’s richest fishing grounds."

Obamas to Plant Vegetable Garden at White House: "Michelle Obama will begin digging up a patch of the South Lawn on Friday to plant a vegetable garden, the first at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s victory garden in World War II. While the organic garden will provide food for the first family’s meals and formal dinners, its most important role will be to educate children about healthful, locally grown fruit and vegetables at a time when obesity and diabetes have become a national concern."

Pioneering ecologist to head NOAA: "The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Harvard physicist John Holdren as Obama's top science advisor and Oregon State ecologist Jane Lubchenco as administrator of NOAA, an agency that conducts much of the nation's climate-change research, forecasts the weather and regulates commercial fishing."

California panel urges 'immediate action' to protect against rising sea levels: "Global warming is projected to cause ocean levels to rise up to 55 inches this century. Report urges considering abandonment of some coastal areas and halting insurance subsidies in flood-prone areas."

Obama Suspends Bush Rule on Endangered Species: "President Obama today asked federal agencies to consult with wildlife biologists over decisions that may affect threatened or endangered species. The memorandum effectively suspends a December 2008 rule issued by the Bush administration, which waived requirements that agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers consult with experts at the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service when undertaking projects like building dams."

Study of diets shows what truly counts: calories: "Two decades after the debate began on which diet is best for weight loss, a conclusion is starting to come into focus. And the winner is . . . not low-carb, not low-fat, not high protein but . . . any diet. That is, any diet that is low in calories and saturated fats and high in whole grains, fruits and vegetables -- and that an individual can stick with for a lifetime -- is a reasonable choice for people who need to lose weight."

National Park backers call for creation of a service corps similar to the Depression-era CCC: "The Civilian Conservation Corps put millions to work and left a lasting imprint on Yosemite and other parks." (Let's do that again.)

Bush legacy leaves uphill climb for U.S. parks: "Critics of the Bush administration -- former park directors among them -- say its emphasis on commerce over conservation left a legacy that the national parks could be grappling with for decades to come. Though some of President Bush's actions could be erased with a stroke of his successor's pen, other policies, such as exploration and drilling leases, could take months or years of costly effort to undo -- and would probably be subject to legal challenges."

LA Bike Culture: "As longtime activists push to make the gridlocked city more bicycle friendly a new wave of riders is partying in the streets, challenging city hall, and even taking to the freeways. Is bike culture here to stay?"

Mojave Desert historian keeps California's heritage alive: "Reporting from Goffs, Calif. -- Out on the great swells of the eastern Mojave Desert, that vast sand sea lying between Barstow and the Colorado River, there is no crumb of history, no tall tale, no arcane bit of knowledge too small to escape Dennis Casebier's notice."

California sues federal government over changes in Endangered Species Act: "The state attorney general's office says new rules put California's threatened and endangered wildlife in greater danger and could cost the state more to protect the plants and animals on the list."

Bubbles of warming, beneath the ice: "As perma-frost thaws in the Arctic, huge pockets of methane -- a potent green-house gas -- could be released into the atmos-phere. Experts are only beginning to understand how disastrous that could be."

Galileo put us in our place: "The astronomer proved we're not the center of the universe -- now we need to start acting like it."

New Day on Climate Change: "In one dramatic stroke, President Obama has removed any doubts that he intends to break sharply from President George W. Bush’s policies on yet another vital issue — this time repudiating Mr. Bush’s passive approach to climate change. At a news conference on Monday, Mr. Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency to consider immediately California’s application to set its own rules on greenhouse-gas emissions from cars and trucks. Mr. Bush had rejected that application."

Unplug appliances and electronics for even more energy savings: "Even when they're switched to 'off," most of the appliances and electronics in your home will continue drawing a little bit of power as long as they remain plugged into the wall. That's because they're drawing so-called standby power to keep your electric hedge clippers charged, your TV remote at the ready and that tiny digital clock telling time on your coffee maker. Individually, these "vampire" appliances suck tiny amounts of power. Collectively, they're sapping your energy budget big time."

Pushing Detroit onto a greener road: "U.S. automakers reliably resist regulation, to their detriment."

California's EPA waiver: "With a push from Obama, the state's effort to regulate greenhouse gases may finally bear fruit."

Are costly energy bills draining your wallet? Win the power struggle: "You can go broke going green. Solar panels cost tens of thousands of dollars. And who's got the money to buy all new appliances?

Don't despair. There is a lot you can do, right now, with very little cash outlay, to make your home energy efficient and cheaper to run.

"There are lots of simple things that people can do to save energy," said Mark Bernstein, managing director of the Energy Institute at USC. "It's not that hard and it doesn't require big changes in behavior."

Is Ken Salazar Too Nice?: "What the Interior Department needs right now is someone willing to bust heads when necessary and draw the line against the powerful commercial groups — developers, ranchers, oil and gas companies, the off-road vehicle industry — that have long treated the department as a public extension of their private interests."

Independent scientific reviews taken out of Endangered Species Act: "The Bush administration on Thursday eliminated 35-year-old regulations in the Endangered Species Act that required an independent scientific review of proposed federal projects to determine whether they imperil protected plants and animals. Instead, federal agencies undertaking projects like road and power plant construction or oil and gas drilling will make their own assessment. Without the independent reviews, such projects could be accelerated."

O.C. toll road hits dead end in D.C.: "Commerce Department officials uphold Coastal Commission's rejection of the Foothill-South toll road, citing six alternative routes that wouldn't cut through San Onofre and Trestles."

California officials launch 'Green Chemistry' initiative: "The plan would inform consumers how items sold in the state are manufactured and transported and how environmentally safe their ingredients are." More.

California adopts the most sweeping curbs on greenhouse gas emissions in U.S.: "California regulators adopted the nation's first comprehensive plan to slash greenhouse gases Thursday and characterized it as a model for President-elect Barack Obama, who has pledged an aggressive national and international effort to combat global warming. The ambitious blueprint by the world's eighth-largest economy would cut the state's emissions by 15% from today's level over the next 12 years, bringing them down to 1990 levels."

As More Eat Meat, a Bid to Cut Emissions: "The cows and pigs dotting these flat green plains in the southern Netherlands create a bucolic landscape. But looked at through the lens of green-house gas accounting, they are living smokestacks, spewing methane emissions into the air. That is why a group of farmers-turned-environmentalists here at a smelly but impeccably clean research farm have a new take on making a silk purse from a sow’s ear: They cook manure from their 3,000 pigs to capture the methane trapped within it, and then use the gas to make electricity for the local power grid. Rising in the fields of the environmentally conscious Netherlands, the Sterksel project is a rare example of fledgling efforts to mitigate the heavy emissions from livestock. But much more needs to be done, scientists say, as more and more people are eating more meat around the world."

Bicycle builders are on a roll: "In an era of global sourcing and computer-aided design, Gregory Townsend builds custom steel bicycle frames in his Monrovia garage. The 50-year-old British expatriate, who learned metal crafting in a high school shop class, is part of a small but growing number of crafts-people in California catering to bicycle enthusiasts who eschew the super-light carbon fiber cycles of the Tour de France for hand-built frames with meticulous fittings and elaborate paint jobs."

Hawaii’s Moon Shot: "Jeffrey Mikulina, a longtime environmental activist in Hawaii, jokes that his home state, which is almost completely dependent on imported oil, is one supertanker away from being Amish. It also is one superheated ocean away from being underwater. There, in a nutshell, is the motivation behind a new campaign to wean Hawaii from fossil fuels in 10 years. The project is Hawaii’s own moon mission, led by the Blue Planet Foundation and not by the state’s political establishment, which tends to prefer the slow and tortured way to change"

Hawaii Endorses Plan for Electric Cars: "The State of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Electric Company on Tuesday endorsed an effort to build an alternative transportation system based on electric vehicles with swappable batteries and an 'intelligent' battery recharging network."

Villaraigosa unveils solar plan for Los Angeles: "Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa unveiled an ambitious long-range plan Monday for securing enough solar power to meet one-tenth of the city's energy needs by 2020, a move aimed at making L.A. a hub of the solar-energy industry."

California leads fight against climate change on global level: "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs a pact with heads of other states and provinces to cut greenhouse emissions. 'We have got to do something worldwide here,' he says."

Cellphones in Yellowstone?: "Natural forces over millennia created the geysers, peaks and canyons that fascinate visitors here. But a newer feature is emerging on this stunning landscape -- cellphone towers. One juts out from a hill behind Old Faithful; another crowns one of the park's most prominent peaks. Hikers occasionally stumble across cellphone equipment on trails around Mammoth Hot Springs. Visitors chatting on their phones have become as common in some areas as wandering bison."

Death Valley struggles to make abandoned mines safe: "No other park in the nation has as many abandoned mines as Death Valley. Officials put the number between 10,000 and 50,000, or about a third of all hazardous mines within the national park system."

Take Advantage of Our National Parks: "Taking a vacation in a tight economy can be an adventure in itself but there are alternatives. A trip to a National Park is a great way to get away from the stresses of your day and spend some time with friends, family, and nature."

Bush angers environmentalists with last-minute rule changes: "President Clinton used his final weeks and months in office to strengthen a host of environmental rules and lock up federal lands with wilderness and other protective designations. Bush is using the same window of opportunity to open wilderness for oil and gas drilling, and to loosen safeguards for air, water and wildlife."

Report outlines how to adapt to climate change: "Scientists and policy experts yesterday unveiled San Diego County's first blueprint for adapting to rising sea levels, altered rainfall and other 'catastrophic' changes linked to global warming. 'A Regional Wake-up Call' offers detailed projections about how the climate will change by 2050 and offers suggestions for how to lessen those effects."

Climate change may carry huge price tag for California: "For the first time, the costs of global warming's projected effects in the nation's largest state have been quantified: About $2.5 trillion of real estate assets in California are at risk from extreme weather events, sea level rise and wildfires, with a projected annual price tag of between $300 million and $3.9 billion, according to a new report, "California Climate Risk and Response," written by UC Berkeley."

The Climate for Change: "The world authority on the climate crisis, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, after 20 years of detailed study and four unanimous reports, now says that the evidence is “unequivocal.” To those who are still tempted to dismiss the increasingly urgent alarms from scientists around the world, ignore the melting of the north polar ice cap and all of the other apocalyptic warnings from the planet itself, and who roll their eyes at the very mention of this existential threat to the future of the human species, please wake up. Our children and grandchildren need you to hear and recognize the truth of our situation, before it is too late."

With Free Bikes, Challenging Car Culture on Campus: "When Kylie Galliani started at the University of New England in August, she was given a key to her dorm, a class schedule and something more unusual: a $480 bicycle. “I was like, ‘A free bike, no catch?’ ” Ms. Galliani, 17, a freshman from Fort Bragg, Calif., asked. “It’s really an ideal way to get around the campus.”

State 'green' plan called job creator: "Tough state mandates requiring Californians to reduce their carbon footprints and use more homegrown renewable energy will create more than 400,000 jobs, help consumers save on their lighting bills and boost the state's economy by $76 billion by 2020."

California issues plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions: "Over the next 12 years, new regulations would seek to turn the climate change clock back to 1990 levels. More efficient electricity use, less traffic and cleaner cars are goals."

Bush administration seeks last-minute regulations: "The new rules would be among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era and could be difficult for his successor to undo. Some would ease or lift existing constraints on private industry, including power plants, mines and farms. Those and other regulations would help clear obstacles to some commercial ocean-fishing activities, ease controls on pollutants that contribute to global warming, relax drinking-water standards and lift a key restriction on mountaintop coal mining."

Prop 2: the humane thing to do: "We cannot allow the factory farming industry to self-regulate, nor can we wait for government to step up and protect animals from abuse or to guard us from food safety threats. That's precisely why Proposition 2 is so important and timely."

Northern California wetlands are getting back to natural: "A $10-million project by the National Park Service aims to fully restore a Marin County estuary, which was turned into pastureland more than 60 years ago."

Bottled water has contaminants too, study finds: "Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants often found in tap water, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group. The findings challenge the popular impression — and marketing pitch — that bottled water is purer than tap water, the researchers say."

Chris Kostman may be pursuing a career change.

Team of lone rangers scours the new Wild West: Park service workers in the Mojave never know what vestige of the Wild West they'll find, right down to train robbers.

KELSO, CALIF. -- High noon and the desert is hot as a wok, yet Tim Duncan is wearing body armor under his uniform. A handgun and a Taser hang from his belt. Next to him in the truck are a shotgun and an M-16 assault rifle with extra magazines. "Out here, you have to be prepared," he said.

Bottled water versus tap: Which is safer to drink?: "Those ubiquitous plastic water bottles have been increasingly vilified in recent years. Los Angeles, San Francisco and Santa Barbara, among others, have banned them from purchase with city funds. A few trendsetting restaurants, and even some markets and hotels, have banned them too. The trend has left many consumers wondering: Isn't bottled safer than tap? 'Bottled water isn't any safer or purer than what comes out of the tap,' says Dr. Sarah Janssen, science fellow with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco, which conducted an extensive analysis of bottled water back in 1999. 'In fact, it's less well-regulated, and you're more likely to know what's in tap water.'"

75 years of nature's splendor: "San Diego County's prized backcountry is emerging from a rough patch. The Cedar fire in 2003 tore through the Cuyamaca Mountains, and state budget cuts are slowing recovery efforts. No wonder yesterday seemed like a welcome pause on the road to rebirth. Rangers, naturalists and others gathered near a stand of oaks at Cuyamaca Rancho State Park to mark the 75th anniversary of the backwoods magnet, along with Palomar Mountain State Park." For some of our photos of this beautiful area, click here.

Study shows fuel efficiency of plug-in hybrid cars: "In the not-too-distant future, drivers will be able to make fewer trips to the gas pump simply by plugging their specialized hybrid vehicles into a household electrical outlet. These plug-in hybrid cars achieve far better gas mileage and generate less pollution than standard hybrids, according to a yearlong study released yesterday by San Diego Gas & Electric."

Program to check beaches curtailed; Governor slashes funds for water tests: "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has eliminated funding for a statewide beach monitoring program, an action that will severely curtail shoreline water testing in San Diego and Orange counties."

Greenhouse gas emissions shock scientists: "The world pumped up emissions of the chief human-produced global warming gas last year, setting a course that could push beyond leading scientists' projected worst-case scenario, international researchers said Thursday. The new numbers, which some scientists called "scary," were a surprise because experts thought an economic downturn would slow energy use. Instead, carbon dioxide output rose 3% from 2006 to 2007."

Chrysler charges into electric car race: "Firing a surprise shot across the bows of industry rivals, Chrysler revealed three functioning battery-powered vehicles Tuesday and thrust itself to the forefront of the race to build mass-market electric cars. In unveiling a minivan, a Jeep Wrangler and a sports car, Chrysler's executives spelled out plans for a future in which most, if not all, automobiles would use electric motors for propulsion -- essentially sounding the death knell for the internal-combustion engine."

Western states pitch plan to reduce greenhouse emissions: "Seven Western states and four Canadian provinces proposed a sweeping regional crackdown on global warming emissions Tuesday in the face of continuing reluctance by the Bush administration and Congress to pass comprehensive climate legislation. The Western Climate Initiative, endorsed by the 11 governors and provincial premiers, aims to slash regional greenhouse gas pollutants by about 15% below 2005 levels in the next 12 years".

Instead of Eating to Diet, They’re Eating to Enjoy: "AFTER decades of obsessing about fat, calories and carbs, many dieters have made the unorthodox decision to simply enjoy food again. That doesn’t mean they’re giving up on health or even weight loss. Instead, consumers and nutritionists say they are seeing a shift toward 'positive eating' - shunning deprivation diets and instead focusing on adding seasonal vegetables, nuts, berries and other healthful foods to their plates."

Calif environmentalists sue U.S. over slashing of 'indicator species' list: "Environmentalists on Tuesday sued the Bush administration over what they contend are efforts to boost Sierra Nevada logging by undercutting a key early warning system that guards bellwether species. Among those hit are the Sierra bighorn sheep, the endangered California condor and the northern goshawk, a raptor species. Eleven threatened or endangered species were removed from the list, including the Central Valley spring run chinook salmon and the Lahontan cutthroat trout."

Blocking the Sky to Save the Earth: "The ice cap usually reaches its smallest extent around now, and although the total area of ice in September fluctuates from year to year, in the last two decades it has generally declined, probably because of carbon-driven global warming. Last year, the ice cap shrank at a record-breaking pace; at its minimum it was almost 39 percent smaller than the average from 1979 to 2000. This year it’s down about 33 percent."

San Diego County is host to many sustainability efforts: "The county's eco-consciousness is swelling, at least when it's measured by the surging number of public meetings about sustainability."

Most industries remain dependent on hazardous substances: "Many obstacles, including insufficient investment and lack of training, keep scientists from embracing green chemistry and designing safer substitutes for the vast majority of compounds in use today."

Potential environmental risks aren't part of chemical engineers' training: "No university in the United States teaches basic toxicology or other environmental sciences to students studying for a traditional chemistry degree, even a doctorate. Chemistry textbooks are devoid of any mention, too."

The U.N.'s meatless drive: "So it turns out that meatless Fridays, which for generations inflicted fish sticks and tuna casseroles on millions of school-age children, Catholic and otherwise, were actually saving the planet. The United Nations is now urging wealthy nations to make a dramatic shift in eating habits, saying the best way to curb climate change is for people to go at least one day a week without meat. The problem isn't so much with hamburger patties as it is with cow patties. Meat production accounts for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations. Cows and other ruminants, such as sheep and goats, release methane and nitrous oxide in amounts that put to shame the carbon dioxide belched out by cars. In fact, a red-meat-eater in a Prius is probably hurting the environment more than a vegan in a Hummer."

There's not enough green in the budget for California parks: "State parks have a maintenance need of $1.2 billion, the legislative budget plan shows. But the budget allocation for deferred maintenance is $12.2 million."

Polar bear sightings stir climate debate: "Federal wildlife monitors spotted nine polar bears in one day swimming in open ocean 15 to 65 miles off Alaska's northwest coast, and environmental groups say the event is a strong signal that diminished sea ice brought on by warming has put U.S. bears at risk of drowning or dying from effects of fatigue."

Spain's environmentalists sound alarm: "An unbridled building boom, which first turned much of Spain's once captivating coastline into a mile-wide belt of shopping malls, vacation homes and sunburned foreigners, has more recently spread deep into the country's heartland, endangered some of the most precious and diverse flora and fauna in Europe and sucked an already arid region dry of water. Nearly 30% of Spain is in the process of becoming desert."

The Science of Happiness: "Happiness is 50% genetic, 40% intentional and 10% circumstantial. 'Half of your predisposition toward happiness you can't change,' she says. 'It's in your genes. Your circumstances -- where you live, your health, your work, your marriage -- can be tough to change. But most people are surprised that circumstances don't account for as much of their happiness as they think.'"

Endangered Species Act -- parts of it could become extinct: "The Bush administration Monday proposed a regulatory overhaul of the Endangered Species Act to allow federal agencies to decide whether protected species would be imperiled by agency projects, eliminating the independent scientific reviews that have been required for more than three decades."

Rethinking solutions to the plastic bag problem: "There's nothing natural about plastic bags in rivers and oceans. It seems ridiculous to think that birds, fish, turtles and the rest can safely coexist with these polyethylene invasions of their habitats."

The cost of steak: "If you are searching for signs that today's high food prices won't last, the latest report on the meat industry isn't promising. In May, a distinguished panel of scientists and meat industry officials concluded that the current 'factory farm' method for mass-producing meat poses so many threats to public health -- from contaminated water supplies to deadly epidemics of E. coli E. coli -- that the whole system needs to go. The good news: Even meat companies agree that change is unavoidable.

The report takes a hard look at 'confined animal feeding operations,' or CAFOs, which produce most of the U.S. meat supply. These massive facilities house tens of thousands of cattle, hogs and chickens and generate not just huge amounts of meat but rivers of sewage, clouds of contaminated dust and nearly a fifth of all greenhouse gases.

Bush proposes protections for Pacific islands, atolls and reefs: "Two other candidates for increased protection -- a stretch of deep-water corals off the coast of the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida and areas especially rich in marine life in the Gulf of Mexico -- were knocked out of consideration because of opposition from the fishing and oil and gas industries."

Scientists are at work reducing livestock's large carbon hoof print: Scientists have long known that cattle and other livestock are major contributors to climate change worldwide, and although researchers, regulators and activists have devoted most of their attention to other culprits – such as cars and coal-fired power plants – that is starting to change.

As dairy and beef cows chew and rechew their feed, their belches and other gastric eruptions produce enormous quantities of methane, a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

All that cow flatulence is bad enough, but clearing forests for pastures and the manufacturing of fertilizers to grow cattle feed produce even more greenhouse gases. When those sources are considered, the United Nations estimates that the world's livestock system is a bigger part of the problem than transportation.

State panel recommends strict measures to reduce plastic marine debris in California: "In a report to be release next week, the Ocean Protection Council advocates banning plastic foam cups and plastic bags, items that often end up in coastal waters and on beaches."

Roadless rule is tossed out again: "A federal judge in Wyoming has overturned a Clinton-era ban on road construction in nearly 60 million acres of national forest, extending a long-running dispute over U.S. Forest Service rules for large sections of undeveloped land."

State panel recommends strict measures to reduce plastic marine debris in California: "In a report to be released next week, the Ocean Protection Council advocates banning plastic foam cups and plastic bags, items that often end up in coastal waters and on beaches."

Putting health on the menu: "Requiring fast-food and restaurant chains to post calorie information wouldn't hurt them and could help us... Two-thirds of the adults in the United States are obese or overweight. Obesity has been linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, strokes, asthma, diabetes and reduced life expectancy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is now second only to smoking among the leading causes of preventable death."

Finding and Fixing a Home’s Power Hogs: "While we all worry about where we’re going to get more energy in an increasingly energy-obsessed world, there’s also another alternative: Use less power. That may soon be simpler, thanks to the introduction of a bevy of inexpensive devices that let homeowners monitor how much energy appliances, TVs, PCs, and heating and cooling systems actually use."

3 West Coast governors oppose new offshore oil drilling: "Crossing party lines, they urge the federal government to preserve coastal waters and pursue alternative energy projects. West Coast governors urged the federal government Tuesday to keep new oil drilling rigs out of their waters and to spend more money on programs to restore the health of the Pacific Ocean."

Weight issues can affect kids' performance at school: "Overweight kids are at risk for a host of health complications, including elevated cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure. They also may do more poorly in school."

San Gabriel River becomes deathbed for ducks: "The carcasses of at least 50 ducklings and adults were found in the dried-up concrete basin, where flows are regulated to serve 2.4 million people, not wildlife."

You've got too much e-mail: "Historically, dark ages have sometimes been periods of technical advancement, she explains, 'but they're ultimately times of cultural decline. I think we're defining our own dark age by skimming along on the surface of life and relationships and thoughts. And it's certainly a dark age when we're faced with an ignorance born not out of a lack of information but out of an inability to create knowledge out of the information around us.'"

EPA finds global warming a health threat: "Climate change will pose 'substantial' health threats including heat waves, hurricanes and pathogens in coming decades, the Environmental Protection Agency said Thursday. 'It is very likely' that more people will die during extremely hot periods in future years, with the elderly, the poor and those in inner cities at the highest risk, an EPA report found.

Other possible dangers include more powerful hurricanes, shrinking supplies of fresh water in the West, and the increased spread of diseases contracted through food and water.

Last week, the EPA effectively decided not to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, at least not until after the Bush administration leaves office."

The distraction of offshore drilling: "There is no quick fix to $4.50-a-gallon gas, no way to provide instant relief to consumers we know are hurting. Yet President Bush and others continue to push the false promise of offshore oil drilling.

Just this week, the president lifted the executive order banning drilling that George H.W. Bush put in place in 1990. And he's asked Congress to lift its own moratorium on oil exploration on the outer continental shelf -- which includes coastal waters as close as three miles from shore.

This would be a terrible mistake. It would put our nation's precious coastlines in jeopardy and wouldn't begin to fix the underlying energy-supply problem. And it surely wouldn't ease gas prices any time in the near future."

A warning from the sea: "Oyster 'seeds' are dying as Pacific Coast waters grow warmer."

Toyota Scales Back Production of Big Vehicles: "Toyota acknowledged Thursday that, like its rival automakers in Detroit, it misjudged the drastic swing in the American market away from larger vehicles.

With sales of pickups and big S.U.V.’s tumbling, Toyota said it would shut down truck production at two United States plants for three months and consolidate its pickups into one factory next year.

The Japanese automaker also said it would begin making its Prius gas-electric hybrids in a new plant in Mississippi by late 2010 to meet demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles."

The Road Ahead for Ford Is Full of Smaller Cars: "In recent months, as Ford Motor Company executives watched $4 a gallon gas and a softening economy take a growing toll on sales and market share, the chief executive, Alan R. Mulally, prodded his management team for answers.

'Why are we in business?' he repeatedly asked the group. 'We are in business to create value. And we can’t create value if we go out of business.'

On Thursday, the company will officially announce its response to those questions — a huge shift in production to build more small cars, and fewer pickups and sport utility vehicles."

Getting real on global warming: The fight will affect us all. But it doesn't have to be an economic loser: "Until now, this state's pioneering exercise in turning down the world's thermostat has been mostly theoretical. Californians might be aware that the Legislature passed a law in 2006, AB 32, that aims to cut the state's greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2020 in order to combat global warming, but few details have emerged about how that's going to happen. Today that changes."

Bikes help commuters get around gas prices: "Merchants' sales rise as more people trade four wheels for two"

Gas prices nudge Southern California drivers onto mass transit -- slowly: "The car habit dies hard, but observers notice train parking lots filling faster and more professionals packing seats for the ride to and from work."

A climate threat from flat TVs, microchips: "They're made with nitrogen trifluoride, a synthetic chemical that has 17,000 times the global warming effect of carbon dioxide, scientists say."

U.S. ‘stuck in reverse’ on fuel economy: "CSI found that the number of vehicle models sold in the United States that achieve combined gas mileage of at least 40 mpg actually has dropped from five in 2005 to just two in 2007. In Europe there are 113 vehicles for sale that get a combined 40 mpg, up from 86 in 2005."

Europe Tells Airlines to Pay for Emissions: "In the first requirement of its kind, all airlines arriving or leaving from airports in the European Union would be required to buy pollution credits beginning in 2012, joining other industrial polluters that trade in the European emissions market. That includes non-European carriers like American Airlines and Singapore Airlines."

Climate change threatens two-thirds of California's unique plants: "Half of the plant species that are unique to the continental United States grow only in the Golden State, from towering redwoods to slender fire poppies. And under likely climate scenarios, many would have to shift 100 miles or more from their current range -- a difficult task given slow natural migration rates and obstacles presented by suburban sprawl."

Schwarzenegger says drilling ban not to blame for high gas prices: "Gov. Schwarzenegger opposes lifting a ban on new oil drilling in coastal waters, breaking with President Bush and Republican presidential candidate John McCain. He called CA's coastline 'an international treasure' that must be protected by a federal oil-drilling moratorium that has been in place for 27 years."

White House Refused to Open Pollutants E-Mail: "The White House in December refused to accept the Environmental Protection Agency’s conclusion that greenhouse gases are pollutants that must be controlled, telling agency officials that an e-mail message containing the document would not be opened, senior E.P.A. officials said last week."

Florida to Buy Sugar Maker in Bid to Restore Everglades: "In a deal that environmental groups said would be the largest ecological restoration in the country’s history, a plan for the state to buy the nation’s largest producer of cane sugar was announced Tuesday by the governor and officials of U.S. Sugar Corporation. The intention is to restore the Everglades by restoring the water flow from Lake Okeechobee, in the heart of the state, south to Florida Bay. That flow had been interrupted by commercial farming and the Everglades have suffered as a result."

Another run at biking in L.A.: "Before the freeways, the bicycle ruled the road in L.A. It could be that way again."

Americans turn to tap as bottled water prices get hard to swallow: "Economic troubles may be accomplishing what environmentalists have been trying to do for years."

Motorcycles and emissions: The surprising facts: "Motorcycles make up 3.6% of registered vehicles and 1% of vehicle miles traveled, yet they account for 10% of passenger vehicles' smog-forming emissions in the state. In fact, the average motorbike is about 10 times more polluting per mile than a passenger car, light truck or SUV."

Bush asks for drilling off coastlines as remedy for high oil prices: "For a quarter-century, drilling for oil and gas off nearly all the American coastline has been banned in part to protect tourism and to lessen the chances of beach-blackening spills."

Jane Goodall takes on a broader mission: "Known for her research on chimpanzees, she's now working to save the planet. We can all do little things, she says."

Requiem for a heavyweight?: "A couple of years ago, I parked a Hummer H2, in all its blunt-trauma enormity, in front of a coffee shop in Santa Monica. When I returned I discovered a note written on a paper napkin under the windshield. 'This thing is so stupid! Why don't you grow up?'

America just got the memo."

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers confirms non-navigable status for most of L.A. River: "The ruling sparks sharp warnings that it will weaken federal Clean Water Act rules protecting the river's sprawling 834-acre watershed."

Big Vehicles Stagger Under the Weight of $4 Gas: "A fully loaded Ford F-250 pickup truck is a whole lot of vehicle. It can tow a horse trailer with multiple horses. It comes with a DVD-based navigation system for the driver as well as a DVD player for passengers who are sitting in the extended cab. And how much does an F-250 set you back these days? Try $100,000 in real terms."

NASA Office Is Criticized on Climate Reports: "Two years after James E. Hansen, the leading climate scientist at NASA, and other agency employees described a pattern of distortion and suppression of climate science by political appointees, the agency’s inspector general has concluded that such activities occurred and were 'inconsistent' with the law that established the space program 50 years ago."

G.M. Shifts Focus to Small Cars in Sign of Sport Utility Demise: "With no end in sight for elevated gas prices, G.M. announced drastic cuts in production of SUVs and pickups and stepped up plans for smaller cars and engines. And in a humbling admission that the S.U.V. era is all but over, G.M., Detroit’s leading automaker, said it was considering selling the gas-guzzling Hummer brand it once regarded as a pillar of future growth."

White House report backs climate change warnings: "After a court order and four years late, Bush administration scientists issue an assessment."

Musings Inspired By a Quagga: "Extinction is so much a part of today’s cultural background — this species endangered, that habitat lost, save the whale, save the rhino, save the rainforest — that it’s strange to think that as little as 200 years ago, most people didn’t think extinction was possible."

The Worst Way of Farming: "In the past month, two new reports have examined how farm animals are raised in this country. The report funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts calls the prevailing system “industrial farm animal production.” The report from the Union of Concerned Scientists prefers the term “confined animal feeding operations.” No matter what you call it, it adds up to the same thing. Millions of animals are crowded together in inhumane conditions, causing significant environmental threats and unacceptable health risks for workers, their neighbors and all the rest of us.

Rule Change Would Permit Weapons in National Parks: "The federal government is considering a proposal to allow visitors to carry loaded, concealed weapons in some national parks, wildlife refuges and monuments. The NRA favors the proposed rule, arguing that it would help keep crime down and protect visitors from potentially dangerous wildlife." (Seriously, none of the above is a joke!)

Work-at-home programs may be shortest route to fuel relief: "American drivers spent 4.2 billion hours stuck in traffic in 2005, according to a recent report. That's about 38 hours per driver, or nearly an entire workweek. All this congestion resulted in 2.9 billion gallons of wasted fuel, or about 26 gallons per driver. Factor in lost productivity, and you have an economic hit to the nation of more than $78 billion."

Global warming to wreak havoc on U.S. crops and forests, report says: "Climate change is increasing the risk of U.S. crop failures, depleting the nation's water resources and contributing to outbreaks of invasive species and insects, the Department of Agriculture said."

Guerrilla gardener movement takes root in L.A. area: "Stealth growers seed or plant on land that doesn't belong to them. The result? Plants that beautify or yield crops in otherwise neglected or vacant spaces."

The most fuel-efficient vehicles of 2008: See the list. Is this the best we can do? A 1985 Honda CRC HF got 55mph!

Up to 24,000 deaths a year in California are linked to air pollution: "New research finds rates of heart attacks, strokes and other serious disease increase exponentially after exposure to even slightly higher amounts of particulate matter."

Wearing green on their sleeves: "Some ventures in Santa Monica earn green business certificates in recognition of their eco-conscious practices."

Polar bear is listed as threatened species: "The Interior Department on Wednesday designated the polar bear as threatened with extinction because of shrinking sea ice, making it the first creature added to the endangered species list primarily because of global warming."

Malibu to ban plastic bags "Supermarkets and other large retailers will have about six months to comply, smaller vendors up to a year. The action follows a number of other efforts in CA to ban plastic bags."

NY bicycle commuters face an uphill climb: "With rising gas prices and concern over auto emissions, more workers are taking to two wheels. But they must navigate an obstacle course of anarchic traffic conditions. With rising oil prices and heightened concern about carbon emissions, riding a bicycle no longer seems quite so silly. The number of bicyclists has grown by 75% during the last seven years."

Rising fuel prices are a driving force for change - away from autos: "Only 7% of people in Los Angeles took public transportation to work in 2006, the last year for which figures are available, while 2.8% walked, 1.4% took a cab or motorcycled and 0.6% bicycled."

EPA may decide not to limit the amount of a toxin in water supplies: "An agency official tells a Senate committee that it's possible there will be no standard set for the amount of perchlorate allowed in drinking water."

A City Committed to Recycling Is Ready for More: "Mayor Gavin Newsom is competitive about many things, garbage included. When the city found out a few weeks ago that it was keeping 70 percent of its disposable waste out of local landfills, he embraced the statistic the way other mayors embrace winning sports teams, improved test scores or declining crime rates."

Are L.A. freeways the roads less-traveled?: "A sampling of residents, traffic reporters and technical data indicates that as gas prices climbed and the economy faltered, there were notable traffic decreases on some freeways."

Are polar bears endangered? Judge says U.S. must decide

Are plastic bottles safe? Watch the video.

With Demand Slipping for Its Pickups and S.U.V.’s, G.M. Will Lay Off 3,550: "General Motors said Monday that it would slash production of big trucks and sport utility vehicles by nearly 140,000 units this year, a move that would eliminate assembly shifts at four plants and cause about 3,550 workers to be laid off."

UCLA study links poor health to fast-food neighbors: "Higher rates of diabetes and obesity occur in neighborhoods -- regardless of the residents' income, race or ethnicity -- where fast-food restaurants and convenience stores greatly outnumber grocery stores and produce vendors, according to a statewide study released today."

Running Out of Planet to Exploit: "Nine years ago The Economist ran a big story on oil, which was then selling for $10 a barrel. The magazine warned that this might not last. Instead, it suggested, oil might well fall to $5 a barrel. In any case, The Economist asserted, the world faced 'the prospect of cheap, plentiful oil for the foreseeable future.' Last week, oil hit $117."

A Hard Plastic Is Raising Hard Questions: Are toxic plastics lurking in your kitchen?"

New rules would raise fuel-economy standards: "Proposed federal fuel-economy standards issued Tuesday would require cars and trucks to get an average of 31.6 miles per gallon by 2015, a significant increase over the current fleet. But the plan also included surprising language barring California and other states from regulating automobile greenhouse-gas emissions."

Treading lighter with low-carbon diets: "To address the problem of greenhouse gases, conscientious consumers are turning their attention to the supermarket and dinner table. It's not just paper versus plastic anymore."

Europe Turns to Coal Again, Raising Alarms on Climate: "At a time when the world’s top climate experts agree that carbon emissions must be rapidly reduced to hold down global warming, Italy’s major electricity producer, Enel, is converting its massive power plant here from oil to coal, generally the dirtiest fuel on earth."

L.A. and San Francisco vie for title of 'greenest city': "Both cities' mayors have proposed new building standards. Newsom's plan is much more stringent, but Villaraigosa's would cover twice as much space."

Private land in national parks at risk for development: "Millions of acres could face commercial development because funds have not been allocated to purchase them, reports say."

Canada Bans Plastic Bottles Tied to Health Concerns: "The Canadian government moved Friday to ban polycarbonate infant bottles as it officially declared one of their chemical ingredients toxic. The move by the departments of health and environment is the first action taken by any government against bisphenol-a, or B.P.A., a chemical that mimics a human hormone and that has induced long-term changes in animals exposed to it through tests."

The City of Los Angeles has declared April 22, 2008 as a Car Free Day in Los Angeles. Since 1970, "Earth Day", a day set aside internationally to recognize and formulate solutions for our planet's environmental issues and problems, has been celebrated each April 22nd. That day, from 10 am to 5 pm, WCBIC will host a Wilshire Center 'Earth Day' event during which Wilshire Boulevard between Western and Harvard will be closed to all vehicle traffic. The day will highlight Wilshire Center as a great place to work, live and shop, include discussions concerning the future of our area, and conduct tours of selected landmarks. Events will include live music, green information, a street bike raffle, and a reuseable grocery bag give away.

Save OUR State Parks! "Proposals to close 48 of California’s state parks and take lifeguards away from 16 state beaches are out-of-touch with Californians. Join the Save Our State Parks Campaign and help stop these closures of our treasured state parks!"

Warming felt more in Western U.S.: "An analysis of 50 studies finds that the region's temperatures are increasing faster than in the rest of the country and the planet as a whole."

Where are the salmon?: "Though there has been much reporting on the salmon crisis, like LA The Times' recent 'U.S. halts commercial salmon season' and the New York Times' "The trouble with salmon,” no one has yet pointed out that the high numbers in 2002 were actually anomalous or that the increasing variability in salmon, bird and plankton populations all point to climate change as the main driving factor."

Seattle may dump throwaway bags: "The city wants consumers to turn to reusable sacks by charging for disposable ones. The proposal also would ban foam food containers."

States sue over emissions curbs: "The EPA has failed to act to regulate greenhouse gases from vehicles despite a Supreme Court ruling."

Chunk of Antarctic ice shelf collapses, putting larger area at risk: "A chunk of Antarctic ice about seven times the size of Manhattan has collapsed, scientists said Tuesday, putting an even greater portion of glacial ice at risk."

When the waist widens, risk of dementia rises: "A large belly is a bigger risk than family history in increasing the chances of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's, research suggests."

State air board may slash zero-emission mandate: "Proposal would cut by nearly two-thirds the number of clean-air vehicles that big carmakers must sell over the next decade."

Technicality may cut California desert areas from federally protected status: "The proposed National Landscape Conservation Act would unify management and funding of designated areas. But it requires 'national' in the area name, excluding some of the state's sensitive areas."

Environmental Agency Pretends to Tighten Smog Standards: "The EPA announced a modest tightening of the smog standard, overruling the unanimous advice of its scientific advisory council for a more protective standard."

Soot may play big role in climate change: "Black carbon pollution, or soot, produced by burning wood, coal, cow dung and diesel fuel, may be a much greater contributor to global warming than previously suspected."

The Environmental Protection Agency, ignoring protests from its own regional offices and the National Park Service, is nearing approval of regulations that would make it easier to build coal-fired plants near parks and wilderness areas without installing pollution controls.

Collapse of Salmon Stocks Endangers Pacific Fishery: Federal officials have indicated that they are likely to close the Pacific salmon fishery from northern Oregon to the Mexican border because of the collapse of crucial stocks in California’s major watershed.

Full Stream Ahead for Lower Owens: "Man-made flood should flush a century's worth of debris from rejuvenated river. It will be some time before the river can sustain commercial enterprises like fishing, hiking, kayaking and bird-watching concessions."

Recreation Fees Rising in Wake of Fires’ Costs: "Reeling from the high cost of fighting wildfires, federal land agencies have been imposing new fees and increasing existing ones at recreation sites across the West in an effort to raise tens of millions of dollars."

Ships Intrude on Arctic's Warming Waters: "'If the northern sea route or Northwest passage opens up, it truly does open a whole new world of commerce in terms of our ability to move around the globe,' said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)"

Her game rules: child safe and eco-friendly: "Finding words and counting numbers in Jill Gaynor's educational games are pretty simple tasks. Producing the games is more complicated. Gaynor demands that her board games for ages 4 and up be printed with soy ink, on recycled paper, laminated with phthalate-free material and finished with a nontoxic, water-based varnish."

Protecting All Waters: "Half of the waters in the United States are at risk of pollution or destructive development because of a wrongheaded Supreme Court decision in 2006. The decision narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act, weakened the law’s safeguards and thoroughly confused the federal agencies responsible for enforcing it."

No Pristine Oceans Left, New Map Shows: "No areas of the world's oceans remain completely untouched by humanity's influence, according to a new study. Every area of the oceans is feeling the effects of fishing, pollution, or human-caused global warming, the study says, and some regions are being affected by all of these factors and more."

Oceans at Risk: "There is no shortage of scientific studies documenting the degradation of the world’s oceans, the decline of marine ecosystems and the collapse of important fish species. Several have appeared in the last month. What is in short supply is a sustained effort by world governments and other institutions to do something about it."

Pro Golfer Isenhour charged with intentionally killing a hawk with ball: "Tripp Isenhour, who plays on the Nationwide Tour, was taping a video called 'Shoot Like a Pro' and was interrupted by the noise of the bird, according to news reports. He eventually knocked the bird out of a tree with one of his shots."

L.A. County, Malibu accused of violating clean-water rules: "Southern California has long had one of the nation's worst urban runoff problems, largely because so much of the landscape has been paved over or developed. All of this hardened landscape tilts toward the sea. So most of the rain in the area rushes into coastal waters, sweeping contaminants along with it. This pollution contributes to gastrointestinal illnesses among Southern California beachgoers, increases the toxicity of fish caught in local waters and spurs harmful algae blooms that can poison marine life."

Plan to 'flush' Grand Canyon stirs concerns: "Water releases meant to renew the river's bottom are ill-timed and serve hydropower firms, National Park Service officials say."

Disposal of recalled beef taxes school districts: "Food service officials are grappling with the cost and means of discarding meat and refreshing menus."

'Eco-awakening' affects personal lifestyle choices: "Consumers start out with small changes"

Part of Salton Sea's desolate shore made into a lush oasis: "One woman created a wetlands Eden with more than 135 bird species. Officials hope it's a microcosm of what will happen when state's restoration plan gets off the drawing board."

Confessions on Climate: The Bush administration has now provided the rationale for its lamentable decision to deny California permission to develop its own stricter rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles. To make its case, Stephen Johnson, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, was forced to argue that climate change gravely endangered not only California but the entire country. As hard as it is to believe, this was the first time that any senior administration official had explicitly conceded that greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare.

Fewer drivers over a barrel: "In carpools, on bikes or at home, people are breaking gasoline's grip."

Dead zones off Oregon and Washington likely tied to global warming, study says: "Low-oxygen areas that show scant signs of sea life have expanded. 'We seem to have crossed a tipping point,' a scientist says."

Shrink your energy footprint: "For the gear you have: Even when they're not in use, many house-hold appliances suck up juice. Pull the plug on wasteful habits and save."

Energy Eaters: Watching your fridge may be boring but it can save you money: "A breakdown of the annual electricity cost, based on the DOE's 2007 national average price for energy for a variety of appliances."

Buying Green Electronic Devices: "Cutting-edge products let consumers who say they would pay more for efficiency put their money where their mouths are."

What a little bird told us: "In the extinction of the Carolina parakeet is a parable on the relationship of man and nature."

L.A. mayor tours restored Lower Owens River: "Antonio Villaraigosa touts the city's diverting water back to the waterway, which had been sucked dry by the aqueduct in 1913"

Reservoirs could dry out by 2021: "Colorado River reservoirs that serve 20 million people in the Southwest could essentially run out of water in 13 years based on current climate and water-use trends."

The climate may be right for a global warming bill: "Interest is growing in Congress, but the first measure to advance since Democrats took control has hit some roadblocks."

Motivated by a Tax, Irish Spurn Plastic Bags: "DUBLIN: There is something missing from this otherwise typical bustling cityscape. There are taxis and buses. There are hip bars and pollution. Every other person is talking into a cellphone. But there are no plastic shopping bags, the ubiquitous symbol of urban life."

Bill offers rebates, exacts fees based on car emissions: "Buyers would get money back on autos with lower emissions and be charged extra on higher polluters."

A sticking point over the carpool lane: "It's a curious situation when SUVs with a lone occupant can take priority over truly fuel-efficient vehicles."

After rebound, penguins face warming threat: "The king penguin, a species that rebounded from near-extinction over the last century, could be wiped out in coming decades due to global warming, researchers reported Monday."

Plight of the brumbies: "Australia's wild horses are being shot to preserve the environment. One woman is determined to save them."

Water troubles in the West will worsen: "A study finds that man-made global warming has been steadily reducing snowpack along mountain ranges. States must make plans now to adapt, scientists say."

State urges schools to ban suspect beef: "L.A. Unified will offer substitute items after discovering that a supplier butchered weak and ill cattle."

U.S. close to decision on polar bears: "It could be the first species to be listed as threatened with extinction primarily because of global warming."

Salmon collapse could force fishing restrictions: "Faced with an 'unprece-dented collapse' of California's Central Valley salmon population, federal regulators warned Tuesday that the West Coast fishing industry is on course toward steep restrictions this year. The number of chinook salmon returning to the Sacramento River plummeted to near historic lows last year, and fishery experts are predicting similarly light returns this year."

Killer whales seem to be moving farther south: "It's widely believed the orcas are expanding their range because depleted Pacific Northwest stocks of salmon can no longer sustain them."

Navy undertakes efforts to protect sea life: "Sonar devices that are a danger to marine mammals are turned off during war games."

EPA staff finds emissions threat: "The White House is reviewing the 'endangerment' conclusion, which would require regulations. The agency, contradicting its chief, has also concluded that a California tailpipe law was justified."

Bush's sonar order is unconstitutional, coastal panel says: "The California Coastal Commission argued in federal court Tuesday that President Bush violated the U.S. Constitution by trying to overturn a court order that restricted the Navy's use of a type of sonar linked to the deaths of marine mammals."

U.S. Given Poor Marks on the Environment: "A new international ranking of environmental performance puts the United States at the bottom of the Group of 8 industrialized nations and 39th among the 149 countries on the list."

Plastic-bag ban unravels: "Los Angeles County supervisors backed off a threat Tuesday to ban plastic shopping and grocery bags that environmental experts call unsightly and destructive.Instead, officials chose the weakest of five alternatives recommended by county executives: a volunteer program that leaves it to supermarket and store owners to coax customers into packing their purchases in reusable containers."

Until All the Fish Are Gone: "Many fish species may soon be so depleted that they will no longer be able to reproduce themselves. As 125 of the world’s most respected scientists warned in a letter to the W.T.O. last year, the world is at a crossroads. One road leads to tremendously diminished marine life. The other leads to oceans again teeming with abundance."

S.D. ecologists, Baja fishermen work 15 years to save sea turtles: "Not every scientist is comfortable being an agent of social change. But it's no stretch for Hoyt Peckham and other researchers affiliated with Pro Peninsula, a San Diego-based conservation group. They see it as their duty to protect the endangered loggerhead sea turtles they study along remote stretches of Baja California."

Bush sides with Navy in sonar battle: "President Bush on Wednesday moved to exempt Navy sonar training missions off Southern California from complying with key environmental laws, an effort designed to free the military from court-ordered restrictions aimed at protecting whales and dolphins. With Bush's latest action, it took on overtones of a struggle between the administrative and judicial branches of government."

Regulatory Games and the Polar Bear: "The Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service has announced that early next month it will sell oil and gas leases on nearly 30 million acres of prime polar bear habitat in the Chukchi Sea. Meanwhile, the department’s Fish and Wildlife Service has postponed a long-awaited decision on whether to place this iconic and troubled animal on the list of threatened species."

A Long-Dry California River Gets, and Gives, New Life: "What Los Angeles took a century ago — a 62-mile stretch of river in the parched Owens Valley along the Badwater Ultramarathon route— it is now giving back."

Gov.'s proposal to close 48 sites angers avid users: "Joggers, surfers, artists and other avid users of California's state parks and beaches expressed outrage and disbelief as they absorbed word of the proposal, which would shutter even famed San Simeon State Park near Hearst Castle. In addition to the 48 closures, the governor suggested cutting back lifeguards at 16 state beaches."

SIR EDMUND HILLARY, 1919 -2008: "Sir Edmund Hillary, the lanky New Zealand mountaineer and explorer who with Tenzing Norgay, his Sherpa guide, won worldwide acclaim in 1953 by becoming the first to scale the 29,035-foot summit of Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak, died yesterday of a heart attack in Auckland, New Zealand. He was 88."

New center to focus on solving ocean problems: "Launched by Stanford University and Monterey Bay Aquarium and its research institute, the organization was created in part out of frustration from a lack of government leadership."

F.T.C. Asks if Carbon-Offset Money Is Well Spent: "Corporations and shoppers in the United States spent more than $54 million last year on carbon offset credits toward tree planting, wind farms, solar plants and other projects to balance the emissions created by, say, using a laptop computer or flying on a jet. A Volkswagen program, offered in conjunction with Carbon-fund.org, an intermediary, has sought to energize car sales. But where exactly is that money going?"

E.P.A. Seeks New Life for Old Cellphones: "The way the Environmental Protection Agency sees it, one discarded cellphone is like one vote: on its own, it cannot do much harm or good, but the cumulative effect can pack a wallop. So on Tuesday, the E.P.A., in partnership with many retailers, manufacturers and service providers, will introduce a public education campaign aimed at getting consumers to recycle those phones."

What’s Your Consumption Factor?: "The average rates at which people consume resources like oil and metals, and produce wastes like plastics and greenhouse gases, are about 32 times higher in North America, Western Europe, Japan and Australia than they are in the developing world. That factor of 32 has big consequences."

Protection of polar bears still undecided: "In September, the U.S. Geological Survey issued a report concluding that two-thirds of the world's polar bears, including the entire population in Alaska, would be killed off by 2050 because of thinning sea ice from global warming in the Arctic."

Nature Overrun: "Nearly 40 years ago, President Richard Nixon issued an executive order calling for a national strategy to protect wildlife by restricting off-road vehicles to carefully designated trails. President Jimmy Carter later gave the interior secretary the authority to ban such vehicles from sensitive lands. Unfortunately, except for a brief and encouraging crackdown during the Clinton administration, nobody has paid much attention to these directives since."

In Greenland, Ice and Instability: "A scientific scramble is under way to clarify whether the erosion of the world’s most vulnerable ice sheets, in Greenland and West Antarctica, can continue to accelerate."

Faces of Fitness: Pilates and life lessons, yoga with a cause or good old recess, in L.A., there's a workout for everyone. Here's a look at the trainers and instructors behind some of the quick-fix, quirky and tailor-made exercise programs out there.

Chris Kostman: Ultra race coordinator: WHILE most people can't fathom running a marathon, others can't fathom stopping at 26.2 miles. As the niche of ultra and endurance events grows, increasing numbers of otherwise ordinary men and women are pushing their physical and mental limits to extremes.

Killer whales are making their presence felt: "The unusually strong presence of killer whales off Southern California could be a factor in the scarcity of gray whales."

Navy must cut sonar use off California: "Judge orders tough restrictions to protect whales and dolphins."

Obit: "Rimmon C. Fay, a marine scientist and longtime Venice Beach lifeguard who devoted his life to saving the Santa Monica Bay from pollution and other assaults, has died. He was 78."

'In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto' by Michael Pollan: "The author of 'The Omnivore's Dilemma' advises us to escape the Western diet."

Surge in Off-Roading Stirs Dust and Debate in West: "Outdoor enthusiasts are flocking in record numbers to lesser-known forests, deserts and mountains, where the rules of use have been lax and enforcement infrequent."

BACK ON YOUR FEET - THE HOMELESS RUNNING CLUB: Anne Mahlum is a 27-year-old marathoner. And on her predawn runs in Philadelphia, she kept passing a group of homeless men. "They would say, 'Hi' or they would say 'Hi Anne' or 'There's the crazy runner.' 'How many miles are you doing?'" Mahlum recalled. "And they would smile and sort of applaud and cheer for me, while I would start my day." But one day in May, Mahlum said, "I looked back, and I was like, 'I am cheating these guys. Why am I just running past them and leaving them there?'" Website

Beijing’s Olympic Quest: Turn Smoggy Sky Blue: "For the world’s Olympians, Beijing’s air is a performance issue. The concern is that respiratory problems could impede athletic performance and prevent records from being broken. For the city’s estimated 12 million residents, pollution is an inescapable health and quality-of-life issue. "

EPA prepares to provide records: "Congress looks into the rejection of California's bid to curb emissions."

Of Two Minds on Polar Bears: "Two agencies in the Department of the Interior are nearing significant yet contradictory decisions that will affect the fate of one of America’s iconic animal species, the polar bear."

China Grabs West’s Smoke-Spewing Factories: "In its rush to re-create the industrial revolution that made the West rich, China has absorbed most of the major industries that once made the West dirty. Spurred by strong state support, Chinese companies have become the dominant makers of steel, coke, aluminum, cement, chemicals, leather, paper and other goods that faced high costs, including tougher environmental rules, in other parts of the world. China has become the world’s factory, but also its smokestack."

Rooting for trees: "A million more of them in L.A. isn't such a bad idea."

E.P.A. Says 17 States Can’t Set Emission Rules: "The decision immediately provoked a heated debate over its scientific basis and whether political pressure was applied by the automobile industry to help it escape the proposed California regulations. Officials from the states and numerous environmental groups vowed to sue to overturn the edict."

L.A.'s bike-unfriendly festival: "It's hard to defend the logic of banning bicycles from an event that loudly -- or rather, brightly -- boasts about its environmental friendliness while creating traffic jams throughout the surrounding area. More than 150,000 cars inched their way through the Festival of Lights last year."

Long Beach OKs fee on cargo to fund green efforts: "After years of unsuccessful attempts, the Long Beach Harbor Commission on Monday approved a $1.6-billion tax on cargo to raise money to combat air pollution and clear the way for expansion projects"

A long road to mileage goals: "Cars are set to get dramatically better mileage in the next decade under the energy bill that's expected to get final congressional approval today. But for drivers hoping to see sport utility vehicles go the way of the dinosaurs and find dealerships stocked with hybrids and high-tech fuel-cell vehicles, the future may be a long way off."

Paper or plastic -- better yet, neither: "According to county statistics, L.A. uses more than 6 billion one-time plastic bags a year, with only 5% of that total being recycled. The rest become a costly public waste problem that hogs precious landfill. The bags haunt our public spaces like ghosts, blowing across roadways, parks and schoolyards. The non-degrading bags choke streams and oceans, threatening marine life."

Carpoolers' free ride may be over: "An MTA proposal to convert the lanes to toll roads has some fuming."

Researchers say summer sea ice could soon vanish: "The Arctic is screaming," says Mark Serreze, senior scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The Centennial Initiative: "New Hope For Our National Parks"

Midnight Ridazz are bound to keep on riding: "In the heart of car culture, massive bike rides are hitting the streets. Should you admire them? Scorn them? Or join the pack?"

Mapping a path to solar power: "NASA has identified Earth's sunniest spots, which could guide strategy for developing alternative energy."

Giants sequoias have been living large for centuries: "Along the Trail of 100 Giants in the southern Sierra Nevada, visitors are in the presence of ancient behemoths that measure up to 220 feet tall and are believed to date back 500 to 1,500 years."

Paying other nations to be green: "Some at the Bali summit see carbon credits as a way to save the rain forests and reduce greenhouse gases. Others have doubts."

A Carbon Cap That Starts in Washington: "Instead of using Chinese inaction as an excuse to avoid dealing with the problem, we should consider why emissions from China are soaring. One of the biggest is the enormous increase in China’s production of manufactured goods for export. Indeed, net exports accounted for 23 percent of Chinese greenhouse gas emissions."

Climate Plan Looks Beyond Bush’s Tenure: "The world’s faltering effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions got a new lease on life on Saturday, as delegates from 187 countries agreed to negotiate a new accord over the next two years — pushing the crucial debates about United States participation into the administration of a new American president."

Judge says California can regulate greenhouse gases from cars: "In a major defeat for automakers, a federal judge in Fresno ruled Wednesday that California could set its own standards on greenhouse-gas emissions from vehicles. But the state still needs permission from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to implement the rules."

Oil-Rich Nations Use More Energy, Cutting Exports: "Several of the world’s most important oil suppling nations may need to start importing oil within a decade to power all the new cars, houses and businesses they are buying and creating with their oil wealth."

2 'green' technologies race for driver's seat: "Fuel cells and plug-ins vie for funding and favor that could decide what's on the road."

Automakers Change Course on Fuel Standards: "Just six months ago, an auto industry trade group warned that consumers could be forced to buy vehicles they did not want if Congress went too far in raising fuel economy standards. But this week, after a deal on proposed legislation to raise fuel economy by 40 percent to 35 miles per gallon by 2020, the companies declared the higher standards would be 'good for both customers and energy security.'"

Wildfires' scars drive hungry deer onto roads: "As the number of animals struck by cars shoots higher, motorists are urged to slow down."

Wildfires leave caustic ash, study finds: "When neighborhoods burn, the debris has high levels of arsenic and other toxic metals. Rains then wash the substances into waterways."

U.S. ‘Not Ready’ to Commit at Bali: "The world's top two polluters, the U.S. and China, say they are not ready to commit to mandatory caps on greenhouse gases."

A clear pattern of risk emerges from city smog: "L.A.'s notorious air pollution is hardest on kids. The closer to a freeway they live, play or attend school, the more likely it is that their developing lungs' capacity will be reduced."

Bold Moves Urged in Nobel Speech: "'Peace can be defined as security and the secure access to resources that are essential for living.' Climate-driven disruption of resources like food, water and land had the potential for disastrous effects on world stability, including the loss of islands and coastal communities to flooding, mass migration leading to increased tensions between rich and poor countries, and a rise in disease and malnutrition."

In Midwest Duck Blinds, Visions of Global Warming: "After 32 years of hunting ducks in the wetlands of Missouri, Chuck Geier knows when temperatures will drop and waters will freeze. That means he also knows when the birds will fly and hunting will be best. Except that much of what he knows is now in question.

Aircraft emission cuts urged: "In the U.S., emissions from domestic flights have grown by 15% since 1990, while passenger miles have increased more than fourfold over the same period. Of particular concern is the rapid expansion of corporate and private jet travel."

A Bag Problem Blossoms: "Now that the leaves have finally fallen, a new decoration becomes more visible on the nation’s many deciduous trees: those plastic bags that float high into tree limbs and flutter noisily with each autumn breeze. Despite this unappealing vision, a ban of all plastic bags would be hard to champion, although the earth would be a greener and healthier place without them. What this unsightly airborne litter does offer is an opportunity for industry and consumers to think a lot harder about how much such convenience is costing the planet."

San Francisco Fleet Is All Biodiesel: "Claiming it now has the largest green fleet in the nation, the city of San Francisco this week completed a yearlong project to convert its entire array of diesel vehicles — from ambulances to street sweepers — to biodiesel, a clean-burning and renewable fuel that holds promise for helping to reduce greenhouse gases."

Japanese whalers go back on the hunt for 'science': "Gray whales have embarked on their southbound migration along the West Coast and, thankfully, they aren't being trailed by meat hunters posing as scientists. No such luck for cetaceans in the extreme South Pacific, where Japanese whalers aim to harpoon, over the next several months, 935 minke whales, 50 fin whales and 50 humpback whales."

Endangered Species: "In early June, the Audubon Society released a report chronicling the disturbing decline of some of America’s most common bird species. This week, it issued a grim sequel: a survey that highlights the status of the species in most serious trouble, those at or near the verge of extinction."

Wild or farmed? Salmon eaters demand to know: "What could unite such fierce competitors as Bristol Farms, Costco, Safeway, Albertsons, Whole Foods Market and Trader Joe's? A group of fish-eating consumers who want to know whether the salmon in the stores' display cases is wild or farmed."

Doing well, not good: "big diesels offer only a variety of complacency, coaching people to keep their oversized vehicles while assuaging whatever guilt they might feel. I know there are many people out there waiting patiently for the thriftier high-tech diesels. I'm sorry. It's just methadone for gasoline addiction. The fact is, the bitter truth is, the green car of the year is anything but an SUV."

Winning the rat race by quitting it: "We're working ourselves silly thanks to the desire to have better stuff than everyone else."

Court tosses federal fuel economy standards for light trucks: "A federal appeals court on Thursday threw out planned federal fuel economy standards for many sport-utility vehicles, minivans and pickup trucks, ruling that the Bush administration failed to address why those so-called 'light trucks' are allowed to pollute more than cars."

Broader study of the Klamath River Basin urged: "For years, a fight over the Klamath River has raged among farmers who divert the river waters, environmentalists and fishermen eager to protect declining salmon and steelhead populations, and Native American tribes that have seen the river's decline affect their traditional way of life."

Google unveils its green dreams: "The firm plans to spend 'hundreds of millions' to help the world end its reliance on coal."

Pesticide use down on California farms in 2006: "California farmers used 10 million fewer pounds of pesticides on crops last year, but strawberry growers increased their reliance on fumigants, which are considered among the most dangerous pest-killing chemicals, according to a state report released Thursday."

Choosing to swim with the sharks: "Caged divers face fears and get close, personal look at predators at Guadalupe Island off Baja coast. The experience is exhilarating, even as rumors swirl over methods used to draw out the beasts."

Japan defends whale hunt: "The pro-whalers in the Japanese government have a ready answer when asked to explain why the global ban on commercial whaling should be lifted. Whaling is part of Japan's culture, they say."

An Alaskan island is losing ground: "As global warming erodes their world, the residents of Kivalina battle the elements — and now one anothe"

Flood of plastic bags in L.A. needs solution: "Garbage is one of those issues that most people would rather not even think about. In our blissfully materialistic, throwaway society, it's hard to even conceive of the volume of trash generated, not to mention how and where we get rid of it. In fact, L.A. County alone produces at least 36,400 tons of solid waste every day."

Stirring up nutrition goals for farm bill: "Parents, nutritionists and physicians want Congress to overhaul the legislation, which they say promotes fatty school lunches, in an effort to fight obesity."

In Miles of Alleys, Chicago Finds Its Next Environmental Frontier: "In a green alley, water is allowed to penetrate the soil through the pavement itself, which consists of the relatively new but little-used technology of permeable concrete or porous asphalt. Then the water, filtered through stone beds under the permeable surface layer, recharges the underground water table instead of ending up as polluted runoff in rivers and streams."

L.A. kicks off program to cut trans fats: "Restaurants that shun the cooking oils, which are linked to heart problems, can display a special decal in their windows."

Take Action Now for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: "The battle over the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge doesn't have to continue indefinitely. Energy conservation measures could easily save more oil than what exists under the Refuge. Equally important, permanent protection for the Refuge would safeguard a national treasure, changing it from a battleground into a beautiful sanctuary of Wilderness. Congress has the power to afford such a protection, but they need to hear from you to make it happen.

"In the Senate, Joe Lieberman (I-CT) reintroduced S.2316, a bill that would permanently protect the Coastal Plain of the Refuge as Wilderness. While this bill has been introduced in previous congressional sessions, the current Congress represents the best opportunity in years to build momentum towards passage of an Arctic Wilderness bill.

"Ask your senator to support all efforts to permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge." Please take action now.

In Eco-Friendly Factory, Low-Guilt Potato Chips: "CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — At Frito-Lay’s factory here, more than 500,000 pounds of potatoes arrive every day from New Mexico to be washed, sliced, fried, seasoned and portioned into bags of Lay’s and Ruffles chips. The process devours enormous amounts of energy, and creates vast amounts of wastewater, starch and potato peelings."

Governors Join in Creating Regional Pacts on Climate Change: "Frustrated with the slow progress of legislation in Washington on energy and global warming, the nation’s governors have created regional agreements to cap greenhouse gases and are engaged in a concerted lobbying effort to prod Congress to act."

Hope for the Everglades: "Seven years ago, Congress and the Clinton administration set in motion the most ambitious environmental initiative on the planet: an $8 billion, 40-year project to restore South Florida’s ecosystem and, in particular, the Everglades, which had been punished by a half-century of uncontrolled development and starved of fresh water. The federal response, crippled by an inattentive president and a divided, ineffectual Congress, has been pathetic — a mere $363 million — putting the whole enterprise way behind schedule."

His passion for solar still burns: "Forty years ago, Harold Hay came up with a way to heat and cool homes using water and the sun. At 98, he's still trying to get the world to notice."

In Portland, Cultivating a Culture of Two Wheels: "Cyclists have long revered Portland for its bicycle-friendly culture and infrastructure, including the network of bike lanes that the city began planning in the early 1970s. Now, riders are helping the city build a cycling economy."

CA Governor sues U.S. over clean-air standards: "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday sued the Bush administration and said he was prepared to "sue again and sue again" until California gets permission to impose its own tough standards on automakers to curb global warming."

An auto industry falls short of green: "L.A.'s car showcase underscores that the government needs to help automakers in the drive to make eco-friendly vehicles."

Roy Wallack on "Living Live" with Florence Henderson: "Cycling writer Roy Wallack discusses his book "Bike For Life: How to Ride to One Hundred."

Evangelizing for the animals: "On Wednesday, clergy from 20 faith traditions -- including Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Pentecostal and Roman Catholic -- will sign a statement declaring a moral duty to treat animals with respect. At a ceremony in Washington, they will call on all people of faith to stop wearing fur, reduce meat consumption, and buy only from farms with humane practices."

Tujunga Wash project creates more recreation space while saving water: "A $7-million partial revitalization of the Tujunga Wash helps conserve water and provides new recreational space in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles officials said Wednesday."

A 'green' solution for a parched, car-crazy region: "To the list of marketing oxymorons -- the sunless tan, cheeseless pizza, soap-free detergent -- add this: the no-water carwash.

Lisa and Jeff Peri have been peddling Green Earth Waterless Car Wash for only five months but already have gotten some traction, gaining a major local hospital and one of California's biggest Lexus dealers as customers for their product, which they describe as environmentally gentle." Their website.

L.A. Unified seeks to clear the air: "The Los Angeles Board of Education is beginning to explore policies that would preclude schools from being built close to freeways and reduce air pollution at the dozens of campuses that already are located near major roadways."

U.S. mayors find it's not easy to be green: "Assessing progress is difficult for 728 cities in a Kyoto-like pact."

Texas Proceeding With Plan to Auction Preserve: "In Austin, the state’s general land commissioner is collecting bids to do what conservationists say is all but unheard of — selling a state wildlife preserve to a private buyer."

Atlanta water use is called shortsighted: "The rapidly growing metropolis' 'cavalier' attitude toward conservation is the real problem, critics say."

Hey, did you hear the one about Jay Leno and his eco-friendly Burbank garage?: Says Leno, "My thing with the green situation is: Even if you don't believe in global warming, don't you want to screw the oil company or gas company or utility company?"

Leno said he believes in global warming. And judging from the 54-kilowatt solar-power system he installed atop his garage last month, he also believes in putting it to the utility company.

Mining law overhaul has prospects: "The House votes to add environmental protections as well as royalties on minerals taken from public land."

Effort to Save Everglades Falters as Funds Drop: "Seven years into what was supposed to be a four-decade, $8 billion effort to reverse generations of destruction, federal financing has slowed to a trickle."

Veto of Senate farm bill threatened: "The Senate began debate Monday on a farm bill that would put more fresh fruit in school lunches and boost spending for conservation, but would also continue billions of dollars in subsidies while crop prices and farm incomes hit record levels. "

Getting to Green: "From BMW to Honda, from Chrysler to Volkswagen, the industry is rushing to make vehicles that use less gasoline or don’t rely on it at all."

Save the Planet: Vote Smart: "People often ask: I want to get greener, what should I do? New light bulbs? A hybrid? A solar roof? Well, all of those things are helpful. But actually, the greenest thing you can do is this: Choose the right leaders. It is so much more important to change your leaders than change your light bulbs."

Did We Do That?: "Is man’s cumulative impact on the climate now as responsible for the weather as Mother Nature herself? That is the question Katrina really introduced for the first time — the sense that soon, if not already, what we used to call acts of God are really acts of man”

How to Cool the Globe: "One idea is to counteract warming by tossing small particles into the stratosphere (above where jets fly). This strategy may sound far-fetched, but it has the potential to cool the earth within months."

China’s Green Energy Gap: "By next autumn, a muddy construction site here in a rural part of eastern China will give way to a small power plant that burns corn stalks and cotton stalks to generate electricity for nearby villages and steam for a neighboring industrial complex."

California has enough water: "The trick is to conserve the valuable state resource, make wise decisions about how to use it and cut waste."

The Future Is Drying Up: "Diminished supplies of fresh water might prove a far more serious problem than slowly rising seas"

How Green Is My Garden?: "IF the government wants to reduce its dependency on imported oil and, in the words of the Department of Energy, 'foster the domestic biomass industry,' it has only to stop by my backyard with a pickup."

Schools Found Improving on Nutrition and Fitness: "Spurred by the growing crisis in child obesity, the nation’s schools have made 'considerable improvements' in nutrition, fitness and health over the last six years, according to a new government survey that found that more schools require physical education and fewer sell French fries"

Montana and Kansas Take on Big Coal: "On Saturday, The Times’s business section featured two reports from unexpected parts of the country that should cheer the bipartisan coalition in the Senate that wants to move ahead quickly on legislation limiting emissions of carbon dioxide, the main global warming gas. The reports provide further evidence, if any were needed, that Congress should not listen to the coal industry’s siren call for special treatment."

Local Carrots With a Side of Red Tape: "THE dirt on Richard Ball’s farm in Schoharie County is 15 feet deep, rich with minerals and perfect for growing sweet carrots. About 150 miles south, the New York City schools serve 850,000 meals a day. Some of them contain carrots. But the carrots come from other states."

Fight Against Coal Plants Draws Diverse Partners: "An increasingly vocal, potent and widespread anti-coal movement is developing here. Environmental groups that have long opposed new power plants are being joined by ranchers, farmers, retired homeowners, ski resort operators and even religious groups."

Pesticide spurs free speech flap: "Officials say trade rules prevent disclosure of inert substances in a spray applied over parts of Monterey County."

Activists say governor is green, but cautious: "Schwarzenegger signed 19 key environmental bills this year. But his vetoes leave some observers disappointed with his record."

Global Warming Starts to Divide G.O.P. Contenders: "While many conservative commentators and editorialists have mocked concerns about climate change, a different reality is emerging among Republican presidential contenders. It is a near-unanimous recognition among the leaders of the threat posed by global warming."

Wildlife at border may lose sanctuary: "TEXAS -- Betty Perez and John Odgers typically don't share the same canoe -- or much else. ut Perez and Odgers do have one thing in common: a deep love for the majestic winged creatures that live along the wild banks of the Rio Grande."

Green Resort Is Planned to Preserve Ruins and Coastal Waters: "In this remote eastern region of Libya, where the bleak hills resemble a lunar landscape, the Green Mountain Sustainable Development Area is the latest in a spate of recently announced projects that form a sort of environmental coming-out party for this former pariah country."

Setting Limits on Snowmobiles: "In the past few years, there have been two encouraging developments affecting the National Park Service. The first was the approval of a revised management policy that reinforced the park service’s historic commitment to conserving natural resources."