U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urges United States and China, the two largest polluters, to do more to decrease their impact on global warming. He said, "Only urgent, global action will do."

According to the U.N. panel of scientists, whose latest report is a
synthesis of three previous ones, enough carbon dioxide already has built up to imperil islands, coastlines and one-fifth to two-thirds of the world's species.  read more »

Regardless on your interpretation of the facts presented, this brief video presents an uncommon view of the current state and direction of our world. From technology to education, from employment to global economic trends the statistics are worth at least an 8 minute pause.

The video is a June 2007 update to the original "Shift Happens" video from Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod.  read more »

Ever have questions about environmental or health issues? Ever wish you could speak with a top environmental official? Believe it or not, now you can. Earlier this month the EPA launched an online forum named Ask EPA. The forum is a series of live chat sessions to which you can submit questions up to two days in advance or even during the live chat.

You can submit questions or sign up for alerts on upcomging speakers and topics at the Ask EPA website

President Janez Drnovsek, frequently dressed in Indian clothes and sometimes playing the flute with laurel leaves in his hair, has cast off the trappings of power. After he was diagnosed with kidney cancer, Drnovsek, 56, left his presidential palace in Ljubljana, sacked most of his staff and moved with his dog to a mountain cabin near the village of Zaplana, where he grows organic food and bakes his own bread.  read more »

In its annual director pay survey, The Corporate Library (a corporate governance and executive compensation research group), reported the median earnings for female corporate directors is $120,000. Meanwhile the median compensation for male directors was $104,375 or $15,625 less.  read more »

Ronit,

Everyone seems to be afraid of dying but me. Am I broken or are they?

Wondering about death

Dear Wondering,  read more »

For years, scientists have known that the building blocks in
plant matter, like corn kernels, stalks, straw and wood chips, contain an immense potential resource that could, in theory, help fill the gasoline tanks in America's cars and trucks. Most have focused on biology as a way to do it. But now, a new group of entrepreneurs, including Mr. Mandich, favor chemistry. They believe that techniques borrowed from oil refining and other chemical industries will allow them to crack open big biological molecules, transforming them into ethanol or even diesel and gasoline.  read more »

Ronit,

Sometimes I feel like everyone knows more than me or is more successful than me or more competent. I haven't done well at anything in life so far. How do you go about finding your strength or at least convincing yourself that you are better than you appear?

I am a fraud

Dear Fraud,  read more »

Corn based biodegradable plastic offer hope for a cleaner future. The resin, known as polylactic acid (PLA), is formed into containers and packaging for food and consumer goods. While it may seem better than the conventional petroleum based packaging, there are some serious questions as to whether it is in the long term.  read more »

A novel and contentious effort aims to commercialize the removal of heat trapping carbon dioxide from atmosphere using blooms of plankton. The Weatherbird II, a 115-foot private research vessel, entered international waters on Sunday to fertilize seas by adding iron. Some scientists believe that hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide might be absorbed by fertilized seas. A lack of iron in some ocean waters prevents plankton from blooming. But some environmental groups oppose such efforts.  read more »