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U.S. weather-watcher satellite fails just before hurricane season

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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.

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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.

China 23 May 2013

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.

Lifestyle 23 May 2013

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.

22 May 2013

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.

China 22 May 2013

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.

Natural Disasters 23 May 2013

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

U.S., Natural Disasters 22 May 2013

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.

21 May 2013

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.

21 May 2013

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.

Africa, China 21 May 2013

Environment Video

Huge earthquake strikes Russia's far east

Huge earthquake strikes Russia's far east

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