Environment News
U.S. weather-watcher satellite fails just before hurricane season
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - A key satellite positioned to track severe weather in the eastern United States has failed, just as the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season is about to start.
China plans tougher quality standards for coal to tackle pollution
SHANGHAI - China may impose higher quality standards for imported and locally traded coal to cut air pollution, two sources said, in a move that could slash imports while boosting the fortunes of a faltering domestic industry.
German brewers warn fracking could hurt beer industry
BERLIN - German brewers have warned Chancellor Angela Merkel's government that any law allowing the controversial drilling technique known as fracking could damage the country's cherished beer industry.
America's frogs and toads disappearing fast, study warns
WASHINGTON - Frogs, toads and salamanders have been in trouble for decades, but a new U.S. government study shows just how quickly many amphibians are disappearing from ponds and creeks across the United States.
In China, food scares put Mao's self-sufficiency goal at risk
BEIJING - The discovery of dangerous levels of toxic cadmium in rice sold in the southern city of Guangzhou, the latest in a series of food scandals, has piled more pressure on China to clean up its food chain - possibly at the expense of Mao Zedong's cherished goal of self-sufficiency.
U.S. sees seven to 11 Atlantic hurricanes in 2013
MIAMI - The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season could be "extremely active" and spawn 13 to 20 tropical storms, seven to 11 of which are expected to become hurricanes, the U.S. government's top climate agency predicted on Thursday.
Oklahoma tornado victims astounded at how they survived
MOORE, Oklahoma - Tornado survivors thanked God, sturdy closets and luck in explaining how they lived through the colossal twister that devastated an Oklahoma town and killed 24 people, an astonishingly low toll given the extent of destruction. | Video
Showers to slow U.S. corn seedings from blistering pace
CHICAGO - Occasional rainfall over the next week to 10 days will slow seedings of the U.S. corn crop, which was planted at a record fast pace last week, an agricultural meteorologist said on Tuesday.
Shell feared disaster days before Alaska rig grounding: official
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Days before a Shell drillship went aground in the storm-tossed Gulf of Alaska, it was clear that towing failures could spell disaster for the vessel, the crew and the marine environment, a company official told a U.S. Coast Guard panel on Monday.
China says its legal ivory trade not to blame for poaching
BEIJING - China's small traditional trade in carving uses ivory acquired through legal auctions and in no way encourages or worsens the problem of elephant poaching in Africa, a senior Chinese official said on Tuesday.

