China's giant pandas are believed to be safe after Monday's earthquake, but concern is growing over how they will get their next meals.
Analysis: The US finally rules that global warming is indeed threatening the species' survival. Not that it will make any difference
(WASHINGTON) -- The Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species Wednesday, saying it must be protected because of the decline in Arctic sea ice from global warming.Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne cited dramatic declines in sea ice over the last three decades and projections of continued losses. These declines, he told a news conference, mean the polar bear is a species likely to be in danger of extinction in the near future.Kempthorne also said, though, that it would be "inappropriate" to use the protection of the bear to reduce greenhouse gases, or to broadly address climate change.Reflecting views recently expressed by President Bush, Kempthorne said the Endangered Species Act was "never meant to regulate global climate change."He said the decision to list the bear includes administrative actions aimed at limiting the impact of the decision on energy development and other climate related activities."This listing will not stop global climate change or prevent any sea ice from melt
The dossier spills over into two drawers of files full of hand-scribbled notes, maps marked with sharp black dots -- and snapshots of a shadowy figure, scattering bird seed.
There isn't anything metropolitan about this tiny unincorporated town in southwest Wyoming, where a few single-family homes and a volunteer fire station stand against a skyline of snowcapped mountains.
A spotter bangs three times on the boat's cabin roof, signaling the captain to cut the throttle -- now.
For years, the sea lions lounging at the Bonneville Dam have had easy pickings from salmon waiting to go up fish ladders to upriver spawning grounds.
The New York Botanical Garden may be best known for its orchid shows and colorful blossoms, but its researchers are about to lead a global effort to capture DNA from thousands of tree species from around the world.
A colossal squid being examined by scientists in New Zealand this week is yielding amazing facts about one of the ocean's shy leviathans
A city outside California has, for the first time, been named the sootiest in the nation, one of the categories the American Lung Association uses to determine the most polluted cities in the country.
China's giant pandas are believed to be safe after Monday's earthquake, but concern is growing over how they will get their next meals.
Analysis: The US finally rules that global warming is indeed threatening the species' survival. Not that it will make any difference
(WASHINGTON) -- The Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species Wednesday, saying it must be protected because of the decline in Arctic sea ice from global warming.Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne cited dramatic declines in sea ice over the last three decades and projections of continued losses. These declines, he told a news conference, mean the polar bear is a species likely to be in danger of extinction in the near future.Kempthorne also said, though, that it would be "inappropriate" to use the protection of the bear to reduce greenhouse gases, or to broadly address climate change.Reflecting views recently expressed by President Bush, Kempthorne said the Endangered Species Act was "never meant to regulate global climate change."He said the decision to list the bear includes administrative actions aimed at limiting the impact of the decision on energy development and other climate related activities."This listing will not stop global climate change or prevent any sea ice from melt
The dossier spills over into two drawers of files full of hand-scribbled notes, maps marked with sharp black dots -- and snapshots of a shadowy figure, scattering bird seed.
There isn't anything metropolitan about this tiny unincorporated town in southwest Wyoming, where a few single-family homes and a volunteer fire station stand against a skyline of snowcapped mountains.
A spotter bangs three times on the boat's cabin roof, signaling the captain to cut the throttle -- now.
For years, the sea lions lounging at the Bonneville Dam have had easy pickings from salmon waiting to go up fish ladders to upriver spawning grounds.
The New York Botanical Garden may be best known for its orchid shows and colorful blossoms, but its researchers are about to lead a global effort to capture DNA from thousands of tree species from around the world.
A colossal squid being examined by scientists in New Zealand this week is yielding amazing facts about one of the ocean's shy leviathans
A city outside California has, for the first time, been named the sootiest in the nation, one of the categories the American Lung Association uses to determine the most polluted cities in the country.
Ling Ling, the superstar denizen of Tokyo's Ueno Zoo, has died. Will China, which has stopped exporting pandas, make an exception and offer a replacement?
Japan's oldest giant panda, Ling Ling, a longtime star at Tokyo's largest zoo and a symbol of friendship with China, died Wednesday of heart failure, zookeepers said.
Authorities say beaches in San Diego County that were closed after a deadly shark attack will reopen Monday.
Beaches along the San Diego, California, coast will be closed Saturday after a 66-year-old man was fatally attacked by what authorities suspect was a great white shark.
A shark believed to be a great white killed a 66-year-old swimmer with a single, giant bite across both legs Friday as the man trained with a group of triathletes
What's black and white and warm all over? A penguin in a wetsuit, naturally.
Hundreds of Environmental Protection Agency scientists complain they have been victims of political interference and pressure from superiors to skew their findings, according to a survey released Wednesday by an advocacy group.
Short-term exposure to smog, or ozone, is clearly linked to premature deaths that should be taken into account when measuring the health benefits of reducing air pollution
Short-term exposure to smog, or ozone, is clearly linked to premature deaths that should be taken into account when measuring the health benefits of reducing air pollution, a National Academy of Sciences review concludes.
Twice a day, 7-year-old Hannah Austin exhales all the air from her lungs. She then takes a puff of a low-dose steroid from a purple inhaler, holds her breath for a few seconds and exhales.
Neil Sims is standing on the deck of a 35-foot feed boat off the coast of Kona, Hawaii, staring at a dorsal fin slicing through the calm morning sea below. For the past hour we've been snorkeling around the submersible cages owned by his aquaculture company, Kona Blue Water Farms. The nets house nearly half a million fish, a species of yellowtail known as Kona Kampachi.
It's thousands of square miles wide, virtually devoid of oxygen and it has been blamed for an increase in shark attacks: the Gulf of Mexico "Dead Zone" is getting bigger and forcing marine life -- including sharks - into shore.
The world's greatest green champion is no tree-hugger. He's an economist who's made lots of money off the cap and trade of pollutants -- which, incidentally, also cleans the air
Borneo's pygmy elephants may be descendants of an extinct Javan elephant race, saved by chance by an 18th century ruler
Indian authorities arrested two suspected smugglers trying to ship tiger, leopard and python skins to neighboring Nepal in one of the country's largest illicit wildlife seizures, officials said Wednesday.
An advisory panel of scientists told the Environmental Protection Agency that its new air quality standard for smog fails to protect public health as required by law and should be strengthened
The gray wolf was officially removed from the Endangered Species Act's "threatened" list Friday after three decades -- a decision that has stoked controversy among environmentalists and ranchers.
The shooting deaths of four mountain gorillas -- three females and an alpha male silverback -- are prompting a United Nations agency to send a mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
From krill to king crabs, the collapse of a 160-square-mile portion of the Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antarctica could mean many changes for wildlife at the bottom of the world.
Home to up to 10 percent of all known species, Mexico is recognized as one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet.
Animal handlers in China have developed a "sexercise" program to try to encourage extinction-threatened pandas to overcome their notoriously low sex drives.
An organization that accredits zoos says the San Francisco Zoo had an "impressive" response to a tiger escape on Christmas Day but could have done more initially, according to a report the zoo released Tuesday.
The following activity is intended to be used as a viewing guide and a springboard for discussing CNN's "Planet in Peril" series with your students.
The withdrawal of the world's leading marathon runner from this summer's event over concerns about air quality highlights the stakes in a spat between Chinese authorities and an American researcher
The EPA tightened restrictions on ozone, but why is the new limit still higher than what science recommends? Critics say it comes down to politics and money
An endangered and secretive animal rarely seen in the wild has been caught on camera in West Africa.
A shark-attack death in the Bahamas raises the issue of who is responsible when thrill vacations go awry: the tourist or the tour operator?
Mention a dolphin to someone in the United States and they'll think about a trip to Sea World or the 1960s-era TV program "Flipper."
The leader of a shark tour whose customer was mauled to death Saturday was warned that his practice of allowing people to swim close to hungry sharks could lead to tragedy, a colleague said.
A new study finds that rising temperatures are in danger of wiping out the king penguins of Antarctica
Fishermen in Bangladesh beat a rare river dolphin to death because they had not seen "this kind of creature before," according to local news accounts.
When the average person contemplates the issues surrounding landfills, it's doubtful they give much consideration to the tons of food that fill them.
Scientists have discovered the remains of a rodent the size of a small car which used to forage the South American continent. The 1-ton creature is believed to have been about 3 meters in length and 1.5 meters tall.
Alan Rabinowitz does more for conservation before 9 a.m. than most people do all year. He treks jungles, suffers disease and even deals with brutal juntas to save the animals.
A new study suggests that male monkeys trade favors with females for sex -- and that the market price depends on availability
Did Tatiana, the tiger that killed a zoo-goer on Christmas Day, attack for no reason? Did she have a bone to pick with men who taunted her? Or could it have been stress?
An escaped Siberian tiger attacked and killed one zoo patron and injured two others Tuesday afternoon in a cafe at the San Francisco Zoo, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Fire Department told CNN.
Japan has "temporarily halted" its much-criticized plan for a humpback whale hunt in the seas near Antarctica, said the chief Japanese government spokesman on Friday.
The EPA strikes down the state's tough new carbon emissions rules, in a crippling setback for environmentalists
Monkey handler Ramal Lala strolls along New Delhi's streets, a leash on his monkey named Mungle. The local government has hired the two to chase down thousands of smaller monkeys known to roam this mega-city of 13 million people, hopping on just about anything, breaking into houses and occasionally biting spectators.
If the thought of spending a holiday slathered in mud conjures images of a spa - well, you probably haven't been fossil hunting in Florida lately. That's how I spent part of a recent visit, and somewhat to my surprise, I found it as relaxing as a massage and a lot more stimulating.
Coral reefs are often referred to as the canaries of the ocean -- because, like the canary in a mine, they give an indicator of the dangers that lie ahead. Judging by the state of coral reefs these days, if you happen to be a fish, it's not looking good for you.
It's a common theory that, given enough time (and food ... and ink ribbon), a million monkeys on a million typewriters will eventually bang out the works of Shakespeare. But that only goes for average monkeys.
A new report admits the country has fallen short on goals and proposes more money be spent on cleaning up the environment. But it's far from enough to make a difference
We've changed the energy- producing rules to prevent acid rain and smog. Now each of us can take a seat at the negotiations on climate change next month in Bali to eliminate carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuel
Japanese vessels set sail on their largest-scale whale hunt in decades. Is it for research? Out of sheer stubbornness? Or is it even about the whales at all?
Video courtesy Warner Bros.Hayden Panettiere said Thursday that she might never have been involved in trying to save the dolphins in Japan without the inspiration and influence she's gotten through her hit TV series Heroes.
Gov. Schwarzenegger wants to clamp down on greenhouse gas emissions. Only the US government stands in his way
A recent census of the world's primate population finds that many of them are in danger of disappearing
Here's some good news for those of you who have trouble growing houseplants: The problem could lie in where you put the plants rather than in your being short a couple of gardening genes. Light, temperature and humidity have a lot to do with whether a plant thrives or dies.
For more than two decades, artist Robert Wyland -- simply known as Wyland -- has wowed people with his giant whale murals that cover the walls of city parking decks, high-rises, convention centers and hotels around the world.
The once vanished gray wolf has made a comeback in the Northern Rockies. The fight is over whether to remove them from the Endangered Species list and let hunters have at them
American Electric Power has agreed to install $4.6 billion in equipment to sharply reduce emissions at coal-fired power plants in five states, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
In the largest environmental settlement in Justice Department history, American Electric Power has agreed to install $4.6 billion in equipment to sharply reduce emissions at coal-fired power plants in five states, sources said.
Forget all the talk lately about whether Congress will regulate carbon dioxide - a gas generated from burning fossil fuels and one of the main culprits behind global warming. Several individuals and environmental groups are using laws already on the books in an attempt to force polluters to change their ways.
China's environmental watchdog has closed down 400 factories since it started a national campaign in July to tackle water pollution, an official said Tuesday.
It's a sweet time for honeybees in the rolling hills of eastern Pennsylvania, and the ones humming around Dennis vanEngelsdorp seem too preoccupied by the blooming knapweed nearby to sting him as he carefully lifts the top off their hive. VanEngelsdorp, Pennsylvania's state apiarist, spots signs of plenty within: honeycomb stocked with yellow pollen, neat rows of wax hexagons housing larval bees, and a fertile queen churning out eggs.
Prosthetic specialist Kevin Carroll travels the country tackling the toughest human amputation cases, so it was only natural that he was also drawn to Winter -- the only known dolphin to survive the loss of her powerful tail flukes.
As a growing number of well-known companies promote themselves as friends of the earth, it's easy to overlook the fact that others still pollute, unnecessarily. But they do.
Despite a persistent gray haze, officials said Tuesday an exercise that removed more than 1 million private vehicles a day from Beijing's gridlocked streets was a success that could mean a clearer sky during next summer's Olympics.
Scientists say the species is probably extinct, the victim of overfishing and environmental degradation on China's crowded waterway
Laser printer emissions may damage your health, says a new study -- not to mention the load of indoor air pollutants we're breathing 90% of the time
CNN spoke to Ken Yeang, an architect and ecologist, and the principle of the UK practice of Llweleyn Davis Yeang about his work to combine high rise architecture and environmental awareness.
Picture this: A giant penguin with a long, peculiar beak, lounging in the warm sun.
The former chief of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fought off fierce criticism Monday that the agency did not do enough to protect September 11, 2001, rescue workers from toxic pollutants.
Environmental groups say the vote on three key amendments will determine their support of the Democrat-backed measure
Some of the most common birds seen and heard in American back yards are becoming a less frequent sight and sound in much of the United States, according to a study released by the National Audubon Society.
Ever caught a glimpse of the secretive Iberian lynx? Or heard the croaking bark of a Mediterranean monk seal?
The bald eagle is officially about to become a "conservation success story" for the U.S. government, which has worked for more than three decades to help the national symbol recover from habitat destruction, illegal shooting and contamination of its food source.
Coming soon: Brood XIII. It sounds like a bad horror movie. But it's actually the name of the billions of cicadas expected to emerge this month in parts of the Midwest after spending 17 years underground
A West Coast school teaches the ancient art of handling birds of prey.
President Bush said Tuesday he is directing the Environmental Protection Agency, and the departments of energy, transportation and agriculture, to develop steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2008, but he failed to call for a specific increase in fuel efficiency standards.
Sometime this year China will surpass the U.S. as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases. This "accomplishment" reflects the pace and scale of industrialization in a country that is alread...
Los Angeles ranks as the smoggiest city in the United States, according to an annual report card released Tuesday by the American Lung Association. It leads the nation in all three major air pollution categories, short-term particle pollution, year-round particle pollution and ozone pollution.
The teen was having a fit. He was hungry, and his mother had left to go to work. His father couldn't calm him down and finally gave up trying. The teen stomped around, squawking. Sound familiar?
Twenty years ago, Corporate America and environmentalists squared off regularly and acrimoniously across the globe. Today, large companies can't stop talking about their green initiatives, and groups like Rainforest Alliance (RA) deserve a slice of the credit.
Up to half of the world's magnolia species are in danger of extinction, according to a new study by conservationists.
When Val Schroeder realized the ducks and loons that once flocked near her home on Camano Island, Washington, were disappearing, she knew she had to act.
A Japanese fisheries official condemned Monday what he called an "act of terrorism" by anti-whaling activists on a Japanese vessel in Antarctic waters.
For whatever reason - the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina, Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," the plight of polar bears in the Arctic, the Democratic takeover of Congress - this is the moment when co...
It's time to breathe a sigh of relief -- sort of. Thanks to changes in air-quality and emissions laws over the past 30 years, the air you breathe when you head outdoors this summer is cleaner than ever.
Officials at the Georgia Aquarium said Tuesday that it could take weeks to figure out why Ralph the whale shark suddenly died last week.
Scientists worked Friday to determine what killed Ralph, one of the four giant whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium.
Polar bears may be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act because of a loss of habitat that jeopardizes their survival, the Interior secretary said Wednesday.
They're cute, furry and flightless, but they've been accused of being behind "far left propaganda," and knocking the world's deadliest spy his box office perch. Here we explain the penguin phenomenon taking the world by storm.
Two species of fish previously unknown to science are currently being discovered each week by different projects around the world. A census has been launched to map life under the waves in the least explored environment on earth.
A trainer at SeaWorld Adventure Park remained hospitalized Thursday after a killer whale grabbed him and twice held him underwater during a show, officials said.
A killer whale at the Sea World theme park grabbed a trainer by the foot and held him underwater during a show Wednesday.
The Supreme Court appeared sharply divided Wednesday over what role the federal government should play in regulating carbon dioxide emissions from new cars.
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