Winds wane as 18 wildfires burn in California
SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Dying winds gave California firefighters their first big break on Wednesday after four days battling wildfires, but San Diego faced more calamity as blazes there burned out of control and kept more than half a million evacuees from returning home.

Global warming creating public health woes, Senate panel told
WASHINGTON — From algae blooms in the Chesapeake Bay to heat waves, drought and fires consuming the West, global warming is stirring up public health problems that are likely to worsen, witnesses told a Senate committee Tuesday.

Satellite Video Shows Struggling Seas
NASA’s Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) has constantly measured ocean color as an indicator of sea life productivity since the satellite reached orbit in 1997. Combined with ocean temperature data, the observations suggest climate change is playing a big role in negatively altering ocean ecosystems. A new video made from the decade of data illustrates how blooms of phytoplankton, which form the base of the oceanic food chain, are gradually thinning.

Solution to Energy and Climate Crises? A Game of Leapfrog
The Amsterdam-based InterAcademy Council—a group that represents 150 national scientific and engineering academies—released a report this week detailing how countries can shift from burning coal and other greenhouse-gas emitting fuels to cleaner energy while also introducing modern forms of energy to the billions worldwide who rely on charcoal, firewood or even dung as their fuel.

Olympics: UN praises Beijing clean-up but air worries remain
BEIJING (AFP) - The United Nations gave the thumbs-up Thursday to Beijing’s efforts to improve its environment ahead of next year’s Olympics but said poor air quality would remain a worry for athletes during the Games.

Office Depot, CFI, IBM Among Winners of SmartWay Awards
WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 25, 2007 — A total of 34 freight carriers, logistics companies, shippers and affiliates were awarded the second annual EPA SmartWay Excellence Awards for environmental leadership by implementing fuel-conserving technologies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping operations.